[1740] “A serpendo:” the Thymus serpyllum of Linnæus.
[1741] The Thymus zygis of Linnæus: the Serpyllum folio thymi of C. Bauhin. Dioscorides says that it is the cultivated thyme that is a creeping plant.
[1742] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. l. 712, et seq.
[1743] The Sisymbrion menta of Gerard; the Menta hirsuta of Decandolle, prickly mint. Sprengel, however, takes it to be the Menta silvestris of modern Botany.
[1744] The Sisymbrion nasturtium of Linnæus.
[1745] Apparently the Sisymbrium just mentioned, and the Nasturtium.
[1746] Ovid, Fasti, B. iv. l. 869, speaks of Sisymbrium as being esteemed by the Roman ladies for its agreeable smell.
[1747] See B. xix. c. [1]. The rich mucilage of linseed makes it extremely valuable, in a medicinal point of view, for poultices. This mucilage is found in the perisperm more particularly; the kernel containing a fixed oil, which is extremely valuable for numerous purposes. The account given by Pliny and the other ancient writers of the medicinal uses of linseed, is, in general, correct.
[1748] “Inspersum,” sprinkled with boiling water; like oatmeal for porridge, probably.
[1749] It would be of no use whatever for such a purpose, Fée says.