have been the produce
of several gum-bearing trees, especially the Pistacia lentiscus and the
Balsamodendron Gileadense; and now, as then, the name is not strictly
confined to the produce of any one plant. But in Nos. 15 and 16 the
reference is no doubt to the Sweet Balm of the English gardens (_Melissa
officinalis_), a plant highly prized by our ancestors for its medicinal
qualities (now known to be of little value), and still valued for its
pleasant scent and its high value as a bee plant, which is shown by its
old Greek and Latin names, Melissa, Mellissophyllum, and Apiastrum. The
Bastard Balm (_Melittis melissophyllum_) is a handsome native plant,
found sparingly in Devonshire, Hampshire, and a few other places, and is
well worth growing wherever it can be induced to grow; but it is a very
capricious plant, and is apparently not fond of garden cultivation.
"Tres jolie plante, mais d'une culture difficile" (Vilmorin). It
probably would thrive best in the shade, as it is found in copses.

BARLEY.

(1) _Iris._

Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas
Of Wheat, Rye, Barley, Vetches, Oats, and Pease.

_Tempest_, act iv, sc. 1 (60).

(2) _Constable._

Can sodden water,
A drench for surrein'd jades, their Barley broth,
Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat?

_Henry V_, act iii, sc. 5 (18).[30:1]

These two passages require little note. The Barley (_Hordeum vulgare_)
of Shakespeare's time and our own is the same. We may note, however,
that the Barley broth (2) of which the French Constable spoke so
contemptuously as the food of English soldiers was probably beer, which
long before the time of Henry V. was so celebrated that it gave its name
to the plant (Barley being simply the Beer-plant), and in Shakespeare's
time, "though strangers never heard of such a word or such a thing, by
reason it is not everyewhere made," yet "our London Beere-Brewers would
scorne to learne to make beere of either French or Dutch" (Gerard).

FOOTNOTES:

[30:1] "Vires ordea prestant."--_Modus Cenandi_, 176. ("Babee's Book.")

BARNACLES.

_Caliban._

We shall lose our time
And all be turn'd to Barnacles.

_Tempest_, act iv, sc. 1 (248).

It may seem absurd to include Barnacles among plants; but in the time of
Shakespeare