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RESOURCES
mtfan Jf^lds aiti (Jurats,
MEDICAL, ECONOMICAL, AND AGRICULTURAL.
BEING ALSO A
MEDICAL BOTANY OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES |
PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON THE USEFUL PROPERTIES OF THE TREES, PLANTS,
AND SHRUBS.
BY FRANCIS PEYRE PORCHER,
SURGEON P. A. C. S.
PREPARED AND PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE SURGEON-GENERAL,
RICHMOND, VA.
CHARLESTON :
STEAM-POWER PRESS OF EVANS fc COGSWELL,
No. 3 Broad Street.
1863.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by
FRANCIS PEYRE PORCHER, M. D.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Confederate States, for the District of Charles-
ton, South Carolina.
Printed by Evans & Cogswell, No. 3 Broad sireex, Charleston, S. C.
r
PREFACE.
MEDICINAL AND USEFUL PLANTS AND TEEES OF
/ THE CONFEDERATE STATES — INDIGENOUS
AND INTRODUCED.
The following paper is prepared by direction of the Surgeon-
General, for which purpose the author was released tempora-
rily from service in the field and hospital.
It is intended as a repertory of scientific and popular knowl-
edge as regards the medicinal, economical, and useful properties
of the trees, plants, and shrubs found within the limits of the
Confederate States, whether employed in the arts, for manufac-
turing purposes, or in domestic economy, to supply a present as
well as a future want. Treating specially of our medicinal
plants and of the best substitutes for foreign articles of vegeta-
ble origin, my aim has been to spare no exertions, compatible
with the limits assigned me, to make it applicable as well to
the requirements of the Surgeon as of the Planter and Farmer;
and I trust that after the war shall have ceased there will
still be no diminution in the desire of every one to possess a
source from whence his curiosity may be satisfied on matters
pertaining to our useful plants. The Regimental Surgeon in
the field, the Physician in his private practice, or the Planter on
his estate may themselves collect and apply these substances
within their reach, which are frequently quite as valuable as
others obtained from abroad, and either impossible to be pro-
cured or scarce and costly. But information scattered through
a variety of sources must needs be firs j collected to be available
in any practical point of view.
I have, therefore, inserted whatever I thought would throw
light upon the vegetable productions of the Confederate States,
IV PREFACE.
to enable every one to use the ample material within his reach.
I have searched, through the various catalogues and systematic
works on botany, and noticed in almost every instance the
habitat and precise locality of plants, that each one may be
apprised of the proximity of valuable species.
Catalogues of the trees and plants growing in special local-
ities thus become of great service, as they indicate precisely
where valuable species may be procured. Those interested
may obtain the localities of many plants found in the Confeder-
ate States by consulting Elliott's Botany, Darby's, and the
recent work by Chapman, of Florida, " The Flora of the South-
ern United States." Among the catalogues issued at the South
are one by Dr. Jno. Bachman of " Plants growing in the vicin-
ity of Charleston," published in the Southern Agriculturist;
one by Prof. Louis B. Gribbes of those found in Bichland dis-
trict, S. C.j "Plants found in the vicinity of Newbern, 1ST. C,"
by H. B. Croomj an unfinished paper, by W. Wragg Smith,
Esq., published in the Transactions of the Elliott Society of
Charleston ; and "A Medico-Botanical Catalogue of the Plants
of St. John's, Berkley, S. C," by the writer. Also my " Sketch
of the Medical Botany of South Carolina," published in the
Transactions of the An . Med Association, vol. ii, 1849, and
" Besources of the Southern Fields and Forests," De Bow's
Beview, August, 1861. The extensive collection in the Charles-
ton Museum by my friend, Mr. H. W. Bavenel, as well as the
several publications of himself and Mr. M. A. Curtis, of Hills-
borough, 1ST. C, might also be consulted with profit. I have
availed myself of Dr. Chapman's work in ascertaining the
names of plants added by botanists since the time of Walter
and Elliott, and not contained in the catalogues referred to.
The plants have been arranged after the Natural system,
adopting for the most part the views of Lindley.
The reference to information contained in books* serves the
purpose of showing those interested in any production or manu-
facture where fuller details, which are too long to insert, can
be procured. It will be seen from inspecting the list of author-
*I take this occasion to express my indebtedness to Col. J. B. Moore, of State-
burg, S. C, for the use of a valuable library of agricultural and chemical books,
and for many facilities afforded me in the prosecution of this work; also, to Prof.
L. R. Gribbes, for the loan of the catalogues in his possession.
PREFACE. V
ities, that the labor of searching through the large number of
medical and other authorities has been very great. I have not
hesitated to draw largely from any quarter, appending the
name of the author, whenever I thought the matter applicable
to our present condition and requirements. Thus, on the sub-
ject of the Grape, Vine, Sugar, Sorghum, Tannin, Opium, Flax,
Mustard, Castor oil, Oils, Turpentine, Starch, Potash, Soda,
"Wood for engraving and for domestic purposes, Medicinal sub-
stances, etc., I have been profuse in my selections from a multi-
plicity of sources.
I have avoided more than a cursory mention of the Crypto-
gamic plants, Fungi, etc., as the space occupied would be too
great. I would refer the reader to my paper in the Transac-
tions of the Am. Med. Association, vol. vii, on " The Medicinal,
Dietetic, and Poisonous Properties of the Cryptogamic Plants
of the United States/' where the subject is treated in extenso,
and a description of several hundred useful or poisonous species
furnished.
The older as well as the more recent works on the Materia
Medica, Therapeutics, and Medical Botany — from Johannes
Eay and- Bergius to Pereira, Griffith, and Stille — have been
consulted. That complete and extensive work, the Diction-
naire de Matiere Medicate, by Merat and De Lens, including the
supplementary volume, has been freely translated when neces-
sary. I have also examined the Agricultural journals, the
Patent Office Reports, the " Rural Cyclopaedia," edited by Wil-
son, of Edinburgh, and excerpts from the journals and newspa-
pers of the day, which have since the beginning of the present
contest been particularly full in information on the economical
resources of our Confederacy. From these I have been care-
fully collecting.
In our present exigency many topics are appropriately intro-
duced which would hardly have place in a strictly medical
work.
Information of this kind is generally referred to under sub-
jects with which it is closely allied. Thus, Potash, Ashes, and
Soap are classed under "Carya" and "Quercus" (Hickory and
Oak), Soda and Soda Soaps under "Salsola" and "Fucus,"
Charcoal under "Pinus" and " Salix " (Pine and Willow), Oils
under " Sesamum " (Bene), Starch and Arrow-root under " Ma-
VI PREFACE.
ranta " and " Convolvulus/' etc., as these plants are character-
istically rich in such products. The index, however, will con-
tain full references.
The mode of action of medicinal plants infinitely varies ;
their selection, consequently, for the several purposes required
by the physician is not in my opinion a matter of mere acci-
dent, the result of guesswork, or of popular reputation. Each is
distinguished by the composition of its principal constituents ;
these are generally astringent principles, narcotics, stimulating
vegetable oils, cooling, refrigerant acids, bitter tonics, cathar-
tics, etc., etc. Some, as the Cinchonacese and the less active
antiperiodics, contain principles still more rarely met with
and more obscure in their mode of operation, which have con-
trol in warding off the access of malarial attacks. But once in
possession of the main active principles furnished by a plant, it
is easy to see ivhy it gains credit as a remedy in certain classes
of disease. This power it may share in comniCn with many
others, and several properties may be combined in various
degrees in each, which it is necessary to know, preliminary to
a judicious ajoplication of them. Many plants, for example,
are reputed efficacious in arresting the profluvise, diarrhoeas,
and discharges from the mucous surfaces generally; this should
excite no surprise when it is suspected or ascertained that they
contain tannin simply. In some others, as in the Uva ursi, for
example, the tannin is associated with a stimulating diuretic
oil, which further adapts it to the relief of chronic renal affec-
tions. So with those Avhich experience teaches us produce a
carthartic, emetic, narcotic, sedative, irritant, or vermifuge
action on the human system. It is always in virtue of the
well known principles they contain that they prove serviceable
and are preferred, and chemical analysis subsequently reveals
precisely what it is upon which their powers depend. The
ignorant, whether credulous or incredulous, know only by
memory the name of the plant and the disease which it is
said to suit — as in the manner of charlatans and herb doctors.
In a notice by my distinguished friend, W. Gilmore Simms,
Esq., of the article in De Bow's Eeview, by the writer, pub-
lished in the Charleston Mercury, Sept. 1861, he speaks thus
of the preparations necessary to the great issues then at
stake :
PKEFAOE. Vll
"Now is the time when all the art and science that we pos-
sess, and all the suggestions that we can make, should be put
in requisition, to the great end of our sectional independence.
Every citizen who thinks himself in possession of a truth or a
fact which he deems to be not generally recognized, should
make it public — put it to challenge — that it may be subjected
to investigation. In this way, and this only, with our 'Doubts
and Queries/ shall we bring about that searching investigation
which will develop our sectional resources."
He refers in discursive language to the " resources of the
Southern fields and forests, the natural productions in brief of
the South — her resources in the woods, and swamps, and
fields, the earth and rocks ; for purposes of need, utility, med-
icine, art, science, and mechanics; hints to the domestic man-
ufacturer ; to the workers in wood and earth ; and rock and
tree; and shrub and flower; hints, clues, suggestions, which
may be turned to the most useful purposes ; not merely as
expedients during the pressure of war and blockade, but contin-
uously, through all time, as affording profit, use, interest, and
employment to our people."
From an inspection of the large amount of material em-
braced in this volume it will be seen that our Southern Flora is
extraordinarily rich.
It is the teeming product of every variety of soil and climate,
from Maryland to Florida, from Tennessee to Texas. The
Atlantic slopes with their marine growth, the Mountain ridges
of the interior, the almost infra-tropical productions of South
Florida, with the rich alluvia of the Eiver courses — all contrib-
ute to swell the lists and produce a wonderful exuberance of
vegetation. These a bounteous Providence has vouchsafed to
a Confederacy of States, starting forth Upon their career under
new and happier auspices, and with independence and self-
reliance forced upon them by an almost sacred necessity.
I here introduce a notice of upwards of four hundred sub-
stances, possessing every variety of useful quality. Some will
be rejected as useless, others may be found upon closer exam-
ination to be still more valuable. The most precious of all
Textile Fibres, and Grains, Silks, Seeds, Oils, Gums, Caout-
chouc, Eesins, Dyes, Fecula, Albumen, Sugar, Vegetable Acids,
Starch, Liquors, Spirit, Burning Fluid, material for making
Vlll PREFACE.
Paper and Cordage, Barks, Medicines, Wood for Tanning and
the production of Chemical Agencies, for Timber, Ship-build-
ing, Engraving, Furniture, Implements and Utensils of every
description — all abound in the greatest munificence, and need
but the arm of the authorities or the energy and enterprise
of the private citizen to be made sources of utility, profit, or
beauty.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
RESOURCES OF THE, SOUTHERN FIELDS AND FORESTS,"
INDEX TO THE, COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS,
GENERAL INDEX
Acacia, false, 188.
" rose, 189.
" substitute for, 310, 352; see de-
mulcents.
Acetic acid, from pine, 498.
Acids, vegetable in plants, 369, 405, 534.
Acorn, bearing, to raise, 265 ; substitute
for coffee, 535 ; for bread, 541
Adam's needles, a substitute for flax and
hemp, 531.
Adder'.s tongue, 530.
Agaric, substitute for, 130; see styptics.
Agave, Virginian, 522; Mexican, in Fla.,
drink from, 522 ; alcohol and materials
for paper from, 522.
Agrimony, 145, 271.
Albumen, plants yielding, uses of, 92, 42.
Alder, 266; for tanning, 267; oil and
wine from, 268; black, 389.
Alcohol (see Liquors), in grape, 222; from
sap of birch, 266; from agave, 522
Ale (see Beer), 279.
Algee, 591.
Alkaline salts in weeds (see Potash and
Soda), 504, 590.
Alkanet, 439.
Allspice, 199; substitute fov, 354.
Aloa (see Zostera), a substitute for cot-
ton, 547.
Alumina in plants, 266.
Alum root, 138.
Alteratives, vegetable, 33, 121, 385, 419,
American centaury, 479.
" Colombo, 480.
" cranberry, 383-
" hemlock, 44.
" olive, 493.
" orchard grass,, 587.
" spearmint, 440;
" silver fir, 576.
" spikenard, 51.
Ammonia, plants yielding, 80, 364, 474'.
Amulet, plant used as, 437.
Amy root, sudorific and alterative, and
use in asthma, 483.
Anassthetics, influence on plants, 197;
local, 417; singular native, 475.
Anemone, 16, 17.
Animals, list of plants avoided by, 563 ;
food for, 563.
Angelica, 46; tree, 50.
Aniscsced tree, 39.
Anodyne, (see Narcotics), local, 44, 380,
417.
Antimony, substitute for, 486.
Antiperiodics, native, 38, 40, 43, 59, 96,
136, 238, 267, 372, 389, 390, 404, 412,
420, 427, 428, 436, 441, 446, 464, 480,
484, 494.
Antiscorbutics, sorrel as, 369, 370, 385.
Antispasmodics, native, 424, 425, 440,442,
444, 446, 448,' 525, 533, 544.
Antiseptics, vegetable, 356, 424, 43S, 442;
powder, 502; sugar as, 569.
428,429,437, 460, 465, 528, 537, 538, Anthelmintics, native (see "Vermifuge),
591. 22, 106, 362, 481, 404, 448, 527, 587.
Ambrosia, 419. Aphrodisiacs, native, 440, 443, 410,470,
American arbor vitas, 507. | 524, 546.
INDEX.
Apple, 150: cider from, 151, • liquor from,
160; wood for printing, 150; to store
up, 149; insects on, to prevent, 150;
substitute for dried, 65.
Apple, May, 77.
Aphis on apple and peach, to destroy,
150, 173.
Apocyne, 483.
Arbor vitae, for engraving and for hedges,
507, 173.
Aromatics, native, 38, 39, 45. 46, 47, 352,
•354, 357, 380, 416, 424, 426, 444, 447,
522, 532, 539, 546, 561, 585, 588.
Arnica, 426.
Arrow-head, 536.
Arrow-root, method of preparation and
cultivation, 512; Indian, 510; machine
for rasping, 513; to dry, 514; to pre-
pare and cultivate on plantations, 515,
536.
Artichoke, 420, 417; cultivation and uses,
421; burr, 428.
Arum, 542.
Asarin, 357.
Ash, 168, 167, 494.
Ashes, strength of and yield, 259 ; Potash,
etc., in, 260 ; use in soap making, 259,
326, 333, 590.
Asafoetida, substitute for, 424.
Asparagus (see Salads), 535, 175 : subst.
for, 275, 488, 535, 537, 538; subst. for
coffee, to prepare, 535.
Asparagine, 537, 535.
Aster, 414.
Astragalus, 177.
Astringents, native, 17, 18, 19, 20, 35, 58,
59, 71, 109, 138, 140, J 41, 144, 145, 146,
193, 199, 200, 201 to 208, 237, 238, 239,
257, 262, 266, 269, 271, 316, 345, 368,
:369, 370, 372, 380, 384, 387, 388, 389,
390, 415, 416, 424, 436, 437, 438, 439,
441, 444, 447, 463, 467, 522, 545, 590,
591.
Atamasco lily, 522.
Avens, white, 145.
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral, 600.
Bald cypress, 508.
Balm, 440; of Gilead tree, 506.
Baling cotton, wood for, 325.
Bands for cotton bales, 325.
Balsam, tree, 130 ; balsam plants yielding,
506, 507, 509.
Barbe de capucin, 433.
Barley, liquor from, 164.
Barberry, 51.
Barilla, plants yielding, 133, 360 (see
potash); to manufacture from fuci, 593.
Barks, to dry, 5; for cordage 103; see fibre,
yielding tannin (see Quercus), 241, et
seq.
■ Barometer, natural, 136, 177, 384, 590.
Bastard alkanet, 438.
Baskets, material for making, 62, 63, 380;
to prepare, 339.
Bas-s wood, 103.
Bay, singular properties ascribed to, 36,
3S0.
Beaver tree, 36; poison, 44.
Bear grass, to cultivate and prepare fibre
as substitute for hemp, 530, 531.
Bee pasture, plants for, 423, 440.
Beer, native plants yielding, to make, 195,
276, 279, 280, 353? 421, 479 ; French
army,353; persimmon, 387; to strength-
en, 425; spruce, 507; from China briar,
537; from corn, 552; small, 552.
Beech, ashes rich in potash, 236 ; oil from, .
237 : leaves for stuffing beds, 237 ; drops,
462.
Beds, material to stuff, 237, 4S8; see mat-
tresses.
Beet, vinegar from, 374; to extract sugar
from, 375 ; cultivation of, 375 ; to crys-
tallize, 571. -.
Belladonna, substitute for, 470J 477.
Bene, oil and mucilage from, 450 ; sub-
stitute for castor and olive oil, 450 ; to
extract,, 452.
Benzoic acid in plants, 561.
Benzoin, 354.
Bermuda arrow-root, to prepare, 512;
grass, 565.
Birch, red, 266; cherry, 265; sweet, 265.
Bird, catching, 392 ; lime, 64, 390 ; to
prepare, 391; to intoxicate, 528.
Bitters (see tonics), substitute for, 380,
478, 532, 546.
Biting knotweed, 370.
Black alder, 339; oak, 238; gum, 347;
drink, 393; walnut, 318; oil from in
toothache, 368 : spruce, 505, 507 ; root,
467, 419.
Blackberry, 140, 141; wine, to prepare,
141, 142 ; syrup, 143 ; cordial, 143 ; in
tanning leather, 242.
Blade tea, 548.
Bladder nut, 130.
Blazing star, 527.
Bleaching plants, method, 90.
Blistering plaster, substitute for, 16, 17,
IS, 19, 397; blistering fly, 16; to col-
lect, 398 ; see, also, Eseharotics.
Blood root, 30.
Blue flag, as a diuretic in dropsy, 523 ;
tripterella, 523; dyes, to extract, 179,
182; plants yielding, 187, 310, 316.
Boats, timber for, 306, 509 : bark, 508.
Bog rush, 589.
Boneset, 410.
Books, consulted, 1.
Bots. native remedy, 41, 107.
Box, 111 ; boxes, material for packing,
545.
Bougie, material for making, 310.
Bows, from Osage orange, 103.
Brake, 590.
Brandy, native material for making, 65 ;
from persimmon, 386.
Bread, substitute for, 177 ; from persim-
INDEX.
mon, 386; potato, 397; from roots of Carrot, 47.
plants, 541; hygienic, from corn, 549; Cartridge-boxes, material for, 349.
Indian loaf, 599 ; from rice, 580
Brewing (see Liquors), 280.
Brooklime, 468.
Brook pimpernel, 468 ; weed, 385.
Broom rape, 462.
Brooms, material for, 266, 508, 526 ; from
doura corn, 566, 567.
Brushes, native material for, 526.
Buckeye, 84.
Buckwheat, substitute for, 373.
Buffalo clover, 177; berry tree, 174.
Bugle weed, 441.
Bulrush, 537.
Burdock, 419.
Burning fluid, see Oil.
Burr, 419 ; artichoke, 428.
Butterfly weed, 485.
Butternut, 317.
Button, snakeroot, 43, 410 ; bush, 405.
Buttons, native materials for, 65, 84.
Byram's plan of cultivation and manu-
facture of silk, 282
Cabbage tree, 526; palmetto, 526; for
forts, wharves, thatch, etc., 526; skunk.
544.
Cabinet work, woods suited for, 11, 62,
41, 79, 80, 103, 104, 107, 120, 197, 150,
171. 188, 189, 311, 312, 318, 320, 321,
323, 343, 347, 392, 460, 494, 499, 505,
506, 507, 508, 509, 511, 590.
Cactus, 66.
Calabash, 65.
Calamus, an aromatic, 545.
Calico printing, plants used in, 406 ;
bush, 381.
Calomel, substitute for (see Deobstru-
ents and Alteratives), 431, 487.
Cake, plants yielding oil, 67, 69, 73, 118,
423.
Cammelina., an oil plant, 67.
Camphor, plants yielding, 199.
Canada, leatherwood, 350 ; snakeroot,
357 ; balsam, 506.
Canadian collinsonia, 201, 208, 444.
Cancer root, 462, 463; weed, 442.
Candles, to harden, 66, 501; from myr-
tle berries, 314; for war times, 500.
Cane, and reed, 587; see Chinese and
sugar-canes.
Cantharis vesic, 397; to collect, 398.
Cantharides, substitute for, 16, 19, 28, 40,
131, 176, 350, 510, 424; to prepare from
potato fly, 397.
Caoutchouc, plant producing, 120, 127,
128, 417, 539; to prepare, 487 (Inuline),
485.
Capers, 75 ; substitute for, 18.
Cardinal flower, 404.
Carmine ink, substitute for, 367.
Carminatives (see Aromatics), 416, 539,
546.
Carolina potato, 397 ; jalap, 397.
Casks, cider, 156 ; material for caulking,
545, 589.
Cassia, 196.
Cassina, 393.
Castor oil plant, mode of cultivation,
expression of oil, uses, etc., 112, 114,
115; self-hulling, 117; stearine from,
118; cake for manure, 118.
Catechu (seo Astringents), 147, 438.
Cataleptic power in plant, 447, 483.
Cathartic bromus, 587.
Cathartics, substitute for, 21, 29, 37, 65,
66, 126. 129, 139, 173, 175, 195, 305,
317, 358, 361, 370, 372, 376, 395, 396,
397, 407, 408, 411, 428, 431, 449, 465,
1 466, 467, 480, 484, 490, 523, 533, 565,
582, 587.
Catnip, 447 ; cattail, 57, 544 ; catweed,
426; catfoot, 427.
Cattail, as a substitute for cotton, and to
stuff mattresses, 544.
Caulking, material for, 545.
Caustic properties, plants possessing (see
Escharotics), 16, 18, 582.
Cedar, 507, 510 ; oil from, 510.
Celery, 45.
Cement for cisterns, 259.
Centaury, Am. 479.
Chairs, wood suited for making, 41, 79,
104, 257, 266, 311, 323, 589.
Chamomile, wild, 424; substitute for,
424, 425, 60.
Champagne, substitute for, 387.
Charcoal, qualities of, 241, 339, 497;
plants yielding for gunpowder, 267,
273, 339, 340, 362; to prepare, 339,
498 ; to purify water, 342 ; to clarify
vinegar, 498.
Cherokee rose, as hedge plant, 103.
Cherry, liquor from, 161, 170; birch, 265;
cordial and syrup, 170, 171.
Cheese, plants to flavor, 176, 406.
Chess, dye from, 587.
Chestnut, uses of, 238.
Chiccory, cultivation of, and admixture
with coffee, uses of, 431.
Chickweed, 136, 347, 384.
China briar, 537; grass, 272; vegetable
to cement, 532.
Chinese tea plant, cultivation and prep-
aration, 104.
Chinese sugar-cane, sugar, molasses, and
syrup from, to manufacture, value of,
567, et seq.; vinegar, paper, and coffee
from, 576, 577.
Chinquapin, astringency of, 237.
Chloroform, substitute for, 44 ; influence
on plants, 197.
Cider, manufacture of, 150 ; from mul-
berry, 305; persimmon, 387.
Cigars, pis. to flavor, 410; pectoral, 422.
Circhonine in Georgia, bark, 405; sub-
stitute for, 59.
INDEX.
Circulation, plants acting on; see Seda
tives.
Cisterns, cement for, 259.
Citric acid, mode of extracting, 108, 306,
Cloth from fibre, 272; plants yielding,
484, 488, 489; to render water-proof,
500; from mulberry, 307; plants to
wash, 590.
Clover, rabbit-foot, 177; buffalo, 177;
yellow, 176; red, 177; white, 177.
Club rush, 589.
Cob, corn, analysis of, 550; potash, lye,
and soda, soap from, 551.
Cochineal insect, 66, 67.
Cockle, 145.
Cocoons, method of treating, 280.
Coffee, 405; substitute for, 91, 435; from
cotton seed, 96; substitute suggested,'
177, 407, 195, 196; from potato, 400;
from chiccory, 431 ; Florida, 196; from
asparagus, 535; from acorns, 535; from
corn, 552; from Chinese sugar-cane,
577; from rice, 580; from wheat, 584.
Cohosh, 19.
Collinsonia, 445.
Colocynth, substitute for, 200, 485.
Colombo, American, 480.
Colt's-tail, 415.
Concentrated lye, to prepare, 259 ; potash
in, 327, 332 ; from corn, 551.
Confederate flax, 531.
Conium, substitute for, 44.
Consumption weed, 418.
Contrayerva, substitute for, 425.
Copaiba, substitute for, 378.
Copal varnish, plants yielding, 208 ; Co-
palm oil and resin, 344.
Corn, Indian, oil, sugar, paper, beer, soda,
soap, potash, bread, etc. from, 548, et
teq ; cobs, prod, of, 549; anal, of, 560
as food for horses, 550 ; soap from
shucks, 551; Guinea and doura, 566
Coral, Indian, 538.
Cordage, plants yielding, 350, 429, 435,
103, 271, 273 ; from mulberry, 305 ; wa-
hoo, 311 ; golden-rod, 417 ; Indian hemp,
484; spruce, 507; from bear grass, 530.
Cordial, cherry to make, 171; blackberry,
143.
Cork, substitute for, 347; tree, 265.
Cosmetic, plant used as, 534.
Cotton, 93 ; fibre in surgery, 95 ; subst.
for quinine, 95 ; substitute for coffee,
96, 544; soap from, 96, 100; gun cotton,
96 ; to decorticate seed, 97 ; cotton seed
oil and cake, 97; as a manure, 100;
wooden slats for baling, 259 ; recent
substitute for, 547 ; woody fibre unfitted
for, 547 ; microscop. exam. 548.
Counter irritants, see Escharotics.
Cow-pea, 194.
Crab apple, 149.
Cranberry, value, cultivation, and preser-
vation of, 383.
Cranesbill, 138.
Creosote, from pine, 498, 504.
Creeping cucumber, 65.
Cress, 71 ; see Salad, Virginian, 67.
Croton oil, substitute for, 28.
Crow foot, 13S.
Cryptogamous genera, 589.
Cucumber, tree, 38 ; creeping, 65 ; Indian,
529.
Culpepper, extracts from Nicholas, 37.
Cunilla, 445.
Currants, 174; wild, 168.
Custard, apple, 41.
Cutworm, to prevent, 107.
Cypress, 508, 509 ; powder, 543.
Cyperus, jointed, 588.
Daisy, ox-eyed, 426.
Dandelion, 429 ; substitute for coffee, ca-
outchouc in, 430.
Darnel, bearded, poisonous to wheat, 564.
Deadly nightshade, 468.
Deafness, plants relieving, 444.
Deer-grass, 57.
Delirium, caused by plants, 565.
Demulcents, native, 35, 76, 176, 310, 345,
352, 390, 418, 436.
Dentrifice, vegetable, 368.
Deobstruents, 145, 369, 429, 465, 528,
540; gee Alteratives.
Devil's fig, 28; wood, 493.
Dewberry, 141.
Diaphoretics, 446.
Digitalis, 461; substitute for, 465, 441.
Dill, 47.
Discutients, native, 78, 334, 537; see Es-
charotics.
Dittany, 445.
Diuretics, native, 39, 42, 43, 47, 64, 86,
120, 144, 272, 347, 356, 359, 368, 371,
377, 395, 403, 405, 408, 410, 415, 416,
419, 428, 435, 444, 468, 470, 510, 523,
530, 535, 542, 565.
Dock, 368, 370.
Dog's-tooth violet, 530.
Dog's-bane, 483, 484; pi, vomiting, 588.
Dogwood, 59; dog-fennel, 414; tested for
tannin, 346: to tan leather, 414.
Dollar plant, 193.
Doura corn, 566; subst. for wheat, 567.
Dragon's blood, 370; root, 540.
Dried fruit, substitute for, 65; fig, 309.
Drinks from native plants (see Liquors),
23, 157.
Duckweed, 21, 548.
Dwarf-nettle, 268; milk-weed, 488; pal-
metto, 527.
Dye from native plants, blue, 19, 131
178, 179, 183, 189, 316, 372, 494, 523
536; green, 18, 21, 262, 494, 534, 587
yellow, 16, 18, 21, 29, 52, 79, 103, 149
146, 173, 175, 188, 233, 239, 271, 322
371, 388, 389, 395, 406, 417, 419, 429j;
red, 33, 178, 367, 406; black, 55, 80
122, 204, 210, 240, 316, 319, 386, 442
484, 494, 310, 598; scarlet, 60, 63, 79
INDEX.
Xlll
cinnamon, 509, 267; purple, 80, 178?
262,379; crimson, 367: dove color, 80;
brown, 367; drab, 21; saffron, 173,"
in'oZet, 187; olive, 262; indelible, 367;
for bank notes, 598; </o/d, 308; solfe-
rino, 367; straw, 444.
Ebony, substitute for, 392.
Edible, psoralea, 177; plants (see Salad),
526, 529, 530, 536, 538, 542, 544, 599.
578, 594.
Eel grass, recent subst. for cotton, 547.
Elain, plants yielding, 547.
Elder, 408; spirits from, 409.
Elecampane and Inuline in native pi., 417.
Elm, slippery, 310.
Eggs, rearing silk worm, 291, 297.
Emmenagogues, native, 46, 47, 87, 94,
371, 426, 444, 476, 527.
Emetic, holly, 393; root, 401.
Emetics, native, 20, 29, 31, 42, 50, 57, 65,
85, 126, 127, 139, 147, 175, 267, 350,
365, 372, 401, 403, 407, 408, 411, 427,
444, 447, 448, 450, 465, 467, 4S0, 483,
484, 4S8, 489, 522, 528, 532, 533, 539.
Emollient plants; see Mucilaginous.
Endive, 431; substitute for, 433.
Engraving, wood for, see wood, ink for
from fuci, 598.
Ergot, cotton seed a substitute, 94.
Errhines, 358, 379, 38], 528.
Escharotics, native, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 31,
33, 43, 74, 77, 79. 120,121, 128, 139, 168,
201, 350, 366, 424, 471, 482, 486, 510,
523, 536, 541, 582, 585.
Essence of flowers to extract, 461.
Evaporation, singular, in sunflower, 422.
Expectorants, 486.
Experiments with nettle (Urtica) to check
bleeding, 269; with leaves of plants for
tannin, 346.
Eye-bright, 128, 401.
Eagine from beech, 235.
False acacia, 188.
Fans from palmetto, 527.
Farcle berry, 384.
Febrifuge ; see Antiperiodics and Quinine.
Fecundation in plants, 166.
Fennel, 46.
Fermentation, process of, 158, 165, 234.
Ferns, 589; royal, 591.
Fescue grass, value for swards, 586; for
materials for hats, 586.
Fetid plants, 544.
Fever root, 407; bush, 354; weed, 43.
Fever and ague, Dutch remedy for, 61.
Fibre, use of cotton in surgery, 95 ; plants
yielding useful, 68, 88, 90, 91, 92, 94,
272, 273, 274, 276, 417, 484, 489, 522,
524, 531, 582; substitute for cotton
exam., 547.
Fibrine in plants, 41.
Fig tree, 308; vinegar from, 308; molas-
ses from, 309; method of drying, 309,
blue and red color from, 309, 310;
devil's, 28.
Fiorin, for wet meadows, 563.
Fir, silver, 505, 506.
Fish, plants stupefying, 84, 175, 464; food
for, 585.
Fit root, 378.
Flag, blue, 523 ; as a diuretic and cathar-
tic, 523 ; sweet, 545.
Flax, cultivation and preparation of, oil
from, 88; subst. for, 423, 582; moun-
tain, 85 ; water, 548.
Flea bane, 415.
Flesh, antiseptics for, 356.
Flies, plants hostile to, see Insects.
Flowerless plants, 589.
Flowering fern, 591.
Flowers to collect and dry, 7; oil of, to
collect, 461, 466.
Fly, poison, 527; trap, examined, 53.
Fodder, prepare, 550.
Food, pi. to supply dur'g scarcity of, 541.
Formula} for native pi., 599.
Forty knot, 359.
Foxglove, 465.
Frankincense, 200, 506.
Fringe tree, 494.
Frost root, 415.
Fuci, iodine and kelp to man'f, 592, 593.
Fuel, excellent material for, 421.
Fumitory, 33.
Fungi, subterranean, 599; edible, cultiva-
tion, uses, etc., 594; parasitical, 598.
Gall of the earth, 435.
Gallic acid (see Astringents), 20, 202, 203.
Gamboge, substitute for, 29.
Garlic, 531; wild, 532.
Gelseminine, 461.
Gentian, 478; subst. for hops, 387, 479,
comp. tr., 546.
Georgia bark, subst. for quinine, 404.
Geranium, 138.
Ginger, substitute for, 357.
Ginseng, 48.
Glasswort, 361.
Glass, vegetable cement for, 532; plan to
make, 591.
Glue, substitute for, 149, 150, 525.
Gluten from wheat, to manufacture, 5S3;
plant yielding, 583.
Goat's rue, 187.
Gold of pleasure, as an oil plant, 67.
Golden, cassia, 196; granadilla, 23; club,
544; rod, 416, 417; seal, 18.
Gourd, 65.
Grape, native, cultivation, wine from, 213,
etseq.; rot in, 218; varieties, 229.
Grasses, best varieties, 561, et seq.
Grass, eel, recent subst. for cotton, 547 ;
best cultivated for food and pasture,
561, et seq.; benzoic acid in, 561; to
procure a double crop 562 ; avoided by
animals, 563 ; timothy, 565 ; period to
cut, 565 ; poisonous, 564; sugar in, 562;
INDEX.
couch, 561; best for hay, 562; to pre-
vent encroachment of water, 562; lime,
562; Bermuda, 565 ; vomiting dogs, 565;
Walter's, 581; marsh, 582; reed bent,
582; true blue, 585; meadow, 585;
fescue, 586 ; Am. orchard, 587 ; nut
grass, 588.
Ground-nut, 194 ; oil from, 195, 423.
Ground cherry, 473.
Guaiacum, substitute for, 111, 137.
Guano, substitute for, 504.
Guinea corn, value of, 566 ; brooms from
566.
Gulver root, 467.
Gum, resembling honey, 418; plants exud
ing, 466 ; Arabic, subst. for, 149, 173,
525; sour, 347; sweet, 344; leaves rec-
ommended in place of oak bark in
tanning, 345 ; black, 347.
Gun, powder, native wood for making, 61,
267, 273, 338, 339, 362; stocks, wood
for, 320, 323.
Hsemastatic virtues of nettle, 268 ; see
styptics.
Hair tonic, vegetable, 17.
Hardhack, 146.
Harvest drink, 166.
Hats, plants for making, 343, 526, 544,
586.
Hazel nut, 234.
Hay, substitute for, and securing of, 551 ;
best grasses for, 562, 586.
Heal all, 446.
Heartsease, 76.
Heat evolved by plants, 541, 544.
Hedges, plants for making, 148, 172, 102,
189, 195, 235, 508.
Hedge mustard, 71 ; hyssop, 465.
Hellebore, white, 528.
Hemlock, spruce, 506 ; American, 44.
Hemp, uses of to plant, 272 ; substitute
for, 273, 417, 484, 531 (see, also, fibre);
intoxicating, 273; substitute for, 67,
91, 489 ; beargrass for, 530.
Herbemont's ever bearing mulberry, 304.
Hercules' club, 137.
Hickory, uses of, 322; as a dye, 322; for
potash, in making soaps, 325 ; bands
for baling cotton, 325.
Hides, to prepare and dress, 245, et seq.
Hippo, Carolina, 126, 127; wild, 126.
Hogs, fat of, fed on beech, 235, 237; mul-
berry for, 304.
Holly, mucilage and bird lime in, 390,
393.
Honey, plants yielding poisonous, 379,
381, 418, 460; locust, 195; suckle,
408 ; dew on plants, 103, 276.
Hoodwort, 446.
Hoops for casks, wood for, 238, 323, 338,
335 ; set; Wood.
Hop, uses and cultivation of, 275, 277 ;
substitute for, 280, 421, 424; formula
for, 600.
Horehound, 448 ; in catarrhs, 449 ; water,
449.
Horse chestnut, 84; as suitable for opium,
used in place of soap, and for produc-
tion of starch, 84; horse gentian, horse
mint, 443; nettle, 470; weed, 444;
tails, 590.
Hound'stongue, 439.
Huckleberry, 384.
Hydrocyanic acid, plants yielding, 170,
171, 173.
Hydrophobia, native remedy for, 446,
447.
Hygrometer, rustic, 177, 136, 3S4, 590.
Hyssop, 465.
Indelible ink, from plants, 201, 202, 368,
441 ; for bank notes, 598.
Indian, cucumber, 529 ; mallows, 91 ;
physic, 147 ; tobacco, 401 ; poke, 528 ;
hemp in asthma, 484 ; meal, 538 ; coral,
538 ; turnips, 540 ; corn, oil paper, su-
gar, bread, soap, soda, potash, etc.,
from, 548, et seq. ; bread, '599; loaf,
599 ; millet, 566.
Indigo, method of extracting blue color
from, 179; wild, 175; sowing of seeds,
180 ; to obtain . indigo on plantations,
185; for family use, 186; indigo vat,
184; bastard, 187; substitute for, 188,
372 ; see Dyes.
Infection, plant preservative against, 546.
Ink berry, 390 ; indelible, 368, 441, 201,
202 ; sympathetic, 308 ; red, carmine,
367; black, 309; indestructible for bank
notes, 598.
Insects, plants noxious to, 409, 414, 426,
466, 107, 362, 532 ; on cotton plant, 96 ;
on orange, 109; to relieve bite, 401;
powder to destroy, 362.
Instinct in trees, 460.
Intoxication, plants inducing, 425, 564 ;
ee Liquors.
Inuline, curious properties of, 417.
Iodine, in plants to manufacture, 592.
Ipecacuanha, substitute for, 29, 120, 147,
358 ; wild, 126, 407, 485.
Iris. 523.
Irish potato, starch from, 471.
Iron wood, 233, 3S5.
Irritability in plants, 197, 460, 35.
Itch, weed, 382, 528; plants applied to
relief of itch and mange, 382, 527.
Ivy bush, 381.
Jalap, 397; substitute for, 407, "396, 397;
wild, 21 ; formula for, 600, 601.
Jamestown weed, 474.
Jerusalem oak, 361, 363; artichoke, 417,
420 ; as food, substitute for potato, cul-
tivation, for pickles and starch, 420 ;
potash in, 421.
Jessamine, sedative and poisonous prop-
erties of, 461 ; substitute for digitalis,
461 ; in yellow fever, 461.
INDEX.
XV
Jewel weed, 139.
Jointed Gyperus, 588.
Judas tree, 197.
Juniper, to season liquors, 162; formula,
599.
Kalmia, 381.
Kelp, plants yielding, 133, 134; to man-
ufacture, 593.
Kino, see Catechu.
Knot grass, 372 ; weed, 444.
Kyanizing wood, method of, 503.
Lady's slipper, 425.
Lampblack, from turpentine, 497.
Larkspur, 19.
Laudanum, (see Opium) subst. for, 275.
Laurel, swamp, 36.
Laxatives, see Cathartics.
Leather, to tan, (see Tannin) 202, 203, 204,
208, 242, 146 ; tanning on plantations,
249, et seq.; experiments with leaves of
gum and myrtle, and dog fennel, 345,
414 ; substitute for, 349 ; preparation to
preserve, 497 ; to make water-proof,
500; wood, 350.
Leaves, to dry, 7 ; influence of ohloroform
on, 197 ; to be collected for cavalry
horses, 563.
Lee, Dr. Daniel, method of tanning leath-
er, 245.
Lemon, to procure citric acid from, 107;
oil from, 108.
Leptandrine, 468.
Lettuce, 43 ; wild, 435.
Lichens, 589.
Life-everlasting, 426.
Light, influence on leaves, 198.
Lily, water, 35 ; of the valley, 533.
Lime tree, tea from, and cordage, 103.
Lime, phosphate of, in plants, 544.
Linseed oil, uses of, 89 ; substitute for,
423 ; see, also, Oils.
Liquorice, substitute for, 49, 51 ; cultiva-
tion and preparation of, 49; wild, 51.
Liquors, from fruit, 42, 48, 23, 156, 157,
142, 162, 189, 195, 266, 305, 386,409;
to prepare, 157, 162, 166; to flavor,
380 ; to strengthen, 425.
Liriodendrine, in fever, 40.
Liver, wort, 17 ; plants acting on (see De-
obstruents and Alteratives), 413, 42S,
429, 465.
Live oak, 263.
Live fences, 102; (see Hedges).
Lizard's tail, 334.
Lobelia, 401 ; as a relaxant, 402.
Lobelic acid, 402.
Locust tree, yellow, 188; honey, 195;
clammy, 193 ; cultivation of for ship
building, 190.
Long moss, 524.
Love apple, vine, 395.
Lucerne, 176.
Lungwort, 464.
Lupulin, 275.
Lye, concentrated, to make, 259; to ex-
tract from ashes, and to use in soap
making, 261, 327, 332; see Potash and
Soda.
Machine for rasping arrow-root, 513;
making sugar, 572, et seq.
Madder, import., cultiv., and uses of as a
dye plant, 406 ; subst. for, 407.
Madeira nut, for oil and oil cake, 321.
Mad dog skullcap, 446.
Maiden hair, 591.
Magnolia, 36, 38, 39.
Mahogany, 87; substitute for, 171,321;
mountain, 265.
Maize, oil, sugar, beer, potash, soda, bread,
paper from, 548, et seq.
Malaria, plants neutralizing, 56; harrier
against, 422; influence of pine on 422;
see, also, Antiperiodics.
Malate of lime, 167.
Malic acid, 150; plants yielding and pre-
paration of, 167.
Mallows, 90, 91.
Mandrake, 21.
Mangle, 55.
Manna, subst. for, 565, 585; croup, 585.
Maple, red, 79; sugar, mode of ext'g, 80.
Maritime scirpus, 589.
Marcet's exp. on sensibility in plants, 197,
198.
Marsh, club rush, 589; mallow, 90; rose-
mary, 437 ; grass, 582.
Mate, or Paraguay tea, 394.
Mattresses, material for, 237, 489, 524, 525,
544.
Maryland cunilla, 445.
May-apple, vinegar from, 21, 77, 577;
weed, 424.
Meadow garlic, for pickling, and subst.
for garlic, 531; grass, 585.
Meal, white and red, 538, 541; hygienic
bread from corn, 549; pi. poisoning, 564.
Meat, plants to preserve, 42, 552; subst.
for, 195.
Meekweed, 467.
Medeola, Virginian, 529.
Melilot clover, 176.
Methylene, plants yielding, 380.
Mezereon, substitute for, 350.
Milfoil mint, 424.
Milk, subst. for, 64; to coagulate, see
Rennet; sickness, remedy for, 148;
vetch, 177.
Mississippi nut, 333.
Mistletoe, 63.
Mitchella, 404.
Mock moccason, 425.
Molasses, subst. for, 64; plants yielding,
309 ; from Ch. sugar-cane, 567, et seq.
Monarda, 443.
Moonseed, 376.
Moss, long, in stuffing beds, cushions, etc.,
524.
INDEX.
Mosses, 589.
Motherwort, 448.
Moth mullein, 464.
Mountain, ash, 167, 168; berry, 380 ; flax,
85; laurel for engraving, 380; mahog-
any, 265 ; sumach, 207.
Mouse ear, 414.
Moxa, prep, from cotton, 96 ; from sun-
flowers, 422.
Mucilaginous plants, native, 56, 66, 90,
91, 140, 149, 176, 310, 332, 345, 390,
391, 405, 418, 439, 451, 463, 466, 502,
534, 537, 565, 589.
Mucuna, substitute for, 234.
Mulberry, to feed silk worms, 280 ; ever-
bearing, 304; propagation of, 283; syrup
from, 305; paper from, 305; French,
449.
Mullein, 463; moth, 464.
Murrain, to relieve, 20.
Mushroom, edible, to select, 594 ; to prop-
agate, 595 ; plan in S. C, 597 ; anti-
dote to poisonous, 597.
Muskmelon, 64.
Musk, substitute for, 533.
Musical instruments, wood for making,
312.
Mustard, 72 ; cult, and prep, of, 73.
Myope, rice diet upon, 579.
Myrtle, sea, 418 ; wax from, 312 ; leaves
for tanning, 313, 345; for soap and
eandles, 314 ; to make, 315 ; leaves in
place of oak bark in tanning, 345.
Narcotics, native, 18, 23, 31, 44, 129, 350,
380, 382, 383, 401, 40S, 410, 426, 435,
437, 439, 448, 461, 463, 469, 474, 481,
4S3, 494, 525, 528, 532, 564.
Nausea, to allay, 416; nauseants, see
Emetics.
Nearsightedness, influence of food upon,
579.
Neckweed, 467.
Nettle, dwarf, 268 ; hsernastatic virtues of,
269; stinging, 119; red, 270 ; leaf ver-
vain, 450.
New Jersey tea tree, an astringent, and
subst. for foreign tea, 109; cider, 151.
Nightshade, 468.
Nine bark, 147.
Nitrate of potash, plants yielding, 363,340.
Nitre, plants yielding, 326, 340, 376, 428;
to prepare, 340 ; see Potash.
Nonesuch, 176.
Nut, oil, to procure, 234 ; grass, 588.
Oak, bark, to collect for tanning, 240, et
seq,- white, 257; black, 238; red, 263;
quercitron, 238; balls, 238?'of Jerusa-
lem, 361, 363; Spanish, 256; poison,
200 ; live, 263 ; scrub, potash in, 504.
Oat, 5S3.
Oil, nut, 317: to procure, 234; olive, cult.
and prep, of, 490; nature and mode of
extracting, 457; to clarify, 457, 461 ; of
flowers to extract, 460, 461 ; press, 455 ;
volatile, 416 ; to extract, 459, 481, 485 ;
for food, 422, 453, 490 ; essential, 533,
380 ; blue, 425, 440, 445 ; from cotton
seed, 494; aromatic, 199, 200, 351, 507,
510, 363, 416 ; to cultivate, 440 ; to ex-
tract, 459 ; styptic, 415, 416 ; painter's
234; from beech, 237; for soaps, 457;
for burning, etc., 24, 63, 67, 72, 78, 94,
122, 135, 188, 194, 235,' 273, 313, 322,
422 ; amount yielded by different seeds,
453; subst. for olive, 24, 29, 63, 74, 194,
234, 235, 422, 451; subst. for castor, 29,
111, 451 : cake, 67, 73, 88, 94, 118, 124,
322, 422, 423 ; peculiar volatile, 546 ;
from corn, 553; poisonous from darnel,
564.
Okra, 91; substitute for, 76.
Old man's beard, 494.
Olive oil, subst. for, 24, 29, 63, 74, 490 ;
European; to cultivate and extract oil,
etc., 490.
Ooze, to prepare in tanning, 256.
Onion, tree, 531 ; subst. for, 532.
Opium, poppy (see Narcotics), 23, 27; cul-
ture, 28; gum, to collect and prepare.
25, 27; subst. for, 29, 84, 18, 147, 275J
276.
Orach, 361.
Orange and lime in Florida, 107; essence
and wine from, 10S.
Orange root, 18; wild, 171; Osage, 102;
grass, 79.
Orchard grass, 587.
Orchis, 524.
Origanum, 443.
Osage orange, as hedge plant, 101; as dye
stuff, 103.
Osier willow, for baskets, 335 ; to culti-
vate and dress, 336.
Oxalate of potash, 140, 369.
Oxalic acid in plants, 369.
Ox-eyed daisy, 426.
Packing, material for, 545.
Palma Christi, uses, cultivation, and ex-
pression of oil from, 112.
Palmetto, 526 ; saw, for mattresses, pil-
lows, hats, 525; potash in, 526: for
wharves, dates from, 526; dwarf, fans
from, 527.
Painters, oil for, to procure, 234, 273.
Panicum, spiked, 565.
Papaw, influence on meat, 41.
Paper, native material for making, 16, 70,
93, 545 ; from cotton plant, 96 ; from
mulberry, 305, 307 ; from sunflower,
443 ; from agave, 522 ; Chinese paper
from typha, 545; from corn leaves, 558;
from sugar-cane, 573.
Parmentier, on conversion of starch from
roots into food, 542.
Parsley, 45.
Parilla, 376.
Partridge berry, 380, 405.
INDEX.
Passion flower, 77.
Pea, 194.
Peach, 173; to dry, aphides on, 173.
Pear, 149, 166; to store, 149; to make
productive, 166.
Pecan nut, 333.
Pennyroyal, 446.
Pepper, 468; grass, 67; mint, 440.
Persimmon, tannin in, 385 ; beer from,
387; vinegar and syrup from, 3S8, 577.
Perspiration extraordinary in plants, 422.
Peruvian bark, substitute for, 59, 88.
Perry, to prepare, 149.
Peterwort, 78.
Pbasnogamous species, 15.
Picromar, 504.
Pillows (see Mattresses).
Pimpernel, 384, 468.
Pindar, oil from, 194.
Pine, long leaved, varied uses of, turpen-
tine, pj'roligneous acid from, etc., 495 ;
influence on ozone, malaria, 495 ; pitch
pine, uses of tar from, 504, 505 ; white,
505; Spanish gum, uses of, 505; north-
ern, 505 ; substitute for, 506; weed, 79 ;
"Walter's pine, substitute for northern,
506; mucilaginous, 506; Weymouth,
export of, 505.
Piuk root, 481.
Pipes, material for, 537.
Pipe stems, plants furnishing, 130, 310,
379.
Pipsissewa, 377 ; diuretic tonic, 378.
Piquette, to manufacture, 159.
Plane stocks, materials for, 150 (see Cabi-
net work).
Plantain, 436 ; water, 536.
Plants (see Wood), to collect and dry, 5 ;
for cabinet purposes, 11; easily pro-
curable, medicinal, 8, 412 ; for wood
engraving, 11, 59, 168; soft woods, 13;
luminous property in, 55 ; intox. fish
84; yielding thread (see "Fibre"), ma-
terial for paper, 16, 70, 93, 274, 305;
potash in, see "Potash;" oil from, see
"Oil;" sugar in, 321, 81,318; yield
ing liquors, 159, 161; see "Liquors;"
for tanning, see "Tanning;" yielding
charcoal, see "Charcoal;" see "Poison-
ous Plants," discovery of new medici-
nal, 529, 563; evolving heat, 541, 544;
list of those avoided by animals, 563 ;
yielding gluten, 483.
Pleurisy root, substitute for antimony and
calomel, 485.
Poisonous plants, 380, 382, 383, 3S4, 404,
460, 469, 476, 485, 527, 528, 564.
Poison, ash, 494 ; oak, 200 ; sumach, 206
Pokeweed, 365 ; crimson, dye from, 367 ;
potash from, 366; to color wine, 366
Pomegranate, 58.
Pond lily, 35; spice, 355.
Poppy, opium, 23, 28 ; preparation and
cultivation of, 27 ; Mexican, 28 ; prick-
ly, 28.
Potash, binox. of, 140, 369 ; plants yield-
ing, 34, 47, 80, 84, 526> 359, 360, 421,
423, 473, 236 ; to extract, 260, 325, 360 ;
to prepare, 326, 328 ; from weeds, 328,
421, 504; nitrate of, 363, 376, 590, from
fuci, 594.
Potato, sweet, 397; coffee from, 400 ; starch
from, 400; blistering flies on, 400; to
cleanse silk, 400, 472; Irish, starch
from, 471 ; yam, a substitute for, 539.
Prickly, ash, 136, 137 ; pear, to harden
tallow, 66 ; poppy, 28.
Pride of India, 106; as vermifuge, and
for cabinet purposes, 107.
Printing blocks, material for, 122 ; see
wood engraving, 150, 168.
Prussic acid, plants yielding, 170, 171,
172.
Puccoon, 30; formulas for, 599, 601.
Purgatives, plants supplying, see Cathar-
tics.
Pyroligneous acid from pine, 498; vinegar
from, 498.
Pumpkin, 64.
Pupil, plants dilating, 470, 476.
Purslane, 131.
Putty root, substitute for gum arabio, 525,
Quass, manufacture, 164.
Quassia, 137.
Queen's delight, 121.
Quercitron, 239 ; oak, 239.
Quinine (see Antiperiod.), substitute for,
•S3S, 334, 372, 405, 412.
Rabbit-foot clover, 177.
Radish, water, 71.
Rag weed, 419 ; root, 429.
Raspberry, wild, 144.
Rattlesnake's master, 50, 522 ; plants hos-
tile to, 494.
Reed mace, 544; burr, 545.
Red-bird salad, 197 ; chickweed, 384; clo-
ver, 177.
Refrigerants, 139, 140, 368, 369, 383, 437,
534, 536.
Reeling of silk, 300.
Rennet, plant acting as, 77, 131, 139, 406,
482.
Rhubarb, substitute for, 368, 370, 396,
480 ; culture of, in Confederate States,
373; preparation of roots, 374.
Rhus, antidote for, 201.
Ribwort, 437.
Rice, Carolina, uses of, effect in producing
myope, 578; starch from, 578; bread
from, 580 ; substitute for coffee, 580.
Roots, to dry, 7; furnishing starch and
food, 541, 542, 544.
Rope, wahoo, for baling cotton, 311;
material for, 350.
Rose, 460, 461 ; water to prepare, 460 ; oil
to prepare, 461; acacia, 189; rose-
mary, 437.
Rosaries, seeds for making, 130.
XV1U
INDEX.
Rosin from pine, 497 ; from cypress, 509.
Rouge, substitute for, 439.
Royal fern, 591.
Rubefacients (see Escharotics), 17, 31, 33,
74.
Rue, Turkey, 187.
Rush, white, 582.
Rye, substitute for coffee, 5S4.
Saccharine matter in grasses, 225; see,
also, Wine and Sugar.
Sage, 442 ; cultivation of, 443.
Sago from potato, 397 ; from arum, 543.
Salad, substitute for, 56, 57, 67, 72, 73,
131, 136, 276, 369, 430, 529, 544.
Saliein, 335.
Salivation caused by plants, 128, 136, 137,
177, 410, 436, 447, 486; plants arrest-
ing, 420 ; see Alteratives.
Saliva, plants tinging, 436.
Salt, economy in, 332, 503.
Saltwort, 359; yielding soda, SCO; marsh
grass, 582.
Sap of tree?, liquors from, 163; sugar
from, 318, 321.
Saponine, 132.
Sampson's snakeroot, 478.
Sand-paper, substitute for, 415.
Sanguinaria, 599.
Sanicle, 42.
Sarsaparilla, 51, 132, 376; substitute for,
460, 537.
Sassafras, 350; substitute for gum arabic,
351, 352; beer from, 353.
Savin, substitute for, 510.
Saw palmetto for mattresses and hats, 525.
Scabish, 55.
Scarlet pimpernel, 3S4.
Scouring rush, 582.
Skullcap, 446.
Sea myrtle, 418; grape, 376; orach, 361 :
weed, soda, iodine, and potash from,
593; as manure, 594.
Sedatives, plants acting as, 19, 20, 30, 44.
47, 5S, 103, 169, 172, 173, 382, 383, 401,
441. 465, 469, 525. 528, 535.
Seneka snakeroot, 85.
Senna, wild, 195.
Sensibility in plants, 197.
Sensitive plant, 197.
Serpentaria, 355, 357.
Service tree, 161, 168; drink from, 162.
Side-saddle flower, 53.
Silk, making of, 280 ; rearing of worms and
processes, 281,e/ xeq.; substitute for, 489.
Silkweed for cloth, thread, cushions, etc.,
489; cultivation of, 489.
Silica in plants, 415, 590.
Silver fir, 506.
Simpler's joy, 450.
Sisal hemp, to cultivate and prepare, 58 :
to cleanse, rot, the fibre, 519, et seq.
Skunk cabbage, 544.
Sheep laurel, 381; sorrel, 308; plants
poisonous to, 379.
Ship building, timber for, 188, 189, 236,
263, 505, 507; see wood for cabinet
work.
Shoe wax, to make, 206; wooden shoes,
343. 348.
Shrub, 199.
Shucks, soap, paper, soda, manufactures
from, 551, et seq.; yarn from, 561.
Smart-weed,370.
Smilacine, 538.
Smith, Dr. J. L. on crystal, sugar, 570.
Smut caused by barberry, 52 ; to prevent,
598.
Snake-head, 465; plantain, 437; weed, 44;
root, 43, 85, 355, 357, 358; Sampson's
snakeroot, 478: black snakeroot, 19.
Snuff, plants to flavor, 546.
Soapwort, 132.
Soap, plants furnishing, 69, 83, 84, 96, 107,
132, 325, 423 ; soft, to make, 134, 332,
hard, 259. 331 ; to make with lye, 261,
316; economical, 262, 331, 332; from
myrtle berries, 314 ; from resin without
grease, 501 ; from corn shucks, 551,
561; plants acting as, 590; from sea-
weed, 593.
Soda, plants yielding, 133, 359, 551 ; to
manufacture, 133, 134, 360; from kelp,
590, 593.
Soft rush, 537.
Solanina, 469, 471, 472.
Solferino, color, 367.
Solomon's seal, 534.
Sorghum and sorgho suere, sugar and
syrup from, to manufacture, 567, et seq. ;
mill for, 568.
Sorrel, 3H8, 374.
Sour wood, 379 ; gum, 347.
Sow thistle, 436.
Soup, plant to make, 195, 585.
Sparterie, for baskets, 343.
Spearmint, 440.
Speedwell, 466.
Spice bush, 354.
Spicy wintergreen, 3S0.
Spiders, to relieve sting of, 401.
Spigeline, 4S2.
Spikenard, American, 51.
Spinach, substitute for, 136.
Spirits, from plants (see Liquors).
Spotted wintergreen, 377.
Spruce, 505 ; bemlock, for tanning, 506 ;
black, 507 ; essence of, 507; white, 507;
beer, 279.
Spurge, 128.
Spurry, 135 ; to improve soils, 561.
Squaw root, 462.
St. John's wort, 78.
Staggers, plant causing, 522.
Starch, plants yielding, 53, 84, 524, 537;
from potato, 397, 400, 422; to extract
and prepare, 516 ; by fermentation,
517; to wash and pack for sale, 518,
534, 536, 539; from Indian turnip, 541,
from roots, to be converted into bread.
INDEX.
542 ; from corn, 553 ; from rice, 578 ;
from wheat, to manufacture, 584.
Star-flower, 532 ; grass, 532, 533.
Stearine, plant yielding, 122, 124.
Steeple bush, 146.
Sternutatories, native 31, 483, 358, 533.
Stitchweed, 136.
Stimulants, plants yielding, 85, 427, 542,
543.
" Stomachics, native, 39, 479. 480, 532.
Stramonium, 474.
Strawberry, 144.
Styptic weed, 130, 196, 424; styptics,
424, 426.
Sugar-cane, 577, 570 ; et seq.; paper and
syrup from, 573 ; wax from, 578.
Sugar maple, 80 ; to extract sugar from,
81.
Sugar, to manufacture, 81, 567; et seq.;
berry, 312; plants producing, 79, 80,
92, 539 ; to clarify with vegetable albu-
men, 92 ; from sap of walnut, 318,
321 ; from beet, 375; from sap of trees,
318, 321, 396; from potato, 400; from
silkweed, 488 ; to prepare and manufac-
ture from corn, 553 ; Naudain and
Webb's method, 553, 558; large amount
in lime grass, 562 ; Chinese sugar, mo-
lasses, and syrup from, to manufacture,
567; et seq.; mill for, 268; antiseptic
power of, 569; to crystallize, 570, 577.
Sumachs, 201, 202, 204, 206, 207; anti-
dote to poisoning by, 201, 273, 450,
541; cultivation of for tannin, 209; and
for calico printing in Sicily, 209.
Sun, dew, 73 ; flower, extraordinary evap-
oration in, oil, cigars from, cultivation
of, 422 ; paper from, 423 ; potassa and
oil from, 423.
Swallowwort, 488.
Swamp laurel, 36 ; dogwood, 62.
Sweet, birch, 265, 380 ; gum, for tanning,
344; leaf, 388, 3S9; shrub, 199; potato,
397.
Syrup, of wild cherry, 171 ; astringent,
388 ; to manufacture from Ch. sugar-
cane, 567, et seq., 591.
Tallow tree, 122; candles and soap to ob-
tain from it, 123.
Tannin, plants yielding (see Astringents);
to extract, 209, 210, 379, 380, 415, 438,
445, 591 ; leaves tested for, 345 ; (see
Khus, Quercus, and Liquidambar).
Tanning leather, plants for, 146, 201 to 211,
240, 243, 267, 316, 345, 384, 494, 546;
method described by Dr. Lee, 245 ; easy
method on plantations, 249 ; method
from So. Cultivator, 255 ; leaves sug-
gested to be used in, 345 ; dogfennel
and gum for, 346.
Tansy, 425.
Tanya, indelible dye from, 367.
Tar water, 504.
Taraxacum, uses of, 428.
Tare, 194.
Tea, antispasmodic from Tilia, 103, 525;
Chinese tea plant, cult, and subst. for,
104, 140, 144, 380, 389, 390, 391, 393,
417, 482; New Jersey tea tree, 109;
demulcent and aromatic, 352, 354; flavor
of green tea, 523 ; blade, 553.
Telegraph poles, wood for, 510.
Terebene and turpentine, 501.
Textile plants, see '< Fibre."
Thatch, pi. for, 590.
Thirst, plants allaying, 379.
Thistles, 436.
Thorn-apple, 28, 474, 477.
Thoroughwort, 410, 413.
Thread from pi. (see Fibre), 88, 272, 489.
Thyme, 444.
Tickweed, 446.
Tilleul, subst. for soothing tea from, 103.
Timber, best time to fell, 241 ; to season,
258; relative strength of, 258; density
of, 264; effect of soil and season upon
263; selection of, 264; height of, 264.
Timothy grass, peculiarity of seed, 566.
Titi, for pipe stems, 130.
Tobacco, 473; subst. for, 29, 62, 358; to
flavor, 410, 439, 473, 546.
Tomato, 472.
Tonics, native, 18, 21, 33, 36, 39, 54, 61,
63, 136, 138, 146, 169, 344, 356, 376,
377, 389, 390, 413, 415, 427, 428, 435,
445, 448, 466, 478, 480, 524, 527, 532,
546.
Tool handles, wood for, see "Cabinet," 235.
Toothache, remedy for, 447; bush, 50, 136,
137.
Torchwood, 200.
Touch-me-not, 139.
Traveller's joy, 16.
Trees, height, strength, etc.; see "Timber."
Trefoil, 177.
Tripterella, blue, 523.
True blue grass, value in enriching lands,
585.
Trumpet flower, 460.
Tuckahoe, 599.
Tulip tree, 39; poplar, 39.
Tupelo, 347 ; for making utensils, shoes,
etc., 348.
Turkey pea, 187.
Turmeric, IS.
Turnsole, 438.
Turpentine, extraction, uses, etc., 495,
499; soap from, 496; effects upon sys-
tem, 499; to render leather and cloth
water-proof, 500; terebene from, 501;
as a burning fluid, 501.
Twine, material for, 531 ; (see Cordage).
Twin-leaf, 21.
Ultramarine blue from plants, 536.
Umbrella tree, 38; wood for handles of,
235.
Unicorn root, 532.
Uterus, influence of cotton seed on, 94.
XX
INDEX.
Valerian, substitute for, 525.
Vanilla, substitute for, 173; wild, 410.
Varnishes, pl.yielding, 200, 202, 207, 208.
Vegetable stearine, 125; wax, 313; see Oil.
Veneering, material for, 16, 79, 80.
Venus fly-trap, 35.
Veratrum viride and ver^atria, 528; mode
of using as a sedative, 529.
Vermifuges, native, 22, 39, 41, 48, 106,
132, 234, 280, 361, 363, 404, 449, 466,
481, 507, 510, 588, 590.
Veronica, 467.
Vervain, 450.
Vesicants; see Escharotics.
Vetch, 194.
Violet, common, 75; hand-leaved, 76;
dog's-tooth, 530.
Vinegar, native material for (see Sumach),
64, 150,308; from honey, 308; from
fig, 308; from beet, 374; persimmon,
388; from pyroligneous aeid, 498; from
Chinese sugar-cane, 576.
Vine, grape, 213; wine from, to make,
214, et seq.
Virgin's bower, 16.
Virginian veronica, 407; lycopus, 441;
cress, 67; swallowwort, 488; silk, 488;
medeola, 529.
Vitality in plants, 395.
Volatile oil, peculiar, 546.
Vomiting, plants allaying, 440, 444, 527.
Wake robin, 540.
Walnut, 317, 318; sugar and oil from,
318; leaves as alterative, 319 ; for gun
stocks, 320; Persian, 321.
Wahoo, 311; rope and cordage from, 311.
Walter's pine, 506; grass, 581.
Washing, economical mode of, 261.
Water-proof material, 89; to purify, 342;
chickweed, 347; cress, 71 ; fescue, 587;
flax-seed, 548 ; horehound, 440 ; lily,
35 ; melon, 64 ; pepper, 370 ; radish,
witch-hazel, to detect, 59; plantain,
536 ; grass to prevent encroachment
of, 562.
Wax, insect, 122; to obtain from myrtle,
313; nature of, 313; myrtle, 312; from
sugar-cane, 578.
Weeds, as manure, and to prevent spread
of, 564; alkaline salts in, 504.
Weeping willow, 343.
Weymouth pine, uses of, 505.
Wheat, gluten, and starch from, 583; sub-
stitute for, 235, 567; from doura corn,
567; bitters, 587; smut in, 598; poi-
soned, 564.
White, hellebore, 312, 523 ; substitute for,
67; ash, 494; cedar, 509 ; beech, 235;
avens, 145 ; oak, baling for cotton, 25S ;
and strength of fibre, 258 ; weed, 420 ;
wood, 39; poplar, 343; spruce, 507;
rush, 582.
Whortleberry, 384.
Wild chamomile, 424; carrot, 48; cherry,
169; syrup of, 170, 179; coffee, 196;
currant, 168; endive, 431; ginger, 357;
rose-bay, 380 ; horehound, 413; hippo,
126; indigo, 173, 178; ipecac, 127;
jalap, 21 ; lettuce, 435 ; lemon, 21; liq-
uorice, 51; orange, 171; potato vine,
396; raspberry, 144; radish, 72; sarsa-
parilla, 51 ; senna, 195 ; strawberry,
144; yam, 334; vanilla, 410; garlic,
532 ; yam, 539.
Willow, 334; osier, 335; purple, 335; for
baskets, 336 ; to cultivate, 336 ; red, 62.
Wine, from native grape, to manufacture,
213, el seq.; cellars for, 213 ; Prof. Jack-
son's plan of making wine, 214; from
grape leaves, 219; Hume's method, 222;
in California, 225 ; red, 228 ; fermenta-
tion, 165,232,234; from orange, 108;
blackberry, to make, 141, 142 ; from
sap of birch, 268 ; to color, 366.
Wing-rib sumach, 207.
Winterberry, 389; green, 377, 380.
Witch-hazel, 58; in detecting water, 59 ;
alder.
Wood, substitute for, as dye wood, 417.
Woodbine, 408; anemone, 16; sorrel, 139,
140. .
Wood, native, for engraving, 11, 62, 122,
150, 168, 233, 266, 381, 386, 392, 508;
soft and hard, 12, 62, 233, 358, 382, 384,
493, 235, 266, 507; for cabinet and
manufacturing purposes, 11, 62, 79, 80,
103, 104, 107, 150, 171, 188, 189, 120,
233, 235, 236, 237, 238, 257, 266, 306,
310, 311, 312, 318, 320, 323, 343, 392,
460, 494, 499, 505, 506, 507, 511;
strength of fibre of, 257, 263 ; dye from,
16, 18, 21, 182, 240 (see Dyes) ; relative
density of wood, 263, 507, 511 ; influ-
ence of soil upon, 263 ; for fuel, 421 ;
duration impregnated with sulphate of
copper, and method, 502, 511; to pre-
serve by chemical agencies, 503; for
ship building, 505, 507, 511; for gun-
stocks, 320.
Wormseed, 361.
Wormwood, for supply of potash, 364.
Woorari, from plant, 483.
Xanthoxylin, 137.
Yam root, wild, to cult, and store, 539.
Yarrow, wild, 424.
Yaupon, tea from, 393.
Yellow grass, 533; clover, 176; lady's
slipper, 525 ; locust tree, 188 ; moccason,
525, parilla, 376;' root, 18, 21; star
thistle, 28 ; star grass, 533 ; sarsaparilla,
376,460.
INDEX
BOTANICAL NAMES OF GENERA AND SPECIES.
Abies balsamea, 506.
" Canadensis, 506.
" Nigra, 507.
" Alba, 507.
Abutilon Avicennse, 91.
Acalypha Virginica, 120.
Acer rubrum, 79.
" saccharinum, 80.
Achillea millefolium, 424.
Achyranthes repens, 359.
Aconitum uncinatum, 441.
Acorus calamus, 545.
Actsea racemosa, 19.
Adiantum, 590.
" pedatum, 591.
iEsculus pavia, 84.
Agave Virginica, 522.
" Sisalina, 518.
" pulque, 522.
Agaricus cainpestrls, 594.
Agrimonia eupatoria, 145,
271.
Agrostis stolonifera, 563.
" perennaris, 581.
Aletris farinosa, 532. '
" aurea, 533.
Algse, 592.
Allium Canadense, 531.
" Carolinianum, 532.
Alisma plantago, 536.
■* trivialis, 536.
" parviflora, 536.
Alnus serrulata, 266, 377.
Amaryllis atamasco, 522.
Ambrosia trifida, 420.
" artemisifolia, 419
Amelanchier, 161, 162, 168.
Aniianthum muscaHoxicum,
527.
Ammi majus, 45.
Amophila arenaria, 582.
Amorpha frutieosa, 187.
Amphicavpa monoica, 194.
Amygdalus, 173.
Amyris Floridana, 200.
Anagallis arvensis, 384.
Anchusa tinctoria, 126.
Andromeda angustif., 379.
" arborea, 379.
" coriacca, 379.
" mariana, 379.
" nitida, 379.
" speciosa, 379.
Anemone nemorosa, 16.
" hepatica, 17.
Anethum foeniculum, 47.
Angelica lucida, 46.
Anona triloba, 41.
Anthemis, 424.
Anthoxanthum odoratum,
354, 356.
Antennaria Margaritacea,
426.
Apium graveolens, 45.
" petroselinum, 45.
Apocynum cannabinum,483
" androsEemif.,484
" pubescens, 483.
Arcbangelica, 46.
Aracbis hypogea, 194.
Aralia spinosa, 50.
" nudicaulis, 51.
u racemosa, 51.
Argemone Mexicana, 28.
Arissema atroreubens, 540.
Aristolochia serpent., 355.
" hastata, 357.
" sipho, 357.
Arnipa nudicaulis, 426.
" montana, 427.
Aroniabotryapium, 161, 16S
Artemisia eaudata, 362.
Arrhenatherum, 586.
Arundo arenaria, 582.
Arundinaria a'igantea, 587.
" macrosper.,587
Arum niaculaturn, 542.
" triphyllum, 540.
" Virginicum, 542.
I Asarum Virginicum, 358.
" Canadense, 357.
I " arii'olium, 358.
Asclepias decumbens, 485.
" incarnata, 48.S.
" verticillata, 488.
" tuberosa, 4S5.
" cornuti, 488.
" Syriaca, 488.
Ascyrum Crux-Andrese, 78.
" multicaule, 78.
Asimina triloba, 41.
Asparagus officinalis, 535.
Aster tortifolius, 414.
" cordifolium, 415.
" linarifolius, 415.
Atriplex laciniata, 361.
Atropa physaloides, 473.
Avena sativa, 583.
Bacebaris halimifolia, 418.
Baptisia bracteata, 175.
" leucophasa, 175.
" tinctoria, 175.
Batschia canescens, 33.
Benzoin odoriferum,352,354
Berberis Canadensis, 51.
" vulgaris, 51.
Beta vulgaris, 374.
Betula nigra, 266.
" lenta, 265, 380.
Bignonia, capreolata, 460.
" catalpa, 460.
u crucigera, 460.
Bletia verecunda, 524.
" aphylla, 424.
Bcehmeria nivea, 272.
Brassica oleracea, 454.
" campestris, 454.
Broussonetia papyrif., 307.
Bromus secalinus, 587.
" purgaus, 587.
Bumelia lycioides, 3S5.
Bursera gummifera, 200.
Buxus sempcrvirens, 111.
Cactus cochinilifer, 67.
" opuntia, 66.
Calamagrostis, 582.
XXI 1
INDEX.
Callicarpa Americana, 449.
Callitriche verna, 347.
" heterophyl., 347
Caltha palustris, 18.
Calycanthus Floridus, 199.
Camelina sativa, cultivation
of, 67.
Canella alba, 131.
Cannabis sativa, 273.
" Indica, 273.
Canna flacida, 536.
Capparis spinosa, 75.
" Jamaicensis, 75.
" cynophalloph., 75
Caprifolium, 408.
Capsella bursa-pastoris, 70.
Capsicum annuum, 468.
Carex acuta, 589, 544.
Carpinus, (see Ostrya) 233.
Carya amara, 322.
" olivfeforniis, 333.
" porcina, 322.
" alba, 322.
" myristicia3formis,333
Cassia occidentalis, 196.
" Caroliniana, 196.
" ehamtecrista, 196.
" hirsuta, 196.
" Marylandica, 195.
" tora, 197.
Castanea pumila, 237.
" vesca, 238.
Catalpa cordifolia, 460.
Ceanothus Americanus, 109
Celtis occidentalis, 312.
Centaurea benedicta, 427.
Cephalanthus Occident., 405
Cerasus serotina, 169.
" Caroliniana, 171.
Cercis Canadensis, 197.
Cicuta maculata, 44.
" virosa, 45.
Cimicifuga racemosa, 19.
Citrus aurantium, 107.
Chamselirium Carolin.,427.
Chamajrops palmetto, 526.
" serrulata, 512,
525.
Chelone glabra, 465.
Chenopodium anthelminti-
cum, 361, 359.
Chenopodium ambros., 363.
" alb., 359,364.
" botrys, 363.
Chimaphila maculata, 377.
" umbellata,378.
Cbionanthus Virginica,494.
Cliironia, (see Centaurea)
479.
Chrysanthemum leucanthe-
muiii, 426.
Cichorium intybus, 431.
Citrus aurantium, 107.
" limonium, 107, 109.
Citrullus, 64.
Cladrastis tinctoria, 175.
Clematis crispa, 15.
" viorna, 16.
" Virginiana, 16.
Clethra tomentosa, 379.
" alnifolia, 379.
Cliftonia ligustrina, 130.
Clusia flava, 130.
" rosea, 130.
Cnicus, (see Centaurea) 427.
Coccoloba urifera, 376.
" Floridana, 376.
Coffea Arabica, 405.
Collinsonia Canadens., 201,
208, 444.
Collinsonia anisata, 445.
" scabra, 445.
Commelina communis, 536.
Convalaria multiflora, 534.
" biflora, 534.
" majallis, 534.
" polygonat., 534
Convolvulus macror., 396.
" batatas, 397.
'• Jalapa, 397.
" pandurat.,396.
Cornus Florida, 59.
" sericea, 62.
" san guinea, 63.
" stricta, 63.
Corylus, rostrata, 234.
" Americana, 234.
Corypha palmetto, 426.
Crataegus crus-galli, 148.
" cordata, 148.
Croton balsamiferum, 111.
" maratimum, 111.
Ctenium American, 585.
Cucumis citrullus, 64.
" pepo, 64.
" melo, 65.
" sativus, 65.
Cucurbita lagenaria, 65.
Cunilla mariana, 445.
Cupressus disticha, 508.
" thyoides, 509.
Cuscuta Americana, 395.
" compacta, 395.
" cornuti, 395.
" vulgivaga, 395.
Cynara scolymus, 428.
Cynoglossum Virginic.,439.
" officinale,439.
" amplex., 439.
Cyperus articulatus, 588.
" vireus, 58S.
" odoratus, 588.
" hydra, 588.
Cypripcdum pubescens,425.
Cyrilla racemiflora, 130.
Dactylis glomerata, 5S7.
Dasystoma pubescens, 466.
Datura stramonum, 474.
" tatula, 474.
Daucus carota, 47.
" pusilus, 48.
Delphinium consolida, 19.
Diervilla trifida, 408.
" canadensis, 408.
Digitaria dactylon, 565.
Digitalis purpurea, 465.
Dilatris tinctoria, 522.
Dionoea muscipula, 35.
Dioscorea battatas, 539.
" villosa, 539.
" sativa, 540.
" alata, 540.
Diospyros Virginiana, 335.
Diplopappus linarif. 415.
Dirca palustris, 350.
Discopleura capillacea, 45.
Dracocephalum variega-
tum, 447.
Dracocephalum Virgini-
anum, 448.
Dosera rotundifolium, 77.
Echites difformis, 482.
Eclipta ereeta, 420.
" procumbens, 420.
Eleocharis palustris, 589.
Elymus arenarius, 562.
Epiphagus Americana, 462.
Equisetum lsevigatum, 590.
" hiemale, 590.
" arvense, 590.
Erigeron annuum, 416.
" eanadense.415,416
" Philadelphic.,415.
" pusilum, 416.
" strigosum, 415.
Eryngium aquaticum, 43.
• " yuccaefolium, 43.
" foetidum, 43.
" aromaticum, 43.
Erythronium Americ, 530.
'; lanceol. 530.
Erysimum, 71.
Eugenia, 199.
Euonymus Americanus,129.
" atropurpur. 129.
Eupatorium perfoliat. 410.
Eupatorium purpur. 412.
Eupatorium rotundif. 413.
Eupatorium teucrif. 413.
Eupatorium verbenas. 413.
Eupatorium foeniculaceum,
345, 414.
Euphorbia annua, 129.
Euphorbia corollata, 126.
Euphorbia helioscopea, 129.
Euphorbia hypericif. 128.
Euphorbia ipecacuan. 127.
Euphorbia maculata, 128.
" thymifolia, 129.
Fagus sylvatica, 235.
" Americana, 235.
" feruginea, 246.
INDEX.
XX111
Festuca, 585.
" duriuscula, 586.
Ficus carica, 308.
Filices, 589.
Foeniculum officinale, 46.
Fosteronia diflbrmis, 482.
Fragaria vesca, 144.
" Virginiana, 144.
Frasera Walteri, 480.
" Caroliniensis, 480.
Fraxinus acuminata, 494.
" Americana, 494.
Fuci, 593.
Fucus serratus, 592.
'* vesiculosus, 592.
Fumaria officinalis, 34.
Fungi, 594.
Galium trifidum, 406.
" hispidulum, 406.
" tinctorium, 406.
jSaultheria procumb. 380.
Gelseminum sempervi. 461.
Gentiana catesbaei, 478.
" ochroleuca, 479.
" lutea, 386, 479.
" purpur. 386, 479.
" Elliot tii, 478.
" saponaria, 479.
" quinqueflora, 479.
Geranium maculatum, 138.
Gerardia flava, 466.
Geum Virginianum, 145.
" Carolinianum, 145.
Gillenia tomentosa, 146.
" trifoliata, 147.
" stipulacea. 148.
Glyceria fluitans, 585.
'"' tomentosa, 187.
Gnaphalium margaritace-
um, 426.
Gnaphalium polycepb. 426.
Gonolobus macrophyl. 485.
Gossypium herbaceum, 93.
Gratiola officinalis, 465.
" aurea, 466.
" Virginica, 465.
Gyromia Virginica, 529.
Hamamelis Virginica, 58.
Hedeoma pulegioides, 446.
Hedyotis, 407.
Helianthus tuberosus, 417,
420.
Helianthus annuus, 422.
Heliotropium indicum, 438.
Helonias dioica, 527.
" erythrosper., 527.
Helosciadium, 45.
Hepatica, triloba, 17.
Heuchera Americana, 200.
Hibiscus moscheutos, 91.
" esculentis, 91.
Hieracium gronovii, 442.
Hippomane mancinella,120.
Holcus odoratns, 561.
" sorghum, 566.
" lanatus, 586.
Hopea tinctoria, 388.
Houstonia, 407.
Humulus lupulus, 275.
Hydrastis canadensis, 18.
Hydrolea quadrivalvis, 400.
Hydrocotyle umbellata, 42.
Hypericum sarothra, 79.
" perforatum, 78.
Ilex cassina, 393.
" vomitoria, 393.
" opaca, 390.
" dahoon, 395,
" myrtifolia, 395.
Illicium Floridanum, 39.
" parviflorum, 39,
Impatiens pallida, 139.
" noli me tan., 139.
Indigophera Carolin., 178.
" argentea, 179.
" anil, 178.
" tinctoria, 181.
Inula helenium, 417.
Ipomoea nil, 396.
" panduratus, 396.
Iris Virginica, 524.
" versicolor, 523.
Isatis tinctoria, 179.
Jatropha stimulosa,119,578,
Jeffersonia diphylla, 21.
Juglans cinerea, 317.
" nigra, 318.
" regia, 321.
Juncus effusus, 537.
" communis, 537.
Juniperus Virginiana, 510
Jussiosa grandiflora, 57.
Kalmia latifolia, 381.
" angustifolia, 353.
" hirsuta, 382.
Lachnanthes tinctoria, 522.
Lactuca elongata, 435.
" longifolia, 435.
Laurus sassafras, 350.
" benzoin, 352, 354.
" geniculata, 355.
Leersia oryzoides, 581.
Lemna polyrhiza, 548.
Leontodon tarax., 428.
Leonurus cardiaca, 448.
Lepidium Virginicum, 67.
Leptandra, 467.
Leucanthemum vulgare, 426
Liatris spicata, 410.
" scai-iosa, 410.
" squamosa, 410.
" odoratissima, 410
Limnetis, 582.
Linum usitatissimum, 88
Liquidambar styracif., 344.
Liriodendron tulipifera, 39.
Lithospermum canescens,33
" arvense, 439.
Lobelia inflata, 401.
" syphilitica, 403.
" cardinalis, 404.
Lolium temulentum, 564.
Lonicera sempervirens, 408
diervilla, 408.
caprifolium, 408.
Lycopus Europeus, 440.
angustifolius, 440.
sinuatus, 440.
Virginicus, 441.
Ludwigia alternifolia, 57.
Lycoperdon solidum, 599.
Maclura auruntiaca, 101.
Magnolia glauca, 36.
" acuminata, 38.
" grandiflora, 38.
" macrophylla, 39.
" tripetata, 38.
« umbrella, 38.
Malva rotundifolia, 90.
" sylvestris, 90.
Maranta aruudinacia, 511.
Marubium vulgare, 448.
Maranta cotula, 424.
Medeola Virginica, 529.
Medicago lupulina, 176.
Melanthium Virginic, 527.
Melia azedarach, 106.
Melilotus officinalis, 176.
Melissa officinalis, 440.
Melothria pendula, 65.
Menispermum Ganad., 376.
Mentha tenuis, 440.
" piperita, 440.
Mercurialis annua, 129.
Mimosa sensitiva, 197.
Mitchella repens, 405.
Monarda punctata, 443.
Monocera aromatica, 585.
Monotropa uniflora, 378.
Morus alba, 280.
" multicaulis, 284.
" rubra, 305.
Mylocarium, 130.
Myrica Carolinensis, 316.
" cerifera, 312.
Nabalus Fraseri, 435.
Nepeta cataria, 447.
Nicotiana tabacum, 473.
Nymphasa odorata, 35.
Nyssa aquatica, 347.
OEnothera biennis, 55.
Oldenlandia, 407.
Olea Europea, 490.
Olea Americana, 493.
Opuntia vulgaris, 66.
Orchis, 524.
XXIV
INDEX.
Orobanehe Virginiana, 462.
" Amer., 462, 463.
" uniflora, 462.
Orontium aquaticum, 544.
Oryza sativa, 578.
Osmunda regalis, 591.
Ostrya Virginica, 233.
" carpinus, 233.
Oxalis acetosella, 139.
" violacea, 140.
" acetosella, 139.
" corniculata, 140.
" furcata, 140.
Oxycoccus, 383.
Panax quinquefolium, 48.
Pancratium maratim., 522.
" Carolinian. 522
Panicum dactylon, 565.
" Italicum, 565.
Passiflora lutea, 77.
" incarnata, 77.
Papaver somnifer., 23, 25.
" " alba, 25
Peltandra Virginica, 542.
Phleum pratense, 565.
Physalis viscosa, 473.
*' obscura, 473.
" pubescens, 473.
Phytolacca decandra, 365.
Pinckneya pubens, 404.
Pinus nigra, 505.
" australis, 495.
" glabra, 506.
" balsarnea, 506.
" balsamifera. 506.
" canadensis, 506.
" palustris, 495, 504.
" rigida, 504.
"' strobus, 505.
" tasda, 506.
Piscidia erythrina, 175.
Pisuui sativum, 194.
Plantago major, 436.
" lanceolata, 437.
Poa, 585.
" compressa, 585.
" pratensis, 585.
Podophyllum peltatum, 21,
601.
Polygala senega, 85.
" paucifolia, 87.
" polygama, 87.
" sanguinea, 87.
Polygonum punctatum, 370.
" aviculare, 372.
" convolvul., 373.
" fagopyrum, 373
" hydropiper. 370
" polygama, 372.
" parvifolia, 372.
" scandens, 373.
" tinctorium, 179
" hydropiper, 370
Polygonatum biflorum, 534.
Polygonatum pubesc, 534.
" multiflo., 534.
Populus alba, 343.
" heteroph., 344, 413
Portulacea oleracea, 131.
Potentilla canadensis, 140.
reptans? 140.
Prenanthes alba, 435.
Prinos verticillatus, 389.
" glaber, 390.
Prunella vulgaris, 446.
Prunus Virginiana, 169.
" Caroliniana, 171.
Psoralea esculenta, 177.
Pteris aquilina, 590.
Pterocaulon pycnost., 419.
Puccinia, 598.
Punica granatum, 58.
Pyrethrum, 362.
Pyrola maculata, 377.
" umbellata, 378.
" rotundifolia, 378.
Pyrus coronaria, 149.
" malus, 149.
" cydonia, 149.
" Americana, 167, 168.
Quercus tinctoria, 238.
" alba, 287.
" falcata, 239,256.
" montana, 263.
" prinos, 264.
" rubra, 262.
" virens, 263.
" suber, 264.
Ranunculus sceleratus, 18.
" repens, 19.
" phragmites, 16.
Rheum palmatum, 373.
" emodii, 373.
Rhexia, glabella, 57.
Rhizophora mangle, 55.
Rhododendron maxim., 380
" pimctat. 3S1
Rhus toxicodendron, 200;
see Sumach, for antidote,
201, 273.
Rhus coriaria, 209.
" copallina, 207.
" glabra, 202.
" pumila, 20S.
" radicans, 200.
" typnina, 203, 208.
" vernix, 206.
" venenata, 206.
Rhyncosia tomentosa, 193.
Ricinus communis, 111.
Robinia pseudacacia, 188.
" viscosa, 193.
" hispida, 189.
Rubia tinctorium, 406.
Rubia Brownii, 406.
Rubus villosus, 140.
" occideutalis, 144.
Rubus trivialis, 141.
Ruellia, strepens, 462.
Rumex crispus, 368.
" acetosella, 368. .
" Britannicus, 370.
" sanguineus, 370.
" acetosa, 369.
" obtusifolius, 370.
" divaricatus, 370.
Sabal adansonii, 527.
" pumila, 527.
Sabbatia angularis, 479.
" gracilis, 480.
" stellaris, 480.
Saccharum officinarum,577.
Sagittaria sagittif., 57, 536.
" latifolia, 536.
Salicornia herbacea,361,594
Salix nigra, 334.
" viminalis, 337.
" caprea, 336.
" purpurea, 335.
" triandra, 336.
" alba, 334.
" nigra, 187.
" babilonica, 343.
Salsola soda, 133, 359.
" kali, 133, 359.
" Caroliniana, 133.
Salvia lyrata, 442.
" officinalis, 442.
Sambucus canaden., 30,408.
Samolus valerandi, 385.
Sanguinaria canadensis, 30,
599, 601.
Sanicula Marylandica, 42.
Sapindus marginatus, 83,
133.
Saponaria officinalis, 132.
Sarracenia variolaris, 53.
" flava, 53.
Sarothra, 79.
Sassafras officinale, 350.
Saururus cernuus, 334.
Schoenolerion Michauxii,
532.
Schrankia uncinata, 197.
" angustata, 197.
Schubertia, 508.
Scirpus maritimus, 588.
" macrostachyus,588.
" palustris, 589.
Scrofularia Marylandica,
465.
Scrofularia nodosa, 465.
Scutellaria integrifolia, 447
" lateriflora, 446.
Senecio aureus, 426.
Sesamum Indicum, 450.
" orientale, 450.
Shepardia magnoides, 174.
Sida abutilon, 91.
Silene Virginica, 131.
Simaruba glauca, 137.
INDEX.
XXV
Sinapis nigra, 72.
Sisymbrium amphibium,72.
" nasturtium, 71.
Sium nodiflorum, 45.
Smilax sarsaparilla, 538.
" caduca, 538.
" glauca, 538.
" herbacea, 539.
" ovata, 539.
" pseudochina, 537.
" tamnoides, 539.
Solarium Virginianum, 471.
" lycopersicum, 472.
" Carolinense, 470.
" mammosum, 470.
" dulcamara, 470.
" nigrum, 468.
" tuberosum, 471.
Solidago odora, 416.
" sempervirens, 417.
" canadensis, 417.
" procera, 417.
Sonchus oleraceus, 436.
Sorghum vulgare, 567.
" saccharatum, 567.
Sorbus Americana. 168.
" aucuparia, 168.
" microcarpa, 167.
Spartina glabra, 582.
" juncea, 582.
Sparganium ramosum, 545.
" Americanum,545.
Spergula arvensis, 135, 561.
Spigelia Marylandica, 481.
Spiraea trifoliata, 146.
" opulifolia, 147.
" stipulacea, 146.
" tomentosa, 146.
Spirodelia polyrhiga, 548.
Stapbylea trifolia, 130.
Statice limonium, 360, 437.
" Caroliniana, 361,437.
Stellaria media, 136.
Stillingia sylvatica, 121.
" sebifera, 122.
Styrax, 389.
Swietenia mahogoni, 87.
Symplocarpus foetidus, 544.
Symplocas tinctoria, 389.
Tanacetum vulgare, 425.
Taraxacum densleonis, 428.
Tepbrosia Virginiana, 187.
Thea viridis, 104.
Thlaspium bursapastoris,70
Thuja occidentalis, 507.
Thymus vulgaris, 444.
Tilia glabra, 103.
" Americana, 103.
" Europea, 103.
Tillandsia usneoides, 524.
Tricodium perennans, 581.
Trifolium pratense, 177.
" arvense, 177.
" reflexum, 177.
" repens, 177.
Trillium sessile, 530.
Triosteum perfoliatum, 407.
" angustifolium, 407.
Tripterella ccerulea, 523.
Triticum, 583.
" repens, 561.
Typha latifolia, 57, 544.
Ulmus fulva, 310.
" alata, 311.
" Americana, 311.
Uredo segetum, 598.
" fetida, 598.
Urtica urens, 268.
" nivea, 272.
" dioica, 270.
" pumila, 273.
Utricularia inflata, 577.
Uvaria triloba, 41.
Uvularia perfoliate, 534.
" sessiliflora, 535.
Vaccinium arboreum, 168,
384.
Vaccinium macrocarp., 383,
| Valeriana scandens, 462.
" pauciflora, 462.
Veratrum viride, 528.
" parvifolium, 529.
" album, 528.
" angustif., 529.
Verbascum thapsus, 463.
" blattaria, 464.
" lychnites, 464.
