Herbs’ Lasting Fragrance

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 109, 11 May 1939, Page 14

Herbs’ Lasting Fragrance

Delicate Freshness Lingers

Those of us who are planning an oldfashioned “garden of herbs” may have some of the same kinds of herbs that were raised for flavour and fragrance in the Bible days, writes Harriet-Louise K. Patterson in the Christian Science Monitor. It will be a garden so fragj rant, so colourful, so enchanting, in the sunlight, and in the moonlight a garden ' full of grace; just such a garden as Ahab wished for when he asked for Naboth's vineyard “for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house.” Lovely of name, retiring and aloof, the sweetness of their aroma lingers long after their flowering days and their delicate freshness exists when only dried, crushed leaves remain. Come winter, come summer, herbs are a lasting bouquet of romance.

Herbs have remained more or less the same from earliest days to the present Jin fact, they have a long history both ■ real and mythical. Take the “fitches” of the Old Testament. They are a twinsister species of our delicate blue garden flower, Nigella sativa, more commonly [ known as love-in-a-mist. This herbaceous annual was cultivated by the ancients for the sake of its tiny shiny black seeds, which were used by them as a seasoning for food or for medicinal purposes. They did not raise them for their sheer loveliness as we do.

Hyssop will grow in the herb garden, too, but authorities tell us the plant I which has cleansing qualities and was I used for sprinkling in some of the sacrifices and purifications of the Jews so that the Psalmist, accustomed to its use in purification cried out: “Purge me with hyssop,” was the marjoram plant, Origanum maru. It has the fragrance of thyme, a pungent taste and long slender stems. It was on the stalk of the hyssop that the sponge of vinegar was held up to Jesus on the cross. (John 19:29).

Wormwood and rue with their woolly leaves and their fragrance which belie their bitterness are the same plants which caused Old and New Testament writers alike to speak of them with loathing and disgust and to metaphorically employ them as symbols of calamity and sorrow. Rue grew in the kitchengarden in Palestine in the early days and was free of tithe; by Jesus’ time rue was a garden plant and was tillable.

Mustard is mentioned in the New Testament as a tree. Perhaps some Bible readers have passed over the detail in reading not thinking it significant or believing it hyperbole. Do you remember? “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” (Matt. 13:13, 32). To grow a mustard tree with dainty yellow blossoms, a tree such as Jesus was referring to might be difficult in some climates, but not in Palestine. In modem times this plant from which is obtained the common spice has been j

only, well beaten in with a pine or a herbal shampoo; then a “friction” (of spirits) well massaged in while the head is still w'et; or you can use eau-de-cologne. I repeat this a week later, and then wait a day or two before my perm. The hot dryer is trying for the average hair, but the oil and friction treatment beforehand brings mine out with flying curls and a lovely gloss.

reported as growing in a single season “as tall as a horse and his rider” wtth a stem “as thick as a man’s arm.” I no longer doubt a mustard tree such as Jesus describes, since I have seen them growing in height to more than eight feet near the Garden Tomb at Jerusalem. If you doubt, all you have to do is to plant “the least of all seeds” in a rich I soil, cultivate thoroughly, and protect from sudden drops in temperature. | “Spikenard, very costly,” the refreshing unguent with which Mary at Bethany “anointed the feet” of Jesus, is said to be that made from sweet lavendar, one of the loveliest of herbs. The perfume of that alabaster flask was soon lost upon the evening air of Bethany, but the perfume of a love expressed in an act of piety and love has filled the world with its fragrance. Did the people of the Bible gather sprays of rosemary, the herb of remembrance, I wonder, since it is an ancient plant, found near sea coasts and abounding in and around Jerusalem to-day? It is not mentioned in Scripture or at least it has not been identified with text. This plant of remembrance, too, somehow seems truly a plant belonging to this holiest of all lands.

Ezekiel sets forth their use as a condiment when he recommends a menu to be used in time of famine. He say«: “Take thou also . . . wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and Itches, and put them in one vessel . . ." (Ezek. 4:9).

The saffron crocus, which is mentioned only in the Song of Solomon, 4:14, is a beautiful autumn-flowering crocus, a scented garden flower which abounds throughout Palestine, highly esteemed for its perfume. Saffron, a yellow powder, used for seasoning in the East, is obtained from it.

In Matt. 23:23, the scribes and Pharisees j were accused of paying tithes of “mint I and anise and cummin” and neglecting the weightier matters of “the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith.” Cummin, Cuminum Cyminum,” is a common plant whose fruits, beaten by a rod, are used as spices in bread, stewed meats, and as medicine. Horsemint, Mentha sylvestris, was the only mint then known, and was less pleasant to taste than the mint we use to-day. It can be found in herb lists, where it will be mentioned as much for its decorative spikes of violet-blue flowers as for its aroma. Anise was known and used, but in this passage in the Gospel some horticulturists believe that the correct rendering would be “dill,” an aromatic herb used in pickling.

I Sparks will not fly out from logs if they are put on a fire with the sawn | ends facing room. # # # # Insert rolls of newspaper between sides of chairs and loose covers and the fitting will look much more tidy. Use a rag dipped in paraffin to wipe porcelain sinks after they have been washed with hot soapy water. Finally rinse with hot water and soda. * # # # Make hems on casement curtains of equal length so that they can be reversed and the rings or hooks sewn on opposite ends from time to time.