Medica 



could be mown six times or in favourable seasons 

 even ten times a year. 



Flower, Ma}' to September. 

 Italian name, Erba Medica. 



Melisphyllum. 



' adsperge . . . trita melisphylla ' (Ge. iv. 63). 

 Balm (Melissa officinalis) is a labiate plant, native 

 in Italy and long in cultivation. It has a scent like 

 that of the citron. Virgil enjoins the mixing of its 

 pounded leaves with honeywort to induce bees to 

 swarm, and it is still sometimes used in the South 

 of England to smear on a sleep. The plant sup- 

 plies a tonic oil which at one time was much used 

 in drink for a sick person. Largely grown for this 

 purpose it has naturalized itself here and there in 

 southern England. Its scent is like that of the 

 sweet verbena (Aloysia citriodora). Anne Page bids 

 her elves scour the chairs of Windsor Castle with 

 juice of balm, and the plant was common in the 

 monastic gardens of the Middle Ages. 



Flower, July to September. 



Italian names, Appiastro, Cedronella, and 

 Citraggine. 



Milium. 



'milio venit annua cura ' {Ge. i. 216). 

 Millet (Panicum miliaceum) came from the East, 

 but probably, unlike wheat, not from the great 

 plains, for it does better on hilly ground, and can 



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