Verbena urticifolia, 208,450.
" aubletia, 450.
" hastata, 450.
Verbesina Virginica, 419.
Vernonia angustifolia, 409.
Veronica officinalis, 466.
" anagallis, 468.
" peregrina, 467.
" Virginica, 467.
Vicia sativa, 194.
Vitis, 213, et seq.
" bipinnata, 212.
" labrusca, aestivalis,
etc. 214, et aeq.
Viola tricolor, 76.
" arvensis, 75.
" cucullata, 76.
" palmata, 76.
" pedata, 75.
Virgilia lutea, 175.
Viscum verticillatum, 63.
Xanthium strumarium, 419.
Xanthorrhiza apiifolia, 21.
Xanthoxylum American. 136
" Carolinianum, 137.
" clavaHerculis, 136.
" fraxineum, 136.
" ramiflorum, 136.
" tricarpum, 137.
Yucca filamentosa, 350.
Zamia integrifolia, 512.
Zea mays, 548.
Zizania aquatica, 580.
Zostera marina, 547.
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ton, S. C.
The Art of Manufacturing Soaps and Candles. By P. Kurten. Philadelphia,
Lindsay & Blakiston, 1854.
Industrial Resources of the South and West,jby J. D. B. DeBow. New Or-
leans, 1S53. '
Sorgho, and Imphoe, the Chinese and African Sugar Canes, by H. S. Olcott.
New York, 1857.
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines. From 4th English edition.
New York, 1853.
A New Family Herbal, or popular account of the natures and properties of the
plants used in Medicine, Diet, and the Arts, by R. J. Thornton, M. D. Lon-
don, 1810. ' •
Chemistry applied to Agriculture, by Count John Antony Chaptal. Boston,
1835.
Chemical Field Lectures, by J. A. Stockhardt. Translated from German. Cam-
bridge, 1853.
A Muck Manual, by Samuel L. Dana. New York, 1858.
The Fruit Garden. A Treatise by P. Barry. New York, 1857.
Practical' Treatise on Culture of Grape, by J. Fiske Allen. New York, 1858.
Charlton on Culture of Exotic Grape under Glass. New York, 1853.
Elements of Scientific Agriculture, by S. P. Norton, Professor in Yale College,
New York, 1854.
A Manual of Scientific and Practical Agriculture, for the School and the Farm,
by J. L. Campbell, A. M., Professor Physical Science, Washington College, Va.
Philadelphia, 1859.
The American Grape Grower's Guide, intended especially for the climate of
America. Illustrated by William Charlton. New York, A. 0. Moore, 1859. For
full description of best modes of cultivating the grape.
Sorgho and Imphee, the Chinese and African Sugar Canes. Manufacture of
sugar, syrup, alcohol, wines, beer, cider, vinegar, starch, and dye stuffs, with trans-
lations of French Pamphlets, etc., etc., and drawing of machinery, by H. S. Olcott.
New York, A. 0. Moore, 1857.
Patent Office Reports, Agriculture, 1848, '51, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58.
Rural Chemistry, by Edward Solly, F. L. S., Honorary Member of Royal Agri-
cultural Society, England. Philadelphia, Henry C. Baird, 1S52.
The Rural Cyclopaedia, or a General Dictionary of Agriculture, and of the. Arts,
Sciences, Instruments, and Practice necessary to the Farmer, etc. Edited by Rev.
Jno. M. Wilson. In four volumes. Edinburgh, 1852, A. Fullarton.
General Directions for Collecting and Drying Medicinal Substances, with a list
of Indigenous Plants. From the Surgeon-General's office, 1862. Richmond. A
pamphlet. •
The following works, published in England, may be referred to in case any are
desirous of consulting them :
Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, Marshall on Planting, Nichols' Planter's Calen-
dar, Pontey's Profitable Planter, Phillips' Shrubbery, Treatise on Planting in the
Library of Useful Knowledge, Loudon's Encyclopedia of Plants, Accum on the
Adulterations of Food, Babbage on the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures,
Thompson's Vegetable Chemistry, Knapp's Technology, Willich's Domestic Ency-
clopaedia. See, also, Treatise by Dr. J. Harris, of Mass., on Insects injurious
to Vegetation, and Townsend Glover's papers on same subject in Patent Office
Reports.
j5^"* Those interested in obtaining foreign seeds, plants, etc., can obtain them by
applying to James Carter & Co., and Butler <fc McCulloch, of London; William
Thompson, of Ipswich, England ; and Vilmorin, Andreux & Cie., Paris, France.
INTRODUCTION.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS
COLLECTING AND DRYING MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES OF
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING.
All leaves, flowers^ and herbs should be preferably gathered
in clear, dry weather, in the morning, after the dew is exhaled.
The roots of medicinal plants, although more advantageously
gathered at certain periods, to be hereafter specified, do not
lose their medicinal virtues in consequence of being dug in mid-
summer. It is probable that most of those imported are thus
collected by savages or ignorant persons, when the plant is in
full leaf, it being then more easily recognized.
Plants, Annual, should be gathered at the time when their
vegetation is most vigorous, which is genei^ally from the time
they begin to flower until their leaves begin to change.
Plants, Biennial, should, in most instances, be gathered in
the second season of their growth, and about the time of
flowering.
Roots of AnxN'uals are to be gathered just before the time of
flowering.
Roots of Biennials are to be gathered after the vegetation
of the first vear has ceased.
Roots of Perennials are to be gathered in the spiking, before
vegetation has commenced. Roots should be washed, and the
smaller fibres, unless they are the part employed, should be
then separated from the body of the root, which, when of any
considerable size, is to be cut in slices previous to being dried.
Bulbs are to be gathered after the new bulb is perfected, and
before it has begun to vegetate, which is at the time the leaves
decay. Those which are to be preserved fresh should be buried
in dry sand.
Barks, whether of the root, trunk, or branches, should be
gathered in the autumn, or early in the spring. The dead
epidermis or outer bark, and the decayed parts, should be
removed. Of some trees. (as the elm) the inner bark only is
preserved.
Leaves are to be gathered after their full development, before
the fading of the flowers. The leaves of biennials do not attain
their perfect qualities until the second year.
Flowers should, in general, be gathered at the time of their
expansion, before or immediately after they have' fully opened;
some — as the. Rosa G-allica — while in bud.
Aromatic Herbs are to be gathered when in flower.
Stalks and Twigs should be collected in autumn.
Seeds should be collected at the period of their full maturity.
DIRECTIONS FOR DRYING.
Medicinal products of the vegetable kingdom (as plants, roots,
etc.) should be dried as rapidly as is consistent with their per-
fect preservation, but not subjected to extreme heat.
Those collected in the warm months and during dry weather
may, except in a few instances, be dried by their spontaneous
evaporation, in a well ventilated apartment ; some — as roots
and barks — may be exposed to the direct rays of the sun.
In spring and autumn, and in damp, foggy, or rainy weather,
a drying-house should be resorted to; the temperature to range
from 70° to 100° F. There should be an aperture above for the
escape of warm, moist air.
Fibrous Boots may be dried in the sun, or at a, heat of from
65° to 80° F. in the drying-room.
Fleshy Boots should be cut in transverse slices, not exceed-
ing half an inch in length, and during the drying process should
be stirred several times to prevent their moulding.
Bulbs must have the coarse outer membrane peeled off. In
other respects they are to be treated like fleshy roots.
Barks, Woods and Twigs readily dry, in thin layers, in the
open air.
Leaves, after separation from the stalks, should be strewed
loosely over hurdle-frames, and their position changed twice a
day, until they become dry. When very succulent, they require
more care to prevent their discoloration. For thin, dry leaves,
the heat need not exceed 70° F.; for the succulent, it may
gradually be raised to 100° F.
Annual Plants and Tops. — If not too juicy, these may be
tied loosely in small bundles, and strung on lines stretched
across the drying-room.
Flowers must be di-ied carefully and rapidly, so as to pre-
serve their color. They should be spread loosely on the hurdles,
and turned several times by stirring. When flowers or leaves
owe their virtues to volatile oils, greater care is necessary.
A carefully pressed specimen of the stem, leaf, and flower of
each medicinal, substance collected, whether it be bark, root, or
8
herb, should be obtained and forwarded with each collection,
for the purpose of aiding in its identification. From "General
Directions" and List of Plants — a pamphlet issued from Sur
geon-General's Office, 1862. Consult, also, U. S. Dispensatory.
The two following papers, contributed by the writer to a
periodical during the present war, are introduced before enter-
ing upon the* systematic portion of the work, because they
contain information, in a condensed shape, which may be prac-
tically useful :
BRIEF NOTICE OF EASILY PROCURABLE MEDICINAL PLANTS, TO BE
COLLECTED BY SOLDIERS WHILE IN SERVICE IN ANY
PART OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES.
My attention having been occupied with the subject of the
substitutes for imported Medicines, I have thought that if some
hints were given the Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons in the
field, with respect to the useful properties of a few articles
(easily attainable in every part of the country), it would
great!}7 lessen the use of the more expensive medicines. One
man detailed from each company, or from a regiment, could
obtain a full supply of each substance fresh, for the use of the
Surgeon, and this at less trouble and expense than if it was
procured b}T the Medical Purveyors, to be distributed to the
regiments. I will mention some of these substances. They
are familiar to all, but still, without special recommendation,
they are likely to escape attention :
Sassafras (Laurus). — Whilst engaged in active duties as Sur-
geon to the Ilolcombe Legion, whenever a soldier suffered
from measles, pneumonia, bronchitis, or cold, his conrpanion or
nurse was directed to procure the roots and leaves of Sassafras,
and a tea made with this supplied that of Flax Seed or Gum
Arabic. Each leaf of Sassafras contains a great amount of
mucilage.
Bene (Besamum). — The planters and farmers throughout the
Confederate States should save and cure all the leaves of the
9
Ber^e now growing, to be used in camp dysentery, in colds,
coughs, etc., among our soldiers, in place of Gum Arabic or
Flax Seed. One or two leaves in a tumbler of water imparts
their mucilaginous properties.
Dogwood CCornus Florida). — Since the war, the bark has been
employed with great advantage in place of quinine in fevers —
by physicians in Sumter district. S. C, and elsewhere — par-
ticularly in cases of low forms of fever, and in dysentery, on
the river courses, of a typhoid character. It is given as a sub-
stitute for Peruvian barks. In fact, in almost any case where
the Cinchona bark was used.
Thoroughwort, Bone-set (Eupatorium perfoliatum). — Thorough-
wort, drank hot during the cold stage of fever, and cold as a
tonic and antiperiodic, is thought by many physicians to he
even superior to the Dogwood, Willow, or Poplar, as a sub-
stitute for quinine. It is quite sufficient in the management of
many of the malarial fevers that will prevail among our troops
during the summer; and if it does not supply entirely the place
of quinine, will certainly lessen the need for its use. These
plants can be easily procured in every locality.
Tulip Bearing Poplar (Liriodendron) and the Willow bark
supply a remedy for the fevers met with in camp. Cold infu-
sion given.
Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua). — The inner bark eon-
tains an astringent, gummy substance. If it is boiled in milk,
or a tea made with water, its astringency is so great that
it will easily check diarrhoea, and associated with the use of
other remedies, dysentery also. The leaf of the gum when
green I have also ascertained to be powerfully astringent, and
to contain as large a proportion of tannin as that of any other
tree. I believe that the Cum leaf and the leaf of the Myrtle,
and Blackberry can be used wherever an astringent is re-
quired ; cold water takes it up. They can, I think, be also
used for tanning leather, when green, in place of oak bark.
Blackberry Boot (Bubus). — Wherever it can be obtained, a
10
decoction will check profuse diarrhoeas of any kind. The root
of the Chinquapin (Castanea) is also astringent.
Gentian. — Our native tonics' are abundant. Several varieties
of Gentian, Sabbatia, etc., may be added to those mentioned,.
The Pipsissewa, or Winter Green {Chwiapliila), is both an aro-
matic tonic and a diuretic, and therefore selected in the con-
valescence from low fevers followed by dropsical symptoms.
These, the numerous aromatic plants, etc., are not intended
to take the place of mercury, or any other drug which can be
obtained and is required. It is not intended that a blind or
exclusive reliance should be placed in them — but they are
recommended to supply a great and present need.
Holly {Ilex Opacd). — The bark of the holly root chewed, or a
tea made with it, yields an excellent bitter demulcent, very
useful in coughs, colds, etc. The bitter pi'inciple is also tonic.
The Holly contains bird-lime.
Wild Jalap {Podophyllum Peltattun). — If this can be found it
can be used as a laxative in place of rhubarb or jalap, or
wherever a purgative is required. Every planter in the Con-
federate States can produce the opium, mustard, and flax seed
that is required, either for the army or for home use.
I think we stand most in need also of nitrate, chlorate, and
bicarb, of potash, as we have no means of supplying these by
vegetable substances. It has suggested itself to me that those
in charge of our Nitre works might also produce other prepa-
rations of potash with veiy little additional trouble.
Potash, pearlash, and soda are easily procurable from the
ashes of certain plants. Our Salsola Kali, growing on the sea
coast, is rich in soda. Consult index for references to more
detailed information.
11
SOUTHERN TREES ADAPTED TO THE PURPOSES OP THE MANUFAC-
TURER AND WOOD ENGRAVER.
A short time since, in answer to an inquiry of a correspond-
ent, I gave the names of several trees growing at the South as
j>robably suited for the purposes of the wood engraver. To
these 1 will now add those noticed by subsequent correspond-
ents, and also call attention to two or three other trees with
wood of great fineness and density of structure, which may be
tested as substitutes for the wood heretofore imported from the
North; and which are also likely to prove serviceable when-
ever a wood of hard, fine grain is required by the manufac-
turer.
Iron Wood, Horn Beam (Ostrya Virginica, Ell. Sk.) — It has
often been employed by turners, and wrought into mill-cogs,
wheels, etc. The wood is tough and white, and will prove an
important acquisition to those interested in machinery, or in
the construction of implements, tools, etc.
White Beech (Fagus Sylvatlca). Diffused. This wood is very
hard, is capable of receiving a high polish, and should be prized
by cabinet makers and turners for manufacturing purposes.
Sweet Birch, Cherry Birch, Mountain Mahogany (Betula Lenta.
Linn.) — Grows in mountains of South Carolina, possesses a fine
grain, and also susceptible of a beautiful polish. The .Red Birch
(JBetula Nigra) grows in our swamps in the lower country. The
Black Birch is said by Lindley to be exceedingly hard.
White Oak (Quercus Alba). — One of the best of the Oaks,
with the Live Oak, likely to be employed wherever great dura-
bility is desirable; these, with the Walnut and Maple, are well
known.
Dog Wood (Coi'nus Florida). — Much used on our plantations
wherever a wood of firmness of texture is required.
12
Persimmon (Diospyros Yirginiana). — A very hard wood — in
the natural family of plants found under what is known as the
Ebony tribe.
The Holly (Ilex Opaca), the Apple, and Pear ai-e very much
esteemed by many; perhaps harder than any of those cited.
These may be more particularly adapted to the purposes of the
wood engraver.
The Calico Bush, Ivy Bush (Kalmia Latifolia). — Grows in our
middle districts. Wood hard and dense.
Mountain Laurel Bay (Rhododendron Maximum). — Found in
our mountains; said to resemble the Kalmia, and quoted by a
writer as adapted to the purposes of the engraver.
Iron Wood. — Another tree named from its supposed firm-
ness (Bumelia Lycioides Ell. Sk.~) I have collected it in Charles-
ton, and forty miles from the ocean..
Yellow Locust Tree, False Acacia (Robinia Pseudoaccacice, L.) —
In mountains and in lower districts. The grain is fine and
compact; the wood, on account of its durability, is much used
for treenails in ship building.
Leather Wood (Dirca Palustris). — Grows in Georgia ; is both
hard and pliant.
Arbor Vitoz (Thuja occidentalism. — Grows in mountains. Wood
said by Michaux to be the most durable which our forests
produce.
The soft woods are: the Cedar, the Cypress, the Black
Spruce, or Fir (Pinus nigra, Aiton); the Pinus strobus (growing
in the mountains), and the Spruce tree of our low country
swamps, which might well supply the place of our Northern
pine. All these, with the Willow ( Salix nigra), are used for
the timbers and spars of boats. The last is both soft and
durable. Mr. Elliott says, in his Sketch of the Botany of
South Carolina, that the wood of the lied Mulberry (Morns
rubra) is preferred in the building of boats to that of any other,
except the Eed Cedar.
13
The wood of the Black Gum (JYyssa aquatica), particularly
the portion near the ground, is peculiarly white, spongy, and
light. It has great elasticity, and a specific gravity almost
low enough to adapt it, in the opinion of the writer, to be used
as a substitute for the bark of the Cork tree.
The Poplar is well known also for its qualities of softness
and lightness. The Maple less so. The Pride of India is light
and durable, and susceptible of polish, with a pretty grain
under varnish, adapting it to purposes of the manufacturer.
But these do not resist water when submerged, as do the softer
woods first mentioned, viz: the Cypress, Cedar, or the Pal-
metto, which is characteristically soft, porous, and elastic.
RESOURCES
OF THE
SOUTHERN FIELDS AND FORESTS.
MEDICAL, ECONOMICAL, AND AGRICULTURAL.
Class I. EXOGENS ; OR, DICOTYLEDONOUS
FLOWERING PLANTS.
Sub-Class I, POLYPETAL.E.
NATURAL ORDERS.
RANUNCULACEiE. ( Crow-Foot Tribe.)
The plants belonging to this order are generally acrid,
caustic, and poisonous. It contains some species, however,
which are innocuous. The caustic principle is volatile, and
neither acid nor alkaline.
Clematis crispa, Linn. Not of Ell. Sk., which, is the C.
cylindrica, T. and Gray. Grows in damp, rich soils, and
in swamps in the low country of South Carolina, vicinity of
Charleston. Dr. Bachman. Newborn, Croom. Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 311 ; U. S. Disp.
1244; Shec. Flora' Carol. 418. This plant is substituted
for the C. erecta, mentioned by Storck, and is employed in
secondary syphilis, ulcers, porrigo, etc.; given internally,
16
with the powdered leaves applied to the sore. It acts also
as a diaphoretic and diuretic. Merat says it possesses the
properties of the C. vitalba, which is a dangerous vegetable
caustic, used as a substitute for cantharides, and applied to
rheumatic limbs, and in paralysis and gout. The decoc-
tion of the root is alterative and purgative; and is also said
to be valuable in washing sores and ulcers, in order to
change the mode of their vitality, and to make them cica-
trize. Shecut remarks that "the Spanish or blistering
flies are very fond of the Clematis crispa, and it would be
well for medical gentlemen in the country to propagate the
plant about their residences, in order to secure a constant
succession of these valuable insects." See Potato, "Con-
volvulus.'" The American species are deserving of partic-
ular attention, and we would invite further investigation
of them.
Clematis viorna, L. Traveller's-joy. Grows in middle
and upper districts. Elliott. Fl. July.
Shec. Flora Carol. 489 ; Griffith's Med. Bot. 86 ; U. S.
Disp. 1244. This, and the following, have also a caustic
property, and are employed internally as diuretics and
sudorifics in chronic rheumatism ; and externally, in the
treatment of eruptions, and as vesicants. Shecut says that
a yellow dye may be extracted from both leaves and
branches ; the latter are sufficiently tough to make withs
and fagots. The fibrous shoots may be converted into
paper, and the wood is yellow, compact, and odoriferous,
furnishing an excellent material for veneering.
Clematis Virginiaiia, Linn. Virgin's bower. Grows in
rich soils ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July. ■ Wood and
Bache, IT. S. Disp. 1244; Griffith, Med. Bot. 80. See C.
viorna.
Anemone riemorosa, L. \ Wood Anemone. Mountains
Ranunculus phragmites. f of South Carolina. Fl. April.
Bull. Plantes Ven. de France ; Linn. Veg. M. Med. 109 ;
Fl. Scotica, 287 ; Chomel, Plantes Usuelles, ii, 376 ; Diet.
des 8c. Med. Ixv, 194; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i,
292 ; U. S. Disp. 1228. It is said to be extremely acrid-
even small doses producing a great disturbance of the
stomach ; employed as a rubefacient in fevers, gout, and
rheumatism, and as a vesicatory in removing corns from
the feet. It is reported to have proved a speedy cure for
tinea capitis, and the flowers have been used in violent
headaches; Linnaeus says that the plant produces a dis-
charge of urine,' attended with dysentery, in cattle which
feed on it. It contains a principle called anemonin.
Most of the species of Anemone, says Wilson, Rural
Cyc, are acrimonious and detersive. "An infusion of
Anemone is said to remove woman's obstructions, and to
increase her milk ; the bulbous roots when chewed are said
to strengthen the gums and preserve the teeth ; a decoc-
tion of the roots is said to cleanse corrosive ulcers, and
heal inflammation in the eyes; the flowers, boiled in oil,' are
said to have the property of thickening the hair, and Anem-
one ointment is said to be a good eye-salve, and a useful
application to ulcers and external inflammations," all which
I introduce for what it may be worth ; no doubt the oil
furnished by it imparts some property to the plant, and,
like tannin in all the astringent plants, accounts for the
slight medicinal etfect which results from their use. An
improved knowledge will, one day, determine the exact
position in value of the whole vegetable kingdom, but for
a while we must be contented with the publication of
much that is vague and uncertain. The unexpected dis-
coveries of Ipecacuanha, Cinchona, Veratrum viride, etc.,
warn us not to discard, upon a superficial examination, all
those popularly considered as of trivial importance.
Hepatica triloba, Chaix. \ Liverwort. Grows in light
Anemone hepatica, Linn. J soils, upper districts, and in
Georgia. Collected by Mr. Ravenel at the Eutaw battle-
ground, St. John's, Berkley ; sent to me also from Abbe-
ville district.
IT. S. Disp. 368; Raf. Med. PI, i, 238 ; Lind. Nat. Syst.
18
81. A tonic and astringent, supposed by some to possess
deobstruent virtues. It has been used to a considerable
extent in haemoptysis and chronic cough ; but Wood says
it has fallen into neglect.
Hydrastis Canadensis, W. Orange -root; yellow - root ;
turmeric ; golden seal. Grows in rich soils, among the
mountains of South Carolina. Fl. May.
Lind. Nat. Syst. 6 ; Bart. M. Bot. ii, 21 ; Veg. Mat. Med,
ii, 17 : Raf. Med. Fl. i, 251 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 82. It has
a narcotic smell ; used in this country as a tonic. The root
was known to the Indians, from the brilliant yellow color
which it yields. This appears to be permanent, and might
be applied in the arts. Martin, in the Trans. Phil. Soc.
1783, in his Observations on the Dyes used by the Aborigi-
nes, states, from his own experience, that it was found ser-
viceable in coloring silks, wool, and linen. With indigo,
it yielded a rich green. Griffith mentions it as a powerful
bitter tonic, much used in the West as a wash in chronic
ophthalmia. In its fresh state, supposed to be narcotic.
Tincture, decoction, or powder employed. Dose of powder,
thirty to sixty grains.
Caltha jxdustris, L. Var. pa mass, ifolia, T. & G. Cedar
Swamps, S. C, (Pursh); Chap. Flora. The flower buds are
pickled for use as a substitute for capers.
Ranunculus sceleratus, L. T. and Gray. Grows in bogs;
abundant around Charleston. Xewbern, Croom. Fl. May.
Bull. Plantes Yen. de France, 143 ; Dem. Elem de Bot. ;
Lightfoot's Fl. Scotica, 295 ; U. S. Disp. 584 ; Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med, 620. and the Supplem. 1846, 620;
Dioscorides, lib. vi, c. iv ; Orfila. Toxicol. Gen. ii, 90; Big.
Am. Med. Bot. iii, 65 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 84.
The juice possesses remarkable caustic powers, raising a
blister if applied topically, and often in doses of two drops
exciting fatal inflammation alono; the whole tract of the
alimentary canal. Some, however, say that this property is
19
not constant, as it is of a volatile nature, and is dissipated
by heat. According to Merat, the Bedouins use it as a
rubefacient, and it is applied in sciatica, forming a substi-
tute for cantharides. Annal. Univ. de Med. 1843. It has
been administered with success in asthma, icterus, dysuria,
rheumatism, pneumonia, and fixed pains. When it acts
as a vesicant, it has not the disadvantage of producing
strangury. Bigelow says the volatile principle may be
collected by distillation, and preserved in closely-stopped
bottles. Tilebein relates that the distilled water is exces-
sively acrid, and on cooling, deposits crystals, which are al-
most insoluble in any menstruum. Precipitates are caused
by muriate of tin and acetate of lead. The boiled root
may be eaten.
Ranunculus rcpens, Linn. 1 Grows in shady woods, and
Nilidus, Ell. Sk. j among the mountains of this
state. Fl. Aug.
U. S. Disp. 584. This has also a rubefacient and epis-
pastic operation. Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 65. Very similar
to the above in its mode of action.
Delphinium consolida, L. Larkspur. Becoming natural-
ized. The plant has astringent properties, and its flowers
yield a fine blue dye.
Oimicifuga racemosa, Torrey. 1 Black snake-root ; Oo-
Actcea racemosa, L. & Willd. j hosh ; grows in the upper
districts, and in Georgia. Fl. July.
Linnseus, Veg. Mat. Med. 102 (see Actsea). The root is
used in the debility of females attendant upon uterine dis-
order ; and, in its action, is thought to have a special
affinity for this organ. It has also a decided effect upon
some nervous affections, especially chorea. See Journal
Phil. Coll. Pharm. vi, 20, and Dr. Young's notice of it in
the Am. Journal Med. Sc. v, 310. "We have administered
this medicine in chorea with complete success, after the
failure of purgatives and metallic tonics ; and have also
20
derived the happiest effects from it in eases of convulsions
recurring periodically, and connected with uterine dis-
order." Wood, U. S. Disp. The powdered root is em-
ployed, a teaspoonful three times a day. It is a stimulating
tonic, increasing the secretion of the skin, kidneys, and
lungs. Merat, in the Diet, de Mat. Med., adds the authority
of Dr. Kirkbride in support of the efficacy of this plant in
chorea, who advises that a purgative be premised, when it
may be given for several days, and then discontinued, to
be resinned again ; frictions should at the same time be
made upon the surface with the tinct. See the Supplem,
1846, to the Diet, de. M. Med. cit. sup. Dr. Hildreth has
found this plant, in combination with iodine, very advan-
tageous in the early stages of phthisis. Am. Journal Med.
Se. Oct. 1842. The decoction is the most useful form; one
ounce of the bruised root is boiled in a pint of water, of
which a half pint to one pint may be taken during the day.
Dr. Physick also had known it to cure cases of chorea; and
Merat and de L., in the 1st vol. of op. cit. p. 67 (see Actrea),
say that it partakes of the properties of A. brachipetala.
According to Chapman, it produces free nausea, with
abundant expectoration, succeeded by nervous trembling,
vertigo, and a remarkable slowness of the pulse. Dr. Gar-
den administered the tincture for phthisis. London Med.
Journal, li, 245. Barton employed it as an astringent,
which property it owes to the gallic acid it contains. He
also gave it in putrid sore throat. In ]Srew Jersey, a decoc-
tion of the root is said to cure itch; and in ^sTorth Carolina,
it is given as a drench for cattle, in the disease called
murrain. Shec. Flora Carol. 91 ; Carson's Illust, Med. Bot.
i, p. 9, 1847. See Annal. in Am. Journal Pharm. vi, 20,
1843. According to Mr. Tilghman, it contains gum ;
starch; sugar; resin; wax; tannin; gallic acid ;, salts of
potassa ; lime ; magnesia ; iron, etc. The ethereal extract
contains most of its virtues. See, also, Jones, in the Jour-
nal de Pharm. x, 670 ; and Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. vi,
14 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 92. He remarks that its greatest
efficacy has been exhibited in rheumatism ; the power of
21
the root appearing to depend on the volatile oil and bitter
resin, both of which are soluble in alcohol, and partially so
in water.
ZanthorrMza apiifolia, L'Her. Yellow root. Upper, and
mountainous districts. Fl. April.
IT. S. Disp. 745 ; Bart. Med. Bot. ii, 203 ; New York
Med. Eepos. 291; Lind. Nat. Syst. 6; Griffith, Med. Bot,
95 ; Elliott's Bot, Med. note i, 376 ; Stokes, Med. Bot, ii,
194.
The bark possesses pure bitter tonic properties, closely
analogous to those of Colombo and quassia. Dr. P. C.
Barton thinks it a more powerful bitter than the former of
these. It was given by Dr. Woodhouse in doses of forty
grains in dyspepsia; a decoction is also employed. The
shrub contains a gum and resin, both of which are in-
tensely bitter. Alcohol is the best menstruum. Its tinc-
torial powers were known to the Indians. It yields plenti-
fully a coloring matter, a drab being imparted by it to
wool, and a rich yellow to silk ; without a mordant it does
not affect cotton or linen ; with Prussian blue it strikes
a dull olive green color.
Jeffersonia diphylla, Pers. Twin-leaf. Rich shady woods,
Tennessee.
The decoction of this plant is used by the vegetable prac-
titioners and Indian doctors as a diuretic in dropsy, and as
an external application to sores, ulcers, etc.
Podophyllum peltatum, L. Wild jalap ; May-apple ; wild
lemon; duck- weed. Diffused in rich swamp lands ; grows
in Abbeville and Sumter districts; collected in St. John's,
Berkley ; vicinity of Charleston, Bach. ; Newbern. I saw
it at Portsmouth, Virginia. Fl. March.
Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 749; Bell's Pract. Diet.; Drayton's
View S. O. 73; Royle, Mat, Med. 573 ; Frost's Elems. 137 ;
Eb. Mat, Med. i, 205; Ed. and Vav. Mat, Med. i, 514; U.
S; Disp. 556 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 34 ; Bart. Med. Bot.
22
i, 9; Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. in, 873; Med. Record, iii,
332; Ball and Gar. Mat. Med. 193; Schoepf,'M. M. 86;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de Mat. Med. v. 207 ; Chap. Mat. Med.
and Therap. 209; Coxe, Am. Disp. 478; Lind. JSTat. Syst.
Bot.
Bigelow says it is a sure and active cathartic : " "We
hardly know any native plant that answers better the com-
mon purposes of jalap, aloes, and rhubarb." The Shakers
prepare an extract, which is much esteemed as a mild ca-
thartic. By the experiments of Dr. Burgon, in the Am.
Med. Recorder, it is useful in combination with calomel ;
ten grains of the latter with twenty of the podophyllum.
In bilious affections it usually supersedes the necessity of
an emetic previous to a cathartic; and by this means two
desirable effects are produced by one agent. Big. Appen-
dix, iii, 187; Griffith, Med. Bot. 116. It has been recom-
mended in dropsy, from the abundant evacuations which
it produces. According to Staples, it contains resin and
starch ; and Dr. Hodgson has given the name podophylline
to the peculiar substance it contains. See Journal Phil.
Coll. Pharm. ; Carson's Illust. of Med. Botany, pt. i. An
officinal extract is prepared, given in doses of 5-15 grains.
The leaves are purgative, and sometimes produce nausea in
irritable stomachs ; the fruit is eatable. It was employed
by the Cherokees as an anthelmintic; a few drops poured
into the ear are said to restore the power of hearing. The
plant has also been found to afford speedy relief in incon-
tinence of urine. Dr. McBride made great use of it during
his practice in St. John's, Berkley, S. C; he said that it
answers all the purposes of the officinal jalap, "producing
copious liquid discharges, with no griping". The powdered
root is applied as a dressing for ulcers; it is said to restrain
excessive granulations, sprinkled over the surface. In a
communication from Dr. Douglass, of Chester district, S.
C, his correspondent, Mr. Melveown, considers the root too
drastic as a purge ; he adds that the powdered root, mixed
with equal parts of resin, acts as a powerful caustic, and is
used by farriers for eecharotic purposes. We have em-
28
ployed this plant among negroes as a substitute for jalap
and the ordinary cathartics, and find that it answers every
purpose, being easily prepared by the person having charge
of them. Thirty grains of the root in substan«e were given,
or an infusion of one ounce in a pint of water, of which a
wineglassful three times a day is the dose; employing the
Liriodendron tulipifera as a substitute for quinine during
the stage of intermission of all mild cases of intermittent
fever. We would invite the particular attention of planters
to the extensive use of these medicines upon their planta-
tions. We have caused them to be used on one on which
upward of a hundred negroes resided, and we found that
during a period of seven months, including the warm
months of summer, they were used in all cases, and appar-
ently fulfilled every indication. No detailed statement of
these could be obtained, as it was administered by one of
their own number; but large quantities of them were re-
quired. The soft pulp contained within the rind of the
fruit has a very peculiar musky taste, which is relished by
many persons. The pulp is squeezed into a wineglass, and
with the addition of a little old Madeira and sugar, it is said
to be equal to the luscious golden granadilla of the tropics.
Am. Farmer, vol. 14 ; Farmer's Encyc.
Papaverace^e. (The Poppty Tribe.)
Narcotic properties generally prevail throughout this
order. Seeds are universally oily — seldom narcotic. Eu-
rope is the principal seat of the papaveracese ; but several
species included under it are found in North America, be-
yond the tropic. Most of them are annuals, the perennials
being chiefly natives of mountainous tracts.
Papaver Somniferum. Opium Poppy. Thaer, in his Prin-
ciples of Agriculture, in speaking of the cultivation of the
poppy as an oil-bearing plant, says: "The color of the
flower is unimportant. The seed is either white or black.
Some persons think that the black-seeded variety is more
24
productive, others give the preference to the white in this
respect. The white seed is the more agreeable to the taste,
as likewise the oil expressed from it. That variety of
poppy is preferred whose heads or capsules when ripe as-
sume a slightly bluish tinge. The structure of the capsules
is of more consequence ; for there is a variety in which the
envelope of the capsule dehisces spontaneously when ripe,
so that the seed is easily shed ; and another, in which the
seed remains enclosed within the capsules, which must be
opened in order to extract it." "The poppy may become
one of the most profitable crops, if we have the means
of disposing of the seed, or if we knew how to extract the
oil. By proper cultivation it maybe made to produce from
nine to ten bushels of seed per acre, and one bushel yields
twenty-four pounds of good oil. This oil, especially the
first portion, which is cold-pressed, and mixed in the mill
with slices of apple, is doubtless the purest kind of oil for
the table, and the most agreeable that is known. It is
inferior to none, excepting the finest Nice or Lucca oil. It
is preferable to the second-rate oil of those places, and the
peculiar taste of olive oil may be imparted to it by the
addition of a small quantity of that oil of superfine qual-
ity." Principles of Agriculture, 457.
The oil of the poppy is bland, and not narcotic. "It is
used both for food and light, and is considered a fifth more
valuable than that of the colza. The cakes remaining after
the expression of the oil are valuable for the fattening of
swine ; and the stalks for fuel. The ashes which remain
after burning it are of the best kind of manure. If the
seed be pressed in a mill used for the colza, or other oil,
the greatest attention must be paid to cleaning it. The oil
expressed in cold weather is much superior in quality to
that obtained in warm weather, and the two must not be
mixed." "Henry Colman's European Agriculture," vol.
ii, 538, Boston, 1849. See his "Report on Flemish Agri-
culture, for method of growing the Poppy, Colza, Flax,
Hemp, Hop, Mulberry, Beet, Olive, Grape," etc., also
" Thaer's Treatise on Agriculture."
In Thornton's Family Herbal a very full and interesting
account can be read of the cultivation of poppy in England,
with the successful production of opium in considerable
quantity. Forty pounds were made in one season by one
person. Boys and girls were employed in incising the
bulbs and gathering the gum. See Bene (Sesamitm) for
oils and their expression.
A variety of the "common" or "opium poppy" (P. som-
niferum), indigenous to the warm and temperate parts of
Europe and Asia, has been introduced, and a brief notice
is contained in Patent Office Report, 1855, p. xxi : " It has
proved itself susceptible of easy cultivation on very rich
soils. It is well adapted to the climate of the Middle and
Southern states. The flowers of the 'white poppy' (JPapa-
ver s. alba), the variety with which the experiment was
made, may be either entirely white or red, or may be
fringed with purple, rose, or lilac, variegated and edged
with the same colors, but never occur blue or yellow, nor
mixed with these colors, each petal being generally marked
at the bottom with a black or purple spot. The seeds are
black in the plants having purple flowers, and light-colored
in those which are white; although the seeds of the latter,
when of spontaneous growth, are sometimes black. The
largest, heads which are employed for medical or domestic
use, are obtained from the single flowered kind, not only
for the purpose of extracting opium, but also on account of
the bland, esculent oil that is expressed from the seeds,
which are simply emulsive, and contain none of the nar-
cotic principle. For the latter purpose, if no other, its
culture in this country is worthy of attention. Certainly,
it is an object worthy of public encouragement, as the
annual amount of opium imported into the United States
is valued at upward of $407, 000." If this was true some
years since, how much more essential to us is its produc-
tion now (1862), when gum opium and morphine are so
very difficult to obtain. Occupied in researches upon these
subjects during the month of June, under the order of
the Surgeon-General,- 'I was enabled to collect, in a few
26
days, more than an ounce of gum opium, apparently of
very excellent quality, having all the smell and taste of
opium (which I have administered to the sick), from speci-
mens of the red poppy found growing in a garden near
Stateburgh, S. C. I have little doubt that all we- require
could be gathered by ladies and children within the Con-
federate States, if only the slightest attention was paid to
cultivating the plants in our gardens. It thrives well, and
bears abundantly. It is not generally known that the gum
which hardens after incising the capsules is then ready for
use, and may be prescribed as gum opium, or laudanum
and paregoric may be made from it, with alcohol or whisky.
The poppy, it is said, produces better when planted in
the fall.
I quote the following from paper cited above :
The successful cultivation of the plant, however, requires
the provision of good soil, appropriate manure, and careful
management, The strength of the juice, according to Dr.
Butler, of British India, depends much upon the quantity
of moisture of the climate. A deficiency even of dew pre-
vents the proper flow of the peculiar, narcotic, milky juice
which abounds in every part of the plant, while an excess,
besides washing off this milk, causes additional mischief
by separating the soluble from the insoluble parts of this
drug. This not only deteriorates its quality, but increases
the quantity of moisture, which must afterward be got rid
of. The history of the poppy, as well as that of opium — its
inspissated juice— are but imperfectly known. The oldest
notices of this plant are found in the works of the early
Greek physicians, in which mention is also made of the
juice ; but opium does not appear to have been so generally
employed as in modern times, as the notices respecting it
would have been numerous and clear. In the manufacture
of opium in Persia or India, the juice is partially extracted,
together with a considerable quantity of mucilage, by de-
coction. The liquor is strongly pressed out, suffered to
settle, clarified with the whites of eggs, and evaporated to
a due consistence — yielding a fifth of the weight of the
27
heads of extract, which possesses the virtues of opium in a
very inferior degree, and is often employed to adulterate
the genuine opium. The heads of the poppies are gathered
as they ripen ; and, as this happens at different periods,
there are usually three or four gatherings in a year. The
milky juice of the poppy in its more perfect state, which is
the case only in warm climates, is extracted by incisions
made in the capsules, and simply evaporated into the con-
sistence in which it is known to commerce under the name
of opium.
In Turkey, the plants during their growth are carefully
watered, and manured if necessary ; the watering being-
more profuse as the period of flowering approaches, and
until the heads are half grown, when the operation is dis-
continued, and the collection of the opium commences.
At sunset longitudinal incisions are made upon each half-
ripe capsule, not sufficiently deep to penetrate the internal
cavity. The night dews favor the exudation of the juice,
which is collected in the morning by scraping it from the
wounds with a small iron scoop, and depositing the whole
in an earthen pot, where it is worked in the sunshine with
a wooden spatula, until it acquires a considerable degree
of thickness. It is then formed into cakes by the hands,
and placed in earthen pans to be further exsiccated, when
it is covered with the leaves of the poppy, tobacco, or some
other plant.
In obtaining gum opium, the capsules are cut longitu-
dinally only through the skin, though some advise that it
should be done from below upward. I find longitudinal
incisions the most economical. This is generally done late
in the afternoon, the hardened gum being scraped off early
next morning. Boys or girls can easily attend to this. If
the capsules are cut only on one side, the same operation
may be repeated on the other side, and a fresh supply of
opium obtained. A knife with three or four edges, cutting*
about the twelfth or fourteenth part of an inch, is some-
times used. If the incision is too deep the juice passes
within the poppy head.
28
Prof. Alston, of Edinburgh, long ago, says' Thornton,
ascertained that opium of good quality could be obtained
in Great Britain, "having all the color, consistence, taste,
smell, faculties, phenomena," etc., of opium. It has been
calculated by Mr. Ball that more than fifty pounds of opium
may be collected from one statute acre. Mr. Jones, in
1794, in the county of Middlesex, England, presented
twenty-five pounds of opium to the Society of Arts, made
by himself, which was ascertained, by chemical examina-
tion, to be equal to the imported drug. The reader inter-
ested in the culture of the poppy, can find in Thornton's
New Family Herbal, p. 516, a pretty full statement of the
method of culture, the collection of the gum, etc., employed
by Mr. Jones. In Love's report to the Society, he says :
"Having a tap root, their size will, consequently, be pro-
portioned to the depth of earth they are enabled to pene-
trate. Hence the necessity of land that will admit of deep
ploughing. The fineness of the surface, too, is very essen-
tial. As the seed is small, and the plants on their first
coming up so exceedingly tender, the bush harrow should
always be used after those which are commonly employed."
They should be so cultivated that the gatherer may not
disturb the plants in collecting the juice. Mr. Jones is
also in favor of autumnal sowing, planting in the month of
September, by which means the plants attain sufiicient size
to endure the cold of winter ; these were also found to
produce more opium than those planted in March. The
scarifications are described, Thornton's Herbal, 517, but
any one can devise a knife for the purpose.
Argemone Mexicana, Linn. D. C. Prodrom. Devil's fig;
prickly poppy ; Mexican poppjr ; thorn apple ; yellow this-
tle. Charleston district, grows around buildings in rich
spots; vicinity of Charleston; JSTewbern. Fl. July.
Mer. aud de L. Diet. Univ. de M. Med. i, 395 ; Journal de
Pharmacie xiv, 73 ; Bull. des. Sci. Med. de Fer. viii, 210 ;
De Cand. Essai, 116. The oil is said by some to be as
active as that of the Croton tiglium ; see the Supp. to Mer.'
29
and de L. 1846, 57. In Brazil, the leaves are employed as
a cataplasm for driving off ulcers. The infusion is used in
Mexico for its marked sudorific powers ; the juice is found
serviceable in chronic maladies of the skin. In Java, they
employ it in inveterate cutaneous diseases, and as a caustic
in chancres. Lind., in his Kat. Syst. Bot. 8, says that the
seeds are narcotic, and are smoked with tobacco ; Garden-
er's Mag. vi, 315. It is administered in the West Indies as
a substitute for. ipecacuanha, and the juice of the plant is
considered by the native doctors of India as a valuable
remedy in ophthalmia, either dropped in the eye or rubbed
on the tarsus ; it is also considered purgative and deobstru-
ent. Ainslie, M. Med. Ind. 243 ; Prince Maximil. Travels,
214; Aublet, Hist. Guiaue. Merat, in the Supplem. 1846,
says that, in Brazil, in the Isle of France, and in India, the
oil is regarded as a purgative, not unlike castor oil, but
more active — not, however, being attended with griping ;
thirty drops were found equivalent to one ounce of castor
oil. They applied it in tinea capitis, and as an external ap-
plication in headache occasioned by exposure to the rays of
the sun. See Dr. Schort's examination of it. Dr. Muddie
asserts that it induces anodyne effects; so much so, as to
relieve, in an instant, the pains of colic. Med. Bot, Soc.
London, 1830 ; Griffith's Med. Bot. 129. The plant abounds
in a viscid, milky, acid juice, which, exposed to the air,
becomes yellow, resembling gamboge. The flowers are
said by De Candolle, Essai, 14, to be employed in Mexico
as a hypnotic. A thorough examination of this plant
might, well repay the labor bestowed upon it. It is, ap-
parently, native in South Florida. Chapman. "Its seeds
are said to yield a narcotic substance as powerful as opium.
A milky, glutinous juice flows from the whole plant; turns
by exposure to the air into a fine bright yellow; and when
reduced to the consistence of a firm gum, is not distin-
guishable from gamboge, and has, we believe, been brought
into the market under the name of that drug. It has sim-
ilar properties to gamboge, both as a medicine and as a
pigment; and it has been administered in very small doses
30
in cases of dropsy, jaundice, cutaneous eruption, and some
other diseases." Wilson, Rural Cyc.
I collected a large number of the seeds of this plant near
Charleston, and experimented with the oil and tincture,
but with no definite results. A long paper on the medical
properties of the argemone can be found in the Charleston
Medical Journal, among the extracts. I cannot, at present,
cite the volume, but it was during the editorial manage-
ment of Dr. Cain and myself. The tincture was particu-
larly recommended for the relief of colic and pain.
Sanguinaria Canadensis, Linn. Ell. Sk. Puccoon; blood-
root. Diffused; vicinity of Charleston, Abbeville, Rich-
laud, and Fairfield districts; collected in St. John's. El.
March.
Drayton's View of S. C. 72; Bell's Pract. Diet. 404;
Eberie, Mat. Med. 95; Lind. Nat. Syst. 8; TL S. Disp. 627;
Royle, Mat. Med. 273; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 722;
London Med. Chirurg. Trans, vol. i; Bart. M. Bot. i, 30;
Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York, ii, 250; New York
Med. and Phys. Journal, i, No. 2; Am. Journal Med. Sci.
N. S. ii, 506 ; Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. iii, 95 ; Ball and
Gar. Mat. Med. 208 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 75 ; Schoepf,
Mat. Med. 85; Barton's Collec. 28; Trans. Lond. Med.
Soc. i, 179; Thacher's Disp. 331 ; Cutler, Mem. Am. Acad.
i, 455 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 208 ; Bull, des
Sci. Med. Fer. vi, 71 ; Edinb. Med. Journal, vii, 217 ; Shec.
Flora Carol. 153 ; Carson's Illust. Med. Bot. i, 18, 1847.
The root is narcotic, emetic, and purgative in large doses;
stimulant, diaphoretic, expectorant, and tonic in small.
Dr. Dana found a peculiar principle in it, called sangui-
narina (Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York). According
to the experiments of Dr. Donney, of Maryland, in his
inaugural thesis, twenty-grain doses of the root induced
nausea and vomiting, attended with heat of stomach, accel-
eration of pulse, and sometimes slight headache; the leaves
are said to be endued with similar powers. "The seeds
exert a marked influence on the nervous system, occasion-
31
ing torpor, languor, disordered vision, and dilatation of
pupil." Dr. Bard, of ]STew York, confirms this in his In-
aug. Diss. It is an acrid narcotic, producing vomiting, and
given in all diseases of the raucous membranes; employed
in catarrh, typhoid pneumonia, croup, hooping-cough, and
in arresting the progress of phthisis, and also in in-
flammatory rheumatism and jaundice. It was known to
Schoepf ; and Merat states that it was serviceable in
gonorrhoea. Dr. Israel Allen, of New York, says it acts
with all the good effects of digitalis, in affections of the
lungs — the infusion being preferred in these, as the tincture
does not afford the active principle sufficiently strong; he
adds, also, that it powerfully promotes diaphoresis in in-
flammatorv rheumatism. Bigelow mentions it as an acrid
narcotic, in small doses lessening the frequency of the
pulse, somewhat analogous in its operation to that of
digitalis — this, however, being its secondary effect. In still
smaller doses, it is a stimulating tonic. The powdered
root, snuffed up the nose, is powerfully sternutatory; it is
applied as an escharotic to fungous flesh; and several
polypi, of the soft kind, were cured by it in the hands
of Dr. Smith, of Hanover. Dr. Shanks, of Tennessee, also
destroyed a gelatinous polypus with sanguinaria, after ex-
traction had twice failed. Am. Journal Med. Sci. Oct.
1842. The decoction has also been used as a wash to
ill-conditioned ulcers. Dr. McBride employed this plant to
some extent, in his practice in St. John's, Berkley, S. C, in
jaundice, in doses of two to six grains of the root. He did
not trust to it exclusively, but found it most effectual in
those cases characterized by torpor of the liver, attended
with colic and yellowness of the skin. See his letter to
Dr. Bigelow\ He gave, too, with success, in hydrothorax,
the tincture in doses of sixty drops, three times a day,
increased until nausea followed its employment. Eberle,
in his wTork on Diseases of Children, p. 97, says that the
powdered root is an excellent escharotic in ulceration of
the umbilicus. Griffith's Med. Bot. 127. It is observed
by some that the seeds are more narcotic than the root,
32
inducing symptoms resembling those produced by stramo-
nium. The dose of powder as an emetic, x-xx grs. ; as
a stimulating expectorant, iii-v grs.; or an infusion of
one-half ounce Of the root to one pint of water — dose, a
tablespoonful ; of the tincture, it is one-half a drachm; a
larger quantity acts as an emetic. The tincture is made'
by adding two ounces of the bruised root to one pint of
alcohol. Macerate fourteen days. It is expectorant and
alterative. Dr. Donney says the leaves are administered
in veterinary practice in Maryland, to produce sweating,
and to facilitate the shedding of hair in the spring. Dr.
Griffith is convinced of its efficacy in this respect, and
he has also given the fresh root mixed with the food, at
intervals, to destroy bots in horses — one or two roots prov-
ing sufficient. In a communication from Dr. Branch, of
Abbeville district, S. C, he informs me that he has for
many years employed the decoction of the root in croup;
he prefers it to any other single remedy; and, by persisting
in it till emesis is produced, he is of the opinion that it
prevents the formation of the diptheritic membrane. From
his own experience, he considers it a specific in the early
stages of the disease, preferring, for infants, the infusion to
the tincture, as the difficulty of exciting vomiting frequent-
ly renders it necessary to give more of the alcohol than
would be prudent. He finds it convenient, when called
to a case of croup, to add to thirty grains of the powdered,
or bruised root, a teacupful of boiling water, allowing it to
steep for ten or fifteen minutes over the fire, when it may
be given in teaspoonful doses, frequently repeated, until
vomiting is induced; if the patient is relieved, continue it
in doses short of the emetic point, every hour or two,
increasing it in frequency and amount should the symp-
toms require it. Dr. B. is of the opinion that it owes its
value to three qualities combined: an acrid, an emetic,
and a deobstruent property — the latter acting on the glan-
dular system. It possesses, also, the peculiar advantage of
not producing bad efiects by accumulation ; a teacupful not
debilitating any more than a smaller quantity, and neither
inducing prostration, .which, in the disease in question, is
an important consideration. If the patient's skin is hot
and dry, the addition of a few grains of ipecacuanha is
advised. The experience of Dr. Branch corroborates that
of others respecting the value of the tincture, in doses of
ten to fifteen drops, given three or four times a day, as an
expectorant in chronic cough. In emetic doses, it proves
a useful promoter of expectoration in pneumonia. The
decoction of the root, taken in small doses, may be used
wherever a nauseaut and expectorant is required, and will
aid in preventing the advance of colds, croup, pneumonia,
etc. The juice of the root was used by the Indians as a
red pigment, and it has been applied to the arts. Dr.
Donney says that the sulph. of alumina will partially fix
the color in woollen stuffs, and the murio. sulph. of lead in
cotton and linen. The stain, applied to the unbroken skin,
is not indelible. Lawson, in his account of Carolina, says,
that the Puccoon is Batschia canescens (Lithospermum canes-
cens), growing in upper districts. See Pivrsh's Flora and
Croom's Catalogue.
The above was contained in my report on Med. Botany
of S. C, published in 1849. Since that period, I have used
the tinct. of sanguinaria largely during five years attend-
ance upon the Marine Hospital, and in private practice. I
employ no vegetable substance so constantly, as an addition
to cough mixtures, and as an alterative and tonic, when I
think the functions of the liver not sufficiently active. We
must avoid adding too much of the tincture to any mix-
ture, lest it convert it into a nauseaut or emetic. Without
being able to state precisely why, I can only say that it has
proved a highly satisfactory agent in my hands as a tonic,
alterative, and expectorant. Though paying some atten-
tion to 'medicinal plants, I use habitually very few of them,
viz: the sanguinaria, hoarhound, blackberry root, and a
few others. My endeavor is not so much to avoid a great
multiplicity of agents, as to do no injury with any. The
more full and accurate our knowledge, the more skilful is
34
our application, whether the substances used be vegetable
or mineral.
Fumaria officinalis, Linn. Hook. Fl. Bo., Fumitory. Natu-
ral, says Elliott, on John's island, and at Mr. Middleton's
on Ashley river.
This plant received great attention in former times, and
was almost universally employed. Pliny speaks of it, lib.
25, c. 13. According to Hoffman and Boerhaave, the juice
taken in large doses is diuretic and laxative. Great confi-
dence was placed in its virtues by Cullen. Mat. Med. ii, 77.
In the Deni. Elem. de Bot., it is referred to as a diuretic
and detersive aperient, employed as a purifier of the blood
in scrofulous and cutaneous diseases. It was administered
in amenorrhoea, loss of appetite, and hypochondriacal affec-
tions ; Fl. Scotica, 379. Boerhaave frequently prescribed
it in jaundice and bilious colics. Thornton, in his Fam.
Herb. 628, asserts that he had experienced its value in
cutaneous diseases. Its acrimonious property is volatile ;
hence, it should be given in whey. Mer. and de L. Diet.
de M. Med. iii, 310; Fl. Med. iv, 153. "A marked bitter,
which increases on being dried." A popular depurative
remedy, which augments the action of the organs, and
therefore useful in the diseases specified. Merat says, it
was very generally allowed to be a specific in elephantiasis,
acting without any evacuation or appreciable effect. Bar-
bier, M. Med. 381 ; IT. S. Disp. 1254. An extract of the
expressed juice, or a decoction, throws out upon its surface
a copious saline efflorescence. "The plant indeed abounds
in saline substances." Griffith, Med. Bot. 118. It is still
employed in France ; given in the form of decoction, ex-
tract, s\Trup, or expressed juice.
In observing the enormous amount of potash said by Ure
to exist in the ashes of this plant (fourth London edition,
1853), I can now well understand some of the statements
made above, which I had published several years siuce in
my report to the American Medical Association. It is
35
another evidence of the light thrown upon any subject by
facts gathered from different sources and by independent
inquirers. See article "Potash." Wormwood, artemisia,
tobacco, corn and rice stalks, etc., contain potash in large
proportion. The two first mentioned in enormous amount
relatively.
Nymph^aceje. [The Water Lily Tribe.)
This order is generally considered antaphrodisiac, seda-
tive, and narcotic. Their stems are bitter and astringent;
they contain a considerable quantity of fecula, and, after
repeated washings, are capable of being used for food.
Nyynphcea odorata, Ait. Kew. and Ph. Sweet-scented
water-lily ; pond-lily. Diffused in lower country of South
Carolina ; roots immersed. Newbern. Fl. April.
U. S. Disp. 1280; Mat. Veg. Pract. 201; Thompson's
Steam Pract. Big. Am. Med. Bot. 132 ; Cutler, Am. Trans.
i, 456. "An antaphrodisiac." The root possesses a high
degree of astringency, containing, according to Dr. Bige-
low, tannin and gallic acid. It is a popular remedy in
bowel complaints ; and is used as an astringent in gleet,
fluor albus, etc. It also forms an excellent demulcent
poultice for ulcers. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv,
643 ; Bull. des. Sci. Med. iii, 74. Ainslie, in his Mat. Med.
Ind. ii, 381, says that, in India, the}7 prepare with it a re-
freshing liniment for the head. Thompson employed this
plant in the steam practice, and Matson recommends it as
a gargle in sore throats.
Cephalotace^;.
We insert this order, the properties of which are un-
known, merely to introduce the non-medicinal, but very
remarkable plant, the
DioiKEa muscijmla, Ellis, L. Venus fly-trap. Gen. C. C.
Pinckney informed Mr. Elliott of the only locality of this
30
interesting plant in this state, viz. : on the margin of the
Santee river, between Lynch's ferry and the sea, particu-
larly at Collins' and Bowman's bridges. ISTewbern. Fl.
May. Its leaves possess great sensibility, and are prehen-
sile: closing up and confining insects and any foreign body
which comes in contact with it. See Curtis, in Bost. Journal
Nat. Hist, i, p. 123, the article "Sarracenia" infra, and
authors passim. " Miraculum naturae ! folia triloba, radi-
calia, ciliata, sensibilia, couduplicanda, insecta incarceranda.
Ellis, Epist. ad Linnmtm. Groom's Cat.
Magistoltace^e. (The Magnolia Tribe.)
This order is characterized by the possession of a bitter
tonic taste, and fragrant flowers ; the latter generally pro-
ducing a decided action upon the nerves.
Magnolia glauca, L. Bay; beaver tree; swamp-laurel.
Diffused in damp pine lands. Charleston; Newbern. Fl.
June.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 67 ; Bart, i, 77 ; U. 8. Disp. 442 ;
Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 733 ; Royle, Mat. Med. 248; Ball and
Gar. 189 ; Michaux, X. Am. Sylvia, ii, 8 ; Kalm's Travels,
i, 205 ; Humphries, Med. Comment, xviii ; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. iv, 193; Marshall's Arbust. 83; Bart.
Mat. Med. 46 ; Price, Inaug. Diss. Phil. 1812 ; Lind. Nat.
Syst. 18 ; Am. Herbal, 200 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 97. It is
a stimulant, aromatic tonic, with considerable diaphoretic
powers. The leaves, steeped in brandy, or a decoction of
them, are valuable in pectoral affections, recent cold, etc.
The tincture, made by macerating the fresh cones and
seeds, or bark of root, in brandy, which best extracts its
virtues, is much used as a popular remedy in rheumatism ;
and, according to Barton, in inflammatory gout. Lindley
refers to it as a valuable tonic, but it is said to be destitute
of tannin or gallic acid. The bark of the root, according
to Griffith, was employed by Indians to fulfil a variety
of indications; the warm decoction acts as a gentle laxa-
87
tive, and subsequently as a sudorific, whilst the cold decoc-
tion, powder of, or tincture, is tonic. These have proved
very beneficial in the hands of regular practitioners in the
treatment of remittents of a typhoid character. It is sup-
posed by many residing in the lower portions of this state
that this tree prevents the water of bogs and galls from
generating malaria. It certainly seems that the water is
much clearer in which the ba}7 tree grows.*
* In that old work on Herbs, entitled the "English Physician," by Nicholas
Culpepper, gentleman, "Student in Physic and Astrology," we have met with a
great deal concerning the employment of herbs in medicine ; but, from the absence
of botanical terms, it is impossible to ascertain, in many cases, what species are
intended. In order to show the surprisingly superstitious credence then attached
to the influence of astrology, iu determining the virtues of, and the times proper
for gathering plants, and also the diversity of qualities attributed to them, we will
extract a portion of what Culpepper says of the "Bay Tree." "Government and
Virtues. — That it is a Tree of the Sun, and under the celestial Sign Leo, and re-
sisteth Witchcraft very potently, as also all the Evils old Saturn can do to the Body
of Man, and they are not a few; for it is the Speech of one, and I am mistaken if
it were not Mezaldus, that neither Witch nor Devil, Thunder nor Lightning, will
hurt a Man in the Place where a Bay Tree is. Galen said that the Leaves or Bark
do dry and heal very much, and the Berries more than the Leaves ; the Bark of
the Root is less sharp and hot, but more bitter, and hath some Astriction withal,
whereby it is effectual to break the Stone, and good to open Obstructions of the
Liver, Spleen, and other inward Parts, which bring the Dropsy, Jaundice, etc.
The Berries are very effectual against all poison of venomous Creatures, and the
Sting of Wasps and Bees, as also against the Pestilence, and other infectious Dis-
eases, and therefore put into sundry Treacles for the purpose. They, likewise,
procure Women's Courses, and seven of them given to a Woman in Sore Travel of
Child-birth do cause a speedy Delivery, and expel the after-birth, and therefore are
not to be taken by such as have not gone their Time, lest they procure Abortion, or
cause Labour too soon. They wonderfully help all cold and rheumatic Distilla-
tions from the Brain to the Eyes. Lungs, or other Parts, and being made into an
Electuary with Honey, do help the Consumption, Old Coughs, Shortness of Breath,
and thin Rheums, as also the Megrim. They mightily expel the Wind, and pro-
voke Urines, help the Mother, and kill the Worms. The Leaves also work the like
Effects; a Bath of the Decoction of the Leaves and Berries is singularly good for
Women to sit in that arte troubled with the Mother, or the Diseases thereof, or the
stoppings of their Courses, or for the Diseases of the Bladder, Pains in the Bowels
by Wind, and stopping of Urine ; a Decoction, etc., settleth the Palate of the
Mouth in its Place. The Oil made of the Berries is very comfortable. All Cold
Griefs of the Joints, Nerves, Arteries, Stomach, Belly, or Womb, and helpeth Pal-
sies, Convulsions, Cramps, Aches, Tremblings, and Numbness in any Part, Weari-
ness also, and Pains that come by Sore Travelling. * * * * Pains in the
Ears are also cured by dropping in some of the Oil, or by receiving into the Ears
the Fume of the Decoction of the Berries through a Funnel. It takes away the
Marks of Bruises ; it helpeth also the Itch, Scabs, and Weals in the Skin," etc.
. 38
Magnolia grandiflora, L. Magnolia. This magnificent tree
grows abundantly along the sea-coast, and in the streets of
Charleston. Found sparingly in St. .John's, Berkley, forty-
five miles from the ocean; grows in Georgia also. FL
May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 193 ; Pe. Mat. Med.
and Therap. ii, 734 ; U. S. Disp. 444. The medicinal and
chemical properties of these plants are supposed .to be iden-
tical. See M. glauca. Mr. Proctor, in his analysis, Am.
Journal Pharm. xiv, 95, and viii, 85, found in this species
volatile oil, resin, and a crystallizable principle analogous
to the liriodendrine of Prof. Emmet, obtained from the L.
tulipifera growing in this state (vide L. tulip.) Merat says
that in Mexico the seeds are employed with success in
paralysis. Loc. sit. sup.
Magnolia acuminata, Linn. Mich. Cucumber tree. Moun-
tainous districts ; grows in Georgia also. Fl. July.
IT. S. Disp. 443 ; Mx. X. Am. Sylvia, ii, 12 ; Lind. STat.
Syst. 16. Lindley speaks particularly of the cones of this
species being employed in the form of a spirituous tincture
in rheumatic affections. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
iv, 193 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 98. Used as a prophylactic in
autumnal fevers.
The wood is soft, fine grained, and susceptible of a bril-
liant polish. It is sometimes sawed into boards, and used
in the interior of wooden houses.
The flowers of most magnolias exhale a strong aromatic
fragrance ; the bark of all possesses a combination of bitter
and hotly aromatic properties, without astringency, and
that of many acts as a powerful medicine, in a similar way
to Peruvian bark and Winter's bark. Wilson's Rural Cyc.
Magnolia umbrella. Lam. ^ LTmbrella tree.
" tripetala, Linn, and Ell. Sk. j Rare. Grows on
the sea-coast in rich soils ; ISTewbern. Fl. June.
U. S. Disp. 443. It has a warm, aromatic odor, and is
possessed of similar properties with the above. Mx. IS".
39
Am. Sylvia, ii, 19; Lind. Nat. Syst. 16. According to Be
Cand. and Merat, Diet, de M. Med. iv, 193, it acts so pow-
erfully on the nerves as to induce sickness and headache.
Magnolia macrophylla. Mx. and Ell. Sk. Grows on the
mountains of South Carolina. It possesses the most mag-
nificent foliage and flowers of any of our forest trees ; the
former are a foot or two in length ; and the latter one foot
in diameter. For its medicinal properties, see M. glauca.
See, also, Griffith's Med. Bot. 98, and Ell. Sk. of Bot. of
S. C.
Illicium Floridanum and panrifiorum. Anise seed tree.
These plants have the smell of anise seed, and should be
examined.
Liriodendron luUpifera, L. Tulip tree; white wood; pop-
lar. Grows in swamps ; diffused. Collected in St. John's,
Charleston district ; Columbia; Newbern. El. June.
Eberle, Mat. Med, ii, 308; U. S. Disp. 432; Rush, in
Trans. Phil. Coll. Phy. 1798; Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 743;
younger Michaux on Eorest Trees of N. America ; Clay-
ton, Phil. Trans. 8 ; Carey's Am. Museum, 12 ; Barton's
Collec. Form. Mat. Med. 14; Thacher's U. S. Disp.; Big.
Am. Med. Bot. ii, 107; Barton, i, 92; Ball. Gar. Mat. Med.
190 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 130 ; Annal. de
Chimie, lxxx, 215; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot.; Rogers' Inaug.
Diss. 1802. This plant is tonic, diuretic, and diaphoretic,
and is generally considered one of the most valuable of the
substitutes for Peruvian bark. It has been employed as a
warm sudorific in the treatment of chronic rheumatism and
gout; and Bigelow thinks it valuable as a stomachic. It
was administered by Dr. Young and himself, combined
with laudanum, in hysteria, and the former says that in all
the materia medica he does not know of a more certain,
speedy, and effectual remedy for that disease. See his let-
ter to Governor Clayton. " He has never known it to fail
in a single case of worms." Am. Museum, xii; Griffith,
40
Med. Bot, 98. "Rafinesque says the seeds are laxative, and
the leaves are used as an external application for headache;
they are washed and applied to the forehead. Merat states
that it is useful in phthisis, and he also refers to its vermi-
fuge properties ; employed in relaxed states of the stomach
[reldchcmens) and in the advanced stages of dj7sentery; this
is corroborated by Thacher, Anc. Journal de Med. lxx, 530;
J. C. Mayer, Mem. on L. tulipifera, in the Mem de l'Acad.
de Berlin, 1796 ; Ruch. Mem. sur le tulipier, Tilloch's
Magazine; Hildebrande, Essai sur un nouveau succedane
du quinquina in Ann. de Chim. lxvi, 201 ; Carminati sur
les proprieties medicinales de l'ecorce de tulipier. Its analy-
sis, etc., in the Mem. of Roy. Inst. Lombard}-, iii, 4; in the
Supplem. to Mer. Diet. 1846,436. M. Bouchardat advises,
as the most preferable mode of exhibiting it in fevers, the
wine of the tulip, made with the bark in equal parts of
alcohol, to which he adds of white wine seven or eight
times the amount of the alcoholic infusion. Bull, de
Therap. xix, 246; S. Cubiere's Hist. Tulip. Paris, 1800; see
Tract, of Bouchardat in Ann. de Therap. 75, 1841. Dr.
J. P. Emmet, in his Analysis in the Phil. Journal Pharm.
iii, 5, announced the discovery of a new principle in it — the
liriodendrine. This is solid, brittle, and inodorous at 40°,
fusible at 180°, and volatile at 270°. It is soluble in alco-
hol, thought to be analogous to camphor, and to the princi-
ple found in the magnolia grandiilora, and to consist of a
resin and a volatile oil; hence the alcoholic tincture is pref-
erable. The powdered bark in syrup is given to children
who are liable to convulsions from worms, to promote their
expulsion, and to strengthen the tone of the digestive
organs. The bark should be pulverized and bottled. We
have employed a strong infusion of the bark and root of
this plant as an anti-intermittent, among a number of
negroes, and are much pleased with its efficacy. See the
Podophyllum peltatum, in conjunction with which it was
usually given. In Virginia, the decoction of the bark, with
that of the Cornus Florida (dogwood) and the Prinos ver-
ticillatus, is given to horses affected with the bots. The
41
poplar bark powdered is a valuable remedy as a tonic for
horses. An infusion may be given to a horse, or the bark
placed in his trough to be chewed. It gives tone to the
digestive organs when they are " off their feed," in veter-
inary or jockey parlance. This tree I notice in unusual
abundance along the line of railroad from Kingsville to
Columbia, S. C; also in Spartanburg district, S. C, on the
banks of streams. Dose of bark xx-xxx grs. It is a
stimulant tonic, slightly diaphoretic. The infusion or
decoction is made in the proportion of an ounce to a pint
of water; dose one or two fluid ounces. Dose of the satu-
rated tincture a fluid drachm. The wood is durable when
not exposed to the weather — it is smooth, line grained, and
flexible; employed for various mechanical purposes — for
carving and ornamental work ; for making carriage and
door panels, chairs, cabinets, etc. Mx. Forest Trees of
America.
ANONACEiE. {The Papain Tribe.)
The plants of this order generally possess a powerful
aromatic taste and smell in all the parts.
Uvaria triloba, T. and Gray. ) Papaw ; custard apple.
Anona " Linn. > Grows in rich soils along
Asimina " Ell. Sk. ) streams. We have observed
it in Fairfield and Spartanburg districts, S. C, and collected
it in St. John's; Mr. Elliott says it is found at Beck's
ferry, Savannah river. Fl. May.
Diet, de Mat. Med. par Mer. and de L. torn, i, 311. The
rind of the fruit of the A. triloba of Linn, possesses a very
active acid ; pulp sometimes employed as a topical applica-
tion in ulcers. Lind. JSTat. Syst. Bot. 69. "Juice of unripe
fruit is a powerful and efficient vermifuge ; the powder of
the seeds answers the same purpose ; a principal constituent
of the juice is fibrine — a product supposed peculiar to ani-
mal substances and to fungi." "The tree has, moreover,
the property of rendering the toughest animal substances
42
tender by causing a separation of the muscular fibre — its
very vapor even does this; newly killed meat suspended
over the leaves, and even old hogs and poultry, when fed
on the leaves and fruit, become 'tender in a few hours !' '
Lind. loc. cit. .The sap (of Papaw tree, Ca.rica papaya),
which is extracted from the fruit by incision, is white and
excessively viscous. In a specimen from the Isle of France,
Vauquelin found a matter having the chemical properties
of animal albumen, aud lastly, fatty matter. Boussingault,
This tree can be found in many parts of the state, and we
would invite examination into these very curious properties.
For an excellent description of the papaw, see Hooker in
the Bot. Magazine, 898. At Pittsburgh, a spirituous licpior
has been made from the fruit. Michaux notices that the
cellular integument of the bark, and particularly that of the
roots, exhales in summer a nauseous odor so strong as to
occasion sickness if. respired in confined air. Am. Sylva.
Umbellifer.s:. (The Umbelliferous Tribe.)
This order is nearly related to the Ranunculacese, and is
generally found in cold countries, and on the mountains of
tropical regions. The plants belonging to it are often
poisonous, some virulently so ; others are nutritive and
wholesome ; of the former, the hemlock is an example ; of
the latter, the celery and parsley.
Hydrocot[ile umbellata, L. Grows in bogs and wet marshes ;
collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ; Xewbern.
Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. torn, iii, 560. Employed
with great efficacy in Brazil against hypochondriacism.
According to one author, the root is so valuable in diseases
of the kidney as not to be replaced by any other medicines.
It is emetic, diuretic, and vulnerary. We see no mention
of it in the English or American works.
Sanicula Marylandica, L. Sanicle. Diffused; grows in
shady spots; collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston ;
Xewbern. Fl. Jul v.
43
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 201. The Indians
used it as we do sarsaparilla in syphilis, and also in diseases
of the lungs.
Eryngium aquaticum, L. (E. YiicccefoUum of Mx.) Button
snakeroot. Damp pine lands ; diffused ; collected in St.
John's; Charleston. Fl. July.
Coxe, Am. Disp. 268 ; Ell. Bot. i, 343 ; Barton's Collec.
i, 3 ; Frost's Elems. 280 ; U. S. Disp. 318 ; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. iii, 145; Shec. Flora Carol, art. Button
snakeroot, 310, 545. The decoction is diaphoretic, expecto-
rant, and sometimes emetic. Elliott says it is preferred by
some physicians to the seneka snakeroot. Barton, in his
Collections, states that it is allied to the contrayerva of the
shops. This plant is possessed of undoubted diuretic pow-
ers, and in combination with the Iris versicolor (blue flag).
was much employed by Dr. McBride, of South Carolina, in
dropsy. (See I, versic.) Great use is frequently made of
them in popular practice. Shec. in his Flora Carol. 310,
states that the decoction and tincture are given with benefit
in pleurisies, colds, and most of the inflammatory diseases
of the mucous passages. It is also said to act as an
escharotic — keeping down fungus flesh, and preventing
mortification. The root, when chewed, sensibly excites a
flow of saliva. The E. aromaticum, an aromatic species,
grows in East and South Florida. Baldwin in Chapman's
Flora. The E. maratimam, of England, penetrates the
soil to the depth of twenty teet.
Eryngium fostidum, L. Fever weed. Elliott is doubtful
whether this plant comes within the limits prescribed to
us; it has, however, been noticed by writers as a S. C.
species, and Michaux found it in Florida. T. and Gray are
of the opinion that it is not a native of the United States.
Vicinity of Charleston, Bachman ; Shec. Flora. Carol. 54.
"An admirable febrifuge." Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iii, 145; Aublet, i, 284. liotboll says it is a sedative,
alterative, and febrifuge. Sprengel, Hist, de la M6d. v,
44
467 ; Lind. Species, PI. 336. JSTot included in Chapman's
Flora.
Aconitum uncinatum, L. Aconite, monks-hood, wolfsbane.
Shady banks of streams among the mountains of Confed-
erate States, and northward.
Most of the aconites, particularly those with blue flowers,
are highly poisonous. This species should be carefully
experimented with, as it may be made to supply the tinc-
ture of aconite and aconita for medicinal and chemical
purposes. The active principle is " the most virulent poi-
son known, not excepting prussic acid, as prepared by
Moison, of London. 1-50 of a grain has endangered life."
Wilson's Rural Encyc. See also works on Materia Medica.
" The 1-100 part of a grain has produced a feeling of
numbness, weight, and constriction, which has lasted a
whole day." The tincture of aconite is more manageable,
and is useful as an external anaesthetic in frontal neuralgia,
local pains, etc. No remedy, save chloroform, equals it
when applied locally for the relief of pain. The tincture
may be combined with oil and chloroform, as a liniment in
rheumatism.
Cieuta maculaia, L. Walt. FL, Carolina. Am. hemlock;
snake-weed ; beaver poison. Grows in bogs and inundated
land; collected in St. John's ; Charleston: JSTewbern. Fl.
Aug.
IT. S. Disp. 1242; Barton's Collec. 1846; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. ii, 282; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, -125;
Schcepf, M. Med. 36 ; Stockbridge, iST. England Journal,
iii, 334 ; Mitchell, Ely, and Muhlenburg, Med. Repos. xvii,
303 ; Stearns, Am. Herbal, 172. The leaves, flowers, and
seeds are resolvent, powerfully narcotic, sedative, and ano-
dyne. It resembles conium in its effects, and is used as a
substitute for it. "It relieves pain from cancer more pow-
erfully than opium ;" employed in ill-conditioned ulcers,
gleets, painful uterine discharges, venereal ulcers, epilep-
sies, and convulsions ; it promotes perspiration and urine,
and, externally applied, discusses hard tumours. It is
closely analogous to the European species, the C. virosa;
Bigelow says identical with it. The dose of the leaves in
powder is one to two grains three times a day, in infusion,
or one grain of the extract, increasing it as the system
becomes tolerant. This plant has repeatedly occasioned
the death of those mistaking it for others. An active
emetic, to which an infusion of galls may be added; will
generally give relief. The vegetable acids, lemon juice,
and vinegar, neutralize its effects ; and strong tea and cof-
fee are the best antidotes for the stupor which follows its
employment.
Ajpium graveolens. Celery. Ex. cult. Milne, Ind. Bot.
420. The fresh roots, observes Dr. Lewis, when produced
in their native water soil, are supposed to partake of the
ill quality of those of the hemlock kind, and to be particu-
larly hurtful to epileptic and pregnant women. So that we
have here a striking evidence of the excellence of the Nat.
Syst., as it may be remembered that, in describing the
characteristics of this order, this plant was alluded to as
forming an exception.
Ajpium jpetroselinum. Parsley. Ex. cult. Leaves aromatic
and slightly diuretic. See authors.
Discojpleura cajnllacea, D. C. and T. and Gray. ] Bishop's
Ammi majus of Walter. j weed.
Grows in damp soils. Fl. July. Shec. Flora Carol. 136.
Slum nodijiorum, "Walt, and Ell. Sk. \ " Probably intro-
Helosciadium of Koch. j duced ; abundant
around Charleston." Ell.
Thornton's Fam. Herbal, 297; Kay's Cat. Plantarum, 213;
Diet, de M. Med. It is recommended in cutaneous erup-
tions. Withering relates the case of a young lady, who
was cured of a very obstinate attack by taking three large
spoonfuls of the juice twice a day; "and I have repeated-
ly seen," says Thornton, "two ounces administered every
46
morning;, with the greatest advantage." It is not nauseous,
and children take it readily, mixed with milk. When it is
prepared in this way it is not disagreeable, and does not
affect the head, stomach, or bowels. IT. S. Disp. 1296.
The juice has also been employed in scrofulous swellings
of the lymphatic glands, and is considered' diuretic. Mer.
and de L. Diet. 369 ; Bull, des Sc. M. de Ferus. xviii, 420
and xx, 421.
Faemeulum officinale. Fennel. Introduced from Europe;
cultivated.
Seeds of fennel are well known ; employed in flatulent
colic for their carminative and stimulant properties. The
oil of fennel is also used for the same purpose, and to cor-
rect the taste of. medicine. See authors.
Angelica lucida, Ell. Sk. ^ Angelica. We have collected
Archartgeliea of some, /it in Fairfield district; also in
upper St. John's, Charleston district. Fl. July.
Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 469 ; Ed. and Yav. Mat.
Med. 276 ; Le. M. Med. i, 85 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. 86 ; U.
S. Disp. 98 ; Journal de Pharm. 3e ser. 2 ; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. i, 296 ; Shec. Flora Carol. 167. The root
is edible, and possesses more aroma than any of our indig-
enous plants. It is used in spasmodic vomiting, flatulent
colics, and nervous headaches * some say it is powerfully
emmenagogue. The vittre of some species are filled with a
pungent oil. A candy is sometimes prepared with the
roots boiled in su^ar. The oreat fragrance of this root has
caused it to be used for many purposes by the confectioner
and. others; the tender stalks also are candied. The seeds
are cordial, tonic, and carminative ; and the plant was in
repute at one time as a preventive of pestilence to those
who bore it about them. "The pulverized root, in doses of
a drachm, is said to be very useful in pestilential fevers and
diseases of the liver ; and a paste of its root and vinegar
used to be carried and smelled at by physicians during the
prevalence of epidemics, as a preventive of infection."
47
Wilson's Rural Cyc. " Angelica " is stated in some tables
to yield more potash even than wormwood or fumitory.
See " Chenopodiuvi " and "Fumaria" in this volume.
Anethum fce?iiculnm, L. Dill. In trod. cult, in South
Carolina.
It is employed in flatulent colic as a carminative and an-
tispasmodic. The oil has been given in hiccough. Milne,
in his Ind. Bot. 404, says : " The herb, boiled in broth, has
been used with great success in preventing obesity." See
authors.
Daueiis carota, Tourn. Carrot. Completely naturalized,
says Elliott, in South Carolina and Georgia. Collected in
,S't. John's; Charleston. Fl. April.
Woodv. Med. Bot.; Royle, Mat. Med. 401. Root and
seeds stimulant, carminative, and eminently diuretic ; em-
ployed with great success in strangury, anasarcous swell-
ings of lower extremities, in suppression of urine, and
painful micturition. Eberle on Diseases of Children, 110 ;
Am. Herbal, 92 ; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 298. * Dr.
Chapman used a strong infusion in gravel. Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. 299 ; Flora Med. ii, 99 ; see Chemical
Anal, by Bouillon Lagrange, in the Journal de Pharm. i,
529. Britanet and himself wrote a book on the plant
(which may be seen in the New York Hosp. Lib.) Root
contains some volatile oil, a large proportion of pectin, a
peculiar coloring principle called carotin, and sugar. Grif-
fith, Med. Bot. 387. The authors alluded to above contend
that the plant acts as a sedative, even topically applied. In
the form of a poultice, it cairns pain, is antiseptic, and cor-
rects the intolerable fetor arising from internal diseases —
as of the ear, for example. Dr. Geo. Wilkes, ophthalmic
surgeon, ISTew York, informs me that he finds it invaluable
in this respect. Mem. de Museum, iv, 102 ; Suppl. to Mer.
and de L. 1846 ; Vauquelin upon the Pectic Acid in the
Root of the Carrot, Journal de Pharm. xv, 340. The
essential oil is regarded as emmenagogue and antibysteric.
48
Ancien Journal de Med. xxiv, 68. In Germany, it is con-
sidered vermifuge. Crantz, Mat. Med. i, 23. Shecut, in
his Flora Carol., alludes to its employment in gravel, and
in expelling a species of tape worm. A syrup similar to
treacle has been obtained from it, and by distillation, a
liquor nearly equal in flavor to brandy. Much use is made
of this plant in popular practice as a diuretic.
Daucus pusillus, Mx. Wild carrot. Grows on the Savan-
nah river; collected in St. John's ; Charleston. Bach.
Eberle, Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 318; Bell's Pract. Diet.
162. Seeds contain more volatile oil than the other spe-
cies. It, however, possesses nearly the same properties.
Used as a diuretic in calculous diseases, suppression of
urine, etc.
Araliace^e. ( The Aralia Tribe.)
Panax quutquefolium, L. Ginseng. Rich soils in the
mountains of South Carolina. Fl. May.
Am. Herbal, 157, by Stearns. In China they drink an
infusion, of the root instead of tea, and it is well known
that they have recourse to it as a last resort in all' diseases :
Dr. James says, more especially in all cachectic and con-
sumptive cases, and in those arising from debility of any
kind. Dr. Healde also alludes to their great confidence in
it as a restorative after great fatigue, as an antispasmodic
in nervous affections, in coma, and as an aphrodisiac ; one
hundred and twenty grains of the sliced root are boiled
in a quart of water, and two ounces of the decoction, or
twenty grains of the root in substance is employed. Jar-
toux, in the Phil. Trans, xxviii, 239, states that, after
being fatigued by travelling three days, he employed the
decoction of the leaves internally, and as an application to
the feet, and was satisfied of its utility, being completely
revived by it. Dr. Wood, in the U. S. Disp. 530, says, it is
very little more than a demulcent ; but Lindley, Nat. Syst.
Bot. 25, thinks that there is no reasonable doubt of the
ginseng having an invigorating and stimulant power, when
49
fresh. Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 82 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. iii, 356, and iv, 176; Flor. Med. iv, 185; Kaem-
pher, Amoen. Academical, v, 218; Histoire du Japon, vij.
218 ; Burmann, Flora Ind. tab. 29, i ; L'Encyelop. Chi-
noise, lxcii ; Flora Cochine, 806; Lafitteau, Descrip. d\\
Ginseng, Paris, 1718, i, 12. Dr. Sarrazin introduced it
into notice in Europe. Trans. Roy. Acad. Sci., Bartram
Com. 61, 1741 ; J. P. Bregnius, Diss. Med. de Radice Ginr
seng, 1700; Coxe, Am. Disp. 434. Cullen, in his Mat.
Med. 270, refers to its efficacy in increasing virility. See
Merat, loc. cit. "J'avoue qu'un Individ u qni en avait fait
usage dans cet derniere intention, pendant long temps, n'en
obtint absolument aucun resultat." S. Vaillant in Acad,
des Sci. 1718; Bourdelin, Hist, de l'Acad. 1797; Lafitteau,
Mem. concernant la precieuse plante de Ginseng, Paris,
1788; Kalm. Travels, iii, 114; Osbeck's China, 145; Heb-
erden, Med. Trans, iii, 34 ; Fothergill, Gent. Mag. xxiv,.
209 ; loc. cit. sup. The root is thought to resemble liquor-
ice, and may partially supply the place of that article: see
report from Surgeon-General's office, 1862.
Glycyrrhiza glabra ; liquorice. Exotic. I am uncertain
as to the position of this genus in the natural system;.
This plant is said to be well adapted to the southern states
of the Confederacy. It has been grown in Texas. Infor-
mation as to the best mode of planting and culture can be
found in a paper in Patent Office Rep. 1854, p. 359. I ap-
pend the following practical remarks: "The sooner liquor-
ice is sold the heavier it weighs ; and the greener it is the
more virtue it contains. It is sold in three distinct forms,
viz: in the roots, in powder, and in its inspissated juice.
The first of these needs no explanation. The second is
prepared by cutting the small roots into small pieces, dry-
ing them in an oven or kiln, and grinding them in a mill.
The third kind is prepared by pounding the vsmaller roots
and fragments with cold water for nearly two days ; after
which the pulp is to be squeezed, and the juice boiled
down in an iron pot to a pitchy consistence, and then rolled
4
50
or stamped into sticks or cakes, which are sometimes sold
under the name of 'Spanish Liquorice.' Liquorice roots
will keep a year if laid in sand, and stored in a cool, dry
cellar ; and if the sets, or runners, or buds, are cut readj'-
for planting, tied in bundles, and sent by land carriage,
they will keep a fortnight. If packed in sand, and sent by
water, they will keep some three or four months, especially
the more hardy buds." In the Patent Office Reports for
1854, '55, the cultivation of a number of medicinal plants
is described, particularly those yielding aromatic oils.
Arcdia spinosa, L. Toothache bush ; Angelica tree ;
Prickly ash. Collected in St. John's ; rich soils along
fences; Charleston. Plant often confounded with the Xan-
thoxylon ; properties somewhat similar. See X. fraxineum.
Ell. Bot. 373 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 379 ;
Coxe, Am. Disp. 100 ; Shec. Flora Carol. 191 ; Frost's
Elems. 20 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 345. It is a stimulating and
very certain diaphoretic, " probably to be preferred to any
emetic yet discovered among our native plants." The
infusion of bark of root is used in chronic rheumatism and
cutaneous eruptions, also employed in lues venerea. Pursh
states that a vinous or spirituous infusion of the berries is
remarkable for its power in relieving rheumatic pains, and
the tincture is also given in Virginia in violent colics.
See Dr. Meara's experiments. Merat says, it has been
used to allay pain caused by carious teeth. Dose, of the
saturated tincture, a tablespoonful three times a day. A
decoction is often preferred in rheumatism, made by boil-
ing an ounce of the bark in a quart of water : taken in
divided doses several times a day. In South Carolina, this
plant is the rattlesnake's master par excellence, according
to the negroes ; they rely on it almost exclusively as a
remedy for the bite of serpents. I am informed that
they use the bark of the fresh root in substance, taken
internally, also applying it powdered to the wounded part.
Dr. Meara advises that the watery infusion, when employed
as a diaphoretic, should be made very weak, as it is apt to
excite nausea, and cause irritation of the salivary glands.
51
Aralia racemosa, L. Spikenard. Grows, according to
Dr. McBride, in the mountains of South Carolina.
Ell. Bot. Med., note, i, 373. The decoction of the root
is much esteemed by those residing in the mountainous
districts as a remedy in rheumatism ; no doubt possessed of
stimulating properties. Michaux cites it as a sudorific.
The root, when boiled, yields a gummy substance. A tea,
syrup, or tincture, may be made of. the roots or berries.
It is given in coughs, asthma, and diseases of the lungs.
Also given as a stimulant in menstrual obstructions; said
to be in high repute among the Indians. See the "Indian
Guide to Health." Dr. Sarazzin informs us that it is very
useful as a cataplasm in inveterate ulcers ; generally
adapted to similar purposes with the A. nudicaulis. Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 376; IT. S. Disp. ; Am.
Journal Med. Sci. xix, 117.
Aralia nudicaulis, Mx. Wild sarsaparilla ; wild liquorice.
Mountains of South Carolina. Fl. June.
Raf. Med. Flora, i, 53 ; II. S. Disp. 116. A gently stim-
ulating diaphoretic ; thought to be alterative, and used in
popular practice in rheumatism, syphilis, and cutaneous
affections. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 375. Dr.
Meara records the roots as possessing the virtues of sarsa-
parilla. Mus. Med. Philos. iv. An excitant, diaphoretic,
and entrophic, like mezereon, guaiac, sarsaparilla, and sas-
safras. The infusion has been employed with success in
zona, and as a tonic in debility of stomach [les reldchemens
d'estoynac). Coxe, IT. S. Disp. 99 ; Lindley's Nat. Syst. ;
Griffith, Med. Bot. 344; Phil. Med. Mus. ii, 161. Admin-
istered in domestic practice, in pulmonary disease, where
inflammation does not coexist.
Berberace^e. ( The Berberry Tribe.)
Berberis vulgaris, Walt. Fl. Carol. ) American Barberry.
" Canadensis, Ph. and Ell. ) Grows wild in St.
John's, Berkley, near Woodlawn, PL; upper districts of
Georgia, Carolina, and northward. Fl. May.
52
Shec. Flora Carol, (see B. vulgaris), 268 ; Lind. Nat.
Syst. Bot. 30; U. S. Disp. 1233, Appendix. The B. vul-
garis of Europe, with which this plant is not identical,
though differing from it but slightly, if at all, in medicinal
properties, has received considerable attention. They are
used as a domestic remedy in jaundice, and in dysentery
and diarrhoea ; it is supposed that the acid is specific.
From analysis by Buchner and Herberger, it is shown that
the root contains a new principle called berberine, which
acts like rhubarb, and with equal promptness and activity.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 113 ; Journal de Pharm. 1233 ; Trans.
Phil. Soc. 1834; Analysis in Journal de Pharm. xxiv, 39;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplement, 1846, 101.
From the berries a syrup is obtained which is adapted to
putrid fevers, and those of a low type; a cooling drink is
also made with them, and given in similar cases. The root
boiled in lye imparts a yellow color to wool. It was said to
have a singular effect upon wheat growing near it, turning
the ears black for some distance around; but this, however,
is doubted. We have observed the remarkable irritability
of the stamens in the species growing in South Carolina,
which, when touched, instantly spring down upon the
stigma, and in this way communicate their pollen to it.
The berries are acid. The English barberry (i?. vulgaris)
has attracted much attention ; its fruit is edible, and
much discussion has been excited whether or not it pro-
duces smut in wheat or corn when planted near it. Ex-
periments touching this peculiarity should be performed
with respect to our barberry. For a full statement of the
merits of the above question, see Wilson's Rural Cyc. Art.
Barberry. Thae'r, in his "Principles of Agriculture," p.
409, says : " One very extraordinary fact is that the barberry
bush will produce smut, or something very similar to it, in
all corn growing within a considerable distance of it. This
is a fact which has been confirmed by numerous observa-
tions and experiments in almost all countries. But it has
never yet been clearly and satisfactorily ascertained in
what manner the barberry produces this effect. My friend
53
Einhoff has made several experiments ori the possibility of
communicating cecidium (a parasitical fungus) to cereals hj
cutting branches from the barberry, which were quite cov-
ered with it, and shaking them over the corn, or else plant-
ing them in the midst of it ; but he never succeeded in
thus producing the disease ; therefore it would seem that it
is not the communication of this dust, but the vegetation
of the barberry in the vicinity of the cornfield, which en-
genders the disease. Nor will it attack crops planted near
young and newly made barberry hedges ; but as these lat-
ter grow up, the disease will appear until these hedges are
rooted up. As soon as the barberry has been thoroughly
extirpated, the evil disappears." Thaer .considers mil or
mel-dew a disease of the skin of plants. See this work for
information on diseases affecting the cereals — on irrigation,
etc. Translated by William Shaw and C. W. Johnson. New
York, 1852. It is believed by some in this country that
the pokeweed (Phytolacca), if allowed to die in a cotton
field, will produce rust. This is quite unlikely.
Sarraceniace^e.
The species of this order are exclusively confined to the
bogs of this country. Lindley thinks it should also com.
prebend the Dioneea, which grows in this state, and which
also possesses the power of entrapping insects. See D.
muscipula.
Sarracenia flava, L., and variolaris, M. . Fly-catchers ; side-
saddle flowers. Diffused; grow in bogs; Charleston; New-
bern. Fl. June.
See Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 226, where the
Diss, of Dr. McBride, of South Carolina, in the 12th vol.
Trans. Linnsean Soc, is referred to. We have read this
description of one of our native botanists, and allude to it
with pleasure. We are informed by several gentlemen of
this state that these plants are used in dyspepsia with great
service. The roots are undoubtedly possessed of bitter,
54
tonic, and stomachic properties; and we are credibly as-
sured of a number of cases in which relief has been experi-
enced from them. The taste is disagreeable to those using
them for the first time, but eventually it becomes pleasant,
as we have ourselves experienced. An infusion might serve
as a useful substitute for bitters.
In an article on the medicinal and chemical properties
of these plants, published by me in the January number
(1849) of the Charleston Medical Journal, the attention
of the profession is for the first time invited to their re-
puted value in the treatment of dyspepsia. Several cases
are there detailed, illustrating the employment of the sarra-
cenia. It is supposed by many to relieve most of the dis-
tressing symptoms of this affection, among which may be
cited : gastralgia, pyrosis, acidity, aud the general feeling
of malaise, so frequently attendant upon it. In some it
induces considerable diuresis, and in others soreness of the
mouth. In experiments made upon my own person, to
ascertain its physiological effects upon a healthy individual,
it exhibited a tonic, stimulating influence upon the digest-
ive organs, producing some cerebral disturbance, when
persisted in. On one occasion 320 grains of the dried root,
in the form of pills, were taken during the course of twelve
hours. From the examination made for me by Prof. C. U.
Shepard, it contains besides lignin, coloring matter, and
traces of a resinous body, an acid, or an acid salt, and also
an astringent property, due neither to tannic nor gallic acid,
"and a salt of some alkaloid, related perhaps to cinchonia,
which, should it prove new, may be called sarracenin."
We ascertained the existence of starch in some quantity in
the cold infusion and in the decoction, not discovered in
the boiled alcoholic solution, which, however, contained
some gluten. " In its exhibiting in moderate quantities no
very decided nor violent effects upon the animal economy
in disease consists its excellence. And its peculiar action
on the stomach, we think, is the result of a happy combi-
nation of elements, which renders it appropriate to the
relief of an affection like dyspepsia. Its acid prevents or
55
corrects the undue formation of alkalies, or supplies its own
deficiency, the existence of either condition having been
assumed as explaining the true pathology of the disease.
Its power of neutralizing or correcting acidity was obvious.
Its bitter property, which is abundant, is tonic and restora-
tive ; its resinous portion may supply the proper cathartic
stimulus, the too inordinate action of which is corrected by
the astringent; and this being neither that of the tannic
nor gallic acid found in other vegetable tonics, may be
superior. Should dyspepsia be a gastric neuralgia, or con-
sist, as Parry thinks, in a condition of hyperemia; or as,
according to Wilson Philip, a chronic gastritis, its relief
may be accounted for, by a narcotic principle contained in
the plant; the cerebral disturbance, one of its physiological
effects upon our own person, giving some color to the sug-
gestion." (See Art. cit. sup.) A bit of the fresh or dried
root of either species may be chewed, and the juice swal-
lowed, during the day before each meal; it ma}r be given
powdered in the form of pill, with a little rhubarb if neces-
saiy, or a tincture may be made by pouring a pint of brandy
over several ounces of the root, of which half an ounce,
diluted, may be taken three times a day. I have lately
had cases reported to me, of its marked success in the relief
of chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, and I am pleased to
learn that it is now widely used in other portions of this
state, and in Georgia, with very general approbation.
RnizoPHORACEiE. (Mangrove Tribe.)
JRhizophora mangle, L. Mangrove. This plant is found
in South Florida. Chapman. An introduced species is
used in India for yielding a black dye.
Onagrace^e. (The Evening Primrose Tribe.)
CEnolher a biennis, Linn. Scabish. Grows in dry pastures ;
diffused; collected in Charleston district; jSTewbern.
Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. iv, 202 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot.
36; IT. S. Disp. 1281; Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 444; Griffith,
56
Med. Bot. 304. The root and herb have been employed in
cutaneous diseases. Dr. Griffith has used it with success
in tetter, applying the decoction to the affected part several
times a da}7, and giving it internally at the same time. He
has been successful with it in subsequent trials. The plant
should be gathered about the flowering season. The young'
sprigs are mucilaginous, and can be eaten as salad. Lind-
ley. The leaves of the (Enothera expand in the evening,
and continue open all night. Pursh states that, even of a
dark night, it can be seen at some distance, owing, he sup-
poses, to some phosphoric property. Its roots have a nutty
flavor, somewhat similar to those of rampion, and are used
in Germany and some parts of Prance, stewed and raw, in
salads', with mustard, oil, salt, and pepper, like common
celery. The ancients thought the plant possessed the pow-
er of allaying intoxication and calming the most ferocious
animals. It is doubtful whether this is the Oenothera of
the ancients. Wilson's Rural C}tc.
Jussicea grandijlora, Mich. Grows in bogs; "common
around Savannah, and in ponds four miles from Charles-
ton." Dr. J. Bachman informs me that he has seen it in
abundance around Charleston for the space of ten miles,
from which locality I have specimens. Fl. July. Dr. S.
A. Cartwright, of Natchez, asserts that this plant has the
power of preventing the development of malaria in regions
peculiarly adapted to its generation. Pie affirms that it
"purifies all stagnant water in which it grows — that of the
lakes and bayous inhabited by it being as pure to the
sight, taste, and smell, as if it had just fallen from the
clouds" — ascribing to the presence and peculiar "hygienic
or health-preserving properties of this plant" the remark-
able exemption of the inhabitants of lower Louisiana from
"malarious or miasmatic diseases." "The fact," he adds,
"that" the region of country in which this aquatic plant
abounds is exceedingly healthy, can be established beyond
cavil or dispute ; it nevertheless contains more stagnant
water and swamps than any other inhabited district of the
57
same extent in the United States." He is quoted in the
notes appended by the American editor, to Watson's Pract.
Physic, p. 465 ; and Dr. "Wood, in his late work on the
Practice of Physic, also makes use of these assertions as if
they were established. Dr. C. must seek for the exemption
of this section of country from these diseases in other
causes, as this plant is abundant around the cities alluded
to above, in situations where it is well known that fevers
of malarious origin are continually prevailing. I have
recently observed this plant growing profusely around
Charleston Neck, where intermittent and remittent fevers
are notoriously prevalent.
The genus Jussiena has its roots distended into vegetable
swimming bladders. The curious can examine the J. gran-
difiora to observe this peculiarity, like that in our beautiful
Utricularia inflata.
Typha and Nymphaia (water lily), and Sagittaria, "display
myriads of air chambers in the solid stem." See Wilson,
"Aquatic plants."
Ludiuigia aUernifolia, L. Grows in Charleston district ;
Elliot says rare; seven miles from Beaufort, and at Savan-
nah; collected in St. John's. Fl. Aug.
Merat, in the Diet, de M. Med. iv, 154, says that in
America a decoction of the root is employed as an unfail-
ing emetic.
Melastomace^e.
In this order, a slight degree of astringency is the pre-
vailing characteristic; though a large one, it does not con-
tain a single unwholesome species.
Rheoria glabella, Mx. Deer grass; Sorrel. Grows in moist
pine lands, vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St. John's.
Fl. July.
The leaves of this plant have a sweetish, acid taste,' and
are eaten with impunity. Deer are said to be fond of them.
Myrtace.e. ( The Myrtle Tribe.)
Punicd granatum. Pomegranate. Cultivated with success
in this state. The bark of the root is a well known astrin-
gent; employed in dysentery and diarrhoea; one scruple of
the powder may be given at a dose, or a decoction may be
used if this is too strong, as it acts on the nervous system.
Carson, in his Illust. Med. Bot. i, 1847, states that it has also
been employed with success against taenia. A correspond-
ent of the "Mercury," 1862, says that the rind of the fruit
yields a jet black fluid, which writes very smoothly and
retains its jetty hue." "F. J. S."
Hamamelaceje. [The Witch- Hazel Tribe.)
This order, remarks Lindley, is found in the northern
parts of North America, Japan, and China. In my exami-
nation of the various authorities on the subject before me,
I have frequently been struck with the correspondence
prevailing between the species found in this state and
those of Japan, and this respects only the medical botany
of the two; should the flora of each be compared, a still
more universal relation might be established. Professor
Agassiz has noticed something of the same kind existing
between the fossil botany and the fauna of each.
Hamamelis Virginica, Jj. Witch-hazel. Grows along pine
land bays; collected in St. John's, Charleston district;
vicinity of Charleston, Bach.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 452; Coxe, Am.
Disp. 310; IT. S. Disp. 1258; Matson's Veg. Pract. 201;
Griffith's Med. Bot. 850; Rafinesque, Med" Flor. i, 227.
It is said to be sedative, astringent, tonic, and discutient.
The bark was a remedy derived from the Indians, who
applied it to painful tumors, using the decoction as a wash
in inflammatory swellings, painful hemorrhoidal affections,
and ophthalmias. A cataplasm, and a tea of the leaves, as
an astringent, were employed in haematemesis. The steam
practitioners also administer it in irritable hemorrhoids,
59
and during the bearing-down pains attending child-birth.
No analysis has been made, but as it probably contains
sedative and astringent principles, attention is directed to
it. The curious reader may consult, besides the paper in
Ilutton's "Mathematics," on the wonderful properties of
the witch-hazel in detecting water, a recent one in Patent
Office Report on Agriculture, p. 16, 1851. This is from
Prairie du Chien, by Mr. Alfred Burnson, and contains
some remarkable statements of the certainty of finding
water by the divining rod. Some electrical and telluric
influences are hinted at — Qredat Judceus ! Persons living
in the upper districts of South Carolina assume to use the
rod with success.
CoKNACBiE. [The Dogwood. Tribe.)
Cornus Florida, L. Dogwood. Well known ; diffused in
rich shady lands ; Newbern ; Va.
Drayton's Yiew S. C. 63; Bell's Pract. Diet. 152; Bar-
ton's Collec. 12; Eberle, Mat. Med. 303; Chap. Therap.
and Mat. Med. ii, 438; Ell. Bot. i, 208; Pe. Mat. Med. ii,
753; U. S. Disp. 277; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 197; Am.
Journal Pharm. vii, 114; Royle, Mat. Med. 422; Ball, and
Gar/310; Mer. and de L. Diet de M. Med. iv, 436; Big.
Am. Med. Bot. ii, 73 ; Shec. Flora Carol. 449 ; Thacher's
Disp. 203; Walker's Inaug. Diss. Phil. 1803; Lind. Nat.
Syst. Bot. 49; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. This well known
plant possesses tonic and anti-intermittent properties, very
nearly allied to those of cinchona ; in periodic fevers, one
of the most valuable of our indigenous plants. " Dr.
Gregg states that, after emplojang it for twenty-three years
in the treatment of intermittent fevers, he was satisfied
that it was not inferior to Peruvian bark." Generally given
in conjunction with laudanum. It also possesses antiseptic
powers. In the recent state, it is less stimulating than the
cinchona bark, but it affects the bowels more ; the dried
bark is the preferable form. The fresh bark will some-
times act as a cathartic. It is more stimulating than
thoroughwort (Eupatorium), and, therefore, is less appli-
60
cable during the hot stages of fever. According to Dr.
Walker's examination, the bark contains extractive matter,
gum, resin, tannin, and gallic acid ; and Dr. Carpenter
announces in it a new principle, cornine. Dr. S. Jack-
son also, from experiment, is satisfied that it contains a
principle analogous to quinia. It has been exhibited by
Dr. S. G. Morton in intermittent fever, with success. Grif-
fith, in his Med. Bot. 347, mentions that the infusion of the
tlowers is useful as a substitute for chamomile tea; for
analyses, see Am. Journ. Pharm. i, 114; and Phil. Journal
Med. and Phys. Sci. xl. Dose of the dried bark in powder,
is twenty to sixty grains; the decoction is made with one
ounce of the root to one pint of water, or the extract may
be employed; alcohol also extracts its virtues. The ripe
fruit, infused in brandy, makes an agreeable and useful
bitter, which may be a convenient substitute for the arti-
cle prepared in the shops. Barton says, in his Collections,
that the bark is valuable in a malignant disorder of horses
called yellow water ; from the gallic acid it contains a good
writing ink may be made, and from the bark of the fibrous
roots the Indians extracted a scarlet color. Linclley men-
tions that the young brauches, stripped of their bark, and
rubbed against the teeth, render them extremely white! It
is often employed by the common people in South Carolina
for this purpose.
In our present need of astringent antiperiodics and
tonics, the dogwood bark powdered will be found the best
substitute for Peruvian. Internally and externally, it can
be applied wherever the cinchona barks were found ser-
viceable. The dogwood bark and root, in decoction, or in
form of cold infusion, is believed by many to be the most
efficient substitute for quinine, also in treating malarial
fevers; certainly, it might be used in the cases occurring
in camp, to prevent the waste of quinine, as it can be
easily and abundantly procured.
Dr. Richard Moore, of Sumter district, informs me that
he not only finds it efficient in fevers, but particularly use-
61
ful,, with whisky or alcohol, in low forms of fevers, and
dysentery occurring near our river swamps.
During convalescence, where an astringent tonic is re-
quired, this plant supplies our need. See Eupatorium (bone-
set) and Lirodendron. These, with the blackberry and
chinquapin as astringents, the gentians and pipsissewa
as tonics and tonic diuretics, the sweet gum, sassafras,
and bene for their mucilaginous and aromatic properties,
and the wild jalap (podophyllum) as a cathartic, supply
the surgeon in camp with easily procurable medicinal
plants, which are sufficient for almost every purpose.
Ultrate and bi-carbonatc of potash are most required, and
with calomel, may be procured from abroad. Our supply
of opium can be easily procured by planting the poppy,
and incising the capsules. Every planter could raise a full
supply of opium, mustard, and flax seed. The wood of the
dogwood, like the willow, is preferred in making gun-
powder. See Salix. A tonic compound, as advised by the
herbalists, is made with the bark of the root of dogwood,
Colombo (Frasera), poplar, each six ounces; bark of wild
cherry, six ounces; leaves of thorough wort, four ounces;
cayenne pepper, four ounces — sifted and mixed. Dose, a
teaspoonful, in warm or cold water, repeated. It is stated
in the "JN"ewbern Progress" "that a ripe dogwood berry
taken three times a day, before meals, will cure ague and
fever.
My friend, Professor "F. A. P.," contributes the follow-
ing to the Charleston Courier. The Dogwood bark, pow-
dered, may be used in place of the Peruvian mentioned:
Dutch Remedy for Fever and Ague. — As quinine is very
scarce, it may not be unprofitable, both to our armies and
to private families, to revive the memory of an ancient
remedy, which was in almost universal use before the in-
troduction of the former drug. It was known by the name
which heads this article, and has been used from time imme-
morial among the Huguenot families of the Santee, among
whom there is a tradition that it was brought to this coun-
try by the ancestor of one of the families, who was a
62
r
physician. The remedy quoted below is copied from an
old receipt book. Though not a professional man, I can
vouch for its efficacy when it was in vogue.
The Recipe. — Two ounces of Peruvian bark, two ounces
of cream of tartar, sixty cloves.
Manner of Using It. — These ingredients are to be rubbed
together in a mortar. The mixture to be divided into
twenty-four doses, four of which (mixed in water) are to be
given the first day, four on the second, and two on every
succeeding day, until the whole shall have been taken. It
is probable that the disease will be arrested on the second
or third day, but the object in taking the whole prescrip-
tion is to complete the cure by its tonic property.
The berries of the dogwood have also been highly re-
commended— given as a remedy for fever in place of
quinine (1862). One or two given in the form of pill.
The wood is compact, heavy, fine grained, and suscep-
tible of a brilliant polish. It is used on our plantations
wherever a hard wood is required, as in making wedges,
the handles of light tools, mallets, plane stocks, harrow
teeth, names; horse collars, etc. Michaux states that the
shoots, when three or four years old, are found proper for
the light hoops of small portable casks. In the Middle
states the cogs of mill wheels are made of dogwood. The
branches of the tree are disposed nearly in the form of
crosses. N. Am. sylva. Farmer's Encye. I have used the
dogwood for engraving. See " Amelanchier" in this vol-
ume.
Cornus sericea, Ph. Red willow ; swamp dogwood. El-
liott says it grows in the mountains of South Carolina;
sent to me from Abbeville district, by Mr. Reed. Fl. June.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 349. It possesses properties quite
similar to those of the C. florida, but it is mOre bitter and
astringent. Mr. R. informs me that it is employed to a
great extent in domestic practice in Abbeville. Accord-
ing to 13. S. Barton, the bark was considered by the Indians
a favorite combination with tobacco for smoking. The
young shoots were used to make coarse' baskets; and they
extracted a scarlet dye from these and the roots.
Cornus sanguined, L. Grows, according to Elliott, in the
valleys among the mountains. Fl. May.
Diet, de Med. de Ferus. ii, 737 ; Mathiole, Comment, ii,
119 ; Journal de Chim. xxxviii, 174, and xl, 107. See, also,
Journal de Pharm. for an account of the oil extracted from
it. M. Murion says they afford one-third of their weight
of a pure and limpid oil, used for the table and for burn-
ing. A case of hydrophobia was said to have been cured
by it. Griffith, Med. Bot. 349. There also exists in this,
as in the others, a red. coloring principle, soluble in water
alone.
Cornus strict®. Grows in swamps near Charleston ; New-
bern. Shec. Flora Carol. 449.
LORANTHACEJ3.
Bark usually astringent; berries contain a viscid matter;
plants possess the power of rooting in the wood of others.
Viscum verlicillatmn, L. The V. verticillatum of Ell. Sk.
is not that of Linn T. and Gray ; N", A. Flora. Mistletoe.
Diffused ; grown on oaks ; NeAvbern. Fl. May.
Mer. and . de- L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 860 ; Lind. Nat.
Syst. Bot. 50; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 456; Journal de Med. lxx,
529 ; Eberle, Dis. of Children, 522. Dr. Barham, in the
Hortus Americanus, says that the fruit of the mistletoe
cures epilepsies, pleurisies, coup de soleil, etc. Dem. Elem.
de Bot. iii, 556; employed in paralysis. Thornton's Fam.
Herb. 333. Fothergill, Dr. Wilson, and Gilbert Thomp-
son use it "with great effect in epilepsy." So, also, Dr.
Fraser, who published a work on it. Wade's PI. Kariores,
82. Eberle, "Dis. of Children," alludes to its employment
in infantile epilepsy. Some writers refer to the European
species ; but this is supposed to be identical with it. The
64
seeds contain a viscid substance resembling bird-lime in
appearance, which is insoluble both in water and in alco-
hol. In Dr. Hunter's edition of Evelyn's Sylvia, it is said
to prevent the rot in sheep. Bird-lime was formerly made
from the berries of the mistletoe of oak, which were first
boiled in water, then pounded, and the water poured off .in
order to carry away the seeds and rind. For process,
see "Holly" (Ilex opaca) ; also, Wilson's Rural Cyc. :
"Bird-lime" and " Bird catching."
Cucurbitace^e. (The Gourd Tribe.)
)
This order is closely allied to the Passifloraceae, and is
found in most abundance in hot countries. Most of them
are valuable articles of food, but are pervaded by a bitter
laxative quality, which in the colocynth gourd becomes an
active purgative principle.
Cucumis citr alius. Watermelon. The juice of the melon
by boiling may be converted into a palatable syrup for
table use, and one of the best substitutes "for molasses. No
doubt, like the ripe" fig, beet, and other saccharine sub-
stances, it may easily be converted into vinegar, and should
be added to the vinegar cask. The diuretic properties of
the seeds of the watermelon are well known — almost the
same may be said of the pumpkin, which is used as an
article of food for man and beast in many of the Confed-
erate States. The harder portions of both melon and
pumpkin are used in making preserves by our Southern
matrons.
Oucumis pej)o, W. Pumpkin. Cultivated very success-
fully in South Carolina.
Shea Flora Carol. 488. The seeds afford an essential oil,
which might be made of some value ; when triturated with
water, they furnish a cooling and nutritive milk, and when
, boiled to a jelly, they are said by Bechstein to be a very
efficacious remedy for retention of urine. The fruit is
65
much used on the plantations in this state, as an article of
food both for men and. animals; pies and preserves of an
agreeable flavor are made of it. See Stille's Mat. Med.,
and recent medical works for the singularly useful qualities
of the seeds, as recently applied by Johnson and others, in
medicine. The fruit which should have been dried as a
winter provision for our army", has been converted into
brandy, and dried fruit will probably be very scarce. An
excellent substitute may be found in the pumpkin. Cut
into slips and dried either in the sun or in a dry room, it is
said to be little inferior to dried apples. The muskmelon
(Cucumis melo) and cucumber (C. sativus) are also culti-
vated in South Carolina.
Giicurbita lagenaria, L. Gourd; calabash. Grows in corn-
fields, and along fences ; vicinity of Charleston ; Richland.
Gibbes. Collected in St. John's. Fl. May.
Linn. Veg. Mat. Med. 180 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 563;
Le. Mat. Med. i, 379 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii,
492. An infusion has been found useful in inflammation of
the urinary passages, and the seeds have been employed in
rheumatism, strangury, and nephritis. Shec. Flora Carol.
479. "Water, which has lain for some time in the fruit of
this plant, becomes violently emetic and cathartic." The
shells of the dried fruit are sometimes so capacious as
to contain four gallons of water; convenient receptacles,
water-flasks, dippers, milk-pans, etc., are made of them.
They must first be deprived of their acrid principle by
boiling; moulds for buttons are fashioned out of them,
and they are much used for these purposes by the negroes
on the plantations. The watermelon (C. citrullus) grows
luxuriantly in South Carolina. It is well known that the
juice of the latter is diuretic, and the seeds, by trituration,
or by being boiled in water, afford a demulcent and diuretic
drink. The various species of squash are likewise culti-
vated here.
Melothria penduld, L. Creeping cucumber. Grows in rich,
5
shaded soils ; collected in St. John's, Charleston district.
M. June.
Journal de Chim. Med. iii, 498 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. iv, 322 ; Griffith, Med. JBot. 311. The seeds act as
a drastic purgative — a half a one is a dose for an adult.
Martius states that three or four will act powerfully on a
horse. Journal de Chim. loc. sit. sup.
CACTACEiE. ( The Indian Fig Tribe.)
Fruit very similar in its properties to that of the currant
tribe ; often refreshing, sometimes mucilaginous and in-
sipid.
Opuntia vulgaris, Mill. T. and Gray. ) Grows in dry pas-
Cactus, opuntia of Ell. Sk. /tures; Newbern. Fl.
May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 11. The fruit is said
to be eatable ; the leaves cut transversely are applied to
tumors as a discutient ; the decoction is mucilaginous,
and I am informed that it is much used in Alabama as a
demulcent drink in pneumonic and pleuritic inflamma-
tions. Its cultivation has been recommended on account
of the cochineal insect, which is said to feed on it. Mr.
Wm. Summer, of South Carolina, contributes the following
to the list of our "expedients":
To make hard tallow Candles. — To one pound of tallow
take five or six leaves of the prickly pear, ( Cactus ojmntia,)
split them, and boil in the tallow, without water, for half an
hour or more ; strain and mould the candles. The wicks
should have been previously dipped in spirits of turpentine
and dried.
If the tallow at first is boiled in water, and the water
changed four or five times, it will be bleached and rendered
free from impurities. Then prepare, by frying with prickly
pears, to harden it.
In this way we have made tallow candles nearly equal to
the best adamantine, and, at the same time, have the con-
solation of knowing that we are independent of the extor-
tioners, who are next of kin to the villainous abolitionist
makers of stearin e candles in the North.
The prickly pear has been used (1862) for hardening tal-
low by the ladies of St. John's, S. C, with satisfactory
results. One pound is added to four of tallow ; a larger
quantity makes the candles too brittle. It takes the place
of wax.
' Cactus cochinilifer. Elliott says that it is probable that
other species exist, but he does not include this in his
Sketches of the Bot. of South Carolina. Shecut, however,
in his Flora Carol. 819, remarks, that " we are indebted to
Dr. Garden, of South Carolina, for the discovery of this
tree here," well known as the one upon which the cochi-
neal insect feeds. T. and Gray, however, do not include it
in their IsT. A. Fl. The fruit tinges red the urine of those
who eat it ; and the leaves, rubbed up with hog's lard, are
useful as a topical application to prevent mortification.
CnuciFERiE. (The Cruciferous Tribe.)
Lindley states that the universal characteristic of this
order is the possession of antiscorbutic and stimulant quali-
ties, combined with an acrid flavor. The species contain a
great deal of nitrogen, to which is attributed their animal
odor when rotting.
Lepidium V%rgi?iicum, L. Peppergrass ; Virginian cress.
Wet places. Common.
It is suitable to be used in winter and early spring salads,
but is far less in request than some of the other cresses.
Sowings should be made in light, dry earth, the beds pro-
tected with dry litter during severe winter. Rural Cyc.
Camelina sativa, Crantz. Gold of Pleasure. Referred to
in Chapman's Botany of Southern states, p. 30, as intro-
duced, growing in cultivated fields.
Paper in P. 0. Report on Agriculture, 1851, p. 51, on the
68
" Camelina sativa — a new oil plant." In some parts of the
world it is cultivated for its stems, which yield a fibre ap-
plicable for spinning, and for its oleiferous seeds. Merat
says cultivated for this purpose in Flanders.
Mr. Wm. Taylor, F. L. S., has recently drawn the atten-
tion of agriculturists and others to this as an oil plant,
adapted for feeding cattle, and for other purposes. He says
that the soil best adapted for its cultivation are those of a
light nature, but a crop will never fail on land of the most
inferior description. It has been found to flourish this year
on sandy soils, where no other vegetable would grow, and
independent of the drought, the plants have grown most
luxuriantly, yielding a large and certain crop. When
grown upon land that has been long in tillage and well
farmed, the crop will be most abundant. The best time
for putting in the seed is as early as possible in the spring
months, say from the middle of March or the middle of
April to June, and for autumn sowing to August ; and the
quantity per acre required, fourteen pounds ; and may be
either drilled or broadcast, but the drilled method should
be preferred. If drilled, the rows must be twelve inches
apart. As soon as the plants have grown five or six inches
high, a hand or horse hoe may be used to cut up the weeds
between the rows, and no further culture or expense will be
required. If sown early, two crops may be frequently ob-
tained in one year, as it is fit for harvesting in three months
after the plant makes its first appearance. Or another im-
portant advantage may be obtained : if seed is sown early
in March, the crop will be ready to harvest in the begin-
ning of July, and the land fallowed for wheat or spring
corn; also when barley or small seeds cannot be sown suf-
ficiently early, this may be put in with great success. It is
a plant that may be cultivated after any corn crop, without
doing the least injury to the land, and may be sown with
all sorts of clover ; the leaves of the gold of pleasure, being
particularly small, afford an uninterrupted growth to every
plant beneath it, and the crop being removed early, the
clover has time to establish itself.
69
The grower of this invaluable production is in all sea-
sons secure of his crop, inasmuch as it is not subject to
damage by spring frosts, heavy rains, and drought, and,
above all, the ravages of insects, more particularly the cab-
bage plant louse (aphis brassica), which so frequently
destroys rape, turnips, and others belonging to the cruci-
ferse order, when coming into blossom. The seed is ripe
as soon as the pods change from a green to a gold color.
Care must then be taken to cut it off before it becomes too
ripe, or much seed may be lost. When cut with a sickle,
it is bound up in sheaves, and shocked in the same manner
as wheat. The process of ripening completed, it is stacked
or put in a barn, and threshed like other corn. The ex-
pense of these crops cannot be very great, either in the
preparation and culture of the land or in the management
in securing the produce afterward ; but when grown with
care and in good season, the produce will mostly be very
abundant — as high as thirty-two bushels and upward to the
acre.
The cultivation of this plant for the seed would repay
the farmer; an abundance of chaff would be produced,
which would be of infinite service for horses or for manure.
In a grazing country like England, where vast sums are
annually expended for foreign oil cake, the gold of pleasure
will soon be found an excellent substitute under manufac-
ture, and consequently a grower would find a good remu-
neration in cultivating the seed. The plant may be con-
sidered a valuable production of the earth. A fine oil ia
produced for burning in lamps, in the manufacture of wool-
len goods, in the manufacture of soaps for lubricating
machinery, and for painters. The oil cake has been found
highly nutritious in the fattening of sheep and oxen, as it
contains a great portion of mucilage and nitrogenous mat-
ter, which, combined together, are found very beneficial in
developing fat and lean. From the experiments above re-
lated, it is abundantly proved that it does not suffer from
the severest frosts, its foliage not being injured. It is not
infested by insects, nor does it exhaust the soil.
70
The gold of pleasure has been cultivated by several prac-
tical agriculturists, who highly approve of the new plant.
For all these reasons it is hoped that every farmer will avail
himself of this valuable discovery as a remunerating rota-
tion crop. Mr. Taylor adds that one acre cultivated with
these plants yield thirty-two bushels of seed, from which
five hundred and forty pounds of oil are obtained; so that
the camelina seems to exceed the flax in its produce of
seed, oil, and cake per acre. The seed is extremely rich in
nutriment. I know of no seed superior to it for feeding
cattle. The oil obtained by expression is sweet and excel-
lent, especially for purposes of illumination. From the
very small quantity of inorganic matter in the seed, it will
be evident that the seed cake must be of a very nutritious
character, being merely the seed deprived of a portion of
its water and oily matter. We have examined some of the
oil obtained from the seed of the camelina saliva, and which
has been recently sent to several medical men by Mr. Tay-
lor, under the belief that it possesses valuable medical
properties. It is of a yellow color, and smells something
like linseed oil. Finding it of service in relieving the in-
cessant cough of a cat, Mr. Taj^lor has extended the use to
the human subject, and states that it has cured several per-
sons affected with diseased lungs and asthma.
In a brief notice, P. 0. Reports, 1850, is the following
statement : " Camelina sativa (3fiagrum sativum) an annual
from France, produces a finer oil for burning than rape,
having a brighter flame, less smoke, and scarcely any smell.
It succeeds well in light, shallow, dry soils ; and in our
Middle and Southern states it would probably produce
two crops in a season. Besides the use of the seeds for oil,
the stems yield a coarse fibre for making sacks and a rough
kind of packing paper, and the whole plant may be em-
ployed for thatching. The culture' is similar to that for
flax." See "Linum " in this volume.
Capsella Bursa-pastoris, Moench and T. and G. ) • Grows
Thalspi. Linn, and Ell. Sk. ) in damp
pastures ; collected in St. John's ; ISTewbern. Fl. May.
71
Ray's Cat. Plantarum, 47 ; Bergius, Mat. Med. ii, 389 ;
Le. Mat. Med. i, 243 : Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi,
732. It astringes and constipates ; hence employed in dys-
entery, diarrhoea, and bloody urine ; the juice placed on
a piece of cotton, and inserted in the nostril, will arrest
hemorrhage. u Externe vulneribus solidandis adhibieter
nee sine successu." Fl. Scotica, 342 ; Linn. Veg. M.
Med. 128.
Sisymbrium nasturtium, L. and Ell. Sk. > Cress. Nat. in
Erysimum of Bot. ) the upper part of
this state ; vicinity of Charleston. Bach. Fl. March.
Fl. Scotica, 351. The young leaves furnish an agreeable
salad ; the plant was esteemed useful as an antiscorbutic,
and was employed in removing obstructions of the liver,
viscera, jaundice, etc. Thornton's Fam. Herb. 618. The
juice acts as a stimulant and diuretic. Haller says: "We
have seen patients in a deep decline cured by living almost
entirely on these plants." According to Tournefort, the
juice, snuffed up the nose, cured cases of polypus of that
organ. See Edinburgh New Disp., Flora Med. iii, 138;
Pliny, lib. xix, chap. 8 ; xx, chap. 13. Hoffman and Cullen
spoke highly of it as furnishing a mucilaginous application
for the heads of infants affected with eruptions. It was
acknowledged to have an effect upon maladies of the skin,
engorgement of the abdominal viscera when the blood is
depraved, in feeble digestion, etc. T7. S. Disp. 1226. This
plant is also vaunted in incipient phthisis, in chronic ca-
tarrhs, in maladies of the bladder and kidneys, and in
hysterical affections. It contains a very bitter and odorif-
erous essentia] oil — the seeds yielding 55 per cent, of fixed
oil. See de Cancl. Phys. Veg. i, 298 ; Journal Gen. de Med.
xxviii, 136 ; Barbier, M. Med. 242. Moreau asserts that
vertigo and discoloration of the face are produced in those
eating this plant; but this is an effect unnoticed by others.
Sisymbrium officinale, Fide Grav- ) TT i ^ i
-m. • j, t • 7™, ^ } Hedge mustard.
Erysimum " Lin. and Ell. Sk. )
This is not included by Mr. Elliott in his Sketches of
72
the Plants of South Carolina. It was one of the speci-
mens sent to Professor Gray, and determined hy him ; col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley ; Charleston district. The
herb is said to be diuretic and expectorant ; the seeds pos-
sess considerable pungency, and have been recommended
in chronic cough, hoarseness, and ulceration of the mouth
and fauces ; the juice of the plant in honey or the seeds in
substance may be used.
Sisymbrium amphibium, L. Water radish. Rare ; roots
immersed ; collected on causeway near Brunswick ; PI. T.
W. Peyre's, in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 365. Recommended
for taenia by Didelot, and in the old works as an antiscor-
butic. Merat says the "young leaves are eatable in the
spring ; probably possessed of similar properties with the
S. nasturtium."
Nasturtium officinale, R. Br. Water cress. Introduced.
Ditches Florida, and northward. Chap.
This plant came into pretty high favor about a century
ago as a spring salad ; and it soon obtained preference to
all other spring salads on account of its agreeable, warm,
bitter taste, and for the sake of its purifying, antiscorbutic,
and diuretic properties. It was greedily gathered in all its
natural habitats within some miles of London for the supply
of the London market, and eventually became an object of
regular, peculiar, and somewhat extensive cultivation ; see
methods, etc., Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia.
Sinapis nigra. Mustard. Cultivated in South Carolina.
Therapeutic virtues well known.
Mustard is a hardy annual, cultivated as a small salad for
greens, and for the seed, which are extensively employed
for medicinal purposes. The demand for the production of
this plant, on account of the value of the seeds as a local
irritant, should induce every planter and farmer to grow it.
Enormous quantities are required to supply the armies ;
besides that, it is largely consumed in every household.
The white mustard I have seen cultivat'ecl on our planta-
tions, and, maturing early in June, is fully equal in strength
to the imported article. At the present time (June, 1862)
the seeds are sold for more than a dollar a pound. It is
very easily ground or powdered, and used like English
mustard.
The common table mustard is prepared from the flour of
the seed. For salad, it is sown thickly, and used like com-
mon cress. " Sow early in the spring in two feet drills,
and thin to six inches. The crop must be gathered before
it is fully ripe, on a cloudy day or early in the morning, to
prevent the seed from shelling out."
The "white" is usually prepared for salad, and the seeds
are eaten whole as a remedy for impaired digestion. The
leaves of this are light green, mild and tender when
young; the seed light yellow. The "black" or "brown"
is a larger plant, with much darker leaves. " Seeds brown,
and more pungent."
For the medical uses of these plants, any of the works
on the materia medica will supply information under the
head " Sinapis.'-'
Mustard seed oil, says Ure, in his Diet. Arts and Sci-
ences, p. 285, concretes when cooled a little below 32°
Fahrenheit. The white or yellow seed afford thirty-six
per cent, of oil, and the black seed eighteen per cent.
The reader interested in the culture of mustard can find
some information in Wilson's Rural Cyc. He quotes from
a prize essay by T. C. Burroughes in 7th volume Royal
Ag. Soc. The field culture of both the white and black
mustard is practised for the production of their seeds, with
a view either to the expression of oil from them, similar to
that of cole, and rape, and poppy, or to the obtaining of
oil cake for the use of cattle, or to the grinding them into
the well known condimental and medicinal flour of mus-
tard, or to several other economical and pharmaceutical
purposes. The crop is reaped, and tied in sheaves like
wheat, and is afterward threshed out upon cloths in the
74
field in the same manner as cole. White mustard is gen-
erally laid in handfuls on the shuttle, and not tied up.
The black mustard is hardier than the white. The quan-
tity of oil obtained from any given weight of black mus-
tard seeds is greater than that obtained from the same
weight of coles; but the oil cake is slightly purgative, and
requires to be given to cattle with caution, and is com-
monly ground and sprinkled on their chaff. "Wilson also
states that the flour of mustard from the seeds of black
mustard is much more pungent, and of much finer quality
than that from the seeds of white mustard. It is still the
kind most commonly used in France ; but it requires to be
manufactured by a nice mechanical process of removing
the outer skins of the seeds, or else it has a grayish or very
dark color ; and, in fact, it is never so prepared as to be
entirely freed from its grayishness. The flour of white
mustard is generally used in Britain in consequence of its
fine color, and the superior facility of manufacturing it. It
is often mixed with the black. Rural Cyc. The method
of depriving the black mustard seed of its envelope I have
been unable to obtain. Warm water is always the- best ad-
dition to mustard to elicit the volatile oil. Vinegar lessens
its pungency. See Trousseau's Experiments. Mustard
has been highly recommended as a substitute for the
spring colza and other plants, to be used in the production
of oil. "Both species," white and black, yield oil, Thaer
says in his Principles of Agriculture, "which is well adapted
for burning ; and also, when well purified, for the use of the
table. A quintal of mustard seed yields from thirty-six to
thirty-eight pounds of oil. The biting acridity of the seed
exists not in the oil, but in the integument; and the
English mustard, which is celebrated for its strength, is
said to be made from cakes from which the oil has been
expressed." Among the plants mentioned by Thaer as val-
uable for the oil in their seeds, are the oily radish {Eaph-
anus ckinensis oleiferus), the sunflower, and the common
poppy, Papaver somniferum ; the oil from the white-seeded
variety is preferable on account of its taste. See Thaer
75
also, for descriptions of the cultivation of flax seed, hemp,
hops, madder, beets, etc. Many plants, the seeds of which
yield oil, are used in making oil cake for agricultural pur-
poses, and as food for animals. The sunflower, which
yields a large quantity of seed to the acre, will, it is said,
furnish one gallon of oil to the bushel. See "Cotton,"
"Flax," etc., in this volume.
Capparidacb^:. (Caper Family.)
Capparis Spinosa. (Caper Tree.)
This plant, cultivated in Greece, Ionian isles, France^
Italy, etc., has also been introduced into this country.
The flower buds are collected and put into salt and vinegar.
See Patent Office Report, 1855, p. 285, for a brief notice of
the cultivation and preparation. In the Confederate States
we have the C. Jamaicencis, Jacy, and C. cynophallophora, L.
growing in South Florida. It is possible that they may be
used as substitutes for the foreign caper.
YiOLACEiE. (The Violet Tribe.)
Roots more or less emetic ; a property which prevails to
a greater extent in the South American species, which are
generally less herbaceous.
Viola pedata, Mich. Found in the upper districts ; spar-
ingly in the lower ; Richland. L. Gibbes. Fl. May.
TJ. S. Disp. 753 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 140. The roots of
nearly all the species of this genus possess a nutritive and
an emetic principle, called violine, allied to that of ipe-
cacuanha, but more uncertain in its operation. This is
said to replace the European plant, and, according to Dr.
Bigelow, is valuable as an expectorant and demulcent in
pectoral affections.
Viola arvensis, D. C.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 141. This and the V. tricolor have
received considerable attention from European writers,
76
especially the German. Strack made them the subject of a
discussion in 1776, and since then the observations of Met-
zer, Cloquet, and others have shown that they are possessed
of much efficacy in the treatment of cutaneous diseases,
and especially of that obstinate and unpleasant eruption,
crustea lactea. The fresh plant, or its juice is to be used,
as drying destroys its active qualities. Strack states that,
when the remedy has been given for some time, the urine
becomes extremely fetid, smelling like that of the cat; op.
cit. supra. Attention is invited to it. See V. tricolor.
Viola tricolor, Linn. Heartsease. Cultivated in gardens.
Fl. May.
Trous. et Pid. Traite de Therap. et cle Mat. Med. ii, 15 ;
IT. S. Disp. 743; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 453; Griffith, 40;
Thornton's Fam. Herb. 731. It was formerly considered a
valuable remedy in epilepsy, ulcers, and scirrhus. See
Storck de V. tricolor, Erlang. 1782. Metzer de crustea
lactea infantum, ejusdem que remedio prsemio coronavit.
1776. Lond. Med. Journal. A handful of the fresh, or
one ounce and a half of the dried herb, was boiled in milk,
which was taken twice a day ; bread soaked in this was
also applied to the affected parts. It was much boasted of
as a remedy in the latter disease ; see Mer. and de L. and
the Art. V. arvensis. Bergius, speaking of these two, says
that half an ounce in twelve of water produces a consistent
and valuable demulcent jelly.
Viola palmata, Linn. Hand-leaved violet. Collected in
St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ; ISTewbern. Fl. March.
Ell. Bot. 300, Med. Notes. The plant is very mucilagin-
ous. It is employed by negroes for making soup, and is
commonly called wild okra. The bruised leaves are used
as an emollient application.
Viola cucullata, Ait. Common blue violet. Grows in
damp pine lands; collected in St. John's; vicinity of
Charleston. FL Mav.
77
Le. Mat. Med. i, 223. Probably possessed of similar
properties with the others; a decoction is given to children
in eruptive diseases. These plants might very conveniently
be used in domestic practice, and we would invite attention
to their further employment.
Droserace^e. (The Sun Dew Tribe.)
Plants generally slightly acid ; acrid and poisonous to
cattle.
Drosera rotundifolia, Linn. Sun dew. Grows in damp
spots in the low country of South Carolina; Richland; col-
lected in St. John's; Newbern. Fl. June.
Bull. Plantes Yen de France. Vicat mentions it as an
active and corrosive plant: the liquor which exudes from
the hairs destroying warts, corns, etc. Dem Elem. de Bot.
ii, 334. M. Geoftroi asserts that it is a valuable pectoral,
employed in ulcers of the lungs, asthma, etc. ; the infusion
being generally used. The juice has been recommended
in hydrops, diseases of the kidneys, ophthalmias, etc. Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 690. Shec, in his Flora
.Carol, 519, confirms tjie opinion in reference to the corro-
sive property of the juice, and adds that, with milk, it
furnishes a safe application for removing freckles ; any part
of it will curdle milk. Fl. Scotica, 109. It is thought to
be very injurious to sheep, producing in them consumption
or rot. M. Berlace affirms (Esquiss. Hist. Bot. Aug.) that
cattle avoid it on account of an insect (Hydra hydatula)
which feeds on it. This plant is quite diminutive, and has
heretofore received very little attention; we see no men-
tion made of it in our Am. Disps.
V. Passifloraceje. (The Passion Flower Tribe.)
Passiflora'hrtea : tend incarnata, Linn. May apples; passion
flowers. Grow in pastures.
The fruit of these beautiful climbing plants contains a
sweetish, acid pulp, and is eatable. Several of the species
are employed in medicine ; but these have received no
78
attention, being more remarkable on account of the struc-
ture of their flowers. One is quite diminutive.
Hypericace^;. (The Tatsan Tribe.)
The juice of many of the species is slightly purgative
and febrifugal.
Ascyrum Crux Andreas, W. ] Peterwort. Collected in
" multicaule, Mx. j pine land soils; St. John's;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. July.
The infusion of the bruised root and branches of this
plant was used by an Indian with success in the case of a
female, under our observation, with an ulcerated breast,
which had resisted all other attempts at relief. We have
since seen it employed with entire satisfaction, on the per-
son of an infant, having a painful enlargement of the sub-
maxillary gland. ISTo further opportunity has been aiforded
of ascertaining its properties with certainty ; but it seems
to be possessed of some power as a resolvent in discussing
tumors, and reducing glandular enlargements ; given in-
ternally, and applied topically. The taste is somewhat
acrid. "We would invite further examination.
Hypericum 'perforatum, L. St. John's-wort. Sparingly
naturalized in Confederate States.
It was greatly in vogue at one time, and was thought to
cure demoniacs. The decoction also given in hysteria and
suppressed menstruation. Thornton's Family Herbal, 67.
The coloring matter gives a good dye to wool.
The plant called St. John's-wort, which I think is Ascy-
rum cruxandrece, growing abundantly throughout our coun-
try, is popularly regarded as of great value, bruised and
applied in the healing of wounds, and as a discutient.
Wilson states that its leaves and flowers are strongly
resiniferous or oleiferous, and emit a powerful odor when
rubbed ; it bleeds under very slight compression or wound-
ing, and imparts a blood-red color to any spirituous or
oleaginous substance with which it is mixed, and was for-
79
merly supposed to possess the power of healing wounds,
bruises, and contusions. It is the Fuga Dcemonium, he
adds, of old herbalists, and was formerly held to "influence
conjurations and enchantments. It yields a good yellow
dye to woven fabrics, from its flowers, and a good red dye
from its leaves. The juice of the Hypericums are often
exceedingly similar to gamboge. Rural Cyc. The plant
has a resinous odor, and Dr. Darlington says is believed to
produce troublesome sores on horses and horned cattle,
especially those which have white feet and noses. The dew
which collects on the plant appears to become acrid. Flora
Cest. Farmers' Encyc. I found the same impression pre-
vailing in Powhatan county, Va. A tincture of the flowers
and leaves are used in stomach complaints.
Hypericum sarothra, Mich., T.and G. ] Pine weed;
Sarothra gentianoides Linn, and Ell. Sk. j orange grass.
Grows in dry pastures ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of
Charleston; JSTewbern. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, cle M. Med. vi, 226 ; Journal de
Med. lxxx, 360. It is employed as an aperient in inflam-
matory affections.
Acerace^. (The Sycamore Tribe.)
Acer rubrum, Linn. Red maple. Diffused.
Shec. Flora Carol. 80. The wood is much used in the
manufacture of Windsor chairs, gun-stocks, etc. ; the grain
is sometimes beautifully curled. In a communication re-
ceived from I. Douglass, M. D., of Chester district, S. C,
his correspondent, Mr. McKeown, states that the country
people consider a strong decoction of the bark, with white
sugar, used as a wash, a safe and certain cure for ordinary
ophthalmia. Some of the inhabitants of the Western
states make sugar by boiling down the sap of the white
maple, which, however, like that 'of the red maple, yields
only half the proportion of sugar obtained from the juice
of the sugar maple. Farmer's Encyc.
80
Acer saccharinum, Linn. Sugar maple. Var. Florida-
num, found in South Florida. Chap. Diffused, but more
abundant' in the upper districts ; found sparingly at the
head waters of Cooper river ; St. John's, Berkley ; New-
bern. Fl. Feb.
Shec. Flora Carol. 90. Pure flake manna has been
discovered in this species. Sugar extracted from it is an
article of trade ; it is employed medicinally also. The
wood is esteemed in the manufacture of saddle-trees. The
grain of the wood is fine and close, and when polished it
has a silky lustre.
The timber of old trees is extensively used in America
for inlaying mahogany ; and it possesses, in an eminent
degree, the same kind of bird's-eye markings which distin-
guish the timber of the Norway maple. The wood is heavy
and strong, but not durable. The ashes are very rich in
alkaline matter, and furnish a large proportion of the potash
which is imported to Europe from New York and Boston.
Rural Cyc. I have seen the sugar maple boxed as low
down as Middle Virginia, but have never heard of any
sugar being made from the tree in states south of Virginia.
Maple and sweet gum barks, with copperas, will dye a pur-
ple color; maple, red oak bark, and copperas to fix it, will
dye dove color ; maple, with bark of black walnut [Juglans
nigra), gives a brown color; sweet gum, with copperas,
yields a color nearly black. See, also, "Quercus," "Hopea,"
etc. ; see Boussingault's Treatise, " Rural Economy, in its
Relation to Chemistry, Physics, etc.," p. 125, for valuable
instruction on cultivation, production, etc., of sugar from
maple, beet, etc ; also, Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufac-
tures, and Mines, article "Sugar, beet, etc." Wilson, in his
Rural Cyc, article "Acer," which the reader may consult,
states that the sap of the maple also contains ammonia, and
has, therefore, all the conditions for forming the nitroge-
nous components of the branches, leaves, and blossoms ;
and in proportion as these parts of the tree are developed,
it gradually loses its ammonia, and when they are com-
pletely formed it ceases to flow. Rural Cyc. Liebig dis-
81
covered that ammonia was emitted from this juice when
mixed with lime. The sugar crystallized spontaneously.
The American practice with the sugar maple is to bore two
auger holes, three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and half
an inch deeper than the bark, in an obliquely ascending-
direction, on the south side of the tree, at the height of
about eighteen or twenty inches from the ground, in Feb-
ruary or March, while the snow is on the ground, and the
cold is still intense, and to insert into the holes elder or
sumac tubes, partially laid open, eight or ten inches in
length, and three-fourths of an inch in diameter, commu-
nicating at the lower end with troughs of two or three
gallons in capacity, for the reception of the sap. Four
gallons are usually sufficient to yield one pound of sugar;
and eight to sixteen gallons are usually obtained in a season
from a single tree — this must depend upon the locality.
Op. cit. I insert the following from Farmer's Encyc. :
"In a central situation, lying convenient to the trees from
which the sap is drawn, a shed is constructed, called a
sugar-camp, which is destined to shelter the boilers and the
persons who tend them from the weather. An auger,
three-fourths of an inch in diameter, small troughs to
receive the sap, tubes of elder or sumac, eight or ten inches
long, corresponding in size to the auger, and laid open for
a part of their length, buckets for emptying the troughs
and conveying the sap to the camp, boilers of fifteen or
eighteen gallons capacity, moulds to receive the syrup
when reduced to a proper consistency for being formed
into cakes, and, lastly, axes to cut and split the fuel, are
the principal utensils employed in the operation. The
trees are perforated in an obliquely ascending direction,
eighteen or twenty inches from the ground, with two holes
four or five inches apart. Care should be taken that the
augers do not enter more than half an inch within the
wood, as experience has shown the most abundant flow of
sap to take place at this depth. It is also recommended
to insert the tubes on the south side of the tree ; but this
useful hint is not always attended to.
6
82
"A trough is placed on the ground at the foot of each
tree, and the sap is every day collected and temporarily
poured into casks, from which it is drawn out to fill the
boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk fire, and
the scum is carefully taken off during this part of the pro-
cess. Fresh sap is added from time to time, and the heat
is maintained till the liquid is reduced to a syrup, after
which it is left to cool, and then strained through a blanket,
or other woollen stuff, to separate the remaining impurities.
" Some persons recommend leaving the syrup twelve
hours before boiling it for the last time ; others proceed
with it immediately. In either case the boilers are only
half filled, and by an active, steady heat the liquor is rap-
idly reduced to the proper consistency for being poured
into the moulds. The evaporation is known to have pro-
ceeded far enough when, upon rubbing a drop of the syrup
between the fingers, it is perceived to be granular. If it is
in danger of boiling over, a bit of lard or of butter is
thrown into it, which instantly calms the ebullition. The
molasses being drained off from the moulds, the sugar is
no longer deliquescent, like the raw sugar of the West
Indies.
"Maple sugar manufactured in this way is lighter col-
ored, in proportion to the care with which it is made, and
the judgment with which the evaporation is conducted.
It is superior to the brown sugar of the colonies, at least,
to such as is generally used in the United States ; its taste
is as pleasant, and it is as good for culinary purposes.
When refined, it equals in beauty the finest sugar con-
sumed in Europe. It is made use of, however, only in the
districts where it is made, and there only in the country ;
from prejudice or taste, imported sugar is used in all the
small towns, and in the inns.
"The sap continues to flow for six weeks ; after which
it becomes less abundant, less rich in saccharine matter,
and sometimes even incapable of crystallization. In this
case it is consumed in the state of molasses, which is su-
perior to that of the islands. After three or four days
83
exposure to the sun, maple sap is converted into vinegar,
by the acetous fermentation. The amount of sugar manu-
factured in a year varies from different causes. A cold
and dry winter renders the trees more productive than a
changeable and humid season. It is observed that when a
frosty night is followed by a dry and brilliant day the sap
flows abundantly ; and two or three gallons are sometimes
yielded by a single tree in twenty-four hours. Three per-
sons are found sufficient to tend two hundred and fifty
trees, which give one thousand pounds of sugar, or four
pounds from each tree. But this product is not uniform,
for many farmers on the Ohio do not commonly obtain
more than two pounds from a tree. Trees which grow in
low and moist places afford a greater quantity of sap than
those which occupy rising grounds, but it is less rich in the
saccharine principle. That of insulated trees, left standing
in the middle of fields or by the side of fences, is the best.
It is also remarked that, in districts which have been
cleared of other trees, and even of the less vigorous sugar
maples, the product of the remainder is, proportionally,
most considerable. 'Having introduced,' says a writer,
' twenty tubes into a sugar maple, I drew from it the same
day twenty-three gallons and three quarts of sap, which
gave seven and a quarter pounds of sugar ; thirty-three
pounds have been made this season from the same tree,
which supposes one hundred gallons of sap.' It appears
here that only a little more than three gallons was required
for a pound, though four are commonly allowed."
Sapindaceje. [Soapberry Tribe.)
Sajnndus marginatns. "Willd. Soapberry. Florida and
Georgia, near the coast.
The skin of the fruit of S. emarginatus is said to be used
in India for the same purposes as soap. That of the S.
scqwnaria, which grows in the West Indies, is employed for
washing linen, but when employed often is apt to burn and
destroy it ; the nuts are very smooth, and of a shining
black color, and were formerly imported to England and
84
manufactured into buttons, which were sometimes tipped
with silver, and always very durable. Wilson's Rural Cyc.
Our species should be examined. It will be observed that
it is very nearly related to the buckeye (JSscidus), the roots
of which are also used for washing woollens. See, also,
" Saponaria," in this paper.
^EscuLACEiB. ( The Horse Chestnut Tribe.)
The seeds contain a great quantity of a nutritive starch ;
also a sufficient amount of potash to be useful as cosmetics,
or as a substitute for soap.
jEsculus pav(a,Ti. Horse chestnut; buckeye. Diffused.
I have observed it in Greenville, Fairfield, and Charleston
districts ; vicinity of Charleston, Bach. Fl. May.
Shec. Flora Carol. 105 ; Griffith's Med. Bot. 214. The
fruit is about the .size of a small lemon, and of a beauti-
fully polished mahogany color externally ; it contains a
great deal of starch. Dr. Woodhouse prepared a half a
pint from the nuts, which retained its color for two years.
It is superior to the famous Portland starch, and does not
impart a yellow color to cloth. It is said that the washing
from this is narcotic and poisonous. Dr. McDowel tried the
powder of the rind, and states that ten grains were equiva-
lent to three of opium ; a strong decoction is recommended
as a lotion to gangrenous ulcers. A strong decoction of the
root is said to relieve toothache when held in the mouth.
The fresh kernels, macerated in water, mixed with wheat
flour into a stiff' paste, and thrown in pools of standing
Water, intoxicate fish, so that they float on the surface, and
may be taken ; reviving, however, when placed in fresh
water. I am informed that large quantities were formerly
caught in this way in the swamps along the Santee river.
See, also, Ell. Bot. Med. Notes. The roots are preferred
even to soap for washing and whitening woollens, blankets,
and dyed cottons — the colors of which are improved by
the process. Satins washed in this manner, and carefully
ironed, look almost as well as new.
.85
Polygalace^. {The Milkwort Tribe.)
Bitterness in the leaves, and milk in the roots, are their
usual characteristics.
Polygala Senega, L. Seneka snakeroot ; mountain flax.
Mountainous districts of S. C. Fl. July.
Thornton's Fam. Herb. 629. An active stimulant, in-
creasing the force of the circulation, especially that of the
pulmonary vessels ; hence, found very useful in typhoid
inflammation of the lungs. Dr. Brandreth, of Liverpool,
has derived great service from its employment, in cases of
lethargy, in the form of an extract combined with carb.
ammonias. It has been given in hydropic cases, and as it
sometimes provokes plentiful discharges by urine, stool,
and perspiration, it is frequently the means of removing
the disease after the ordinary cathartics, diuretics, and
hydragogues have failed. The Indians used it in snake
bites; given internal]}7 and applied topically ; if beneficial,
it only acts as a diffusible stimulant ; it is administered,
also, as a gargle in croup. A principle called senegin has
been discovered in it; and one by Eeschier, called poty-
galic acid. Anevenne is also said to have detected two:
polygalic and Virgineic — the first of which will unite with
bases ; the second volatile, oily, nauseant, and emetic in
small, diaphoretic, expectorant, and diuretic in large doses.
Stephens & Church, 103. See Analysis in Journal de
Pharm. xxii, 449. One of the principles referred to is
said not to differ from saponine. Supplem. to the Diet, de
M. Med. by Mer. and de L. 1846, 578; M. Guibourt, in his
"Abridged Hist, of Simple Drugs" (in French); Carson's
Illust. Med. Bot. 1847, pt. i ; L. Feneulle's Annal. Journal
de Pharm. ii, 430. It has been employed in pleurisy. See
Tennent's Essay on that disease; Duhame, Mem. de l'Acad.
de Paris, 1739, 144; McKensie's Med. Obs. and Enquiries,
ii, 288 ; De Haen. Ratio Medendi : F. d'Ammon "sur l'em-
ploi et l'utilite de la racine du P. senega dans plusieurs mal
del'ceil"; Annal. de Chim. de Heidelberg. Dr. Ammon, of
Dresden, in his paper, employs it in ophthalmias, after the
inflamniatoiy stage is passed; it is said to prevent the
formation of cataract, and to promote the absorption of
pus in hypopium ; he reports two cases ; it is adapted, in
fact, to all cases of exudation, by its power of promoting
discharge. Suite des Experiences in Bull, des Sci. Med.
xx, 241. Bretonneau gave four to five grains, every hour,
in croup ; it opposes the formation of the diphtheritic
membrane. Bull, des Sci. Med. de Ferus. xi, 61 ; Mem.
sur le Senega, Acad, des Sci. See Merat, loc. cit. Dr.
Milne spoke highly of the decoction, joined with bitartrate
of potash, in dropsy. Dr. Percival administered it in
hydrops pectoris. If the decoction causes vomiting, some
aromatic, angelica, calamus, or fennel, may be added. It is
prescribed as a drink in pneumonia, pleurisy, and typhoid
fever. Linnaeus, in his Veg. Mat. Med. 137, speaks of-
this plant as a specific in croup [specificum in phlogose
hinc officinis nostris dignissima). Lincl. Nat. Syst. Bot. 87.
Stimulant, diuretic, sialagogue, expectorant, purgative,
emetic, sudorific, and also emmenagogue. U. S. Disp.
649; Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 27; Bart. M. Bot. ii, 111;
Mer. and de L. v, 424; Diet, des Sci. Med. Ii, 1; Journal
de Chim. Med. ii, 431 ; Journal Analyt. i, 339. Employed
in nervous affections, and hectic fever ; in hydrothorax,
from its stimulating effect on the kidneys, and in diseases
of the lungs, from its augmenting the absorbent forces.
Anc. Journal de Med. lxxvi, 53 ; Detharding, Diss, de
Senega, 1749; C. Linn. Diss, upon the Root of the Senega,
Argentorati, 1750; Kielhon, Diss. Frankfort, 1765; Hel-
minth, at Edinburgh, 1782; G. Folchi, "Rech. chimico
Therap. sur la racine du polygala du Virginie." In pneu-
monia, after bleeding, and in the typhoid stage, it is one of
our best remedies for promoting expectoration ; at an ear-
lier period, it is too stimulating. Much use is made of it
on the plantations in South Carolina for this purpose.
According to Dr. Bree, it is eminently useful in the asthma
of old people, and in the latter stages of croup. It has
been employed successfully in chronic rheumatism, and Dr.
87
Chapman also found it very efficacious in recent cases of
amenorrhcea. Frost's Eleras. 258 ; Griffith's Med. Bot.
225; Archer's Med. and Phys. Journal, i, 83; Bree on
Asthma, 258; Massie's Inaug. Diss. Phil. 1808; Thacher's
Disp. 319; N". Eng. Journal, vii, 206. In croup, it is often
given in the form of hive syrup ; the best form, however,
is a decoction made by boiling one ounce of root in one
pint and a half of water, till it is reduced to a pint, the
dose of which is a tablespoonful ; thirty grains of the
powdered root may be given in substance. This plant is
employed by the steam practitioners. See Howard's Syst.
of Bot. Med. 343.
Polygala sangmnea, L. ISTutt. Grows in flat, pine lands ;
abundantly near Pittsburg; sent to me from Abbeville by
Mr. Reed ; vicinity of Charleston. Bach. Fl. June.
Lind. UTat. Syst. Bot. 86 ; Barton's Med. Bot. ii, 17. A
stimulating diaphoretic, similar, it is supposed, in properties
to the above. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 424 ;
Griffith, Med. Bot. 225.
Poli/gala 'pauctfolia, Willd. Grows in the mountains of
South Carolina. Fl. August.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 227^ Rafmesqiie, in his Med. Flora,
says it is possessed of active properties ; the root having a
sweet, pungent, aromatic taste, similar to that of the winter-
green (Gaultheria jwocumb.) ; he thinks it milder than the
P. senega, and, therefore, adapted to cases in which that is
inapplicable. Griffith does not agree with him, attributing
to it merely tonic and bitter properties.
Polygala jjolygama, "Walter. Vicinity of Charleston.
U. S. Disp. 558.
Cedrelaceye. (Mahogany Tribe.)
Swietenia mahagoni, L. Mahogany. South Florida. Chap.
So. Flora.
This tree is cut down in August. See description of
method pursued in Honduras, Wilson's Rural Cyc.
The uses of the wood are so well known as to need no
farther description.
The bark may, it is said, be used as Peruvian bark. I do
not know that the tree is "exploited" in Florida.
LinacExE. (The Flax Tribe.)
Linum usitatissimum. Flax. Cultivated in South Caro-.
lina.
It is cultivated here pretty much on account of the seeds,
which are well known for their valuable demulcent proper-
ties, and for the linseed oil which they afford. Immediate
attention should be paid to raising on a very much larger
scale both this plant, the mustard, and the castor oil. Flax
matures well in this latitude. For much useful information
in reference to the economical application of this plant, see
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Sup. 1846, 435. .
Among the thread plants may be mentioned Flax (Linum
usitatissimum), Perennial flax (Linum perenne), Hemp (Can-
nabis sativa), Virginian silk (Asclepias syriaca), Common
nettle ( Urtica dioica), and the Rosebay willow herb (Epilo-
bium angustifolium). The three latter are all found growing
wild in South Carolina. The asclepias was planted for the
purpose in Germany, but is an imperfect substitute for
hemp or flax. See A. syriaca in this volume. The stem of
the hop has also been used for the production of thread.
They require farther examination. See Thaer's work,
"Principles of Agriculture," p. 461. Hemp seeds also
yield oil.
The best drying oils, Chaptal states (" Chemistry applied
to Agriculture," p. 145), are those of flax seed, nuts, and
poppies. Linseed oil will dissolve at boiling temperature
one-quarter of its weight of that oxide known in commerce
by the name of litharge. It becomes brown in proportion
as the oxide is dissolved ; when saturated with the oxide it
thickens by cooling, and it is necessary to render it liquid
by heat at the time of using it. Linseed oil saturated with
the oxide and applied with a brush to any substance, hard-
89
ens readily and forms a coating impervious by water, and
much resembles gum elastic ; linen or silk prepared with it
is flexible without being adhesive. A cement of this oil,
prepared with • the oxide and mixed with the refuse or
broken fragments of porcelain or well baked potter's ware,
is used with great success in uniting the tiles upon roofs,
and in cisterns and reservoirs. . To form this cement the
pulverized fragments are thoroughly incorporated with the
heated oil, and applied by the trowel while in that state.
When linseed oil is to be used in painting, one-twentieth,
or at the most, one-tenth of litharge is sufficient to render
it drying.
"With linseed oil and common glue, a water-proof mate-
rial is made, which may prove of great use in preparing
garments for our soldiers. Immerse common glue in cold
water until it becomes perfectly soft, but yet retaining its
original form ; after which it is to be dissolved in common
raw linseed oil, assisted by a gentle heat, until it becomes
entirely taken up by the latter ; after which it may be ap-
plied to substances for adhesion to each other, in the way
common glue is usually applied. It dries almost immedi-
ately, and water will exert no action upon it. It has more
tenacity than common glue, and becomes impervious to
water. It may be used also for furniture, and two layers of
cloth . may be glued together to form a water-proof gar-
ment. Glue dissolved in vinegar also makes a very tena-
cious substance in place of the prepared glues. See plates
of machinery for pressing linseed and other oils, Ure's Dic-
tionary of Arts, article "Oils;" also Wilson's Rural Cyc,
articles "Flax" and "Linseed." The processes are described
with plates. Those interested may find there a full state-
ment of the method of gathering, planting, uses, etc. See
also "Olea," in this work. Flax seed intended for plant-
ing should not be gathered too quickly. Flax seed was
largely made in western New York. The yield is from ten
to fifteen bushels per acre. It is sown early in the spring.
If raised merely for the seed, it is harvested and thrashed
like other grain. But when the stalk is used, it is pulled
90
up by a machine as soon as the seed begins to ripen, and
bound in small bundles, the seed stripped off by a machine,
and the stalks spread oat and dew rotted; it is then sold to
the hemp makers for seven or eight dollars per ton. The
farmer sells the crop at one dollar per bushel for the seed,
which is sent to the oil-mill.
The reader interested in the preparation and cleaning of
the fibres of textile plants, will find a paper upon the sub-
ject, condensed from the Singapore Free Press, in the P.
Office Rep. 1854, p. 1T4. A description of the simplest and
most economical modes of cleaning them is given. The
plantain, agave, and aloe are planted in India, and the
fibre exported for twine, paper, etc. — bringing from sixty
to two hundred dollars per ton. I do not know that these
plants are used in our West -India islands or in Florida for
these purposes. The ordinary mill used in pressing sugar-
cane can be used in cleaning the fibre. See article cited.
Wilson's Rural Cyc, article "Bleaching," furnishes a
practical explanation of the methods of bleaching flax,
hemp, etc. See also Ure's Dictionary.
Malvace^. ( The Mallow Tribe.)
They abound in mucilage, and are totally destitute of all
unwholesome qualities.
Malm rotundifolia, L. Low mallows. Naturalized ;
grows around buildings ; Richland ; vicinity of Charleston.
Fl. June.
IT. S. Disp. 444. A substitute for M. sylvestris, which
possesses valuable demulcent properties. Woodv. Med.
Bot. 554, torn. 197. It is very emollient, and is employed
in catarrhal, dysenteric, and nephritic diseases, and wher-
ever a mucilaginous fluid is required. It is administered
in the shape of emollient enema, and it forms a good sup-
purative or relaxing cataplasm in external inflammations.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 207. It was highly
regarded by the ancients. " Pythagore regardait leur
usage comme propre a favoriser l'exercise de la pensee."
91
Hippocrates employed it as we do, for gargles and collyri-
uras, as an application to heated and inflamed parts, as a
vehicle for pectoral and anodyne medicines, and for those
administered in diseases of the urinary passages.
Abutilon Avicmnce, Gaertn., T. and G. "I Indian mallows.
Sida abutilon, Linn, and Ell. Sk. j Grows at Granby,
in Richland district, and in Georgia; vicinity of Charles-
ton. Bach. Newbern. Fl. July.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 96 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. vi, 338. The plant is said to be cultivated in China
as a substitute for hemp. The flowers are employed as an
ingredient in emollient applications.
Abutilon and Sida. Species of these two genera have
been used in medicine. *S'. abutilon is cultivated in India
for the fibre, and somewhat extensively introduced into
field culture in Italy. See Rural Cyc, Chap. So. Flora.
Our Abutilons should be examined; several grow in South
Carolina.
Hibiscus Moscheutos, L. Marsh mallow. Collected in
St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern.
Bergius, M. Med. ii, 629. This also is possessed of de-
mulcent properties ; a convenient substitute for the above.
Hibiscus esculentus. Okra. Introduced from Africa.
The fruit and pods afford the well-known valuable vege-
table, so largely used in the Southern states in combination
with tomatoes in making soup. It is very mucilaginous,
and, infused in water, forms a suitable vehicle for medi-
cines prescribed in diseases of the mucous passages, for
enemata, etc. Some information on this plant may be ob-
tained in the Journal de Pharm. vi, 383. The parched seeds
afford a tolerably good substitute for coffee ; the difference
can with difficulty be detected. It is sometimes used for
this purpose among the negroes on the plantations of South
Carolina.
92
This well-known vegetable contains an enormous amount
of albumen — so much, that Chaptal says that in St. Do-
mingo it is employed in clarifying liquors. In Guadeloupe
and Martinique they use the bark of the slippery elm "for
this purpose as white of egg elsewhere. It would be a
matter of importance to' ascertain whether or not vegetable
albumen would be useful in clarifying sugar. In employ-
ing albumen for clarifying fluids the following method is
adopted, according to the writer just mentioned. I would
refer the reader also to Ure's Dictionary of Arts and Manu-
factures. The albumen, generally white of egg, is diluted
with water, and then mixed with the liquid which is to be
clarified; the whole is then heated to 65° or 70° Faki\, and
stirred carefully so as to distribute the albumen equally
among all its particles; by increasing the heat the albumen
is made to coagulate, when it rises to the top of the vessel,
carrying with it all the particles, which render the liquid
turbid or cloudy ; the thick foam which this produces,
when cooled, may be taken off with a skimmer, and the
liquid be afterward filtrated, to remove any remaining
particles from it. The same writer says that animal albu-
men, mixed with quick-lime, finely powdered and spread
upon strips of linen, makes an excellent lute, to be ap-
# plied over the joints of vessels for distilling, to prevent
loss of gas or vapor.
The Sesamum indicum, Bene, is another plant cultivated
on our plantations which has a very large amount of
mucilage.
The okra plant has been recommended to be planted for
the fibre as a textile substance. Even the cotton plant, if
not allowed to come to maturity, and planted closer, like
flax and hemp, might furnish an inner bark suitable for
twine or cloth. The Urtica dioica, nettle, and Apocynum can-
nabinum, Indian hemp, and several species of asclepias, or
silk weed, may, by improved cultivation, give a useful
fibre ; see index. Dr. Gr. C. Shaefler, the author of a paper
in P. O. Eep., 373, 1859, on " Vegetable fibre," states that
the fibre of the silk or milk-weed [A. cornuti) " was nearly if
93
not quite as strong as the hemp." In this article, the mode
of preparing textile fibres is treated of, and also the best
materials for paper making. A curious work, by Dr. J. C.
ShaefFer, 1765, is referred to, in which experiments were
long since performed upon innumerable substances suited
to the making of paper. The latest work of consequence
has been published by L. Piette, 1838. Piette gives speci-
mens of good, strong, white paper made from straw. Paper
in the United States was also made from wood, sawdust,
and shavings, in 1828 and '30. Ure's Dictionary of Arts ma}7
also be consulted for machinery, etc. Bark of linden is
used in Prussia. See Tilia. And the palmetto, agave, and
yucca of the South furnish a long fibre. When necessary,
the intercellular substance may be dissolved out by strong
alkalies — the lye from the ashes of plants, etc. For ma-
terial for paper making see "Cotton."
. The New Orleans Crescent says of coffee :
The supplies of many articles of consumption are run-
ning very low. In the meantime substitutes have been
proposed, among which is named the okra seed. As re-
gards this, the thought of its becoming a substitute may
as well be laid aside at once, for there are not twenty-five
sacks of the seed available. The chief substitute will have
to be r3re. This cereal was used during the war of 1812.
In fact, half of the ground coffee which has been sold in
New York and Boston for the last twenty-five years was
composed chiefly of rye.
Gossypium herbaceum, Linri. Cotton. A native of trop-
ical America. The long staple, including the varieties of
sea-island, black seed, and mains, grows best in the lower
country ; and the short, or green seed, in the upper dis-
tricts. Prescott states that the Spaniards found it in Mex-
ico. See "Conquest of Mexico."
Mer and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 1846. This
was the plant known to the ancients as the Byssus of old
writers. Herodotus, t. iii, 134, of Durger's Ed. ; Chateau-
briand, Journal to Jerusalem, 1777 ; see R6vue Medicale,
94
Feb. 1845, 225, for Observations on the Employment of
the Cotton Fibre in Dressing Wounds ; Ann. de Chimie,
427, 1845 ; Binol's Letters on the Cultivation of Cotton in
India ; C. Delasterie on the G. herbacea and its Cultiva-
tion, Paris, 1808; Lessier sur la Culture du Coton en
France ; Gerspach, Considerations sur l'iniluence des fila-
tures du Coton sur la sante des ouvriers, Paris, 182,7 ; Obs.
on the Employment of Cotton in the Treatment of Blis-
ters, 1830 ; Some Reflections by F. T. Saint Hilaire on
"Wounds, and their Treatment with Cotton (in French),
Montp. 1830 ; Sicand, Obs. on the Employment of the
Cotton Fibre in Surgery, and a Memoir on the different
Species cultivated in Naples, op. cit. sup. ; Griffith, Med.
Bot. 163 ; Dr. MacFayden (Fl. Jamaica) considers the spe-
cies only as varieties. Humboldt saw them growing in
Central America at an elevation of nine thousand feet.
The flowers are emollient like mallows, and used for simi-
lar purposes ; the roots are used in India in diseases of the
urinary organs. See Ainslie. In Brazil, a decoction of
the leaves steeped in vinegar is said to relieve hemicrania.
According to Martin, the seeds, which afford much oil,
are emollient, and are employed in emulsions, injections,
and diseases of mucous passages. The oil is afforded by
the seeds in sufficiently large quantities to be exported. It
might be made a useful article on the plantations, as it
does not deprive the seeds of their valuable properties as a
manure. When boiled, they furnish an excellent food for
cattle, but are poisonous to hogs when eaten in the raw
state. Much use is made of the roots in this state, in the
treatment of asthma — a decoction being employed. It
appears to have, moreover, a specific action on the uterine
organs. Dr. Heady, of Edgefield district, informs me that
his attention was called to its emmenagogue properties by
an article which appeared in a journal published some
years since. (New Orleans Med. Journal.) He has since
used it in suppression of the menses, but more particularly
in many cases of flooding, with entire success. It seems
to produce as active contractions of the uterus as ergot
95
itself. Three ounces of the root are infused in one pint of
boiling water, of which from three to four ounces are taken
internally every fifteen minutes. More extended experi-
ments with this remarkable plant, in cases of this descrip-
tion, might furnish very valuable results, and I would
invite particular attention to it. See also Pe. Mat. Med. ii,
568; Med. and Surg. Journal, xiii, 215; U. S. Disp. 357;
Lond. Med. Gazette, Nov. 8, 1839; West. Journal Med.
and Surg. 1840; Boyle, Illust. 84, and Mat. Med. 288;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 409 ; Marcgrave's
Brazil, 60; Diet, des Sc. Nat. xxxiv, 15; and Gov. W. B.
Seabrook's (of S. C.) paper on the cotton plant.
The fibre of our great staple is applicable to many pur-
poses in surgery, in dressing burns, preserving the temper-
ature of the extremities in depressed conditions of the
system, and also for stuffing and padding in the application
of fracture boxes ; but it is not, as has been confidently
stated, a substitute for lint in any sense of the term. On
account of the oil which it contains, it cannot absorb pus
or liquids from wounds, unless it has been previously pre-
pared. This, indeed, is a peculiarity of cotton fibre in its
natural state: water or fluids will roll from it; the slightest
experience or observation would convince any one of this ;
and yet it has been extensively distributed as a substance
for dressing wounds, which it only tends to render hotter
and more inflamed.
The plant has also been highly recommended as a sub-
stitute for quinine in intermittent fever. I will refer the
reader to some of the later volumes of the Charleston Med.
Journal and Review. I have not my volumes at hand to
refer to. It has been used with great confidence by many
persons throughout the South and West. I introduce the
following slip from a newspaper (1862) in default of more
precise information from the medical authorities who have
used it.
II. D. Brown, of Copiah county, Mississippi, communi-
cates the following notice of the use of cotton seed tea as a
substitute for quinine:
96
" I beg to make public the following certain and thor-
oughly tried cure for ague and fever : One pint of cotton
seed, two pints of water boiled down to one of tea, taken
warm one hour before the expected attack. Many persons
will doubtless laugh at this simple remedy, but I have tried
it effectually, and unhesitatingly say it is better than qui-
nine, and could I obtain the latter article gratuitously, I
would infinitely prefer the cotton seed tea. It will not
only cure invariably, but permanently, and is not at all
unpleasant to the taste."
The seeds of the black seed cotton, parched and ground,
are considered by many as one of the best substitutes for
coffee, both in smell and taste. In a paper by G-. C.
Shaeffer, on the cotton fibre, Patent Office Report, Agricul-
ture, 1854, p. 181, he says : "Still, in the present scarcity of
paper making material, it may be well to look to the bark
of the cotton plant as a partial supply for the common kinds
of paper. Fermentation, or any of the known methods of
separating the wood, may be employed." If the cotton
is gathered, the plant has then become too woody. See,
also,1 Okra (Hibiscus esculentus.) Governor ~W. B. Seabrook,
of S. C, has written perhaps the most full description of
the cultivation of cotton, in a pamphlet published a few
years since.
Townsend Glover, entomologist, employed by the Patent
Office, describes the diseases incident to the cotton plant in
his successive papers, in the volumes of the Patent Office
Report for 1855-'7, " On the Insects frequenting the Cotton
Plant." These papers contain a good deal of information
on the character and habits not only of insects infesting
cotton, but many other plants, with illustrations on wood.
He describes the rust, rot, and blight, and devises methods
for preventing their spread. The English use cotton dipped
in a solution of saltpetre as a moxa; see " Helianihus."
"Gun cotton" is also a well known explosive agent, pre-
pared by means of nitric acid.
Cotton Seed Soap. The following I obtain from the
97
Charleston Mercury: Put cotton seed into a large and
strong iron pot, in small quantities at a time, mash them
well with a wooden pestle, and then pour in a certain quan-
tity of common lye, and boil thoroughly; strain in an ordi-
nary sieve, and proceed in the usual way in drying and
cutting into cakes. The oil is thus yielded, and saponified.
Machines are now manufactured in this country for
decorticating the cotton seed, in manufacturing the cake.
It is thus much improved as an article of food for cattle,
not being near so liable to injure the animals. It brings a
high price in England. Mills for the preparation of the
cake have been established in Rhode Island. Strange that
nothing of the kind has existed in Charleston, where the
seed can be so easily obtained. The great value of the
seed as a manure may account in part for the indifference
of the planter. The seed has been pressed in ISTew Orleans.
The oil is said to be "unsurpassed for dressing leather and
lubricating machinery, and as an illuminator affords a clear
and brilliant light" — as good as spermaceti, when refined.
See also a paper on cotton seed oil, Southern Cultivator, p.
iii, vol. 3. He states that there are thirty bushels of seed
to every bale of cotton ; each bale will yield at least fifteen
gallons of crude oil, and three hundred and sixty barrels
of oil cake. "No difficulty exists in hulling, tempering,
or expressing the oil," and the huller of Follet and Smith,
of Petersburg, is referred to : hulling at the rate of a
basket of kernels in four or five minutes. The machinery
employed in French Flanders for rape seed, answers per-
fectly for cotton seed.
Cotton Seed OH. A good deal has been said of late in
the Cincinnati and New Orleans papers on the subject of
cotton seed oil and cake ; and if the half of what is pub-
lished shall turn out to be true, we have reached the beo-in-
ning of a new era in the cotton culture, not unlike that
which marked the invention of the cotton gin. Mr. Wil-
liam R. Free, of Cincinnati, has invented and constructed
a cotton seed huller, which entirely separates the hull, and
7
x 98
the little lint that adheres to it, from the meat part of the
seed. The huller is said to he simple in construction, is
made entirely of iron, and is easily kept in repair. It
requires a two-horse power to drive it, and two hands to
tend it — one to feed the mill, and one to remove the hulls
from the screen. It will hull and screen one ton, or two
thousand pounds, per hour, ready for the press — fifty per
cent, of which is kernels, or the meats of the seed, from
which forty gallons of oil may he obtained. This machine
must he exceedingly valuable to prepare seed for all feed-
ing purposes on the farm where no oil is expressed, as the
hulls and lint are altogether undesirable as food. Hulls
and cotton seed, and cut straw or corn stalks, boiled
together in large iron boilers, or steamed in big tubs or
vats, will make a superior stock feed. But as a gallon of
this oil is cheap at a dollar, and enough seed to make forty
gallons can be hulled in an hour, it is far better to feed the
cake after most of the oil is taken out, steamed with straw
or stalks, than to feed this precious oil to live stock. After
cotton seed is hulled, a good cotton press for baling cloth
will press out most of the oil in the kernels. Perhaps they
may require beating, as in pressing flax seed. The art is
very simple. Instead of sending cotton seed to distant
markets, where the producer will lose the cake for feeding,
and as a fertilizer, we earnestly recommend to each large
plantation (or where their operations are small, for several
to unite), to purchase a hulling machine, and, if neces-
sary, construct or buy an oil press for home use. Ac-
cording to the data furnished by the Cincinnati operators,
four thousand pounds of common cotton seed will turn
out fifty dollars worth of oil ; and every planter knows
that in case he should wish to mix the hulls with the
cake in feeding it, or as a manure, he can do so after
the oil is expressed. The oil is nearly valueless as a
fertilizer, being nothing but carbon and the elements of
water, while in skilful hands it is worth some forty to fifty
cents a gallon for making fat hogs, sheep, cows, and
steers; but more for burning, and lubricating machinery.
99
At this time we would gladly pay twenty dollars per one
thousand pounds for cotton seed cake, to feed cattle, sheep,
and hogs. It is worth more than corn or wheat, pound
for pound, to feed mules and hogs on a cotton plantation.
It contains more of the muscle, sinew, and bone forming
matter. It has less starch than corn, but is a healthier
food than either peas, beans, wheat, or maize. If the hulls
were in the cake, the result would be quite different. In
flax seed cake the hull of the seed is not removed. It is
owing to the richness of the clean meats of cotton seed
that straw, or coarse forage of some kind, should be fed
with the cake, except to hogs.
Consequent upon the increased amount of cotton raised
in the Southern states, and the great bulk of the seed, there
had been several establishments in operation before the
war for economizing the oil. At one in New Orleans,
driven by a thirty-five horse power steam-press, five hun-
dred gallous of oil and five tons of oil cake a day were pre-
pared. It required for the day's work, as is stated in the
Southern Farmer and Planter, about fifteen tons of cotton
seed to produce this amount of oil and cake, each ton of
seed yielding about forty gallons of oil and seven hundred
or eight hundred pounds of cake. The proprietor shipped
eight hundred tons to England, where it was used by the
farmers, who are extensive importers of linseed oil cake.
The cotton seed cake "is highly esteemed for fattening cat-
tle and sheep." In Memphis, Tenn., it was also made in
very large quantities. The oil, refined by a secret process,
is made of two qualities — " the best used for illuminating
and lubricating purposes, as well as for currying leather,
etc. The inferior is found to answer the purpose of soap
making equal to palm oil, making soap of every quality,
even to the most refined toilet soap." Cotton seed cake
might be used as a substitute to a certain extent for corn
for fattening stock. " Cotton seed meal and corn meal, if
applied directly to the hay that is fed in fattening ani-
mals, instead of the latter being fed alone and dry, and the
corn unground, would add vastly to the profits of fatten-
100
ing." Cotton seed cake sold at the mills for about the
same price that flax seed cake sold for.
Browne, in his "Field Book of Manures," New York,
1853, says of the cotton seeds: "They abound in a mild
oil, and are accounted very nutritious (as manures) after the
oil is expressed. A bushel of seed weighs thirty pounds,
and yields two and a half quarts of oil, and twelve and a
half pounds of fine meal. The oil cake is very brittle, and
breaks down much more readily than linseed oil cake. Its
taste is not unpleasant, and it is stated that it can be
employed with success in fattening stock."
In the Patent Office Eeport, 1855, p. 234, are some
"Chemical Researches on the Seed of the Cotton Plant,"
by Prof. C. T. Jackson. In this article a patent is referred
to as having been taken out by D. W. Mesner for "separat-
ing the hulls from the cotton seeds." The yield of the un-
prepared and woolly seeds is very small, in comparison
with what is obtained from those which have been hulled.
Analyses are given of the oil, the seed, the cake, etc.
Prof. Jackson says : Separation of the oil : In order to sep-
arate the fixed oil, pure ether was employed, and it was
found that one hundred grains of the dried pulverized
seeds yielded in one experiment 39.7, and in another 40
per cent, of pure fatty oil. By pressure, I was able with a
small screw-press to obtain only thirty-three per cent, of
oil ; but I have no doubt a more powerful one would have
given a larger yield. The specific gravity of the oil which
I obtained from the ethereal solution was 0.923 — water
being unity. This is also the specific gravity of purified
whale oil. Cotton seed oil is stated by Dr. Wood to be a
drying oil, but that which I have obtained does not appear
to possess drying properties, serving perfectly well for the
lubrication of machinery, and for burning in lamps, as well
as for making soap. It will also serve as a substitute for
olive oil in many cases, and perhaps may be eaten as a
salad oil, for it has no disagreeable odor or taste.
Chemical examination of the oil cake: Linseed oil cake is
well known both in Europe and in this country as valu-
101
able food for cattle, and as an excellent fertilizer — worth
from forty to fifty dollars per ton for the latter purpose. On
examining my cotton seed oil cake, I found it possessed a
sweet and agreeable flavor, and was much more pure and
clean than linseed oil cake. One hundred grains of the
seed leave sixty grains of oil cake. This cake, examined
for sugar, was found to contain 1.1 grains, and for gum,
thirty-five grains were obtained. Iodine gave no proof of
the existence of any starch in cotton seed, nor in the oil
cake. Alcohol dissolves out the sugar, which is like that
obtained from raisins, and is grape sugar. Boiling water
dissolves the gum, and becomes very mucilaginous. The
gum is precipitable from the water by means of pure alco-
hol.
Madura aurantiaea. Osage Orange. IS. America. Not
included by Chapman in his Flora of Southern United
States ; position irregular.
From the Patent Office Report, 1848, an article taken
from the Prairie Farmer, by Prof. J. B. Turner. The
osage orange, the favorite hedge plant of the United States,
has already become too well known to need any particular
description. It grows in the wilds of North America, in
regions further North than New York, and further South
than the Carolinas. It is usually in this country from ten
to fifteen feet in height, though, like the English thorn, it
is said sometimes to attain in its native soil a height of fifty
and even sixty feet. Its utility as a hedge plant is no
longer an experiment. Hedges of the rarest beauty and
excellence have been growing in Boston, Philadelphia, and
Cincinnati; in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Northern Mis-
souri; and, in short, in all the Middle and Southern states.
Some of these hedges have been standing for ten or twelve
years ; they were planted by gentlemen of wealth and taste
around their favorite walks and grounds at a time when the
plants sold at the rate of five dollars per thousand. Among
all who have written on the subject, no unfavorable account
has come to my knowledge. Great losses have been incur-
102
red with the seed, as might be expected, but the plant and
hedge are universally admired and commended, and it is
confidently believed by the best judges that it will double
the real value of any farm it surrounds. Recent writers
enumerate thus its many advantages : First — its tenacity of
life is scarcely equalled ; it is a native of the prairies, and
will grow on any soil where common prairie grass will
grow. Overflowing the land does not harm it. It will
live for weeks and months entirely under water. The dead
wood is exceedingly hard and durable, and fresh shoots
from the stumps soon supply the place of all which have
been killed by fire or cutting. Second — its protection is
perfect. It is armed with a very sharp, stout thorn under
each leaf. Its dense iron branches soon become so inter-
locked, that no domestic animal, and not even a common
bird, can pass through it. Both its thorns and its acrid,
bitter juice prevent all animals from browsing or feeding
on its branches. Its seed is like the Orange, and its roots
like the hickory, consequently it can never spread into the
field, either from the seed or root, but keeps its own place,
growing stronger and thicker year by year. It thus per-
fectly secures orchards, fruit-yards, stables, sheepfolds, and
pasture grounds from all thieves, rogues, dogs, wolves, etc.,
and one good gate, well locked, makes a whole farm secure
from all intruders of whatever description. It may be
trained so high as to afford shelter to stock, and break off
the rough prairie winds from all grounds needing such pro-
tection. Plants may also be prepared so that it can be set
in the open prairie without fence with perfect success. See
also in Patent Office Report, 1854, p. 419, an article on the
best mode of cultivating the osage orange for hedges, and
1855, p. 315, on "Live fences." The insects which feed
on it are described, viz: a "chinch-bug," and the mole
known as the gopher in Southern Illinois. In Illinois con-
tractors set out and tend the hedge at one dollar a mile, till
a good fence is produced. See Cerasus Carolhiiana. The
juice of the osage orange, says Wilson, is exceedingly abun-
dant, and flows freely from incisions, and quickly separates
103
into a feculant matter, and a supernatant, clear liquid. The
wood is uncommonly tine and elastic, and is used by the
American Indians for making their bows. It seems well
adapted to many purposes of turners. It is said to equal
fustic as a yellow dye stuff, and may be much more easily
produced. Rural Cyclopaedia.
The Cherokee rose forms a most valuable hedge plant.
A writer praises highly the "cabbage tree." See also
" Cratcegus ;" in this volume.
TiLiACEiE. [The Linden Tribe.)
They have all a mucilaginous, wholesome juice,
Tilia Americana, Linn., T. and G. ) Lime tree. Bass
" glabra, Vent, and Ell. Sk. J wood. An ornamental
tree, found in the mountain valleys of South Carolina;
Florida to North Carolina; Kewbern.
Ell. Bot. 22. The bark, when macerated, forms a strong
cordage, used for domestic purposes. The wood is white
and soft, and is used by carriage and cabinet-makers.
The inner bark of the European linden [T. Europea),
forms a strong cordage. Doubtless our American species
are also thus distinguished. The plants or branches may
be steeped in water for three months, dried, and stripped;
for every purpose of cordage on the plantation or garden,
this material will be found useful. It forms throughout
England the material for "bass," and is used by the horti-
culturist. The flowers of our American tilia, sent to me
from Pendleton district, S. C, I find quite as useful as the
imported "Tilleul," a material for quieting, antispasmodic
teas, so much employed in France. It is particularly grate-
ful and soothing to lying-in women : quieting nervous ex-
citement, and pleasant to the taste. I would particularly
recommend a larger use of these flowers in the Confeder-
ate States. It can be used wherever tea is required.
Honey dew is generally most abundant on lime, sycamore,
and beech trees ; on the cotton plant also. The above re-
marks apply to T. pubescens also, which is indigenous.
104
The wood of the T. Americana is white and soft. In the
Northern states, where the tulip poplar does not grow, it is
used for the panels of carriage bodies and the seats of
"Windsor chairs. It is, however, apt to split, and is not
considered equal to poplar for such and other useful pur-
poses. 1ST. Am. Sylva.
Camellie^:.
Thea viridis. The introduction of the tea plant into the
Confederate States is so important that I will, at any rate,
endeavor to give all suitable references to sources of in-
formation concerning its culture, preparation, etc. See a
pretty full account of the history of its production in the
United States in Patent Office Report, 1855, p. 42. The
best mode of growing the plant, drying and preparing the
leaves, is also described.
For some account of the experiment in the cultivation
of foreign tea in South Carolina by Dr. Junius Smith, see
P. 0. Report, 1848, p. 168, and 1859, p. 6. See also vol.
for 1857, p. 167, for article on " Practicability of the Tea
Culture in the United States." A description is given of
the varieties of soil and climate adapted to the growth of
tea, its cultivation and preparation, with a notice of the
plants set out in Washington. This communication should
be read by any one who proposes entering upon the busi-
ness of raising tea plants; also vol. 1859, p. 5, et. seq.,
containing successful experiments in Brazil. See Ceano-
thus Americanus, red-root, New Jersey tea tree, as a sub-
stitute.
