By the Rev. Mr. Gregor (1793) and by his descendants this remedy was given for inveterate epilepsy with much benefit. Lady Holt, and her sister Lady Bracebridge, of Aston Hall, Warwickshire, were long famous for curing severe cases of the same infirmity by administering this herb. They gave the powdered heads of the flowers when in full bloom-twelve grains three times a day for many weeks together. Sir George Baker in 1767 read a paper before the London College of Physicians on the value of these flowers in convulsive disorders. He related five cures of St. Vitus' dance, spasmodic convulsions, and spasmodic asthma. Formerly the flowers were admitted into the [135] London Pharmacopoeia. The herb was named Ladies' Smock in honour of the Virgin Mary, because it comes first into flower about Lady Day, being abundant with its delicate lilac blossoms in our moist meadows and marshes: "Lady Smocks all silver white Do paint the meadows with delight." This plant is also named--"Milk Maids," "Bread and Milk," and "Mayflower." Gerard says "it flowers in April and May when the Cuckoo cloth begin to sing her pleasant notes without stammering." One of his characters is made by the Poet Laureate to-- "Steep for Danewulf leaves of Lady Smock, For they keep strong the heart." "And so much," as says William Cole, herbalist, in his _Paradise of Plants_, 1650, "for such Plants as cure the Scurvy." CUMIN. Cumin (_Cuminum cyminum_) is not half sufficiently known, or esteemed as a domestic condiment of medicinal value, and culinary uses; whilst withal of ready access as one of our commonest importations from Malta and Sicily for flavouring purposes, and veterinary preparations. It is an umbelliferous plant, and large quantities of its seeds are brought every year to England. The herb has been cultivated in the East from early days, being called "Cuminum" by the Greeks in classic times. The seeds possess a strong aromatic odour with a penetrating and bitter taste; when distilled they yield a pungent powerful essential oil. The older herbalists esteemed them superior in comforting carminative [136] qualities to those of the fennel or caraway. They are eminently useful to correct the flatulence of languid digestion, serving also to relieve dyspeptic headache, to allay colic of the bowels, and to promote the monthly flow of women. In Holland and Switzerland they are employed for flavouring cheese; whilst in Germany they are added to bread as a condiment.