Bergamot's origins have several theories. One states the Arabs introduced the small evergreen tree to Malta and Sicily during the early tenth century and the name itself could derive from Sicilian-Arabic now defunct dialect. Some suggested bergamot is a hybrid between bitter orange and lemon or lime. The best way to propagate the tree is by grafting it onto bitter orange. The first documented use of bergamot essential oil in perfumery goes back to 1693 in Le Perfumeur Francois printed in Lyon. It became very popular in Italy in the eighteenth century to treat burns, varicous veins, dundruff and as an analgesic and antimicrobial. In the second half of the eighteenth century, a few drops were added to lime tea or coffee as an antimalarial agent; it was also used as a sedative by injesting 2-5 drops. Bergamot oil was often used as and additive to medicinal ointments, unguents, and cosmetics, primarily to improve the smell. From a medicinal point of view, it was added to alcoholic solutions and massage oils to treat chronic rheumatis. In the 1900s, studies showed Bergamot oil was as effective as a 10% iodine tincture to sterilise skin before surgery and during Wolrd War II it was used to treat soldiers' scabies.