Among our indigenous plants, the Gardenia (S. pubescens
and lasianthus, growing from Florida to North Carolina)*
belongs to the same natural family, Camellieae, as the tea
plant, and it should be experimented with. Our Linden
tree (Tilia Americana), the flowers of which are used in
making an antispasmodic tea, is closely related to Gar-
denia and Thea ; so the botanical relationship and the
natural properties are again substantiated. See Tilia. It
105
is said that a pleasant tea can be made likewise from the
Holly [Ilex opaca).
The introduction of both coffee and tea into Brazil was
at first very slow, but was subsequently successful.
A writer in the " Country Gentleman " makes this state-
ment : " A few days ago I drank a cup of real American
tea, from the Chinese tea plant, of which Dr. J. P. Barrett,
near New Market, S. C, has a fine shrub, about four feet
high, which has borne fruit during several years. By its
side was a thrifty specimen of the Olea fragrans, or Chinese
olive, with which the tea is scented." I have seen a plant
of the Thea growing out in the open air, near Stateburgh,
South Carolina. In the cultivation of the tea in China, "the
lower slopes of the hills are preferred, at 1,000 feet above
the level of the sea. In India, from 2,000 to 6,000 feet.
The best description of soil for the tea plant is a light
loam, well mixed with sand, and enriched with vegetable
matter, moderately moist, but neither wet nor sour. Slop-
ing or undulating land of this kind, on which good crops
of millet or Indian corn may be produced, is likely to be
suitable. Any aspect will do, but east or west is preferred.
The tea plant will not flourish in a wet or stagnant soil.
* * * When produced from seeds, the tea plant first
flowers in the second year. The usual period of flowering
is in November, and the seeds ripen the next autumn.
The ground is prepared for planting by being dug or
trenched in the usual ways. Manure is rarely used in tea
culture in China; but where the land is poor, stable-litter
and sewage of all kinds are sometimes applied indiscrimi-
nately, in moderate quantities, and a top dressing of rich
loam is considered valuable. The best time to apply
manure is in the spring, before the plants begin to grow, or
during mild weather in winter. * * * When the plant
is about 18 inches high the leading shoots are pinched off,
and the shrub is forced to throw out laterals. Naturally, it
has a tendency to grow tall and straggling, with few side
shoots. * * * As the leaves used in making tea are
produced yearly at the ends of the shoots, the object of
106
this system of treatment is apparent. * * * A small
crop of leaves may be gathered the third year after plant-
ing. In the eighth or tenth year, the product may be con-
sidered at its maximum. About ten pounds to an acre is
produced in China the third year, sometimes three hundred
pounds in the tenth year." Art. cit. sup.
Meliace^e. (The Bead Tree Tribe.)
Bitter, astringent, and tonic properties characterize the
species of this order. Some of them are active and dan-
gerous.
Melia Azedarach, Linn. Pride of India. Nat. ; diffused ;
grows in the streets of Charleston. Fl. May.
Chap. Therap. ii, 70; Ell. Bot. 475; Mer. and de L. Diet,
de M. Med. iv, 290 ; U. S. Disp. 135 ; Royle, Mat. Med.
308 ; Bell's Prac. Diet. 87 ; Eberle, Mat. Med. 207 ; Frost's
Elems. pt. 1 ; Archives Generates de Med. xvii, 112 ; Lind.
!N"at. Syst. 102 ; Coxe, Am. Disp. 128. Barton considered
it our most active anthelmintic. It is also a febrifuge,
adapted to verminous fevers, where no worms are voided.
Diet, des Drogues, par Chevallier, iii, 27. Tournon relates
a case where a little girl was thrown into convulsions by
eating three of the seeds. Merat also mentions cases.
Journal Gen. de Med. xlviii, 25; Gazette de Sant6, Mars,
1824. We have frequently seen them eaten by children in
South Carolina, with no bad effect. As an anthelmintic,
four ounces of the bark of the fresh root are boiled in
one pint of water, till it becomes of the consistence of
coffee, of which from one ounce to half an ounce may
be given every two hours; it may be drunk sweetened,
and should be followed by a cathartic. The dried ber-
ries, in spirits, have also been employed against ascara-
dides, taenia, and verminous maladies generally. Accord-
ing to Thacher, the pulp of the berry, stewed in lard,
is used advantageously as an ointment in tinea capitis.
The decoction of the leaves is regarded as astringent and
stomachic, and Dr. Skyston says he uses it with success
107
in hysteria. This plant is employed in Java and Persia.
See Bev. Medicale, iv, 82. The tree is planted around
stables, in order that horses, by eating the berries, may
be prevented from having "bots." The leaves and ber-
ries of the Pride of India, packed with dried fruits, will
preserve them from, insects. It is much valued in this state
as a shade tree, growing equally well in dry pine land resi-
dences, and in cities ; during the expansion of the flowers,
however, it gives out a disagreeable odor. It is easily
blown down, and is not long-lived. The wood is beauti-
fully grained, and adapted for table-covers, drawers, etc.,
never being injured by worms.
A solution or decoction made with the berries of the
Pride of India (to a half bushel of the berries put into a
barrel add fifteen gallons of water, and let them soak one
or two days), aud sprinkled with a water-pot over the
plants, will, in most cases, prevent the depredation of the
black grub or cutworm. The elder (Sambucus canadensis)
is also said to be excellent, used in the same way. F. S.
Holmes' So. Farmer. The oil from flax seed (Linum) will
also destroy all kinds of animals infesting quadrupeds,
when rubbed into the skin.
A soap is made from the berries of the Pride of India,
which is called "Poor man's soap."
Aurantiaceje. ( The Orange Tribe.)
Citrus aurantium, W. Orange. This well known tree is
cultivated in Charleston, and grows abundantly in Beau-
fort district, on the sea-coast; also in Florida, and coast
of Georgia. I will refer to the Lemon, also, in this con-
nection.
To obtain the fragrant essences from the fresh rinds of lemons,
oranges, etc., the rinds are rubbed against large lumps of
loaf sugar until the yellow rind is completely absorbed.
Those parts of the sugar which are impregnated with the
essence, are, from time to time, to be cut away with a
knife, and put into an earthen dish. The whole being thus
taken off, the sugared essence is to be closely pressed, and
108
put by in pots, where it is to be squeezed down hard, have
a bladder over the paper by which it is covered, and tied
tightly up. It is at any time fit for use, and will keep for
many years. Exactly in the same manner may be ob-
tained and preserved, at the proper seasons, from the fresh
roots, the essences of the rinds of bitter or sweet oranges,
lemons or limes, bergamots, etc., some of which are often
unattainable in a fresh state at any price. Thornton's
Herbal, p. 659. By this simple means those who have, or
can obtain lemons, may preserve the essence for the prepa-
ration of cooling, acidulous drinks at any time. Wine may
also be made from the orange. Thornton, in his medical
work, gives the method as follows: Put twelve pounds of
powdered sugar, with the whites of eight or ten eggs, well
beaten, into six gallons of spring water, boil them three
quarters of an hour ; when cold, put into it six spoonfuls
of yeast and the juice of twelve lemons, which, being
pared, must stand, with two pounds of white sugar, in a
tankard, and in the morning skim off the top, and then put
it into the water ; add the juice and rinds of fifty oranges,
but not the white or pithy parts of the rinds ; let it work
all together two days and two nights ; then add two quarts
of Rhenish or white wine, and put it into a vessel.
In P. O. Rep. 1859, p. 106, is a communication on the
products of the Ionian islands and Italy. The following
may be useful to those in Florida who raise the lemon in
quantity: At Agrami, "the most considerable, and some-
times the most valuable portion of the fruit is Scarito, or
that rejected as unfit for exportation, from which the essen-
tial oil contained in the rind, and the juice, or citric acid,
in the pulp, are extracted. The essential oil is expressed
by the hand, in a room from which the air is carefully
excluded, as, owing to its highly volatile nature, the oil
produced would be greatly diminished by currents of air.
The skin cut from three sides of the lemon is pressed be-
tween the thumb and finger, and ten or twelve ounces
may be expressed in a long day by an expert workman.
The oil thus expressed is put into large receivers, whence
109
(after remaining some days to deposit the extraneous mat-
ter that comes off with the oil) it is transferred to copper
bottles for exportation.
"The juice, or citric acid, is obtained by submitting the
pulp to a powerful press, which, though rustic in con-
struction, is efficient. This is worked during the season
night and day. The quantity of juice produced from one
press during twenty-four hours averages 126 gallons. * *
Lemon juice intended for exportation is put into well
seasoned oak casks, and filled to the bung, so as entirely
to exclude the air. When of a good quality, and the till-
ing of the cask is completed, the article may be kept in a
cellar or cold place for any reasonable time." Lemon
juice, used for calico printing, was afterward boiled down,
or evaporated, in leaden pans, over steam, to a certain con-
sistency— the citric acid and mucilage only remaining in
a highly concentrated stage. Consult Mulberry (Morus
rubra, in this volume. See P. 0. Rep. 1858, p. 257, for
Mr. Glover's report on the insects feeding upon it, and a
history of the tree in Florida. See also Ure's Dictionary
of Arts, article Citric Acid. To prevent attacks of the
" scale," an insect, hot water or steam is the best remedy.
The Persian powder (see P. 0. Rep. 1857, p. 129) is also
advised (Pyrethrum caucasicum) — allied to the ox-eyed daisy
{Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) growing in the Confederate
States.
Rhamnace^e. (The Buckthorn Tribe.)
Ceanothus Americanus, L. New Jersey tea tree. Red-
root. Two varieties exist in this state. Diffused in dry
pine barrens ; Richland ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity
of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 108; Ferrein, Mat. Med. iii, 338;
IT. S. Disp. 1240 ; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 291 ; Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 165 ; Boston Med. and Surg. Jour-
nal, 1835. See also the Supplement to Mer. de L. Diet, de
M. Med. 1846, 155. This plant possesses a considerable
degree of astringency, and has been used in gonorrhoea!
110
discharges. It is applied by the Cherokee doctors as a
wash in cancer, and may be used wherever an astringent is
likely to be useful. The Indians employed it in lues
venerea, preferring it to lobelia ; if the case was violent,
the root of the blackberry (Bubus villosus) was mixed with
it. Stearns' Am. Herbal, 97. Referring to its antisyphi-
litic powers, Ferrein says: "Elle guerit aussi en moins de
quinze jours, les veneriens les plus inveteres." It is not
now supposed to be endowed with any very decided virtue
in this respect. Dr. Hubbard prescribes it with advantage
in the aphthous affections of infants, in malignant dysentery
and in other maladies dependent upon debility ; he usually
combines with it a little borax. See Journal de Pharm. xxiii,
354. Mr. Tuomey, State Geologist, informs me that much
use is made of it in domestic practice in Chesterfield dis-
trict. An infusion of the leaves was employed during the
Revolutionary war as a substitute for tea. We have experi-
mented with the leaves, and obtained a liquor somewhat
resembling common tea both in color and taste. It imparts
to wool a fine, persistent, cinnamon, nankeen color.
The above was included in my report on the Medical
Botany of South Carolina, published in 1849. Since the
beginning of the war I called the attention of our citizens
to this plant as a substitute for foreign tea, in a brief com-
munication to the Charleston Courier (Oct. 1861), having
again collected and used it, and induced others to do the
same. I quote from this article : " Without any desire to
exaggerate, I commend the substitute. It grows abun-
dantly in our high pine ridges. The tea prepared from this
shrub, drawn as common tea, is certainly a good substitute
for indifferent black tea. Properly dried and prepared, it
is better than none. I am glad to report it as a most
excellent article to be used in war times in place of a high-
priced commodity, which in every respect it closely resem-
bles, if it does not equal." Dr. John Bachman, also, at a
later period (1862) directed attention to the plant, stating
that he had used it for two months in his own family.
The leaves should be carefully dried in the shade.
Ill
Euphokbiace^. {The Ewphorbium Tribe.)
The general property, according to Jussieu, is an exci-
tant principle, residing principally in the milky secretion,
and proportioned in its strength to the abundance of the
latter.
Buxus sempervire?is. Box. Ex. ; cultivated in gardens.
Bergii, Mat. Med. ii, 799 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 512 ;
Le. i, 244 ; Griffith's Med. Bot. 602. The leaves have been
affirmed to be violently purgative, and are employed as a
substitute for guaiacum. Dem. Elem. de Botanique, iii,
434 ; Bull. Plantes Ven. de France. A fetid oil is obtained
from it, and the wood is prized by engravers for their
blocks.
The timber-bearing box tree is planted in England from
the seeds to great profit, Besides being ornamental, its
timber is very valuable. It attains a great height in Tur-
key and Asia Minor, and the wood is used by the engrav-
er, and for the manufacture of combs, and musical and
mathematical instruments. It will grow on poor lands.
The garden box is always dwarfish.
Croton balsamiferum. Willd. South Florida.
This plant, C. maralimign, Walt., and several other spe-
cies, natives of the Confederate States, should be examined
on account of their alliance with C. tiglium, which produces
croton oil. Cascarilla bark, and a dye, are obtained from
the genus Croton.
Ricinus communis. Castor oil plant. Ex ; grows luxu-
riantly in rich spots. This valuable plant thrives so well
in this state, that it might be made a source of profit. On
some of the plantations the seeds are boiled, and the su-
pernatant oil given as a cathartic. It might with great
advantage be more generally used. See authors passim.
It is believed by some that one variety of the castor oil
bean hulls itself spontaneously. I remember no distinc-
112
tion of this kind mentioned in Pereira's lengthy descrip-
tion of the plant. I have been applied to to ascertain the
relative value of the small and large-seeded variety. Pere-
ira states that the oil is equally good and abundant in each.
See also the Dictionnaire de Mat. Medicale.
It is being planted extensively by planters for home use
in the Confederate States; and at present, 1862, the oil
sells at from eight to eleven dollars a gallon. As it is im-
portant that this plant should be largely grown, on account
of its great value and enormous consumption, I will be at
the trouble to insert all the practical information at my
disposal.
A brief paper can be found in the Patent Office Report,
1855, p. 27. The writer says that the Palma Christi
" has proved itself well adapted to the soil and climate of
the Middle and Southern states, and were its culture ex-
tended for the manufacture of castor oil, there is no doubt
it would be profitable under improved methods of extract-
ing it, and we should no longer be dependent upon other
nations for a supply. At present we annually import an
amount of this article exceeding in value $30,000."
Although an annual, herbaceous plant in the gardens of
the cooler parts of Europe and the United States, within the
tropics, and the warm climates adjacent thereto, the Palma
Christi becomes a tree of several years standing, often
having a woody trunk of the size of a man's body, and fif-
teen or twenty feet high. This plant thrives best in a light,
sandy loam, although it may be cultivated with success in
almost any soil tolerably fertile, or in any climate or soil
where Indian corn will thrive. In the cooler parts of the
Union it may be planted in hills two feet by three apart,
two seeds in a place, as early in the spring as the warmth
of the ground and the season will admit; but in the South,
where the season is longer, and the plant assumes the
character of a tree, the hills should be six or seven feet in
one direction, and three and a half feet in the other, re-
ceiving one seed to a hill, covered to the depth of two
inches. The culture is so simple, that it only requires to
113
keep the plants free from weeds, with a small, flat hill to
each. The only difficulty to contend" with is, that in saving
or harvesting the beans, the outward coats, as they become
dry and elastic, fly off the plants to a considerable distance,
causing the seeds to drop to the ground. . In order to pre-
vent this, it has been recommended to cut off' the branches
from the plants, as soon as the pods begin to explode, and
spread them on the floor of a close room ; and after the
beans and their shells have parted, to separate the husks
from the seeds with a fanning-mill, as with wheat, or try
the common riddle and a draught of air. The seeds of
this plant furnish the well known medicine, castor oil,
which is obtained both by decoction and expression. The
former method is performed by freeing the seeds from
their husks, which are gathered upon their turning brown,
and when beginning to burst open are first bruised in a
mortar, afterward tied up in a linen bag, and then thrown
into a large pot with a sufficient quantity of water, and
boiled until the oil has risen to the surface, when it is
carefully skimmed off", strained, and preserved for use.
In extensive operations, a mill should be provided, moved
by the agency of animal power, water, or steam, for bruis-
ing the seeds ; and the other apparatus used in obtaining
the oil should be of appropriate dimensions. The oil thus
obtained, however, has the disadvantage of becoming ran-
cid sooner than that procured by expression. The best
mode, . therefore, is to subject the seeds to a powerful hy-
draulic press, in a similar manner to that in which the oil
is extracted from almonds and cotton seeds. The seeds
yield about one-quarter of their weight in oil.
The reader interested in the varieties, mode of pressure,
etc., of castor oil seeds, may consult with profit Merat and
De Len's Diet, cle Mat. Med., Pereira's Mat. Med., the U. S.
Disp., and in addition the material included in, this paper;
also, Ure's Diet, of Arts, article u Oils," and Wilson's
Rural Cyc.
The oil may be extracted from the seeds (see U. S. Disp.)
114
in three ways: by decoction, expression, and by the agency
of alcohol.
The process by decoction consists in bruising the seeds,
previously deprived of their husks, and then boiling them
in water. The oil rising to the surface is skimmed or
strained off, and afterward again boiled with a small
quantity of water, to dissipate the acrid principle. To
increase the product, it is said that the seeds are some-
times toasted. The oil is thus rendered brownish and
acrid, and the same result takes place in the second boiling
if care is not taken to suspend the process soon after the
water is evaporated. Hence the color of the West India
oil, where this method is pursued. " The oil obtained in
this country is by expression. The following, as we have
been informed, are the outlines of the process usually
employed by those who prepare it on a large, scale. The
seeds having been thoroughly cleansed from the dust and
fragments of the capsules with which they are mixed, are
conveyed into a shallow iron reservoir, where they are sub-
mitted to a gentle heat, insufficient to scorch or decompose
them, and not greater than can be readily borne by the
hand. The object of this step is to render the oil suffi-
ciently liquid for easy expression. The seeds are then
introduced into a powerful screw-press. A whitish, oily
liquid is thus obtained, which is transferred to clean iron
boilers, supplied with a considerable quantity of water.
The mixture is boiled for some time, and the impurities
being skimmed off as they rise to the surface, a clear oil
is at length left upon the top of the water — the mucilage
and starch having been dissolved by this liquid, and the
albumen coagulated by the heat. The latter ingredient
forms a whitish layer between the oil and water. The
clear oil is now carefully removed, and the process is com-
pleted by boiling it with a minute proportion of water, and
continuing the application of heat till aqueous vapor ceases
to rise, and till a small portion of the liquid, taken out
in a vial, preserves a perfect transparency when it cools.
The effect of this last operation is to clarify the oil, and to
115
render it less irritating, by driving off" the acrid, volatile
matter. But much care is requisite not to push the heat
too far, as the oil then acquires a brownish hue, and an
acrid, peppery taste. After the completion of the process,
the oil is put into barrels, and is thus sent into market.
There is reason, however, to believe -that much of the
American oil is prepared by merely allowing it to stand
for some time after expression, and then drawing off the
supernatant liquid. One bushel of good seeds yields five
or six quarts, or about twenty-five per cent, of the best
oil. If it is not very carefully prepared, it is apt to de-
posit a sediment upon standing ; and the apothecary -fre-
quently finds it necessary to filter it through coarse paper
before dispensing it. Perhaps this may be owing to the
plan just alluded to, of purifying the oil by rest and clecan-
tation." A large proportion of oil was obtained through
New Orleans from Illinois. The American castor oil, says
Wood and Bache, is also prepared by mere expression,
rest, and decantation. See Bent (" Sesamum") for oils and
method of expression.
Doctor John Bachman ("J. B."), who has exhibited the
character of the true patriot during our present struggles,
communicates the following on the castor' oil plant:
Mode of Culture. — Break up the land with a plough,
and lay it off in rows six feet apart, each way. The best
time to plant is from the middle of April to the second
week in May. Drop three seeds in each hill. Half a
bushel of seed will plant ten acres. Treat the plant in the
same manner as corn. Be careful in looking after the cut-
worm, which gives it the preference to corn. When the
plants are six inches high, they should be thinned to one
stalk in a hill. New lands, broken up the same season, are
not suited.1 One hand can tend five acres. In a good, dry
soil, the yield will be from fifteen to twenty bushels per
acre, each bushel yielding seven quarts of pure oil.
Gathering the Seed. — About the middle of August the
seeds begin to ripen, and will continue until checked by
the frost. A writer in the Western Plough Boy, of 1832,
116
says: "Previous to the ripening of the seeds, the yard for
spreading them on should be prepared. It should be made
on ground of a gradual descent, open to the sun, and made
very smooth and firm. The first and second parcels that
ripen must stand till the pods on the ear begin to crack,
otherwise a part of the bean will be imperfect. Later in
the season, when the stalk is more mature, they must be
cut when two or three pods begin to open, or they will
waste. They are laid in the yard one ear deep. In warm
weather a layer will pop out in three days. When all have
opened the stems are raked oft'. The hulls are swept oft'
with a broom made with naked switches ; which, if care-
fully done, will not leave more than one bushel of hulls in
eight of beans. They may be cleaned with a common
wheat-fan, with a riddle suited to the size of the bean."
Mode of Extraction. — The oil is obtained both by coc-
tion and expression. The former method is performed by
tying up the seeds, previously broken and bruised, in a
bag, which is suspended in boiling water till the oil is ex-
tracted and rises to the surface, when it is skimmed oft".
This is the usual mode adopted by farmers. The smallest
quantity of water, however,- remaining in the oil, causes it
to become rancid. The "cold expressed oil" is prefer-
able, and will continue pure for a long time. The process
is easy and simple. The screw and the lever used in bal-
ing cotton will express the oil from the beans. The cap-
sules, or unopened beans, are to be moderately heated in a
furnace, not so hot as to be distressing to the naked hand.
Under the screw is fixed a strong iron cylinder, into which
the beans are put, and covered with an iron follower, of
diameter proportioned to the cylinder. The oil is now fit
for use. I have seen it stated that "a Southwestern plant-
er began with- making 500 gallons of oil in 1825, and in
1831 he produces 13,000." It was then a profitable busi-
ness at one dollar and fifty cents per gallon.
I trust our planters will see the necessity of preparing to
plant the castor oil bean extensively. The great value of
the oil as a purgative is the mildness and rapidity with
117
which it operates. It is much needed by the brave defend-
ers of our soil. It has saved thousands of lives-; and if
we cannot obtain it, thousands must perish by our inatten-
tion to the production of this necessary medicine. That
the profits, under moderate prices, are greater than. the
production of any other article, I am fully aware.
N. B. — Planters should be encouraged to plant largely
of the ground-nut — it makes an admirable oil; so does the
benL Oils are needed not only for table use, but on our
machinery of every description.
Mr. W. Toney, a writer in the Southern Field and Fire-
side, says "there are several varieties, all yielding castor
oil, but only one kind which is self-hulling, and this is the
true, genuine oil-bean." If this is so, I am not aware of it.
I have only seen a large and a small seed variety, and ho
writer refers, so far as I am aware, to any other distinction.
The writer referred to says that, for the common varieties,
some machinery, like the cotton seed huller, is necessary
to decorticate them.
A recent writer says that when the capsule is about to
expel the bean it is ripe ; the ripe bunches should be re-
moved from the stalk with a knife, and laid thinly over a
hard and dry floor of earth, plank, etc., on a hot and sunny
day, when the heat of the sun will cause the capsules to
expel the contained beans. Now rake away the straw, and
winnow away the chaff.
The cleaned beans are now to be beaten in a mortar with
a pestle, or ground in a mill to a good degree of fineness.
The mass may then be made to give out the contained oil,
either by decoction or by expression.
The beaten beans may be used as 'a purgative, but an
overdose is sure to act powerfully as a cathartic, and often
as an emetic. Three beans (a little more or less) are gen-
erally enough for a dose.
The castor oil bean, after being exposed in the sun, may
be thrashed with a flail, or slightly pounded in a mortar, to
loosen out the seeds. I would suppose that the best plan
would be to winnow out the seeds from their coverings.
118
To purify the oil of mucilage, which will render it rancid,
the oil should be boiled in a little water; the mucilage being
insoluble in the water, may be skimmed off. Any water
remaining with the oil should be evaporated, taking care
not -to burn or overheat the oil in the process. Soubeiran
considers that all processes in which heat is employed are
objectionable, as a quantity of fatty acids is produced, which
renders the oil acrid; only, too high a temperature should
be avoided. Pereira says that in England the oil is ex-
pressed either by Bramah's hydraulic press, or by a common
screw-press, in a room artificially heated. It is purified by
rest, decantation, and filtration. It is bleached by exposure
to light on the tops of houses. In Calcutta it is prepared
as follows, Pereira adds : The fruit is shelled by women,
the seeds are crushed between rollers, then placed in
hempen cloths, and pressed in the ordinary screw or h}^-
draulic press. The oil thus procured is afterward heated
with water in a tin boiler until the water boils, by which
the mucilage or albumen is separated as a scum. The oil
is then strained through flannel, and put into canisters.
The small seed variety is supposed to yield the most oil.
Beans of ricinus are said by Boussingault to be about four
times more rich in oil than either flaxseed, olives, or sun-
flower seed. He says that 62 pounds of oil can be pro-
cured in 100 of the castor oil bean. It is stated that in
Jamaica castor oil is often obtained by simply bruising the
iseeds in a mortur, and boiling them in bags under water —
the oil rises to the surface, is skimmed off, strained, and
bottled for use. This was the plan used on the plantations
in South Carolina during the war of Independence. It
would not do for operations on a large scale. See also
Encyc. Britannica, art. "Ricinus." The oil is considered
good for illuminating purposes. A writer in the Southern
Cultivator, p. 29, vol .7, refers to the discovery of a proc-
ess for separating stearine from the pure oil in the seeds,
and making the former into candles.
The cake left after the expression of castor oil is very
advantageously applied to land as a manure for wheat and
119
other crops/ An interesting communication upon this
subject may be found in the first volume of the Farmer's
Register, from T. Or. Peachy, Esq., of Williamsburg, Va.,
the results of whose experiments show the great value of
the article. In one experiment he applied from fifty to
sixty bushels per acre on seven and a half acres of land
sown with ten bushels of wheat, and the product was
twenty-six bushels of wheat per acre. In this case the
land was so poor that not over five bushels could, be ex-
pected from it without dressing. He recommends about
forty bushels as an ordinary dressing. Mr. Peachy does not
think the common impression correct, that the chief effi-
cacy of the cake resides in the portion of oil which it re-
tains. His press, he says, " is a very powerful one, and
leaves a very small portion of oil in the cake. There is,
moreover, other refuse matter in such an establishment as
ours, which contains a vast deal more oil than the cake,
which I have used as manure, and been uniformly disap-
pointed in its effects. Accident has enabled me, I think,
to solve the difficulty, and to declare my belief that the
fertilizing qualities of the oil cake reside chiefly in the
farina it contains. Some time last year, a vessel laden
with flour was stranded near Jamestown, and the flour
ruined. Mr. John Mann, who owns a farm in the neigh-
borhood, took two or three of the barrels, and top-dressed
a small portion of his wheat with it. I was not an eye-
witness of its effects ; but I was informed that it produced
as great an increase of that portion of his crop as my oil
cake would have done.
"By experiment, I find that fifty bushels of the cake will
weigh 1,800 pounds; and of this quantity I have discovered
that ten-eighteenths is farina or flour — equal to five barrels
of flour. The cotton seed, I fancy, contains more farina,
in proportion to the oil, than the castor bean, and, I be-
lieve, would produce as great an effect after being deprived
of its oil as it would do in its original state."
Jatropha stimulosay Mx. Stinging nettle. Grows in dry
120
pine land ; vicinity of .Charleston ; collected in St. John's ;
Richland, Div<L. Gibbes; Newborn. Fl. Aug. The leaves
are prickly, and highly irritating when'applied to the" skin.
It might be employed like the nettle (Urtica), as a counter-
irritant in epilepsies, and diseases requiring stimulating
applications.
Acahjpha Virginica, L. Grows in dry, fertile lands ;
vicinit37 of Charleston; collected in St. John's, Berkley ;
JSTewbern. Fl. Sept.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 645. Said by Dr. Atkins, of
Coosawhatchie, to be expectorant and diuretic; he has
employed it successfully in cases of humid asthma, ascites,
and anasarca. .
Jtvppomdne mancinella, L. Manchineel. South Florida.
Chap.
I find it closely related to Stillingia (queen's delight), and
it belongs to the EupliorbiacecE. "Wilson describes it as a poi-
sonous, evergreen, tropical tree, of the spurge family. It
attains a height of eighty feet, and was esteemed a great
curiosity in the hot-houses of Britain. The fruit is the
size of an apple. A milky, caustic juice abounds in every
part of the tree, and if it touches the human eye, is in
danger of causing blindness ; and if it falls on any part of
the human skin, will blister it; if upon linen, it will make
it black, and afterward eat a hole through it; yet this
forms, adds the author from whom I quote, some of the
well known caoutchouc of commerce. The timber of the
manchineel is very durable, and takes a fine polish, and is
much esteemed for various kinds of cabinet-work; but the
woodsmen require to dry and consolidate it by surround-
ing it with artificial fires before felling the trees, else they
might be blistered and blinded by its juice. And the cab-
inet-makers must cover their faces with fine lawn while
working it, else they might get their eyes inflamed, and
temporarily blinded, with its exhalations and sawdust. The
121
fruit violently inflames the mouth and throat of any person
who tastes it, and it is exceedingly dangerous. Any avail-
able part of the plant is so dreadfully active that it cannot,
even in the 'smallest doses, be safely introduced into medi-
cine. A notion prevails among the Americans that the
dew which falls beneath the tree is inflammatory and blis-
tering ; but this seems to be, the author adds, an absurd
exaggeration. The name Hippomane signifies horse-mad-
ness, ascribing to the tree a maddening effect upon the
horse. Rural Cyclopaedia. Its resemblance to our Stttlin-
gia, which is a mere shrub, is close, and the tree wants a
careful investigation at the hands of those living in Florida.
I have collected the milk from the Euphorbia and Asclepias,
and hardened it, though not in sufficient amount to test its
qualities.
Stillingia sylvatica, L. Queen's delight. Collected in the
pine barrens of St. John's, Berkley, in great abundance;
Richland ; vicinity of Charleston ; JSTewbern. Fl. Aug.
U. S. Disp. 687 ; Frost in So. Journal Med. and Pharm.,
Oct. 1846 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 535. This
plant exudes a milky juice, very pungent to the taste, and
flowing in great abundance from the bruised surface. It is
used to some extent in this state, as an alterative in scrof-
ula, in syphilis, in cutaneous diseases, in chronic hepatic
affections, and in the composition of diet drinks ; it adds
to the efficacy of sarsaparilla. We are informed by a phy-
sician residing in South Carolina, that he has treated syph-
ilis successfully with i't. It is believed to be possessed of
valuable properties, and greater attention should be paid to
it by those living in the country where it is easily obtained.
A tincture is made with the root two ounces, of diluted
alcohol a pint. Dose a fluid drachm. A decoction is made
of the bruised root one ounce, water one and one-quarter
pints. Boil to one pint. Dose, one or two fluidounces
several times a day ; an overdose is cathartic or emetic.
The milky juices should be examined. I have inspissated
that from the Asclepias and Euphorbia. See these genera,
122
ia sebifera, L. Tallow-tree. Nat. from China;
collected in St. John's, forty-five miles from the ocean.
I have seen it growing abundantly near Charleston, on
the King street road.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 476; see Oroton
sebif of Mich. An ointment made from this is applied in
nocturnal fevers. The Chinese, according to Thunberg,
employ the concreted oil extracted from the plant, in man-
ufacturing candles. The Reporters of the Patent Office,
for 1848, speak very favorably of it, and recommend its
Introduction, seeming not to be aware of its being already
found here. See their method of extracting the oil.
In my report on the Medical Botany of South Carolina
to the American Medical Association, in 1849, I had, as
above, reported the fact of this tree being already natural-
ized. I have recommended it particularly to the soap
manufacturers of Charleston and the Confederate States,
as a rich material for oil. The seeds, when burned, give
out a great deal of light. It could be planted with profit.
In the Patent Office Report, 1851, p. 54, there is also a
paper on the uses of the S. sebifera, with a notice of the
Pe-la, or Insect Wax of China. By D. J. Macgowan, M.
D., dated Ningpo, August, 1850. In this article, it is stated
that the Encyclopaedia Americana refers to its being grown
along our coast. "Analytical chemistry shows animal
tallow to consist of two proximate principles — stearine and
daine. Now, what renders the fruit of this tree peculiarly
Interesting, is the fact that both these principles exist in it
separately, in nearly a pure state." "Nor is the tree prized
merely for the stearine and elaine it juelds, though these
products constitute its chief value : its leaves are employed
as a black dye ; its wood, being hard and durable, may be
easily used for printing-blocks, and various other articles ;
and, finally, the refuse of the nut is employed as fuel and
manure." Dr. Roxburgh, in his Flora Indica, had con-
demned the plant as of little value, because, in simply
crushing and boiling the seeds, the two principles referred to
as existing together are not properly separated. I had my-
123
self, long since, in my report, published in 1849, and also in
my paper in DeBow's Review, August, 1861, recommended
tliis plant to the candle and soap manufacturers for the
large amount of oil it contained, and because of its abun-
dance around Charleston. I also gave some of the seeds
to a manufacturer of castor oil, to experiment with, in
1851. I will now quote from the paper mentioned, and
also refer the reader to a paper on the subject in the
Charleston Medical Journal, by H. W. Raven el.
" The Stillingia sebifera is chiefly cultivated in the provin-
ces of Brangsi, Kongnain, and Chekkiang. In some districts
near Uangchan,. the inhabitants defray all their taxes with
its produce. It grows alike on low, alluvial plains, and on
granite hills, on the rich mould, at the margin of canals,
and on the sandy sea-beach. The sandy estuary of Hang-
chan yields little else. Some of the trees are known to be
several hundred years old, and, though prostrated, still send
forth branches and bear fruit. Some are made to fall over
rivulets, forming convenient bridges. They are seldom
planted where anything else can be conveniently cultivated
— in detached places, in corners about houses, roads, canals,
and fields. Grafting is performed at the close of March, or
early in April, when the trees are about three inches in
diameter, and also when the}7 attain their growth. The
Fragrant Herbal recommends for trial the practice of an old
gardener, who, instead of grafting, preferred breaking the
small branches and twigs, taking care not to tear or wound
the bark. In midwinter, when the nuts are ripe, they are
cut off, with their twigs, by a sharp, crescentic knife,
attached to the extremity of a long pole, which is' held in
the hand, and pushed upward against the twigs, removing
at the same time such as are fruitless. The capsules are
gently pounded in a mortar, to loosen the seeds from their
shells, from which they are separated by sifting. To facili-
tate the separation of the white, sebaceous matter envelop-
ing the seeds, they are steamed in tubs having convex open
wicker bottoms, placed over caldrons of boiling water.
When thoroughly heated, they are reduced to a mash in
124
»
the'mortar, and thence transferred to bamboo sieves, kept
at a uniform temperature over hot ashes. A single opera-
tion does not suffice to deprive them of all their tallow ;
the steaming and sifting are therefore repeated. The arti-
cle thus procured becomes a solid mass on falling through
the sieve, and, to purify it, is melted and formed into cakes
for the press. These receive their form in bamboo hoops,
a foot in diameter, and three inches deep, which are laid on
the ground over a little straw. On being filled with the
. hot 'liquid, the buds of the straw are drawn up and spread
over the top, and when of sufficient consistence, are placed
with their rings in the press. This apparatus, which is of
the rudest description, is constructed of two large beams,
placed horizontally, so as to form a trough capable of con-
taining about fifty of the rings, with their sebaceous cakes.
At one end it is closed, and at the other it is used for
receiving wedges, which are successively driven into it by
ponderous sledge-hammers, wielded by athletic men. The
tallow oozes in a melted state into a receptacle below,
where it cools. It is again melted, and poured into tubs
smeared with mud, to prevent its adhering. It is now
marketable, in masses of about eighty pounds each, hard,
brittle, white, opaque, tasteless, and without the odor of
animal tallow. Under high pressure it scarcely stains
bibulous paper; melts at 104° Fahrenheit. It may be
regarded as nearly pure slearine; the slight difference
is doubtless owing to the admixture of oil expressed
from the seeds in the process just described. The seeds
yield about eight per cent, of tallow, which sells for
about five cents per pound. The process for pressing the
oil, which is carried on at the same time, remains to be
noticed. It is contained in the kernel of the nut — the
sebaceous matter which lies between the shell and the
husk having been removed in the manner described. The
kernel, and the husk covering it, are ground between two
stones, which are heated to prevent clogging from the seba-
ceous matter still adhering. The mass is then placed in a
winnowing machine, precisely like those in use in western
125
countries. The chaff being separated, exposes the white,
oleaginous kernels, which, after being strained, are placed
in a mill to be mashed. This machine is formed of a cir-
cular stone groove, twelve feet in diameter, three inches
deep, and about as many wide, into which a thick, solid
stone wheel, eight feet in diameter, tapering at the edge, is
made to revolve perpendicularly by an ox harnessed to the
outer end of its axle, the inner turning on a pivot in
the centre of the machine. Under this perpendicular
weight the seeds are reduced to a mealy state, steamed in
the tubs, formed into cakes, and pressed by wedges in the
manner above described; the process of mashiLg, steaming,
and dressing being repeated with the kernels likewise.
The kernels yield about thirty per cent, of oil. It is called
ising-yu, sells for about three cents a pound, answers well
for lamps, though inferior for this purpose to some other
vegetable oils in use. It is also employed for various pur-
poses in the arts,*and has a place in the Chinese pharmaco-
poeia because of its quality of changing gray hair black,
and other imaginary virtues. The husk which envelops
the kernel, and the shell which encloses them and their
sebaceous covering, are used to feed the furnaces — scarcely
any other fuel being needed for this purpose. The resid-
uary tallow cakes are also employed for fuel, as a small
quantity of it remains ignited a whole day. It is in great
demand for chafing-dishes during the cold season, and,
finally, the cakes which remain after the oil has been
pressed out are much valued as a manure, particularly for
tobacco fields, the soil of which is rapidly impoverished
by the Virginia weed. Artificial illumination in China is
generally procured by vegetable oils ; but candles are also
employed by those who can afford it, and for lanterns. In
religious ceremonies no other material is used. As no one
ventures out after dark without a lantern, and as the gods
cannot be acceptably worshipped without candles, the quan-
tit}7 consumed is very great. With an unimportant excep-
tion, the candles are made of what I beg to designate as
vegetable stearine. When the candles, which are made by
126
dipping, are of the required diameter, they receive a final
dip into a mixture of the same material and insect wax, by
which their consistency is preserved in the hottest weather.
They are generally colored red, which is done by throwing a
minute quantity of alkanet root (Anchusa tinctoria), brought
from Shangtung, into the mixture. Verdigris is sometimes
employed to dye them green. The wicks are made of rush
coiled round a stem of coarse grass, the lower part of which
is slit to receive the pin of the candlestick, which is more
economical than if put into a socket. Tested in the mode
recommended by Count Iiumford, these candles compare
favorably with those made from spermaceti, but not when
the clumsy wick of the Chinese is employed. Stearine
candles cost about eight cents per pound.
Euphorbia corolhta, L. "Wild hippo ; wild ipecac. Col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley; Charleston district; in dry
soils ; vicinity of Charleston ; ISTewbern. * Fl. Aug.
Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 82; Bell's Pract. Diet. 199;
Am. Journal Med. Sci. xi, 22 ; U. S. Disp. 321 ; Big. Am.
Med. Bot, iii, 119 ; Royle, Mat. Med. 542 ; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. iii, 179; Clayton's Phil. Trans. Abriclg.
331 ; Zollickotfer, Mat. Med. 1819 ; cit. in Bart. loc. sup. ;
Coxe, Am. Disp. 272 ; Griffith, Med. Bot, 593. It is emetic,
diaphoretic, and cathartic. Dr. Zollickoft'er thinks that, as
a diaphoretic, combined with Dover's powder, it is not in-
ferior to ipecacuanha. He tried it in seven cases. Twenty
grains of the powdered root would produce emesis, some-
times followed by hypercatharsis. Dr. McKeen states that
twelve grains of the root in substance have double the pur-
gative power of an equal quantity of jalap. "Combined
with opium and the sulphate of potassa, an excellent
diaphoretic in dropsy." See Diet, de Mat. Med. Dr. Frost,
Prof. Mat. Med. South Carolina Med. Coll., thinks it quite
as active as the ipecacuanha, and fully entitled to the con-
sideration of the profession, he having used it with benefit
in his own practice. "Even should they not be employed,
every physician should be instructed in their properties,
127
and, when occasion requires", know the substitute he can
apply to in case of need." Op. cit. 82. A drachm to eighty
or one hundred grains may be added to a half pint of
hot water, which may be given in tablespoonful doses
every five or ten minutes till vomiting is induced. This is
a convenient mode of administration. According to ex-
periment, the contused root will excite vesication and
inflammation if applied to the skin. Maj. John Leconte,
of New York, informs me that he has been much pleased
with its effects as a sudorific. Dose as an emetic, twenty
grains ; as a cathartic, ten grains ; as a diaphoretic, four
grains. This plant is easily obtained, and can be conven-
iently prescribed. It should be used with caution in cases
of insensibility of the stomach.
Euphorbia ipecacuanha. Carolina hippo. Grows in Abbe-
ville, Edgefield, and Colleton districts ; Newbern. Fl.
June.
U. S. Disp. 223 ; Barton's Med. Bot. 120. . An energetic
and tolerably certain emetic ; but liable sometimes to pro-
duce excessive nausea by accumulation ; hence, thought by
some writers "wholly unfit to supersede the officinal ipe-
cacuanha." "This opinion, however, has been questioned
by Hewson, lioyal, and others. Barton said it was equal,
and in some respects superior. Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 114 ;
Shec. Flora Carol. 555 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
iii, 182 ; Coxe, Am. Disp. 272 ; Schoepf, Mat. Med. 74 ; B.
S. Barton, Collec. 26; W. P. Barton, Veg. Mat. Med.;
Griffith's Med. Bot. 592 ; Frost's Eleins. 81. It sometimes
has its action extended to the bowels, and operates wTith a
considerable degree of activity. Dose as an emetic, fifteen
to twenty grains ; as a diaphoretic, five grains. Bigelow
notices among its constituents caoutchouc, resin, mucus,
and fsecula. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 109. It is evident, from
the variety of opinions expressed in relation to this plant,
that it should be given with caution. Both species are
considered to be more active than the imported ipecac-
uanha.
128
Euphorbia hypericifolia, L. Spurge ; eye-bright. Grows in
the upper district, according to Elliott; vicinity of Charles-
ton, Bach ; Collected in St. John's ; found by Dr. Boykin,
in Georgia. Fl. July.
IT. S. Disp. 321. Highly recommended by Dr. Zol-
lickofi'er, of Baltimore, in dysentery, after due depletion.
In diarrhoea, meuorrhagia, and leucorrhcea, a half ounce of
the dried leaves is infused in a pint of boiling water, of
which a fluid half ounce must be taken every hour in dys-
entery, and the same quantity after every evacuation in di-
arrhoea, and two ounces morning, noon, and night, in
amenorrhcea, fluor albus, etc. See, also, Mer. and de L.
Supplem. to the Diet, de M. Med. 1845, 282, where Dr.
Zollickoffer's success in twelve cases is referred to ; also,
Am. Journal of Med. Sci. Nov. 1832 ; M. and de L. iii, 181.
It possesses some narcotic power, also, which contributes
to render it peculiarly applicable in these diseases. Journal
Med. de la Gironde, 161, 1825. Martius says it has the
same properties as the E. linearis the milky juice of which
is used in Brazil in syphilitic ulcers. He had often tested
its value in ulcers of the cornea. Journal de Chim. v, 427.
The juice applied to the eye causes severe smarting, and it
is thought to cause the severe salivation to Which grazing
horses are subject. From several of the spurge tribe a
gum (euphorbium) is obtained by incision, which concretes
by exposure to the air. It is a dangerous irritant, and has
to be handled with caution. Mixed with starch to weaken
it, it may be used externally. Our Euphorbias should be
examined for caoutchouc, and the juice investigated care-
fully and cautiously; so, also,, the juice of the Stillingia.
Euphorbia maculata, L. Cultivated soils ; vicinity of
Charleston ; collected in St. John's. El. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 184 ; Ainslie, Mat.
Med. Ind. ii, 76. Juice employed with great success in
cleansing the cornea of the spots and pellicles (les pelli-
cules) following small pox. Merat says the ancients recom-
mended these plants in diseases of the eye. Dr. Zol-
129
lickoffer speaks of this species, also, as possessing valuable
properties. All are endowed with some emetic power.
Euphorbia heUoscopia. Grows near the Horseshoe bridge,
Ashepoo, and on Hutchinson's island. See Ell. Sketches.
Fl. May.
Dem. filem. de Botanique, ii, 21. "A valuable purga-
tive." According to Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii,
181, it is useful in spyhilis when mercury is contraindicated.
Dr. Eonne assures the profession of its utility. See Bulk
des Sci. de Fer. ii, 354.
Euphorbia thymifolia, L. Included by Thomas Walter, in
his Flora Carolina, among the South Carolina species-
Mich, says it grows on the Mississippi. Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. iii, 188. In India, the powder is admin-
istered in the verminous disorders of infants. Ainslie,
Mat. Med. Ind. 275.
Mercurialis annua. Grows around Charleston. Intro-
duced.
A poisonous, narcotic plant, with emetic properties, but
less active than the M. perennis. Seeds purgative. It par-
takes, to a certain extent, of the acrid qualities of the
Euphorbiacese.
Celastrace^e.
De Oand. says an acrid principle has been detected among
the species.
Euonymus Amerkanus. Rare ; grows in swamps ; col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley. Fl. May.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 220. Emetic, discutient, and anti-
syphilitic. It is also thought to be narcotic. The seeds
are said to be nauseous, purgative, and emetic, and are
used in some places to destroy vermin in the hair. Leaves
are poisonous to cattle.
Euonymus atropurpureus. Possesses properties similar to
the above.
9
130
Staphyleace.e. (Bladder-nut Family.)
Staphylea trifoha, L. Three leaved bladder-nut. Damp
woods North Carolina, Tennessee, and northward (Chap).
The nut of our tree ^resembles closely that of the S. pin-
nata, which is used in Catholic countries for making rosa-
ries. Rosaries are also made of the seeds of the Pride of
India tree (Melia). The nuts of the 8. trifoliata resemble a
large, inflated bladder.
Cyrilla racemiflora, Walter. Grows in swamps, and inun-
dated lands ; collected in St. John's, where it is found in
abundance; vicinity of Charleston; Newbern. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 295. The outer bark of the old-
est shrubs, near the root, is extremely light and friable, and
absorbs moisture. It has been used with advantage as a
substitute for agaric and other styptics. I learn that it is
much confided in for this purpose by those living in Dar-
lington district, South Carolina. When rubbed on the
hand, it produces a sensation similar to that produced by
the application of an astringent fluid. It has also been
applied to ulcers when the indication is to cicatrize them.
This plant merits further attention.
Cliftonia ligustrina, Banks. (3fylocarium, Willd.) Titi.
Pine-barren ponds and swamps, Florida, and lower dis-
tricts of South Carolina and Georgia.
Mr. Johnson, of Beaufort, S. C, informs me that the
stems, when dried, are found to suit admirably for pipe-
stems — a heated wire being passed through the pith.
Clusiace^e. (Balsam. Tree Family.)
Clusia Jfava, L. South Florida.
Wilson, in his Rural Cyclopaedia, says that the balsam
tree, Clusia rosea, grows in Carolina and West India islands.
"A balsam resembling turpentine exudes from every part
of the tree, and has been much used as a plaster for the
cure of sciatica. The West Indians call this balsam ho^
131
gum, from a belief that wild hogs rub themselves against
it to obtain a cure of their wounds."
Canella alba. Swartz. South Florida. Chap.
This is an aromatic tree, bearing black berries.
Portulacace^e. (The Purslane Tribe.)
Portalaca oleracea, Walter. Garden purslane. Grows in
yards and rich soils; vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St.
John's; Newbern. Fl. Aug.
Linn. Veg. M. Med. 88; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. v, 458. It is antiscorbutic, diuretic, and anthelmin-
tic, and vaunted as an antidote for poisoning from can-
tharides. According to Linnaeus, the herb was used in
strangury. It will coagulate milk. The American dispen-
satories do not vouchsafe it the same notice that it has
received in various parts of Europe. It has long been used
as a salad and potherb. The young shoots are gathered
when from two to live inches long. Rural Cyclopaedia. A
blue color is obtained from this plant. The following is
given by an agricultural journal : Boil a bushel of garden
parsley or purslane till soft in an iron pot or kettle, and
strain off the liquor; boil a pound of logwood, also in iron,
for two hours, strain off the liquor, and mix the purslane
water; then dissolve half a pound of alum in soft water,
sufficient to cover three pounds of yarn ; put it in a brass
or copper kettle, and simmer the yarn in it for three hours ;
then wring and put into the dye ; simmer this three hours,
with frequent stirring. The depth of the color may be
varied by varying the quantity of the logwood. A very
desirable blue dye is obtained. See Ohio and Southern
Cultivator.
Silenece^;. (The Dianthus Tribe.)
Uniformly insipid.
Silene Virginica, L. Grows on the margin of roads ;
vicinity of Charleston; collected in St. John's. Fl. June.
132
Griffith, Med. Bot. 188 ; Barton's Collec. i. 39 ; U. S.
Disp. 1296 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 342 ; De
Cand. Essai, 94 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 125.* The decoc-
tion of the root acts as an anthelmintic.
Saponaria officinalis, Linn. Soapwort. Nat. in upper
districts ; Newbern. Fl. Aug.
U. S. Disp. 1293. This plant imparts to water the pro-
perty of forming a lather, from a principle it contains
called saponine, which is allied to the active constituent of
sarsaparilla, and as a substitute for which it is frequently
used. This is obtained by treating the watery extract
with alcohol, and evaporating. It has been used in Ger-
many in visceral and scrofulous affections, cutaneous erup-
tions, and by some is thought superior to sarsaparilla in
efficacy. The decoction or the extract may be given.
Audiw said the inspissated juice would generally cure
gonorrhoea in two weeks, without any other remedy. Op.
tit Wade's PI. Rariores, 32 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. vii, 220; Flore Med. vi, 311. It is regarded as diu-
retic, aperient, and sudorific, recommended in engorgement
of the abdominal viscera, stomach, intestines, lymphatic
glands, and in icterus, cachexy, etc. On account of its
sudorific properties, it is advised in syphilis, rheumatism,
and gout. Perrihle gave it combined with mercury; while
fresh, administering it in doses of one-half ounce of the de-
coction, or from twenty-four to forty-eight grains of the
extract. Journal de Chim Med. vi, 747, and vii, 710 ;
Ludolff, Diss, de Rad. Sap. Offic. Erfordire, 1756; J. F.
Cartheusen, Diss, de Sap. Frankfort ; Amielhon, " Si le
Struthium des anciens est veritablement la saponaire des
modernes." Mem. Nat. des Sci. et des. Arts, i. 587.
A decoction of this plant has been used in some coun-
tries as a substitute for soap, and is well capable of cleans-
ing woollen fabrics; the leaves were considered laxative.
Wilson's Rural Cyc. Consult "Sapindus " and " JEsculus."
in this paper, for other plants used as substitutes for soap.
The Sapindus (soapwort) also furnishes one species, S.
133
mar [fin alas, which may he useful. Found in Florida and
Georgia, near the coast.
Salsola soda. Barilla plant. I would particularly advise
the planting in the Confederate States of this plant (culti-
vated so largely in Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia), on ac-
count of its great value in the ready manufacture of crude
soda — which is now supplanting, on account of its cheap-
ness, the use of potash in the manufacture of soap. Be-
side, soda gives a hard soap. According to the analysis
of life, "good barilla contains twenty per cent, of real
alkali, associated with muriates and sulphates of lime,
soda," etc. Caustic lyes made from it are used in the
finishing process of hard soap manufacture.
The Salsola kali, L. Saltwort. S. Carolmiana of Walt.
It grows in Georgia, and northward ; and- 1 have little doubt
is rich in soda, and may be made of great use to us in the
production of this most important product.
The barillas, Ure says, " always contain a small propor-
tion of potash, to which their peculiar value, in making a
less brittle or more plastic hard soap than the fictitious
sodas, may, with great probability, be ascribed."
I will give the method of preparing soda from the Sal-
sola: "Of manufactured soda, the variety most anciently
known is barilla, the incinerated ash of the Salsola soda.
This plant is cultivated with great care by the Spaniards,
especially in the vicinit}^ of Alicaut. The seed is sown in
light, low soils, which are embanked toward the sea-shore,
and furnished with sluices for admitting an occasional
overflow of salt water. When the plants are ripe, the
crop is cut down and dried; the seeds are rubbed out, and
preserved ; the rest of the plant is burned in rude fur-
naces, at a temperature just sufficient to cause the ashes
to enter into a state of semifusion, so as to concrete on
cooling into cellular masses, moderately compact," etc.
"Another mode of manufacturing crude soda is by burn-
ing sea-weed into kelp." Ure. Now, crude soda, and the
184
soda ash of commerce, are made altogether by the decom-
position of sea salt. I am not aware whether our native
Salsola kali grows in abundance upon the coast of the
Carolinas and Georgia. See "Corn" {Zea mays) for eco-
nomical mode of making soda from corn-cobs.
Directions for making "Home-made" Soda. — The Rich-
mond Dispatch publishes the following: "The prepara-
tion more closely resembles saleratus than soda, and is a
comparatively pure article for making bread. It is more
valuable in view of the scarcity and high price of soda in
our drug stores. After making a strong lye from ashes,
boiling down to dryness, and burning till white, take the
residue and add its own weight of cold water, set in a cool
place for several days, say a week, stirring frequently ;
then strain through a fine cloth, and boil down again to
dryness, stirring frequently, and. finally, cork up the pow-
der so obtained in a bottle. These operations should all
be conducted in an iron vessel, not in glass or stoneware."
I insert the following from a journal of the day, hoping
that they may prove useful :
Soap Receipts. — In these times of war and blockade,
when our people are thrown almost entirely upon their own
resources, every item looking to domestic economy and
home production should be carefully observed. Our people
are passing through a trying ordeal, but they are learning
lessons which will be of practical utility in after times.
Habits of economy, and elements of self-reliance, which
have been pushed aside by the pressure of an extravagant,
sentiment, by an increasing love for easy and luxurious
living, and by the versatility of Yankee genius in supply-
ing our almost every want, are now, from the influences
of necessity, being resumed, while they are found to em-
body all of practical utility which they possessed in days
of yore.
Looking to the general principle of domestic economy
and home effort, we annex the following receipts for mak-
ing soap, which we find in the "Wilmington Journal. One.
135
of these receipts lias been patented at the North. If tried,
they will no doubt be found valuable at this time:
To Make Family Soap*. — Take six quarts of soft water,
six pounds of bar soap, one-quarter of a pound of sal-soda,
three teaspoonfuls spirits turpentine, one and a half tea-
spoonful hartshorn, one teaspoonsful of .camphor, two tea-
spoonfuls of salt. Cut the soap up fine, boil the water,
and add all the ingredients, and boil thirty minutes; take
off, and pour into shallow vessels to cool and harden.
Another. — Five pounds bar soap, four pounds sal-soda,
two ounces borax, and one ounce hartshorn. Dissolve in
twenty-two quarts of soft water, and boil fifteen or twenty
minutes.
To 31ake Jelly Soap. — After pouring out of the vessel the
above soaps, pour in water enough to wash off the sides
and bottom, and boil twenty minutes. Then pour off to
cool, and you have excellent jelly soap for washing clothes,
etc.
To Make Soft Soap. — Take ten pounds potash well pul-
verized, fifteen pounds grease, and three buckets boiling
water. Mix, and stir potash and water together until dis-
solved. Then add the grease, stirring well ; put all into a
barrel, and every morning add two buckets cold water,
stirring it well each time, until the barrel is nearly full, or
mixed to the consistency of soft soap.
Consult hickory, Garya, for manufacture of potash and
potash soap from ashes.
Spergula arvensis. Walt ; Linn. Spurrey. Grows in cul-
tivated lands, lower country of South Carolina; vicinity of
Charleston ; collected in St. John's.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 497 : " Cows which
feed on it give milk of a richer quality, and in larger quan-
tities." The seeds of a variety of this plant growing in
German}* continue green during fall and winter, are far
superior to pasture grasses, and yield an oil suitable for
lamps upon expression. They are also ground up with rye,
and used for making bread. Poultry eat spurrey in any
136
form, and are thought to become very prolific of eggs when
fed upon it. Rural Cyclopaedia, and Thaer's Agricultural
Chemistry.
Stellaria media. Smith. Chickweed ; stitchwort. Intro-
duced. Yards and gardens.
The herbage is greedily devoured by hogs, and is said to
be nutritive, and suitable for being boiled and eaten in the
manner of spinach. It has the reputation, when boiled in
vinegar and salt, of possessing virtue to cleanse eruptions
of the hands and limbs. The flowers serve in some degree
as a natural barometer ; for when rain is approaching
they remain closed, and in dry weather they are regularly
open from about nine o'clock in the morning till noon.
"Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia.
Xanthoxylaceje.
The species belonging to this order are generally aro-
matic and pungent.
( Americanum, T. & Gray, ~\
Xanthoxylum. Ifraxineum, Wi\W. I Prickly ash;
] ramiflorum, Mich. f toothache bush.
^ Clava Herculis, Linn. J
Barham's Hortus Americanus. The scraped root is
applied to ulcers in order to heal them. The plant pos-
sesses stimulating powers, and is a "powerful sudorific
and diaphoretic;" remarkable, according to Barton, for its
extraordinary property of exciting salivation, whether ap-
plied immediately to the gums, or taken internally. It is
reported to have been used successfully in paralysis of the
muscles of the mouth, and in rheumatic affections. Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 179 ; Journal Gen. de Med.
xl, 226. Dr. Gillespie asserts that it is a good tonic and
febrifuge. According to Cam, the Indians employed the
decoction as an injection in gonorrhoea: "Voyage to Can-
ada." It has been given in syphilis as a substitute for
137
guaiacum, and also for mezereon. See Anc. Journal cle
Med. ii, 314. A peculiar principle, xanthopierite, is
afforded by it. See also X. fraxineum, with which this
plant is frequently confounded, as well as with the Aralia
spmosa. U. S. Disp. Its acrimony is imparted to boiling
water, and to alcohol. According to Dr. Staples, besides
fibrous substances, it contains volatile oil, a greenish, fixed
oil, resin, gum, coloring matter, and a peculiar crystal-
lizable principle, which he calls xanthoxylin. Journal
Phil. Coll. Pharm. i, 165. It is stimulating: producing,
when swallowed, a sense of heat in the stomach, arterial
excitement, and a tendency to diaphoresis. It enjoys con-
siderable reputation in chronic rheumatism. Dose of pow-
der from ten grains to half a drachm. It has been tried by
many with advantage in this disease. Barton's Collec. i,
25, 52; Thacher's Disp. sub. A. spinosa; Big. Am. Med.
Bot. iii, 162. In rheumatism an infusion is given, made of
one ounce of the bark to one quart of boiling water; one
pint to be administered in divided doses during the twenty-
four hours. Rep. from Surgeon-Gen. Office, 1862.
X. Carolinianum, Lam. and T. and G. 1 This species is
tricarpum, Ell. Sk. J supposed to be
possessed of similar properties with the above. It is the
prickly ash of the Southern states. T. and G.
Chapman, in his Flora of Southern states, does not
include X. Americanum (toothache bush, Hercules' club)
among our Southern plants.
These plants have the reputation in America of being
powerfully sudorific and diaphoretic, and excite copious
salivation, not only when made to act directly on the
mouth, but when taken internally, and have been found
highly efficacious in paralysis of the muscles of the mouth.
Rural Cyc. This may account for their utility in tooth-
ache. '
Simarubace^e. (Quassia Family.)
Simaruba Glauca. D. C. Quassia. South Florida. A
large tree. Chap.
138
This species of quassia, though not the officinal, should
be examined for any bitter tonic properties it may contain.
Geraniaceje. [The Geranium Tribe.)
Characterized by an astringent principle, and an aro-
matic or resinous flavor.
Geranium maculatum, Linn. Cranesbill; crowfoot; alum
root.
Lind. Nat. Syst, Bot. 137; Coxe, Am. Disp. 304; Eberle,
Mat. Med. i, 382; Bell's Pract. Diet, 218; Big. Am. Med.
Bot. 189; Thacher's Am. Disp. 224; U. S. Disp. 350;
Royle, Mat. Med. 73; Bart. M. Bot. i, 140; Pe Mat.
Med. and Therap. ii, 751; Am. Journal Pharm. iv, 190;
Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. i, 171; Ed. and Yav. Mat, M6d.
135; Schoepf, Mat. Med. 107; Barton's Collec 7; Cutler,
Mem. Am. Acad, i, 469; Mer. and de L. Diet, de Mat.
Med. iii, 369 ; Journal Pharm. xiii, 287. It is a powerful
astringent, adapted to passive hemorrhages, chronic diar-
rhoea, and cholera infantum. It is injected with advantage
in cases of gleet and leucorrhcea, and is used as a wash for
old ulcers. Bigelow speaks of it as a very powerful astrin-
gent, very similar to kino and catechu, and a useful substi-
tute for the more expensive articles. It forms an excellent
local application in sore throats and ulcerations of the
mouth, and is adapted to the treatment of such discharges
as continue from debility after the removal of their excit-
ing causes. Colden and Schcepf also speak highly of the
root in dysentery; and Dr. B. S. Barton, in cholera infan-
tum, used the decoction in milk. Eberle Avas successful
with it, in his treatment of aphthous affections of the
mouth, and of ulcerations of the fauces and tonsils. Grif-
fith, Med. Bot, 209. By Staple's examination, Journal
Phil. Coll. Pharm. i, 171, it contains tannin, gallic acid,
mucilage, a small proportion of aniadin, and red coloring
matter; from the bark, a small quantity of resin and a
peculiar crystallizable principle.
Dose of the powdered root in substance, is twenty to
139
thirty grains, one to two ounces of the tincture, and ten to
fifteen grains of the extract. The decoction is made by
boiling one ounce of the root in one pint of water, the dose
of which is one to two tablespoonfuls. The extract is said
to be the best form; alcohol and proof spirits, however,
readily dissolve the active principle, and the tincture keeps
best.
Balsaminace^e. [The Balsam Tribe.)
According to De Cand., the species are diuretic. They
are chiefly remarkable for the elastic force with which the
valves of the fruit separate at maturity, expelling the
seeds. Lind.
f 'pallida, ISTutt. ; T. and G. ) Touch-me-not;
Impatiensi 7- . ttvh en -• i in
1 \ noli me tangerc, Ell. Sk. J jewel-weed. Grows
in inundated swamps; vicinity of Charleston; collected in
St. Johns. Fl. July.
Bull Plantes Yen. de France, 166: "The whole plant is
very acrid, and is used as a cataplasm." Elem de Bot. iii,
58. Six grains of the dried leaves will produce nausea.
The IT. S. Disp., 1264, speaks of it as a dangerous plant,
possessed of acrid properties; when taken internally, act-
ing as an emetic, cathartic, and diuretic.
OXALIDACEyE.
Leaves generally acid.
Oxalis acetosella, L. White wood-sorrel. Mountains of
North Carolina, and northward. Chap.
The plant is a very agreeable and wholesome salad, and
possesses refrigerant, antiscorbutic, and antiseptic proper-
ties. The juice coagulates milk, and precipitates lime from
solution. When boiled in milk, it gives off its acidulous-'
ness to the whey; and either this whey, or the expressed
juice of the plant, much diluted with water, may be used
as a good refrigerant drink in fevers. Rural Cyc. The
herb is powerfully and most agreeably acid, making a re-
140
freshing and wholesome conserve with fine sugar; its flavor
resembles green tea.
Oxalis violaced, L. Wood-sorrel. Grows in rich soils ;
vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St. John's. Fl. May.
IT. S. Disp. 66. It contains the oxalate of potash, which
imparts to it its pleasant, acid taste.
Oxalis corniculata, L. "i Vicinity of Charleston ; similar
" furoata Ell. Sk. j in properties to the Ox. violacea.
Rosacea. (The Rose Tribe.)
None of the species are unwholesome ; they are generally
characterized by the possession of an astringent principle.
The sub-order, Amygdalece, are better known for yielding
Prussic or hydrocanic acid.
Poteatilla (canadensis f). Grows in meadows, in lower and
upper districts; St. John's, South Carolina.
Dr. Richard Moore, of Sumter district, South Carolina,
informs me that this plant, on account of its bitter, mucil-
aginous qualities, has been found, by repeated experiment,
to be a most efficient and useful remedy in the treatment
of chronic colds, threatening phthisis. The decoction is
used. He refers to the plant as the P. reptans (?).
Rubus villosus, Ait. High bush blackberry. Diffused ;
observed in Fairfield district; collected in St. John's;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. May.
Eberle, Mat. Med. i, 386; Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 453; Ed. and
Vav. Mat. Med. 134; Royle, Mat. Med. 374; IT. S. Disp.
603-4; Ball, and Gar. Mat, Med. 267; Big. Am. Med. Bot.
ii, 160; Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. ii, 474; Thacher's
IT. S. Disp. 341 ; Bind. Nat, Syst, 144 ; Barton's Collec. ii,
157; Griffith, Med. Bot. 270. Bigelow considers it a power-
ful astringent, and is satisfied of its efficacy, administered
both internally and externally, in a variety of cases admit-
ting of relief from this class of remedies. Dr. Chapman
141
also speaks highly of it in the declining stage of dysentery,
after the symptoms of active -inflammation are removed ;
he asserts that nothing in his hands had done so much to
check the inordinate discharges in cholera infantum — two
or three doses sufficing to bind up the bowels. The decoc-
tion is made of one ounce of the root in a pint and a half
of water, boiled down to one pint, of which the dose for a
child is two or three teaspoonfuls ; for an adult, a wine-
glassful several times a day ; orange peel may be added.
Dose of the powdered root, twenty or thirty grains. No
analysis has yet been made. In the old work on "Herbs,"
by Nicholas Culpepper, gentleman, " Student in Physic
and Astrology," the author observes of one of the genus
Mubus : "Either the decoction or powder of the root being
taken, is good to break or drive forth gravel, and the stone
in the reins and kidneys." " The berries, and the flowers,
are a powerful remedy against the poison of the most
venomous serpents." — p. 48.
Mubus trivialis, Mich. Low bash dewberry; creeping
blackberry. Diffused ; vicinity of Charleston ; collected in
St. John's; Newbern. Fl. April.
Watson's Pract. Physic, 820 ; U. S. Disp. 603 ; Pe Mat,
Med. and Therap. ii, 543 ; Royle Mat. Med. 375 ; Chap,
on Dis. of Thorac. and Abdom. Viscera, 279 ; British and
For. Med. Review, Jan. 31, 1845; Ball, and Gar. Mat.
Med. 268. This is, no doubt, possessed of astringent prop-
erties similar to the above ; a decoction of the root is said
to be a safe, sure, and speedy cure for dysentery — a remedy
derived from the Oneida Indians.
As Blackberry wine is much used as a substitute for more
costly foreign wines, I will introduce the following receipt
for making it, communicated by Mrs. Summer, of South
Carolina, which was said to have been introduced from
Virginia by the Rev. Richard Johnson. Blackberry wine,
as well as cordial made from the wild cherry, is a pleasantly
stimulating beverage, useful as a cordial, capable of being
medicated, and very serviceable in families, as well as in
142
camps and hospitals. It can easily be made with whisky,
or this may be omitted. It is only strange that so useful
and pleasant a drink, and one within the reach of every
one, should, until recently, have been so little made: "To
every three pints of berries, add one quart of water ; suffer
it to stand twenty-four hours, strain through a colander,
then through a jelly-bag, and to every gallon of the juice
add three pounds of good brown sugar, the whites of three
eggs beaten to a froth, and stirred in the juice; a little
spice, with two dozen cloves, beaten together, and one nut-
meg grated, should be put in a small linen bag and dropped
in.. After all are mixed, put it in a stone jug, filled up,
and kept full with some of the same juice, reserved for
that purpose, until it is done working, which will be in
two or three weeks. Cork it tightly, and keep it in a
cold place for three or four months, then pour it off into
bottles, with a little loaf sugar in each bottle; cork, and
seal close. If the wine is kept for twelve months, it will
be still better." It is not easy to overvalue the great
utility of so mild an alcoholic drink, combining slightly
astringent vegetable properties, and which may be placed
within the reach of almost every one. I have seen this
wine of such an agreeable flavor and taste as to be pre-
ferred to more valued wines. Cheap good wines are cer-
tainly the greatest boon that could be conferred on any
country. See "Grape," Vitis.
The following is an approved method of making Black-
berry wine, in vogue in St. John's, Berkley, South Caro-
lina. I insert it in a work of this kind for its general
utility, and as it forms an approved liquor which " cheers
but not inebriates." Blackberries, six quarts; boiling
water, two quarts; brown sugar, twxo pounds. The whites
of six« eggs frothed, added when the jug is nearly full.
Mash the berries, pour in the water — let it remain twenty-
four hours. Strain through a hair sieve, and add the
sugar. Leave the jug open for two weeks, until fermenta-
tion ceases — then you may add a glass of alcohol. ("I?.
S.") See " Cera-sus," for manufacture of " blackberry
cordial."
143
A correspondent in the Mobile Register gives the fol-
lowing method of making blackberry cordial :
Cordial for Sickness in the Army. — To alleviate the
sufferings, and perhaps save the lives of many of our sol-
diers, whose sickness may be traced to the use of unwhole-
some water in limestone regions, I recommend the use of
blackberry cordial. The following is a good recipe :
Bruise the berries, and strain the juice through a bag;
to each quart of the juice allow a half pound of loaf
sugar, a heaped teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, the
same of powdered cloves, and a grated nutmeg; boil these
ingredients fifteen or twenty minutes, skimming them
well. When cool, stir into each quart a half pint of
brandy; then bottle, and cork well. In case brandy and
loaf sugar cannot be had, substitute good whisky and
sugar-house molasses. Avoid plantation molasses, brown
sugar, and bad whisky. So much for the cure.
To prevent the disorder, boil the water of the country
before drinking it. The process of boiling precipitates the
impurities, and when cool, the water may be poured from
the sediment and used.
Compound Syrup of Blackberries. — Medicated Black-
berries.— Useful as a drink in diarrhoea, and to supply
soldiers in camp, either as a remedy in mild cases of
diarrhoea or as a vehicle for medicines. To two quarts
of the juice of blackberries, add half an ounce each of
cinnamon, allspice, and nutmegs, and one quarter of an
ounce of cloves, well pulverized. Boil them together for
fifteen to twenty minutes in a preserve pan or kettle, to
get the strength of the spices; strain through a piece of
flannel, then add loaf sugar to make very sweet, and while
still hot add to every two quarts of the juice one pint of
Cognac brandy. The dose of this for an adult is about two
tablespoonfuls repeated. One-fifth portion of the mixture
is brandy. The blackberry root is an easily obtained and
valuable astringent. A decoction acts as an astringent, and
will check diarrhoea. The rind of pomegranate, which is
easily portable, boiled in milk, is an excellent remedy in
144
diarrhoea in the army, to be used during scarcity of medi-
cines. The tree grows abundantly in the Confederate
States ; all parts of it are medicinal.
From frequent trials, I know of no remedy for diarrhoea
and dysentery of teething children, superior to the decoc-
tion of the blackberry root; also, during the convalescence
from dysentery in adults.
The leaves of blackberry and raspberry are recommended
as substitutes for foreign tea.
Rabus occidentalism Linn. Virginian, or wild raspberry.
Grows in the upper districts ; collected in St. John's ;
jSTewbern.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 131. Properties
identical with the above. It is thought to be a specific in
dysentery.
Fragaria vesca. Ex. cult. Strawberry.
Flore Med. iii, 169; Griffith Med. Bot. 277. Gesner
speaks of the good effects of the fruit in calculous dis-
orders, and Linnpeus extols its efficacy in gout, having, he
says, prevented paroxysms of it in himself by partaking of
this fruit very freely. They are also supposed to possess
vermifuge properties, and to be useful in phthisis. The
leaves are astringent, and are recommended in bowel com-
plaints ; and the roots are much used in Europe as diu-
retics ; frequently given in dysuria, in infusion, made with
an ounce to the pint of water. Op. cit. Lallemand, in his
work on Spermatorrhoea, p. 310, states that strawberries are
quite serviceable in relieving irritable conditions of the
bladder and urethra.
Fragaria Virginiana, Erhart. Scarlet Virginian straw-
berry. Rich woods ; Florida to Virginia. Chap.
It was introduced into England in 1629, and possessed
a fame equal to the hautbois. The pulp has a fine flavor.
Rural Cyc. This plant is well known, and its economical
value and application require no description. The use of
145
the fruit often acts beneficially upon dyspeptics, who are
benefited by acids. The celebrated Rousseau was always
relieved of a calculous affection by eating this fruit. See his
Confessions. "The old Carolina strawberry is a well known
and much esteemed variety. The pulp is colored and juicy,
and has a fine vinous flavor." By pinching off all the first
flowers of early bloom varieties, the flowers will appear
and fructify the present autumn. Rural Cyc. They re-
quire constant watering to bear almost constantly.
Geum Virginianum, Linn. ) .
r, t . -rTr -,, y white avens.
" Carolinianum, Walt, j
Griffith, Med Bot. 279 ; Raf. Med. Fl. i, 220. This plant
is possessed of tonic and astringent properties, recom-
mended by Ives and Bigelow in dyspepsia, and debility of
the viscera ; employed, also, with success in leucorrhcea
and chronic hemorrhages. It is not supposed, however, to
be possessed of much power; one drachm of the powdered
root may be used, or a decoction made by one ounce to one
pint of water, of which the dose is one ounce several times
a day. In domestic practice, it is given in the shape of a
weak decoction, as tea.
Agrimonia Eupatoria, L. Agrimony ; cockle burr. Dif-
fused in cultivated lands ; ISTewbern. Fl. July.
Parr's Med. Diet. art. A, Sup. ; Pe. Mat. Med. and
Therap. ii, 76; Le. Mat. Med. i, 1251; Royle, Mat. Med.
602; Hoffman's Obs. Phys. Chim. i; Obs. i; Ell. Bot. Med.
Notes, i, 403, note ; IT. S. Disp. 145 ; Ed. and Yav. Mat.
Med. i, 281 ; Ball and Gar. Mat. Med. 431 ; Bergii, Mat.
Med. 287 ; Mer. and cle L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 63; Woodv.
Mecl. Bot.; Ann. de Chim, lxxxi, 332; Coxe, Am. Disp. 18;
Shec. Flora Carol. 96; Dem. filem de Bot. i, 442. The
root and leaves, before the flowers are produced, are acrid
and astringent, and are serviceable in passive hemorrhages,
diarrhoea, leucorrhcea, and gonorrhoea, and are highly
recommended as a deobstruent in obstructions of the
spleen, and in diseases arising from torpor of the liver,
10
146
as hydrops, icterus, etc. The roots and leaves have been
found efficacious in involuntary discharge of urine (enure-
sis). Ray's Cat. Plantarum ; Am. Herbal, by I. Stearns,
89; Lightfoot's Fl. Scotica. It is styptic; it strengthens
the tone of the stomach, and it has been employed in
chronic diarrhoea. The plant, digested in whey, affords a
very grateful diet drink. See Linnaeus Veg. M. Med. 88.
The Indians used it in intermittent fever. Colonel Sea-
born, of Pendleton district, S. C, writes me word that he
has known the plant, boiled in milk, given successfully in
snake bites, and injuries arising from the stings of spiders.
The dose of the powder is one drachm ; of the infusion of
six ounces of root in one quart of boiling water, the dose
is one ounce. In popular practice, the leaves are applied
as a cataplasm to contusions and fresh wounds. It is used
by the steam practitioners. See Howard's Imp. Syst. Bot.
Med. 284. The leaves and stalks impart a beautiful and
permanent gold color to animal wool, previously impreg-
nated with a weak solution of bismuth, and the flowers are
employed by tanners for curing soft and delicate skins.
Spiraea trifoliata and siipulacea. See Gillenia.
Spirma tomentosa, Linn. Hardhack; steeple-bush. Grows
in the upper districts, and in Georgia; Newbern. Fl.
July.
IT. S. Disp. 682 ; Raf. Med. Fl. ii, 91. A valuable tonic
and astringent; administered in diarrhoea, cholera infantum,
and other complaints where medicines of this class are in-
dicated. Wood says it is peculiarly adapted, by its tonic
powers, to cases of debility, as it does not disagree with
the stomach ; but it should be avoided during the exist-
ence of inflammatory action or febrile excitement. It was
employed by the Indians, and brought to the notice of the
profession by Br. Cogswell, of Conn. Dr. Ives is of the
opinion that the root is the least valuable portion : tannin,
gallic acid, and bitter extractive are among its constituents,
and its virtues are extracted by water. Mer. and de L.
147
Diet, de M. Med. vi, 507. According to Mead's Thesis, it
is given with, success in the second stages of dysentery and
diarrhoea, having virtues attributed to it analogous to those
of quinine. See, also, Journal Univ. des Sci. Med. xxiv,
238, and Thesis in New York Med. Repos. (Merat, op.
tit.) The extract is said to be fully equal to catechu, and
might very well take its place. As it does not disagree
with the stomach, it is considered a very valuable addition
to the materia medica. Griffith, Med. Bot. 280. From five
to fifteen grains of extract may be taken, or two ounces of
the decoction, prepared by the addition of one ounce of
the plant to one pint of water. The extract is preferable ;
made by evaporating the decoction of the stems, leaves, or
root. This is taken cold, and repeated several times dur-
ing the day. Great use might be made of this plant, par-
ticularly by practitioners residing in the country. In a
communication from Dr. S. B. Mead, of Illinois, he in-
forms me that he has employed it in obstinate diarrhoeas
in place of opium.
Spiraea opulifolia, Linn. Nine-bark. Grows along streams.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 282. This is not so astringent as
the S. tomentosa, though Rafmesque (Med. Flora) says it is
possessed of similar properties. It has an unpleasant odor,
which renders it objectionable as an internal remedy. It
is, however, much employed as an external application, in
the form of fomentation, or as a cataplasm to ulcers and
tumors. The seeds are extremely bitter, and are said to
be tonic.
G-illenia trifoliata, Nutt. | Indian physic. Grows in the
Spiraea, Linn. . f upper districts ; also in Geo.
Fl. July.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 10 ; Bart. M. Bot. 165 ; U. S.
Disp. 353. It is a mild emetic according to some writers ;
largely employed as a substitute for ipecacuanha. Bige-
low thinks it is not a certain emetic, but Zollickoffer, Bar-
ton, Eberle, and Griffith unite in testifying to its value;
148
the latter entirely disproves Baume's unfavorable report.
In small doses, it acts as a gentle tonic, especially in torpid
conditions of the stomach. According to Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. 509 (see Spircea trifoL), its properties par-
take also of a stimulating character. Coxe, Am. Disp.
305 ; Carson's Illust. Med. Bot. pt. 1st, 40, 1847. Shreeves
(Ex. in the Am. Journal Pharm. vii) found in it starch,
gum, resin, wax, fatty matter, red coloring matter, and a
peculiar principle, soluble in alcohol and dilute acids, but
insoluble in water and ether. According to the statement
of Dr. Staples, it contains no emetine. It may be con-
veniently given as an emetic, by boiling the root and giv-
ing one or two ounces of the decoction at a dose till
vomiting is induced. " The tincture of the root is an in-
fallible remedy for milk sickness." Cherokee Doctor. The
dose of the powdered root is thirty grains, persisted in till
vomiting takes place ; two to four grains act as a tonic,
and sometimes as a sudorific. The infusion will occasion-
ally produce hyperemesis and catharsis. Lind. Nat. Syst.
144 ; Frost's Elems. 80 ; Inaug. Diss, of Dr. De La Motta,
of Charleston, published in Philadelphia ; Schoepf, M.
Med. 80; Bart. M. Med. 26; Griffith's Med. Bot. 283;
Griffith, in Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. iv, 177.
Glllenia stipulacea, Nutt. 1 Grows on the Saluda moun-
Spircea of Mich. J tains. Fl. July.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 144. It is emetic, and probably
tonic, and is possessed of properties similar to those of the
S. trifoL, though it is said to be more certain in its effects,
and not to have been deteriorated by cultivation. U. S.
Disp. 353; Griffith's Med. Bot. 284.
Oratcegus crus galli. Grows in swamps.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 460. Dr. Darlington
regards it as one of the best thorn plants for hedges ;
it is much used in Delaware. Fl. Cestrica. It is better
than the Washington thorn, C. cordata.
149
Pyrus coronaria, Linn. Crab-apple. Newbern. Fl. May.
It is not employed medicinally. The fruit is very acid to
the taste, and is often made into preserves. The bark,
with that of the white hickory, gives a yellow dye. Alum
must be used as a mordant. The yarn should first be
boiled with soap and water, then wrung out, and boiled in
the preparation.
Pyrus mains. Cultivated. The apple, pear (P. com-
munis), and quince (P. cydonia), grow very well in the
Confederate States. The pulp surrounding the seeds of the
latter is often dissolved in water, and used as a mucilage.
See authors.
Perry from pears is made very much like cider. Hitt's
method of keeping pears and apples is described by Wilson
in his Rural Cyc. Art. "Fruit storing." Having prepared
a number of earthenware jars, and a quantity of dry moss
(different species of hypnum and sphagnum), he placed a
layer of moss and of pears alternately, till the jar was
filled ; a plug was then inserted, and sealed around with
melted rosin. These jars were sunk in dry sand to the
depth of a foot — preferring a deep cellar for keeping them
to any fruit room. Millar's plan is also described. After
sweating and wiping, in which operation great care must
be taken not to bruise the fruit, the pears are packed in
close baskets, having some wheat straw in the bottom and
around the sides, to prevent bruising, and a lining of thick,
soft paper, to hinder the musty flavor of the straw from
infecting the fruit. Only one kind of fruit is put in each
basket. A covering of paper and straw is fixed on the top,
and the basket is then deposited in a dry room, secure
against the access of frost ; and the. less air is let into the
room the better the fruit will keep. Some preserve apples
and pears in glazed earthenware jars, with tops, by placing
dried sand between each layer of fruit — the jars to be kept
in a dry, airy situation, secure from frost.
The gum exuding from the apricot tree dissolved in
water acts as a substitute for gum arable, as an adhesive
150
agent ; see, also, Bletia aphylla. I find that from the wild
orange, in boiling water, acts admirably as a glue for
paper. The wood of the pear and apple is very hard, and
will probably supply some of our best material for wood
engraving; see Amelanchier, with which it is closely related.
The pear and apple are employed to make wooden type for
mammoth letters. The apple is the best material for plane
stocks, as it becomes harder and more polished the more it
is used. A species of wine is made from apple cider by
adding sugar and alcohol. Cider may be kept by digging
under ground dry cellars, and covering from the sun.
Vinegar made from cider is of the best quality. It is
easily made in a warm place by adding a little mother of
vinegar to the sour cider in a barrel. It is ready for use in
a few weeks. The strength and purity of vinegar, as de-
termined by the framers of the United States Pharmaco-
poeia, is as follows : " One fiuidounce is saturated by about
thirty grains of crystallized bicarb, of potassa. It affords
no precipitate with solution of chloride of barium, and is
not colored by sulphohydric acid."
The bug, or plant louse, which in the shape of a hoary
covering destroys the apple tree, is generally an aphis or an
eriosoma ; see Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia, a full account;
also, papers on the "Insects destructive to Trees," in
Pateut Office Report on Agriculture. In these the reme-
dies are given. " The best of the methods, as to at once
cheapness, cleanliness, and efficiency, are syringing with
soap suds and tobacco water, minutely brushing with spirits
of turpentine, brushing with a mixture of soap lees and
one of oil of turpentine, and brushing with brown, impure,
pyroligneous acid." Wilson, See "peach," "pear," mode
of keeping, etc. Planting apricots near by will divert the
insects to their fruit. Turning hogs in orchards, which
consume the fallen fruit, is one of the best means of
destroying the larvse, which produce the fly of the next
season.
Good cider is deemed a pleasant, wholesome liquor dur-
ing the heats of summer; and Mr. Knight has asserted,
151
and also eminent medical men, that strong;, astringent
ciders have been found to produce nearly the same effect
in cases of putrid fever as Port wine.
The unfermented juice of the apple consists of water
and a peculiar acid called the malic acid, combined with the
saccharine principle. Where a just proportion of the latter
is wanting, the liquor will be poor and watery, without
body, very difficult to preserve and manage. In the process
of fermentation, the saccharine principle is in part con-
verted to alcohol. Where the proportion of the saccharine
principle is wanting, the deficiency must be supplied either
by the addition of a saccharine substance before fermenta-
tion, or by the addition of alcohol after fermentation ; for
every one must know that all good wine or cider contains
it, elaborated by fermentation, either in the cask or in the
reservoirs at the distillery. The best and cheapest kind is
the neutral spirit — -a highly rectified and tasteless spirit,
obtained from New England rum. Some, however, object
to any addition of either sugar or alcohol to supply defi-
ciencies, forgetful that these substances are the very
elements of which all wine, cider, and vinous liquors are
composed.
The strength of the cider depends on the specific gravity
of the juice on expression : this may be easily ascertained
by weighing, or by the hydrometer.
Newark, in New Jersey, is reputed one of the most
famous places in America for its cider. The cider apple
most celebrated there is the Harrison apple, a native fruit;
and cider made from this fruit, when fined and fit for
bottling, frequently brings ten dollars per barrel, according
to Mr. Coxe. This and the Hughs' Virginia Crab are the
two most celebrated cider apples of America. Old trees,
growing in dry soils, produce, it is said, the best cider. A
good cider apple is saccharine and astringent.
To make good cider, the first requisite is suitable fruit;
it is equally necessary that the fruit should be not merely
mellow, but thoroughly mature, rotten apples being excluded ;
and ripe, if possible, at the suitable period, or about the
152
first of ISTovernber, or from the first to the middle, after the
excessive heat of the season is past, and while sufficient
warmth yet remains to enable the fermentation to progress
si owl}-, as it ought.
The fruit should be gathered by hand, or shaken from
the tree in dry weather, when it is at perfect maturity ; and
the ground should be covered with coarse cloths or Russia
mats beneath, to prevent bruising, and consequent rotten-
ness, before the grinding commences. Unripe fruit should
be laid in large masses, protected from dews and rain, to
sweat and hurry on its maturity, when the suitable time
for making approaches. The earlier fruits should be laid
in thin layers on stagings, to preserve them to the suitable
period for making, protected alike from rain and dews, and
where they may be benefited by currents of cool, dry air.
Each variety should be kept separate, that those ripening
at the same period should be ground together.
In grinding, the most perfect machinery should be used
to reduce the whole fruit, skin, and seeds, to a fine pulp.
This should, if possible, be performed in cool weather.
The late Joseph Cooper, of Xew Jersey, has observed em-
phatically, that "the longer a cheese lies after being ground,
before pressing, the better for the cider, provided it escapes fer-
mentation until the pressing is completed;" and he further
observes, " that a sour apple, after being bruised on one
side, becomes rich and sweet after it has changed to a
brown color, while it yet retains its acid taste on the oppo-
site side." When the pomace united to the juice is thus
suffered for a time to remain, it undergoes a chemical
change ; the saccharine principle is developed ; it will be
found rich and sweet. Sugar is in this case produced by
the prolonged union of the bruised pulp and juice, which
could never have been formed in that quantity had they
been sooner separated.
Mr. Jonathan Rice, of Marlborough, who made the pre-
mium cider so much admired at Concord, Massachusetts,
appears so sensible of the important effects of mature or
fully ripe fruit, that, provided this is the case, he is willing
153
even to forego the disadvantage of having a portion of
it quite rotten. Let me observe, that this rottenness
must be the effect, in part, of bruises by improper modes
of gathering, or by improper mixtures of ripe and unripe
fruit. He always chooses cool weather for the operation of
grinding; and, instead of suffering the pomace to remain
but twenty-four hours or forty-eight hours at most before
pressing, as others have directed, he suffers it to remain
from a week to ten days, provided the weather will admit,
stirring the mass daily till it is put to the press. See his
communication in vol. vii, p. 123, 1ST. E. Farmer.
The first fermentation in cider is termed the vinous ; in
this the sugar is decomposed, and loses its sweetness, and
is converted into alcohol ; if the fermentation goes on too
rapidly, the cider is injured ; a portion of alcohol passes off"
with the carbonic acid.
The design of frequent raokings is principally to restrain
the fermentation ; but it seems to be generally acknowl-
edged that it weakens the liquor. It is not generally prac-
tised, although the finest cider is often produced by this
mode. Various other modes are adopted with the view of
restraining fermentation — one of which is the following:
After a few gallons of cider are poured into the hogshead
into which the cider is to be placed when racked off", a rag
six inches long, previously dipped in melted brimstone, is
attached by a wire to a very long, tapering bung; on the
match being lighted, the bung is loosely inserted ; after
this is consumed, the cask is rolled or tumbled till the
liquor has imbibed the gas, and then filled with the liquid.
This checks the fermentation ; yet the French writers
assure us that the effect of much sulphuring must necessa-
rily render such liquors unwholesome.
Black oxide of manganese has a similar effect; the crude
oxide is rendered friable by being repeatedly heated red hot,
and as often suddenly cooled by immersion in cold water.
When finely pulverized, it is exposed for a while to the
atmosphere, till it has imbibed again the oxygen which
had been expelled by fire. An ounce of powder is deemed
154
sufficient for a barrel. If the cider is desired to be very
sweet, it must be added before fermentation, otherwise not
till afterward. Mr. Knight, from his long experience and
observation in a country (Herefordshire, England) famous
for its cider, has lately, in a letter to the Hon. John Lowell,
stated that the acetous fermentation generally takes place
during the progress of the vinous, and that the liquor from
the commencement is imbibing oxygen at its surface. He
highly recommends that new charcoal, in a finely pulver-
ized state, be added to the liquor as it comes from the
press, in the proportion of eight pounds to the hogshead,
to be intimately incorporated ; "this makes the liquor at
first as black as ink, but it finally becomes remarkably
fine."
Dr. Darwin has recommended that the liquor, as soon as
the pulp has risen, should be placed in a cool situation, in
casks of remarkable strength, and the liquor closely con-
fined from the beginning. The experiment has been tried
with good success ; the fermentation goes on slowly, and
an excellent cider is generally the result.
A handful of well powdered clay to a barrel is said to
check the fermentation. This is stated by Dr. Mease.
And with the view of preventing the escape of the car-
bonic acid, and to prevent the liquid from imbibing oxygen
from the atmosphere, a pint of olive oil has been recom-
mended to each hogshead. The excellent cider exhibited
by Mr. Rice was prepared by adding two gallons of New
England rum to each barrel when first made. In Febru-
ary or March it was racked oft* in clear weather, and two
quarts more of New England rum added to each barrel.
