On account of its fragrance, balm was cultivated by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs,11) and during the middle ages in Italy, Germany12) and Scandinavia.13)

1) Brunschwig, Liber de arte destillandi. De simplicibus. 1500. fol. 117.

2) See p. 33.

3) Johannis Begnini Tyrocynium chymicum. In Jon. Hartmannii Opera omnia medico-chymica congesta atque pluribus aucta a Conrado Johrenio. Francofurti ad Moenum. 1690. Vol. III, p. 27.

4) Wedel, Dissertatio de Salvia. Jena; 1715.

5) Cartheuser, Elementa chymiae dogmatico-experimentalis, una cum synopsi Materiae medicae selection's. Halae 1736. Vol. 2, p. 87.

6) Memoires de l'Academie royale des sciences de Paris. 1721. p. 163.

7) Arezula, Pesultado de las experiencias hechas sobre el alcanfor de Murcia con licencia. Segovia 1789, p. 8.

8) Trommsdorff's Journ. der Pharm. 20, II. (1811), 7. 9) Buchner's Repert. f. d. Pharm. 34 (1830), 131.

10) Liebig's Annalen 44 (1842), 4.

11) Dioscoridis De materia medica libri quinque. Editio Kuhn-Sprengel. 1829, p. 453. - Platearius, Circa instans. Editio Choulant. 1841. Vol. 1, p. 299.- Macer Floridus, De viribus herbarum etc. 1832. Editio Choulant, p. 64. - Plinii Naturalis histories libri 37. Lib. XX, 45; Lib. XXI, 86. Editio Littre, 1877. Vol. 2, p. 18 and 66. - Varro, De agricultura, Lib. III, 16. Editio Nisard, p. 149. - Meyer, Geschichte der Botanik. Vol. 1, p. 362.

12) Conradi Gesneri De Mortis Germanise liber recens. 1561. Fol. 267 b.

13) Henrik Harpestreng, Danske Laegebok. Copenhagen 1826, p. 118.

During the period of distilled waters, from the 15. to the 17. centuries, balm water was a current article. Oil of balm appears to have come into use about the middle of the 16. century. It is first mentioned in the ordinance of Frankfurt-on-the-Main for 1582 and in the Dispensatorium Noricum of 1589.

Comparable to the distillate from rosemary of the 16. century, which was the precursor of the Eau de Cologne of the 18. and 19. centuries, the fragrant distillate from balm, lemon peel and lavender of the 17. century developed later into a very popular perfume. It was first prepared by the Carmelite monks of Paris in 1611 and became famous as Eau des Carmes (Ger. Karmeliter-ge/st).1) Later the alcoholic distillate was made officinal as Spiritus Melissae compositus.

The earlier investigations of the oil were made by Schultz2) in 1739, by Friedr. Hoffmann3) about the same time, and by Dehne4) in 1779.