Thyme

“ We confess, Thyme is the hottest herb it usually grows upon; and therefore that which grows upon Thyme is hotter than that which grows upon cold herbs; for it draws nourishment from what it grows upon, as well as from the earth where its root is, and thus you see old Saturn is wise enough to have two strings to his bow. This is accounted the most effectual for melancholy diseases, and to purge black or burnt choler, which is the cause of many diseases of the head and brain, as also for the trembling of the heart, faintings and swoonings. ”

“ THYME. This aromatic herb is of dense growth with small, pale-lilac flowers in terminal spikes. Its pale, bright-green foliage makes it an attractive creeper for banks. Thyme also grows well in a rock-garden and makes a good border-plant also. Propagate by seed and division. The plant grows in any soil. It attains a height of from one to two inches and blossoms in June and July. Every one knows the value of dried thyme for flavoring in cookery.
VIOLETS prefer shady places. They are at home in the rock-garden, and they are very charming if planted on a little bank. ”

“ I have tried to explain the reason for the charm to me of growing Thyme. It is not its beautiful perfume, its clear vivid green, its tiny fresh flowers, or the element of historic interest. Alphonse Karr gives another reason, a sentiment of gratitude. He says:—
"Thyme takes upon itself to embellish the parts of the earth which other plants disdain. ”

“ Now I’ve always been accustomed [300] to dry them on the grass, where the thyme grows, and then they not only get beautifully aired, but they retain a sweet scent of the wild thyme which I have always loved since the days when I was a little, little girl, and my mother used to kiss me when she put on my clean things.”
“It shall be done as you like,” said Luxehale. “I will order a field of thyme to be got ready immediately, and your things shall always be dried upon it. Is there nothing else, nothing more difficult, I can do for you?” ”

“ The Garden of Thyme, giving good Advice for every Virgins Care.
While Flowers in their tender Buds do grow
Let no young Men into your Gardens go;
Lest these young Buds upon their tender Stem
Should be cropp'd off by these unruly Men.
YOU pretty Maidens all,
That now are in your Prime,
Besure you look your Gardens well,
Let no Man steal your Thyme:
For I delight in my Thyme,
That flourish'd Night and Day,
Then came a young Man craftily,
And stole my Thyme away. ”

“ Any plant of the labiate genus Thymus. The garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a warm, pungent aromatic, much used to give a relish to seasoning and soups.
Ankle deep in moss and flowery thyme.
Cowper.
Cat thyme, a labiate plant (Teucrium Marum) of the Mediterranean religion. Cats are said to be fond of rolling on it. J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants) . — Wild thyme, Thymus Serpyllum, common on banks and hillsides in Europe. ”

“ This plant is closely related to the garden thyme (T. vulgaris, L.) , and grows profusely in meadows, fields and gardens. Both species are very fragrant and it is to this characteristic that they owe their popularity. The ancient Greeks and Romans valued thyme very highly and made use of it as a cosmetic, in medicine and in veterinary practice, much as it is used at the present time. Thyme yields the oil of thyme which is a valuable antiseptic, used as a gargle and mouth wash, for toothache, in dressing wounds and ulcers, also for sprains and bruises, in chronic rheumatism, etc. ”

“ Still I hadn’t found it all; a little later I came upon some wild mint beside the brook. The tansy I had long been friendly with; the scent of it seems to fit in so exactly with a hot summer day; and the wild thyme that grows on a sunny bank at one side of the orchard you couldn’t possibly miss, the bees have so much to say about it. Bushes of balm, that have possibly strayed away from the garden, are always at hand, to rub a leaf when desired. ”

“ Thyme is propagated by seed, by taking up rooted side-shoots, or by cuttings taken in the spring. It thrives best in a light, rich earth, and should be occasionally watered till well rooted.
There are two varieties of Camomile, the single and the double-flowered; the first is the most valuable in medicine, but the second is the most commonly met with. ”

“ I can scarce think, that a large Plant takes in larger Particles than a small one, for its Nourishment: If it did, I can’t believe, that the Thyme could have starv’d the Apricot-tree; it must have left the larger Particles of Food for that Tree, which probably would have sufficed to keep it alive: I rather think, that great and small Plants are sustain’d by the same minute Particles; for, as the fine Particles of Oats will nourish an Ox, so they will nourish a Tom-tit, or a Mite. ”