Cider well fermented may be frozen down to any requisite
degree of strength. In freezing the watery parts are sep-
arated, and freeze first, and the stronger parts are drawn
oft' from the. centre. I fiuish by adding the following-
general rules — they will answer for all general purposes;
they are the conclusions from what is previously stated:
1. Gather the fruit according to the foregoing rules ; let it
be thoroughly ripe when ground, 'which should be about the
155
middle of November. 2. Let the pomace remain from two
to four days, according to the state of the weather, stirring
it every day till it is put to the press. 3. If the liquor is
deficient in the saccharine principle, the defect may be
remedied in the beginning by the addition of saccharine
substances or' alcohol. 4. Let the liquor be immediately
placed in a cool cellar, in remarkably strong, tight, sweet
casks ; after the pulp has all overflown, confine the liquor
down by driving the bung hard, and by sealing; a vent
must be left, and the spile carefully drawn at times, but
only when absolutely necessary to prevent the cask from
bursting. The charcoal, as recommended by Mr. Knight,
deserves trial.
Fresh and sweet pomace, directly from the press, and
boiled or steamed, and mixed with a small portion of meal,
is a valuable article of food, or for fattening horses, cattle,
and swine.
Sour casks are purified by pouring in a small quantity of
hot water, and adding unslacked lime ; bung up the cask,
and continue shaking it till the lime is slacked. Soda and
chloride of lime are good for purifying. When casks are
emptied to be laid by, let them be thoroughly rinsed with
water and drained, then pour, into each a pint of cheap
alcohol, shake the cask and bung it tight, and it will
remain sweet for years. Musty casks should be con-
demned to other uses. Cider should not be bottled till
perfectly fine, otherwise it may burst the bottles. The bot-
tles should be strong, and filled to the bottom of the neck.
After standing an hour, they should be corked with velvet
corks. The lower end of the cork is held for an instant in
hot water, and it is then instantly after driven down with a
mallet. The bottles must be either sealed or laid on their
sides in boxes, or in the bottom of a cellar, and covered
with layers of sand.
Most of the above information relative to cider making
is derived from the American Orohardist, by W. Kenrick,
of Boston, Massachusetts, whose list of apple and other
nursery trees comprehends almost every kind desirable for
any purpose.
156
The reader will find very explicit instructions for the
manufacture of cider in the Penny Cyclopasdia, vol. vii, p.
161 ; in the Lib. of Useful Know. ; British Husb. vol. ii,
p. 364 ; Low's Pract. Agr. p. 379 ; Croker, On the Art of
Making and Managing Cider; in the Quart. Journal of
Agr. vol. viii, p. 332, by Mr. Towers ; and in Baxter's Agr.
Lib. p. 135, by Andrew Crosse, Esq., of Somerset. The
following instructions for making cider are by a Devon-
shire lady : Gather the fruit when ripe ; let it remain in
a heap till the apples begin to get damp, then grind them
in a mill (similar to a malt mill) ; take the pulp and put it
into a large press like a cheese press, only on a much larger
scale ; place a layer of reed in the bottom of the vat and a
krver of pulp alternately until the vat is full. The vat is
square, and the ends of the reed must be allowed to turn
over every la}-er of pulp, so as to keep it from being pressed
out at the sides. The layers of pulp must be five or six
inches thick. When you have finished making your cheese,
press it as hard as you can, and let it remain three or four
hours ; then cut down the corners of it, and lay them on
• the top with reed as before ; then press it again, and allow
it to remain for another three or four hours. Repeat this
process as long as necessary, or until the cheese is quite
dry. It takes seven bags of apples for one hogshead of
cider, and the vat ought to be large enough to make from
three to four hogsheads at a time. The best sort of apple to
make mild cider is the hard bitter-sweet. Any sort of sour
apple will do to make the harsh cider. The liquor must
be strained through a fine sieve into a large vessel, and
allowed to ferment for three or four days, taking off' the
scum as it rises ; then rack it, and put it into casks stopped
down quite close. Before the cider is put into the cask,
a match made of new linen, and attached to a wire, is
lighted and put into the cask, and the bung is put in to
keep the wire from falling into it. After a few minutes
the match is removed, and the cider poured into the cask
while yet full of the smoke.
A person would require three or four years experience
157
before lie would be qualified to superintend the making
of sweet or made cider. Much depends on the year, or
rather on the ripening of the apples; it should be the
second, not the first falling ; and the "green bitter-sweet,"
and the " pocket-apple," are the best for making it. After
pounding, isinglass and brimstone are used to sweeten and
fine it, and many other ingredients.
The sweet cider, above described, is distinct from the
other two kinds of cider (the harsh and mild). Cider,
according to Brande, contains about H97 parts per cent, of
alcohol. It is a wholesome beverage for those who use
much bodily exercise. Willich's Dom. Erie. ; McCulloch's
Com. Diet.
Under this genus, I insert the following from Chaptal's
Chemistry Applied to Agriculture, as the subject of the
manufacture of Liquors from fruits, grain, etc., is important
in the present exigency: " Grood water is undoubtedly the
most wholesome drink ; but man has almost everywhere
contracted the habit of using fermented liquors, and this
habit has created in him a want of them; so that if he be
deprived of their use, he loses his strength and energy, and
becomes less able to work. The best fermented drink is
wine ; but excepting the wine countries, where the low
price of ordinary wine renders the use of it common, the
laborer has seldom the means of procuring it daily. It is,
therefore, necessary that its place should elsewhere be
supplied by such other liquors as will produce nearly the
same effect, and this is done by the fermentation of grains,
fruits, milk, the sap of trees, etc., from the product of
which there is formed in Europe a great variety of liquors;
some of these have become very important articles of con-
sumption and of commerce. The peasants, in the greater
part of our districts, have acquired the habit of preparing
their liquors from the fermentation of most of these sub-
stances ; and as the only object I have in view is to furnish
information in regard to extending and perfecting these
processes, I shall confine myself to pointing out such
methods as are easily executed, and which require the em-
158
ployment of such substances only as are everywhere in the
hands of the agriculturist :
"All mucilaginous fruits, all fleshy stone fruits, excepting
those which yield oil, all grains which contain gluten,
sugar, or starch, are capable of undergoing the spiritous or
alcoholic fermentation.
" The expressed juice of saccharine fruits may be made to
ferment by exposure to a sufficient degree of heat. The
method most commonly pursued is that of crushing or
grinding the fruits, and thus fermenting the pulp with
the juice ; in this manner are treated apples, pears, grapes,
cherries, etc.
"For such fruits as are not very juicy, but contain, how-
ever, some sugar and mucilage, and for such as can be
made to keep better by being dried, some water is em-
ployed to mix and dissolve the fermentable principles. In
this class of fruits may be placed those of the service tree,
the cornelian cherry, the medlar, the mulberry, the privet,
the juniper, the Neapolitan medlar, the thorn apple, the
wild plum, etc., and with them the dried fruits of the plum
and fig tree, and some of the other trees and shrubs before
mentioned.
"To produce the development of the saccharine principle
in bread corns by germination, they must be moistened
with water ; the spiritous fermentation is afterward ex-
cited in them by immersing them in water containing the
yeast of beer, or leaven made of wheat flour. The opera-
tion of germination may even be suppressed b}r mixing the
meal with a portion of leaven and of lukewarm water.
This dough may be allowed to ferment for twenty-four
hours, and may then be gradually diluted with water;
fermentation will take place in a few hours, and will
go on regularly during two or three days. As directions
for the manufacture of cider, perry, and beer for general
consumption are much less necessary here than those
for procuring for farmers (or soldiers, I add,) wholesome
liquors at a trifling expense, I shall confine my obser-
vations to this object. Grapes furnish the best liquor,
159
and that in the greatest quantity ; but when this is
drunk clear, it serves but little purpose for quenching
thirst ; when made use of in large quantities, it impairs
the strength. The liquor called piquette, which is manu-
factured by our farmers, supplies advantageously the place
of wine, serving as a tonic, and at the same time quench-
ing thirst. Piquette is made from the pressed and fer-
mented mash of red grapes, by means of water filtrated
through it till it acquires, in some degree, the color and
appearance of wine ; it is, even in this state, a better
drink than water, inasmuch as it is slightly tonic; its good
qualities may, however, be much increased by fermentation.
Piquette can be kept but a short time unchanged, and,
from this tendency to sour, it is necessary that it should be
made only in such quantities as are immediately wanted,
and that the manufacture of it should be continued at in-
tervals throughout the year. For this purpose the pressed
mash of red grapes is put into a cask, care being taken to
crowd it in till the cask is completely full, after which it is
hermetically closed, so as to exclude air and moisture, and
set in a cool, dry place. When the piquette is to be pre-
pared for use, the head is taken out of the cask, and water
is thrown upon the mash until the whole mass is moistened
with it, and the water stands upon the top ; fermentation
soon takes place, as becomes evident by the light foam
which arises; it is completed by the end of the fourth or
fifth day ; from this time the liquor may be drawn -off for
daily use — the place of the portion removed being sup-
plied by an equal quantity of water thrown in upon the top
of the mash. In this manner a cask of mash, of the capac-
ity of sixty-six gallons, may furnish about four gallons of
drink per diem, and will continue to yield it for about
twenty days.
"As the mash of white grapes cannot be made to ferment
with the juice, this last is separated and put into casks to
ferment by itself, and the piquette is then made by adding
to the mash the necessary quantity of water. This liquor
is more spiritous than that made from red grapes, and
160
keeps better; it is therefore reserved for use during the
latter part of the summer. If instead of throwing pure
water upon the mash as is everywhere done, this liquid
should first be slightly sweetened and heated, and then re-
ceive the addition of a little yeast, piquette of a very superior
quality would be obtained. In the absence of yeast or
leaven, the scum which arises upon wine, especially white
wine, during fermentation, may be used for the same pur-
pose ; this foam or scum may be dried, and thus preserved
for use without undergoing any change.
" Well made piquette is a very wholesome drink for coun-
try people, for its tonic properties, as well as its power of
quenching thirst; it is far preferable, as a daily drink, to
wine; but this resource is only local, as in most countries
that are most fruitful in grapes, if the harvest fall short,
there can be but little piquette made; it is necessary then to
be able to supply its place from some other source, and
this is done by the fermentation of certain fruits.
"Apples and pears, as being the fruits that are most
abundantly produced, are the most variable for the pur-
pose of manufacturing liquors. A mixture of the two
produces a more wholesome article of drink than does
either treated separately. The juices of plums and other
fruits may likewise be added, as their astringency renders
the liquor more tonic. Excellent liquor may be produced,
both from apples and pears, by following the well known
method of making cider, which consists in grinding the
fruit with a millstone, and fermenting the pulp and juice
together; but upon farms, where we seldom find the
means of preserving liquors unchanged, it is necessary
that the processes be simple, and such as can be made use
of for preparing them as they are needed. I shall, there-
fore, recommend the following method: Begin to collect
the apples and pears which fall from the trees toward the
end of August, and continue to do so till they have arrived
at maturity ; cut them in pieces as fast as they are gathered ;
dry them first in the sun, and afterward in an oven
from which the bread has been drawn. If the fruit be well
161
dried in this manner, though it may grow dark colored, it
ma}' be kept unchanged for several years. When drink is
to be prepared from these dried fruits, put about sixty
pounds of them into a cask, which will contain sixty-six
gallons; fill the cask with water, and allow it to remain
four or five days ; after which, draw off the fermented
liquor for use. The liquor thus prepared is very agreeable
to the taste; when put into bottles it ferments so as to throw
out the cork as frothing Champagne wine does. Though
wholesome and agreeable, it may become still more con-
ducive to health by mixing with the apples and pears one-
twentieth of the dried berries of the service tree Amelanchier
canadensis (Aronia botryapium, Ell. 8k., which grows in Caro-
lina), and one-thirtieth of juniper berries ; from these the
liquor acquires a slightly bitter taste, and the flavor of the
juniper berries, which is very refreshing, and it is besides
rendered tonic and antiputrescent. The use of this drink
is one of the surest means that can be taken by the hus-
bandman for preserving himself from those diseases to
which he is liable in autumn, and for the attacks of
which he is preparing the way during the greatest heats of
summer.
"After the spiritous portions of the liquor have been
drawn off, very agreeable piquette may be made from the
pulp which remains in the cask; for this purpose it is only
necessary to crush the fruit, which is already soft, and to
add to it as much lukewarm water, to which a small quan-
tity of yeast has been added, as will fill the cask, fermenta-
tion commencing in a short time, and terminating in three
or four days. To flavor this liquor and render it slightly
tonic, there may be added to it before fermentation a
handful of vervain, three or four pounds of elder berries,
and of juniper berries.
" Cherries, and particularly the small bitter cherries, when
ground and afterward fermented in a cask, in the same
manner as the mash of grapes, and then pressed to separate
the juice from the pulp, furnish a liquor containing much
spirit. The wine made from cherries, when distilled, af-
11
162
fords an excellent liquor, which, although not exactly the
same as the good Kirschwasser of the Black Forest, is yet
a valuable drink, and is sold in commerce under the same
name.
"The berries of the service tree, dried in an oven, and put
into a cask in the proportion of about sixteen or eighteen
pounds of fruit to twenty-six and a half gallons of water,
furnish, after four or five days fermentation, a very good
drink. Plums and figs, dried either by the sun or in an
oven, may be made use of for the same purpose. In order
to render the liquor more wholesome, or more agreeable,
several kinds may be mixed together, and thus the defects
of one kind may be compensated for by the good qualities
of the other. A few handful s of the red fruit of the bird-
catcher service tree counteract the flat, sweetish taste of
certain other fruits.
"In our farming districts the berries of the juniper are
carefully collected and fermented, in the proportion of
about thirty pounds of berries to thirty-eight and a half
gallons of water. The drink procured from these is one
of the most wholesome jDossible, but it requires a, little use
to reconcile one to the odor and flavor of it; those, how-
ever, who drink it, prefer it after a short time to any other
liquor. The juice of the juniper contributes so much to
health that I cannot too strongly recommend its being
mixed, in greater or less quantities, with all fruits which
are to be subjected to fermentation ; its flavor alone will
disguise the taste of such liquors as, without being un-
wholesome, are flat, sickish, or otherwise unpleasant.
Count Chaptal probably refers here to the juniper growing
in Holland, from which gin is procured. Our common red
cedar, growing in South Carolina {Janiperus Virginiana), is
closely related to the European juniper, and the berries,
perhaps, may be used in flavoring drinks, and the leaves
employed in place of savin. See Juniperus.
" The rinds of oranges or lemons, aromatic plants, an-
gelica roots (grow in South Carolina), peach leaves, etc.,
may likewise be mixed with any of these fruits which are
163 .
naturally too sweet, and thus serve to raise the flavor of
the fermented liquor, and render it more strengthening
and efficacious in preventing the attack of disease.
" I do not doubt but that by the application of the true
principles of science, and by employing only those prod-
ucts which nature yields us abundantly and without ex-
pense, we can procure from the husbandman a variety of
drinks more healthy, more agreeable, and better adapted
for quenching thirst than the weak and imperfectly fer-
mented wines made from green grapes.
"I have limited myself to pointing out the simplest
methods in which such articles as are within the reach of
every peasant may be made use of; if such liquors as are
more spiritous be wished, they can be obtained by dissolv-
ing from four to six pounds of the coarsest kinds of sugar
in from five and a half to ten and a half gallons of warm
water, and throwing the solution upon the mash when the
cask is filled with it, supposing the cask to contain sixty-
six gallons. To this may be added any number of pounds
of raisins.
" Liquors suitable for drinking may likewise be manufac-
tured from the sap of several kinds of trees. In Germany,
Holland, and some parts of Prussia, as soon as the return-
ing warmth of spring begins to cause the ascent of the
sap, holes two or three inches deep are bored with a gim-
let in the trunks of the birch trees ; through the straws
which are introduced into the gimlet holes there flows out
a clear, sweet juice, which, after having been fermented for
a few days, becomes a sprightly liquor, that is drunk by the
inhabitants of those countries with much pleasure. It is
thought by them to be very serviceable in counteracting
affections of the kindneys, stomach, etc. A single tree will
furnish a quantity of drink sufficient to last three or four
persons a week. The natives of the Coromandel coast fab-
ricate their colore from the sap of the cocoanut tree. The
savages of America prepare their chica from the juice of
the maize, and the drink of the negroes of Congo is made
from the juice of the palm tree.
. 164
"-It caunot be doubted that the sap of all those trees
which afford a saccharine substance can be made to yield a
spiritous liquor, but I mention only these few as instances,
because our own wants may be abundantly supplied from
our fruits and grain.
"The fermentation of rye and barley has afforded, from
time immemorial, a liquor which has supplied the place of
wine for the use of the common people in nearly all those
countries in which the vine cannot be made to flourish ; in
those where wine is made abundantly the use of beer is
still very extensive, both on account of the nutritive quali-
ties which it possesses in a high degree, and its power of
quenching thirst. Though beer may be brewed upon so
small a scale as to supply the wants of a single family, I
shall enter into no explanation of the process. In Russia a
wholesome drink called quass is made. One-tenth part of
the rye to be employed in its manufacture is steeped in
water till it becomes soft ; it is then spread thinly upon
planks, in a place warm enough to produce germination,
and it is there sprinkled occasionally with warm water. The
remainder of the rye, after having been ground, is mixed
with the germinated grain, and the whole is diluted with
two gallons and a half of boiling water; the vessel is then
set into an oven, from which bread has just been drawn, or
exposed to an equivalent degree of heat, during twenty-four
or thirty hours ; if the vessel be put into an oven which
it is necessary to heat every day, it may be removed during
baking, and returned again after the bread is taken out.
After this first operation, the fermented substance is diluted
by mixing with it two and a half gallons of water at the
temperature of 12° or 15°. (If of the Centigrade, 53° to
59°; if of Reaumur, to from 59° to 65°.) This mixture is
stirred for half an hour, and then allowed to settle. As
soon as a deposit is formed and the liquor becomes clear,
it is then thrown into a cask, where fermentation takes
place ; this is completed in a few days, when the cask is
removed into a cellar, and the quass soon becomes clear.
It is in this state that it is drunk by the peasants ; but it is
165
much improved by being drawn off' in jugs as soon as it
has formed its deposit in the cask, and bottled, after hav-
ing been preserved in these vessels till it has become clear.
The liquor prepared in this manner has a vinous and sharp
flavor, which is not unpleasant. The color of it is not
very precise, being of a yellowish white. The imperfec-
tions of quass might easily be remedied by adding wild
apples, or pears, or juniper berries, to the fermented sub-
stances. The fermented liquor might be racked off several
times from its lees, and clarified by the same process which
we use for wine. The different deposits which are formed
during the manufacture of quass are entirely of malt, and
afford a nourishing and fattening food for animals." The
reader is referred to same authority for other methods of
manufacturing drinks, beverages, etc., from articles fur-
nished on our farms.
On the subject of fermentation, Chaptal gives the follow-
ing hints, which may avail us in our experiments upon
the production of wine. It seems to me that they convey
some doctrines similar to those brought forward by Pro-
fessor William Hume, of South Carolina, in his ingenious
essay :
" Generally speaking, the French grapes, when ripe, con-
tain such proportions of sugar and the vegeto-animal prin-
ciples as are well adapted for producing the vinous fer-
mentation ; but when the summer is cold or damp the
proportion of sugar is less, and the predominance of the
mucilage (it is from this mucilage that vinegar is formed)
renders the liquor weak. In this case the small quantity of
alcohol which is developed is not sufficient to -preserve the wine
from spontaneous decomposition, and at the return of heat
a new fermentation takes place, the product of which is
vinegar. This evil may be easily obviated by artificial
means; it is only necessary to" add to the liquor such a
quantity of sugar as would naturally have been found in it
under usual circumstances." Professor Hume advises the
addition of alcohol, I believe, to preserve the wine from the
acetic fermentation. See also "Treatise on Rural Chem-
166
istry," by Ed. Solly, F. R. S. From Lond. ed. Philada.
1852 ; articles on manufacture of wine, brandy, etc., from
fruits and vegetables. Several articles on manufacture of
wine can be found in Patent Office Reports. See "Grape."
A harvest drink is made by adding ten gallons of water
to half a gallon of molasses, a quart of vinegar, and four
ounces of ginger. Let the water be fresh from the spring
or well ; stir the whole well together, and a refreshing
drink is obtained.
Pyrus communis. Pear.
Fruit trees, particularly the pear, were formerly intro-
duced into hedge-rows. It was objected that depredations
would be made upon the hedge. Gerard, who wrote on
this subject three hundred years ago, said: "The poore
will breake downe our hedges, and wee have the least part
of the fruit. Forward, in the name of God; grafte, set,
plant, and nourish up trees in every corner of your ground.
The labor is small, the cost is nothing, the commodity is
great ; yourselves shall have plenty, the poore shall have
somewhat in time of want to relieve their necessity, and
God shall rewarde your good mindes and diligence." See
paper on "Best trees for hedges," in Pat. Office Reports,
1854, p. 416. To manufacture perry, cider, etc., consult
Wilson's Rural Cyc. ; Ure's Dictionary of Arts, etc. ; see,
also, "Apple."
Dr. John Lindley has written a most instructive article on
fecundation in plants, physiological principles, and meth-
ods upon which fruits are produced. See his "Guide to
the Orchard and Kitchen Garden," and a condensation in
Patent Office Reports, 1856, p. 244. lie says that some
fruits of excellent qualities are bad bearers, and recom-
mends the following modes of remedying these defects :
1st, by ringing the bark; 2d, by bending branches down-
ward; 3d, by training; 4th, by use of different kinds of
stocks. All these practices are intended to produce the
same effects by different ways: "Physiologists know that
whatever tends to cause a rapid diffusion of the sap and
167
secretions of any plant, causes also the formation of leaf
buds instead of flower buds ; and that whatever on the
contrary tends to cause an accumulation of sap and secre-
tions, has the effect of producing flower buds in abun-
dance;" so that a flower bud is often only a contracted
branch. By arresting the motions, of the fluids and secre-
tions in a tree, we promote the production of flower buds.
See, also, same volume, for mode of preservation and trans-
portation of seeds, with the longevity of seeds, their utility,
and germinative powers. A long list is given of the length
of time which seeds can be preserved.
Pyrus Americana, D. C. (Sorbus microcarpa, Ph.) High-
est mountains of North Carolina. Fruit acid.
This plant yields malic acid. I insert the following from
lire's Dictionary (Farmer's Encyclopaedia):
Malic acid. This vegetable acid exists in the juices of
many fruits and plants, alone, or associated with the citric,
tartaric, and oxalic acids; and occasionally combined with
potash or lime. Unripe apples, pears, sloes, barberries, the
berries of the mountain-ash, elder-berries, currants, goose-
berries, strawberries, raspberries, bilberries, bramble-berries,
whortleberries, cherries, ananas, afford malic acid ; the
house-leek and purslane contain the malate of lime.
The acid may be obtained most conveniently from the
juice of the berries of the mountain-ash, or barberries.
This must be clarified by mixing with white of egg, and
heating the mixture to ebullition ; then filtering — digesting
the clear liquor with carbonate of lead till it becomes neu-
tral; and evaporating the saline solution till crystals of
malate of lead be obtained. These are to be washed with
cold water, and purified by reciws'tallization. On dissolving
the white salt in water, and passing a stream of sulphu-
retted hydrogen through the solution, the lead will be all
separated in the form of a sulphuret, and the liquor, after
filtration and evaporation, will yield yellow, granular crys-
tals, or cauliflower concretions, of malic acid, which may
be blanched by redissolution and digestion with bone-black,
and recrystallization.
168
Malic acid has no smell, but a very sour taste, deliquesces
by absorption of moisture from the air, is soluble in alcohol,
fuses at 150° Fahr., is decomposed at a heat of 348°, and
affords by distillation a peculiar acid — the pyromalic. It
consists, in 100 parts, of 41.47 carbon, 3.51 hydrogen, and
55.02 oxygen ; having nearly the same composition as citric
acid. A crude malic acid might be economically extracted
from the fruit of the mountain-ash (Sorbus aeuparia), ap-
plicable to many purposes ; but it has not hitherto been
manufactured upon a great scale.
Punts Americana, D. C. "1 ,, , . , ^
.., ■ . -.-rr.,, n ! Mountain ash. Grows on
Sorbus Americana, Willd. I ,, -, , , , . r
. ' Vthe highest mountains oi
" flC^m'MxTnoi South Carolina. Fl. July.
" microcarpa, ML 8k. J
Dem Elem de Bot. 655. The flowers are purgative.
The oil from the young branches is caustic, -and is em-
ployed against ringworm.
Amelanchier canadensis, L. (Aronia botryapium of Ell. Sk.)
Wild currant ; shade trees ; service tree. Upper country ;
Sarrazins ; St. John's, S. C. ; woods Fla. to Miss., Chap-
man ; Newbern ; Croom's Catalogue.
Upon examining with a sharp instrument the specimens
of various Southern woods, deposited in the museum of the
Elliott Society by Professor L. R. Gibbes, Dr. A. M. Foster,
and W. Wragg Smith, Esq., I was struck with the singular
weight, density, and fineness of this wood. I think I can
confidently recommend it as one of the best to be experi-
mented with by the wood engraver. It is also, it will be
observed,* closely allied to the apple, pear, etc., which are
all hard. From my brief examination of the excellent and
useful collection above referred to, I would arrange the
hard woods as follows, those just cited taking the first
rank: next in order, Dogwood, Farcleberry (Vaccinium
arboreum), Eedberry, (Azalea nudiflora), and Kahnia latifolia.
The Holly (Ilex opaca) I find to be quite hard when well
dried. The beech (Fagus sylcatica), the hornbeam (Ostrya
169
Virghiica), indigenous plants, have all been recommended
for the purposes of the engraver.
While engaged in completing a number of wood en-
gravings for my prize Essay for the South Carolina Medi-
cal Association, I used a piece of well seasoned dogwood,
and obtained a very good impression from coarse figures
cut with the graver's tools. I find that none, so far experi-
mented with, equal the boxwood, but I have not yet fully
tested the woods put to season.
See Kalmia, etc.
See apple (Pyrus malus) for stimulating beverages made
from the fruit of the service tree.
Prunus Virginiana. See Cerasus. Several South Caro-
lina species furnish fruit, which is eatable, and often em-
ployed for various domestic purposes.
Cerasus serotina, T. & Gray. ) Wild cherry. Diffused in
Prunus Virginiana, Ell. Sk. J upper and lower districts ;
Newbern. Fl. May.
IT. S. Disp. 576 ; Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. x, 197, and
xiv, 27; Eberle, Mat. Med. 300; Bell's Pract. Diet. 389;
Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 538 ; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 487 ;
Phjl. Trans. 418, and Michaux, K Am. Sylva, ii, 205; Ball
and Gar. Mat. Med. 273; Cullen, Mat. Med. 288; Lind.
3&t Syst. Bot. 147; Woodv. Med. Bot. ; Griffith, Med.
Bot. 288; Carson's Illust. Med. Bot. pt. 1. This is un-
doubtedly one of the most valuable of our indigenous
plants. The bark unites with a tonic power the property
of calming irritation and diminishing nervous excitability,
"adapted to cases where the digestive powers are impaired,
and with general and local irritation existing at the same
time." It is peculiarly suited to the hectic fever attending
scrofula and consumption, owing to the reduction of ex-
citability which it induces, it is supposed, by the Irydro-
cyanic acid contained in it. Eberle states that the cold
infusion had the effect of reducing his pulse from seventy-
five to fifty strokes in the minute. In a case of hypertrophy
170
with increased action of the heart, I tried the infusion of
this plant, taken in large quantities, according to Dr.
Eberle's plan, but without very satisfactory results. It was
persisted in for three weeks; the patient, a gentleman aged
twenty-five, of nervous temperament, drinking several
ounces of it three times a day. The force of the circula-
tion was at first diminished; but the abatement was not
progressive ; the individual was not made any worse by
it. Tincture of digitalis had been likewise used with
no beneficial effects. Dr. Wood speaks of the employ-
ment of the wild cherry in the general debility following
inflammatory fever. It is valuable, also, in dyspepsia,
attended with neuralgic symptoms. Mer. and De L.
Diet, de M. Med. v, 159 ; Bull des Sci. Med. xi, 303. The
bark is indicated whenever a tonic is necessary, from im-
pairment of the constitution by syphilis, dyspepsia, pul-
monaiy, or lumbar abscess, etc. I am informed by a
correspondent that he finds equal parts of this bark,
rhubarb, and the gum exuding from the peach tree (Amyg-
dalus communis), which likewise affords Prussic acid, when
combined with brandy and white sugar, an excellent
remedy in dj^sentery and diarrhoea ; one ounce of each is
added to one pint of brandy, with a sufficient quantity of
white sugar, a tablespoonful of which is taken every half
hour. The sensible, as well as the medicinal properties of
this plant, are impaired by boiling ; cold water extracts its
virtues best. The inner bark is officinal. The bark of all
parts of the tree is used, but that from the root is most
active. Bark stronger, if collected from the root in au-
tumn. Deteriorates by keeping. Tonic, sedative, expecto-
rant. Infusion officinal. Thus made: bark bruised, half
an ounce ; one pint water (cold). Macerate for twenty-four
hours. Dose, two or three fiuidounces three or four times
a day. Syrup officinal : Take of wild cherry bark, in
coarse powder, five ounces; sugar, refined, two pounds;
water, sufficient to moisten the bark thoroughly. Let
it stand for twenty-four hours in a close vessel ; then
transfer it to a percolator, and pour cold water upon it
171
gradually until a pint of filtered liquor is obtained. To
this add the sugar, in a bottle, and agitate occasionally
until it is dissolved. Dose, one-half fluidounce. By Proc-
tor's analysis, it contains starch, resin, tannin, gallic acid,
fatty matter, lignin, salts of lime, potassa, and iron, and a
volatile oil associated with hydrocyanic acid. This proved
fatal to a cat in less than five minutes. See Journal
Phil. Coll. Pharm. vi, 8 ; Am. Journal Pharm. x, 197.
The leaves, also, are sedative and antispasmodic ; used in
coughs, angina pectoris, etc. The dose of the powdered
root is from twenty grains to one drachm. The infusion
is the most convenient form. A syrup is also made ; be-
side several secret preparations.
Method of making "Cherry" cordial by the Southern
matrons in the lower country of South Carolina (Saint
John's) — a most delectable drink at all times, but par-
ticularly valuable in the present emergency: Fill the ves-
sel with cherries (not washed, if gathered clean.) Cover
with whisky. After several weeks pour off' all the clear
liquor and press the cherries through a sieve. Put into the
juice thus pressed out five pints of brown sugar, and boil
with syrup enough to sweeten the whole demijohn. Pour
five pints of water on the thick part ; boil and strain to
make the syrup with the sugar. "Blackberry cordial" is
made in the same way; or it can be stewed, strained,
sweetened, and whiskey added. In the above, the sugar is
to be boiled in the water which is obtained from the thick
part, as directed. ("I. S. P.")
The wood of this tree is highly valuable, being compact,
fine grained, and brilliant, and not liable to warp when
perfectly seasoned. "When chosen near the ramifications of
the trunk, it rivals mahogany in the beauty of its curls.
Farmer's Encyc.
Cerasus Carolinana, Mich. \ Wild orange ; Fl.
Brums " L. Ell. Sk. J March.
This is one of the most ornamental of our indigenous
evergreen trees ; and is planted around dwelling-houses.
172
The berries, bark, and leaves possess in a high degree the
taste characterizing the genus. It deserves an analysis.
This tree, the flowers of which are much frequented by
bees, grows abundantly on the sea-coast of our states, and
is certainly one of the most beautiful and manageable ever-
greens that we possess. It can be cut into any shape, and
is of a most attractive green color. It forms an impervious
hedge, and grows rapidly. The black, oval berries contain
an abundance of Prussic acid, as does the whole tree ; but
I do not know of any use to which it is applied. Dr-
Thompson has found great use from Prussic acid, largely
diluted, as a local application in impetigo. He used the
infusions of bayberry ; no doubt the infusions of the wild
orange would be equally useful. In the Patent Office Re-
ports, Agriculture, 1854, '55, p. 376, are papers on "Live
fences," or the planting and management of quick-set
hedges. In this the reader will find a most full and satis-
factory account of the desirable plants for hedges, both
American and European. This is not the place for a full
description of these plants and shrubs ; but I will at any
rate give a list of some of them, and refer the reader to the
article. All are of course not adapted to our climate.
The English sloe, or black thorn (Prunus sjrinosa), the haw-
thorn ( Crakegus oxyacantha), and the buckthorn (Hhamnus ca-
ihariicus) have been planted in this country with indifterent
success on account of the intense heat of our southern
sun. "The "'Washington Thorn' (C. cordata), growing in
mountains of Georgia, was also brought into notice as a
hedge plant toward the close of the last century, and was
subsequently employed for that purpose in various sections
of the Union ; but owing to improper management, and the
tendency to disarm itself of its spines after a certain age,
it has been discontinued. Similar results have attended
the adoption of other species of thorny trees and shrubs
in this country, with the exception of the 'Osage orange,'
the 'Spanish bayonet' (Yucca), and the 'Cherokee rose.'"
These are natives of this continent. See " Osage Orange."
See article for modes of management, planting, etc., of
173
hedges, with illustrations on wood. The arbor vilce (Thuja
obcidehtalis), one of our native plants, growing only in the
highest mountains, is said to be " indigenous, and to
grow abundantly on the banks of the Hudson, making the
finest ornamental hedge known to this climate." The
holly (Ilex opaca) and the hemlock spruce (Abies canadensis)
should be mentioned ; also the willow box (Buxus sempervi-
rens) ; prickly ash (Xanthoxylum fraxineuma) ; honey locust
(Gleditschia triacanthus) — all these are either natives or are
cultivated in the Confederate States. See Willow and
Osage Orange.
Amygdalus. The peach produces abundantly in the Con-
federate States. The root, leaves, and kernels are sometimes
employed in medicine, and in seasoning drinks, condiments,
etc. — being indebted for any virtues which they possess to
the hydrocyanic acid contained in them. A tea of the
leaves is a favorite domestic palliative in whooping-cough,
and in most pectoral affections. A tea made with either
the bark, leaves, or flowers, will act freely as a purge.
Dose for a child, a teaspoonful repeated every half hour till
it operates. A syrup may be made by adding honey. The.
gum of peach or pear dissolved in water acts like gum
arabic. The kernel is used in seasoning, and in making
the cordial known as ratifia; also in adding to tonics. The
leaves are used in seasoning creams in imitation of vanilla
bean. Leaves put in layers with cotton, and boiling water
poured over, will dye yellow. The cotton or thread should
first be boiled in a solution of alum. The leaves of arti-
choke (Cynara) also dye a yellow color: see uHhus." Sassa-
fras roots with copperas yield a drab. Fumigation with
tobacco smoke, syringing with tobacco water, and washing
with strong lime water are requisite for destroying aphides
whenever these exist in such swarms as to make a copious
discharge of honey dew. See "Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia,
Art. Aphis.
Drying Peaches. • Several modes of effecting this are pur-
sued. . When done in-doors, furnaces should be placed in
174
the cellar, from which the heated air may rise into the
building suitably provided with shelves, etc.
In some of the Southern states, says Mr. Kenrick, the
process is facilitated by a previous scalding. This is
effected by immersing baskets of the fruit a few minutes
in kettles of boiling water. They are afterward halved, the
stones separated, and being laid with the skins downward,
the drying is effected in the sun in three days of good
weather. They then may be stored in boxes.
In France, as we are informed, peaches aud other fruits
are thus dried whole. The peaches or other fruits, being
pared, are boiled for a few minutes in a syrup consisting of
one pound of sugar dissolved in three quarts of water, and
after being drained, by being laid singly on board-dishes,
they are placed in the oven after the bread is taken out,
and when sufficiently dry they are packed in boxes. The
following is the mode of drying practised by Mr. Thomas
Bellangee, of Egg Harbor, 'New Jersey: He has a small
house provided with a stove, and drawers in the sides of
the house lathed at their bottoms, with void intervals. The
peaches should be ripe, aud cut in two, not peeled, and laid
in a single layer on the laths, with their skins downward,
to save the juice. On shoving in the drawer, they are soon
dried by the hot air produced by the stove. In this way
great quantities may successively, in a single season, be
prepared, with a very little expense in the preparation of
the building and in fuel.
Shepardia magnoides, ~N. Buffalo-berry tree. Mo. Nutt-
all. I do not know the family of the plant.
The fruit, resembling currants of a fine scarlet color, and
growing in clusters, have a rich taste, and are considered
valuable for making into tarts and preserves. Farmer's
Encyclopaedia.
Leguminos^, or Fabace^e. (The Bean Tribe.)
The sub-orders are distinguished by nutritive, purgative,
and astringent properties.
175
Cladrastis tindoria. Raf. ( Virgilia lutea Mx.) Yellow-
wood. Hill sides Tennessee and Kentucky.
The wood is yellow, and dyes a beautiful saffron color.
Pistidia erythrina, L. Jamaica dogwood. South Florida.
Chap.
The piscidia is said to be used in America for stupefying
fish, which are taken as readily by this means as with mix
vomica. Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia.
Baptisia tindoria, Ell. Sk. Wild indigo. Grows in rich,
shaded lands ; vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St.
John's ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Barton's Med. Bot. ii, 57 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 158. Its
virtues reside in the cortical part of the root. In large
doses, it operates violently as an emetic, cathartic, and sub-
astringent antiseptic. It is said to have proved useful in
scarlatina, typhus fever, and the condition attendant upon
mortification and gangrene. Dr. Comstock found it useful
in the latter state, used both externally and internally.
Eclectic Repert. vi ; IT. S. Disp. 1231. It was employed by
Dr. C. not only in existing, but as a prophylactic in threat-
ened mortification and gangrene. Dr. Thacher speaks
highly of its efficacy as an external application to obstinate
and painful ulcers, and Eberle (Diseases of Children, p. 98)
used a decoction with advantage in the aggravated cases of
ulcerated umbilicus, so frequently met with in infants. It
may be employed topically, in the form of a cataplasm.
The young shoots may be eaten as asparagus ; but after
they assume a green color, they act as a drastic purgative.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 232. The decoction, made with one
ounce of the recent root to one pint of boiling water, is
given in doses of a tablespoonful every three or four hours.
The ointment, prepared by simmering the fresh root in
lard, is applied to ulcers and burns.
B. Imcophcea, Nutt. ") Grows in dry soils; found in
bradeata, Muhl. Cat. j Georgia also. Fl. April.
Sent to me from Abbeville district, by Mr. Reed, by whom
176
I am informed that a decoction of the leaves and branches
is considered stimulant and astringent, and was used by Dr.
Branch, of that district, with great satisfaction in all cases
of mercurial salivation.
Medicago lupulina, L. Yellow clover ; lucern; nonesuch.
Introduced. Waste places Florida, and westward.
It has been planted extensively as a clover, but is not so
valuable as other species — the M. sativa, for example. See
Wilson's Rural Cyclopsedia for long article on "Clover,"
and "Lucern."
Melilotus officinalis, Ph. Melilot; sweet clover. Com-
pletely nat. says Elliott, around Charleston.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. iii, 37. The infusion of the flowers
is emollient and anodyne, and is employed in inflammation
of the intestines, retention of urine, tympanites, etc. Am.
Herbal, 222; U. S. Disp. 1275. It is thought to be pos-
sessed of very little efficacy in medicine, but is used as a
local application, in the form of decoction or cataplasm, in
inflammatory diseases. Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 153 ; Journal
de Pharm. xxi, 152. A .principle called coumarin exists
abundantly in the flowers of the melilotus, and it possesses
an odor which is attributed to the presence of benzoic
acid. See Vogel's Anal. JSTouv. Journal de Med. viii, 270 ;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 293 ; Flore Med. iv,
229; Aublet, Voyage, ii, 454; Haller, Hist. Stirp. Helv.
362. The flowers are employed in flatulent colic, and in
rheumatism, and the decoction for fomentations. Several
species of it are used to flavor Chapziger cheese. Wilson
states that it is used in making the famous Gruyere, or
Schabzieger cheese, and is the cause of its peculiar flavor
— the flower and the seeds in a dried state being bruised
or ground, and mixed with the curd before pressing. Any
mixture of the seeds with bread corn renders the latter
very disagreeable. Melilot, Wilson adds, was long used in
making a blister plaster which bore its name, and acquired
from it a green color and a disgusting smell, and was of
exceedingly little value. Rural Cyc.
177
Trifolium pratense., L. Red clover. Vicinity of Charles-
ton ; Newbern.
Dem. Elera. cle Bot. ii, 36. All, the species contain a
mucous, nutritive principle. In Ireland, when food is
scarce, the powdered flowers are mixed with bread, and are
esteemed wholesome and nutritious. Fl. Scotica, of Light-
foot. Some are said to produce vertigo and tympanites in
cattle which feed on them.
Trifolium arvense, Linn. Rabbit-foot; field clover. —
"Grows sparingly in the upper districts." Collected in St.
John's ; Charleston district ; Newbern. Fl. April.
Wade's PI. Rariores, 56. Dickerson observes that the
dried plant is highly aromatic, and retains its odor. It has
been used in dysentery. Withering, 636; FL Scotica, 406.
Trifolium reflexum. "Wild buffalo clover. Upper dis-
tricts ; vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St. John's.
It affects very sensibly the salivary glands. In horses,
this may frequently be noticed.
Trifolium repens, L. White clover. Vicinity of Charles-
ton; collected in St. John's ; Newbern. Fl. May.
Ell. Bot. ii, 201. This also affects the salivary glands,
sometimes producing complete salivation. Fl. Scotica,
404. Its leaves are a good rustic hygrometer, as they are
always relaxed and flaccid in dry weather, but erect in
moist and rainy.
Astragalus. Milk-vetch.
There are five species of this genus within our limits. I
refer to them because the seeds of A. boeticus, planted in
Germany and England, are found to be the very best sub-
stitute for coffee yet tried, and so used — roasted, parched,
and mixed with coffee. Our species of Vicia, tare, vetch,
and Lathyrus should also be tried.
Psoralea esculenta. Edible psoralea.
The bread root, growing in Missouri, is eaten by the
12
178
inhabitants of the plain, and the Rocky mountains. Rural
Cyclopaedia.
Indigofera Caroliniana,. Walt. Grows in dry soils;
vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St. John's, Berkley ;
Newbern. M. May.
Not inferior, says Nuttall, to the cultivated indigo. It
does not, however, possess so much coloring matter. The
decoction of the leaves is said to act as an emetic when
given in large quantities; in smaller doses it is cathartic.
"F. I. S." a correspondent of the Charleston Mercury,
says: "Our country ladies gather wild indigo, and ferment
from it a blue powder equal to the commercial indigo,
which dyes a beautiful and lasting blue. A solution of
this powder in water is a speedy and certain relief for
cramp and asthma. The red sumach dyes a rich dark or
light purple, as is required."
Indigofera tinctoria. Indigo. Once cultivated in South
Carolina to a large extent ; see Indigofera anil. Collected
in St. John's, Berkley. Fl. June.
Drayton's View of South Carolina. Merat and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. iii, 601. According to Laennec, the de-
coction of the root possesses the property of action against
poison, and is useful in nephritic diseases. In Jamaica, it
is employed to destroy vermin. The leaves are alterative,
and are given in hepatic disorders. Ainslie, Mat. Med.
Ind. i, 180; ii, 33; Journal de Botanique, v, 11; Ann. de
Chim. lxviii, 284; M. and de L. Supplem. 1846, 383; Mar-
tius, Syst. Mat. Med. 126 ; Perollet, Mem. sur la culture des
indigoferes tinctoriaux, Paris, 1832; L'Herminier, Resume
des obs. faites sur plusieurs especes indigoferes de Guade-
loupe : see Jourual de Pharm. xix, 257 ; A. Saint Hiliare,
"Hist. Indigo, from the first account of it till the year
1833" (Ann. des Sci. Nat. vii, 110); Mem. on Indigo, in
the Comptes Rendus Hebdom. of Acad. Nat. Sci. 19th Dec.
1836, 445 ; Dumas' Mem. upon Indigo, its Composition,
etc., in the Journal de Chim. Med. iii, 6Q, 1837 ; D. Erd-
179
•
mann, Rech. upon Indigo (in French, also), in the 26th vol.
Journal de Pharra. 460, 1840 ; and the report upon the pro-
posed extraction of indigo from the Polygonum tinctorium,.
See Journal de Pharm. xxxvi, 274. The remains of the
indigo plantations, with the vats in which indigo was pre-
pared, are still to be seen in the lower districts of South
Carolina, bordering on the Santee river. Since the intro-
duction of cotton and rice it is cultivated, though not very
largely.
On the cultivation, preparation, etc., of indigo, Woad
(Isatis tinctoria), see Chaptal's Chemistry applied to Agri-
culture, p. 295 ; lire's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures,
and Mines, articles "•Indigo," "Calico Printing;" also,
Penny Cj'cloptedia. I must content myself simply with a
reference to the source of information. The I. anil is also
used for the production of indigo. The So. Cultivator, vol.
ii, p. 58. contains a full account of the preparation of
indigo. To avoid the deleterious effects of fermented in-
digo, Dr Roxburg, of India, states that he succeeds per-
fectly by the "scalding process." This is doubted. See
also, Southern Cultivator, p. 15, vol. 6, report of a Com-
mittee of Georgia Agricultural Association. They recom-
mend the Indigofera argentea, or wild indigo of Georgia. I
insert the following :
" The directions for preparing I obtained, many years
ago, from an old and respectable planter in South Carolina.
The manuscript which he delivered to me was from the pen
of one who had been extensively engaged in the cultivation
.and preparation of indigo for market, before the Revolu-
tion. It has never been published; and may, therefore,
impart information on a process little known by the present
generation.
"The pigment, or dyeing substance of the indigo, is
obtained from the leaves. There are several species of this
plant. The Indigofera tinctoria, or French indigo, yields
the greatest quantity, and is cultivated in India; but the
quality is inferior to the Indigofera argentea, or wild indigo.
The former is distinguished by its pinnate leaves, the
180
smaller ribs expanding from the principal rib like the
feathers of a quill, similar to the leaves of the pear and of
the lime-tree, and by a more slender, ligneous stem. It
rises, in a rich soil, and when well cultivated, to the height
of six feet.
" The seeds are sown as early in the spring as the climate
and season will warrant. In the West Indies, the planting
commences in March, in trenches about a foot asunder;
and the weed is cut down in May. In South America, six
months elapse before it can be cut. In the former, gener-
ally four cuttings are obtained of the same plant in the
course of a year ; but in the latter, never more than two,
and often only one. The cutting takes place when the
plant is in blossom, and is done with the sickle. Fresh
plantings of the seed are required yearly.
" Commence the cutting of the weed in the evening, in
time to have the steeper set before it is dark. The plants
are laid in strata, and pressed down by weights. When a
sufficient quantity of them are laid, pour in water to the
height of about four inches above them. One inch and a
half above the surface of the water bore a hole through
the side of the vat, and directly over the trough which is
to convey the liquor into the beater.. When the fermenta-
tion has commenced the liquor will rise and run over.
Let it remain until the stream has ceased, or nearly so.
This, in hot weather, will be from ten to fourteen hours
after the water has been poured upon the weed, or on the
following morning. Immediately draw off into the beater,
and commence the agitation. Continue this for about .
twenty minutes, and then let in the lime-water until you
have plenty of grain, but not very coarse. The agitation
must be carried on, and frequent use be made of the plate.
As soon as a change in the color is perceived, from a
muddy green to a purple or blue, the beating should cease.
This operation usually requires an hour. There can be no
certain rule as to the quantity of lime-water to be used, or
the length of time for continuing the agitation. If the
indigo be not sufficiently steeped, it will require more lime-
181
water, and longer beating, and vice versa. Having obtained
the fine bine tint you wish, stop the agitation, and pour in
an additional quantity of lime-water, which will cause the
grains to collect and settle in a short time. Be careful,
however, not to add so much as to give the liquor a yellow
or red tinge : it should be of a clear, but pale green. As
the sediment subsides, commence drawing off the water
through the upper plugs, and so on to each successively,
until the mud alone remains at the bottom of the vat or
beater. In the evening this should be removed into the
drainer, and by the morning following it will be well
drained and cracked, which it should be before it is taken
out. Having first pressed out the v^ater remaining in it,
work up the mud ; give it a second pressure, and work
it up again until it becomes stiff. After this, submit it to a
third pressure, for cutting. Should your indigo incline to
mould on the drying-boards, as it is apt to do in rainy or
damp weather, the mould must be wiped off; otherwise it
may turn to a gray color. Let it remain upon the drying-
boards until you plainly see the quality ; afterward it
may be put up in small barrels. In continued damp
weather, during the manipulating and drying process, put
the greenish indigo in the sun, and turn it frequently. As
soon as it begins to crack, take it in.
" Good indigo is known by its lightness, or small specific
gravity, indicating the absence of earthy impurities ; by
the mass not readily parting with its coloring matter, when
tested by drawing a streak with it over a white surface :
but above all, by the purity of the color itself. The first
quality, estimated by this last test, is called, in commercial
language, fine blue ; the next, ordinary blue, then fine purple,
etc. The most inferior is known as ordinary copper."-
The most satisfactory information can be got in the Pat-
ent Office Reports, and from Mr. Spalding, Liebig, Chaptal,
Encyclopaedia, etc., etc. Several varieties are cultivated.
The Indigofera disperma is used in Guatemala, and makes
the best and most beautiful article. The Indigofera tincioria,
formerly cultivated in South Carolina and Georgia, is the
182-
most productive, and the increase in quantit}' will make tip
the deficiency in price.
Culture and Manufacture of Indigo (signed 'Oconee'). —
" The soils best adapted to it are the rich, sandy loams,
though it grows on most lands moderately well, provided
they are not wet. The ground should be well broken, and
kept light and free from grass by the plow. The nature of
the manure used exerts a great influence upon the quantity
and quality of its coloring principle. Those substances
that act as stimulants to vegetation, such as lime, pou-
drette, ashes, etc., etc., favor the growth of the plant with-
out injuring the coloring matter. When barn-yard manure
has been largely used, a crop of grain should first be raised
on the land.
"The seed should be mixed with ashes or sand, and sown
in drills fourteen inches apart, four quarts of seed to the
acre. . In this climate (Middle Georgia), the seed should be
sown the first of April. When it first comes up it should
have the grass picked out with the hand. When an inch
or two high the' grass between the rows should be cut out
with the hoe or scraper, and the soil loosened about the
roots. Three weedings are enough before the first cutting,
which should commence as soon as the plant throws out its
bloom. It is so easily injured by the sun after being cut,
that the operation should be commenced and end in the
afternoon. After cutting with the reap-hook, it is put
under the shed until it can be put in the vats. In Georgia,
the two cuttings yielded sixty pounds of indigo to an acre,
provided the roots were not injured in the first cutting,
which at three acres to the hand would be one hundred
and eighty pounds ($180). The price varies from 30 cents
to $2.25 per pound for the best Guatemala.
"Like other plants, it has its enemies. The leaves are
frequently seen covered with yellow spots, owing to some
change in the atmosphere. It often happens that in conse-
quence of a degree of heat and drought, the plant is not
fully developed; the leaves are not more than one-third
183
their proper size, yet exhibit all the properties of a perfect
plant. If the plant is' cut in this imperfect state the crop
is lost, for the indigo is not well developed. An insect (the
ilea) often destroys the first crop of leaves. Next, a loose
destroys the plant later in the season ; this, however, is not
so bad as the first. The cutworm also commits some depre-
dations upon it.
" Manufacturing Process. — Two methods are used, the
cold and the hot. The cold is the safest ; the plant must
be in a certain state to use the hot.
" 1st. By Cold Water. — The weed is put in the vat and
covered with clear water, where it remains until the color
of the liquid becomes a light olive; this is about ten hours;
the weed must be pressed down by heavy scantling laid
upon it. Draw the liquid off into the churn or beater.
The churning must now be commenced, and kept up until
the fluid becomes lighter in its general shade, and the blue
fecula are seen in the water; which sooner begins from
small quantities of lime-water being added from time to
time during the process of beating. The quantity of lime-
water that is used should be not more than one-tenth of
the liquid that is in the vat. If the lime-water be all
thrown in at once, the lime more than saturates the car-
bonic acid, and the carbonate thus formed will be precipi-
tated, and thus injure the indigo. After the fecula shows
itself distinctly in the water, the vat is allowed to be still
for four or five hours, then the clear water is drawn off by
faucets at different heights, so as to allow the indigo to be
precipitated in the bottom.
" 2d. The Hot Process. — The weed is put in the vat,
boling water is let on so as to saturate the plant, and fully
cover it. The weed is kept down by scantling thrown
upon it. Allow the water to stand from five to fifteen min-
utes, according to the effect above mentioned. Draw it off
through a faucet and sieve into the beater; repeat until all
the coloring matter is extracted ; beat or churn as above,
omitting the lime-water; remainder of the process the
same.
184
" The precipitated indigo still requires some farther op-
erations to bring it to a state of perfection (though it can
be dried and sent to the market as it now is). It contains
particles that are imperfectly oxyclated; consequently it has
-neither the color nor properties of the best indigo. Con-
tinued beating would bring these to a proper state ; but it
would cause the particles first oxydated to imbibe an addi-
tional quantity of oxygen, by which the color is too much
deepened, and the article would be rejected in commerce as
burnt To avoid this, throw over the liquid fecula a volume
of warm water double the quantity of the fecula, stirring
it all the while ; by this means the perfect indigo will be
precipitated, the other held in suspension. This water is
drawn off, and lime added, etc., as above, by which the
green color becomes a yellow brown, and the indigo is ren-
dered insoluble and precipitated. That indigo may be
pure and brilliant, it should be twice washed — once in cold,
and once in hot water. After washing, allow the fecula to
settle, then draw off the water.
"The. last purification now is to mix the fecula with
another quantity of water, in a vat having several faucets.
While it is suspended, the earths are precipitated ; draw off
while stirring, and allow to settle. The last operation con-
sists in putting the fecula in a coarse bag of hemp or wool,
and this bag in an open basket to drain, placing weights
upon it until it becomes tightly compressed. These last
operations are not requisite if a very common article is to
be made ; but it is well to follow all the purifications. The
increase in price will cover the increase of trouble."
" Indigo Vat. — Description. — For ever}- set of ten hands
there should be what are called a set of works. These for-
merly cost about one hundred dollars or more, and were .a
vat or tank, made of plank two inches thick, well joined.
This vat is twenty feet square, stands upon posts four feet
from the ground, and is kept tight by wedges driven into
the sleepers upon which the plank rests. The vat is three
feet deep, and is called the steeper. Along-side of it is
185
another vat, twenty feet by ten, occupying the space be-
tween the bottom of the steeper and the ground, into
which the water is drawn in which the indigo is steeped
when ready to be beat, or churned, as we may say. At the
end of this last vat a small tank or cask must be placed, to
furnish lime-water in the process of beating. The liquor
is drawn from the steeper by a spigot at the bottom of the
vat along the beater. Lengthwise of this is stretched a
beam, resting on its upper ends, and revolving on journals,
and furnished with cross arms, to the ends of which are
fixed open buckets without bottoms, containing about two
gallons each. Two men, standing on this beam, with a
handspike fixed to the long beam, alternately plunge the
open buckets right and left, thus churning the liquid until
it begins to show a blue fecula, which is produced by small
quantities drawn from the lime cask."
Method successfully used by a negro (Geoffrey) on a
plantation (Mrs. J. S. P.), St. John's, Berkley, South Caro-
lina, to prepare a dye from the wild indigo :
Cut the plant, put in a barrel, and cover with water. In
about three days it commences to foam, and it is then
ready to churn; take out the leaves, and press the liquid
out *of them. It is then to be whipped up in a churn
with a stick made like a dasher. When it foams, a greased
feather applied to the surface will check the foam. In
order to test whether the process is sufficiently advanced
and the blue color extracted, it may be tested in a white
plate put in the sunlight; the thickened grounds will be
visible. About a quart of strong lye-water, or lime soaked
in water, should be first thrown in to settle it. This should
be done before it is churned. If the Coloring substance
appears to be sufficiently separated by the test mentioned
above, drain the supernatant water carefully away. The
remainder, or sediment, should be placed in a bag to drain.
This contains the indigo. This indigo may subsequently
be moulded into cakes. I have seen yarn excellently dyed
by it; also wool, which was dyed before it was carded, and
made into cloth (1862).
186
The following process of manufacturing indigo in small
quantities for family use is extracted from the Southern
Agriculturist:
Cut the indigo when the under leaves begin to dry, and
while the dew is on them in the morning ; put them in a
barrel, and fill this with rain water, and place weights on
to keep it under water ; when bubbles begin to form on the
top, and the water begins to look of a reddish color, it is
soaked enough, and must be taken out, taking care to
wring and squeeze the leaves well, so as to obtain all the
strength of the plant ; it must then be churned (which may
be done by means of a tolerably open basket, with a handle
to raise it up and down) until the liquor is quite in a foam.
To ascertain whether it is done enough, take out a spoon-
ful in a plate, and put a small quantity of very strong lye to
it. If it curdles, the indigo is churned enough, and you
must proceed to break the liquor in the barrel in the same
way, b}T putting in lye (which must be as strong as possi-
ble) by small quantities, and continuing to churn until it is
all sufficiently curdled ; care must be taken not to put in
too much lye, as that will spoil it. When it curdles freely
with the lye it must be sprinkled well over the top with
oil, which immediately causes the foam to subside, -after
which it must stand till the indigo settles to the bottom of
the barrel. This may be discovered by the appearance
of the water, which must be let off gradually by boring
holes first near the top, and afterward lower, as it continues
to settle ; when the water is all let off, and nothing remains
but the mud, take that and put it in a bag (flannel is the
best), and hang it up to drip, afterward spreading it to dry
on large dishes. Take care that none of the foam, which
is the strength of the weed, escapes ; but if it rises too
high, sprinkle oil on it.
Seven or eight species of indigo are found in the United
States, most of which are in the South. The wild indigo
(Dyers bapiisia), common in Pennsylvania and other Middle
states, yields a considerable proportion of blue coloring
matter of an inferior kind. (Flora Cestrica.)
187
Blue Dyes. — The materials employed for this purpose are
indigo, Prussian blue, logwood, bilberry ( Vaccinium myr-
tillus), elder-berries (Sambacus nigra)] mulberries, privet-
berries (Ligiistmm vulgare), and some other berries whose
juice becomes blue by the addition of a small portion of
alkali, or of the salts of copper. I shall here describe the
other, or minor blue dyes : To dye blue w.ith such berries
as the above, we boil one pound of them in water, ad-ding
one ounce of alum, of copperas, and of blue vitriol to the
decoction, or in their stead equal parts of verdigris and tar-
tar, and pass the staffs a sufficient time through the liquor.
When an iron mordant alone is employed, a steel-blue
tint is obtained; and when a tin one, a blue with a violet
cast. The privet-berries, which have been employed as
sap colors by the card-painters, may be extensively used in
the dyeing of silk. The berries of the African night-
shade (Solanmn guineense) have been of late years considera-
bly applied to silk on the continent in producing various
shades of blue, violet, red, brown, etc., but particularly
violet.
Glyceria tomerdosa. Grows in dry pine lands. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. 387. In Pondicherry,
this is given to horses in place of oats. Mem. du Museum,
vi, 326^
Tephrosia Virginiana, Ph. Turkey pea ; goat's-rue. Vi-
cinity of Charleston ; grows in dry soils. Fl. July.
Lindley's Med. Flora, 244 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 238. The
roots were used by Indians, and are now employed in pop-
ular practice as a vermifuge ; a decoction is said to act as
powerfully and as efficiently as the pink root (Spigelia).
Attention is invited to it.
Amorpha fruticosa, L. Bastard indigo. Florida, Caro-
lina, and Mississippi.
This was formerly used in Carolina as an indigo plant,
and continues to be extensively cultivated in Britain as an
ornamental shrub. Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia.
188
Robinia p'seudacacia, L. Yellow locust tree ; locust ; false
acacia. Grows in the mountains of South Carolina; vi-
cinity of Charleston; collected in lower St. John's, Berk-
ley, near Ward's plantation, Mrs. Prioleau's ; Newbern.
Fl. May.
Dem. JSlem. de Bot. The flowers are aromatic and emol-
lient. An antispasmodic syrup is prepared from them ;
and Gendrin states that when given to infants it produces
sleep, vomiting, and sometimes slight convulsive move-
ments ; he relates a case where it was swallowed by boys,
in whom acro-narcotic effects were induced. Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 101 ; Desfont, Traite des Arbres, ii,
304 ; Ann. d'Hort. ix, 168 ; Ann. Clin, de Mont, xxiv, 68.
The inner bark is fibrous, and may be spun into cordage;
the wood is of a fine, compact grain, and is used for manu-
facturing purposes. Mem. sur la Robinia, Mem. de la Soc.
d'Agricult. 1786 ; Francois, Letters on the Robinia, Paris,
1803. Griffith, in his Med. Bot. 239, says that it has not
received sufficient attention, for "every part is endowed
with some good quality." On account of its durability, the
wood is much used for treenails in ship-building ; the
leaves, prepared in the same manner as those of the indigo,
may be employed as a substitute: they afford an excellent
nourishment for cattle, either in the fresh or in the dried
state. Willich, Domestic Encyc. i, x. Grossier (Desc. de
la Chine) says that they are used by the Chinese to produce
the beautiful yellow color so remarkable in their silks. It
is prepared by roasting half a pound of the half expanded
flowers in a copper pan over a gentle fire, and stirring
them continually ; after turning yellow, water is poured
over, and it is boiled till it acquires a deep color. It is
then strained, and half an ounce of alum, and the same
quantity of shell lime are added, when the dye is fit for
use. It is possible that this author may have confounded
this plant with the R. flava. Merat says the flowers fur-
nish a palatable dish when fried. The seeds are somewhat
acrid, but afford a large quantity of oil on expression. By
infusion in water, they become perfectly mild, and contain
an excellent farina.
189
This tree, both the leaves and flowers of which are beau-
tiful, has attracted great attention in England, and its seeds
are largely imported, to be planted as a hedge and orna-
mental plant, and for various purposes. Almost a mania
prevailed upon the subject. "ISTo other tree grows more
rapidly than this, excepting some species of the willow and
the poplar." A sucker at Chiswick grew twenty feet in
one season, with a circumference of three inches. When
the tree is felled suckers spring from the trunk in great
profusion.
Large quantities are exported to Liverpool for fastening
bolts in ship-building. C. W. Johnson and others write of
it thus: "The wheelwright and the coach-builder have em-
ployed it for axle-trees of carriages ; the turner has used it
for various purposes of his art, and has been delighted with
its smooth texture, and beautifully delicate straw color;
fence-makers have used it for rail fencing, and have found it
to stand wet and dry near the ground better than any other
timber in common use, and to be as durable as cedar; land-
scape gardeners have planted it for a combination of orna-
ment and utility. * * Farmers might try it for the formation
of hedges, and were they to transplant it from the nursery
when it has a height of about four feet, they would find it
forming a hedge quite equal in compactness, strength,
economy, and manageableness, to hedges consisting of
tried and approved plants, and a hedge available as a
fence far earlier than any other, and capable of being raised
to any desirable elevation. The flowers of the acacia tree
are used in St. Domingo for making a distilled liquor, and
its roots, and leaves, and juices contain a considerable pro-
portion of sugar." Wilson's Encyc. Rural. The plants are
easily propagated by pouring boiling water over the beans
in the fall; let them remain twenty-four hours, and plant.
They grow six or seven feet the first season.
Robinia hispida; also Va. rosea. Rose acacia. Mountains
of Georgia and North Carolina. Chapman.
Wilson speaks of 'it as a " remarkably beautiful shrub."
190
Its shoots of each year, or newest and freshest twigs, carry
the flowers ; so that its old wood may be annually pruned
away to any extent which the taste of the cultivator or the
situation of the plants may require. The flowers are large,
odorless, and of a beautiful rose color. See, also, nearly
all the English and Scotch authorities.
The following highly interesting account of this tree,
and the mode of cultivating it in the United States, is
given by Dr. S. Ackerly :
" The cultivation of the locust tree on Long Island, and
in other parts of the State of N"ew York, has been attended
to with considerable profit to the agricultural interest, but
not with that earnestness which the importance of the sub-
ject demands. This may have arisen from the difficulty of
propagating it by transplanting, or not understanding how
to raise it from the seed.
^ jjs * ^c * ^ X
" The locust is a tree of quick growth, the wood of which
is hard, durable, and principally used in ship-building. To
a country situated like the United States, with an extensive
line of sea-coast, penetrated by numerous bays, and giving
rise to many great rivers, whose banks are covered with
forests of extraordinary growth, whose soil is fertile, rich,
and variegated, and whose climate is agreeably diversified
by a gradation of temperature ; to such a country, inhab-
ited by an industrious and enterprising people, commerce,
both foreign and domestic, must constitute one of the prin-
cipal employments. As long as the country possesses the
necessary timber for ship-building, and the other advanta-
ges which our situation affords, the government will con-
tinue to be formidable to all other powers. We have within
ourselves four materials necessary for the completion of
strong and durable naval structures. These are the live-oak,
locust, cedar, and pine, which can be abundantly supplied.
The former is best for the lower timbers of a ship, while
the locust and cedar form the upper-works of the frame.
The pine supplies the timber for decks, masts, and spars.
A vessel built of live-oak, locust, and cedar, will last longer
191
than if constructed of any other wood. Naval architecture
has arrived in this place, and other parts of the United
States, to as great perfection, perhaps, as in any other coun-
try on the globe. Our 'fir-built frigates' have been com-
pared with the British oak, and stood the test ; and in
sailing, nothing has equalled the fleetuess of some of our
sharp vessels. The preservation and cultivation of these
necessary articles in ship-building is a matter of serious
consideration. It might not be amiss to suggest to the
Congress of the United States to prohibit the exportation of
them. The pine forests appear almost inexhaustible, and
they will be so in all probability for many generations to
come ; but the stately cedars of Mobile, and the lofty for-
ests of Georgia, where the live-oak is of a sturdy growth,
begin to disappear before the axe of the woodsman. The
locust, a native of Virginia and Maryland, is in. such
demand for foreign and domestic consumption that it is
called for before it can attain its full growth. It has been
cultivated as far eastward as Rhode Island, but begins to
depreciate in quality in that state. Insects attack it there,
which are not so plentifully found in this state, nor its native
situations. These give the timber a worm-eaten appear-
ance, and render it less useful. The locust has been exten-
sively cultivated in the southern parts of the State of New
York, but the call for it has been so great that few trees
have attained any size before they were wanted for use.
Hence they are in great demand, and of ready sale, and no
ground can be appropriated for any kind of timber with so
much advantage as locust. Beside its application to ship-
building, it is extensively used for fencing; and for posts,
no timber will last longer, in or out of the ground. On
Long Island, where wood is scarce and fencing timber in
great demand, the locust becomes of much local impor-
tance from this circumstance alone, independent of its great
consumption in this city among ship-builders. In naval
structures it is not exclusively applied to the interior or
frame. In many places where strength is wanting, locust
timber will bear a strain which would break oak of the
192
same size. Thus an oak tiller has been known to break
near the head of the rudder in a gale of wind, which has
never happened with a locust one. Tillers for large sea
vessels are now uniformly made of locust in JSTew York.
It is the best timber also for pins or treenails (commonly
called trunnels), and preferable to the best of oak. The
tree generally grows straight, with few or no large limbs,
and the fibres of the wood are straight and parallel, which
makes it split well for making treenails, with little or no
loss of substance. These are made in considerable quanti-
ties for exportation.
" The locust tree does not bear transplanting well in this
part of our country, but this in all probability arises from
the custom of cutting off the roots when taken up for that
purpose. Most of the roots of the locust are long, cylin-
drical, and run horizontally not far under the surface. In
transplanting, so few of the roots are left to the body of
the tree removed that little or no support is given to
the top, and it consequently dies. If care was taken not
to destroy so much of the roots a much larger proportion
of those transplanted would live and thrive. So great has
been the difficulty in raising the locusf in this way that
another method of propagating it has been generally re-
sorted to. Whenever a large tree was cut down for use,
the ground for some distance around was ploughed, by
which operation the roots near the surface were broken
and forced up. From these roots suckers would shoot up,
and the ground soon become covered with a grove of young
trees. These, if protected from cattle by being fenced in,
would grow most rapidly, and the roots continuing to
extend, new shoots would arise, and in the course of a few
years a thrifty young forest of locust trees be produced.
The leaves of the locust are so agreeable to horses and
cattle that the young trees must be protected from their
approach. When growing in groves they shoot up straight
and slender, as if striving to out-top each other, to receive
the most benefit from the rays of a genial sun.
" Another difficulty has arisen in propagating the locust,
193
from inability to raise it from the seed. The seed does not
always come to perfection in this part of the State of New
York, and if it does, it will not sprout, unless prepared
before planting. The method best adapted to this purpose
was proposed by Dr. Samuel Bard ; but it is not generally
known, or if known, is not usually attended to. When
this shall be wTell understood and practised, the locust will
be easily propagated, and then, instead of raising groves of
them, the waste ground along fences, and places where the
Lombardy poplar encumbers the earth will be selected to
transplant them, as by having them separated and single
there will be an economy in using the soil, the trees will
grow much better, and the timber be stronger.
"Dr. Bard's method of preparing the seeds was to pour
boiling water on them, and let it stand and cool. The
hard, outer coat would thus be softened, and if the seed
swelled by this operation, it might be planted, and would
soon come up."
Robinia viscosa, Vent. Clammy locust. Grows among
the mountains, and in Georgia. Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 101. The young
branches afford an abundant, glossy exudation, secreted by
little superficial glands, which is dissolved by ether ; Vau-
quelin considers it a peculiar product : An. de Chim. xxvii,
223. Chevalier, however, doubts it : Diet, des Drogues,
iii, 15.
Rhyncosia tomentosa (?). Dollar-plant. Diffused in dry
pine lands.
This plant, receiving its name probably from the shape
of the leaf, is reputed, in the neighborhood of Aiken, S. C,
and elsewhere, to be a valuable agent in arresting trouble-
some diarrhoea. A tea is given several times a day. Several
cases have come to my knowledge where it was successfully
employed — no doubt on account of tannin contained in it,
as is evident from the taste.
13
194
Vicia saliva, Linn. Walter. Tare. Grows abundantly
around Charleston. Fl. June.
In England, a decoction of the seeds in water is used as
a sudorific in small-pox and measles. The seeds are a good
food for pigeons. Fl. Scotica, 396 ; Mer. and de L. Diet,
de M. Med. vi, 892.
V. faba. Garden bean. Cultivated.
Piswn sativum. Pea.
Great use is made of the varieties of the pea on the plan-
tations in this state, as articles of food for men and animals.
The species called the cow-pea is most in use ; I have
been unable to find, and do not believe that there exists
any accurate botanical description of this very valuable
plant. It seems, however, from my examination, to be
included under the genus Vicia.
Am-phicarpa monoica. Grows in rich lands. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 322. The subterranean pod is
cultivated as a vegetable.
Arachis hypogxa. Ground-nut. Brought by the negroes
from Africa. Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.; Supplem. 53, 1846.
The fruit preserves its germinative powers for forty years.
Boudich Excurs. 392. Large quantities are exported from
■Senegal on account of the oil which is expressed from
them, and which is much valued. Ermandel "On the
cultivation of the ground-nut, and its employment as a sub-
stitute for coffee," Journal de la Litter. Etrang. ix, 169 ;
Du Buc, Mem. on the use of A. hypog., and an examina-
tion of its oil (in French); see Journal de Pharm. viii, 231;
Kivoli, Lettre sur l'Arachis hypogsea, Milan, 1807 ; Don-
men, Notice sur l'Arachis, Montpellier, 1838. According
to the analysis of Pagen and Henry, it is very difficult for
the oil to become rancid. Journal de Chim. Med. i, 435 ;
Ann. de Hist. Nat. iv, 206 ; Gurnin, Mem. sur l'Arachis,
195
Biblioth. Physice Econ. i, 145 ; Tessier, Mem. sur l'Ara-
chis, Avignon. The seeds, parched and ground, can with
difficulty be distinguished from cofl'ee, as I have myself
experienced. In some portions of South Carolina it is
employed as a substitute. The okra [Hibiscus esculentus)
serves the same purpose. The ground-nut and bene make
rich and nutritious soup, and act as substitutes for meat.
They are often parched, and beaten up with sugar, and
served as a condiment or dessert. The ground-nut is culti-
vated to some extent in South Carolina, and great use is
made of it on the plantations as an article of food, and for
various domestic purposes ; it is exported with profit, but
troublesome to prepare. I am not aware of any use being
made in this state of the oil which it affords on expres-
sion. The authorities cited above will afford much valu-
able information.
The above was published in my report on Med. Botany,
S. C.j 1849. Since the war it is largely employed. The
superintendent of the Rockfish Factory in North Carolina,
writes that he has "used the pea-nut oil by the side of the
sperm, and that it works fully as well.''
Gleditschia triacanthus, L. Sweet locust; honey locust.
Diffused. As far west as Mississippi ; I have seen it in
lower and upper districts of South Carolina.
Beer is sometimes made by fermenting the sweet pods
while ffesh. The pores of the wood are very open. When
perfectly seasoned, the wood is extremely hard. It is far
inferior to the black walnut or wild cherry for cabinet-
making. Hedges of it are rendered impenetrable by its
long thorns. Michaux, in Farmer's Encyc.
Cassia Marylandiea, L. Wild senna. Grows along the
banks of rivers ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 135 ; Griffith's Med. Bot, 261.
It is said to be as safe and as certain in its operation as the
imported senna, but more apt to gripe ; this may be cor-
rected by infusing fennel seed or some other aromatic with
196
the leaves. It is prepared in large quantities by the
Shakers, and is generally collected after the seeds ripen ;
one ounce of the leaves is added to one pint of hot water,
of which the dose is one to three ounces, repeated. I
have specimens of the leaves of the officinal senna, which
is cultivated successfully by Mr. W. Lucas, of South Caro-
lina, for use on his plantation. He says that it does not
appear to degenerate.
Cassia occidentalis, L. ) Styptic weed; Florida cof-
" Carolmiana, Walt. $ fee. Common around old
buildings ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ;
Columbia. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 130 ; Marcgrave, in
his Hist, of Brazil, mentions it as a remedy in the poison
of venomous animals, and in strangury. In the Supplem.
to Merat, p. 150, 1846, properties are ascribed to it similar
to those of the C. hirsuta, which is diuretic, acting on the
lymphatic system, and employed in obstructions, debility,
dropsy caused by derangement of the digestive organs, and
as a vermifuge also ; forty grains, parched like coffee, are
used. It is useful as an application, in the form of a decoc-
tion of the leaves, in itch, erysipelatous eruptions, irrita-
tion, and inflammation of the rectum. The negroes apply
the leaves, smeared with grease, as a dressing for sores.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 262; Bouditch, Exper. 392 ; Chernoviz,
Form. 222. Once thought to be very valuable as a substi-
tute for coffee ; roots thought to be injurious to hogs.
(Jassia cham&crista, L. Golden cassia. Diffused in dry,
sandy soils ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ;
Xewbern. Fl. July.
Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. ; Shec. Flora Carol. 390; Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 129. The leaves are said to
be purgative. It grows in abundance in South Carolina,
and should be examined. It is employed in portions of the
country for the recovery of worn-out lands ; those that are
197
sandy being particularly benefited by it. See Greenway's
account of the domestic uses. Op. ant. cit.
Cassia tora, L. Diffused in cultivated soils ; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. Sept.
Supplem. to Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. 1846, 150 ;
Ainslie's Mat. Med. Ind. ii, 405. Used in India.
Cercis canadensis, L. Redbud ; Judas-tree. Swamps, vi-
cinity of Charleston ; collected in St. John's. Fl. March.
Shec. Flora Carol. 380. "The wood is of great value for
mechanical purposes, as it polishes exceedingly well, and is
admirably veined with black and green."
Schrankia angustata, T. and G. 1 Grows in pine lands.
" uncinata, Ell. Sk. j Fl. July.
The leaves of this plant possess a remarkable degree of
sensibility, or irritability, closing up immediately upon
contact with any surface. I have just repeated upon
this plant, and in a measure verified the experiments with
chloroform and sulphuric ether upon the Mimosa sensitiva,
made by Prof. Marcet, of Geneva, in illustration of the
relations existing between animal and vegetable sensi-
bility.* After trying a number of substances, including
the tinctures of opium, capsicum, and camphor, and the
solutions of tartar emetic, sulph. morphine, and hyd. potash,
without producing any impression, I ascertained that the
two anaesthetic agents alone, when placed on the main
petiole of the leaves, had, in about five minutes, their influ-
ence gradually extended to those above, causing the leaf-
lets to contract seriatim. Though sensibility to impressions
was impaired by each successive attempt, yet it was never
entirely lost. The result of my observations differed from
those of Prof. Marcet, but agreed with De Candolle in his
analogous experiments with nitric and sulph. acids in its
* Read before the Soc.de Phys. et cl'Hist, Nat., Oct. 19th. 1849. See, also, Sill,
Journal. July. 1849.
198
not disclosing any impressions transmitted downward, or at
any rate beyond the junction of the branch experimented
on with the main limb of the plant. A drop of the oil of
aniseseed placed on a leaf-stalk seemed to have the effect
of arresting the transit of any influence beyond it ; hence,
we may be led to suspect that the impression is conveyed
by organs of sensation arranged not far from the surface.
In the examination I was assisted by Dr. Rene Ravenel.
In sensitive plants, Mimosa, for example, the move-
ments of the leaves, says Mr. C. Mackensie, quoted by
Wilson, have their origin in certain enlargements situated
at the articulation of the leaflets with the petiole, and of
the petiole with the stem. If by a longitudinal section
the lower half of this swelling be removed, the petiole will
remain depressed, having lost the power of elevating itself.
If the superior half be removed, the petiole will remain
constantly elevated, having lost the power of depressing
itself. These facts prove that the motious of the petiole
depend on the alternate turgescence of the upper and lower
half of the enlargement, situated at the point of articula-
tion, and that contractility is not the principle of these
motions. The irritation of a burning lens, for example, is
felt either above or below. This interior movement M.
Dutrochet found was transmitted equally well, even though
a ring of bark has been removed; that it is transmissible
even though the bark and pith be removed, so that nothing-
remains to communicate between the two parts of the
skin except the woody fibres and vessels ; that it is trans-
missible even when the two parts communicate merely by a
shred of bark ; and that it may be transmitted even when
the communication exists by the pith only ; but that it is
not transmissible when the communication exists only by
the cortical parenchyma. «Froni these very interesting
experiments, it results that the interior movement pro-
duced by irritation is propagated by the ligneous fibres and
the vessels. The propagation is more rapid in the petioles
than in the body of the stem, the rapidity having been
computed. Absence of light during a certain time com-
199
pletely destroys the irritability of the plant. The return
of the sun's influence readily restores the plant to its irrita-
ble state. "It appears, therefore, that it is by the action of
light that the vital properties of vegetables are supported,
as it is by the action of oxygen that those of animals are
preserved ; consequently, etiolation is to the former what
asphyxia is to the latter." Rural Cyc.
Calycanthace^e. {The Carolina Allspice Tribe.)
Flowers aromatic and fragrant.
thlycanthus Floridus, Linn. Sweet shrub. Specimens
from Aiken ; I have observed it growing wild in Fairfield
district. Fl. May.
One of the most aromatic and sweet scented of our in-
digenous plants ; cultivated on this account in gardens.
Dr. Douglass, of Chester district, S. C, sends me a commu-
nication from his correspondent, Mr. McKeown, who says
he has frequently used it with satisfaction, as an antispas-
modic tonic, in the cure of chronic agues. A strong decoc-
tion of the seed or bark of the root is given. The wood is
strongly camphorated, especially the root, and Mr. Nuttall
thinks will probably produce this drug as abundantly as
the Laurus camphora. Seeds seldom mature.
MYRTACEiE. [Myrtle Tribe.)
Eugenia, Micheli. Allspice family.
Several species of this genus are found in South Florida.
See Chapman's Southern Flora. The timber of most Eu-
genias is useful and good. Like the myrtles, their bark
abounds in tannin, their soft parts contain a more volatile
oil, and the fruit of some, though rendered somewhat disa-
greeable by the aroma of the oil, are edible. Wilson's
Rural Cyc.
Saxifragace,e. {The Saxifrage Tribe.)
De Cand. considers the whole order as more or less astrin-,
gent.
200
Heuchera Americana, L. Alum-root. Grows in damp
soils; Richland, Dr. G-ibbes ; collected in St. John's;
Charleston district ; found also in Georgia ; ISTewbern.
Coxe's Am. Disp. 112 ; Lind. Nat Syst. Bot. 163 ; U. S.
Disp. 390 ; Barton's Collec. ; Mich. Flora Boreal. Ameri-
cana, i, 171. "A powerful astringent." The powder was
employed by the aborigines in wounds and cancerous
ulcers. Bart. M. Bot. ii, 159 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iii, 490. It is also administered as a substitute for
colocynth. It is used in decoction, tincture, or syrup,
wherever an astringent is required — as in diarrhoea, piles,
menorrhagia, etc., etc.
BuRSERACEiE. (Torchivood Tribe.)
Amyris Floridana, Xutt. Torchwood. South Florida.
Chapman.
Nearly all the species afford fine materials in both their
resin and their wood for fragrant incense and delightful
pastiles. Wilson's Rural Cyc. Our species should be
examined. A South American species yields a gum which
makes one of the best of known varnishes. Frankincense
is said to be got from the Pinus tceda. The Bur sera gummi-
fera, Jacq. of Florida, also yields a balsam.
Anacardiace^e. ( The Cashew Tribe.)
Trees abounding in a resinous, sometimes acrid, highly
poisonous juice, are the ordinary representatives of this
order.
Rhus toxicodendron, T. & Gray. ) Poison oak. Diffused;
" radicans of authors. J common in pine lands;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Trous. et Pid. Mat. Med. i, 524 ; Bell's Pract. Diet, 453 ;
Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 116 ; Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 603 ; Ed. and
Vav. Mat, Med, 345 ; U. S. Disp. 718 ; Ball, and Gar. Mat.
Med. 241; Royle, Mat. Med. 341; Bergii, Mat, Med. i,
248 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 78 ; Orfila, Toxi-
201
cologie Gen. i, 45; Ann. de Chim. xxxv, 186; An. Journal
de Med. Ixxx, 136 ; Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 117 ; Ell. Bot.
363; Alibert, Elems. de Therap. i, 452; Big. Am. Med.
Bot. iii, 20 ; Du Fresnoi, quoted in Ann. of Med. v, 182,
and 483; Med. and Phys. Journal, i, 308; vii, 273; and
x, 486 ; Duncan's Disp. 294 ; Bull. Plantes Yen. de
France, 146.
It produces in those who come into its vicinity an ery-
sipelatous inflammation. It is stimulant and narcotic,
employed in paralysis and herpes ; of the former disease,
seventeen cases are reported by one physician to have been
successfully treated with it. The juice which exudes on
plucking the stem makes a good indelible ink. It is dis-
solved by ether. Bigelow thinks it is composed of a resin
and an essential oil. Purging with neutral salts, the use of
opium, blood-letting, and cold applications of acetate of lead
are employed in case of poisoning from these plants. The
bruised leaves of the Collinsonia canadensis (which grows in
the Confederate States) are employed for the eruptions
caused by the emanations from the poisonous sumachs,
and the Verbena urticifolia, also found in South Carolina, is
likewise considered an antidote. Horseiield, in his Diss.,
states that he administered the infusion in consumptive
and anasarcous patients. Du Fresnoi reports cases of. her-
petic eruption cured by preparations of this plant; also
four cases of palsy. Dr. Alderson, of Hull, has given it
with o-ood effect in doses of one-half to one o-rain, three
times a day, in paralysis. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. Supplem. 1846, 627. Dr. Baudelocque employs it
with success in the chronic ophthalmia of scrofulous in-
fants, a col^-rium being made of the alcoholic tincture.
Four drachms in two ounces of water is used, afterward
augmenting the dose. Rev. Med. ISTov. 1836 ; A. How-
roarth's Hist. R. Toxicod. in Essai Med. du Docteur Al-
derson, Lond. 1793; Fontana, Traite de la vipere, ii, 169;
Alibert, M. Med. i, 450. Some have inoculated them-
selves with it without injury. Biblioth. Med. xxvi, 395.
"On cite un eas mortel par suite d'attouchement des par-
202
ties sexuelles apres avoir manie des rameaux de ce vegetal:"
Me. loe. cit. See Annal. in Journal de Chim. In employ-
ing it for ringworm Du Fresnoi increased the dose of the
extract till it amounted to eight grains a day. "Novel
effects concerning a dangerous American plant,"- by Gle-
ditch (in French); see Journal de Physic, 1782 ; Du Fresnoi,
in Actes de la Soc. de Med. de Bruxelles, i, 136 ; Wursur,
sur leE. Toxicod. ; Actes de La Soc. Econ. de Florence,
iii, 138 ; and observations by Wilhmet on the effects of this
plant, in Journal de Med. de Courv. i, 209 ; Employ. R.
Tox. in Thesis, at Montpellier ; Ann. de Clinique, vi, 343.
Heinning's case of paralysis, cured by R. rad. in Bull, des
Sc. Med. de Ferus, iv, 262. It is employed in maladies
arising from general debility, and defective innervation. A
French writer testifies to the efficacy of this plant in homoe-
opathic doses, in all cutaneous diseases. Dr. Alderson
prefers the infusion of the recent leaves ; Van Mons the
extract of the dried leaves. By analysis, it contains a very
combustible "hydrocarbonate," tannin, gallic acid, resin,
gummy substance, fecula, etc. Griffith's Med. Bot. 185 ;
and Stephenson and Churchill, iii, 167 ; Bull, des Sc. Med.
vi, 98 ; Bull de la Facult. v, 439. An acrimonious vapor,
combined with carburetted hydrogen, exhales from a grow-
ing plant of the poison oak sumach during the night, can
be collected in a jar, and is capable of inflaming and blis-
tering the skin of persons of excitable constitution who
plunge their arms into it. The yellow, milky juice turns
dark, and forms one of the best indelible inks for marking
linen, and is used by the Japanese as a varnish. Rural
Cyc. See varnish sumach (i?. vernix).
Rhus glabra, Linn. Smooth sumach. Grows in the
upper districts ; found near Columbia, and Augusta, Ga.,
in wet soils. Fl. May.
" If the bark of the root is boiled in equal parts of milk
and water, forming with flour a cataplasm, it will cure
burns without leaving a scar." The excrescences have
been preferred, as an astringent, to tannin or gallic acid.
208
'Dr. Walter employed and substituted them for galls ; their
sourness is supposed to be owing to malic acid, which is
contained in the pubescence. According to Dr. Cozzens,
also, of New York, they are astringent, and refrigerant,
furnishing with water a cooling drink, useful in inflamma-
tion and ulceration of the throat. The excrescences on the
leaves of the JR. glabra which I have gathered (1862) on
Tiger creek, Spartanburg district, are as large as persim-
mons— resemble fruit in appearance — are powerfully astrin-
gent, and contain moving bodies like seeds attached to the
inner walls, surrounded by a white, cottony substance,
probably embryo animals. These glandular excrescences
are showy. I would recommend them as a perfect substi-
tute for tannin. I have dried and powdered them. They
are a pure astringent. Dr. Fahnestock states that an infu-
sion of the inner bark of the root is employed as a gargle,
and is considered almost as a specific in the sore throat
attending mercurial salivation. An infusion of the leaves
sweetened with honey is serviceable, applied in the same
way, and for cleansing the mouth in putrid fevers. The
bark is considered a febrifuge. Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 166 ;
II. S. Disp. 598 ; Am. Journal Med. Sci. 561 ; Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 77, where its employment as a gar-
gle is alluded to ; Rev. Medicale, i, 1830, 307 ; Griffith,
Mecl. Bot. 106. The decoction of the root is used by the
Indian doctors in the treatment of gonorrhoea and gleet,
and as a wash in ulcers. In other words, it is an astrin-
gent. The bark of this, the JR. copal, and the R. typhinum,
and of the European species, acts as a mordant for red
colors, and much use is made of it in the tanning of mo-
rocco leather. A vinegar may be prepared from the berries
of this species.
I introduce the replies of several correspondents of the
Charleston Courier (1862) to inquiries concerning the
sumach.
Dr. Abner Lewis Hammond writes :
" The Rhus Glabra I consider identical with that so
extensively grown for export and manufacturing, purposes
204
in Sicily. The difference, as seen in the size of the leaves,
tree, etc., is attributable, no doubt, only to a difference in
locality, soil, and cultivation, and to no other. I have seen
it flourishing alike on the mountain slopes and in the val-
leys of Virginia; on the rich table lands and bottoms of
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois ; on the flinty ridges
and barren mineral lands of Missouri. Under cultivation
it suckers freely. Looking at its value and importance as
a manufacturing agent or material, and its easy production,
I have long wondered at its total neglect, and feel no hesi-
tancy in saying that with the same care given to its
cultivation by our people as by the Sicilians, it could he as
successfully and profitably raised in the one as the other
country, and should, under existing circumstances, be neg-
lected no longer. Hundreds and thousands of bags, at
heavy expense, are annually imported into the United
States for tanning and other purposes, yielding to the
growers (after expense) a remunerating profit. The ber-
ries, the bark of the tree and roots, have for years fur-
nished the country people here and in the West a most
substantial dyestuff" (a brilliant black), while its prepared
leaves (ground) have been as steadily used (to the full ex-
tent of the available quantity) in the preparation of
morocco."
A correspondent ("E") writes from Graham's Turnout,
South Carolina :
" Your article, and a subsequent communication lead
me to believe there is more importance in the sumach than
I ever attached to it. When a small boy I recollect to
have gathered bushels of the berry on the mountains in
this state for the purpose of having the wool dyed black
for the woof of our home-made jeans. I have learned
something from your correspondent, and will try its use in
shoemakers' wax (as he stated.) There can be any quan-
tity gathered in this section almost without any charge.
" Should any one wish to try dyeing wool, they will find
it one of the handsomest black dyes known to. me."
205
Dr. Vm. Jeuson, of Charleston, writes :
"Sumach — Rhus Glabra — figured also as Rhus Virgini-
cum, better known as smooth sumach, and variously called
Pennsylvania sumach, upland sumach, is a native of most
parts of the continent of North America. Grows in
dry, uncultivated places, flowering early in July, and suc-
ceeded by dense clusters of crimson berries, which, when
mature (about early autumn), are covered with a whitish
and very acid efflorescence (often used to make vinegar in
country localities.) The bark and leaves are astringent, and
said to be used in tanning leather and in dyeing. Excres-
cences are produced under the leaves resembling galls in
character. These have been used by Dr. Walter, of New
York, who thought them in every respect preferable to im-
ported galls. The only officinal part is the berries, which
are used as a refrigerant and febrifuge, though Dr. Fahne-
stock speaks highly of an infusion made from the inner
rind or bark of the root, for a wash and gargle in the sore
mouth attending inordinate mercurial salivation. The
writer's own experience has been to use the berries in im-
pure water, or when that was not to be obtained, to put
them into the mouth to allay the thirst attendant upon
riding through the hot, unsheltered, and frequently water-
less prairies of the far West. He also knows that a syrup
made with the berries is successfully used in the fall fluxes,
while a drink made with them is a favorite remedy in
many localities in febrile attacks. In the sickly year of
1853 the writer used them (the berries) constantly, although
frequently changing his atmosphere from the free, open
prairie to the confined pestilential air of a city with yellow
fever ravaging in it, and without experiencing the slightest
indisposition."
James Peckham, of Columbia, South Carolina, adds :
"I have often wondered that no. one here has engaged
in its cultivation, or rather in gathering and preparing it
for market, as it grows all over the country."
The following was communicated by Mr. C. H. Woodin,
of Charleston :
206
" I notice in the Courier an inquiry in regard to the use
of the sumach, which grows so abundantly in the lower
portions of our state. Your correspondent informs us
that it is very beneficial in making shoewax, consequently
it was called shoemach. But the sumach is not only used
for making wax, but it is extensively used in the New
England and Northern states for tanning purposes."
"The sumach leaf is invaluable in tanning fine hog
skins and skirting, and it is shipped in great quantities
from South America to all the principal tanneries in the
North.
