he
Greeks held Parsley in high esteem, making therewith the victor's
crown of dried and withered Parsley, at their Isthmian games, and
the wreath for adorning the tombs of their dead. Hence the proverb,
_Deeisthai selinon_ (to need only Parsley) was applied to persons
dangerously ill, and not expected to live. The herb was never
brought to table of old, being held sacred to oblivion and the
defunct.

It is reputed to have sprung from the blood of a Greek hero,
Archemorus, the fore-runner of death; and Homer relates that
chariot horses were fed by warriors with this herb. Greek gardens
were often bordered with Parsley and Rue: and hence arose the
saying when an undertaking was in contemplation but not yet
commenced, "Oh! we are only at the Parsley and Rue."

Garden Parsley was not cultivated in England until the second year
of Edward the Sixth's reign, 1548. In our modern times the domestic
herb is associated rather with those who come into the world than
with those [408] who go out of it. Proverbially the Parsley-bed is
propounded to our little people who ask awkward questions, as the
fruitful source of new-born brothers and sisters when suddenly
appearing within the limits of the family circle. In Suffolk there is
an old belief that to ensure the herb coming up "double," Parsley
seed must be sown on Good Friday.

The root is faintly aromatic, and has a sweetish taste. It contains a
chemical principle, "apiin," sugar, starch, and a volatile oil.
Likewise the fruit furnishes the same volatile oil in larger
abundance, this oil comprising parsley-camphor, and "apiol," the
true essential oil of parsley, which may be now had from all leading
druggists. Apiol exercises all the virtues of the entire plant, and is
especially beneficial for women who are irregular as to their
monthly courses because of ovarian debility. From three to six drops
should be given on sugar, or in milk (or as a prepared capsule) twice
or three times in the day for some days together, at the times
indicated, beginning early at the expected date of each period. If too
large a dose of apiol be taken it will cause headache, giddiness,
staggering, and deafness; and if going still further, it will induce
epileptiform convulsions. For which reason, in small diluted doses,
the same medicament will curatively meet this train of symptoms
when occurring as a morbid state. And it is most likely on such
account Parsley has been popularly said to be "poison to