“ The cultivated1741 thyme is not a creeping plant, but grows upwards, as much a palm in height. That which springs up spontaneously, grows the most luxuriantly, its leaves and branches being whiter than those of the other kinds. Thyme is efficacious as a remedy for the stings of serpents, the cenchris1742 more particularly; also for the sting of the scolopendra, both sea and land, the leaves and branches being boiled for the purpose in wine. Burnt, it puts to flight all venomous creatures293 by its smell, and it is particularly beneficial as an antidote to the venom of marine animals. ”

“ The common garden thyme, a native of the Mediterranean region, is Thymus vulgaris; the wild thyme of our banks is T. Serpyllum. Marjoram (Origanum) is also closely allied. All these plants are remarkable for their essential oil, to which their fragrance is due. ”

“ Uses—Oil of thyme is an efficient external stimulant, and is sometimes employed as a liniment. Its chief consumption is in veterinary medicine. Thymol has been proposed as a disinfectant in the place of carbolic acid, in cases in which the odour of the latter is objectionable. The herb is not used in modern English medicine, but is often employed on the Continent. ”

“ The Broad-Leaved Thyme is more cultivated in this country than any other species or variety. The stem is ten or twelve inches high, shrubby, of a brownish-red color, and [Pg 448] much branched; the leaves are small, narrow, green above, and whitish beneath; flowers purple, in terminal spikes; the seeds are black, and exceedingly small,—two hundred and thirty thousand being contained in an ounce; they retain their vitality two years. ”

“ Thyme is given also for epilepsy, when the fits come on, the smell of it reviving the patient; it is said, too, that epileptic persons should sleep upon soft thyme. It is good, also, for hardness of breathing, and for asthma and obstructions of the catamenia. A decoction of thyme in water, boiled down to one-third, brings away the dead fœtus, and it is given to males with oxymel, as a remedy for flatulency, and in cases of swelling of the abdomen or testes and of pains in the bladder. ”

“ Treat essential oil of thyme with an equal volume of an aqueous solution of potash or soda, and shake several times to facilitate combination. The thymol dissolves, forming a soluble compound, whilst the thymene, a carbide of hydrogen, that accompanies it in the essence, does not combine with the alkali and separates. Filter the solution obtained and treat with an acid—hydrochloric acid, for example—which sets free the thymol. The product should be purified by washing, dried, and distilled. ”

“ Sufficient for 10 persons.
THYME.—This sweet herb was known to the Romans, who made use of it in culinary preparations, as well as in aromatic liqueurs. There are two species of it growing wild in Britain, but the garden thyme is a native of the south of Europe, and is more delicate in its perfume than the others. Its young leaves give an agreeable flavour to soups and sauces; they are also used in stuffings.
CALF'S-HEAD SOUP. 167. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 a calf's head, 1 onion stuck with cloves, a very small bunch of sweet herbs, 2 blades of mace, salt and white pepper to taste, 6 oz. ”

“ Common Thyme or Lemon Thyme are the kinds most usually cultivated. Common Thyme has long, narrow-pointed leaves and Lemon Thyme is easily recognised by its scent from the wild Thyme, of which it has generally [149] been considered a variety. Golden or Variegated Thyme (also lemon-scented) makes a pretty and fragrant edging to a flower-bed, but should be cut back when it has done flowering, unless the seed is to be saved, as it becomes straggling and untidy, and there is more danger of its being killed by the frost than if the winter finds it compact and bushy. ”

“ The lordly Gill that never dares to climb."
Bacon in his Essay on Gardens recommends to set whole alleys of Thyme for the pleasure of its perfume when treading on the plant. And Dioscorides said Thyme used in food helps dimness of sight.
Gerard adds: "Wild Thyme boiled in wine and drunk is good against the wamblings and gripings of the belly": whilst Culpeper describes it as "a strengthener of the lungs, as notable a one as grows." "The Thyme of Candy, Musk Thyme, or Garden Thyme is good against the sciatica, and to be given to those that have the falling sickness, to smell to." ”