" The process is this : It is well known to every tanner
that the most important thing in making good leather is to
have it properly colored, and that it is not crisped or
parched on the grain in the "handlers."
" The shoemac leaf is put into a vat which is intended
for a "handler," and then the vat is filled with clean, fresh
water, and when it has stood until the strength is entirely
out of the leaf, the skin or stock is' taken from the " bait,"
rinsed in the "pool," and then placed in the "handler."
The stock is then turned or handled as in other processes,
until "the grain is properly colored. It is then taken
through the regular process of tanning, and when it is
scoured it is perfectly white. The stock should be tanned
with white oak, or some other kind of mild bark.
"The advantage of the sumach is this: That the stock
comes out fair and good, while in other processes the grain
has to be made white by acids, which injures the stock very
much. Tanners intending to make fair leather would do
well to make a note of this information."
See "Sweet Gum" (Liquidambar) for my examination of
this, the sumach, and other leaves, as substitutes for oak
bark.
Rhus vernix, L. Ell. Sk. | Poison sumach ; swamp su-
" venenata, J). C. jmach; poison elder. Grows in
the upper districts, and in Georgia; collected in St. John's;
vicinity of Charleston. Fl. June.
207
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 82; Lindley, Phil. ,
Trans, vi, Abridg. 507 ; Sherard, do. 508 ; Kalm's Travels,
i, 77; Marshall's Abstract, 130; Cutler, Am. Acad. 427;
Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 86; Bart. Coll. 24; Thacher's Disp.
321 ; see Big. R. vernix, Nouv. Journal de Med. xv, 43 ; U.
S. Disp. 718. This also gives out a poisonous exhalation ;
some are even affected by the atmosphere around it. It is
thought to be identical with one in Japan, which furnishes
a tine varnish much used in that country. Dr. Bigelow
ascertained that the juice, which flows in large quantities
from our tree when wounded in the spring, affords a bril-
liant, glossy, black varnish. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. Supplem. 1846, 628. See Thunberg's Voyage, vi, 15,
for a notice of the oil extracted from the seeds. Lind. Nat.
Syst. 168 ; Linn. Veg. M. Med. 56. It is styptic and astrin-
gent, and the resin is used as an ointment in piles. Bige-
low, in his examination of the juice, referred to above,
believes that it consists of a resin and an essential oil. He
first boiled it till the volatile oil had escaped ; the remain-
der, being reduced almost to the state of a resin, was
applied warm as a varnish. Dr. Pierson reports an inter-
esting case of poisoning from this plant ; and it is said that
some individuals have been injuriously affected by the
fumes from the wood of this and the Rhus radicans, acciden-
tally burnt on the fire. A swarm of bees was poisoned
by alighting on one of these trees. New York Medical
Repos.
Rhus copallina, Linn. Walt. Wing-rib mountain sumach.
Diffused. Vicinity of Charleston ; Florida and Mississippi,
and northward ; collected in St. John's ; Newbern. Fl.
July.
Ell. Bot. 302 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 136. A wash is
applied to ringworms. The root is used by the Chippeway
Indians as an antivenereal. The excrescences on the leaves
are powdered and made into an ointment as an application
to hemorrhoids. Griffith, Med. Bot. It does not afford
copal. The leaves were mixed with tobacco, and used by
208
the Indians for smoking. The sumach is said to form an
ingredient in the manufacture of "Killickinick" tobacco.
The berries are quite sour, and afford, with water, a cooling
drink.
Wilson asserts in the Rural Cvc. that the JR. copallina
does contain copal. "The resin from this shrub exists in
smooth, brittle, translucent, roundish, small masses; has
little taste, and scarcely any odor; is fusible by heat, inflam-
mable by ignition, insoluble in water, very sparingly solu-
ble in alcohol, and fully soluble in sulphuric ether and
some essential oils. It is the characteristic ingredient of
the well known copal varnish, an article requiring operose
and careful manufacture, but distinguished for the brilliancy,
durability, hardness, and resistance of its exquisite polish."
Consult " Liquidambar" for detail of experiments. By my
experiments the leaves of the Rhus contain more tannin
than either the sweet gum, myrtle, or any of the fifteen or
twenty that I examined by reagents. I am also convinced
that the excrescences abundant on the Rhus glabra (or
smooth sumach) would furnish an excellent material for the
supply of tannin. Upon drying, and examining them, I
find the tannin in a highly concentrated state. They would
be suitably used wherever an astringent is required in med-
icine, and should be added with the leaves to the tan-vat.
See article " Quercus tincto?ia" in this volume, for trees
furnishing tannin and gallic acid.
Rhus pumila, Mich. Ph. Upper districts; Newbern. Fl.
August.
U. S. Disp. 719 ; Mx. Flora Americana. According to
Pursh, it is the most poisonous of the species.
Rhus typhina, Walt. Flora Carol. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 82 ; see Analysis,
in Journal de Chim. Med. iv, 511. Lassaigne says that
this contains malic acid. The incised bark yields resin. It
is employed in preparing morocco leather. See R. ver-
nix, etc.
209
Rhus coriaria. This species of sumach is exotic, and is
the principal plant cultivated in Sicily for export. I insert
the following, in case it shall be found expedient to "ex-
ploit" or plant our wild sumachs which are found so
abundantly in rank meadows; particularly abundant, I have
observed, in the Dismal Swamp, Va. I think it is suffi-
ciently abundant there to supply almost any amount for the
purposes of the tanner or dyer :
"In the best sumach one hundred grains of the leaf should
give thirty to thirty-five grains of pure tannin. The proper
adaptation of the land can be ascertained by testing the
leaves with sulphuric ether. ' Use as much sulphuric ether
as will dissolve the sumach, or pass it through the sumach
till it runs clear, then draw off the ether by heat, and the
deposit will be pure tannin.' A rough test for tannin is
prepared with a solution of sulphate of iron, or may depend
upon its coagulation of albumen.
"The sumach is thus cultivated near Palermo: The soil is
prepared as for potatoes, with furrows from two to two and
a half feet apart, in which in January or February are
placed the young suckers two and a half feet apart. In
August of the first year the leaves on the lower part of the
branches are drawn off with the thumb and finger, leaving
a tuft on the top. In October the whole head is taken off,
or sometimes broken, and left hanging by the bark till dry.
The second year, in June, the branches are stripped of
ripe leaves; and in August, as soon as the wdiole plant is
mature, it is cut with a sickle dowm to six inches. It
is then spread out, and dried thoroughly on each side till
entirely cured. The June gathering is omitted in many
cases when the plants are not strong. After being dried
the branches are put upon a floor and thrashed, when the
leaves will separate from the wood, which is of no value
except for fuel. The leaves are then ground between two
millstones, one of which is on edge, and revolving around
a centre. We visited a mill driven by steam-power, which
threw out the powdered sumach in large quantities. The
air was filled with fine particles of dust, which covered our
14
210
clothing, and entered the lungs. It is not injurious, how-
ever, for although it seemed suffocating, the workmen
will sleep three or four hours successively in it, and are
always remarkably healthy. They were particularly ex-
empt from cholera. The leaves are readily reduced to
powder while the stems are not. These last are then sep-
arated by sifting, and the pure sumach is placed in bags of
one hundred and sixty-three pounds for shipment. Two
thousand pounds of ground sumach to an acre is considered
a good crop." .
This corroborates my own suggestion regarding the
employment of leaves for the supply of tannin. See article
Tannin, and Sweet Gum (Liquidambar), for my comparative
experiments upon the leaves of gum, myrtle, etc., for tan-
nin. Both these trees grow abundantly everywhere, and
will easily supply a large amount of tannin, to be used as I
suggest — in place of oak bark.
Most of the plants containing tannin will furnish a black
dye, with iron. "The basis of black dyes for all organic
fibres is the tannogallate of iron ; but the modes of appli-
cation vary with the nature of the fabric, whether silk,
wool, or cotton. The finest blacks are obtained by a com-
bination of colors ; thus, a rich black is imparted to wool
by grounding it with a deep, indigo blue, then passing it
through logwood, galls, or sumach, and finally through a
bath of these, with copperas and verdigris, or immediately
through the latter." *Wilson[s Rural Cyc. See, also, lire's
Diet, of Arts, article " Calico Dyeing." Any of our plants
containing either tannin or coloring principles can be used
as dyes, with alum or iron.
There is a paper by John M. Marston on the cultivation
of the sumach in Sicily, in Patent Office Reports, 1851, p.
60. I believe that the great abundance of sumach in the
Dismal Swamp, Virginia, would supply for a long time all
we would require — besides, it grows abundantly in our
savannas, and among myrtles throughout the country.
Mr. Marston thinks that the superiority of the Sicilian
sumach lies in the mode of cultivating it — "all the leaves
211
are the production of the young sprouts that spring up from
the stump every year." The middle Southern states he
thinks adapted to its growth. " The export of sumach to
the United States last year was 65,000 bags."
I quote as follows from the letter:
" Sumach is an article of commerce to the Sicilians of
great importance, as it is also with the Americans. And,
it is my opinion that this article, so valuable for manu-
facturing purposes, for tanning, etc., can be produced in
the United States in sufficient quantity to supply the world,
if the mode of its culture be understood, and proper atten-
tion be paid to it.
" I have no idea that it is the same kind that grows in
the United States, which there runs to the size of trees.
In Sicily they plant the roots or small plants from two to
three feet apart ; rows about four, so that the plough or
harrow can save the hand labor of the hoe. They hoe it
two or three times . before the rains finish in May, and
gather it in July and August. The leaves are the only
parts made use of. After being separated from the twigs
by thrashing (or, in this country, both ways — by thrashing
and treading off with oxen and horses), the leaves are then
ground to the state of fineness in which you see it in the
United States, being passed through sieves or bolting-cloths
of sufficient fineness, and put into bags of one hundred and
sixty pounds each. The proper season for planting the
roots or plants is in November, December, and January.
When the season is rainy, the plants take root better. The
root or stump is cut off from four to six inches above
ground. The scions or sprouts spring up four to six out of
each root; and when at maturity, which in this island is
in July or August, they are all cut off at the stumps, and
laid in small handfuls to dry, say for a day or two. Do
,not spread them out much, as the sun will turn the leaves
yellow, and great care must be taken that no rain falls on
them. Perhaps, in this country, it may answer to plant
nearer together than would be advisable in America, on
account of the greater heat of the sun here, and thus shade
212
the ground better. The leaves are ground in mills mostly
by horse-power ; but water or steam-power would be much
cheaper and better. The perpendicular running stones
weigh nearly three thousand pounds ; they run double or
single round an upright shaft. The nether or foundation
stone is heavier, and one-third greater in diameter than the
running stones. The grinding surface of these latter is
slightly rough, being occasionally touched with the pick or
cold-chisel. Hard granite stones answer ; here they use a
volcanic stone, which is as hard as marble. There follows
round the running stones a little piece of wood that keeps
the leaves always under the stones. When ground fine
enough, it is sifted or bolted in a large, tight room, with,
a door to enter and fill the bags. In Sicily the article is
more or less adulterated with spurious stuff, such as other
kinds of leaves, and an article called bucea, which resem-
bles the juniper bush of New England ; this has no value
in itself. I believe the first year they do not cut off the
sprouts. In the second and following years a curious freak
of nature produces a single plant a foot or so distant from
the , original root ; and this little plant it is which they
usually make use of to transplant. Now, the plough or
harrow would prevent these from growing, as they would
be in the track, and this may be the reason why they hoe
it. Still, I think the plough or harrow must be used in
our country, and some way or other contrived to save these
little plants if wanted."
Vitace^. (Vine Tribe.)
Vitis bipinnata, T. and G. (Ampelopsis, Mx.) Margins of
swamps, Florida, and northward ; abundant, bearing black
berries in bunches.
Attracted by the sweetish taste and the purplish black
hue of the berries of this plant, which is closely related to
the grape, I succeeded (1862) in extracting a beautiful
dark purple by the following process: The berries were
mashed in a mortar, vinegar was added, with a small quan-
tity of powdered alum. The mixture was then boiled, and
213
the yarn, or other material, previously wrung out of water,
put in while hot. The color of articles dyed is said to be
fixed more firmly by subsequently dipping them when
thoroughly dried in boiling salt and water.
Vitis, Grape.
My friend, the late Major John Leconte, in a paper on
the "American Grape Vines of the Atlantic States," has
given the conclusions of an experienced botanist in regard
to the wild species. His change of residence North and
South gave him a good opportunity to study the various
species. He is of the opinion that a grape adapted to the
production of wine in the Confederate States would be ill
adapted to the Northern states, which are colder, and less
humid, and dry. " Thus, the Scuppernong grape can never
perfectly ripen north of Virginia, and the fox grapes of the
North will scarcely grow in the lower parts of Carolina and
Georgia; the Isabella, or Catawba varieties of this last,
which were originally brought from the upper regions of
South Carolina, do not flourish in the low country, and will
scarcely live in lower Georgia." To remedy the want of
the sweet principle in a grape, nothing more is necessary
than to boil down the must, before fermentation, until it is
considerably reduced.
Major Leconte considers it quite possible to make wine
that will keep without alcohol ; also, that our American
grapes do not require the pruning adopted in Europe.
See Patent Office Reports, 228, 1857, for a critical account
of the species of grape growing in the Atlantic states,
and Chapman's Flora of the Southern United States, under
genus "Vitis," for grapes exclusively Southern. "Bland's
Grape," V. palmata, so highly praised by Major Leconte,
as being equal to any variety of the European grape, which
he says grows in the mountains of North Carolina, is not
included by Chapman as a native. It is the V. Virginiana
of Poiret.
A -writer recommends the use of natural caves as wine
cellars. Drs. Gall and Petiol's "Method of wine making,
214
according to the modern principles adopted in Germany
and France," is published in Patent Office Reports, 1859,
p. 95. The same volume also describes the construction of
cellars and vats, etc. Gov. Hammond, of S. C, has had a
large cellar built for wines, sugar cane juice, etc. These
seem to me essential.
A correspondent says that foreign grapes must be laid in
straw during the winter.
H. W. Ravenel, also of Aiken, S. C, who has been in-
vestigating the native grape with his known ability as a
botanist, in a paper4 published in Patent Office Reports,
1857, gives an enumeration of our four American species
of grapes so far studied. Under these, viz : V. labrusca, L.,
fox grape, V. cestivalis, Mx., summer grape, V. cordifolia,
Mx., winter or frost grape, Vulpina, L., bull grape, or Bui-
lace, he classes the varieties which have proceeded from
them. The V. rupcstris of Scheele is found in Texas.
Mr. Ravenel makes a statement which is instructive:
"All the species of American grapes are dioecia polygamous;
that is, some of the vines bear staminate or barren flowers
only, and are forever sterile ; others bear perfect flowers.*
and are fruitful. All the species of the Eastern hemisphere
are hermaphrodite ; that is, every vine bears perfect flowers,
containing stamens and pistils in the same corolla, and are
fruitful. In the absence of other evidence, this fact would
be conclusive of the parentage of an unknown seedling,
whether it be of exotic or indigenous origin." The varie-
ties of foreign grapes are referred to a single species, V.
vinifera, L.
Professor C. T. Jackson, in a communication in Patent
Office Reports, p. 42, 1859, remarks, in reference to the pre-
servative power of sugar in making wine, as follows :
"We must find out the proportion of saccharine or alco-
hol-producing matter in the American grapes, for if they
will not produce alcohol in sufficient proportions to keep
the wine from souring, we should have to add saccharine
matter in some form to make a sound wine." In many
portions of the country, it is found necessary to add sugar
215
to wine. Jacksou says that those grapes "which contain
less than 15 per cent, of saccharine matter will require
sugar or alcoholic spirit to be added to them, in order -to
make a wine that will keep." See, also, notice of Prof.
Wm. Hume's paper, further on, and Patent Office Reports,
1859, p. 59, for proportions of acids and sugar in American
grapes, cultivation and preparing wine, gathering grapes,
apparatus, and making of wine in detail, p. 55, et seq.
See a paper with full description and mode of cultivation
of wine, with manufacture of wine near Cincinnati, in
Patent Office Reports, 1848, pp. 6-14. The value and
amount of yield per acre is also given in this paper. I
will extract a portion of it :
Selecting and preparing the ground. — A hill-side with a
southern aspect is preferred. If the declivity is gentle, it
can be drained by sodded, concave avenues ; but if too
steep for that, it must be benched or terraced, which is
more expensive. In the autumn or winter, dig or trench
the ground with the spade all over two feet deep, turning
the surface under. The ground will be mellowed by the
frosts of winter.
Planting. — Lay off the ground in rows three by six feet ;
put down a stick, twelve or- fifteen inches long, where each
vine is to grow. The avenues should be ten feet wide, di-
viding the vinej-ard into squares of one hundred and twenty
feet. Plant at each stick two cuttings, separated six or
eight inches at the bottom of the hole, but joined at the
top. Throw a spadeful of rich, vegetable mould into each,
hole, and let the top eye of the cutting be even with the
surface of the ground, and if the matter is dry, cover with,
half an inch of light earth. The cuttings should be pre-
pared for planting by burying them in the earth imme-
diately after pruned from the vines in the spring. By the
latter end of March, or early in April, ^which is the right
time for planting, the buds will be swelled so as to make^
them strike root with great certainty. Cut off close to the:
joint at the lower bud, and about an inch in all above
the upper.
216
Pruning. — The first year after planting cut the vine d©wn
to a single eye (some leave two), the second leave two or
three, and the third three or four. After the first year, a
stake, six and a half or seven feet long, must be driven
firmly down by each plant, to which the vines must be kept
neatly tied with willow or straw as they grow. Late in
February, or early in March, is the right time for spring
pruning in this climate. Summer pruning consists in
breaking off the lateral sprouts and shoots so as to leave
two strong and thrifty canes or vines — one of which is to
bear fruit the ensuing season, the other to be cut down in
spring pruning to a spur to produce new shoots. These
may be let run to the top of the stakes, and trained from
one to the other, until the wood is matured, say in August
or September, when the green ends may be broken off.
One of these vines is selected next spring for bearing fruit,
and' cut down from four to six joints, and bent over and
fastened to the stake in the form of a bow. The other is
cut away, as well as the fruit-bearing wood of the last year,
leaving spurs to throw out new wood for the next, and thus
keeping the vine down to within one and a half to two feet
of the ground. Hip off the ends of the fruit-bearing
branches two or three joints be}7ond the branches of
grapes, but do not take oft' any leaves. If both the cut-
tings grow, take one up, or cut it off under ground, as but
one vine should be left to each stake.
Culture. — The vineyard must be kept perfectly clean from
weeds and grass, and hoed under two or three times during
the season. Keep the grass in the avenues around down
close. About every third year put in manure by a trench
the width of a spade, and three or four inches deep, just
above and near each row ; fill in with two or three inches
of manure, and cover, it up with earth.
Wine making. — Grather the grapes when very ripe ; pick
off the unsound and unripe berries. The bunches are then
washed in a wrashing-tub, or passed through a small mill,
breaking the skin, but not the seed, and thrown into the
press, and the screw applied until the skins and seeds are
pressed dry.
217
Fermentation. — This process is very simple. The juice is
put into clean casks in a cool cellar, and the casks filled
within about four or five inches of the bung, and the bung
put on loosely. The gas escapes, but the wine does not
run over. In two to four weeks, generally, the fermenta-
tion ceases, and the wine clears; then fill up the casks, and
tighten the bungs. In February or March rack off into
clean casks. In the spring a moderate fermentation will
again take place ; after that the wine fines itself, and is
ready for bottling or barrelling. Use no brandy or sugar
if the grapes are sound and well ripened. Keep bunged or
corked tight, and in a cool cellar, and the wine will im-
prove by age for many years. A paper on "North Carolina
Grapes," p. 48, may be consulted in Patent Office Report
on Agriculture, 1851. It gives an account of wine made
from the wild fox grape, and others, and discusses some of
the native varieties. Johnston's Chemistry of Common
Life, vol. 2, Chaptal's Chemistry, in its relations with Agri-
culture, chapter on "Fermentation," Ure's Dictionary of
Arts, article Wine, "Fermentation," etc., may be consulted
for information as to the processes of wine making. See
DeBow's Review, and DeBow's "Industrial Resources of
the South and "West," in three volumes, for articles on cul-
tivation of grape, and wine making at the South ; also,
Patent Office Reports, 1859, p. 72, for a very full and
detailed account of cultivation of grape, manufacture of
wine, construction of vats and cellars, by Dr. Weber,
of Washington. I regret that I cannot condense this
article.
In Missouri and Ohio it is found that the Catawba grape,
a native of the Atlantic sea-coast, is liable to rot, and to be
affected by mildew. A writer in Patent Office Reports,
.1854, p. 453, recommends several hardier varieties, viz:
The Halifax (wine mild and spicy), Norton's Virginia seed-
ling (wine fiery and aromatic), the Roekhouse Indian, which
is said to produce a wine not inferior to the best Burgundy.
The writer gives some directions about the culture, and
adds: "In the place of putting the 'bung loosely' on your
218
casks during fermentation, put on the bung-hole first a
grape leaf, and upon that a small bag filled with fine and
not quite dry sand. In good cellars, and large casks your
wine will, and must not clear in less than six or eight
weeks. Rack off in March, then again in midsummer, and
again just before the time of the next harvest. Before
every racking, have your cask well sulphurated. Then
your juice is real wine and may be bottled; it will keep as
long as you please, and improve considerably for a series
of years." I introduce the above, as it seems to contain
some practical directions.
The "rot" in grapes is caused by an excess of moisture
about the roots, and moist and damp weather. Vineyards
located upon "still, cold, clayey subsoils, which unavoidably
retain the excess of moisture and produce injurious effects,
can be obviated by thorough draining, or by selecting soil
which is warmer, lighter, and richer in the ingredient most
favorable to the vine."
The "mildew" is often a most serious cause of disease in
grapes, extending over entire sections of country, as almost
to discourage the cultivation. It is considered to be a para-
sitic fungus. See a paper on this subject in Patent Office
Reports, 1854, p. 311, by J. F. Allen, of Mass. In the New
England states the presence or absence of this fungus
depends upon the condition of the weather, and the
progress in maturity of the vine in August and July.
There the fungus appears during foggy weather, resem-
bling a white mould. In Reports for 1853, p. 311, an
engraved illustration is given of this mildew fungus.
"When a grape becomes affected by it, the fruit will either
dry or crack open, unless checked or destroyed before it
makes much progress. The so called disease is a living
plant, most rapid in its growth, and wonderful in its powers
of reproduction and multiplication. When a vine has once
been infected by it, the seeds or sporules in countless mil-
lions lie waiting a favorable atmospheric change to spring
into life ; and when this does occur, so rapid is their
growth that in one day the under side of the leaf will be
219
almost covered." The plan of dusting the leaves with sul-
phur is impracticable. The writer says he has found a
wash quite effectual in destroying this fungus, and it can
be applied on a large scale with the garden engine ; on a
smaller, by the syringe or the nose of a watering-pot.
"To prepare this wash, take one peck of lime, not slaked,
and one pound of sulphur; put them together in a barrel,
and pour hot water over them sufficient to slake the lime;
pour on this three gallons of soft water, and stir the mix-
ture well together. In twenty-four hours it will have set-
tled and become perfectly clear. This should be drawn off
as clear as possible. Half a pint of this mixture added to
three gallons of water will be sufficiently strong, and may
be applied over the fruit when mildew first appears. It
can be repeated every few days, if occasion requires.- The
first application I have found would kill the most of it; a
second and third are all that I have ever found neces-
sary for the season. The fruit and foliage have ripened
fully on the European varieties. The American or native
varieties are less subject to the attacks of this fungus than
the European. There is also a difference in these, the
Catawba and Isabella being more attacked than some other
kinds. That this mildew or fungus requires a peculiar con-
dition of the atmosphere to allow of its vegetating is a
hopeful fact for the people of the European grape-growing
regions. A series of seasons unpropitious to its growth
may destroy millions of sporules or seed vessels deposited
upon their vineyards."
I have seen grapes attacked with a disease, an apparent
blackening or rot of the internal portion of the fruit, which
had never been attacked until the arbor was covered over,
and thus the requisite amount of light was diminished. In
this case they become diseased from too much shade and
moisture, and the remedy is plain.
Wilson in his Rural Cyc. furnishes from several sources
recipes in his article on "Wine" for making "Wine from
the leaves, tender shoots, and tendrils of the vine; if judiciously
prepared, it is so excellent that Mr. MacCulloch compared
220
it to 'white hermitage. ' ' See, also, MacCulloch's Treatise
on Wine making. Excellent wine is also prepared from
the unripe berries, he. tit, where the method is given.
It is as follows: the claret vine leaves, as he observes, will
produce a red color, and this tree could be cultivated for
the express purpose. Having repeatedly prepared red and
white leaf wine, we can with the greater confidence offer a
few abbreviated extracts from Mr. MacCulloch's book, pre-
viously observing that the specific gravity of the liquor
must here also be taken as the criterion of strength; the
proportions are calculated for ten gallons of wine. The
leaves should not have attained their full growth, and must
be plucked with their stems. On forty or fifty pounds of
such leaves, seven or eight gallons of boiling water are
poured, in which they are to infuse for twenty-four hours;
the liquor being then strained off, the leaves are to be
forcibly pressed. A gallon more water is to be added, and
the leaves again are to be pressed. A screw wTine-press
with hair bags, is very useful in the process. Sugar, vary-
ing from twenty-five pounds to thirty pounds, is then to be
added to the mixed liquors; the quantity is to be made up
to ten gallons and a half. Such are the essentials of Mr.
MacCulloch's directions. We need only add, continues the
editor, that if a fermenting, lively wine be contemplated, the
manufacture must be conducted as in the process for Cham-
pagne, and the smaller of the two proportions of the leaves,
etc., is to be employed. The specific gravity of the must
should be 1.110 to 1.115. The fermentation must be car-
ried on for a short time in the open vessel, or till the gravity
be reduced to 1.090 ; and the barrel will require to be filled,
and be kept full, in order to carry off the froth and leaven
that rise to the top of the liquor. But we apprehend that
grape leaves are better qualified to produce a dry wine, and
therefore the larger proportion of leaves, etc., should be
employed, and sugar to the extent that will raise the
gravity to 1.120. In this case the fermentation must be
conducted in the manner already stated for the production
of a dry wine from green grapes ; and when perfected, and
221
the wine becomes bright, it is to be fined and racked oft'
during clear and cold weather, then returned to a clean
and sweet cask, and bunged close. A second fining and
racking may be required. Grape wine made from the
green berries, we have found delicious in flavor, and quite
fit for the table in two years or less. But the liquor
obtained from the leaves contains a quantity of vegetable
extract which conveys a flavor that time alone can sub-
due ; hence, we recommend, the author adds, that it b^
always retained two years in the cask, and be bottled in
the second winter. It ought, also, to remain during one
entire year in the bottles. Wilson's Rural Cyc, art.
"Wine."
The following brief statement of the mode of making
wine, by J. S. Reid, of Fayette county, Ind., appears so
simple, that I quote it here. (See P. 0. Rep. 1855, p. 308):
"The mode adopted by me of making wine is as fol-
lows : From the 1st to the 15th of October, I continue
pulling the grapes, always selecting the ripest ones first, and
after mashing them in a tub made for the purpose, subject
them to a small press made in the form of a cider-press.
The barrels into which the juice is put are well washed
with cold water, dried, and fumigated with sulphur before
the must is put into them. I then place over the bung-hole
a piece of tin or sheet-iron perforated with small holes.
The must is then allowed to ferment slowly for about
three we*eks, until the scum caused by the fermentation
apparently ceases. The barrels are then filled, and bunged
tight until spring, when I rack the wine off" into clear
casks, washed out with cold water and juniper berries, and
fumigated with sulphur as before, to destroy any bad
flavor. It is then ready for market ; but during this time
the casks require to be frequently examined, and filled up,
keeping them always full to the bung." The reader can
find in the Patent Office Reports of 1855, p. 304, a brief
statement by D. Ponce, of Hancock county, Ga., of the
method of making Champagne wine in France.
Dr. Wm. Hume, Professor in the State Military Acad-
222
emy of South Carolina, read a paper before the South
Carolina Medical Association, on the "Manufacture of
Wines in the South," which has been published in De-
Bow's Review, March and April, 1862. It is a well writ-
ten article, giving the results of experiments, containing
an exposition of a plan to obviate the disabilities of climate
opposed to the manufacture of wine in South Carolina.
In brief, Prof. Hume advises that the two qualities of
sweetness and acidity in wines (which vary in different
varieties and at different seasons) should be ascertained
and considered b}^ the wine maker. The latest date com-
patible with the full and perfect maturation of the grape
should be selected for gathering, so that they should be as
little acid and contain as much sugar as possible.
Cellars should be constructed in order to prevent acidity
during fermentation, and if necessary alcohol, brandy, or
whiskey should be added, to preserve the preparation from
turning sour, and also to procure different varieties of wine.
I would refer the reader to the articles for an agreeable
and forcible exposition of the author's views. He rejects
the idea that it is useless or improper to modify the juice
of the grape by alcohol under its various forms. Many
wines are to a certain extent factitious, but not adulterated.
The writer says: "I have clearly shown that the purely
manufactured wines of Aiken are either too acid or too
weak in spirit — that these defects proceed from immaturity
of the grape, and from the high temperature of the must
during fermentation. The high temperature induces two
evils which are injurious to wine, viz: the loss of alcohol
by its conversion into acetic acid, and its loss, by more
rapid evaporation during the exposure of fermentation."
Cool cellars' are certainly one obvious desideratum. The
addition of alcohol to wine as a preservative agent has
been referred to by writers: "The object and intention
of adding alcohol to recent grape juice is to preserve it
through the months of August, September, and October
unchanged by fermentation. During the month of No-
vember the cool weather is sufficiently established, and
223
continues in Aiken to conduct the vinous fermentation
without the apprehension of the acetic ; hence wine, not
vinegar, can then be made." (Hume).
The reader can find a good account of fermentation and
the rationale of manufacture of various liquors in Solly's
Rural Chemistry, p. 164, et seq. Drs. Gall and Petiol
also refer to the process of "ameliorating" the wine
made from the wild grapes by the free addition of sugar
dissolved in water, adding also tartaric acid if the acid is
deficient. The husks or pomace which remains is again
treated with sugar, water, or acid as long as any wine
extract remains, and so an enormous amount of wine is
made at small cost. In this process the grapes are mash-
ed, not pressed. See details, P. 0. Rep., 1859, p. 97.
Tables for calculating the acid and sugar are described.
I regret not being able to give this method in full.
In connection with Prof. Hume's project of adding
alcohol to wine, I extract the following from an article on
the "Grape and Wine culture in California," P. 0. Rep.,
1858, p. 342. "Angelica is a sweet wine, which is never
allowed to ferment. It is made by adding brandy to white
wine, which is the first and purest juice that runs from the
press, in the ratio of one to three, as it comes from the
press. It is thus kept from fermentation, arid always remains
sweet. It is immediately put into close casks, and drawn
off as soon as it is clear, which is generally within four or
five weeks. The casks for Angelica wine have to be pre-
pared with great care by sulphuring. "Aguadiente"
(brandy) only can be used in making Angelica, as it has
the true grape flavor, which most other brandies have not.
This brandy is distilled from wine made from leaves or
from the pomace (skins of the grapes) of the pressed
grapes. It takes about five gallons of wine to make one
of aguadiente." By this it will also be seen that the
shape in which the alcohol is added is material. Let us
compare the following with our difficulties here in South
Carolina and Georgia. Italics are my own. Matthew
Keller, of Los Angeles, Cal., says: "The manufacture of
224
wine, in a suitable climate, is simple, and may be done by
any one of ordinary intelligence. Bat when the climate and
soil are not adapted to the nature of the- grape, then, indeed,
it becomes a complicated art. ' One of the most essential
things to be observed in its manufacture is the proper
regulation of temperature, particularly during the phe-
nomenon of the first fermentation ; and to this the least
attention is paid. If the must is too cool, the fermen-
tation is slow, and apt to sour; while if there is too much
heat, it will soon go into the acetous state. Must which
abounds in saccharine matter, and is deficient in ferment,
requires a higher degree o.f temperature than that which
has these substances in opposite proportions. The strong-
est must, even when it contains much ferment, can sup-
port a higher temperature than the weak, because the
great quantity of alcohol which is developed retards
the action of the ferment, and prevents the tendency to
pass to the acetous fermentation. The best general tem-
perature is between 62° and 64° Fahrenheit. There is little
difficulty in maintaining the temperature in a cellar, but it
may be observed that the act of fermentation elevates the
temperature. To arrive at that which is the most con-
venient, it is necessary to pay attention to the temperature
of the grapes at the time of mashing them: if picked
early in the morning or at noon, it varies many degrees.
To obviate this, they may be picked a day in advance, or
they should be cooled in a large vat, and vice versa. These
few facts comprehend ali that is necessary to make wine,
but they are subject to many variations and much detail,
like most other processes of manufacture." The necessity
for the display of judgment, and the value of experience
in modifying processes, is true of the manufacture of in-
digo, of sugar from the different variety of canes, etc. ~$o
rigid rules adapted to every climate can be depended upon.
That vats should be essential, I myself, without experience,
felt sure from seeing their necessity in keeping porter and
ale in Charleston, or cider in the upper country. We do
not manufacture any of them in Charleston, but in order
225
to bottle or keep them under favorable circumstances, a
cool cellar is essential.
The writer quoted above gives the method of making
wine in Los Angeles, as follows: "The grapes are deprived
of their stems by hand; they are then mashed between
wooden or iron rollers; some tread them out in the an-
cient style. A portion of the juice runs into a cooling-vat,
without pressing; the crushed grapes are put into a screw-
press and forced out rapidly, all the result being must for
white wine. As the grapes are black, and the coloring mat-
ter exists only in the skin, and requires in some degree the
presence of alcohol to dissolve it, if the pressing be done
quickly the wine will be white ; but if slowly, or if the
grapes come broken from the vineyard, the must will show
color; for as soon as the fruit is broken, and the juice
comes in contact with the air, fermentation commences,
and simultaneous with it, the presence of alcohol, in a
greater or less degree, which extracts the coloring matter.
The must is then transferred into the fermenting tuns,
and the first active fermentation goes on, according to cir-
cumstances, for from four to ten days. The mashed grapes
are put into vats to ferment, from which results red wine.
This is in part distilled into brandy. Some persons distil
red wine with the "marc" into brandy immediately after
fermentation, but if left to pass a secondary fermentation
it would yield more alcohol. The wine is racked off in
January and February, again in March and April, and for
the third time in September. It should be taken oif the
lees after the first fermentation subsides, when the wine has
settled: for it cannot gain anything by being allowed to
stand on the lees longer than is absolutely necessary. The
proportions of saccharine matter and ferment in our grapes are
well balanced, therefore there is no extraordinary art in
making wine; as it will make itself with common care,
and without the addition of any extraneous substance.
The purest and finest wines in the world are made from
the juice of the grape alone (?) More capital is needed to
make proper cellars, procure necessary materials, and to
15
226
enable us to hold our wines till they have age, when they
would compare favorably with the best. See also P. O.
Rep., 1859, p. 94, et seq.; also an extended account of
grape culture and wine manufacture, with wood-cuts of
presses, etc., in Report 1856, p. 408, by J. A. Warder, M.
D., of Ohio. The diseases affecting the grape are also de-
scribed.
I obtain the following from the Southern Field and Fire-
side :
Although this subject has been widely discussed, and
hundreds of methods recommended, still I see no satis-
factory article written which has treated this question as to
our Southern grapes and climate. Almost all the writers
have confined themselves to the Northern and Western
wines and their modes of production, leaving out the idea
that Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina had more
resources for wine producing than all the North and West
combined, not speaking of the immensely superior quality
of its products. I trust that the following hints may be of
service to some beginners, and be auxiliary to many .masters
in the art.
There exist a large number of varieties of wine, differing
among themselves by the color, perfume, taste, consistence,
etc., and often many such varieties are produced bj^ the same
grape. Often those varieties of wine depend upon many
circumstances — such as difference in soil and subsoil,
exposure, mode of cultivation, climatic influence, degree of
maturity of the fruit when pressed, and above all, by the
mode of making the wine. The first process is the gather-
ing of the grapes, and this should be one of the most
careful. The grapes should be thoroughly ripe, and the
best signs of maturity are these : The stem of the clusters
changes to brown, the berries become soft, and when the
bloom is removed the skin is smooth and nearly trans-
parent, the flavor is vinous sweet," and the seeds free from
the pulp and dry. At this point the grapes should be
gathered. If gathered sooner the wine will be of an infe-
rior quality, and apt to form vinegar; if later, the wine
227
will be less in quantity and syrup-like. When the grapes
have attained the right period of maturity, select a dry,
clear day, and do not begin the gathering until the dew is
well evaporated, and the grapes perfectly dry. Use sharp
knives or scissors, and remove all green and decayed ber-
ries from the branches, and put them in clean wooden
pails : then, if the press is some distance from the vineyard,
put them in wooden tubs, which must not be too large, so
as not to be difficult to handle, and transport by wagon.
Now it is necessary to give some remarks upon the process
to be followed according to the mode of wine to be pro-
duced, and to the variety of grape employed. Our native
grapes ot the Labrusca or fox type are mostly cultivated
in this section of the country, and the wine they produce
is of the Hock or Rhine wine order. The great value of
that wine consists in its delicate aroma, or bouquet, and to
attain it must be an essential object in its making. To this
class belong the Catawba, Isabella, Diana, Delaware, etc.,
etc., the former of which being most generally cultivated.
I will describe the process in its best manufacture.
When the grapes are gathered they must be mashed be-
tween wooden rollers. The juice is received in a clean
cask or vat, but the hulls, seeds, or stems are carefully
avoided to come into contact with the juice. After the
whole is mashed it is pressed. The juice which runs out at
the time of mashing should be kept separate from the juice
which comes from the pressing, as the former will make a
wine much more delicate than the latter. The pressed
juice will be of a marked color. The casks or vats should
be of as large size as consistent with the quantity of the
crops. They should be made of the best white oak, with
strong iron hoops. The greatest cleanliness is necessary.
Wash the casks well, and further fumigate them by burn-
ing a wTick of sulphur, and keeping the bung closed.
Avoid sulphuring too much, as it will give a bad flavor to
the wine if done to excess. Fill the cask full, then close it
with a tight bung, in the centre of which is fitted a siphon,
the lowTer end of which rests in a vessel filled with water.
228
The juice of the Catawba, as well as that of all the grapes
of that class, should never be fermented upon the hulls,
as it then loses its delicate flavor, and only produces a harsh
wine — neither a hock nor a claret. The above method
is also applicable to the juice of any grapes of which a
a white or pale wine is desired. Juice thus treated should
be left in the cask until the following spring, after the
blossoming of the vine, at which period it will undergo
a slight fermentation. It can then be drawn off in clean
casks of required size for market, or in bottles ; but it will
be to its advantage to leave the wine in casks for two or
three yesirs before bottling.
The process of making red wine is different — the
grapes being mashed, with hulls, seeds, etc., in a ferment-
ing-vat (a cask having one. head taken out will .answer for a
small vintage). A faucet is put at about eight or twelve
inches from the bottom; usually a bunch of cuttings is
placed in the interior to keep it free from the seeds, etc., in
drawing off, leaving a space five or six inches between the
must and the lid, which is well fastened, and has also a
valve for the evaporation of the gas. This may be also
arranged with a siphon, as in the manipulation of the
white wine, the end of which siphon must rest in water.
In a few hours after the must has been put in the vat the
liquid will commence to ferment, the gas will be thrown off
in large quantities, and bring upon the surface the stems,
hulls, and seeds, which form what the French term chap-
eau (hat). This mass is often very consistent. As soon
as the chapemi shows signs of going to pieces is the time to
draw off the wine from the vat. The residuum is then
pressed, and generally makes a wine containing much tan-
nin, and not as delicate as the wine first drawn. The latter
wine is kept separate, or mixed with the other wine, as
desired. As soon as the wine is drawn in clean casks put
the bung in lightly for a few days, then bung it tight. A
still easier method is to put a false bottom in the ferment-
ing-vat, which is made from well seasoned wood, and holes
bored all over. This false bottom is put upon the hulls to
229
prevent their rising. Its position must be regulated by the
amount of pomace in the vat, and kept steady by sticks.
The vat is covered as before with a tight head and siphon,
and the period of the drawing off the wine is visible when
the fermentation ceases. In general, the fermentation will
last from eight to twelve days. This method is applicable
to all the colored grapes of the aestivalis, or summer grape
type — such as Lenoir, Clinton, Jacques, etc. The cellar
should be dry, and of an even temperature of about fifty
to sixty degrees. After the young red wine is put into the
cellar it will undergo a light fermentation. The casks have
to be filled occasional!}^, and kept full to the bung. As
soon as dissolution of the sugar and the other constituents
of the wine has taken place, the undissolved matter will
settle at the bottom, and is called lees. When the wine
becomes quiet and settled, it is time to draw it off in clean
casks. In the above remarks I have endeavored to com-
press the wTine-making to a small compass, by which it will
be seen that it is far less complicated than presumed. I
give the different wines obtained from our native grapes.
Varieties belonging to the Vitis labrusca, or fox grape :
Catawba. A light colored hock, often equal to the cele-
brated Rhine wines.
Diana. Also a light colored wine, much more delicate
than Catawba.
Delaware. From small experiments yields a wine of the
muscatel class, remarkably rich, and very often makes a
beautiful, sparkling wine.
Isabella. Makes a wune of a pale red color, if fermented
upon the juice, and a darker wine of a claret order if fer-
fermented upon the hulls.
Hartford prolific, and Concord. A dark, harsh wine.
These varieties are not well calculated for wine.
Varieties belonging to Vitis aestivalis, or summer grape:
Clinton. Makes a high-bodied Avine of the claret order.
This variety is destined to be relied upon as our red wine
grape at no distant period.
Jacques. Gives a very dark wine of the Burgundy order.
230
Its juice can be manipulated as for white wines — there
being a large amount of coloring matter in the juice.
Lenoir with Clinton. Will give a delicate claret or port.
Warren. Makes a wine of the Madeira class.
Pauline. Somewhat similar to above.
Taylor, or Ballet. A white variety of the Clinton, and
doubtless will soon be our standing, or white Wine variety.
The Scup-pernong. A variety of Viiis cordifolia. Yields a
wine of the muscat order, but unfortunately sugar and
alcohol are too generally added, and thereby a good wine
is spoiled.
Many other varieties Of our native grapes will soon be
experimented upon as to the wine-making qualities ; but
with the above list we can obtain almost all the classes and
colors of wines that are imported in this country.
In Spartanburg district, S. C, they make out of the gar-
den grape a very pleasant wine, which is pure juice of the
grape, by the following simple process :
Squeeze the grapes through a bag ; to each gallon of
juice put one pound of sugar (more may be added); set it
away in jars or casks for two or three days, occasionally
skimming off all the supernatant froth, scum, etc. Then
strain into a cask, adding some honey and brandy. A gal-
lon of brandy may be added to twelve gallons of juice.
This wine is said to equal the best quality. Very good
wine is also made by adding sugar and brandy to apple
cider.
" C. "W, B.," a correspondent of the Southern Field -and
Fireside, writes as follows :
Cultivation of Grapes. — Growing Scuppernong grapes in
the South is easy, pleasant, and very valuable. My plan is
this : In February take the vines that you have rooted the
previous year, and set them in some place where you want
them, say in rows ten feet each way, with some convenient
place for them to spread their branches on, and soon erect
a good arbor to each one, and if they are well treated they
will soon cover the. whole field. The best land for this vine
is light, sandy soil, and the best manure is grass, or weeds,
231
hoed up when green and put under the arbor; also, rotten
wood, such as old boards, rails, sticks, etc., piled under the
vines. It is also good to have a pen around the roots filled
with all the scrap leather, old shoes, bones, brickbats, etc.
When the vines begin to grow they must be pruned every
spring, for the tendrils will wrap around the branches, and
when the branches grow large, die, or break off, it will in-
jure the vine very much ; but when they get old a large
vineyard would require a great deal of labor, so this part
generally receives but little attention when the vineyard is
old. This grape is not only useful to preserve and pleasant
to eat, but the most delicious wine can be made from them.
When they are fully ripe gather them, and they can be
ground in a gridder, or if that is not convenient, mash
them in a trough ; then press them well, putting three-
quarters of a pound or a pound of sugar to the gallon ; in
this every one is to be governed by his own taste. When
well sweetened, put it in casks and draw it off from one to
another, until it is purified; then bung it very tightly to
prevent evaporation, and set it in a barn or cellar six or
twelve months ; it is then good enough for anybody to
drink.
Wine-Farming and Making. — Mr. R. Buchanan, of Ohio,
who is one of the most eminent vine-growers of this coun-
try, thinks that "wine-farming will, in a few years, become
simplified, and almost as easily understood as corn-farm-
ing. There is no mystery in it. Experience alone must
teach the proper position and soil ; the right distances
apart for the vines; the most judicious methods of spring
and summer pruning ; and* as for cultivation, keep the
ground clean with the plough or cultivator, like corn. Cer-
tain rules are given in books for vineyard culture, as pur-
sued in the Ohio valley. These are the European systems,
adapted to our own country. It will be safe to follow these
rules, until by experimenting we can find better. There is
more room for progress in this branch of agriculture than
in almost any other.
232
"Making the wine is as simple as making cider. The
great bunches are cut from the vines, and all unsound or
unripe berries picked off the bunch and thrown in^p a
bucket, to make — with the addition of sugar — vinegar, or
an inferior wine. The perfect grapes of each day's cutting
are taken to the wine-house, and in the evening, after
being mashed in a barrel with a beetle — stem and berries —
or passed through wooden rollers in a small mill, are put on
the press and the juice extracted. About one-third runs off
without any pressure. The outer edges of the pomace are
cut off for eight or ten inches, after the first pressing, sepa-
rated with the hands, and thrown on top, when the power
of the screw is applied, and another pressing made. This
is repeated two or three times. The juice from the last
pressing being very dark and astringent, is put with the in-
ferior wine. The other is put in large casks filled about
five-sixths full, to ferment and make the good wine. No
sugar or brandy should be added to the best Catawba juice,
or must, as it makes a better wine without, and is strong
enough to keep well. One end of a siphon is placed in the
bung-hole of the cask ; the other being crooked over, rests
in a bucket of water.
"The fermentation commences in a day or two, and the
carbonic acid escapes through the water. In ten or four-
teen days, the siphon may be removed, the casks filled up,
and the bung driven in lightly; in a month, tightly. In
midsummer the wine is drawn off into another cask, and
the lees of the wine, with the pomace of the grapes, are
used to make brandy.
"The wine will be clear and pleasant to drink in a month
or two after the first fermentation ceases. The second fer-
mentation occurs in the spring, about the time of the blos-
soming of the grapes ; this is but slight, and it will be
merely necessary to loosen the bungs ; when it is over, the
wine will be clear in two or three months, and safe to bot-
tle, but that operation had better be deferred until Novem-
ber. And this is the whole process of making still wine —
the wine for general use ; and, being a natural product of
233
the pure juice of the grape, it is more wholesome than any
mixed or artificial wine, however showy and high-priced it
may be.
"Let the grapes be well ripened; the press, casks, and
all vessels perfectly clean, and then keep the air from the
new wine, by having the casks constantly bung-full, and
there is no danger of its spoiling. This is the whole
secret.
"It is presumed that no one will go into wine-farming
largely at first ; but take the precaution to test, by the cul-
tivation of a few acres, the capabilities of the soil, position,
and climate, and the kind of grapes best suited to it."
CorylacejE. [The Nut Tribe.)
Properties well known. The seeds oily, and generally
eatable ; the bark astringent, and often containing coloring
matter.
Ostrya Virginiea, Willd., Ell. 8k. | Ironwood; hornbeam.
" carpinus, Mich. J Richland, Prof. Gibbes;
Newbern.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 619; Shea Flora Carol. 355.
Its leaves afford, a o-rateful food to cattle. The wood is
tough and white, and burns like a candle. I have suggest-
ed this (article in De Bow's Review) as a substitute for
wood employed by engravers. It is employed by turners,
and wrought into mill-cogs, wheels, etc. A permanent
yellow color is imparted to yarn by the inner bark.
The birch hornbeam (C. betulus), growing in England, is
very much used as a hedge plant, and is said to " afford a
more uniform temperature of shade than a brick wall."
Our species "is the most elegant of all the hornbeams of
Britain." Wilson.
"The sap of the hornbeam [Carpinus sylvestris) is ob-
tained in the months of April and May. At this period it
is colorless, and clear as water ; its taste is slightly saccha-
rine; its odor resembles that of whey; it reddens turnsole
paper. The sap of this tree contains water in very large
234
quantity, sugars, extractive matter (probably azotized), and
free acetic acid, acetate of lime, and acetate of potash in
very small quantities. This sap, left to itself, presents in
succession all the phenomena of the vinous and then of the
acetous fermentation." Vauquelin's Annales de Chimie
t. xxxi, p. 20, first series ; Boussingault's Rural Economy,
p. 67, Law's edition, 1857.
Corylus rostrata, Ait. Grows on the mountains. Fl.
March.
Griffith, Med. Bot., 585 ; Duhamel's Mem. Am. Journal
Pharm. Dr. Heubener, of Bethlehem, has emplo}red the
short, rigid hairs of the involucre as a substitute for those of
mucuna, and has found them equally anthelmintic.
I have collected this plant in fruit on Tiger river, near
Reidville, S. C. The hairs are extremely fine, and pierce
the skin with facility. I have little doubt with respect to
their acting in a similar way with mucuna.
Corylus America?ia,Walt. Hazel-nut. Rich soils; along
the margin of woods and thickets. West Florida, and
northward. Chapman. Edible.
I have seen the hazel-nut growing wild near Surnmer-
ville, S. C, in Laurens district, and in Powhatan county,
Va. Our American hazel-nut is said to be preferred to the
filbert. Wilson says that the oil which is obtained from
hazel-nuts by pressure is little inferior to that of almonds ;
and under the name of nut-oil is often preferred by painters,
on account of its drying more readilj' than any other of the
same quality. Chemists employ it as the basis of fragrant
oils, artificially prepared, because it easily combines with
and retains odors. This oil is found serviceable in obsti-
nate coughs. If nuts be put into earthen pots and well
closed, and afterward buried eighteen inches or two feet in
the earth, they ma}' be kept sound through the winter. In
many parts of England hazels (C. avellana) are planted in
coppices and hedge-rows, to be cut down periodically for
charcoal, poles, fishing-rods, etc. Being extremely tough
235
and flexible, the branches are used for making hurdles,
crates, and springles to fasten down thatch. They are
formed into spars, handles for implements of husbandry,
and when split are bent into hoops for casks. Charcoal
made from, hazel is much in request for forges; and when
prepared in a particular manner, is used by painters and
engravers to draw their outlines. The roots are used by
cabinet-makers for veneering ; and in Italy the chips of ha-
zel are put into turbid wine for the purpose of fining it.
Rural Cyc. Our species will doubtless answer for all these
purposes. Hemp-seed oil also is used by painters. In the
countries where yeast is scarce, they twist the slender
branches of hazel together, and steep them in ale yeast
during its fermentation ; they are then hung up to dry, and
at the next brewing are put into the wort instead of yeast.
Farmer's Encyc.
Fagus Sylvatica. ] White beech. Rich, shaded
" V.Americana, L. J swamps. Richland, Professor
.Gibbes; collected in St. John's; jSTewbern. Fl. March.
Shec. Flora. Carol. 559; Griffith, Med. Bot. 585; Fl.
Scotica, ii, 583 ; Linn. Veg. Mat. Med. 175. The bark is
astringent, and has been used, according to Dr. Farnham,
in intermittent fever; but it is not possessed of any decided
powers. The fruit produces vertigo and headache in the
human species. It is observed, in the Fl. Scotica, that
" the fat of hogs, which feed on them, is soft, and will boil
away." The seeds yield an oil little inferior to olive oil,'
and fit, also, for burning. The pulp remaining after ex-
pression may be converted into flour, similar in taste and
color to wheat, but sweeter. A narcotic principle, called
fagine, has been found in the husks. The young leaves are
sometimes used by the common people as a potherb. The
wood is valuable to. cabinet-makers and turners, for manu-
facturing purposes — being capable of receiving a high pol-
ish. Every kind of implement, plane stocks, tool handles,
may be made of this wood, which resists great pressure. In
England the beech is extensively used for umbrella han-
236
dies., See Dickens' Household Words. Liebig states that
the ashes of the beech contain a larger proportion of phos-
phate of lime than those of any other tree. See his Agricul-
tural Chemistry. It is observed in South Carolina that the
lands on which it grows are not usually suited for cotton ;
and we may, perhaps, attribute it to their depriving the soil
of this, so necessary a constituent in the maturation of that
plant. In the lower country of South Carolina, the beech
is one of the most magnificent of our forest trees. Chap-
man only includes in his work F. feruginea, Ait.
By distilling, says lire, beech tar (F. sylvatica) to dry-
ness with other processes, paraphine is obtained. "It would
form admirable candles," the author adds, while referring
to the production of paraphine as an article of commerce
from peat. 1 insert this here (1862) as deposits of peat are
found within the Confederate States. The ashes of peat,
also, are worth something as manure. They usually, Nor-
ton states, contain five or six per cent, of potash and soda,
and considerable quantities .of lime, magnesia, iron, etc.
Soot, a substance somewhat allied, contains a large quantity
of ammonia, and is useful as a manure, so much so that*
when laid on heaps of grass the plants are destroyed. Mi-
chaux says that our beech bears a strict analogy with the
European beech. The beech should be felled in the sum-
mer when the sap is in full circulation ; cut at this season
it is very desirable. In the Fagus sylvestris, white beech,
" the duramen or perfect wood, bears a remarkably small
proportion to its alburnum. The bark of old trees is used
by tanners as a substitute for oak bark." In England
beech wood is employed for many purposes — the nuts or
mast being given to hogs. See, also, Rural Cyc. The
wood of the red beech is stronger, tougher, and more com-
pact than that of the white. In the State of Maine, and in
the British provinces, where oaks are rare, it is employed
with the sugar maple and yellow birch for the lower part of
the frames of vessels. The beech is incorruptible when con-
stantly in the water. The ashes of both species of beech
yield a very large proportion of potash. Michaux, who de-
237
scribes the process of extracting the oil, says that it equals
one-sixth of the nuts used. The quality of the oil depends
upon the care with which it is made, and upon the purity
of the vessel in which it is prepared. It should be twice
drawn off during the first three months, without disturbing
the dregs, and the third time at the end of six months. It
arrives at perfection only when it becomes limpid several
months after its extraction. It improves by age, lasts un-
impaired for ten years, and may be preserved longer than
any other oil. The manner of making beechnut oil most
commonly pursued in the districts of the Western states
where the tree abounds, is somewhat different from that
described in Michaux's Sylva. Instead of resorting to the
rather tedious process of gathering the nuts, and pressing
them through screw-presses, the farmers turn out their hogs
immediately after the first frost, who secrete the oil under
their skin. Unless they be fed some time before killing
upon Indian corn, the bacon has little solid consistency, be-
comes liquid upon the slightest application of heat, and
keeps that state, resembling in that respect the lard of hogs
fed upon acorn mast. The nuts are only plentiful every
third or fourth year. I obtain the following from a journal
(1862):
• Beech Tree Leaves. — The leaves of the beech trees, collect-
ed at autumn, in dry weather, form an admirable article
for filling beds. The smell is grateful and wholesome ;
they do not harbor vermin, are very elastic, and may be
replenished annually without cost.
Castanea pumila,W. Chinquapin. Diffused in upper and
lower country; sometimes attaining a height of thirty feet;
vicinity of Charleston; St. John's; jSTewbern. Fl. July.
U". S. Disp. 189. The bark has been used in intermittent
fever, but is probably possessed of very little value. The
fruit is eatable. The wood is finer grained, more compact,
heavier, and even more durable than that of the chestnut,
and is admirably adapted for fence-posts — lasting in the
ground more than forty years. Farmer's Encyc. See fol-
lowins:.
238
Castanea vesca, L. Chestnut. Florida, and northward. In
South Carolina only found in upper districts ; one of our
noblest trees.
The fruit of the tree and the chinquapin (C. pumila) are
well known. Eaten either raw or boiled. The roots con-
tain an astringent principle ; that of the chinquapin boiled
in milk is much used in the diarrhoea of teething children.
I would advise a tea made of this to be used extemporane-
ously in diarrhoea by our soldiers in camp. The bark of
both trees contains tannin, and may be used' in tanning
leather. In Italy, chestnuts are baked as bread, and there
and elsewhere are planted as food for hogs.
Wilson, in his Rural Cyc, says that coppices of chestnut
afford an excellent produce every ten or twelve years, for
hop-poles, hoops, and all kinds of elastic props and handles.
"The wood of young chestnuts serves better for gate-posts or
for any other purposes which involve constant contact with
the ground than any Other kind of wood, except }^ew or
larch. It is lauded as a good succedaneum for the coarser
kinds of mahogany in the making of furniture." It ranks
nearly equal with oak. "Cask staves of chestnut possess
the double recommendation of not being liable to shrink
and of not imparting a foreign color to liquors which the
casks may contain. Dr. kelson Burgess, of Sumter district,
S. C, informs me that at the recommendation of Dr. Jones
he has used the decoction of the root and bark of the chin-
quapin frequently as a substitute for quinine in intermittent
and remittent fever, and with decidedly satisfactory results.
I mention this hoping that it will be examined by others.
I can have no clue to the reasons of its utility, regarding it
heretofore simply as an astringent. Hot water is poured
over the root and bark, and a large quantity taken during
the twenty-four hours. The wood of the chestnut, though
brittle, is very durable in wTeather. I am informed that
fence-rails made of it will last over, twenty years. The
trees can easily be raised from the seed.
Quercus tindoria. Bartram. Black oak; quercitron oak.
239
Upper districts; rare in lower; collected in Charleston dis-
trict; St. John's. Fl. April.
Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 194; Am. Med. Record, iii,
363 ; Barton's Essay to Form. Mat. Med. ; Alibert, Nouv.
Elems. de Therap. i, 93 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
v, 590; Edinb. Med. Journal, 72; IT, S. Disp. 581 ; Mich. K
Am. Sylva, i, 91 ; Journal de Pharm. et de Chim. v, 251 ;
Royle, Mat. Med. 559; Ball, and' Gar. Mat. Med. 396; Grif-
fith's Med. Bot. 585 ; Am. Herbal, 153. The bark, a pow-
erful and valuable astringent, is also possessed of purgative
properties, in which respect it has an advantage not met
with in the Q. falcata. They have both been efficacious in
leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, chronic hysteria, diarrhoea, rheu-
matism, pulmonary consumption, tabes mesenterica, cynan-
che tonsillaris, and asthma. Oak-balls produced by these
are also powerful astringents, and are employed in many
cases requiring such remedies — as in diarrhoea, dysentery,
and hemorrhage ; also, in mild cases of intermittent fever.
The dose of the powder is forty grains. The powder of
this, or of the bark, mixed with hog's lard, is a very simple
and effectual remedy in painful hemorrhoids, and a decoc-
tion is serviceable as a fomentation for prolapsus uteri and
ani, and for defiuctions from those parts. According to
Dr. Cullan, it is applicable- in relaxations, or impaired con-
ditions of the mucous membranes, on account of its tonic,
constringing effect, and as a gargle in inflammation of the
fauces, prolapsus uvulae, etc. Mr. Lizars has used it with
"wonderful success" in the cure of reducible hernia. It is
applied topically in mortification, and to ill-conditioned ul-
cers. Marasmic and scrofulous children are bathed with
great advantage in a bath made of the bark. Although
this species acts slightly on the bowels, it contains more
tannin and gallic acid than the Q. alba and Q. falcata;
hence it is better suited to cases requiring an external
astringent. Quercitron is obtained from this and the Q.
falcata (which see) indiscriminately, and is sent to Europe
in large quantities to be employed in dyeing wool and silk
of a yellow color.
£40
The bark is a well known and important dyestivff, and is
much employed in dyeing wool, silk, and paper-hangings.
It is said by Dr. Bancroft, who introduced it into notice, to
be equal in power to ten times its weight of woad. With a
basis of alumina, a decoction of the bark gives a bright
yellow dye ; with oxide of tin, it gives a variety of tints
from pale lemon to deep orange; and with oxide of iron, it
yields a drab color. The cellular integument of the bark
is what contains the coloring matter. Wilson's Rural Cyc.
" Oak-galls put into a solution of vitriol in water give it a
purple color, which as it grows stronger becomes black."
Infusions of oak-galls (tannin) are excellent tests of iron.
Gallic acid is also yielded by the gall-nuts, and by oak
bark. The principal barks which are known to yield it are
those of the oak, willow, plum-tree, the poplar, the elm,
the mountain ash, the birch, the elder, the sycamore, the
beech, and the cheny tree. But it by no means, adds
Wilson, follows the proportions of tannin. It is readily,
but very slowly obtained from a cold, long-kept, and event-
ually evaporated decoction of galls, or of the tanniniferous
barks. Wilson's Rural Cyc. and medical authors.
All oak bark for the tanner ought at latest to be
removed from the tree before the third week of June,
"when the sap has begun to rise, and before the leaf is
completely developed;" and every ton of it, says Wilson,
which is removed after the first of July, is not only impov-
erished in tannin, but weighs two hundred weight less than
if it had been removed before the end of May. Other
trees may in England be peeled earlier. The reader inter-
ested in procuring barks should read the article Rural
Cyc, "Barking." The best methods of collecting and
storing are described. The instruments used in collecting
bark are a mallet to beat the bark, and a wedge, both
made of ash, to insert beneath the loosened bark. The
wedge is spatula-shaped. Slight wetting does not injure
bark. It is dried in dry, open air, upon supports, so that
water will not collect upon it. The bark should be fre-
quently turned. When it is sufficiently dry to avoid
241
fermentation, it should be carried to a dry-house or shade,
or stacked in the same manner as hay — in stacks not so
large as to incur 'the risk of fermentation. In the Farmer's
Encyc. the plan of removing bark is described. It is stated
that tannic acid most abounds when the buds are opening,
and least in winter, and in cold springs. Four or five
pounds of good oak bark of average quality are required
to form one pound of leather. The bark separates from
the tree more easily during spring. See Am. Farmer's
Cyclopaedia.
The best season for felling timber is undoubtedly mid-
winter, the next being midsummer, when the sap is chiefly
confined to the young shoots, the circumference of the soft
wood, and the bark. The worst time for felling timber is
the spring, just before the development of the buds, when
the tree is fullest of sap. Where much value is attached
to the soft or outer wood, felling ought to take place when
there is least sap in the tree. In general, all the soft woods,
such as the elm, lime, poplar, willow, should be felled dur-
ing winter; hard woods, like the oak, beech, ash, etc.,
when the trunks are of large size and valued chiefly for
their heart-wood, may be felled at any time. When the
bark, however, is to be taken into consideration, as in
the oak, the tree should be felled in spring, as then the
bark contains four times the quantity of astringent matter
to that felled in winter. Brande's Dictionary of Science ;
Farmer's Encyclopedia.
Wilson's Rural Cyclopedia, article "Charcoal," furnishes
a table of the proportions, color, and quality of charcoal
furnished by various trees ; also methods of preparing it
at the iron-works, with the mode of preparing lampblack.
The willow, alder, and dogwood are employed for preparing
charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. See Salix;
"Pimis."
See article "Leather," in Wilson's Rural Cyc, for mode
of preparing the varieties of leather, tanning kidskins for
French gloves, etc.; also "Rhus," in this paper.
The editor of the Southern Field and Fireside, April,
16
242
1862, states in answer to inquiries "that the bark of the
black poplar is used in England for tanning, but not, we
believe, in this country. It has probably about half the
strength of black oak bark. Blackberry briars, roots, and
stems washed clean (this it will be observed confirms my
own observations) supply a good deal of the tanning prin-
ciple ; and our common broomsedge, or straw, has been
largely employed in the manufacture of leather in Euro-
pean nations where timber barks are insufficient to meet the
public wants. Sumach is exported largely from Sicily for
tanning goat and sheepskins. Oak leaves, fennel, and
may-weed abound in tannic acid, and we intend experi-
menting with the bark of old field pine for making leather.
That it contains tan we know ; but whether it will be
profitable to peel and use it has yet to be determined.
Larch is much used in Great Britain, and hemlock at the
North."
I see a Treatise on Tanning advertised by S. Hart, book-
seller, Charleston, S. C, which I have not examined, but
which may furnish more complete information than what is
to be obtained from fugitive essays.
From a useful communication in Southern Field and
Fireside, Oct. 19, 1861, it is stated that oak bark has
sold in the District of Columbia at ten dollars a cord for
years; and that "several million dollars worth of sumach
(Rhus) is annually imported from the south of Europe
into the United States for tanning purposes." The Rhus
grows abundantly in the Confederate States, as well as
many other plants containing tannin. I have noticed, in
traversing that part of the Dismal Swamp near Suffolk,
Va., that the Rhus is the most characteristic growth. It
could be procured in any amount. The writer of the arti-
cle just referred to calls attention to the great amount of
goatskins and morocco manufactured and exported from
France and England, where tannin is scarce, to this
country, where the materials for producing are abundant,
at least in the Confederate States. I quote from the writer
in Southern Field and Fireside as follows, and also refer
243
the reader to my own examination of the plants growing
in St. John's, Berkley, S. C, October, 1861, for the relative
amount of tannin in plants. See " Liqiddambar" in this
volume :
"But such is the demand for leather one may well use
oak and chestnut bark hewed off at any time in the year.
Sumach, fennel, and pine bark are much used in Europe.
Whether any of our common pine barks contain tan
enough to warrant their use has, we believe, never been
tested. Larch bark is much used in Scotland, although
only half the strength of oak. Monteath, of Stirling, ap-
plied chemical tests to the infusion of different barks with
the following results : Oak (coppice) contains most tannic
acid; ash and hornbeam next; Spanish chestnut third;
willow fourth ; birch, beech, and larch fifth ; spruce and
silver firs sixth ; mountain ash and broom seventh ; and
next Scottish pine, bramble or briars, laburnum, and the
sawdust of oak timber." My examinations were made
before I saw this paper.
Dr. Daniel Lee in the papers published in the Southern
Field and Fireside, from which I have drawn largely,
earnestly advises us to be more economical with regard to
our supply of barks for tanning. "It is poor economy,"
he says, "for the South to destroy nearly all of its valuable
tan-bark in clearing oak land, cutting rail timber and fire-
wood, and thereby deprive our children and grandchildren
of the power to manufacture their own leather. The time
has come when this error must be corrected, or serious
injury will be the consequence. To send a million dollars
worth of hides to the North, have them tanned, and the
leather made into shoes, boots, saddles, and harness for
Southern consumption, is to pay about eight or nine million
dollars for the support of that Northern economy which
never wastes the bark that grows on oak or hemlock trees,
and that industry which turns this bark into gold." I
know this criticism is partly just; still, the planter at the
South cannot often turn to the storing away or sale of all
the oak or other bark on his place when he is compelled to
244
clear new land, and can scarcely accomplish that properly ;
whereas at the North the farmer is compelled to every
expedient to add to his resources.
I have endeavored, in the examination made in St.
John's, Berkley, S. C, November, 1862, to show that the
leaves of many of our native trees — such as the sweet gum,
myrtle, etc., are rich in tannin, and being easily procured
may be substituted for barks, which are difficult to prepare.
Tanners in the State of ISTew York, Dr. Lee states, save tan-
bark enough to manufacture three times as much leather
as the four millions of people in that state consume.
"Leather is largely exported from New York and Massa-
chusetts (which is a land of shoemakers) to England,' the
Southern states, and the great prairie West." He con-
demns "the habit of felling oak trees when the bark will
not peel." See "Quercus," " Rhus," " Myrica" and " Liquid-
ambar," for notice of plants suitable for tanning leather ;
also Wilson's Rural Cyc, art. "Currying," for method of
preparing and dressing leather, and lire's Dictionary
of Arts.
'■'■Method of tanning. — For doing a small business hot water
and hot ooze may be best run upon the bark to extract all
its tannic acid in a short time ; but in a large way either a
copper heater should pass through the leech holding bark,
or it should be boiled by steam. A copper pan is some-
times used, set on an arch, for heating ooze. A mill for
working hides operates precisely like a fulling-mill in
scouring and fulling cloth. When dry and weighty, Span-
ish hides are tanned. Hide-mills have heavy hammers,
which are elevated eight or ten inches by a revolving
wheel, and fall with an oblique stroke on the hides, that
causes them to turn like cloth in a fulling-mill. Any
horizontal staff will work a hide-mill, and a horse-power
will drive the shaft. Our friend, Prof. Rutherford, has con-
structed a horse-power for fifty dollars on his farm (which
joins that of the writer), that would drive a hide-mill as
easily as it now thrashes wheat, and cuts hay and straw for
horses. As this is a cheap and valuable power for farm
245
use, it has been our purpose to describe it, which we shall
yet do.
"Any mechanic, by seeing the model of a hide-mill, could
easily make one. It needs no cast iron double crank like a
flillinff-mill. The whole affair can be made of wood. Our
tanning in the South is many years behind the progress of
the age." The reader interested in this subject may consult
with advantage lire's Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures;
also an excellent article on tanning and leather, in Nichol-
son's Encyclopaedia.
I am induced to insert, in connection with the subject of
materials for tanning, a communication entire upon the
subject from the pen of Dr. Daniel Lee, in the Southern
Field and Fireside, Nov. 30, 1861. It contains practical
instruction on the subject of manufacture of leather on a
small scale by farmers and planters :
"It will be better for several farmers, having from five to
ten hides each, to unite in the purchase of a bark-mill for
grinding tan-bark, and in constructing a few vats for their
common use, than for one to be at the whole expense for
so small a business as his own alone. The most primitive
way of tanning is in troughs dug out of large trees like
pine and poplar ; but molasses and bacon hogsheads will
form the cheapest tan-vats for the farmer's use. Dig out
the earth two-thirds the depth of the hogsheads ; pound
moist clay over the bottom on which the hogsheads are to
stand. Three or four will do for the tanning part of
leather-making. Let them not come within six inches
of each other, so that moist clay may be pounded closely
around each hogshead to within three inches of the top.
If bark cannot be ground, it should be* broken or cut fine
with an axe, so as to fill two of the hogsheads. Heat clear
spring or rain-water boiling hot in large pots or kettles, till
the bark in both hogsheads is covered with it. Let the
bark steep and soak a week or more, while the raw hides
are prepared for the ooze and tanning. One hogshead will
do for this, but two are better. They ought to stand some
yards from the bark-vats, because lime spattering into the
246
ooze injures it. Surround these with clay like the hogs-
heads used for tanning.
"After the horns, tail," and dew-claws are removed from
a green hide, it is split into two halves or sides,- from the
tail to the nose on the pate. If the hide is dry, it must
soak and soften first. After it is split it goes upon the
heam, and the operative scrapes and tears off all the flesh,
and part of the fascia or membrane which covers the flesh
side of every skin. It is now ready for the lime. A half
bushel of recently slaked lime, or some less of quick lime,
will do for a hogshead nearly full of water. The lime and
water should be well stirred with a clean hoe or "plunge "
before putting sides or skins into the same. They should
be often moved about in the lime-water by a lever some
seven or eight feet long, and hauled out once a day with an
iron or wooden hook such as tanners use. As soon as the
hair will slip, sides should be worked over the beam and
rinsed in the soak, or water hogshead, to remove the hair
and all the lime. The hogshead used as a soak, washed
clean, is now to serve as a hen-dung vat or bait. It fer-
ments, and is ripe for use in one or two days, after soaking
in a half hogshead or more of water. Much pains and
care are used in working sides and skins out of the bait, as
they go from this into the tan ooze. They will soon taint
and spoil in warm weather. Worked and washed clean,
the sides and skins are next handled two or three times a
day in tan ooze until they are evenly colored, and get
a handsome, fine grain. The handling is done in this
wise : Place three or four pieces of plank four feet long
down as a platform, so as to slope over the hogshead, and
let ooze from the leather, when lifted out of it upon the
plank, run back into the hogshead, and not waste upon
the ground. Short pieces of scantling or sticks of clean
wood lie on three sides of the plank, over which the edges
of the two sides laid down extend, and thus form a sort of
trough open only at the end that lies over the edge of the
hogshead. All the sides are drawn up separate from the
liquor with a hook, and spread by hand on the platform,
247
and are thrown back into the ooze again. If the latter is
weak, it is half or more pumped out, and fresh, strong ooze
is pumped in. The two hogsheads of bark, with boiling
hot water, will keep up the strength as fast as ten or twelve
sides can possibly absorb it, after starting with two hogs-
heads of good ooze. You cannot heat old ooze in an iron
vessel, as it would spoil it ; but you may, perhaps, beg or
borrow a copper still, in which tan ooze may be heated
without the least injury to the liquor or the still. The
heated ooze is put on the bark, as it is much better than
water, where it is allowed to become about as cool as the
atmosphere.
"As the tanning advances, skins and hides require less
handling. We should hang them across sticks an inch or
less in diameter, in and under the ooze. The ends of these
sticks or rods should rest on a light frame in the hogshead,
and four inches or more below the top. Allowing two
inches for each stick and side, fifteen sides would occupy
thirty inches in width in the hogshead. Batts and butts
hang down near the bottom of the hogshead, where the
ooze is strongest. A small hand-pump should be put fre-
quently by the side of the leather and of the hogshead, to
lift the ooze at the bottom to the top. Sides are handled a
week or two before suspending them separately in ooze.
" As pumping is easier, and less wasteful than dipping,
we will state the way in which a cheap and good pump can
be made : Its whole length should be some six feet, and
the material, plank, not over an inch thick. The open
space on the inside for the ascent of ooze or water should
be about three inches square. Two strips of plank three
inches wide, and two five inches, the latter lying on the
former on both sides, will form an aperture in the centre of
three inches square. The plank ought to be closely jointed,
and either painted or covered with tar or melted pitch to
make all the joints water-tight. Of course the nailing
should be close and perfect. A box of half-inch plank
comes up two inches inside from the bottom of the pump
for the leather valve to rest upon.
248
" One side of the valve is very simple, but not easy
to describe. Imagine a funnel made of thin, flanky, sole-
leather, four inches in diameter across the top, and as
many deep down to the neck, and that its centre is nailed
or tied fast to a rod that is to serve as a piston in the pump.
The weight of water or other liquid to be raised in pump-
ing can set this pliable leather cup to adapt itself to the
square shape of the aperture in the pump ; and to prevent
this cup or funnel falling back in lifting ooze or water,
three narrow strips of leather, sewed to the top of the
funnel on three sides (one on each), are nailed with small
nails to the piston-rod above, say six inches from the
funnel. A small but strong wooden pin passes through the
end of the rod which, held in the hand, enables one to lift
easily all the liquid in the pump. The discharge from
the pump is made in the usual way, a foot or more below
the top of it. Any one who can use a plane can make a
pump of this kind take ooze from the bottom of one vat,
tub, or hogshead filled with bark or leather, and put it ex-
peditiously into another, where all stand on a level, or nearly
so. A thin case keeps the tan-bark or leather from filling
the little space required by the pump, which is put into the
vat or hogshead, and taken out as often as needed. Any
blacksmith can make the beaming-knives used by tanners,
but not those used by curriers in finishing leather. The
former are curved, and often have small teeth to tear up
the tough membrane under the skin. All tan-bark should
be clean and dry, for dirt and earth blacken leather. Care-
less persons often get clay and mud into tan-vats, than
which nothing is more injurious. Few arts demand
equal neatness in their operatives. With the most im-
proved apparatus and good bark, the labor of tanning is
small. An expert will work one hundred grown hides
into the bark or ooze in a month, for which we generally
paid twenty dollars ; and the labor of tanning two hundred
sides was about the same after they came to the bark.
"If a farmer can get his hides tanned and curried for half
of the leather they will make, it is probably better than
249
to attempt to tan them himself. Let him improve his pas-
tures by cultivating the best grasses, and raise more fat
cattle for home consumption, and thus have three or four
hides for the tanner where he has one now. This will call
first-class tanneries into existence that will give a pound of
good sole-leather for a pound of dry hide, or nearly that.
Every farmer ought to spare all the tan-bark he can ; for
we speak advisedly when we say that the Confederate
States are even now short of oak bark if they are to manu-
facture all the leather which they consume in saddles, bri-
dles, harness, saddle-bags, buggy, and carriage trimmings,
caps, hat-linings, book-bindings, shoes, and boots. It has
been the misfortune of the cotton states to underrate all
other industries but that of producing their great staple.
Hence the scarcity of good mechanics and artisans. Hence
we make no effort to diversify our agriculture, and thereby
meet many public wants, while resting our land from the
scourge of eternal ploughing. That system of husbandry
which accumulates the elements of crops and fertility in
every acre cultivated, is still a myth to most planters.
Southern nationality will expose, and happily correct many
errors. We shall learn to make as much cotton and corn
on two acres as we now do on six, and at the same time we
shall produce tenfold more of the necessaries and comforts
of civilized life. Our dependence on foreign industry and
skill for so much of what we consume encourages the
world to believe that our subjugation is only a question of
time. Since the mechanical trades are necessary to our
happiness, we should encourage our sons to become scien-
tific mechanics, as well as farmers, lawyers, doctors, and
priests, and soldiers."
On account of the importance of the subject I insert here
the following directions for "Tanning on the Plantations" by
T. Affleck, from the Am. Agriculturist, also republished in
the Southern Cultivator, vol. i, p. 198, and the paper by
J. S. Whitten, and one in vol. vi, p. 177 :
" Tanning leather for the use of the plantation is an item
of good management that should not be overlooked by any
250
planter. Nor would it be as much overlooked as it is if
the simplicity of the process was generally known — that
process, I mean, that will suffice for making leather for
home use. The tanner by profession, in order to prepare an
article that will command a good price in market, and
have a merchantable appearance, puts the hides and skins
through a greater number of manipulations, and that he
may work to better advantage, has his arrangements on a
more extensive scale.
" The vats, tools, and implements really needed are few
and simple. Four vats will generally be found all-sufficient ;
one for a pool of fresh water, and for baiting ; one for liming;
another for coloring ; and a fourth for tanning. The best
size, in the clear, is seven feet long, four and a half feet
wide, and five feet deep. They should be placed so as to
be easily and conveniently filled with water from a spring,
running stream, or cistern. Dig the holes nine feet by six
and a half and six ; if the foundation is clay, the depth
need not be over five feet. Form a stiff bed of clay mortar
in the bottom on which to lay the floor, and on it erect the
sides and ends of the vat, of plank of almost any kind,
sufficiently thick to resist the pressure from without — two
inches will be thick enough. When this is done, and the
whole nailed fast, fill in the vacant space all round with
well tempered clay mortar, ramming it effectually. It is on
this, and not the planks, that dependence is placed for
rendering the vat perfect. When well made a vat will be
good for a long lifetime — the ooze preventing the decay of
any but the top round of plank. Such a vat will hold fif-
teen large beef hides (thirty sides), besides a number of
small skins.
" The material used for tanning is the bark of the red or
black oak, stripped when the sap flows in the spring,
stacked and dried, of which about four pounds are supposed
to be necessary to produce one pound of leather. There is
an article occasionally used called "catechu," which is an
extract made from the wood of a mimosa tree, a native of
India, half a pound of which answers the same purpose.
251
Galls, willow bark, the bark of the Spanish chestnut, and
common elm, as also sumach, are all used by the tanner.
It has been recently found that the root of the palmetto
answers an equally good purpose with the best oak bark.
"Bark has to be ground as wanted; or if the quantity
needed is small, and it is not thought advisable to incur
the expense of a bark-mill (from $10 to $18), it may be
pounded in a large mortar, or beat up on a block. It will
require one-third more of pounded than of ground bark to
afford equally strong ooze, which is the infusion of bark.
" The principal tools requisite are a flushing-knife, cur-
rier's knife, a brush like a stiff horse-brush, and a fleshing-
beam. The fleshing-beam is made by splitting in two a
hard wood stick of about a foot in diameter ; inserting two
stout legs, some thirty inches long, in one end on the split
side, so that the other end rests on the ground, with the
round side up, the elevated end being high enough to reach
the workman's waist. A fleshing-knife may be made by
bending an old drawing-knife to suit the round of the flesh-
ing-beam.
" The skins of bulls, oxen, cows, and horses are called
hides ; those of calves, deer, sheep, etc., are known as skins.
"Fresh and dried hides receive the same treatment,
except in the washing process. Those that are salted and
dry (and no hide should be dried with less than from two
to four quarts of salt being rubbed on the flesh side — dried
without salt, it is extremely difficult to soften them — )
require to be steeped, beaten, and rubbed several times
alternately, to bring them to a condition sufficiently soft
for tanning.
" Green or fresh hides must be soaked in pure water
from twelve to twenty-four hours, to extract all the blood,
etc., and soften the extraneous, fleshy matter, which must
then be removed — throwing one hide at a time on the
fleshing-beam, grain or hair side down, and scraping or
shaving it off with the fleshing-knife, which must be some-
what dull or the skin is apt to be cut. They are then put
in the liming-vat, which is supplied with strong lime-water
252
by filling the vat a little over half full of water, and adding
thereto four bushels of unslaked (or of air-slaked) lime, or
at the rate of two-thirds of a bushel of lime to the barrel of
water. This will suffice for fifteen hides; each time that
they are removed and a fresh lot of hides put in, add another
bushel of lime, which will keep up the strength for a twelve-
month. Before using stir the lime well up, and while it is
thus mixed with the water put in the hides evenly, so that
the lime will settle on every part of them. They are to
remain here from ten to fifteen days, or for three or four
days after the hair will rub off with the finger completely
and with ease. While in the liming-vat they must be
moved up and down every other morning, to expose them
to the air, and to the equal action of the lime. Being now
ready for unhairing, cut each hide in two- by slitting them
along the centre of the back with a knife, forming them
into sides. Throw ten or twelve of these sides on the flesh-
ing-beam, and strip, the hair off with the knife; and as
they are unhaired, throw each one into the vat of fresh
water to bait or soak. When the ]ot of sides and skins in
hand have been all unhaired and thoroughly washed, throw
them again, and at once, on the fleshing-beam, with the
grain or hair side up, and work them over (rub and press
them) with the knife until all the gummy or mucilaginous
matter is worked out. This should be repeated two or
three times during ten or twelve days, being each time
baited anew in fresh water. And this working over must
only be done when the sides feel soft and smooth to the
touch ; as they will at times, from some unexplained cause,
feel rough, at which time they must not be worked over.
While they are thus boiling they must not be neglected, or
they will soon spoil. Tanners are iri the practice of adding
one thousandth part of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) to the
last bait, which has the effect of swelling the pores and
distending the fibres, and thus rendering the skins more
susceptible to the action of the ooze. Forty-eight hours
generally suffices for this last baiting.
"In the meantime, some good, strong ooze should be pre-
253
pared for the first tanning process, called coloring. Fill a
vat a little more than half full of water, and add bark, in
the proportion of one and one-half bushels of ground, or
two bushels of pounded bark, to the barrel of water, which
will bring «the vat up to about two-thirds full. "When the
bark has soaked from four to five days, the sides are put in,
and allowed to remain fifteen days; during which they
must be once well and carefully fleshed and worked over,
and must be drawn up and down every morning, for the
first week at least, and the bark well plunged or stirred up,
to have them color evenly.
"After this, the vat being now two-thirds full of this
same ooze, after drawing out the hides lay a good coating
of fresh bark, of say an inch thick, on top- of the water, on
which it will float ; lay "on this a side, spread out evenly,
and if it has to be lapped over in any part lay on more
bark until it is all well coated, taking care to place those
hides at the bottom of the vat now that were at the top
last time. On this side lay an inch-coating of bark, and
on that another side, and so on, with alternate layers of
barky until the vat is full, or the sides all laid away.
"In this, which is called the first bark, the sides must lie
four weeks. They are then drawn out, and the spent bark
taken out with a skimmer or drainer. The sides are then
replaced as before, with alternate layers of fresh bark, in
the same ooze, which has acquired some additional strength,
notwithstanding the amount of tannin and extractive mat-
ter contained in the bark that has become intimately
combined with the animal fibre of the hide. In this second
bark they remain six weeks undisturbed, when they receive
a third bark in the same way, in which they are left another
six or eight weeks. Three barks will suffice to tan deer,
hog, calf, and other small skins ; four barks will make good
sole-leather, but five are preferable.
"The tanning process being completed, sole-leather is
taken out of the vat, rinsed effectually, and dried in the
shade, hanging the sides up by two of their corners to
joists, where they may remain until wanted. Those sides
254
intended for upper and harness leather (which are those of
cows, etc. — the largest and thickest bullock hides being
used for sole-leather), as also deer, hog, and other small
skins, being thoroughly rinsed, are spread out on a strong
table, with the grain or hair side up, and scoured with a
stiff brush, like a very stiff horse-brush, occasionally throw-
ing on pure water, until all the Ooze is scoured out. Tan-
ners use the edge of a stone, made smooth, to assist in
rubbing out the ooze, and all the water that can possibly be
rubbed out. They also use what they call a slicker, being a
dull edge of copper of about six or seven inches long set
in a piece of wood, to serve as a handle.
"After they are all served thus, and rubbed as dry as pos-
sible, the table is cleaned off, and the skins thrown back
upon it grain side up, and are rubbed with tanner's oil (cod-
fish oil) as long as the leather will receive it. Harness
leather must be completely saturated. As they are oiled
fold them up and lay them aside. When they are all
gone over lay one on the table at a time, flesh side up, and
with a rag rub on all the dubbing that the leather will
absorb. Thin hides require but a small quantity ; harness
leather must have a heavy coating.
"Dubbing, which consists of equal parts of tar and tal-
low, melted together, and well mixed, must be made the
day previous to being used. Lard may be used in place of
tallow, but will require a lesser proportion of it. Each
side of leather is then hung up by two corners to joists,
there to remain until perfectly dry, or until wanted.
"If iron or steel touches a hide during the process of
tanning when in the least wet, or even moist, it will dis-
color it, forming an indelible black mark.
. "To blacken harness or other leather, take the skin
when completely dried, and if any greasy spots appear,
showing that more oil or dubbing has been applied than
the leather could absorb, wet the spots with a little strong
ooze, and scrub them out with the brush. Then apply a
coat of copperas (sulphate of iron) dissolved in ooze, until
the leather has a good color all over. After this, when
255
dry, put on another good coat of oil. The leather may
then be smoothed oft" with a rounding edge of polished
steel, or glass, or stone."
The following is from Southern Cultivator :
"Having tanned my hides for a number of years, and
believing it to my interest, I suppose it will be profitable to
others who have many raw hides.
"I have succeeded well, and think my leather firmer,
and more valuable for negro shoes and the coarse harness
on my farm than tan-yard leather. My plan is a much
cheaper one than Mr. Affleck's.
" I tan from ten to fifteen hides a year, of various sizes.
I have two vats five by seven feet, four feet deep, sunk in
the ground near a falling branch, so constructed at the bot-
tom that I can draw a plug and wash and empty them. I
begin in March ; soak my hides ten days in running water.
Two or three times I take them out and give them a good
rubbing or washing. They are then ready for the lime, as
we call it. I then put them in one of my vats, and divide
equally among them from three and one-half to five bush-
els of good ashes, and two or three quarts of lime, and
cover the whole in water. The lye had better be strong,
and if you err, err on that side. Every few days I take
them up, or rather stir them up, and mix them again, sp
that all parts shall be equally acted on by the lye and the
atmosphere, in the top and the bottom of the vat. If your
lye is right, in ten or twelve days your hides will be
thickened to two or three times their first thickness — feel
more like a sheet of jelly than anything else — and the hair
will slip easily. Then slip off" the hair, and with a drawing-
knife or a curry in g-knife scrape off the loose flesh and cel-
lular matter on the other side, and as much of the lye as
you can, without bruising the hide ; and then put them
back into fresh and clean water. Every other day take
them up and give them a good rubbing or scouring, for
ten days. They are then ready for the bark ; and by that
time you can slip the bark off your oak trees, and have it
256
ready for the hides. I never grind my bark. I take
it from the tree, and with a drawing-knife take off the
rough on the outside, and just beat it enough to cause it to
lie flat in the vat. In my other vat I do all my tanning,
and commence with a layer of bark, then of leather,, and
so on; and so lay it in the vat that. every part of each side
of the leather shall lie against bark; and when I am done,
I immerse this entirely in water.
" The first year you had better boil an ooze in kettles or
pots, and use that instead of water, and afterward always
preserve your old ooze to use next year instead of water.
I let this lie until the first of August, and put in a second
bark precisely as the first, and let it lie until some time in
October or November, when my leather is fully tanned, if
these directions have been followed. When the leather
is well tanned it presents a yellow, spongy appearance,
through and through ; otherwise you will see a white or
hard streak in the centre. When I take it up I scour the
ooze well out of all. That I intend for sole-leather I
straighten and dry; that for upper leather I wash well,
then grease well with the cheapest oil I have, and after dry-
ing eight or ten days I moisten it, curry off" the spongy,
soft part from the flesh side, and when moist, beat it or
break it over some rough surface until it is comparatiyely
S,oft, and the grain side is all puckered up, or wrinkled into
small wrinkles. Then, when my leather is thoroughly
dried and shrunk, it is fit for use."
Quereits fakata. Mx. Spanish oak. According to Elliot,
common on the sea-coast; collected but sparingly in St.
John's ; Richland ; grows also in Georgia ; vicinity of
Charleston, Bachman ; Newberu.
Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. ii, 493 ; TJ. S. Disp. 581 ;
Bart. Essay on the M. Med. ; Alibert, Nouv. Elems. de
Therap. 193 ; Pink Med. Mus. 11 ; Mer. and de L. Diet,
de M. Med. v, 586 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 170. This is
possessed of the astringent qualities characterizing the
genus ; it has not, however, the purgative property found
257
in the Q. tinctoria. It is employed as an astringent wash for
gangrene. A decoction is administered with great success
in dysentery, pulmonary, and uterine hemorrhage, and
some have said, in intermittent fever. See Q. tinctoria and
alba. In domestic practice, where an easily obtained and
efficient astringent is required, this, and the more common
species, the Q. rubra, are of no little value. They are used
to a large extent on the plantations in South Carolina.
Quercus alba, L. White oak. Diffused ; St. John's ;
vicinity of Charleston ; ISTewbern. Fl. May.
II. S. Disp. 582 ; Iioyle, Mat. Med. 659 ; Griffith, Med.
Bot. 586. The bark is officinal, and is generally used in
similar cases with the above, with the exceptions before
mentioned. By some it is preferred to the others on
account of its not acting on the bowels. The decoction
is sometimes used as an injection in leucorrhcea and gon-
orrhoea. The bark contains tannin, gallic acid, and bitter
extractive, the former predominating. Bark officinal.
Young bark preferable. The whiter bark, and the delicate
and finely lobed leaves, with the general neat appearance
of the tree, serve to distinguish this from the other varieties
of the oak, than which it is more acceptable to the stomach.
All, however, are valuable for external application. Good
collected at all seasons. Astringent, somewhat tonic.
Powder — dose, from one half-drachm to one drachm. Ex-
tract— dose, half that of the powder. Decoction — bark
bruised, one ounce; water, three half-pints; boil to one
pint. Dose, one wineglassful. This is one of the most
valuable of our forest trees, and it is largely emplo}<ed for
manufacturing purposes, and in the domestic economy of
the plantations in the Confederate States. The wood is
hard and durable. It is employed, when stripped, in mak-
ing plantation baskets, and chair bottoms.
The following table is the result of the experiments of
Barlow upon the "Absolute strength of different kinds of
wood drawn in the direction of their fibres." Wilson's
17
258
Rural Cy.c. on the streugth of materials may be consulted
Article from Renwick's Elements of Mechanics:
Boxwood 20,000 lbs.
