Balm grows readily on any good garden soil and is easily propagated from seeds, cuttings, or by division. The seeds may be sown in the open early in the spring, but owing to their small size it is best to sow them in shallow flats in a greenhouse or in a hotbed. The soil should be well fined and the seeds sown thinly on the surface of the soil, which is then firmed with a float or a small board. When well up, the seedlings should be transferred to deeper flats, and when 4 or 5 inches high they may be transplanted to the open and set about a foot apart in rows spaced to suit the cultivation to be given. Cultivation should be frequent and sufficient to keep the soil about the plants mellow and free from weeds. When the plants are in full flower the crop can be cut with a scythe, or with a mower if the herb is to be used for distillation. For preparing the crude drug only the flowering tops are collected, the coarse, stemmy portions of the herb being rejected. The leaves and tops are dried in the shade in order to preserve the green color. Yields at the rate of about 1,800 pounds of dry herb per acre have been obtained, but if only the flowering tops are collected the yield will be very materially less. The prewar price paid to collectors for the leaves and tops ranged from 3 to 4 cents a pound. In June, 1920, the price for the leaves was 15 cents a pound. ORRIS. Orris (_Iris florentina_) is a perennial, native to southern Europe, and is cultivated chiefly in Italy for its fragrant rootstocks, which yield the orris of commerce. The plant grows well in a variety of soils and flourishes in a rich, moist loam, but roots which are grown in rather dry, gravelly soil appear to be the most fragrant. Orris is readily propagated by division of the old plants, which may be set either in the spring or fall about a foot apart in rows spaced conveniently for cultivation. Since harvesting usually takes place only once in three years, the use of the land is required for that length of time in order to obtain one crop. After the roots are dug they are peeled and dried in the open air. The desired fragrance does not develop until after the dry roots have been stored for a number of months, during which time they are especially liable to the attacks of insects. The yield is from 5 to 6 tons of dry root per acre. The average annual importation of orris is normally about 500,000 pounds. The wholesale prices, which before the war ranged from 6 to 10 cents, in June, 1920, were 14 to 15 cents a pound. The outlook for a profitable orris industry in this country does not appear promising, and it does not seem advisable for any considerable number of persons to undertake the growing of this crop. PARSLEY.