“ Thyme receives great injury from showers of rain, and is very apt to shed its blossom. The seed of thyme is so minute2048 as to be imperceptible, and yet that of origanum, which is also extremely minute, does not escape the sight. But what matters it that Nature has thus concealed it from our view? For we have reason to conclude that it exists in the flower itself; which, when sown in the ground, gives birth to the plant—what is there, in fact, that the industry of man has left untried?
The honey of Attica is generally looked upon as the best in all the world ”

“ The aromatic scent of thyme is very pleasant on a rockery; not only should the silver and golden varieties be grown, but also those bright kinds which give us sheets of purple, pink, and white blossom during summer; to thrive they must be exposed to full sunshine, when they will attract innumerable bees. [Pg 56] The new kind, T. serpyllum roseus, is splendid, the tiny flowers coming in such profusion as to completely hide the foliage. All are low-growing, having the cushion habit of growth. ”

“ No species of thyme is indigenous in America. Seed should be sown in drills or broadcast in March or April, in light, fine earth and raked in lightly. The young plants are transplanted in the summer when from two to three inches high. After they are from three to five inches in growth, they should be thinned out to about ten inches apart. Thyme is also propagated by slips of the branching shoots in the spring or early autumn, but more especially by sections of the brush or by removing rooted branches. ”

“ So he betook himself to his thyme again, but there was no end to his work, for as soon as he bound thyme on the sheep they ate it off one another's backs, and as he went on binding they went on eating, and they ate faster than he could bind. But at last he made an ointment of thyme and tar, and rubbed it well into them, and then they left off eating it. Then the kine and the horses got the same ointment, and so they had peace from the troll. ”

“ Tight clover-like flowers are rosy pink.
nitidus—French thyme—Six-to eight-inch shrub with shiny, oval, gray-green leaves, and lavender flowers. Older clumps resent being disturbed, so start young plants from cuttings.
serpyllum—mother-of-thyme, creeping thyme—Perennially popular stem-rooting creeper, less than four inches high with half-inch oval green leaves and purple flowers loved by bees. There are many varieties: white-flowered albus, silver-marked argenteus, gold variegated aureus, larger, red-flowering coccineus, bright-pink roseus, robust, romping, red-flowering splendens. ”

“ Thylacine, thī′la-sēn, n. the largest of the extant predaceous marsupials, represented by one species, now restricted to Tasmania.
Thyme, tīm, n. a genus of humble half-shrubby plants of the natural order Labiatæ, the common garden-thyme, cultivated for its fragrance, wild-thyme, &c.—n. Thy′mol, an antiseptic phenol, obtained from oil of thyme by distillation.—adj. Thy′my. [Fr.,—L. L. thymum—Gr. thyein, to fill with sweet smells, to burn in sacrifice.] ”

“ Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum verum) was imported from Spain, and is cultivated in our gardens as a cordial aromatic herb, useful in nervous disorders. Its flowers are crimson, and its bark is astringent. The dried leaves may be given in powder or used in snuff. A tincture (H.) is made from the whole herb which is effectual against small thread worms. Provers of the herb in material toxic quantities have experienced troublesome itching and irritation of the fundament. ”

“ The common garden thyme, used for flavouring, is credited with many virtues. It is said to inspire courage and enliven the spirits, and for this reason should be taken by melancholy persons. It is good against nervous headache, flatulence, and hysterical affections. ”

“ The essence of wild thyme, has been recently advantageously employed; in using it the feathers or hairs of an animal are to be raised every little distance by a long needle, and at their bases, that is to say, the skin, is to be touched by means of a hair pencil with a drop or two of the essence, and when this has been well imbibed, the hairs or feathers are to be replaced, their extremities, never being in contact with the liquor, cannot become tarnished. ”

“ Thymol was obtained in fine tubular crystals by Flückiger and Hanbury, who exposed oil of ajowan to a temperature of 0° C.; the oil so treated yielded 35 per cent. of its weight of crystallised thymol. Mr Gerrard says it is stated that oil of thyme yields as much as 50 per cent. ”