Ash 17,000
Teak 15,000
Norway Fir 12,000
Beech 11,000
Canada Fir 11,000
Russia Fir 10,700
Pitch Pine 10,400
"Absolute cohesive strength of wood drawn in a direc
tion at right angles to the fibres:"
English Oak 10,000 lbs.
Am. White Pine 9,900
Pear Tree ... 9,800
Mahogany 800
Elm 5,800
Cast-steel was 140,000
And Gold 80,000
Teak ...818 lbs.
Am. White Pine 757
Norway Fir 648
Beech 615
English Oak 598
The following table gives the "respective strength of
various substances :"
Canada Oak 588 lbs.
Pitch Pine 588
Elm 509
Ash ....359
Metals.
Wrought-iron, Swedish . .22,000 lbs
" English. ..18,000
Cast-iron 16,000
Wood.
Teak 4,900 lbs.
Ash 4,050
Canada Oak 3,500
English Oak 3,350
Pitch Pine 3,250
Beech 3,100
Norway Fir 2,950
Am. White Pine 2,200
Elm 1,013
English oak resisted a greater amount of pressure, by
Rennie's experiments, than many other kinds of wood;
three times as much as elm, for example. See, also, article
"Timber, " in Rural Cyc, for method of preserving, rela-
tive strength, etc. In England the shipwright considers
that three years are required thoroughly to season timber.
Timber is best preserved by immersion in water for six
months, and the exposure to shade for another six months.
The white oak cleaves and splits readily, and is used in
making plantation baskets. I have seen it used in place of
cane .in making chair seats. The white oak lasts longer in
weather than hickory.
259
White Oak Baling. — The Columbia Guardian notices a
bale of cotton, in which white oak slats, basket fashion,
take the place of gunny bagging, and hoops of the same
wood take the place of rope. This device is the work of
IT 2S\ Garter, of Laurens, who states that with machinery
for cutting the slats, two hands can get out enough for one
bale in twenty minutes.
I will introduce under the genera "Quercus" and
"Carya" what I have thought useful on the subject of
ashes, pearlashes, potash, soap, etc. Information is re-
quired on these invaluable substances. For processes, see
Ure's Dictionary of Arts. For " soda," see "Salsola" in
this paper.
"A cement for cisterns, as hard as marble, and impenetrable
by water forever," is made of wood ashes two parts, clay
three parts, sand one part, mixed with oil — all ingredients
easily obtained.
" Concentrated Lye" is a very pare preparation of caustic
soda, or soda ash purified.
The following is the method of making hard soap with
this substance, which is preferable to potash or any of its
preparations; it is also very economical: "One half-box
of concentrated lye, four pounds of grease, one pound of
rosin, five gallons of water. Boil all together until the
soap is made — a point easily determined ; then add a half
pint of salt dissolved in a quart of water, boil a few
minutes longer, and pour off into tubs to harden. This
will yield about thirty pounds of excellent hard soap, at a
cost of about two and a half cents per pound."
The following general deduction, which is instructive,
is made in Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia, art. "Ashes":
" Trees in a general way, make a plentiful yield of potash,
somewhat in the degree of their hardness, their heaviness,
and the closeness of their texture ; and the chief of them
may upon this principle be distributed into four classes —
first, the oak, the ash, the yew, the beech, the chestnut, the
pear, the crab, the blackthorn and the broom; second, the
elm, maple, hornbeam, and white-thorn ; third, the pines and
260
firs; and fourth, the birch, alder, poplar, hazel, and willow.
"When six loads of the ashes of the first class are sufficient
for an acre of land, ten or twelve loads of the ashes of the
fourth class may be required." It will thus be seen what
room there is for selection in using trees for ashes or for
the production of potash. For further information on pot-
ash, ashes, soaps, consult "Garya," hickory, in this paper.
Table of mean results of experiments of Messrs. Ker-
wan, Vauquelin, and Pertues, upon ten thousand parts of
each plant — amount of potash in each — (Chaptal) :
Elm 39 of potash. Fern 62 of potash.
Oak 15 " Cow Thistle 196
Beech 12 " Wormwood 730
Vine 55 " Vetches 275
Poplar 7 " [Beans 200
Thistles 53 " Fumitory 890
In selecting plants to burn for potash, which can be done
on any plantation, those which are thus seen to yield most
should be chosen. "Grasses, leaves, the stalks of French
beans, of peas, melons, gourds, cabbages, artichokes, po-
tatoes, maize, and garget, are very rich in this alkali."
Thistles, nettles, broom-heath, brambles, ferns, should all
be collected. The fumitory and wormwood (exceedingly
rich in potash) are both grown in the Confederate States.
The plants are first dried and then burned, and the ashes
leached, which should be repeated. Hot water is better
than cold. The potash can easily be extracted from the
lye by evaporation. "The process," says Ghaptal, "may
be commenced in a copper boiler, into which a very fine
stream of the lye should flow to replace that which evapo-
rates; when the liquor has acquired the consistency of
honey it should be put into iron boilers to complete the
operation. As the substance thickens, care must be taken
to remove that portion of it which adheres to the sides,
and to stir the whole carefully with iron spatulas. "When
the substance congeals and becomes solid upon being
exposed to the air, it is poured into casks, and thrown into
261
commerce, under the name of salts. The whole process is
simple, and may be- conducted upon our farms without any
difficulty." Pearlash may be procured from the potash by
calcination. See treatises on the arts.
The following observations may be found useful to the
soap manufacturer, even if he exists in the person of a
planter or farmer, which I quote from Thornton's Family
Herbal : In the large manufactories the lye for making
soap should be made no stronger than to float a new laid
egg when the workmen begin to form the mixture. The
oil or tallow is first boiled with a weak lye until the whole
is formed into a saponaceous compound. It is then kept
boiling with a stronger lye until it acquires a considerable
consistence, and seems to be separating from the fluid be-
low. This separation is a very material part of the opera-
tion, and to effect it completely a quantity of common salt
is added; the materials are continually boiled for three or
four hours, and then the fire is withdrawn. The soap will
now be found united at the top of the liquor, or what is
called the waste lye, which is of no further use, and is there-
fore drawn off. The soap is now melted for the last time
with a lye, or even with water. It is then allowed to cool,
and afterward cast into wooden frames. The last melting
is important, as giving compactness. A solution of sul-
phate of iron will mottle soap by dispersing it before the
soap hardens throughout the mass.
A most economical mode of washing, which has been
employed by farmers, which reduces the labor of days to that
of a few hours, might be adopted in our armies. The wash-
ing of an entire regiment, when in garrison or in cities,
might be done systematically and collectively with far less
exposure and loss of time. I obtain the method from some
of the journals:
On the night preceding the day intended to be set apart
for washing, the clothes, white and colored, coarse and fine,
are put in tubs of clear water, where they remain all night.
A large size vessel, the larger the better, is half filled with
water, which is raised to the boiling point. To one con-
262
taining sixty gallons put two teaspoon fills of sal soda, one
quart of soft soap, and one quart of lime-water, made by-
pouring three gallons of water on one quart of lime the
night previous, so that it may have had time to settle, and
in proportion if smaller vessels are used ; stir the water and
ingredients well together, when the clothes are put in, and
boiled rapidly for an hour; they are then taken out and
rinsed well. The same lime-water may be kept until it is
all consumed. The receipt for making the soap is as fol-
lows: The ingredients for one hundred pounds do not cost
more than one dollar aud fifty cents. Take six pounds of
potash, four pounds of lard, one-fourth pound of rosin ;
beat up the rosin, mix all together well, and set aside for
five days ; then put the whole in a ten gallon cask of warm
water, and stir twice a day for ten days ; at the expiration
of which time, or sooner, you will have one hundred pounds
of excellent soap. Strong lye-water or concentrated lye
may perhaps take the place of the potash. A gill of alco-
hol added to a gallon of soft soap, applied to clothes in the
usual way, and soaked several hours before washing, fur-
nishes an economical method.
Quercus rubra. lied oak. Diffused ; grows in great
abundance; St. John's; Charleston; ISFewbern. Fl. April.
IT. S. Disp. ; Griffith, Mod. Bot. 587. Employed, like
the others, as an astringent. It is easily obtained, and
convenientl}T prescribed. I have myself found the bark
of the tree of some service among the negroes, in sev-
eral cases where a tonic astringent injection was required,
using it in one of prolapsus uteri, where the organ be-
came chafed and painful from exposure. The decoction
of the bark, with sulphate of copper, is employed on the
plantations to dye woollens of a green or black color, and
for tanning leather. Hickory bark, with copperas, furnishes
an olive color; maple gives a purple dye, the tea leaf (Hopea
tinctoria) a yellow, and white oak a brown. Walnut leaves
or roots, without copperas, repeatedly boiled, yield a black
dye. Blacksmiths' dust may be used in place of copperas.
268
The wood is not so durable as that of the Q. alba, but it is
much used for domestic purposes.
Quercus montana, Wilkl. Rocky soils in the Alleghany
mountains of South Carolina. Used as a substitute for the
above.
Quercus virens, Aiton. Live-oak. Grows abundantly on
the sea-coast, for the space of forty miles from the ocean ;
Newbern. Fl. June.
IT. S. Disp. 581 ; Eberle, Mat. Med. i, 376. This tree is
of quick growth, and attains a large size in South Caro-
lina. Its great value for manufacturing purposes, ship-
building, etc., is well known. It is often exported for
these purposes, to great advantage. Its branches extend
out to some distance, and it affords one of our most ven-
erable, magnificent, and ornamental shade trees, suited for
avenues. The acorns are edible.
Density of Wood. — I introduce the following under
Quercus virens. Count Chaptal, in his Chemistry applied
to Agriculture, makes the following remarks : " Soil, ex-
posure, climate, and season modify in a remarkable man-
ner the fibre of vegetables of the same kind. Vegetables
raised in a dry and arid soil have a much harder and more
compact texture than those of the same kind raised in a
moist and rich soil ; they have more perfume, contain a
greater quan-tity of volatile oil, are decomposed with more
difficulty, and during the combustion give out a much
more intense heat. Every one knows that thickets having
a southern exposure yield better fuel than those which lie
toward the north; the wood is more solid, and after having
been cut, it will resist for a longer time the action of air
and water. This fact was observed by Pliny, in regard to
the woods of the Appenines."
The difference between the hardness of trees growing in
swamps and highlands is, I believe, referred to by Bous-
singault. The locality and the season of the year should
have an influence upon the tree, upon its structure, and
264
secretions, and the}7 should be considered, in reference to
the growth of timber for ships, implements, etc. The best
time for cutting wood is in the end of the winter, when the
texture is hardened and condensed by the cold. Boussin-
gault, in his work on Scientific Agriculture, describes a
French method of preserving timber, superior to the Kyan-
ized, by the absorption of the salts of iron. I would refer
the curious reader to a paper, giving a most remarkable
account of the enormous size and height of the trees, and
the vegetable wonders of California, in Patent Office Re-
ports, p. 4, 1851, by Win. A. Williams. Trees sixty-eight
feet in circumference, and three hundred and eight}7 feet in
height, without a branch for two hundred and sixty feet ;
vegetables relatively large. See Boussingault's work for
similar statements ; also, paper in Patent Office Reports on
Agriculture, p. 655, 1851, by Thomas Eubank, Commis-
sioner, containing extracts from writings of M. M. Na.udin
and Lecoq (report to the French Academy), on the taming
of plants by cultivation; they "tamed every individual
species of the fierce family of thistles," converting them
into a savory vegetable.
It is well known, says a writer in the Patent Office Re-
ports, 1852, p. 257, that the most valuable timber is that
which has attained its growth with most light and air.
The wagon-maker takes care to combine toughness and du-
rability by selecting his wood from trees of second growth,
or from trees of first growth that from infancy have stood
alone, or far apart. I have ascertained, in conversation
with machinists and wood-cutters, that they separate many
species of useful trees into two varieties, and make careful
selection in cutting for the shop.
Quercus prinos, L. Vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern.
This may be used medicinally as a substitute for the
Q. alba.
Quercus suber. Cork tree. Exotic.
The Patent Office has distributed for years past seeds
265
and plants of the cork tree. See Reports, 1854, p. 32,
for mode of culture and gathering of cork; and article
on "Properties and Uses of Cork Tree." Patent Office
Reports, 1858, p. 335.
Quercus.
For method of raising acorn-hearing oaks, fin- feeding
of hogs, varieties, etc., see Wilson's Rural Cyclop., art.
"Acorn," "Oak." In some portions of England hogs are
raised almost entirely upon acorns, and with but a limited,
supply of grain just before killing. " The farmers of
Gloucestershire bestow near!}' as much care upon the fruit
of their oak trees as upon the produce of their orchards '■>
they seldom sell their acorns, yet usually estimate their
value at from Is. 6d. to 2s. per bushel," etc. Wilson.
See also Boutcher's "thoroughly practical" Treatise on
Forest Trees. See Boussingault's Agricultural Chemistry,
and Wilson's Rural Cyc, for method of preserving timber.
Betulace^e. (The Birch Tribe.)
Bark astringent ; sometimes employed as a febrifuge.
Betula lenta, L. Sweet birch ; cherry birch ; mountain
mahogany. Mountain ridges of South Carolina.
U. S. Disp. 1233. The bark and leaves possess a very
aromatic flavor. An infusion of them is useful as an agree-
able, gently stimulant, and diaphoretic drink. The oil,
obtained by distillation from the bark, has been shown by
Proctor to be similar to that of the Gaultheria procumbens.
(See that plant.) It also affords a saccharine liquor. Am.
Journal Pharm. xv, 213; Ell. Bot. ii, 617. The wood,
possessing a fine grain, which is susceptible of a beautiful
polish, is much used by cabinet-makers. It would be
adapted to the fine work on railroad cars. Is the hand-
somest of the species, and has the finest timber. "The
timber, when fresh cut, has a rosy tint, and afterward
deepens in color by exposure. It has a fine, close grain,
and is susceptible of a very high polish. It is used for sofas,
266
arm-chairs, the frames of coach panels, and various other
purposes. " "Wilson ; Miehaux's Travels, etc.
"The Sap of the Birch tree reddens turnsole intensely. It
is colorless, and has a sweet taste. The water which forms
a greater part of it holds in solution sugar, extractive
matter, acetate of lime, acetate of alumina, and acetate of
potash. When properly concentrated by evaporation, it
ferments on the addition of yeast, and then yields alcohol
on distillation. The presence of the acetate of alumina
may appear extraordinary in the sap for this reason, that
alumina has not yet been discovered in the ashes of the
birch tree." Boussingault's Rural Econ. p. 65, ed. 1857.
Betula nigra, Linn. B. rubra, Mx. Red birch. Vicinity
of Charleston ; collected on the Santee river, St. John's,
Berkley; Newbern. Fl. March.
Ind. Bot. Dr. Green states that a strong decoction of
the bark cured cases of putrid sore throat. It is useful also
in pleurisy. Lindley says that the black birch of North
America is one of the hardest and most valuable we possess.
This might suit the purposes of the engraver, and in the
construction of any implements requiring wood of firm
texture. We have also the yellow and the cherry birch.
The shoots and the twigs of the B. lanulosa, or B. nigra,
said by Wilson to grow in the Carolinas, are used for
hoops, and " made into excellent street brooms." Its
wood is compact, nearly white, and streaked longitudi-
nally, and useful for various economical purposes. Con-
sult "Alnics semdata."
Abuts serrulata, Aitou. Alder. Grows along rivulets,
Charleston district ; Richland, Prof. Gibbes ; Newbern.
Fl. April.
U. S. Disp. 1224. The bark is astringent. 1ST. Y. Jour-
nal Med. v, 7, 8. It had for a long time been neglected ;
but in the article referred to the decoction is spoken
highly of as an alterative and astringent in scrofula, and
cutaneous diseases, and it is said to have been very success-
267
fill in hsematuria ; in these affections producing beneficial
results where all other means had failed. Shec, in his
Flora Carol., spoke of the alder tags, as being of great
service, on account of their alterative powers ; a decoction
of the leaves has also been used to suppress hemorrhage,
and they have been found effectual in relieving dyspepsia
and bowel complaints. An astringent decoction may be
made of the bark, leaves, or tags — acting also as a diuretic.
A tincture may also be used. Poultices made of them are
used as a local application to tumors, sprains, swellings,
etc. The leaves are applied externally to wounds and
ulcers. The inner bark of the root is emetic, and it has
been given in intermittents. It is used by tanners and
dyers; the shoots, cut in March, will impart a cinnamon
color to cloths and flannels. The black alder is used to
color flannels: "Take the bark, boil it well, then skim, or
strain it well ; wet the cloth in a pretty strong lye, and dip
it into the alder liquor ; let it remain till cool enough to
wring, and it gives an indelible orange color." The wood
does not absorb water easily, and is employed in making-
posts, and any structure liable to be submerged. The
English Alnus (A. glutinosa) is planted along the side of
water-courses, rivulets, and sand-banks, to prevent the en-
croachment of water by the hardening and binding influ-
ence of the roots upon the soil, and also as a border to
conceal unsightly or boggy lands. The wood is suited for
pipes, pump-trees, and all kinds of subaqueous wood-work,
"where it will harden like a very stone," says an old
writer; now superseded, says Wilson, "for even these
purposes by the Kyanized wood of more close grained
trees." The wood of this is also used for various purposes
of the turner, for the cogs of wheels, etc. "Charcoal made
of its timber has long been highly valued for the manufac-
ture of gunpowder." Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia, art.
Alnus. I do not know how closely our A. serrulata and
A. viridis resemble the English tree. The bark of alders is
astringent, and is used by tanners and dyers ; see Wilson.
It is, in other wTords, rich in tannin. The birch (JBetula
268
nigra, L.), in fact all of our species, no doubt, contain a
certain proportion of the gummy, oily substance peculiar
to the B. alba of England. The flowers of the latter are
highly odoriferous, and the oil is collected. The bark is
also used by the tanner. Russia skins are said to be tanned
with it, hence the peculiar odor. Our species of birch may
no doubt be used for similar purposes. I have little doubt,
in consideration of the possession of an astringent and oily,
resinous principle, that a tincture of the catkins would
.serve as an excellent astringent, stimulating diuretic, to be
used in gleet, gonorrhoea, and in chronic diseases of the
genito-urinary apparatus.
Birch wine is also made in England from the sap of the
birch. The papery sheets of birch bark were used as a
writing material.
URiTiCACEiE. [The Nettle Tribe.)
Urtica urens, L. Dwarf nettle. Grows around Beaufort ;
collected in Fairfield district; Ell. says at St. Mary's,
Georgia; vicinity of Charleston, Bach. Fl. February.
Murray's App. Med. iv, 592 ; Bull. Plarites Yen. de
France, 170. It causes an excessive discharge of urine,
and Serapion said that thirty grains of it would purge. In
the Supplement to the Diet, de Mat. Med. by Mer. and de
L., 1846, p. 719, we have an account of the remarkable
haemostatic virtues of this and the U. dioica, also found in
South Carolina. It had originally obtained some favor in
this respect, and was used by Sydenham, but had for a long
time fallen into disrepute. It has been reserved for M.
Guinestet to restore the public confidence in it; and it is
now spoken favorably of by Chomel, Lange, and Desbois.
Guinestet advises it in hemorrhage, and reports five cases
of uterine hemorrhage in which bleeding was instantly ar-
rested ; two to four ounces of the juice were given, taken
internally, and in the form of injection. It has also been
successfully employed in heematemesis and epistaxis, and
cases of two months duration were cured. The objections
of others who were not so successful have been satisfactorily
269
answered, its pretended therapeutic action being denied hj
Drs. Kaseiakewies and Fiard, who report a case of poison-
ing from the internal use of two ounces of the concentrated
decoction. The supporters have produced well sustained
arguments destroying the force of these statements; and
Merat himself speaks favorably of it in an official report
made to the Academy, and published in the Bull, de
Therap.; he furnishes a case of nasal hemorrhage, occurring
in a ffirl who was sriving birth to a child, and who was at
the same time flooding, both of which he succeeded in
arresting with the juice of this plant, when everything else
had failed. Many others have used it with very favorable
results in this and in leucorrhoea. "Sperons," adds the
author of the Diet, de M. Med., " que l'experience con-
firmera ces heureux resultats. " See Amusat's, Cheval-
lier's, and Merat's Rapport " stir l'emploi du sue d'ortie
comme antihemorragique," made in 1846, in the Bull, de
l'Acad. Royale de Med. ix, 1015. Dr. Menicucci, of Rome,
introduces into the vagina a sponge soaked in the juice ;
and it may be at the same time administered internally.
See Abeilhe Medicale, Mai, 1846. M. Griiinestet attributes
its hamiostatic virtues to a constituent which coagulates
milk in the same way that poisons do. See a letter of
Merat, relating a case of uterine hemorrhage existing for
two months, which was cured by the juice of the U. dioica
(in French). Idem, x, 364, 1845 ; Mer. and de L. vi, 875 ;
Journal de Med. vi, 492. By analysis, it contains a car-
bonate, ammonia, chlorophyl, mucus, black coloring matter,
gallic acid, tannin, and nitrate of potash, less abundant
than in the U. dioica (which see).
Induced by these notices to test it myself, I succeeded in
obtaining a quantity of the U. wrens from Fairfield district,
S. C. Assisted by Dr. R. A. Kinloch, of Charleston, I pro-
ceeded to expose and divide the right common carotid
arteries of two sheep, upon the bleeding orifices of which
was applied lint covered with a sponge soaked in the cold
infusion and the decoction respectively. The results were
as follows : the first died from improper manipulation ; in
270
the second, the bleeding ceased entirely — the animal was
killed, however, a short time afterward. The juice of the
plant seemed to have some effect in coagulating fresh blood
poured out into the hand. Upon giving the cold infusion,
made with two ounces of the plant to a pint of water, in
doses of a wineglassful four times a day, to a patient affect-
ed with chronic hematuria, who had used tannin, gallic
acid, and the infusion of buchu ineffectually, she confessed
having derived decided relief from it, but complained of its
having brought out an eruption over the body. The ex-
periments in both cases are obviously too meagre to enable
me to pronounce positively as to the amount of power the
plant possesses. Celsus employed the Urtica in paralysis.
De Re Medica, 1. iii, 27 ; Bull, des Sci. Med. ix, 77. Flag-
ellation with the branches, which, it is well known, contain
stings which produce great irritation, followed by inflam-
mation, has been recommended for bringing out cutaneous
and febrile eruptions, as in scarlatina, in apoplexy, in in-
sensibility of organs, in chronic rheumatism, and in fact
wherever a powerful external stimulating revulsive is re-
quired. For this purpose it has even been employed in the
algid period of incurable cholera morbus. Dr. Marchand,
Seance de 1'Acad. Roy. de Med. ii, July, 1832 ; J. Ste-
voght, Diss, de Urtica, 1707 ; J. Francus, Tractatus Singu-
laris de Urtica U rente, etc. Dilleng, 1726. Both this
and the U. dioica are found in the Confederate States, and
I would invite farther and particular examination into
properties which are of so valuable a description. I ob-
serve no notice of these experiments in the American
works. The minute structure of the sting is said to be
very curious.
Urtica dioica, L. Common or red dead nettle. Grows
along roads and fences; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. Aug.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. iii, 338. It is applied extensively as
a stimulating and- antiseptic astringent. and detersive, the
herb and seed being used; the decoction is also alluded to
in this work as being used in hemorrhage, bloody urine,
271
etc. Urtication with this also was employed in rheumatism,
paralysis, etc. (See U. wrens.) The root is advised in jaun-
dice and nephritic diseases. Fl. Scotica, 57. A rennet was
made with a strong decoction. One quart of salt was added
to three pints of the decoction, and boiled for use, a spoon-
ful of which was sufficient to coagulate a large quantity of
milk. Stearns, in the Am. Herbal, 136, refers to its use in
jaundice, nephritic disorders, and in hemorrhage. "The
juice snuffed up the nose stops bleeding, and a leaf put on
the tongue, and pressed against the roof of the mouth, will
answer the same purpose." Thornton's Fam. Herbal. Lin-
naeus, in his Veg. Mat. Med. 511, alludes to its employment
in hemorrhage ; it was considered lithontriptic and emmena-
gogue, and adapted to those in whom the hemorrhagic
diathesis prevailed; all of which opinions I quote, as
coming from old authors. "Steel dipped in the juice be-
comes more flexible." The seeds produce an oil, which,
taken in moderate quantities, excites the system, especially
"les plaisirs de rumour." Twenty or thirty grains of these
induce vomiting, and a few of them, taken daily, are said
to reduce excessive corpulency. Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. vi, 613. By Salladin's analysis, in Journal de Chim.
Med. vi, 492, the plant contains nitrate of lime, hydrochlo-
rate of soda, phosph. potash, acetate of lime, ligneous mat-
ter, with silicate and oxalate of iron. Pallas, Voyage, i,
700; G-melin, Flora Siberica, ii; Mathiole, Comra. 560. It
is said that animals which feed on the plant become both
fatter and stronger. Mem. de Hserlem, xxvi. The stalks
have a fibre like hemp, and have been emploj'ed for making
cordage; the root boiled in alum will dye a yellow colour.
I have obtained a fine yellow colour bjT boiling the agri-
mony (Agrimoniu eupatoriu) in water with alum. See Hooke's
Microscop. Diss, xxii, 12, and Guettard, Mem. de l'Acack
des Sci. de Paris, 1751, 350, for a description of the struct-
ure of the sting, and the Petersburg Journal, 1778, 370, for
a notice of the value of the stalks in making ropes and
paper. The IT. S. Disp., 1303, barely notices the plant. Late
experiments may have escaped the attention of its indefati-
gable authors.
272
The nettle plants are known to be closely allied to those
bearing textile fibres, and indeed thread can be made from all
the nettles. The Bcelwieria nivea, formerly known as Urtica
nivea, is the famous China grass which has been introduced
into this country by the Patent Office on account of its value
for manufacturing purposes. The China grass cloth is made
from it. Dr. Royle says that it has sold in England at from
£80 to £120 a ton. See Patent Office Rep. 244, 1855, and
Dr. J. F. Royle and Dr. Roxburgh's treatises on the orient-
al fibres. Experiments may be made in the Confederate
States upon the yield of fibre from the Urtica wrens and
dioica, which grow spontaneously. Boiling in alkaline so-
lutions and lime-water is used in preparation of such
plants. See article cited ; also Apocynum.
The common nettle, remarks Mr. Lawson, who ranks it
with flax, hemp, cotton, phormium, and other fibre-yielding
economical plants, has been long known as affording a large
proportion of fibre, which has not only been made into ropes
and cordage, but also into sewing-thread and beautiful white
linen-like cloth of superior quality. The fibre, he adds, is
easily separated from other parts of the stalk, without their
undergoing the processes of watering and bleaching,
although by such the labor necessary for that purpose is
considerably lessened. Like those of many other common
plants, the superior merits of this generally accounted
troublesome weed have hitherto been much overlooked —
quoted by Wilson in Rural Cyc. It is stated that the
roots possess astringent and diuretic properties, and have
been found serviceable in poultices for tumors, and decoc-
tions for other complaints. The leaves, chopped up with
meal or with boiled potatoes, are used for feeding ducklings,
young turkeys, and full grown poultry, especially in winter,
and are said to promote the laying of eggs. Settles are
sometimes boiled and eaten in the manner of greens. La-
borers use the young tops of nettles as a pleasant, nourishing,
and mildly aperient potherb, either in soups or in accompa-
niment with salt beef or pork. Rural Cyc.
273
TJrtica pumila, L. Grows in wet soils, vicinity of Charles-
ton ; Richland, Prof. Gibbes. Fl. Sept.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 572. This is quite smooth; is said to
be an excellent application to inflamed parts, and to relieve
the eruption caused by the Rims. Griffith invites further
investigation.
Camions saliva. Hemp. Ex. Nat. Cultivated in the
upper districts.
The value of this plant for manufacturing purposes, for
making ropes and cordage, is well known. It may become
a most important question whether or not we can raise it in
the Atlantic states with as much profit as in Kentucky, or
to repay the labor bestowed upon it. I have not been able
to ascertain whether the juice of the plant, as cultivated
here^ possesses the intoxicating properties of the East India
species (0. Indica), though it has been asserted that "water
in which it is soaked becomes violently poisonous." See a
paper in Patent Office Reports, 1848, p. 574, from Louisville
Journal, containing a full description of varieties, mode of
production, and preparation of hemp. Count Chaptal says,
in his Chemistry applied to Agriculture, that M. Proust had
determined, after numerous experiments, that the stalk of
hemp furnished the best charcoal for the manufacture of
gunpowder — better than the willow. From the seeds is ex-
tracted an oil, generally employed by painters. The fine
oil obtained from the seeds is peculiarly adapted for burn-
ing in chambers, as it is perfectly limpid, and possesses no
smell. The Russians and Poles, even of the higher class,
bruise or roast the seeds, mix them with salt, and eat them
on bread. It expels vermin from plantations of cabbages
if planted on the borders of fields ; if planted with that
vegetable, no caterpillar will infest it. "Willich's Dom. Enc.
The seeds may be sown in April or May, from two to three
bushels per acre, either broadcast, and hoeing out the plants
to a distance of sixteen or seventeen inches, or by the drill,
at a distance of thirty inches. In the autumn the plants
are pulled, the male plants first, and the female plants six
18
274
or seven weeks afterward, when they have ripened their
seed. Thus there are two harvests of the hemp crop. The
male plants are readily known by their faded flowers, and
yellowish color. They are then tied in small bundles and
carried to the pool, where they are to be steeped. Hemp,
like flax, poisons the water in which it is steeped. The
same process is followed when the female plants are pulled;
only these, before they are steeped, have their seeds beaten
out.
The process of steeping commonly lasts four or five days,
and is continued until the outside coat of the hemp readily
separates. It is then carefully and evenly spread on some
grass turf, where it remains for three or four weeks, being
turned over about twice every week, by which the decom-
position of the woody part of the stem is materially acceler-
ated. It is next carried to the barn, where it is bruised by
the break, a machine constructed for the purpose; it is then
bound up into bundles, and carried to market. (Low's
JPrac. Agr. p. 348.) There is a paper on a species of African
hemp by Mr. A. Hunter (Trans. High. Soc. vol. iii, p. 87);
others on the cultivation of hemp in America, by Mr.W.
Tonge (Ann. of Agr. vol. xxiii, p. 1); in Italy (ibid. vol. xvi,
p. 439, and vol. ii, p. 216), and in Catalonia. (Ibid. vol. viii,
p>. 243.) 'It seems that 100 parts of Indian hemp-seed yield
20 to 25 per cent, of oil. (Com. Agr. Asiat. Soc. 1838, p. 69.)
See Flax.
Among our native substitutes for hemp are the Apocynum
■cannabinum, the Canada Golden Rod; Solidago canadensis,
L. (S. procera, of Ell.); the Sunflower (Helianthus) affords
single filaments, which are said to be as thick and as strong
as small packthread; also our jEsclepias Syriaca, Uriica
dioica and Yucca jilamentosa or bear-grass. See these plants.
Elliott says that bear-grass possesses the strongest fibre of
any vegetable whatsoever. Its roots are extensive, and
bear transplanting. See Prep, of Hemp, Farmer's Encyc.
See, also, files of the Kentucky Farmer. Paper is made of
waste hemp, whitened. The seeds afford an oil, which,
boiled in milk, is recommended against coughs, and is also
275
said to be useful in. incontinence of urine. In India an
intoxicating liquor is made from the leaves, resembling
opium in its effects.
Humulus lupulus, L. Hop. Grows in the mountains of
South Carolina, and generally cultivated in Confederate
States.
Dr. McBride; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 185; Chap.
Therap. and Mat. Med. i, 348, and ii, 455 ; Eb. M. Med. ii,
55 ; TX. S. Disp. 374 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 163 ; Freake,
Med. Phys. Journal, xiii, 432; Thompson's Lond. Disp.
200; Bigsby, Lond. Med. Repos. v, 97; Bryorly's Inaug.
Diss. Phil. An. 1803 ; Ives in Silliman's Journal, ii, 302 ;
Thornton's Fam. Herbal, 820. This plant is certainly pos-
sessed of some narcotic power. According to Dr. Latham,
an infusion of it is a good substitute for laudanum. It is
employed in doses of one and a half drachms in allaying
the distressing symptoms of phthisis. It augments the se-
cretions, removes pain and irritability, and induces sleep.
Dr. Maton, Fell. Roy. Soc. Coll. Phys., says that large
doses produce headache. It is thought to be a specific in
removing asthmatic pains, without increasing the secre-
tions. Mer. and cle L. Diet, cle M. Med. iii, 544; Pliny, lib.
xxi, c. 15 ; Flore Med. iv, 196. It is given with good effect
as a stomachic, in inappetency and weakness of the diges-
tive organs. Mat. Med. Indica. 120; Bull. des. Sci. Med.
xvi, 145 ; Journal des Sci. Med. xli, 376 ; Edinb. Journal,
iv, 23; Diss. Medici de Humuli medici viribus medicis,
Edinb. 1803; Bromelius, "Lupulogia," Stockholm, 1687;
Obs. of Freake on the Hop, Lond. Lupulin] obtained from
*it, is said to diminish the force of the pulse. See Journal
de Chim. Med. ii, 527; Journal de Pharm. viii, 228 and
330. In the Supplem. to M. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
1846, a case is reported of a girl being poisoned by the
hop. Rev. Scientifique, Mars, 1845; Journal de Pharm.
Mars, 1842. Much use is made of the hop poultice in al-
laying pain, applied over the part. Its domestic value in
preparing the liquor known as yeast is obvious, as well as
276
for other purposes where fermentation is to be established
in the manufacture of many alcoholic drinks and malt
liquors. The medicinal properties of the hop are said to
depend upon the lupulin, a peculiar resinous secretion con-
tained in the glands, which is obtained by thrashing and
sifting the strobiles. By analysis it consists of volatile oil,
bitter principle, or lupulin, resin, etc. ; when administered
internally, this has all the good effects of the hop; given in
pill, in doses of six to ten grains, or in tincture in those of
a half to one drachm; and it may also be added to poulti-
ces, ointments, etc. Ives' Experiments; Griffith, Med. Bot.
574. The tincture of lupulin is said to be preferable ; dose,
one to two fluid drachms.
Patent Office Rep. 280, 1857, contains a very full treatise
on the hop, condensed from various sources — an analysis of
the plant, the best mode of cultivation, gathering, etc. As
the raising of the hop is of great importance, I would refer
cultivators to this article. It is said to be one of the very
most exhausting among cultivated plants, both in respect
to the organic and mineral constituents which it extracts
from the soil; so that valleys containing the debris of the
surrounding country should be selected. See, also, Wil-
son's Rural Cyc, art. "Hop," "Beer," "Ale." His account
of cultivation, diseases, etc., of the hop is full and instruc-
tive. The stem of the hop contains a fibre like hemp,
which is used in making a strong white cloth in Sweden,
though it requires long steeping to separate the fibre. The
hop plant is rich in tannin, and has been used for tanning:
the ash yields 25. of potash, 15. of lime, magnesia, salt, etc.
The suckers of the hop are said to form an agreeable vege-
table for the table when dressed like asparagus. Honey
dew is frequent on hop plants from the perforations of the
aphis. It is said to be very abundant on cotton plants.
An article also on the cultivation of the hop can be found
in Patent Office Reports, 1854, p. 354.
I quote from the paper mentioned above as follows, as I
consider information on this topic important:
The hop is a perennial plant of easy cultivation, and
277
will grow in any part of the Western states. Its domestic
uses are so obvious, that no farm or garden should be with-
out one or more roots. It requires a rich, deep, mellow
soil, with a dry, pervious, or rocky subsoil. The exposure
in a northern climate should be toward the south, as on the
slope of a hill, or in an}' well sheltered valley. It may be
propagated by seeds, or by divisions of the roots ; but it is
more usual to plant the young shoots which rise from the
bottom of the stems of old plants. These are laid down in
the earth till they strike, when they are cut off and planted
in a nursery bed. Care must be takeu to have only one
sort of hops in the same plat or field, in order that they
may all ripen at the same time. The ground having been
prepared for planting, it is divided by parallel lines six feet
apart, and short sticks are inserted into the ground along
the lines at seven feet distance from each other, and so as
to alternate the rows, as is frequently done with fruit trees
and other plants, in what is called the "Quincunx form."
By this method every plant will be just seven feet from
each of its neighbors, although the rows will be only six
feet apart, and consequently about one-eighth of land will
be actually saved, as indicated in the diagram below:
At each stick a hole may be dug two feet square and two
feet deep, and lightly filled with the earth dug out, mixed
with a compost prepared with well rotted dung, lime, and
muck. Fresh dung should never be applied to hops.
Three plants are next placed in the middle of this hole six
inches asunder, forming an equilateral triangle. A water-
ing with liquid manure will greatly assist their taking root,
and they will soon begin to show "vines." Sticks three
or four feet long are then stuck in the middle of the three
plants, and the vines are tied to them with twine or bass,
till they lay hold and twine around them. During their
growth the ground should be well hoed and forked up
around the roots, and some of the fine mould thrown
278
around the stems. In favorable seasons a few hops may
be picked from these young plants in autumn, but in gen-
eral there is nothing the first year. Late in autumn the
ground may be carefully dug with a spade, and the earth
turned toward the plants, to remain during the winter.
Early in spring the second year the hillocks around the
plants should be opened, and the roots examined. The last
year's shoots are then cut off within an inch of the main
stem, and all the suckers quite close to it. The latter
forms an agreeable vegetable for the table when dressed
like asparagus. The earth is next pressed round the roots,
and the parts covered so as to exclude the air. A pole
about twelve feet long is then firmly stuck into the ground
near the plants; to this the vines are led, and tied as they
shoot, until they have taken hold of it. If by accident a
vine leaves the pole it should be carefully brought back to
it, and tied until it takes new hold.
Mr. J. J. Bennett, of New York, says: "The manner in
which I cultivate hops is as follows: After ploughing the
ground intended for hops, I use about ten loads of leached
ashes per acre for a top-dressing, after which it should be
well harrowed. The rows should be eight feet apart, and
the hills seven feet apart. In setting, a line is used with
marks indicating the distance between the hills. After the
line is drawn, small sticks are set to each mark. Roots are
to be cut, two joints on each piece, three pieces to the hill ;
cover about two inches. The ground ma}7 be planted with
corn the first year, as the hops will not run until the
second. It should be sown the first of May in drills three
and one-half feet apart ; sow with seed-drill. The first
year corn may be raised; plant one foot from the teasel
row. I weed them twice the first year ; the second year
they are to be cultivated and hoed twice. The first of
August I cut such as are ripe, which will be known by the
shedding of the blossoms. I cut at four different times,
the stems to be about four inches long. They are to be
spread on shelves about eight inches deep, one tier above
another. There should be a good circulation of air, that
279
they may cure well. I paid for cultivating five acres forty-
two dollars; paid for harvesting eighty-five dollars." See
a full description of hops, mode of cultivation, prepara-
tions, adulterations, etc., in Johnson's Chemistry of Com-
mon Life,' vol. ii, p. 36 ; also Ure's Dictionary of Arts and
Manufactures, articles "Hop," "Ale,"" Beer," etc. Con-
sult Pereira's Mat. Medica, Chaptal's Chemistry applied to
Agriculture, Boussingault's Treatise on Agriculture in its
relations with Chemistry, and Thaer's Agriculture, for
mode of planting, preparation, etc. See, also, Phillips'
History of Cultivated Vegetables. The uses of the hop
pillow and the tincture of hops, as sedatives and mild nar-
cotics, are well known ; but for the medicinal application
consult the various works on the materia medica.
The great importance of cultivating this plant on a large
scale for manufacture of yeast should be impressed upon
the people. See receipt books for mode of making spruce
and hop beer with hops, and the essence of spruce. Mode
of making hop beer is as follows: For a half-barrel of
beer, take half a pound of hops, and half a gallon of mo-
lasses. The latter must be poured by itself into the casks.
Boil the hops, adding to them a teacupful of powdered
ginger in about a pailful and a half of water; that is,
a quantity sufficient to extract the virtue of the hops.
When sufficiently brewed, put it up warm into the cask,
shaking it well in order to mix it with the molasses. Then
fill it up with wrater quite up to the bung, which must be
left open, to allow it to work. You must be careful to keep
it constantly filled up with water whenever it works over.
"When sufficiently worked it may be bottled, adding a
spoonful of molasses to each bottle. Thornton'b Southern
Gardener.
Ale and beer can be made in the Confederate States,
though not with the same advantage as in colder climates.
Though without practical experience, I am forced to the
conviction that the desideratum is cool cellars. In the rural
districts what are called dry cellars are constructed in the
clay, just above the water-bearing stratum, the top enclosed
280
or covered with a closed house. The temperature of these
cellars is quite low, and they are used in keeping milk,
butter, melons, cider, etc. I think their temperature
would allow the manufacture and preservation of either
wine, ale. or beer. Ale has been made near Charleston, at
Mount Pleasant; but to prevent fermentation, cellars are
required. The reader interested in the subject can find a
description of the English method of making malt liquors
in Ure's Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures, in Wilson's
Rural Cyclopaedia (art. "Ale"), in Solly's Rural Chemistry,
p. 178, see art. "Fermentation and Distillation"; also,
Thornton's Family Herbal, "Mentha," p. 565., Child on
Brewing, Combrune's Theory and Practice of Brewing.
In England they use Gentiana, lutea, purpurea, and rubra as
substitutes for hops. Consult this volume, art. "Persim-r
mou "" (Diospyros), ■ "Sassafras" (Laurus), "Blackberry"
and "Cherry" (Cerasus), "Apple" (Pyrus), for liquors.
Moras alba, L. Mulberry. Nat. Diffused; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. March.
Bell's Pract. Diet. 319 ; U. S. Disp. 463 ; Dem. Elem. de
Bot. The root is bitter, and very astringent, and is useful
in relaxed states of the bowels, diarrhoea, etc. Lind. ISTat.
Syst. Bot. 186. It contains myroxylic acid with lime. Tur-
ner, 640. See analysis in the Journal de Chim. Med. x,
676. The bark is a purgative vermifuge, but is more im-
portant on account of "the leaves being the favorite food of
the silk- worm." That this plant is easily cultivated in the
Confederate States may some day make it a source of great
profit in the production of silk. The mania may again be
revived, under auspices which may deprive the term of the
slight suspicion of reproach which is attached to its objects.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med., Supplem. 1846, 496 ; Grif-
fith, Med. Bot. 579.
As "this is the species upon which the silk-worm feeds,"
the following brief directions concerning the manufacture
of silk, from the Rural Cyc, may be useful; and as the pro-
duction of the raw silk is in the power of almost any one,
281
if the females of numerous families throughout the Con-
federacy would devote their leisure to it, the aggregate
amount of silk produced would contribute still further to
render us independent as a people.
After the worm has enveloped itself in the cocoon,
seven or eight days are allowed to elapse before the balls
are gathered. The next process is to destroy the life of
the chrysalides, which is clone either by exposure to the
sun, or by the heat of an oven, or of steam. The cocoons
are next separated from the floss, or loose, downy substance
which envelops the compact balls, and are then ready to
be reeled. For this purpose they are thrown into a boiler
of hot water for the purpose of dissolving the gum, and
being gently pressed with a brush, to which the threads
adhere, the reeler is thus enabled to disengage them. The
ends of four or more of the threads thus cleared are passed
through holes in an iron bar, after which two of these com-
pound threads are twisted together, and made fast to the
reel. The length of reeled silk obtained from a single
cocoon varies from three hundred to six hundred yards;
and it has been estimated that twelve pounds of cocoons,
the produce of the labors of two thousand eight hundred
worms, which have consumed one hundred and fifty-two
pounds of mulberry leaves, give one pound of reeled silk,
which may be converted into sixteen yards of gros de
Naples. Those cocoons which have been perforated can-
not be reeled, but must be spun on account of the breaks in
the thread. The produce of these balls when worked is
called fleuret. The raw silk, before it can be used in
weaving, must be twisted or thrown, and may be converted
into singles, tram, or organzine. The first is produced
merely by twisting the raw silk to give more firmness to
its texture. Tram is formed by twisting together, but not
very closely, two or more threads of raw silk, and usually
constitutes the weft or shoot of manufactured goods. Or-
ganzine is principally used in the warp, and is formed by
twisting first each individual thread, and then two or more
of the threads thus twisted, with the throwing-mill. The
282
silk when thrown is called hard silk, and must be boiled in
order to discharge the gum, which otherwise renders it
harsh to the touch, and unfit to receive the dye. After
boiling about four hours in soaped water, it is washed ^n
clear water to discharge the soap, and is seen to have ac-
quired that glossiness and softness of texture which forms
its principal characteristic. The yarn is now ready for
weaving. Rural Cyc. I saw in Italy the manufacture of
silk going on in most of the large towns, and many in the
country prepare raw silk for the manufacturer and weaver.
The successful rearing of silk-worms, remarks Wilson, is
a distinct art, and requires peculiar attention. They are
subject to a variety of maladies. In many places it is
usual to import the eggs from some district that has ac-
quired reputation for their production. These are packed
like grain, and are chosen in the same manner. The eggs
are* in many places hatched by the heat of the human
body. The silk is contained in the form of a fluid resem-
bling varnish, in long, cylindrical sacks many times the
length of the animal, and capable of being unfolded by
immersion in water. This fluid is easily forced out, and
advantage is sometimes taken of this circumstance to pro-
cure threads much coarser than usual, which are extremely
strong, and impervious to water. Rural Cyc. At the
agricultural meetings in South Carolina and Georgia arti-
cles of home-made silk are occasionally presented.
From an essay on the culture and manufacture of silk. By
H. P. Byram, Brandenburg, Meade county, Ky. — Expe-
rience of past ages has fully proved that the climate of the
United States is as well adapted to the nature and habits of
the silk-worm, and the production of silk, as that of any
other country. Several varieties of the mulberry are in-
digenous in our soil, and those generally -used in the na-
tive country of the silk-worm succeed equally well in our
own soil and climate. Hence, from the nature and habits
of American people, we must soon become the greatest
silk-growing nation on the earth. The first step toward
the production of silk is to secure a supply of suitable
food for the silk-worm.
283
Having tried all the varieties introduced into onr coun-
try, I find the Moras multicaulis and the Canton varieties,
all things considered, most suitable for that purpose.
Propagation of the mulberry. — Although the experience of
some years past has rendered this subject familiar to many,
yet those now most likely to engage in the legitimate busi-
ness of silk-growing may be less acquainted with the
propagation of the tree. I shall give some brief directions
ou the subject :
Almost any soil that is high and dry, and that will
mature Indian corn, is suitable for the mulberry. That,
however, which is inclined to be light or sandy is the best.
The Moras multicaulis may be propagated by cuttings or
layers (or a good variety may be raised from the seed).
Cuttings may be of one or more buds, planted perpendicu-
larly in a light, mellow bed of good soil. They should be
planted when the spring has fully opened, or about the
usual time of planting corn. They may be planted in the
rows, about twelve inches apart, and the rows at a sufficient
distance to admit of thorough cultivation with a plough
or cultivator. The ground should be kept mellow until
past midsummer.
Select a suitable piece of ground for a permanent or-
chard. It would be well if broken up in the fall, and
again ploughed in the spring, and, if followed with the
subsoil plough, it would be advantageous. After a thor-
ough harrowing it should be laid off in rows, each way
eight feet by four, with the plough. The trees at one year
old from the nursery should be taken up, the tops cut off
near the roots, and one planted in each of the squares or
hills.
Having tried various methods of planting, and different
distances, I prefer those here given. This will admit the
free use of the plough and cultivator both ways.
In latitudes north of 38° or 40°, where land is dear, they
may be planted much nearer. If a sufficient quantity of
cuttings from old trees cannot at once be procured, the
trees from the nursery should be taken up in the fall, and
284
buried in a cellar, or upon the north side of a bank or hill,
in alternate layers of trees and earth, and the whole pro-
tected by a shed from the rains of winter, as the plants
seldom sufficiently mature the first season from the cut-
tings to withstand the winters of a northern climate,
particularly that portion above the ground. South of 38°
of latitude these precautions may not be necessary.
The Canton mulberry is a more hard}^ kind, resembling
in some degree the varieties known as the common Italian,
producing a large, full, thick leaf. This variety is propa-
gated from seed and from layers, but does not readily
strike root from cuttings.
In 1838 I procured a quantity of this seed from Canton,
which produced a variety of j:>lants. Those producing the
greatest quantity of fruit yield an inferior leaf.
They are now propagating this variety very extensively
at the silk-growing establishment at Economy, Pennsyl-
vania, which, in connection with the Morus midticaulis,
constitute the principal food used at this establishment.
The fruit should be gathered when fully ripe, and the
seed washed out and dried. If south of the 39th parallel
of latitude, they may be planted the same season. North
of this, they should be planted in the following spring, in
a bed of rich earth prepared as for beets or onions, and
planted in drills about eighteen inches apart. The young
plants should be thinned to the distance of from one to
three inches from each other. They should be well cul-
tivated, when thev will attain the height of three or four
feet the first season. In the fall, in a northern climate, the
young trees should be taken up and protected during the
winter, as directed for the Morus midtieaulis. [This is not
necessary in the Southern states.] — So. Cult.
In the following spring the brandies may be taken off
near the main stem, the top shortened, and the whole tree
planted, completely covering the roots and main stem from
one to two inches deep. In this way two or more trees
may be produced from each plant. If a full supply can be
procured, the roots of the young plants may at once be
285
removed to the orchard. They may be allowed to stand
much nearer than the multicaulis, leaving only sufficient
room for cultivation.
When seed is required it would be well to plant out a
portion from the seed-bed at once, as standards for this
purpose, always selecting those bearing full, heart-shaped
leaves.
The leaves of the white Italian produce a good, heavy
cocoon, and should always be used in the last age of the
worms when other larger-leaved varieties cannot be ob-
tained.
Cultivation. — The mulberry orchard should be annually
cultivated. The ground kept mellow and free from weeds
until the middle of July.
The fields should be divided into three equal parts, and
after the second season from planting, one-third each year
should be cut down near the ground. This will cause a
more vigorous growth, and an abundant crop of foliage.
Feeding apartments. — Various plans have been proposed
and adopted for cocooneries, or feeding-sheds, for the silk-
worms, none of which, I think, are without objection,
except a perfect laboratory, so constructed as to be able to
fully control the atmosphere and temperature within.
This, however, would be too expensive, and require too
much skill and judgment for general adoption.
Open or shed-feeding has been employed with success of
late years, and for general use may be the most successful
for family establishments. This, however, confines the
whole business, particularly in the Northern states, to one
or two crops in the season. South of Ohio more can be
successfully fed.
These sheds may be cheaply made by setting some dura-
ble posts in the ground, saj- from six to eight feet high,
with a roof of shingles or boards. The roof should project
two feet over the sides. There should be some temporary
protection to the ends and sides of the shed; perhaps the
best and cheapest can be made of strong cotton cloth
(Osnaburg); three or four widths should be sewed together,
286
with small rods across the bottom, which will answer as
weights, and also as rollers, which, by the aid of a pulley,
may be rolled or let down at pleasure.
The width of the sheds must be governed by the size of
the hurdles or feeding-trays used. The width that I have
adopted is from eighteen to twenty feet. The length ac-
cording to the extent of the feeding contemplated.
Where it is designed to carry on an extensive business,
a building should be constructed expressly for the purpose.
It should be on an elevated situation, convenient to the
mulberry orchard. There should be a cellar under the
building. Any material commonly used for building may
be emplo}red. If of wood, weather-boarded and plastered.
It would be well to fill up the space between the two with
tan -bark or unburnt brick, or something of the kind,
which will render the temperature more uniform. The
width of the building should be twenty or twenty-eight
feet — the former admitting of two, and the latter of three
double ranges of hurdles or trays of suitable size ; the
length suited to the extent of the business designed. It
should be two stories high, and so constructed as to be
thoroughly ventilated. There should be two double doors
in each end, with doors, windows, and ventilators in the
sides. The windows should extend to near the tops of the
rooms. There should be sliding ventilators near the floor.
The windows may be filled with oiled paper or cloth, which
will admit the light and exclude the sun. It would also be
important to have under each tier of hurdles, through the
floor, two planks of ten inches width each, hung with
hinges, that they may be raised at pleasure by a pulley.
Also an upright ventilator on the roof, fitted with blinds,
through which a constant draft may be kept up.
In one end of the building, in each of the two doors,
there should be a ventilating wheel made of thin boards
(plank), much after the form of the wheels applied to the
sterns of our steam-propellers. These wheels should be
about two feet in diameter. They should be put in mo-
tion for a few minutes every hour, or oftener in still
287
weather. Both may be made to turn by one crank, con-
necting each by bands and whirls to the main shaft.
An air-furnace, such as is now employed in heating
churches and other buildings, should be constructed in the
cellar, and so arranged as to draw from the feeding-rooms
all the air necessary to supply the furnace. The air, when
heated in the chamber, should be conveyed through the
wholeiength of the rooms, in a square pipe with openings
at short distances from each other, which should increase
in size as they recede from the furnace. These openings
may be so connected as to be all closed at once, or a valve
applied at the air-chamber may be used to cut off the
communication of heated air when the temperature is suf-
ficiently high in the rooms, suffering the hot air to escape
outside of the building. In the last ages of the worms
the furnace will be found of great benefit, even when the
heat is not required in the rooms, for the purpose of draw-
ing off and consuming the impure air of the cocoonery.
At Economy, they not only make use of air-furnaces,
but in an adjoining building they have a large air-pump
constantly in operation, connected with the cocoonery by
a pipe with small openings through the length of the
building. This pump is kept in motion by a steam-en-
gine.
With good eggs, when proper means have been employ-
ed for their preservation, and the feeding-apartments thor-
oughly ventilated, I do not know of a single instance
where the worms have proved unhealthy.
From the conviction that proper regard had not gener-
ally been paid to the ventilation of cocooneries, in the
summer of 1842 I commenced a series of experiments, by
which I ascertained that the silk-worm during; its last a^e
consumed nearly its own weight of leaves daily ; and that
the amount of exhalations or imperceptible perspiration
given off in proportion to the quantity of food consumed,
was about equal to that ascertained to escape from a
healthy man.
I found, from the most carefully conducted experiments,
288
that the weight of one hundred thousand silk-worms, about
five days before their time of winding, was four hundred
and fifty-eight pounds, and that they would consume daily
three hundred and seventy-two pounds of leaves,* and
that their increased weight in twenty-four hours from the
food consumed was forty-six pounds, and that the enor-
mous amount of two hundred and six pounds was given
off in the same time, in the form of exhalations or imper-
ceptible perspiration alone. This, then, I think, fully
explains the cause of disease complained of by many, and
establishes the importance of ventilation in every possible
form.
In one corner of the building there should be a hatching-
room, with which the furnace below should be connected,
so as to receive a greater or less degree of heat, as may be
required, without reference to the temperature of the feed-
ing-rooms.
Fixtures. — In fitting up the hurdles or feeding-shelves
for a building of twenty feet wide, it will require a double
range of posts, two and a half or three inches square, on
each side of the centre of the room, running lengthwise,
and the length of the shelves apart in the ranges, and
each two corresponding posts, crosswise of the ranges,
about the width of the two shelves apart. On each double
range across the posts are nailed strips, one inch or more
in width and about fifteen inches apart, on which the trays
or hurdles rest, which may be drawn out or slid in as may
be found necessary in feeding. The aisles or passages of a
building of the above width will be four feet each, allow-
ing two feet for the width of each single hurdle.
The hurdles that I have used for many years are of twine
net-work. A frame is first made five feet long and two
feet wide, of boards seven-eighths of an inch thick, and
one and a half inches wide. There should be two braces
across the frame at equal distances of five^eighths by seven-
* Had these worms been fed in the ordinary manner they would have consumed
many more leaves in the same time. But to preserve the greatest possible accu-
racy, through the whole experiment they were fed rather sparingly.
289
eighths of an inch square. On a line, about half an inch
from the inner edge of the frame, are driven tacks nearly
down to their heads, at such distances as will make the
meshes of the net about three-quarters of an inch square.
Good hemp or flax twine is passed around these tacks,
forming a net by passing the filling double over and under
the warp, or that part of the twine that runs lengthwise.
This twine should be somewhat smaller than that running
lengthwise. On a damp day the twine becomes tight ; I
then give the netting two good coats of shellac varnish.
This cements the whole together, and renders it firm and
durable.
The varnish is made by dissolving a quantit}7 of gum
shellac in alcohol in a tin covered vessel, and placed near
the fire. It should be reduced, when used, to the consist-
ence of paint.
Another set of frames is made in the same way and of
the same size, and covered with strong cotton or tow cloth ;
this is secured with small tacks. Upon these the net
frames rest, which serve to catch the litter that falls
through from the worms.
Hurdles made and supported in this manner admit of a
more free circulation of air, and the litter is less liable to
mould or ferment, and can be removed and cleaned at
pleasure.
With this kind of hurdle and screen I make use of
winding-frames, constructed in the following manner: a
light frame is made of boards one and a half inches wide,
and the length of the hurdles, and two feet ..and four
inches wide; this is rilled crosswise with thin laths about
one inch apart in the clear. The manner of using these
will be hereafter explained. They answer the twofold
purpose of winding-frames and mounting-ladders.
The care and expense required in fitting up a house on
this plan may prevent its general adoption.
The most common method that has been heretofore
employed is permanent shelves; but the labor required
19
290
to keep the worms properly cleaned renders this plan
objectionable.
At Economy, Penn., the rearing of the silk- worm is now
carried on to a great extent, and more successfully than in
any other part of the United States, or perhaps the world.
Their houses are two stories high. The worms are fed on
small trays about eighteen or twenty inches wide, and
about three feet long. They are supported in the same
manner as the hurdles above described, and are about six
inches apart. When the worms are about ready to wind,
they are transferred to the upper story, to permanent
shelves about sixteen inches apart, where they form their
cocoons in bunches of straw placed upright between the
shelves. The worms are cleaned at least once after every
moulting, and after the last, every day. For this purpose
they have nets woven or knit of cotton twine, something
larger than the size of the trays, with meshes of various
sizes suited to the age of the worms. For the last age
they are about three-quarters of an inch square. They
are used without frames. When it is required to remove
the worms from their litter, the nets are laid lightly over
them, and then plentifully fed. When the worms have
arisen upon the fresh leaves, they are removed by two per-
sons taking hold of the four corners of the net and trans-
ferring them to clean trays, held and carried off by a third
person. One hundred thousand are changed in this man-
ner in two hours.
Description of the silk-worm. — It will be necessary for the
inexperienced culturist to have some knowledge of the
forms, changes, and appearances of the silk-worm before he
enters upon the duties of his interesting charge.
The silk-worm is a species of caterpillar, whose life is
one continual succession of changes, which in due time
becomes a moth or winged insect, like others of the genus.
The time occupied in going through its different forms
of existence varies in different countries — governed by
climate, temperature, and the quality and quantity of the
291
food upon which it is fed, and the nature of the particular
variety of the insect.
The worm changes or casts its skin (of the common
varieties) four times before it attains its full growth*
These changes are called moultings, and the periods in-
tervening between the several moultings are termed ages.
When it is first hatched it is of a blackish color, which
afterward becomes lighter, varying almost daily to differ-
ent shades, and in different varieties through every age,
to the close of the last, or near the time of spinning, when
it assumes a grayish yellow, semi-transparent appearance.
Having tried all the varieties that have been introduced
into the United States, those I consider the best are known
as the Chinese Imperial, producing a large, salmon-colored,
pea-nut-shaped cocoon ; and a kind called the Pea-nut, pro-
ducing a mixture of white and salmon-colored cocoons.
This variety produces a larger and more firm cocoon than
any of that name that I have seen.
Time of hatching. — Bearing. — When the leaves of the mul-
berry have put forth to the size of about an inch in diam-
eter, it may be generally inferred that the proper time for
hatching the worm has arrived.
The papers or cloths containing the eggs should then be
brought out and placed in the hatching-room, upon a table
or trays made for the purpose. When artificial means are
employed, the temperature should be gradually raised until
the time of hatching, which will be in about ten days, to
75° or 80° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. But few worms
will make their appearance on the first day, but on the
second and third the most will come out; should there be
a few remaining on the fourth day, they may be thrown
away, as they do not always produce strong and healthy
worms. When the worms begin to make their appearance,
young mulberry leaves cut into narrow strips should be
laid over them, to which they will readily attach them-
selves ; these should be carefully removed, and placed com-
pactly upon a cloth screen or tray prepared for them, and
other leaves placed upon the eggs for the worms that still
292
remain, which, should be passed off as before. A singular
fact will be observed, that all the worms will hatch be-
tween sunrise and before noon of each day. Care should
be taken to keep the worms of each day's hatching by
themselves, as it is of the greatest importance to have the
moultings and changes of all the worms as simultaneous as
possible. It is also important that the worms that have
been transferred to the trays should not be fed until the
hatching for the day is completed, so that all may be fed
equally. Young and tender leaves should be selected to
feed the worms with ; these should be cut with a sharp
knife into pieces not exceeding a quarter of an inch
square, and evenly sifted over them. They should be fed
in this w&y six or eight times in twenty-four hours, as
nearly as possible at regular and stated periods.
It will be impossible to lay down any definite rules for
the quantity of leaves necessary for a given number of
worms- for each succeeding day through every age. After
a little acquaintance with their nature and habits, the intel-
ligence and judgment of the attendant will be the best
guide ; they should, however, have as much as they will
eat, but after a few days care should be taken not to give
them more than they will generally consume, as this will
increase the accumulation of litter, which will endanger
the health of the worms. In the last age they eat vora-
ciously, when they should be well supplied. A quantity of
leaves should always be on hand in case of wet weather.
When the average range of the thermometer is between
70° and 80° the several moultings will take place near the
fifth, ninth, fifteenth, and twenty-second days after hatch-
ing. It may be known when the worms are about to cast
their skins, as they cease to eat, and remain stationary,
with their heads raised, and occasionally shaking them.
This operation will be more distinctly observed as they
increase in size through their succeeding ages.
Assuming the above temperature as the standard, the
quantity of leaves for the first three days of this (the
first) age must be gradually increased at each feeding, after
293
which they will require less at each succeeding meal until
the time of moulting arrives, when for about twenty-four
hours they eat nothing. But as it is seldom the case that
all cast their skins at one and the same time, some will still
be disposed to eat, when a few leaves must be cut fine and
sparingly scattered over them, so that those that remain
torpid may be disturbed as little as possible. They must
now be carefully fed in this way until it is discovered that
some have moulted, when the feeding must cease altogether
until the most of them have recovered. This rule must be
particularly regarded through all the succeeding moultings,
otherwise some of the worms will be far in advance of
others ; and this want of uniformity will increase through-
out each succeeding age, and to the period of winding,
which will not only result in great inconvenience in gather-
ing the cocoons, but will materially injure the worms, and
consequently lessen the crop of silk.
When the greatest portion of the worms have moulted,
and appear active, leaves a little wilted are laid over them,
by which they are passed to clean trays. If any still
remain that have moulted, they must be transferred in the
same manner, by laying more leaves upon them. The rem-
nant of worms that have not changed their skins should
be left upon the litter, and added to those of the next day's
moulting. By closely regarding these rules throughout
the several ages, the worms will generally all commence
the formation of their cocoons about the same period.
After having gone through and furnished all the worms
with a quantity of leaves, jt is well to go over a second
time, and add more where they seem to require it.
Very young and tender leaves must be given to the
worms in the first age, after which older ones can be given
as they advance in age until after the last moulting, when
the}r should be fed upon sound, full-grown leaves.
After the second moulting the leaves, where large crops
are fed, may be cut by running them twice through a com-
mon rotary hay or straw-cutter, of Hovey's, or one of a
similar make.
294
The worms will frequently heap together, and become
too thick, as they increase in size. When they are fed the
leaves must be spread, and the space enlarged, or they may
be removed by leaves or twigs of the mulberry to places
unoccupied. If they are permitted to be crowded, disease
is apt to follow, and the whole crop is endangered.
It will sometimes be observed, when the light falls more
directly on one side of the hurdle than the other, that the
worms will incline to leave that side and become crowded
on the opposite, when the hurdle should be turned around.
Up to the last moulting it is best to feed the worms
entirely upon the leaves of the multicaulis, after which the
Canton or white Italian should be used if a full supply can
be obtained — the former being consumed with greater
avidity, and the accumulation of litter is consequently less.
The Canton and Italian produce the heaviest cocoon, while
the multicaulis yields a finer and stronger fibre. In pursu-
ing this course the advantages of both are in some degree
secured.
The worms should be removed from their litter immedi-
ately after each moulting, and in their fourth age the hur-
dles should be cleaned a second time, and after the last
moulting they should be removed at least every second
day.
Where nets are not used in the last ages, the worms are
changed by laying over them the small branches of the
mulberry.
Recently branch-feeding, as it is termed, has been intro-
duced with some success, and with great economy of time ;
in the last ages of the worms care should be taken to lay
the branches as evenly as possible, especially where it is
designed to use the twine hurdles, otherwise it will be diffi-
cult for the worms to ascend through the netting.
When the worms are about to spin they present some-
thing of a yellowish appearance ; they refuse to eat, and
wander about in pursuit of a hiding-place, and throw out
fibres of silk upon the leaves. The hurdles should now be
thoroughly cleaned for the last time, and something pre--
295
pared for them to form their cocoons in. Various plans
have been proposed for this purpose. The lath frames,
before described, I prefer. They are used by resting the
back edge of the frame upon the hurdle, where the two
meet in the double range, and raising the front edge up to
the underside of the hurdle above, which is held to its
place by two small wire hooks attached to the edge of the
hurdle.
A covering of paper or cloth should be applied to the
lath frames. In. using the hurdles and screens I remove
the screen from under the hurdle, turning the underside
up, and letting it down directly upon the winding-frame.
This affords double the room for the worms to wind in.
Lath frames of this description have advantages that no
other fixtures for winding possess that I have ever seen
tried. The frame resting upon the backside of each hur-
dle renders this side more dark, which places the worms
instinctively seek when they meet with the ends of the
laths, and immediately ascend to convenient places for
the formation of their cocoons. From these frames the
cocoons are gathered with great facility, and free from litter
and dirt, and when they are required they are put up with
great expedition.
Where branch-feeding has been adopted by some, no other
accommodation has been provided for the winding of the
worms than that afforded them by the branches from which
they have fed. This is decidedly objectionable, as the worms
are always disposed to rise until their course is obstructed
above. When this is not the case they wander about for
hours upon the tops of the branches, and only descend
after their strength becomes exhausted, and the result is
the production of a crop of loose, inferior cocoons. Next
to lath frames, small bunches of straw afford the best
accommodation for this purpose. Rye straw is preferred. -
Take a small bunch, about the size of the little finger, and
with some strong twine tie it firmly about half an inch
from the butt of the straw ; cut the bunch off about half
an inch longer than the distance between the hurdles,
296
They are thus placed upright with their but-ends down-
ward, with their tops spreading out, interlacing each other,
and pressing against the hurdles above. They should be
thickly set in double rows about sixteen inches apart across
the hurdles. These may be preserved for a number of
years.
After the most of the worms have arisen, the few re-
maining may be removed to hurdles by themselves. In
three or four days the cocoons may be gathered. While
gathering, those designed for eggs should be selected.
Those of firm and fine texture, with round, hard ends, are
the best. The smaller cocoons most generally produce the
male, and those larger and more full at the ends the female
insect. Each healthy female moth will lay from four to six
hundred eggs. But it is not always safe to calculate on
one-half of the cocoons to produce female moths. There-
fore, it is well to save an extra number to insure a supply
of eggs.
The cocoons intended for eggs should be stripped of
their floss or loose tow, which consists of irregular fibres,
by which the worm attaches its work to whatever place it
is about to form its cocoon. These should be placed on
hurdles, in a thin layer, and in about two weeks the moths
will come out ; always in the forepart of the day, and
generally before the sun is two hours high. If laid upon a
net hurdle (which is best) they will immediately fall
through the meshes and remain suspended on the under
side, where they are not liable to become entangled in the
cocoons. As soon as the male finds the female they
become united. They should be taken carefully by the
wings, in pairs, and placed upon sheets of paper, to remain
until near night, when the female will be anxious to lay
her eggs. Then take each gently by the wings, and sepa-
rate them, placing the females at regular distances — about
two inches from each other — upon sheets of paper or fine
cotton or linen cloth ; these should hang over a line, or be
tacked to the side of the house. In two or three nights
the moths will complete their laying, when they should be
297
removed from the papers or cloths. Frequently the males
appear first in the greatest numbers, some of which should
be reserved each day in case there should afterward be an
excess of females. They should be shut out from the light,
otherwise they are liable to injure themselves by a constant
fluttering of their wings. The female is largest, and sel-
dom moves or flutters.
Killing the chrysalides. — After the cocoons have been
gathered, those that are intended for sale or for future
reeling should be submitted to some process by which the
moths will be killed, otherwise they will perforate and
spoil the cocoons. This is done by various methods. The
most simple and convenient is to spread them thinly on
boards, and expose them to the direct rays of the sun. In
a hot day many of them will be killed in a few hours ; but
they must be stirred occasionally, or some will be liable to
escape the heat, and afterward come out. At Economy,
they place them in an air-tight box containing about ten
bushels (the box should always be full, or if not, a partition
is fitted down to the cocoon), sprinkling evenly through
the whole, beginning at the bottom, about three ounces of
camphor slightly moistened with alcohol, and finely pulver-
ized. The box is then closed, and the seams of the top
covered by pasting strips of paper over them. They
remain in this way about three or four days. They are
then spread out thinly in an upper loft to cure, where they
should be occasionally stirred. It will require some weeks
to thoroughly cure them. Before camphoring, the dead
and bad cocoons must be taken out, otherwise they will
spoil the good ones.
When it is convenient, it is best to reel as many of the
cocoons as possible immediately after they are gathered, as
they reel much more freely before they are exposed to the
sun or dried.
Succession of crops. — Preservation of eggs. — Repeated at-
tempts have been made to feed a succession of crops of
worms throughout the entire season from the same stock
of eggs. In most instances success has failed to attend
298
these efforts. When proper means are employed, and due
care observed, the eggs may be preserved, and worms suc-
cessfully raised until the feed is destroyed by the frost. In
many years experience I have never failed in this respect.
In the spring of 1840 I communicated to Miss Rapp, of
Economy, my method of preserving eggs, which she imme-
diately adopted, and has pursued it until the present time
with perfect success, feeding from eighteen to twenty-five
crops each year. The following is an extract of a letter
from the postmaster at Economy, dated January 19, 1843 :
"Between May and September we raised near two mill-
ions of worms, in eighteen sets, of near equal numbers,
about a week apart, producing three hundred and seventy-
one bushels of cocoons. The last crop hatched the 9th of
September, and spun the 10th of October. We found no
difference in the health of the different sets. We are of
the opinion that the late keeping of the eggs does not
bring disease on the worms if they are kept right, and
gradually brought forward as they ought to be."
It may be remarked that the qualities of the mulberry
leaf are such in the latter part of the season that as hea\w
cocoons will not be produced, as in the first. A bushel of
the first crop raised at Economy, in the season referred to,
produced twenty-three and a quarter ounces of reeled silk,
and the last crop, wound in October, but nineteen ounces.
About one month of the best part of that season of feed-
ing was lost by the severe frost that occurred on the 5th of
May, which entirely killed the young leaves, and must
have materially injured the crop of the season.
My method of preserving eggs is to place them in the
ice-house in February, or early in March, or sooner if
the weather is warm. For this purpose a box or square
trunk is made, extending from within one foot of the bot-
tom of the ice to the top. This may be made in joints, so
that as the ice settles the upper joints may be removed.
The eggs should be placed in a tin box, and this enclosed
in a wood one, and suspended in the trunk near the ice.
The communication of warm air should be cut off by fill-
299
ing the opening with a bundle of straw or hay. The eggs
should be aired for a few minutes as often as once in one
or two weeks, always choosing a cool, dry morning; when
selections for succeeding crops may be made these should
be placed in another box, and gradually raised in the trunk
for several days, avoiding a too sudden transition from the.
ice to the temperature of the hatching-room.
The ice-house at Economy is connected with the cellar,
the bottom of the former being eighteen inches below that
of the latter. A long wooden box, extending into the ice-
house, level with the bottom of the cellar floor, contains all
the smaller boxes of eggs. The door of the box opening
in the cellar is kept well closed to prevent the admission
of warm air. They employ another ice-house, sunk deep
in the cellar, with shelves gradually rising from the ice up
to the top of the ground, upon which the eggs of succeed-
ing crops are placed, and raised one shelf higher every
day until they are taken into the hatching-room. The past
season they have hatched about jive ounces of eggs, or one
hundred thousand worms every four days.
Diseases of the silk-worm. — The silk-worm, like every other
animal or insect, is liable to disease, and premature death.
European writers have enumerated and described six par-
ticular diseases to which it is subject. But in our more
congenial climate nothing is wanting to insure a healthy
stock of silk-worms, and a profitable return from their
labors, but to give them sufficient room, a regular and full
supply of suitable food, a strict regard to cleanliness, and a
proper ventilation of their apartments.
In excessively hot, damp, or sultry weather, in the last
age, tha disease known as the yellows sometimes occurs.
Where open feeding is adopted, some fine air-slaked lime
may be sifted on the worms once or twice a day before feed-
ing, and the diseased and dead worms picked out and
thrown away. In a regular cocoonery, properly ventilated
and supplied with an air-furnace, dry air should be made
to circulate freely. But if the temperature is above 80° or
85° the ventilating apparatus should be constantly employed
300
until a change of weather occurs, or the disease disappears.
A feeding-house should be so arranged as to cut off all
communication of rats and mice from the worms and the
cocoons.
Reeling. — We have now arrived at another branch of the
silk business, which more properly comes under the head
of manufacturing. Every farmer who engages in the silk
culture, in order to avail himself of an additional profit
should provide his family with a suitable reel, by the use
of which, after a little experience, he will be enable to offer
his silk in market in a form that will greatly enhance its
value, and much reduce the trouble and expense of trans-
portation. Reels can now be procured in almost any of
the principal cities at a small cost, or they can be made by
any ingenious farmer or carpenter. The reel now uni-
formly used is that known as the Piedmontese.
All attempts to improve this reel in its general principles,
I believe, have failed. At Economy, however, they have
made an addition which may be found useful. It consists
of two pairs of whirls, made of wire, in the form of an
aspel to a reel, about four inches long, and two and a half
inches across from arm to arm, making the circumference
about six inches. These whirls are set in an iron frame,
and run each upon two points or centres. Each pair is
equidistant, on a direct line, about eight inches apart,
between the first guides and those on the traverse bar,
instead of making the usual number of turns around each
thread as they pass between the guides on the reel. With
this arrangement each thread is taken from the basin and
passed through the first guides, then carried over and
around the two whirls, and where they pass each other on
the top the turns are made necessary to give firmness to
the thread, then passing directly through the guides in the
traverse bar to the arms of the reel, making each thread in
reeling independent of the other. This enables the reeler,
when a remnant of cocoons are to be finished on leaving
the work, to unite both threads into one, retaining the
necessary size, whereas both would be too fine if continued
on the reel in the ordinary manner.
301
Directions for reeling. — In family establishments a com-
mon clay or iron furnace should be procured, to which
should be fitted a sheet-iron top about twelve inches high,
with a door on one side, and a small pipe on the opposite
side to convey off the smoke. This top should retain the
same bevel or flare as the furnace, so as to be about twenty
inches in diameter at the top. The pan should be twenty
inches square, and six inches deep, divided into four apart-
ments, two of which should be one inch larger one way
than the others. They should all communicate with each
other at the bottom. In large filatures a small steam-
engine to propel the reels, etc., and to heat the water for
reeling would be necessary.
Before the operation of reeling is commenced the co-
coons must be stripped of their floss, and assorted into
three separate parcels, according to quality or of different
degrees of firmness. The double cocoons, or those formed
by two or more worms spinning together, the fibres cross-
ing each other, and rendering them difficult to reel,
should be laid aside to be manufactured in a different
manner.
After the cocoons have been assorted as above directed,
the operation of reeling may be commenced. The basin
should be nearly filled with the softest water, and kept at a
proper heat by burning charcoal, or some other convenient
method of keeping up a regular heat. The precise tempera-
ture cannot be ascertained until the reeling is commenced,
owing to the different qualities of the cocoons. Those of
the best quality will require a greater degree of 'heat than
those of a more loose and open texture ; hence the import-
ance of assisting them. Cocoons also require less heat,
and reel much better when done before the chrysalides are
killed and the cocoons become dried.
The heat of the water may be raised to near the boiling
point (it should never be allowed to boil), when two or three
handfuls of cocoons may be thrown into one of the large
apartments of the basin, which must be gently pressed
under water for a few minutes with a little brush made of
302
broom-corn, with the ends shortened. The heat of the water
will soon soften the gnm. of the silk, and thereby loosen the
ends of the filaments ; the reeler should then gently stir
the cocoons with the brush until the loose fibres adhere to
it ; they are then separated from the brush, holding the
filaments in the left hand, while the cocoons are carefully
combed down between the fingers of the right hand as
they are raised out of the water. This is continued until
the floss or false ends are all drawn off", and the fine silk
begins to appear ; the fibres are then broken oflf", and laid
over the edge of the basin. The floss is then cleared from
the brush, and laid aside as refuse silk, and the operation
continued until most of the ends are thus collected.
If the silk is designed for sewings, about twenty-five
fibres should compose a thread ; if intended for other fab-
rics, from eie;ht to fifteen should be reeled tos-ether. The
finest silks should always be reeled from the best cocoons.
The cocoons composing the threads are taken up in a small
tin skimmer made for the purpose, and passed from the
large apartment of the basin to those directly under
the guides. As the ends become broken they are passed
back into the spare apartment, where they are again col-
lected to be returned to the reel. The requisite number
of fibres thus collected for two threads are passed each
through the lower guides. They are then wound around
each other two or three times, and each carried through
the two guides in the traverse bar, and then attached to
the arms of the reel. The turning should now be com-
menced with a slow and steady motion until the threads
run freely. While the reel is turning, the person attending
the cocoons must continually be adding fresh ends as they
may be required, not waiting until the number she began
with is reduced, because the internal fibres are much finer
than those composing the external layers. In adding new
ends the reeler must attach them, by gently pressing them
with a little turn between the thumb and finger, to the
threads as they are running. As the silk is reeled off the
chrysalides should be taken out of the basin, otherwise
303
they obscure and thicken the water, and injure the color
and lustre of the silk. When the water becomes dis-
colored it should always be changed.
If in reeling the silk leaves the cocoon in burrs or
bunches, it is evident the water is too hot ; or when the
ends cannot be easily collected with the brush, or when
found not to run freely, the water is too cold.
A pail of cold water should always be at hand, to be
added to the basin as it may be required. When the
cocoons yield their fibres freely, the reel may be turned
with a quicker motion. The quicker the motion the
smoother and better will be the silk. When from four to
six ounces have been reeled, the aspel may be taken oft' that
the silk may dry. The end should be fastened so as to be
readily found. Squeeze the silk together, and loosen it
upon the bars, then, on the opposite side tie it with a band
of refuse silk or yarn, then slide it off the reel; double,
and again tie it near each extremity.
The quality of the silk depends much upon the art and
skilful management of the reeler. All that is required to
render one perfect in the art of reeling is a. little -practice,
accompanied at the beginning with a degree of imtience,
and the exercise of judgment in keeping up the proper tem-
perature of water, and the threads of a uniform size.
Manufacture of perforated cocoons. — The perforated and
double cocoons can be manufactured into various fabrics,
such as stockings, gloves, under-shirts, and the like. Be-
fore the cocoons can be spun they must be put into a clean
bag made of some open cloth, and placed in a pot or ket-
tle, and covered with soft water, with soap (hard or soft)
added sufficient to make a strong suds, and boiled for about
three or four hours. If they are required to be very nice
and white, the water may be changed and a small quantity
more of soap added, and again boiled for a few minutes.
After they are boiled they may be hung up and drained ;
the}^ should then be rinsed while in the bag, in fair water,
and hung out to dry, without disturbing them in the bag.
When completely dry they may be spun on the common
, 304
flax-wheel by first taking the cocoon in the fingers and
slightly loosening the fibres that become flattened down
by boiling, and then spinning off from the pierced end.
The silk will run entirely off, leaving the shell bare. The
double cocoons may be spun in the same manner, but
should be boiled separately.
A species of edible mulberry is planted pretty generally
for feeding hogs. I am informed that it continues to bear
during several months, from April to July or August, and
is considered highly advantageous. This is called the Ever-
bearing mulberry. The following account I obtain from the
Southern Field and Fireside :
Ever-bearing Mulberries. — There are now three varieties of
ever-bearing mulberries presented to us for selection or for
general adoption.
Downing's Ever-bearing is a seedling of the Multicaulis,
which it resembles in wood and foliage. It is therefore
necessarily somewhat tender, and not suited to a more
northern climate. Mr. D. has given us an ample descrip-
tion of its fruit in his Fruit Trees of America, and merits
much credit for originating so excellent a fruit.
Herbemont' s or Hicks' Ever-bearing is a much hardier varie-
ty, and superior to the preceding in size and quality of its
fruit, which is produced during a considerably larger period
of time. It is a prodigious bearer; the berries are usually
nearly two inches in length, sweet and delicious. At the
South the fruit continues to ripen from the 25th of April
until the 15th of August, and here at the JSTorth the crop
extends to a late period in the autumn. This tree has dark
red wood, and indented leaves, very distinct from Down-
ing's.
White Ever-bearing, sweet berries, partakes considerably
of the character of the white Italian. It grows vigorously,
and yields immense quantities of fruit.
The first two varieties have been in fruit with us this
season. Of Downing's, from a young tree, we gathered but
a few berries, of which we preferred the more vinous and
decided flavor to that of the Hicks. The latter does not
305
materially vary in quality from the common wild species, of
which it is a variety, differing in its extended period of bear-
ing. Our young tree, of about twice the age of Downing's,
began to ripen the first of May, and has just stopped fruit-
ing for the season. The fruit is worth growing on planta-
tions for poultry and swine, as it is very prolific. A
mulberry orchard of this kind would furnish the latter a
full supply of food for about three months. It is to be
found at all nurseries, and we venture to commend it to our
agricultural friends as a valuable farm crop for the. cheap
rearing of good hogs.
The juice of the mulberry is used to give a dark tinge to
confections. When properly fermented the fruit yields a
pleasant vinous liquor, mulberry wine, and is mixed with
apple juice to form mulberry cider. The bark of the root
is a powerful cathartic. Farmer's Encyc.
Morus rubra, L. Mulberry. Grows along rivers and
swamps ; vicinity of Charleston ; Richland, Prof. Gibbes ;„
Florida. Fl. March.
U. S. Disp. 463. The fruit is laxative and cooling, and a
grateful drink and syrups are made from it, adapted to fe-
brile cases. The bark of the mulberry can be converted
into cordage, ropes, and brown paper. The inner bark of
the root of the black mulberry, in doses of from half to a
whole teaspoonful of the powder, is said to act as an. excel-
lent purgative. A syrup of the ripe fruit is an excellent
laxative for children. A tincture of the inner bark of the
root is considered a valuable laxative bitter.
Tartaric acid is obtained from the mulberry, the grape,
currant, etc.* It is almost always found in vegetables com-
bined with potassa, with which it forms a nearly insoluble
salt; it is the union which occasions it to be so easily pre-
cipitated from the liquors in which it is contained, espe-
cially when they ferment. The coats of tartar which are
found deposited upon the sides of casks are a combination
of tartaric acid, potassa, and extracted matter (Chaptal).
20
306
See Pereira, and treatises on chemistry for mode of forma-
tion of Cream of tartar.
Citric acid, also, is found in the skins of the red currant,
of wild plums, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries. In
these it is found united with malic acid. The orange and
lemon, of course, furnish it in the largest proportion.
The process adopted by Scheele for obtaining and crys-
tallizing citric acid is to saturate the juice with lime, the
insoluble salt, thus formed, being decomposed by sulphuric
acid diluted with water. The liquor is then evaporated,
and the acid obtained in a crystalline form. See Chaptal,
Ure, works on chemistry and mat. medica, Pereira, U. S.
Dispensatory, etc.
The production of citric acids in the warmer portions of
the Southern Confederacy is quite practicable, as the lemon
grows abundantly.
Citric acid supplies the place of lemon juice for domestic
purposes, and in the arts, by its being freed from mucilage,
.which renders the juice liable to undergo speedy change,
and from a diminution of its bulk by concentration (Chap-
tal).
To give a flavor to food, citric acid is preferable to
vinegar, on account of the aromatic principle it contains.
Dissolved in water, it forms a very wholesome drink ;
" about thirty grains of the acid, dissolved in a pint of
water, and sweetened with sugar, composes an excellent
lemonade." From its refreshing and antiputrescent proper-
ties, it is invaluable during the hot months, and especially
as an article for sea-stores of vessels in warm latitudes
(Chaptal); and particularly for the prevention of scurvy.
"Citric acid is also particularly useful in the arts;" like ox-
alic acid, "it is employed in forming reserves in printed
goods, and in removing spots of ink or rust." Chaptal.
See, also, acetic acid, vinegar, etc. See Chaptal, Ure, and
treatises on chemistry, and orange, " Citrus" in this vol-
ume.
Ell., in his Sketches of the Botany of S. C, says the
wood is preferred, in the building of boats, to that of any
307
other tree, except the red cedar (Juniperus Virginiana). The
other woods suitable for ship-building found with us are, the
live oak for the timbers and knees, and the cypress, cedar,
willow, and several species of pine for the timbers as well
as the spars — being preferred on account of their strength,
lightness, or peculiarity of growth.
Wilson says of this tree th'at the wood is fine grained,
compact, strong, and solid, and by many persons is esteemed
fully equal to the locust. It is employed in naval architec-
ture at Philadelphia and Baltimore, for the upper and lower
parts of the frame, for knees and floor timbers, and for tree-
nails; it is hardly inferior to the locust, but is scarce in the
ship-yards. For posts it is considered nearly as lasting as
the locust, but it grows more slowly, and requires a richer
soil. From experiments made in France it was ascertained
that the leaves were not as good for the silk-worm as those
of the M. alba. A much less quantity was obtained than
from worms fed on the white mulberry, and there was a
greater mortality. Rural Cyc. See, also, my article in
August number, 1861, of DeBow's Review.
Broussonetia, papyri/era, the paper mulberry of our yards,
belongs to this family (Chapman). Fustic is also got from
the same family. As the paper mulberry is planted in this
country, I will insert the account given by Wilson of its
uses. The islanders of the Pacific make a kind of clothing
from this tree, in the following manner: twigs of about
an inch in diameter are cut and deprived of their bark,
which is divided into strips, and left to macerate for some
time in running water; after the epidermis has been scraped
off, and while yet moist, the strips are laid out upon a plank
in such a manner that they touch at their edges, and two or
three layers of the same are placed upon them, taking care
to preserve an equal thickness throughout. At the end of
twenty-four hours the whole mass is adherent, when it is
removed to a large flat and perfectly smooth table,' and is
beaten with little wooden clubs till it has attained the re-
quisite thickness. It is easily torn, and requires to be
308
washed and beaten many times before it acquires its full
suppleness and whiteness. The paper which is used in Ja-
pan, and many other countries in the East Indies, is made
from this plant; for this purpose the annual shoots are cut
oft' after the fall of the leaves, tied in bundles, and boiled
in water mixed with ashes; after which the bark is stripped
off by. longitudinal incisions, and deprived of the brown
epidermis. The bark of the more tender shoots furnishes
a very white paper for writing. Hair pencils must be used
in writing on this paper. Silk-worms eat the leaves of this
tree also. Rural Cyc.
Ficus carica. Fig. Ex. Cult. Flourishes in South Caro-
lina.
Shec. Flora Carol. The fruit is well known; the juice
has been substituted for sympathetic ink, as the characters
written with it are not visible till exposed to the sun. The
decoction />f the green branches and leaves imparts a deep
gold color, of a brown shade, to cloth prepared with a so-
lution of bismuth. We have heard it stated as a curious
fact, that there is but one male fig in America, which grows
in Louisiana! Some botanists describe the plant as con-
taining both stamens and pistils within the fruit or pericarp.
Figs are excellent pabulum for vinegar. Vinegar should
be constantly replenished with over-ripened figs.
The following easy process of making white vinegar from
honey may not be amiss, even in a work of this kind, which
professes to teach all economical modes of becoming inde-
pendent of foreign supplies. It is obtained from Wilson's
Rural Cyc. The materials can be easily obtained. Four
very good kinds of household vinegar, perfectly suitable for
pickling, and for other domestic purposes, may easily be
made from respectively — honey, brown sugar, British wines,
and sour ale. First, as to honey or white vinegar: dissolve
three-quarters of a pound of honey in rain-water, and put
it into a seven-gallon cask, with a quart of malt spirit;
shake it well, then fill up the cask with rain-water; shake
it well, and keep near the kitchen fire, where it must
• 809
stand without being moved or shaken. Let it remain five
months in this place, and the vinegar will be made. Draw
it oft* by piercing the lower part ot the cask, and let it run
till the concretion which is formed at the top, and is termed
"mother of vinegar," begins to appear. You ma}' then
begin the process again without cleaning the cask. Prop-
erly toasted bread, saturated with yeast, would take the
place of the malt spirit referred to above. See article
"Vinegar" in Rural Cyc. for other methods.
The fruit is well known. Even this, when properly pre-
pared for market in the warmer portion of the states of our
Confederacy, constitutes an article both for export and for
home consumption. Many persons believe implicitly in the
power of the atmosphere about this tree to render meat ten-
der. Our "Southern matrons" now put up this fruit in a
most palatable shape for winter use, dried in the sun, after
being boiled in a syrup. The celestial fig is the best for
this purpose. Molasses can also be made from the fig and
watermelon. Mr. C. H. Owen, of Charleston, sends a spec-
imen to the Charleston Courier, made from the white fig.
One peck yielded three pints. From a bushel he obtained
seven quarts, according to the following directions:
"Wash the figs, then put them in a porcelain vessel;
cover with pure water, boil carefully one hour. When cool,
strain through a muslin cloth; then boil again until it is
boiled down to a proper consistency, which you can easily
tell by dipping up a spoonful and cooling. The above is all
the preparation necessary. In boiling for the last time,
take the scum off."
"F. J. S." a correspondent of the Charleston Mercury,
writes as follows on " our resources :"
"You spoke, in the article above alluded to, of different
coloring substances. The juice of the skin of our blue jig
is abundant, and of a deep, brilliant red color; a half-page
written with it a few days since had the appearance of hav-
ing been done with red ink.
The pomegranate, which grows in great abundance in
Southern Georgia, furnishes, in the rind of the fruit, a jet-
310
black fluid, which writes very smoothly, and retains its jetty
hue. The metallic pen used may darken its color."
I have seen blue cakes resembling indigo, intended for
dyeing, and marked fig blue — probably extracted from the
skins of the fig. The fig makes excellent pipe-stems. Since
the war the stems of the fig and titi (Cliftonia) have formed
favorite materials for pipe-stems, perforated with a heated
wire.
Ulmaceje. ( The Elm Tribe.)
Ulmus fulva. Slippery elm. I have observed it in Fair-
field district. It is sometimes found lower down.
Am. Herbal, 139; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. and Therap.
228; U. S. Disp. 727; Dr. McDowell's Med. Exam. 244;
West. Jour. Med. and Phys. Sc; Michaux, Fl. Americana,
i, 172; and K Am. Sylva, iii, 89; Griffith, Med. Bot. 563.
A decoction of the bark was much used by the Indians in
the cure of leprosy. It is an excellent demulcent employed
as an emollient application, and internally is especially re-
commended in suppression of urine, inflammation of the
bladder, dysentery, and diarrhoea. A decoction made of
this, combined with the root of the sassafras, and guaiac, is
esteemed as a valuable drink to increase cutaneous transpi-
ration, and to improve the tone of the digestive organs.
