According to superstition, garlic will prevent anyone from passing you in a race. Jockeys used to fasten it to their horses' bridles. Bald men were once called "peeled garlic." But they could remedy their bareness by rubbing the plant's crushed cloves on their scalps.
Sprays which include "the stinking rose" will kill insects and prevent fungus diseases on real roses. (One hates to think, however, what they may do to the flowers' scent!) The plant's effect on fungi is probably attributable to its high sulphur content.
That sulphur is, of course, to blame for the eater's halitosis, but it is also what makes garlic so good for you. It's also just good, period. I suspect that even the wealthy were occasionally guilty of garlic-breath!
Perhaps God presents us a challenge by giving some of the best herbs one unpleasant feature. So the nettle has its sting, the milk thistle its spines, and garlic its lingering odor. But we would be clods, indeed, to allow the bad to keep us from sampling the much greater good!
Note: Garlic image is courtesy of http://www.donskitchen.com/clipart.htm . For another article that includes hints on selecting and cooking with the herb, see Jennifer Wickes "Garlic" at the following link: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1518...
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