Griffith considers it a good substitute for acacia, and he has
witnessed its beneficial effects, externally applied, in obsti-
nate cases of herpetic and syphilitic eruptions; he is in-
clined to ascribe higher curative powers to it than are
generally admitted. It forms a good vehicle for enemata,
where a mucilaginous fluid is required. The bark, cut in
the form of a bougie, has been used in dilating sinuses and
contractions of the urethra. The substance exuding from
the bark is called ulmin. It should be largely collected for
the use of our soldiers — suitable wherever a highly mucil-
aginous substance is required. See " Sesamum." This' is
the best wood we have for blocks, and is excellent for rails,
as it splits easily, and is of long duration. It is more dura-
ble than the white elm.
311
TJlmus Americana, Mx. White elm. Vicinity of Charles-
ton.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 799; Coxe, Am.
Disp. 611; Phil. Med. Mus. 11. The U. fuloa probably
referred to.
The wood of the white elm, like that of the common
European elm, is of a dark brown; and cut transversely, or
obliquely to the longitudinal fibres, it exhibits the same nu-
merous and fine undulations, but it splits more easily, and
has less compactness. It is, however, used at the North for
the naves of coach-wheels, because it is difficult to procure
the black gum. In Maine it is used for the keels of vessels.
Its bark is said to be easily detached during eight months
of the year; soaked in water, and suppled by pounding, it is
used in the Northern states for the bottoms of common
chairs. Michaux.
Ulmus alata, Mx. "Wahoo. Rich soils; Florida; South
and North Carolina.
The wood is fine grained, more compact, heavier, and
stronger than that of the American white elm. It is em-
ployed for coach-wheels, and is even preferred to the black
gum, as being more hard and tough. Michaux. Farmer's
Encyc.
From the Montgomery Advertiser (1862) I obtain the
following:
" Wahoo rope.- — AVe have seen a specimen of rope made of
wahoo bark, by Mr. T. J. Howard, of this county. Mr.
Howard has used the wahoo rope with great success in
bagging cotton on Col. Baldwin's place, and we can safely
recommend his contrivance to the attention of planters.
The common impression is that the bark is not in good
condition except in the spring of the year. This is a mis-
take. It can be used to great advantage at this season in
bagging cotton. The manner of using the rope made of
wahoo bark is altogether similar to that which has been in
ordinary use."
312
Celtis occidentalism L. Sugar-berry. A noble tree, grow-
ing along the margin of streams, and in damp lands; col-
lected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston, Bach ; Newbern.
Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 170; Fl. Med. i, 90;
Griffith, Med. Bot. 563. It yields a gum resembling that of
the cherry tree; the root and leaves are somewhat aromatic,
and were used by the Indians in syphilis. The berries have
a sweet and pleasant taste.
The wood of this tree resembles closely, says Wilson,
that of the C. australis. The timber of the latter is exceed-
ingly durable, and was formerly employed by British coach-
makers for making the frames of their vehicles; and by the
Italian musical-instrument-makers for making flutes and
pipes. Rural Cyc.
MYRiCACEiE. {The Gale Tribe.)
Aromatic and sometimes astringent.
Myrica cerifera, L. Wax myrtle. Grows abundantly in
the swamps of the lower country; Newbern. Fl. May.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 278; Matson's Veg. Pract. 198;
U. S. Disp. 200; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. 786; Big. Am. -
Med. Bot. iii, 32; Am. Journal Med. Sci. ii, 313; Bergii,
Mat. Med. ii, 541 ; Nicholson's Journal iv, 187; Kalm's Trav-
els, i, 129; Dana in Silliman's Journal 1; Thachal's U. S.
Disp. 288; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 531; De
Cand. Essai, 772; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 180. The root is a
powerful astringent, and a decoction is employed in diar-
rhoea, dysentery, hemorrhage from the uterus, in dropsies
which succeed fevers, and as a gargle in sore throat. It is
also given to some extent by the vegetable practitioners.
Griffith states (Med. Bot, 583) that the bark of the root is
also stimulant and acrid, and in doses of a drachm, causes a
sensation of heat in the stomach, followed by vomiting and
sometimes diuresis. The powder is an active errhine, and
the leaves have some celebrity in domestic practice, as being
antispasmodic, antiscorbutic, and astringent. Dr. Dana
found the powdered root powerfully sternutatory. Bigelow
313
says that the bark and leaves contain gallic acid, tannin,
resin, and a small quantity of mucilage. The berries afford
a large amount of wax, which rises to the surface when
•the}^ are boiled, not remarkable for adhesiveness or unctu-
osity. Dr. Bostock considers it a fixed, vegetable oil, render-
ed concrete by oxygen ; and by the experiments of Dr. Dana,
it constitutes one-third of the whole berry. It is employed
for candles, emitting a fragrant odor, and it also forms the
basis of a fine soap. It appears to possess some astringent
and slightly narcotic properties, and has been administered
by Dr. Fahnestock in an epidemic of typhoid dysentery.
He gave it in doses of 1 to 2 drachms, and he is of opinion
that its active principle resides in the green coloring mat-
ter. Am. Journal Med. Sci. ii, 313. Rafinesque states that
a tincture of the berries, with heracleum, is beneficial in
flatulent colic. De Cancl., Essay upon the Louisiana Myrtle
(in French); see Ann. de Chim. xliv, 141, and xlvi, 77; C.
L. Cadet, Mem. on the Myrtle of Louisiana and Pennsyl-
vania, Paris; Thiebault de Bernaud, Mem. sur le cirier, ou
arbre a cire, Paris, 1810. See my own experiments upon
the applicability of the leaves as a substitute for oak bark,
under " Liquidambar," sweet-gum.
" The northern nations formerly employed this plant in
place of hops, and it is still in use for that purpose in some
of the western isles ; unless it is boiled a long time it is
reported to occasion the headache." ^Nicholson also says,
in his Encyclopaedia, of the M. cerifera, that "it is used in
tanning calf-skins ; gathered in autumn, it will dye wool
yellow, for which purpose it is used both in Sweden and in
Wales; the Welsh lay branches of it upon and under their
beds to keep off fleas and moths." Boussingault, in his
Rural Chemistry applied to Agriculture, 1859, says of the
wax-bearing myrtle : " The fruit yields as much as twenty-
five per cent, of wax, and a single shrub will yield from
twenty-four to thirty pounds of berries. The crude wax is
green and brittle, and to be made into candles requires the
addition of a certain quantity of grease." Proust discov-
ered that vegetable wax formed part of the green fecula of
314
many plants. In the common cabbage it occurs in large
quantity. Oleine is said to predominate in the fluid vege-
table oils. See, on this subject, Styllingia sebifera. The
berries of the Pride of India (Melia) also yield an oil'
when dried and boiled. Wax has also been collected by
scraping the stalk of the sugar-cane. See "Sorghum, " in
this volume.
I have repeatedly seen the wax produced from the myrtle
in large amounts. The berries are boiled, and the wax
rises on the surface of the water. The boiling should be
continued a long time, and the berries stirred and bruised.
The wax may be remelted to purify it. Four pounds of
this will make forty pounds of soap. The candles made of
it are dark green in color. Candles and soap were made in
considerable amounts by the ladies in the low country of
South Carolina during the autumn of 1861 — fifteen to
twenty dozen candles in one household.
Wilson, in his Rural Cyc, quotes Hamilton, who says
that the wax, after being skimmed off the water, should be
strained through a coarse cloth to free it from foreign
matter. When no more wax rises, the berries are removed
with a skimmer and a fresh supply put into the same water,
taking care to add boiling water to supply the place of
that evaporated during the process. The wax should be
dried, and melted again to free it from impurity. See
Charles Louis Cader's Memoir, inserted in the Annales de
Chimie, who said that the myrtle had been successfully
cultivated near Berlin, and Hamilton recommends its cul-
tivation in England for its wax-producing properties.
Abundant in the Confederate States; only a condition of
war and blockade has induced us to use it.
"J. B." communicates the following to the Charleston
Courier, from a writer under the signature of "Economy,"
from St. Paul's parish, S. C. It is also printed in F. S.
Holmes' Southern Farmer, p. 236 :
Large amount of Soap produced from Myrtle Wax. — I find
the following recipe far making soap from myrtle wax
(Myrica cerifera) in an old number of the Southern Agricul-
315
turist. As one of the complaints of soap-makers is the
difficulty and expense of obtaining the grease, it will be
well for us to avail ourselves of a production of nature,
found abundantly in our lower country. The fruit is now
matured, and may be had in abundance for the picking. I
saw, this day, very good candles made of myrtle wax. I
trust our planters, residing in the vicinity of the myrtle,
will profit by these advantages before the season for picking
lias passed :
"To three bushels and a half of common wood ashes
add half a bushel of unslaked lime. This being well
mixed together, put into a cask capable of containing sixty
gallons, and till up with water. In forty-eight hours the •
lye will be strong enough to float an egg. Then draw off,
and put from six to eight gallons of it into a copper
kettle capable of containing twenty-five gallons. To this
add only four pounds of myrtle wax. Keep constantly
boiling for six hours. For the first three or four hours
•pour in occasionally a supply of strong lye, the whole
frequently well stirred with a ladle. After six hours
boiling, throw two quarts of common large grain salt into
the kettle; leave one hour more to simmer over a slow
fire. The liquor must be placed in tubs to cool for twenty-
four hours. Take out the soap, wipe it clean ; put it to
dry.
"The produce of this soap when it was weighed the
next day was found to be forty-nine pounds of good, solid
soap, from the materials and by the process above men-
tioned. At the end of six weeks the soap had only lost a
few pounds from the evaporation of its watery particles.
"In many parts of our state the myrtle tree is abundant,
and from three pecks to a bushel may be gathered from a
hand per day. "Would it not be worth the while of the
planters to attend to this matter? I am sure it would save
them many a dollar."
A correspondent, " T," of the Charleston Courier writes
as follows:
Soap and Candles. — We have been so long dependent on
316
our Yankee enemies for supplies of the above named
articles of universal use that we have forgotten that we
can make them ourselves. To our shame we admit that
even on our plantations in the low country and seaboard,
abounding in materials for making the best candles in the
world, millions of pounds have been annually permitted to
mature and decay unused. The low bush myrtle, indigenous
to our coast from Virginia ad libitum south, the berries of
1 which are now mature, will afford a supply of wax; that,
with the addition of one-third tallow, will furnish candles
sufficient to light every house in the Confederacy for the
next year, and put a stopper on the exorbitant extortion
now practised on the people for that article. So, also, on
every plantation, nay, in almost every kitchen, the monthly
waste of ashes and grease, with the addition of a little
lime and salt, and the labor of one person for one day, will
make soap enough to cleanse every man, woman, and child,
and their clothing. Now, why should we any longer pay
thirty cents a pound for soap, and sixty cents for candles? ..
Since my examination and recommendation of the myrtle
leaves as a tanuiniferous agent, I see that it has been used
b}T Mr. J. Commins, of Charleston, in tanning leather. I
find that the berry is also highly astringent.
I had observed, also, an unusual amount of astringency
in the berries of the myrtle. The water in which they are
boiled, with copperas, is used as a dye. I have seen an
excellent dark brown with very little copperas. If walnut
leaves, bark, or the rind of the fruit is added the color is
very black. I am informed in St. John's, Berkley, S. C,
that a blue dye is obtained without a mordant, by using
the same water repeatedly in boiling the berries for the
extraction of the wax ! This seems an unexpected result.
Myrica Carolinensis. Grows in dry soils; Richland, Prof.
Gibbes ; collected in St. John's; Newbern.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 583. Supposed to possess similar
properties with the above. It can scarcely be distinguished
from the others.
317
JuglandacEjE. (The Walnut Tribe.)
Juglans tittered; L. Butternut; oil-nut. Grows in the
mountains of South Carolina. Fl. April.
U. S. Disp. 710; Archives Gen. 3e serie, x, 399, and xi,
40; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 131. "The inner bark of
the root affords one of the most mild and efficient laxatives
we possess." The extract was a favorite remedy in Gener-
al Marion's camp during the Revolutionary war. It is
very efficacious in habitual constipation, in doses of ten to
thirty grains; the first acting as a laxative, the maximum
purging. Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 115; Mx. N". Am. Sylva,
160; where it is spoken of as a mild cathartic, operating
without pain or irritation, and resembling rhubarb in its
property of evacuating without debilitating the alimentary
canal. Dr. Rush employed it during the war. Wood says
it is highly esteemed in dysentery ; Lind. Nat. Syst. 181.
The rind of the fruit and the skin of the kernel are ex-
tremely astringent, anthelmintic, and cathartic; the oil
extracted from the fruit is of a very drying nature. Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 687 (J. cathartica.) He re-
marks that the inner bark of the root is acrid and caustic,
and purges, but occasions neither heat nor irritation ; adapt-
ed to bilious constitutions and to dysentery; often combined
with calomel. It is given to animals in a disease called
"yellow water"; Bull, des Sci. Med. Fer. xii, 338. To
extract the cathartic principle, the bark is boiled in water
for several hours; remove the extraneous matter, and boil
down the decoction to the consistence of honey or mo-
lasses—pills may be made of this. A syrup may also be
made. The bark is strongest in the early summer. The
powdered leaves are rubefacient, and act as a substitute
for cantharides. Coxe, Am. Disp. 365. The bark of the
branches affords a large quantity of soluble matter, chiefly
of the extractive kind, water seeming to be a solvent.
Wetherill found in it fixed oil, resin, saccharine matter,
lime, potash, a peculiar principle, and tannin. Dr. B. S.
Barton, in his Collections, 23, 32, thinks it is possessed of
318
some anodyne property. Dr. Gray ascertained that four
trees, eight to ten inches in diameter, produced in one
day nine quarts of sap, from which was made one pound
and a quarter of sugar, equal, if not superior to that pro-
duced from the maple. This plant is alwa}7s given in the
form of extract or decoction. Griffith's Med. Bot. 589 ;
Thacher's Disp. 245; Rush's Med. Obs. i, 112; Pe. Mat.
Med. and Therap. ii, 767 ; Lind. Med. Fl. 387. The wood
of the butternut is used for the sleepers and posts of frame
houses and barns, for posts, and rail fences, troughs for
cattle, etc. For corn-shovels and wooden dishes it is pre-
ferred to the red flowering maples, because it is lighter and
less liable to split ; consequently, hollow-ware and other
articles made of it sell at higher prices. In Vermont the
wood is used for the panels of coaches and chaises, being
well adapted for this purpose, not only for its lightness,
but because it is not liable to split. It receives paint in a
superior manner, its pores being very open, more so than
poplar and basswood. Mx. Am. Sylva; Farmer's Encyc.
Juglans nigra, L. Black walnut. Diffused in lower and
upper country of South Carolina; iSTewbern. Fl. June.
Mer and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 687; Griffith, Med.
Bot. vi, 89. The bark is styptic and acrid; the rind of
the unripe fruit is said to remove ringworms and tetter;
and the decoction is given with success as a vermifuge.
"A kind of bread is obtained from the fruit." In a commu-
nication received from J. Douglass, M. D., of Chester dis-
trict, South Carolina, his correspondent, Mr. McKeown,
informs me that a bit of lint, dipped in the oil of the wal-
nut kernel, and applied to an aching tooth, is an effectual
palliative; he has employed it for thirty years with great
satisfaction.
The following appeared in one of the journals during the
year 1861 :
Walnut leaves in the treatment of diseases. — Dr. Negries,
physician at Angiers, France, haa published a statement of
his success in the treatment of scrofulous disease in differ-
319
ent forms by preparations of walnut leaves. He has tried
walnut leaves for ten years, and of fifty-six patients, afflicted
in different forms, thirty-one were completely cured, and
there were only four who appeared to have obtained no
advantage. The infusion of the walnut tree leaves is made
by cutting them and infusing a good pinch between the
thumb and forefinger in half a pint of boiling water, and
then sweetening it with sugar. To a grown person, M.
ISTegries prescribed from two to three teacups full of this
daily. This medicine is a slightly aromatic bitter ; its effi-
ciency is nearly uniform in scrofulous disorders, and it is
stated never to have caused any unpleasant effects. It
augments the activity of circulation and digestion, and to
the functions imparts much energy. It is supposed to act
upon the lymphatic system, as under its influence the
muscles become Arm, and the skin acquires a ruddier hue.
Dry leaves may be used throughout the winter, but a
syrup made of green leaves is more aromatic. A salve
made of a strong extract of the leaves mixed alone with
clean lard and a few drops of the oil of bergamot is most
excellent for sores. A strong decoction of the leaves is
excellent for washing them. The salutary effects of this
medicine do not appear on a sudden — no visible effect may
be noticed for twenty days, but perseverance in it will effect
a cure. As walnut tree leaves are abundant in America,
and as the extract of them is not dangerous or unpleasant
to use, and scrofula not uncommon, a trial of this simple
medicine should be made. In directing attention to it
good results may be expected.
A gray dye may be prepared with young, unripe walnuts.
The walnuts should be beaten in a mortar, boiled with
water — the yarn is previously, prepared with lye-water.
See "Rhus"
I obtain the following from a journal (1862) :
To dye wool yam a durable black without copperas. — Place
in. a kettle a layer of walnut leaves, then a layer of yarn,
then a layer of leaves and another of yarn, and so on till
the kettle is full ; pour on water till all is covered, and boil
320
all day. The next morning pour off the liquor into another
vessel, and put fresh leaves with the yarn in layers as
before, and pour the same liquor over it and boil again all
day. Then hang the yarn in the air a few days, after
which wash it and it will be a fine black.
The walnut leaves should be gathered in the autumn just
as they begin to fall from the trees.
Both the black and white walnut possess a durable wood,
and are secure from the annoyance of worms. The stem
of the black walnut is easily perforated, and like the titi
(Gliftonia) is much used for pipe-stems among the soldiers
in camp. The fig is also used for the same purpose.
At a convention of gunsmiths, held at Atlanta, Ga., Aug.
29, 1861, some facts were elicited which are interesting in
this connection.
Mr. Hodgkins, a gunsmith, stated "that the greatest dif-
ficulty was to get wood for the stocks ; that wood of one or
two j'ears was not sufficiently seasoned. It ought to be
cut twenty years. The bark should be taken off the tree
at once. Some thought it best to cut the timber in the
summer, others in the fall or winter." Gen. Wayne read
the following from the Ordnance Manual :
" The most suitable season for felling timber is that in
which vegetation is at rest, which is the case in midwinter
or midsummer. Recent experiments incline to give the
preference to the latter season — say the month of July ;
but the usual practice is to fell trees for timber between the
first of December and the middle of March."
"Gen. Wayne, on being inquired of, gave it as his opin-
ion that there was no artificial process of seasoning wood
that would answer for making gunstocks.
" Mr. Esper said that maple timber could be seasoned
rapidly by being boiled in oil. It prevented its cracking.
It soon seasoned thoroughly, and would not spring.
" Mr. Lamb stated that walnut was the best for stocking
guns, but harder to season. It required a great number ot
years — say twent}7 years, or nearly so. Maple was next, and
persimmon the next. These could be seasoned by artificial
process."
321
The reader will find some information on the felling of
timber in Wilson's Rural Cyc. I have seen beautiful
walnut obtained from the roots of old trees which had died.
The fruit is edible, and pleasant to the taste. The wood
is very compact and durable, with a black, fine grain, sus-
ceptible of a high polish, and forming a valuable substitute
for mahogany, from which, when seasoned and varnished,
it can scarcely be distinguished. It is much used in South
Carolina in the manufacture of tables, stair-railings, and
the inner work of houses. The writer has seen as beautiful
book-cases, tables, stair-railings, and cabinet-work made
from the wood prepared on our Southern plantations, when
well seasoned, as any imported from elsewhere. The roots
have a peculiarly rich black color, and are useful in making
gunstocks.
The trunk of a walnut tree, tapped on the 11th February,
yielded a sap containing some cane sugar. The saps of the
sycamore, of the Acer negundo, and of the lilac tree, con-
tained the same species of sugar; but that of the birch
tree held in solution some grape sugar. In the sycamore
and birch tree M. Biot observed an extremely interesting
fact. He ascertained, on felling these trees, that the greater
portion of the descending sap was accumulated toward the
middle of the trunk. That of the birch tree was acid and
saccharine ; the sap of that portion of the trunk which was
buried in the ground contained no sugar, but a substance
possessing the principal characters of gum. {Annates du
Museum d'Hisloire Naturelle, t. ii.) It was probably an
eil'ect of the season, for Knight states that he never could
discover the least trace of saccharine matter during winter
in the alburnum either of the stem or of the roots of the
sycamore. Boussingault's Rural Econ. in its relation to
Chemistry, etc., Law's edition, 1857.
Walnut leaves soaked in water for some hours, then
boiled and applied to the skins of horses and other animals,
will prevent their being bitten or worried by flies.
In Patent Office Reports, 1855, is a paper on the Persian
walnut, or Maderia nut (Juglans regia), which appears to be
21
322
well adapted to the climate of the Middle or Southern
states. It produces an immense amount of oil and cake.
It is preferred to linseed oil, and gives an excellent light.
The husk of the walnut is used in dyeing woollen stuffs.
Carya amara, porcina, alba, etc. Ell. Sk. Hickory. The
barks are astringent.
A dye for woollens used on the plantation is made from
that of most of the species. The fruit of many of the
hickory trees is pleasant to the taste, particularly the C.
alba, shell-bark hickory, which is an article of trade. It
should be spared in clearing land.
To color yellow. — "Take three-fourths of hickory bark,
with the outside shaved off, and one-fourth of black oak
bark done in the same manner; boil them well together in
a bell metal kettle until the color is deep ; then add alum
sufficient to make it foam when stirred up, then put the
yarn in and let it simmer a little while ; take it out and air
it two or three times, having a pole over the kettle to hang
it on, so that it may drain in the kettle; when dry rinse it
in cold water." Thornton's Southern Gardener, p. 182.
The writer has seen negro clothes and other stuffs dyed on
the plantations with either hickory or oak barks, either
alum or commercial copperas being used. The crab-apple
dyes a canary color. The hickory bark, with copperas, dyes
yarns an olive color — with alum, a green — the yarns must
be put in hot. The wood of the hickory yields a very fine
lye when reduced to ashes, and I will include much that is
said of soap under this genus. The wood is also valuable
for many purposes in the mechanical arts on account of its
weight, pliability, toughness, and durability. In Pennsyl-
vania an oil is extracted from the nuts of the C. amara,
butternut hickory, which is used for the lamp, and for other
inferior purposes. I would suggest that the nuts of any
species would serve, if broken and boiled, for the manufac-
ture of soap. I insert the following from Michaux :
" Properties and uses of hickory wood. — The wood of all the
species of hickory bears a striking resemblance, both as to
328
fibre and the uniform reddish color of the heart. It pos-
sesses great weight, strength, and unusual pliability and
toughness. When exposed to heat and moistur.e it is sub-
ject to rapid decay, and is peculiarly liable to injury from
worms.
" Throughout the Middle states it is selected for the axle-
trees of carriages, for the handles of axes and other carpen-
ters' tools, and for large screws, particularly those of book-
binders' presses. The cogs of mill-wheels are made of
hickory heart, thoroughly seasoned; but it is proper only
for such wheels as are not exposed to moisture ;^,nd for this
reason some other wood is by many millwrights preferred.
The rods which form the backs of Windsor chairs, coach-
whip handles, musket-stocks, rake-teeth, flails for thrashing
grain, the bows of yokes, or the elliptical pieces which pass
under the necks of cattle: all these are objects customarily
made of hickory. At Baltimore it is used for the hoops of
sieves, and is more esteemed than the white oak, which is
equally elastic, but more apt to peeloff in small shreds into
the substance sifted. In the country near Augusta, in
Georgia, I have remarked that the common chairs are of
hickory wood. In New Jersey it is employed for shoeing
sledges — that is, for covering the runners or parts which
slide upon the snow; but to be proper for this use it must
have been cut long enough to have become perfectly dry.
"Of the numerous trees of North America east of the
Alleghany mountains, none except the hickory is perfectly
adapted to the making of hoops for casks and boxes. For
this purpose vast quantities of it are consumed at home, and
exported to the West India islands. The hoops are made
of young hickories from six to twelve feet high, without
choice as to the species. The largest hoop-poles sold at
Philadelphia and New York in February, 1808, at three dol-
lars a hundred. Each pole is split in two parts, and the hoop
is crossed and confined by notches, instead of being bound
at the end with twigs, like those made of chestnut. From
the solidity of the wood, this method appears sufficiently
secure.
324
"When it is considered how large a part of the produc-
tions of the United States is packed for exportation in
barrels, an. estimate maybe formed of the necessary con-
sumption of hoops. In consequence of it, young trees
proper for this object have become scarce in all parts of the
country which have been long settled. The evil is greater,
as they do not sprout a second time from the same root, and
as their growth is slow. The cooper cannot lay up a store
of them for future use, for unless employed within a year,
and often within six months after being cut, they are at-
tacked by tjvo species of insect, one of which eats within
the wood, and commits the greatest ravages.
"The defects which unfit the hickory for use in the build-
ing of houses equally exclude it from the construction of
vessels. At 'New York and Philadelphia the shell-bark and
pignut hickories have been taken for keels, and are found
to last as long as those of other wood, owing to their being
always in the water. Of the two species, the pignut would
be preferable, as being less liable to split, but it is rarely
found of as large dimensions as the other.
"In sloops and schooners the rings by which the sails are
hoisted and confined to the mast are always of hickory. I
have also been assured that for attaching the cordage it
makes excellent pegs, which are stronger than those of oak;
but they should be set loosely in the holes, as otherwise, for
want of speedily seasoning, they soon decay. For hand-
spikes the hickory is particularly esteemed on account of
its strength ; it is accordingly employed in most American
vessels, and is exported for the same purpose to England,
where it sells from 50 to 100 per cent, higher than ash,
which is brought also from the north of the United States.
The hickories are cut without distinction for this use, but
the pignut, I believe, is the best.
"All the hickories are very heavy, and in a given volume
contain a great quantity of combustible matter. They pro-
duce an ardent heat, and leave a heavy, compact, and long-
lived coal. In this respect no wood of the same latitude in
Europe or America can be compared to them; such, at
325
least, is the opinion of all Europeans who have resided in
the United States.
"It has been seen by what precedes that though hickory
wood has essential defects, they are compensated by good
properties which render it valuable in the arts."
In concluding this article, Michaux recommends particu-
larly for propagation in European forests the shell-bark
hickory and the pignut hickory, whose wood unites in the
highest degree the valuable properties of the group. He
thinks, also, that the pecan-nut merits attention from pro-
moters of useful culture, not so much for its wood as for its
fruit, which is excellent, and more delicate than that of the
European walnut. It might probably be doubled in size,
if the practice was successfully adopted of grafting this
species upon the black walnut, or upon the common Euro-
pean walnut.
Oak and hickory bands for cotton bales. — A tie dispensing
with the use of iron or rope bands in baling cotton has been
patented. The editor of the Southern Field and Fireside
says on this subject: "Precisely such 'ties' have been used
to fasten strong hoops on tubs in distilleries and breweries
a longer time than any living man can remember. Thirty
years ago we made a score of large tubs for tanning leather,
and tied the staves together (made of two-inch plank) as
above described, save the teeth on the iron rings or bands.
The fastening is very simple, and perfectly reliable. A
small iron ring, formed like the capital letter D, is the thing.
It should hold both ends of a hoop two inches wide, each
end being a half-inch in thickness; and also a wedge
three-fourths of an inch thick. Such a hoop, made of oak,
ash, or hickory, will have more than four times the strength
of the rope usually employed in baling cotton. Green or
sound wood is hard to break when pulled lengthwise. On
our Southern plantations oak, hickory, ash, and grape-vines
are much used in place of rope in baling hay, fodder, etc."
The following practical remarks on the manufacture of
potash and soap I introduce here in connection with the
hickory, from an editorial by Dr. Lee, in the Southern Field
326
and Fireside, January 18, 1862. (For "Soda" see "Sal-
sola," in this book, and " Quereus") The ashes we may
obtain by burning corn-cobs yield more potash than any
other available substance; and the alkali from this source
is rapidly converted into saleratus or good soap. Corn-cobs
are mentioned because we often see them wasted in quanti-
ties where hogs are fed, and where much corn is shelled.
Soap-makers at the North buy all kinds of wood-ashes, and
find no difficulty in making soap from them ; but many
Southern negroes, who make a little soap, do not under-
stand the art under consideration. They require ashes from
hickory, walnut, poplar, or some other wood rich in potash
to succeed in producing good soap. The quantity of lime
named in the directions given in the article we copied is
two or three times larger than it need be. A peck of re-
cently slaked lime is abundant for a barrel of ashes. Lime
that has been long slaked and exposed to the air will not
answer. The object of the lime is to decompose all the
carbonate of potash dissolved out of the ashes, so that the
pure alkali will combine, with grease or oil, to form soap.
When the amount of potash in wood is small, as in pines
and decayed wood, the whole of the alkali unites with car-
bonic acid, or some other, if free, when the wood is burnt.
When ashes are kept some time, if partly caustic when first
burnt from wood they part with their causticity by imbib-
ing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, as freshly burnt
lime will do. Hence, recently burnt ashes will often make
soap without lime, but will not do if kept several months.
As caustic lime has a stronger affinity for carbonic acid than
potash or soda has, soap-makers find no trouble whatever
in making soap from old ashes, or any ashes that have not
been wet and washed. Having stated the reason why lime
is used, we will give the simplest and best practice in the
art of combining potash with an animal or vegetable oil or
fat, which chemical compound is soap — soft if potash is used,
and hard if soda is used. Refuse barrels and hogsheads are
often used to drip and leach ashes in, and should stand on
boards or plank, so as not to waste the lye. This done, a
327
few inches of clean broom-straw should be placed over all
the bottom of the barrel and pressed down. For a hogs-
head of ashes, a good bushel of recently slaked lime
should be spread evenly over all the straw; but a peck of
lime will do for a barrel of ashes. More lime will do no
harm, and some ashes may require a little more. ISTow fill
up the barrel of ashes, pound them down moderately, and
pour on boiling water, or that which is hot, until the lye
runs out at the bottom. If the ashes were good, this lye
will make soap with very little boiling; but if the potash is
too diluted, some of the water must be evaporated before
the chemical union between the alkali and grease will take
place. If too little grease is put in the pot or kettle, more
must be added; and if there is too much for all to combine
with the potash, the excess must be removed after, the soap
is cold. Where salt is cheap, it is largely used in the manu-
facture of bar soap. Turpentine and rosin are also used in
this branch of business. The explanations in reference to
soda and turpentine soap will be given elsewhere. Salt is
now too expensive to be used in soap-making.
In an article on soap and potash from the Atlanta Com-
monwealth, in the Southern Field and Fireside for October,
1861, great stress is laid upon the ease with which we can
manufacture potash in large quantity within the limits of
the Southern Confederacy, and the consequent production
of soap: "But whether we make our soap or establish
manufactures, we need lye or potash in large quantities.
To have this we must burn the light kind of wood, for
some wood is better than other sorts, and we must save all
the ashes and take good care of them. The ashes should
not only be saved for this purpose, but to be used as ma-
nure. It is a shame that we have been so long and so
willingly dependent on the North for so large a catalogue
of the commonest articles, and even for the article of soap."
The following on the same subject is from the Richmond
Dispatch, which I condense: "The great scarcity of soap
at the present time arises from the want of potash and
soda ash. Either will make soap. The latter is found in
328
its natural state (natron) in Egypt and South America, but
the principal supply has been obtained from Great Britain,
procured by the burning of sea-weeds. The former (pot-
ash) is supplied mostly from Canada and the State of New
York. There is in the Confederate States any quantity of
material to make potash, and I would call the attention of
farmers to its production. It requires but a simple process
in its manufacture — a few large iron pans and a half-dozen
whiskey barrels, with heads out, and an iron ladle, being all
the apparatus required.
" Most weeds furnish potash, in a greater or less degree,
to every one hundred pounds. The following plants will
furnish of potash :
Oak wood 2^ lbs
Wheat straw A\ "
Barley straw 5 "
Potato stem 55 lbs.
Corn-stalks 17 "
Oak bark and elm leaves .... 24 "
"These articles can be obtained by the farmers at little
cost. Select a shaded position, gather in a large heap, set
fire to it, keeping the tire up until several bushels of
ashes are obtained ; fill each barrel about one-quarter full
of slaked lime; fill it then with water, stirring the ashes
well; let it stand over night, or for about twelve hours,
stirring frequently ; strain off the lye as clear as possible;
pour in the kettles, and evaporate over a wood fire. The
kettle should be kept constantly full for two days (a little
experience will soon teach the quantity of lye it will require
to make them half full with potash). The evaporation
should be continued until the mass obtains the consistency
of brown sugar; then increase the fire, by which it will be
fused; continue it until quiescent, and looks like melted
iron ; with a ladle transfer it to iron pans or baking-ovens,
and allow it to cool; it ma}- be then broken in pieces, and
packed in tight boxes or barrels. The experiment will
pay well any enterprising farmer. The article cannot now
be obtained at any cost, and can be sold at a high rate.
We hope this may induce some to try it. The expense of
fixtures is small. Pine wood furnishes but little potash."
Ure, in his Dictionary of Science and Manufactures, art.
329
Potash, p. 457, says : In America, where timber is in many-
places an incumbrance upon the soil, it is felled, piled up
in pyramids and burned, solely with a view to the manu-
facture of potashes. The ashes are put into wooden cis-
terns having a plug at the bottom of one of the sides under
a false bottom; a moderate quantity of water is then pour-
ed on the mass, and some quick-lime is stirred in; after
standing for a few hours, so as to take up the soluble mat-
ter, the clear liquor is drawn off, evaporated to dryness in
iron pots, and finally fused at a red heat into compact
masses, which are gray on the outside, and pink-colored
within. All kinds of vegetables do not yield, he adds, the
same proportions of potassa. The more succulent the
plant, the more does it afford; for it is only in the juices
that the vegetable salts reside, which are converted by
incineration into alkaline matter. Herbaceous weeds are
more productive of potash than the graminiferous species,
or shrubs, and these than trees; and for a like reason twigs
and leaves are more productive than timber. But plants
in all cases are richest in alkaline salts when they have
arrived at maturity. The soil in which they grow also
influences the quantity of saline matter. The following
table exhibits the average product in potassa of several
plants, according to the researches of Vauquelin, Pertuis,
Ivirwan and DeSaussure :
/)/ 1000 />«m
Potassa.
Pine or fir 0.45
Poplar 0.75
Trefoil 0.75
Beechwood 1.45
Oak 1.53
Boxwood 2.26
Willow 2.85
Elm and maple 3.90
In 1000 parts
Potassa.
Thistles 5.00
Flag stems 5.00
Small rushes 5.08
Vine roots 5.50
Barley straw 5.80
Dry beech bark 6.00
Fern 6.26
Large rush 7.22
Wheat straw 3.90 Stalk of maize 17.15
Bark of oak twigs 4.20 -. Bean stalks 20.00
In 1000 parts
Potassa.
Bastard chamomile —
Anthem-is ontula, L .19.06
Sunflower stalks 20.00
Common nettle 25.03
Vetch plant 27.50
Thistles in full growth35.37
Dry straw of wheat
before earing 47.00
Wormwood 73.00
Fumitory 79.00
Stalks of tobacco, potatoes, chestnut-husks, broom-heath,
furze, tansy, sorrel, vine leaves, beet leaves, orach, and many
other plants abound in potash salts. In Burgundy the well
known cendres gravelies are made by incinerating the lees
of wine pressed into cakes and dried in the sun ; the ashes
330
contain fully sixteen per cent, of potassa. To manufacture
carbonate of 'potassa, chlorate, etc., from ashes, see also Ure's
Dictionary. The corn-shuck and cob contain potash, and
an economical soap is made from corn-shucks. See "Zea,"
in this volume.
Count Chaptal, "Chemistry applied to Agriculture," p.
290, refers to the method of using economy in washing
and bleaching cloths, linen, etc., by a soapy liquor, a solu-
tion of oil and soda, in place of ordinary soap. He also
introduces and describes a plan for washing and cleansing
household linen and cotton yarn by steam from alkaline
solutions. The expense is three-sevenths of the expense
of the common method.
I introduce the following from Chaptal's Chemistry
applied to Agriculture, as it shows the very different com-
position of different plants — the potato, for example:
" It appears that the three earths which form the basis
of the most fertile soil enter into the composition of plants.
Bergmann has proved this by an analysis of several kinds
of grain, and Ruckert, by the results of his experiments
upon a variety of vegetable productions, in a way to put it
beyond doubt. About one hundred parts of ashes well
leached, and consequently disengaged of all their salts,
yielded
Silica. Lime. Alumina.
Ashes of wheat 48 37 15
" oats, 68 26 6
" barley 69 16 15
" rye 63 21 16
" potatoes 4 66 30
" red clover 37 33 30"
"Soft soaps," says Ure, "are usually made in this coun-
try with whale, seal, olive, and linseed oils, and a certain
quantity of tallow ; on the Continent, with the oils of
hemp-seed, sesame (beni, which is planted in South Caro-
lina)^ rapeseed, linseed, poppy-seed, and colza, or with
mixtures of several of these oils. When tallow is added,
as in Great Britain, the object is to produce white and
somewhat solid grains of stearic soap in the transparent
mass, called figging, because the soap then resembles the
331
granular texture of a 'fig.'" "The potash lyes should
be made perfectly caustic, and of at least two different
strengths," etc. See Ure, p. 668, for method. Any of
the seeds of our oily plants, the cultivation of which I have
so often recommended, can be pressed in a flannel bag in
an ordinary cotton-press. If the pressure is exercised in a
warm room heated by a stove, the escape of the oil will be
much facilitated. A lye made of wood ashes will stop the
rust in wheat, if the seeds are soaked in it before being •
planted for two or three hours. It is a useful substitute at
this time for the brine which is usually made of sulphate
of copper or salt.
As the Concentrated Lye may be made from ashes, I am
induced to insert the following, on this all-important sub-
ject. Resin is abundant in the Confederate States, and
vegetable wax and oils can be obtained. See " Myrica"
and bene" (" Sesam^im"). See method of preparing concen-
trated lye, "Quercus alba" in this volume.
Yellow, or rosin soap. — Dissolve one pound of concentrat-
ed ]ye in one half-gallon of water, and set it aside ; heat in
a kettle one gallon of water and three and a half pounds
of fat or tallow, and commence to make the soap just as
above for hard soap, with small quantities of lye, and a
very small fire, until the soap is ready for salt, but add no
salt. Put in now one and three-fourth pound of powdered
rosin, and let it boil down by constantly stirring until the
soap sticks on the kettle, and gets very thick. It is now
finished, and may be put into a mould.
Hard fancy soap. — Dissolve one pound of the concentrat-
ed lye in two and a half pounds of hot water, and let it
cool ; then melt by a low heat five pounds of clear fat or
tallow, pour in the lye in a very small stream, and stir it
rapidly; keep stirring until all has assumed the appearance
of thick honey, and falls off the stirrer in large drops. It
is then finished. Cover it up, and set the batch in a warm
place; or better, cover it with a woollen blanket to keep in
the heat, and let it stand for twenty-four hours, when it
will have set into a fine, hard soap, which may be per-
332
fumed and variegated with colors by stirring the desired
colors or perfumes into the mixture just before covering.
If lard or olive oil is used, no heating of the same is
required.
Soft snap. — To one pound of the concentrated lye add
three gallons of soft water, and four and one-half to live
pounds of fat or tallow ; boil until the mass gets transpar-
ent and all the fat has disappeared. Now add fifteen
gallons of water, boil a few minutes, and the soap will be
ready for use. As soon as cold, it will be a perfect jelly.
If still too thick, add more water, which can be done to
make the soap to any consistency desired. Twenty-five
gallons of good soft soap can be made in this way out of
one pound of the concentrated lye.
Pump water is softened and made fit for washing as fol-
lows : dissolve one cake of the concentrated lye in one
gallon of watei\ and keep it for use in a well-corked demi-
john or jug. To a tub full of pump or hard spring water
add from one-eighth of a gill to a pint of the clear solu-
tion ; the quantity of course varies according to the size
of the tub, and the nature of the water, some taking more
and some less. A tablespoonful will generally be found
enough to make three to five gallons of water fit for wash-
ing. In all the above operations, it should be remembered
to replenish the water which may evaporate while dissolv-
ing the concentrated lye, or while boiling.
Consult " Salsola kali" for soda and soda soaps from
ashes; also "oak" (Quereus alba), for additional information.
To make twenty pounds of cheap soap from four pounds. —
The Southern Field and Fireside directs : four pounds of
turpentine soap, one half-pound of soda; add two gallons
water, boil ten minutes, add a spoonful of salt, and boil
ten minutes more.
Economy in the use of salt. — I insert the following for its
utility in the present exigency : " Green wood contains
some forty per cent, of its weight of moisture, which forms
a watery vapor when burning; and even dry wood has
over forty per cent, of the elements of water, oxygen, and
333
hydrogen that forms vapor when such wood is burnt. Coal
consists mainly of the carbon in wood, which in burning
forms a very drying heat. Most of our readers are famil-
iar with the usual process of barbecuing large pieces of
meat over coals. If such meat were too. high above the
coal tire to roast, it would soon dry. When dry, a very
little salt and smoking will keep it indefinitely. Like
cured bacon, it should be packed in tight casks, and kept
in a dry room.
"After one kills his hogs, if he is short of salt, let him
get the water out of the meat by drying it over burning
coals as soon as possible, first rubbing it in a little salt.
Shade trees around a meat-house are injurious by creating
dampness. Dry meat with a coal fire after it is smoked.
You may dislike to have meat so dry as is suggested, but
your own observation will tell you that the dryest hams
generally keep the best. Certainly, sweet, dry bacon is far
better than moist, tainted bacon, and our aim is simply to
show how meat may be cured and long kept with a trifle
of salt, when war has rendered the latter scarce and expen-
sive." As this is an important question in every point of
view at present, I will also cite on the manufacture of salt an
elaborate article in the P. O. Reports, 1855, p. 143, by W.
C. Dennis, of Key West, Florida ; also P. O. Reports,
1857, p. 133. The mode of crystallizing, etc., is explained
in a plain, practical manner, with wood-cuts of machinery.
Evaporation through thorns, wood-shavings, etc., is de-
scribed.
i
Carya olivceformis. Pecan. Mississippi nut. Cultivated
in Atlantic states.
I have observed it growing wild in Ward's swamp, St.
John's, Berkley, S. C, in company with the C. myrisUcm-
formis or nutmeg hickory of Mx. ISTo doubt the fruit was
disseminated from neighboring plantations, where it is
cultivated. The fruit of the plants of this order are favorite
articles for table use in the Confederate States. The pe-
can-nut is rich and nutritious, and the tree might be planted
334
as a source of profit, as it is a rapid bearer, attaining a
large size. *
Michaux advises that the shoots should, for the purposes
of fruiting, be grafted on stalks of the common walnut
tree. The tree abounds in upper Louisiana and Illinois.
A swamp of 800 acres is said to exist on the right bank of
the Ohio, opposite the Cumberland river. The wood is
coarse grained, heavy, and compact. Michaux.
Saururace^e.
Saururus Cernuus, L. Grows in inundated soils ; Rich-
land; vicinity of Charleston; Newbern ; and collected in
St. John's, where the root is used, in the form of a poultice,
in discussing tumors, and as an application in abscess of
the breasts occurring after labor. It is thought by many
to possess great value in this respect. In a note to Ell.
Bot., 505, it is also said that the. fresh root is applied with
advantage as an emollient and discutient to inflamed sur-
faces.
Salicace^e. (The Willow Tribe.)
Bark generally astringent, tonic, and stomachic.
Salix nigra, L. Willow. Grows along streams; Rich-
land, Gibbes ; vicinity of Charleston ; collected in St.
John's ; Newbern. Fl. May.
Bell's Pract. Diet. 403 ; U. S. Disp. 622. See work of
younger Michaux, Ball, and Gar. Mat. Med. 337 ; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi. 185; Griffith, Med. Bot. 583;
Schoepf, Mat. Med. 43 ; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii. 671. The
willow is supposed to furnish us with one of .the best sub-
stitutes for Peruvian bark; the S. alba, which may be
included among the many varieties found in the Confeder-
ate States, and which are not yet accurately distinguished,
seems to be held in high estimation. But this species also,
is considered valuable ; the bark possessing some power as
a purgative, anti-intermittent, and vermifuge. It also
furnishes the principle called salicin, which, from the
335
results of late experiments, is found to be much less
valuable than quinia, but is a good bitter tonic. See Journal
Phil. Coll. Pharm. for the mode of preparation. Bark of
the root and branches is officinal. It is tonic and some-
what astringent. Decoction made with one ounce of bark
to one pint of boiling water; dose 2 fluidounces. It
should be boiled ten minutes, and strained while hot.
Dose of salicin from 2 to 8 grains and increased. It might
well attract attention as a substitute for quinine. The
large stems of this tree are light and durable, and are used
for the timbers of boats.
There are several other species in the Confederate States.
The willow — osier willow (see article in Farmer and
Planter, Sept., 1861), is cultivated extensively in Germany,
France, and Belgium for making baskets, hats, screens,
etc., etc. After most careful experiment it has been found
that the best species to introduce into the Confederate
States for the purpose, are the Salix forbeyana, Salix purpu-
rea, purple willow, and Salix triandra, long-leaved willow.
Forbes' loillow is very productive and hardy, one of the
most valuable species for common work, where unpeeled
rods are used. It does not whiten well.
Purple wilioio. — Experiments have shows that this species
is the most valuable and profitable for osiers in this country.
With good ordinary culture its shoots will average ten feet
in length ; will thrive best in deep, moist soil, where it will
easily yield from four to live tons per acre of the most
excellent rods, well qualified for the finest work. The
purple willow, aside from being the most valuable for man-
ufacturing all the finest kinds of willow-ware, is the best
species for hedges, and is most extensively used for that
purpose in Germany and Holland. The leaves and the
bark being so very bitter will not be touched by cattle, while
the shoots may be formed into any shape, and the hedge
thereby made impregnable. Fine hedges or screens of
twenty-five feet in height may be grown from willow cut-
tings of this species in five years, thus affording almost
immediate shelter, so indispensable at all seasons of the
336
year. We have seen, the writer adds, screens in Russia, of
the willow, forty feet high, surrounding parks from three
to four hundred acres in extent, affording the most perfect
shelter against the sweeping winds and storms. Its soft,
green, and glossy foliage will make it an object of great
beauty and attraction.
The last mentioned, the Salix triandra, long-leaved willow,
will grow with almost equal vigor in any soil of depth ;
ripens its shoots very early, and whitens beautifully; is
tough and pliable, and a general favorite with our German
basket-makers for split-work. This willow is most exten-
sively cultivated in Germany by the thousands of acres.
Its cultivation is highly esteemed by the people, and much
encouraged by the government.
Salix caprea, though not valued as an osier, is deserving
of attention, as it will grow in wet situations where other
trees will hardly exist. It furnishes food for bees at a time
when it is most needed. In early spring, before other
flowers appear, this tree is a mass of dazzling bloom, most
eagerly sought after by bees. This willow is also valuable
for hoops.
The cuttings, in our climate, should be prepared in fall or
early winter, and if planted at that time the ends will form
the callosity preparatory to sending out roots. In setting
the cuttings in the ground prepared for them, care should
be taken to have them set deep enough ; a small portion
only should remain above ground ; the strongest roots
always start from the lower end of the cutting or set ; by
doing so the most vigorous growth will be obtained.
In establishing a willow plantation, cuttings of vigorous
upland growth, that have had an abundance of room,
should only be purchased and used, and, if obtainable,
select wood of one year's growth, with a portion of two
years wood from the lower extremity. Deep soils, free
from standing water, but yet so soft that ploughing is
impracticable, will grow enormous growths of 6'. triandra,
requiring no further cultivation but keeping the weeds
down for the first year or two, after which time the willows
337
will be of sufficient strength to take care of themselves, and4
provide for their own shade and well-being. We have in,
the Confederate States large districts of deep alluvium,
often inclining to swamps, which are so much drained as to-
do away with their swampy character, and with no other
preparation than removing the trees, may make excellent
willow plantations. Sir J. W. Hooker observes: "The
many important uses rendered to men by the different
species of willow serve to rank them among the first in the
list of our economical plants." The editor of the Southern
Farmer and Planter then quotes a statement by W. P.
Rupert, of Geneva, N". Y., showing a net profit of $533 per
acre from planting the osier willow.
See, also, Chaptal's Chemistry applied to Agriculture for
method of planting willow along borders of land -liable to
inundation, to lessen the force of the water, to strengthen
the soil, and reclaim the land. A border of willow and
poplar is planted over the banks or along the sides of the
watercourses, and the plants are cropped at the tops so as
to increase the thickness of their growth.
In a paper in Patent Office Reports on Agriculture, p. 46,
1851, by W. G. Haynes, of Putnam county, 1ST. Y., it is
stated that four or five million dollars worth of willow
were imported annually into the United States from France
and Germany. The prices ranged from $1 to $1 30 per ton
weight. The writer coufines his attention to the "three
kinds best adapted for basket-making, farming, tanning,
and fencing." He says: "The Salix viminalis is that speci-
men of all others best adapted for basket-makers. An acre
of this properly planted, and cultivated upon suitable soil,
will yield at least two tons weight per year." See paper
for yield. The people of England, till 1808, relied entirely
for their supply upon Continental Europe. The Salix alba,
or Bedford willow, is much planted by the Duke of Bed-
ford. "The bark is held in high estimation for tanning,
the wood for shoemakers' lasts, boot-trees, cutting-boards,
gun and pistol stocks, and house timber; the wood being
fine grained, and susceptible of as fine a polish as rose-
22
338
wood or mahogany. An acre of this kind of wood, ten
years old, has sold in England for ,£155." The " Salix alba
is extensively used by retired tradesmen who build in the
country for the purpose of securing shade in a short time,
and by the nobility around their fish-ponds and mill-dams,
and along their watercourses and avenues. This is the
principal wood used in the manufacture of gunpowder in
England." See, also, article "Hempi" It requires twelve
thousand cuttings to plant one acre. Much land worth for
little else might be planted in willow.
The next species is the & caprea, Huntingdon willow,
"which is a good basket willow, and is used extensively in
England by the farmers for hoop-poles and fencing. Their
manner of planting when for fencing is by placing the
ends of the cuttings in the ground, and then working
them into a kind of trellis-work, and passing a willow
withe around the tops or ends, so as to keep in shape for
the first two years. They cut the tops off yearly, and sell
them to the basket-makers, thus having a fence and crop
from the same ground." Another description of fence is
also made from the Salix caprea, " known in England by
the name of hurdle fences, which may be removed at the
pleasure or discretion of the proprietor." See article
"Charcoal," in Wilson's Rural Cyc. The dogwood and
alder are also used for making gunpowder. See, #also,
Ure's Dictionary of Arts. In most of the large manufac-
tories the charcoal is distilled from iron vessels, by which
means it is obtained in a state of considerable purity, and
the other products are saved. See " Pinus."
A variety of the S. viminalis, called the velvet osier, is
the very best for basket-making. In England, Wilson
says, an acre of osier will yield greater profit than one of
wheat. The Salix purpurea, as was stated, is also valuable.
"The cutting of a basket twig should be made slopingly
within three buds of the point whence the shoot issued ;
and the cutting of a hoop willow may be made so low as
to leave only the swell at the bottom of the shoot. Basket
twigs are commonly sorted into three sizes, and tied into
339
bundles of each two feet in circumference : and when they
are to be peeled, they are set on their thick end, a few
inches deep in standing water, and left there till com-
monly the latter part of the following May. The apparatus
for peeling is simply two round rods of iron, nearly half an
inch thick, sixteen inches long, and tapering a little up-
ward, welded together a little at one end, which is sharp-
ened, so that it may be easily thrust down into the ground.
When thus placed in a piece of firm ground, the peeler sits
down opposite to it, and takes the willow in the right hand
by the small end, and puts a foot or more of the great end
into the instrument, the prongs of which he presses to-
gether with the left hand, and with the right draws the
willow toward him, by which operation the bark will at
once be separated from the wood; the small end is then
treated in the same manner, and the peeling is completed.
After being peeled they will keep in a good condition for a
long time, till a proper market be found. Rural Cyc.
Charcoal made of willow or oak is a useful antiseptic
agent, possessing the power of absorbing gases, and useful
in dyspepsia and ill-conditioned states of the gastrointes-
tinal mucous membranes. It is also used as a mechanical
laxative, in doses of ten to fifteen grains. It is supposed
to act as a prophylactic in yellow fever. In preparing it,
the common charcoal from green wood is reduced to pow-
der. This is reheated and burned to ignition in a. tightly
covered vessel. It is then kept for use in closely stopped
bottles, as it will absorb moisture and gases from the
atmosphere. It is used also as a general purifyer. Brack-
ish water strained through a layer of sand and powdered
charcoal is made sweet and pure.
For making gunpowder charcoal, the lighter woods, such
as the willow, dogwood, and alder answer best; and in their
carbonization care should be taken to let the vapors freely
escape, especially toward the end of the operation, for
when they are reabsorbed, they greatly impair the com-
bustibility of the charcoal. The charcoal of some wood
contains silica, and is therefore useful for polishing metals.
340
Dr. Mushet published the following table of the quantity
of charcoal yielded by different woods :
Chestnut 23.2 of charcoal — glossy black, compact, firm.
Oak 22.6 black, close, very firm.
Walnut 20.6 dull black, close, firm.
Holly 19.9 dull black, loose, and bulky.
Beech 19.9 dull black, spongy, firm.
Sycamore 19.7 fine black, bulky, moderately firm.
Elm 19.5 fine black, moderately firm.
Norway pine 19.2 shining black, bulky, very soft.
Sallow or willow. .18.4 velvet black, bulky, loose, soft.
Ash 17.9 shining black, spongy, firm.
Birch 1 7.4 velvet black, bulky, firm. [_Am. Farmer's Enc.
On the subject of Nitre, and the materials for gunpow-
der, I will introduce the following from Chaptal's Chemis-
try applied to Agriculture, p. 153, and may reproduce
portions or all of Prof. Leconte's paper on nitre beds.
Different kinds of wood, he says, yield coal of very differ-
ent quality; the best coal is heavy and sonorous, and is
produced from wood of very compact fibre. The heat it
affords is quick and strong, and its combustion, though
vigorous, lasts a long time. The charcoal of the green
oak of the South burns at least twice as long as that of
the white oak of the North, and the effects produced by
the heat it affords are great in the same proportion.
The light, porous, white woods afford a brittle, spongy
coal, of less weight, and which may be easily reduced
to powder; this coal consumes quickly in our fireplaces,
but is useful for some purposes, particularly in the manu-
facture of gunpowder, for which use it is prepared by the
following process : a ditch of five or six feet square and
of about four in depth is dug in a dry soil; the ditch
is heated by means of a fire made of split wood; the shoots
and leaves are stripped from the young branches of elders,
poplars, hazels, and willows, of which the coal is to be
made, and as soon as the ditch is sufficiently heated the
branches are thrown gradually in ; when carbonization is
at its height the pit is covered over with wet woollen cloths.
This charcoal is more light and inflammable than that of
341
the denser woods, and is susceptible of being more easily-
arid completely pulverized. M. Proust, who has made
numerous experiments to ascertain the kinds of plants
which furnish the best coal for powder, found that pro-
cured from the stalk of hemp to be preferable to any other.
The most perfect process of carbonization is by means of
a close apparatus: for this purpose a stone or brick building
is constructed, of eighteen to twenty-five feet square; this
is matted over, and the inside of it lined with a brick wall ;
through the extent of it cast-iron cylinders are laid in such
a manner that one of the two ends shall have an external
communication, while the other carries the smoke into
one of the chimneys. As soon as the building is filled
with the wood for carbonization the cylinders may be
heated. The vapor which is distilled from the wood is
received into sheet-iron pipes, placed in the top, which
convey it into tubs where it is condensed. Count Chaptal
esteems this to be the best and most economical apparatus
for making charcoal ; besides, it allows the preservation of
the pyroligneous acid, which brings a good price, and may
also be purified and converted into vinegar.
In England charcoal is prepared in two different wTays.
In one, billets of wood are formed into a heap, which is
covered with turf, and a few small openings only left for
the admission of the air requisite to maintain it in a state
of low combustion after it is lighted. When the whole
heap is on fire, the holes are stopped, and after the mass
has cooled the residue is charcoal. This is substantially
the method adopted on our plantations. In the other
mode, the wood is distilled in iron cylinders, in which case
the products are pyroligneous acids, and empyreumatic oil ;
and what remains in the retort is charcoal. The quantity
of the distilled products, as well as of the charcoal, de-
pends on the kind of wood employed. One hundred parts
of dried oak yields of pyroligneous acid, 43. parts ; carbon-
ate of potassa, 4.5 parts; empyreumatic oil, 9.06 parts;
charcoal, 26.2" parts. Farmer's Encyc. See also "Quercus"
and " Pinus," in this volume.
342
The following advertisement appeared in the papers dur-
ing the year 1862 :
To Contractors. — Willow wood wanted. — Five hundred
cords willow will be contracted for, to be delivered on the
line of the canal, at the government powder factory, at
Augusta, Gra., at the rate of not less than one hundred and
fifty cords per month, commencing the 1st of December
next. The willow may be of any size, the smaller branches
being preferred; the larger sticks must be split into parts
not larger than the arm. It must be cut into uniform
lengths of three feet, and each cord will measure fourteen
feet long, three feet high, and three feet broad, containing
one hundred and twenty-six cubic feet. The bark must be
carefully peeled off at the time of cutting.
Purification of water by charcoal. — The reader is referred
to Chaptal's "Chemistry applied to Agriculture" for much
that is practical in the domestic economy of our planta-
tions in the South on the manufacture of wine, brandy,
etc. In his chapter on the "means of preparing whole-
some drinks for the use of country people" he gives the
following method for rendering impure water pure. It
would be found of great service at the present time, and
our generals in the field might thus, at little cost, purify
water for the use of their camps, for want of which simple
expedient moves, possibly disastrous, have often to be made
in face of an enemy. "The water made use of is often
muddy, or has a bad smell, either of which faults may be
corrected by filtering it through charcoal ; the process
may be performed in the following manner: place a large
cask upright, in the coolest situation you can command,
knock out the head, and form in the bottom of it a bed of
clean sand upon which place one of charcoal, and above
these fasten securely a double head pierced with holes.
When this is done the cask may be immediately filled
with the water which is to be purified. The filtrated fluid
may be drawn off by means of a stop cock placed at the
bottom of the bed of sand; it will be found to have be-
come clear and inodorous in its passage through the sand
343
and charcoal. The preservation of this apparatus requires
but little care; when the charcoal ceases to produce the
desired effect it must be either well washed or replaced by
a new portion." This plan can be put in practice by any
one, and at any time.
Salix Babilonica. Weeping willow^. Completely natural-
ized in South Carolina.
It forms one of our most beautiful and graceful orna-
mental trees. Only the pistillate plant is found here ; and
hence it does not mature its fruit as the others do.
Populus alba. White poplar. Introduced.
This is an aquatic plant, yet will grow on dry soils. It
is easily propagated by suckers, grows rapidly, is very tena-
cious of life, and is one of the trees planted to prevent the
encroachment of the sea or rivers, by being planted with
willows on the margin. See Salix.
The poplar has a very white, light wood, very suitable
for flooring ; also eminently suited, on account of its light-
ness, for the manufacture of trays, bowls, etc. "It is excel-
lently adapted for the purposes of the bellows-maker, and
of the manufacturer of wooden soles of shoes ; as good for
light carts ; as excellent for laths and packing-cases ; as
very superior for wooden constructions under water ; and
in fact as available for an almost innumerable variety of
purposes, from the mean ones of fuel and poles to the
noble ones of tools and furniture. Pontey even asserts it
to be perfectly suitable for almost every article usually
made of mahogany, and quite capable of being stained
and doctored into a very close imitation of that valuable
wood." Wilson. The wood of our wild, tulip-bearing
poplar (Liriodendron) is adapted to similar purposes, being
light, and easily worked, and used by the cabinet-maker
for many purposes. It is stated in the Farmer's En-
cyclopaedia that by splitting the wood of the white pop-
lar into thin shavings like tape or braid, the stuff called
sparterfe, used for hats, is manufactured. These shavings
344
are always made from green wood. One workman can,
with the aid of a child to carry off the shavings, keep
several plaiters employed. This might be made a source
of successful industry in the Confederate States.
Upon examining the excrescences caused by an insect in
large numbers on the leaves of the cotton-wood tree (P.
heterophylla, L.), I find them possessed of .great bitterness,
and suggest an examination into their tonic properties.
Balsamaceje.
Liquidambar styraciflua, L. Sweet-gum. Diffused. Fl.
March.
IT. S. Disp. 273 ; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 184 ;
Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 303 ; Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm.
vi, 190 ; Royle, Mat. Med. 562 ; Bergii, Mat. Med. ii, 798 ;
Linn. Veg. M. Med. In former times the resin was used
in scabies ; and it is said (Am. Herbal, by J. Stearns) to be
useful in resolving hard tumors in the uterus. The In-
dians esteemed it an excellent febrifuge, and employed it
in healing wounds. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv,
128, and the Supplem. 1846 ; Ann. de Montpellier, 1805,
327; Journal de Pharm. vii, 339, and vii, 568; Bull, de
Therap., Oct. 1833, where D. L'Heritier proposes to treat
blennorrhagias and leucorrhceas with liquid styrax. A
kind of oil, called copalm, is extracted from it in Mexico,
which, when solidified, is called copalm resin ; this is an
excitant of the mucous system, and it is given in chronic
catarrhs, and in affections of the lungs, intestines, and
urinary passages. This is cordial and stomachic ; it excites
both perspiration and urine; it is also used in perfumery.
In South Carolina and Georgia the temperature is not high
enough for this tree to furnish much gum. Dr. Griffith
experimented with it in the latitude of Baltimore, and ob-
tained a small quantity by boiling the twigs and branches ;
he found that it exists in greatest abundance in the young
trees just before the appearance of the leaves. It is about
the consistence of honey, of a yellow color, and of a pleas-
ant, balsamic odor and taste. The tree is of rapid growth,
345
and is ornamental — frequently assuming the appearance of
a sugar-loaf. The wood is soft, but not durable. A decoc-
tion of the inner bark of the gum in a quart of milk, or a
tea made with boiling water is one of the most valuable
and useful mucilaginous astringents that we possess (Dr.
Richard Moore). It can be employed with advantage in
cases of diarrhoea and dysentery. I have discovered that
the leaves also of the gum, as well as those of the myrtle,
are exceedingly rich in tannin, and would advise them to
be used while green as a substitute for oak bark. They
can always be obtained in the greatest abundance. As the
result of my comparative experiments, these, with the leaves
of the sumach, possessed more tannin than any other leaf.
See " Tannin.''' The chinquapin, given with milk, is a use-
ful astringent; see, also, blackberry (Rubus) and dogwood
{Cornus). The gum of the sweet-gum, mixed with suet, is
used by the vegetable practitioners in the treatment of itch.
Leaves of native trees for Tanning Leather recommended in
place of Oak bark. — Compelled by sickness to make a tem-
porary sojourn in St. John's, Berkley, S. C, during the
months of October and November, 1861, I had the leisure
to make some experiments upon the relative amount of the
astringent principles in the leaves of several of our most
abundant native trees. The reputed power of the dogfen-
nel and other plants for the rapid tanning of leather attract-
ed my attention to the subject. I publish the following,
that the green leaves may be collected and used before they
fall. They can be much more readily obtained than oak
bark. I made two series of experiments, with a solution of
each leaf in boiling water, in separate test-glasses. After
they had remained a sufficient time for the coloring matters
and the astringent principles to be extracted, I subjected
each to the appropriate reagents. Solutions of iron as well
as gelatine were employed, which responded perfectly, and
gave delicate shades of difference. The leaf, well chewed
and tasted, also gives a very good idea of its astringency,
and consequently affords an approximation to the tannin
346
and gallic acid it contains. It will be seen that the leaves of
the sumach, sweet-gum, myrtle, blackberry, Cleihra tomen-
tosa and Andromeda nitida (both abundant in our damp pine
barrens, along the margin of ponds), and the fruit of the
unripe persimmon, contain the largest amounts of tannin,
and perhaps gallic acid.
I took special care to select trees, for the most part, which
grew plentifully, and I particularly recommend those just
mentioned to be used in lieu of oak bark for tanning
leather, on account of their abundance and the ease with
which the fresh leaves can be gathered, and because of the
scarcity of the oak, and the injury to these raluable timber
trees. If the oak is deprived of its bark the wood should
always be converted into ashes.
Strange to say, the clogfennel (JSupaiorium fceniculaceum?)
occupied a very inferior position as a tanniniferous plant.
FIRST SERIES.
(Relative amount of Astringency expressed by numerals.)
1. Clethra alnifolia, L. (G. lomenlosa, Lam.) Diffused in
damp pine lands.
1. Andromeda nitida.
1. Fruit of unripe Persimmon (Diospyros Virginiana) ;
color of solution, bluish black.
2. Sweet-Gum (Liquldambar styraciflua).
2^. Swamp Myrtle (Myrica eerifera).
3. Sweet Swamp Bay, or Laurel (Magnolia, glauca). All
the above rich in tannin.
4. Oak Leaves, Black Jack (Quercus nigra, L.)
5. Leaves of Persimmon.
6. Sassafras (Laurus Sassafras), a trace.
7. Prinos Glaber (ink-berry). Tannin not very evident.
SECOND SERIES.
1. Sumach (Rhus copallina L. and R. Glabra.
2. Blackberry (Rubus villosus and trivialis), both very rich
in tannin.
3. Sweet leaf (Hopea tinctoria), tannin slightly present.
347
4. Dogfennel. (Eajpatorium fceniculaceum), a trace.
5. Sassafras, a trace.
6. Gall of the earth (Prenanth.es alba), very bitter ; tannin,
none.
Both the leaves and the excrescences on the leaves of the
smooth Sumach (Rhus glabra), growing along streams in
the upper districts, are very rich in tannin, and should be
used.
The Alder (Alnus serrulata), abundant along watercours-
es, is also astringent. The reader can find a list of the
plants and trees yielding tannin in lire's "Dictionary of
Arts, Manufacture, and Mines." See also Oak (" Quercus")
and Sumach ("Rhus"), in this volume.
CALLITRICHACEyE.
Callitriche verna, "W. 1 Water chickweed. Grows
" heterophylla,~E[\. Sk.. /in shallow water. Collected
in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. May.
Shec. Flora Carol. 326. It is considered by the planters
a valuable diuretic remedy in dropsy. The tincture of the
whole plant in spirits is employed. A decoction is given
to horses when diuresis is desired.
Santalales.
Nyssa aquatica,Jj. Black-gum; tupelo; sour-gum. The
roots are immersed in inundated soils; collected in St.
John's; observed in Fairfield district; vicinity of Charles-
ton ; Newbern.
The roots are white, spongy, and light, and are sometimes
used in the Confederate States as a substitute for cork.
The genus exhibits a constant peculiarity of organization
("the fibres are united in bundles and interwoven like a
braided cord"), hence the wood is extremely difficult to split,
unless cut into billets — much used for hubs of wheels ; also
preferred for the sideboards of carts. Am. Sylva. Trays,
bowls, dippers, mortars, and other utensils are manufactured
from it. I had recommended it as a suitable material for
348
shoes in my article in DeBow's Review, August, 1861, and
have since had a number made from the wood of the roots
for negroes residing on plantations in South Carolina. A
friend from St. Paul's parish recommends that only the sole
of the shoe be made of wood, an inch in thickness, cowskin,
with the hair turned inside, being nailed on this over a last.
To make the back of the shoe of wood also, gives pain to
the wearer. The wood should be well seasoned, or it will
crack ; boiling will prevent this if the fresh wood is used.
Very neat and well fashioned shoes, I am told, have been
manufactured by gentlemen in Abbeville and other dis-
tricts of South Carolina out of this wood. In the Charles-
ton Courier, October, 1861, it is advised that when the
black-gum is used as a substitute for leather, "for complete
protection against moisture, a slip or inner sole and lining
of any water-proof material may be added."
I introduce the following from the "Farmer and Planter,"
as not inappropriate. Every one. who has visited Europe
has seen the sabot worn by the peasantry:
A good thing for our negroes. — It cannot be denied that a
number of diseases must result from the wearing of leather
shoes by our negroes, when engaged in out-door operations
during cold weather, or in wet situations. In Germany,
Belgium, and France, in order to prevent those evils, at
least to some extent, the use of wooden shoes has long since
been introduced, and they are extensively worn by the
whole farming and laboring population.
The governments of Europe have very much encouraged
the manufacture of the same, and their preference over
leather shoes is much recommended by all boards of agri-
culture and of health. There is hardly an operation on
the farm and about the farm-houses, the garden, etc., in
which they could not be most profitably used. They are
perfectly secure against the penetration of water, and being
always dry, will keep the feet warm, and thereby prevent
many diseases. They are light and easy to wear, of a
pleasant appearance, may be blackened or varnished.
They can be worn with or without stockings; and, with
349
many other advantages, they combine such durability as
to last almost a lifetime, at a cost of from twenty-five to
thirty-seven cents.
They are certainly entitled to the attention of the farm-
ing and laboring population of the South. The wood for
their manufacture is to be had in great abundance in most
of our Southern states.
The following, addressed to the editors of the Charleston
Courier, is on the same subject:
Shoes without leather. — I saw the last autumn, at the store
of Messrs. Howes, Hyatt & Co., shoe and leather dealers,
in the City of New York, a plantation brogan, differing from
the old shoe, in having soles of some light, tough wood —
the root of the swamp poplar, 1 think. The proprietors
told me that they had patented the invention a year or two
previous, and would warrant the brogan to outlast the best
of the leather-soled. They said that they had large orders
from planters on the Mississippi, who had tried them, and
found that they were warmer, more durable, and more im-
pervious to water than the leather-soled. The soles were
made by machinery. The upper leather was first securely
tacked to the inner sole, and the under sole securely fasten-
ed to the upper by about one dozen iron screws, securing
the upper leather between the two soles.
With soles of wood and uppers of canvas we can be in-
dependent of leather in the present scarcity of that article
in our Confederacy.
Mr. W. Gilmore Simms suggests to me the use of the
tupelo, on account of its lightness, for making cartridge-
boxes.
Birds are fond of the fruit of this genus.
ThymelacEjE. (The Mezereum Tribe.)
According to Lindley, the great feature of this tribe is
the causticity of the bark, which acts upon the skin as a
vesicatory, and causes excessive pain in the mouth when
chewed.
350
Dirca palastris, L. Canada leatherwood. Diffused; grows
near Augusta at Colleton's Neck (Ell.); Bartram found it
near Savannah. PI. Feb.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 659 ; U. S. Disp. 1253 ;
Coxe's Am. Disp. 259; Shec. Flora Carol. 513; Big. Am.
Med. Bot. ii, 157; Barton's Collec. 32; Griffith, Med. Bot.
563 ; Raf. Med. Fl. i, 158. The berries are said to be nar-
cotic and poisonous, and the bark has a nauseous odor and
acrid taste, yielding its virtues to alcohol; eight grains of
the powdered bark will produce violent vomiting, followed
by purging. When applied to the skin, it blisters like
mezereon. The juice has been applied to the nerve of a
painful tooth with relief, and in diseases where acrid masti-
catories are serviceable. Bigelow says the decoction is
sudorific and expectorant, and he considers it a good sub-
stitute for senega. The bark is also uncommonly tough,
and was used by the Indians for cordage; the wood is very
hard and pliant.
Its twigs are remarkable for toughness, are as strong
and pliable as those of the lime tree, and are employed in
America for the manufacture of various small articles. Its
bark, also, has a homogeneous character with the twigs, and
is used for making ropes and baskets; and both, but espe-
cially the twigs, occasion the plant to be popularly called in
Canada leatherwood. This plant is an excessive favorite
with snails ! Wilson's Rural Cyc.
Laurace^;. [The Cinnamon Tribe.)
The qualities of the species of this order are uniform,
being universally aromatic, warm, and stomachic.
Sassafras officinale, Nees. 1 Sassafras. Diffused in up-
Laurus sassafras of Ell. Sk. / per and lower country ; Va.
Fl. March.
Bell's Pract. Diet. 411; Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 320; Dray-
ton's View, 68; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 341; IT. S. Disp.
640; Royle, Mat. Med. 518; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii,
253; Cullen's Mat. Med. ii, 200 and 579; Big. Am. Med.
351
Bot. ii, 142; Murray's Apparat. iv, 835; Kalm's Travels,
11; Hoffman's Obs. Phys. Chem. 31; Clayton's Phil. Trans,
viii, 332; Bremaine, "Sassafralogia," in 1627; Woodv.
Med. Bot.; Griffith's Med. Bot. 552; Thornton's Farn. Herb.
The plant contains an essential oil, obtained by distillation,
which is heating, sudorific, and diuretic, and which is used
to disguise the taste of medicines. In the Supplem. to
Diet, de M. Med. 426, 1846, it is reported that the essential
oil, when placed in a temperature of 40° Fahr., will form
crystals, which, being exposed to heat, return to pure oil:
from the Report in the Lond. Med. Journal vii, 2501, 831;
Researches on the Ess. Oil of Sassafras, in the Comptes
Rendus Hebd. des Sc. de l'Acad. des Sc. xviii, 705. After
the conquest made by the Spaniards in Florida sassafras was
used in the treatment of syphilis, the warm infusion being
applicable in cutaneous disease, by acting on the emuncto-
ries. The root is employed in this state, in combination
with guaiac, sarsaparilla, and China briar {Smilax), in the
formation of diet drinks. It is diaphoretic and diuretic,
useful in rheumatism, and Alibert speaks highly of it in
gout. The pith of the young branches, according to Eberle,
contains a great deal of mucilage; which is "an exceedingly
good application in acute ophthalmia, and no less useful in
catarrhal and dysenteric affections;" it is not affected by
alcohol; Griffith (Med. Bot. 552) also speaks favorably of it
as an application to inflamed eyes, being effectual in the re-
moval of the irritation so constant in this complaint. It is
advantageously given as a demulcent drink in disorders of
the respiratory organs, bowels, and bladder; being more
efficacious than that prepared from the leaves of Bent (Sesa-
mum Indicum). It might be used as a substitute for acacia.
The oil extracted from this plant is one of the heaviest of
the volatile oils. Dr. B. S. Barton states that it has been
found an efficacious application to wens. Coll. i, 19. G.
Velsch, "Lignum sassafras et radice diversum," Miscel.
Cur. Nat. 332, 1670; C. J. Trew, Brevis Hist. Nat; Arboris
Sassafras dicta? (Nova acta Acad. Nat. Cur. ii, 271); G. D.
Ebret de Arboribus Sassafras dictis et Londini cultis (Nova
352
acta ii, 236); Obs. on the Sassafras, in Obs. sur la Physique,
xxiv, 63; Bonastre, Mem. sur l'Huile volatile do Sass.
(Journal de Pharm. xiv. 645.) And, also, A. Buchner upon
the Crystallization of the Oil of Sassafras.
The roots yield a drab color with copperas; no doubt a
much lighter shade may be obtained by alum or vinegar as
a mordant. I believe that any of our plants containing
either tanning or colored juices may be used as dyes. Iron
increases the shade by forming tannate or gallate of iron.
See " JRhus", etc.
The leaves of sassafras contain an unusual proportion of
mucilage, which would readily serve as a substitute for
gum arabic, flax, slippery elm, Bene, etc. Two or three
leaves, dissolved in water, yield a mucilaginous drink. I
made great use of the tea prepared with sassafras root,
gathered extemporaneously, while Surgeon to theHolcombe
Legion, S. C. Vols. It was given whenever a warm, aro-
matic, mucilaginous tea was required, in fever, pneumonia,
bronchitis, catarrhs, mumps, etc. The nurse detailed for
each company procured the materials upon the spot where
the company or regiment was posted. It served every pur-
pose of the articles usually supplied by the medical
purveyors of the army. The pith of the sassafras is also
medicinal.
The spice bush' '{Benzoin odoriferum, Nees. Laurus b., L.)
was much used by the soldiers from the upper part of the
state for making a pleasant aromatic tea. Many brought
the plant with them. It is tolerably well diffused over the
Confederate states, on banks of streams and low woods.
In camp sassafras tea was often drunk daily by many of the
officers and soldiers as a favorite substitute for green tea,
It is thought to purify the blood, but the impression that it
tends to impair the health and intellect if persisted in must
be erroneous. The oil it contains is diuretic.
I have since read the following in the Farmer's Encyclo-
paedia :
" The wood stripped of its bark is very durable, strong,
and resists worms, etc. It forms excellent posts for gates.
353
Bedsteads made of it are never infested with bugs. It is,
however, only occasionally employed for any useful pur-
pose, and never found in the lumber-yards of large towns.
The pith and dried leaves of the young branches of the
sassafras contain much mucilage, resembling that of the
okra plant, and are extensively used in New Orleans to
thicken pottage, and make the celebrated gumbo soup. In
Virginia, and other Southern states, the inhabitants make a
beer by boiling the young shoots of the sassafras in water,
to which a certain quantity of molasses or sugar is added,
the whole being left to ferment. The beer is regarded as
a wholesome and pleasant drink during summer. So is an
infusion of the bark of the roots, which is much drunk for
the cure of cutaneous and other disorders."
A cheap and wholesome beer for the use of soldiers, or
as a table beer, is prepared from the sassafras, the ingre-
dients being easily obtained. Take eight bottles of water,
one quart of molasses, one pint of yeast, one tablespoonful
of ginger, one and a half tablespoonful of cream of tartar,
these ingredients being well stirred and mixed in an open
vessel ; after standing twenty-four hours the beer may be
bottled, and used immediately. The reader interested in
the manufacture of beer, ale, porter, etc., will find the
methods detailed in Solly's Rural Chemistry, lire's Dic-
tionary of Arts and Manufactures, and in Wilson's Rural
Cyclopaedia.
I add the method of preparing
The French Army Beer. — The following is the recipe of
the beer that has been introduced into the French army
upon the recommendation of the Medical Board. It is de-
scribed as a very wholesome beverage, of pleasant and
refreshing taste, and promoting digestion in a remarkable
degree. It may prove an agreeable beverage both in and
outside of the army:
Water 100 litres about 1 00 quarts.
Molasses 500 grammes about 1 pound.
Hops 100 grammes about 3 ounces.
Marshmallow root 50 grammes , . .about 1| ounce.
Yeast 50 grammes about lj- ounce.
23
354
Make an infusion of the hops and marshmallow root
with abput twenty times their weight of the boiling water.
Another part of the water is used to dilute the molasses,
and another to dilute the yeast. All the fluids are then
mixed, and put into a vessel for fermentation. After five or
six days it will be ready for use
The following modification of the recipe may sometimes
be preferable:
Water 100 litres 100 quarts.
Honey 800 grammes 1 lb. 10 oz.
Brown sugar 800 grammes 1 lb. 1 0 oz.
Hops 300 grammes 9 oz.
Yeast 50 grammes 1^ oz.
I have no doubt the mucilaginous leaves of the sassafras
or the Bene would serve as a substitute for marshmallow.
See also "Persimmon" (Diospyros), "Apple," and "Hop,"
in this volume, for manufacture of domestic liquors.
Benzoin odorifemm, Nees V. Ess. "> Spice bush ; fever
Laurus benzoin, L., Ell. Sk. J bush. Grows along
rivulets.
Collected in St. John's, Charleston district; Richland,
Prof. Gibbes; Newbern. Fl. April.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 51; U. S. Disp. 1233;
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 201; Griffith's Med. Bot. 553; Barton,
295. This is another of our highly aromatic, indigenous
shrubs; the bark is, besides, stimulant and tonic; "exten-
sively used, in North America, in intermittent fevers."
This tree contains a remarkable amount of aromatic prop-
erty in every portion of it: it yields benzoin. Benzoin is
also found in our grasses, Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet
scented vernal grass), Holms odoratus and Mellilotus offici-
nalis— the principle which appears to give fragrance to hay
and pasture land, and which is communicated undecom-
posed to the urine of the cow. Wilson's Rural Cyc. The
berries contain an aromatic oil, which is esteemed in some
parts of the country as an application to bruises, rheumatic
limbs, etc. It is said to have been employed, during the
355
Revolutionary war, as a substitute for allspice, B. S. Barton
states that an infusion of the twigs has been found effica-
cious as a vermifuge; the flowers are employed in the place
of those of the sassafras.
A decoction of the plant forms an excellent diaphoretic
drink in pneumonias, colds, coughs, etc., and as such may
be largely used among our soldiers in service.
The soldiers of the upper country of South Carolina,
serving in the Holcombe Legion, of which I was Surgeon,
came into camp fully supplied with the spice bush for
making a fragrant, aromatic, diaphoretic tea. This, and a
tea prepared from the sassafras, I used entirely as a substi-
tute for gum arabic and flaxseed in colds, coughs, pneumo-
nias, etc. See "Sassafras" and " Ulmus fulva." Soldiers
may supply themselves with these, as they move camp, in
any locality.
Laurus geniculaia, Walter. Pond spice. Grows around
ponds; vicinity of Charleston; Newbern. This, also, is
aromatic.
Amstolochiaceve. [The Birthwort Tribe.)
Generally tonic and stimulating.
Aristolochia serpentaria, L. Serpentaria; snakeroot. Dif-
fused. Richland; vicinity of Charleston; Newbern. Fl.
June.
Bell's Pract. Diet. Mat. Med. 420; Trous. et Pid. Mat.
Med. i, 336; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 249; Eberle, Mat.
Med. i, 280; Le. Mat. Med. i, 163; Frost's Elems. Mat.
Med. 520; Royle, Mat. Med. 532; U. S. Disp. 658; Pe.
Mat. Med. and Therap. i, 231 ; Journal de Pharmacie, vi,
365; Journal de Chim. Med. vii, 493; Sydenham, Peechey's
Trans. 4th edition, 33; Ball and Gar. Mat. Med. 375; Cul-
len, Mat. Med. ii, 85; Bergii, Mat. Med. ii, 765; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 415; Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 82;
Murray, Apparat. Med. i, 348; Chap. Therap. and Mat.
Med. ii, 411; Lind. on Hot Climates, 104, 254; Shec. Flora
356
Carol. 203; Lincl. Nat. Syst. Bot. 206; Bart. M. Bot. 251;
Woody. Med. Bot.; Griffith's Med. Bot. 829; Linn. Veg.
M. Med. 166; Bull Plantes Ven. de France, 83; Thornton's
Fam. Herb. This plant is well known as a tonic, diuretic,
and diaphoretic, of great value in the low stages of fever,
as in typhus, in chlorosis, and' in atonic affections of the
intestinal canal; indicated where we wish to stimulate and
excite at the same time a free diaphoresis and diuresis. It
is also useful in promoting the cutaneous excretions in ex-
anthematous diseases, where the eruptions are tardy. The
infusion is serviceable in restraining vomiting; much use is
made of this plant among the negroes in South Carolina,
particularly in the low stages of pneumonia, to which they
are particularly liable. I have observed the good effects of
both this and the senega snakeroot (Polygala senega) in this
affection. The dose of the powdered root is ten to thirty
grains; of the infusion of one ounce to one pint of boiling
water, two ounces may be taken as often as occasion requires.
Its effects are increased by combining it with camphor. Dr.
Thornton (Fam. Herb. cit. sup.) used it in typhus fever; two
drachms of the tincture, combined with ten grains of the
powder and five drachms of the tincture of opium, may be
given every hour. It is said to add much to the efficacy of
bark.
Several vegetable infusions surpass even sea-salt in anti-
septic power. Sir John Pringle says that several bitters,
such as serpentaria, chamomile, or Peruvian bark, exceed
salt, he inferred, one-hundred and twenty times — "flesh re-
maining long untainted when immersed in their infusions;
camphor is more powerful than anything else." Wilson's
Rural Cyclop. This antiseptic power of certain vegetable
substances should be compared with their medicinal effects
when prescribed internally. All the articles just mentioned
are, it will be remembered, employed in typhoid and low
fevers. Among vegetable products vinegar is also antisep-
tic, and in the latter stages of low forms of fever, dysentery,
etc., is highly useful. Among the astringents possessed of
antiseptic properties, the tannin may be the potent agent,
on account of its affinity for albumen and gelatine.
357
Aristolochia hastata. Rich, shaded soils. Fl. June.
IT. S. Disp. 658; Am. Journal Pharm. xiv, 121. It is said
to be similar in properties to the A. serpentaria.
AristolocMa sipho. Shec. Fl. Carol. 205. Similar in prop-
erties to the others.
Asarum Canadense, L. Wild ginger ; Canada snakeroot.
Rich soil ; collected in St. John's. Fl. April.
U. S. Disp. 125; Pe. Mat, Med. and Therap. ii, 243;
Frost's Elems. 220; Med. Journal Pharm. x, 186; Diet. Univ.
des Drogues Simples, Ann. 1733 ; Cullen Mat. Med. ii, 473,
553 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de Med. i, 463 ; Big. Am. Med.
Bot. i, 149 ; Schoepf, Mat. Med. 72, in op. cit. ; Barton's
Collection, 26, 48 ; Coxe, Am. Disp. 368 ; Lind. Nat. Syst.
Bot. 206; Griffith's Med. Bot. 527. An aromatic, stimu-
lant tonic and diaphoretic, "applicable in similar cases with
serpentaria." It is employed in cases requiring a medicine
of this class, and is used in colic where no inflammation
exists. It is valuable in colds, coughs, and female obstruc-
tions as a warm, diffusible stimulant and diaphoretic; some-
times combined with snakeroot and puccoon root (Sanguina-
ria<). Dr. Firth gave it with benefit in the tetanus of
children arising from cold. The leaves, dried and pow-
dered, have powerful errhine properties. They were once
considered actively emetic (Shec. Fl. Carol. 219) ; but this
has been denied by Bigelow and Barton, op. cit. The root
is often used as a substitute for ginger, to which it is said
to be fully equal. According to Bigelow's examination, it
contains a pungent, volatile oil, and a resin which communi-
cate to alcohol the virtues of the plant, fecula, a gum,
mucus, etc., op. cit. 153, 1. By the Anal, of Mr. Rushton,
quoted in Griffith's work from the Am. Journal Pharm. x,
81, and more recently of Mr. Proctor, ibid, xii, 177, it is
shown that the active principle is an aromatic, essential oil,
and that it contains neither asarin nor camphor.
This plant may be given either in powder, tincture, or
358
infusion ; dose of powder, thirty grains. It may be boiled
in milk and drunk freely. A syrup may also be made.
Asarum Virginicum. Heart snakeroot. Grows in rocky
soils. Fl. July.
Shec. Flora Carol. 218 ; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med, 219 ;
"a stimulating diaphoretic, fully equal to the Arist. Serp."
Probably possessed of similar properties to the other.
Milne, in his Ind. Bot. 73, alludes to this species as one of
the strongest of the vegetable errhines — the roots and leaves
being used. " The fresh leaves applied to the nostrils
speedily terminate attacks of slight cold by the discharge
which they induce." Those who snuff find it a valuable
addition to tobacco — the dried leaves being powdered and
mixed with it. The decoction and infusion of this were
considered emetic, and great relief was said to have been
afforded by.it in periodical headaches, vertigoes, etc.; one
scruple of the fresh or one drachm of the dried root and
leaves was employed as an emetic and cathartic.
Asarum arifolium, Mich. Grows in shaded, rich soils ;
collected in St. John's, Berkley; near Whitehall PI.; vicinity
of Charleston. Fl. May.
Shec. Flora Carol. 217. This, no doubt, partakes of the
properties of the others, if it is not identical ; Linnaeus
proposes it as a substitute for hyppo ; and Dr. Cutler says
that the powdered root, in moderate doses, acts as a gentle
emetic, one and a half drachm given in substance. The
"tincture possesses both emetic and cathartic virtues."
This, like the former, is a very powerful sternutatory ; when
the powdered leaves are used, the discharge from the nose
will sometimes last for three days, hence it has been applied
in this way with great advantage in stubborn disorders of
the head, palsies, etc. "A case in which there was paraly-
sis of the mouth and tongue was cured by one application
of it."
Amarantace^. (The Amaranth Tribe.)
The leaves of many of the species are wholesome and
mucilag-inoua.
359
Achyranthes repens, Ell. Forty-knot. Drffused; grows
in Fairfield district, and in the streets of Charleston.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 311. It is possessed of well
marked diuretic properties, and is employed in ischuryand
dysury, and in the gravelly complaints of old persons. In
Fairfield district, S. C, it has lately been employed with
decided success in several cases of dropsy, but sharing the
fate of all other diuretics in being sometimes inefficient in
cases depending upon organic changes, or produced by
causes other than those connected with the circulation. It
is given in decoction — a handful of the herb to a pint of
water — of which a wineglassful is taken three times a day.
Salsola kali. Saltwort.
Among the plants used in procuring soda in Spain are
"the different species of Salsola, Salicornia, and Batis mari-
tima. The Zostera maritima is burnt in some places on the
borders of the Baltic. In this country (Scotland, see Thorn-
ton's Fam. Herbal) we burn the various species of fuci, and
in France they burn the Chenopodiurn maritimurn. In order
to obtain it the carbonate must be treated like potash of
commerce, with lime and ardent spirits as described before."
Within the limits of the Confederate States we have all the
above plants, save C. maritimurn. Little doubt, however,
exists in my mind that our several species of Chenopodiurn,
will be found to contain potash or soda in large amount.
Some plants, "which in their native soil yield only potash,
afford also soda if they are cultivated in the neighborhood
of the sea." "The soda is more or less pure according to
the nature of the particular plant from which it is obtained"
(Thornton). Of Salicornia, the species are found on the
coast of Florida, and northward. Batis maritima, L. "Salt-
marshes, Apalachicola, and northward." Zostera marina,
L. West Florida, and northward. (Chapman's So. Flora).
See " Sapiudus," in this volume.
Wilson says also of the Salsola kali that it is the best of
our native plants for yielding "kelp, barilla, potash, and
soda, and was formerly collected in considerable quantities
360
on oar western coasts, and burned to yield soda for the
manufacture of glass, and for other purposes. It grows
freely from seed, and does not require any great nicety of
management, yet never has been carefully cultivated."
Rural Cyc. See also " Fucks," in this volume, for method
of preparing barilla and soda from sea-weeds.
I introduce the following brief process for the manufac-
ture of soda, as we have several plants in the Confederate
States which furnish it. Far the best mode now adopted is
to procure it from sea-water, but this may not always be
attainable. "For the manufacture of soda, the marine
plants are gathered at the season when their vegetation has
terminated, and they are left to dry. A pit four feet square
and three feet deep is dug iu the earth; this is heated with
split wood, and the saline plants are afterward thrown
gradually in. Combustion is continued during seven or
eight days; the ashes become fused in the pit, and remain
in this state till the end of the process, when the combus-
tion is completed; the whole is allowed to cool, and then
the block of soda is divided into large pieces for the mar-
ket." "In order that soda may possess all the requisite
strength, it is necessary to separate it from the carbonic acid
with which it is always united, and by which its properties
are weakened. This is easily done by mixing quick-lime
with a solution of soda; the acid has so strong an affinity
for lime as to quit the soda to combine with it. The lye
procured from this mixture is caustic, and leaves a burning
impression upon the tongue; the soda thus purified acts
more readily upon the bodies with which it combines. This
mode of preparation is indispensable when soda is to be
employed with oil in the manufacture of hard soap; it is
useless when it is to be combined at a strong heat with
earthy bodies, as is the case in glass-works." Chaptal also
copies from M. DeSaussure's Treatise on Vegetation a very
extensive table, giving the constituents of a great many
plants, trees, etc., which the reader may consult. Among
the plants used in preparing soda on the Mediterranean are
the Salicornia Europea, the Salsola tragus, the Stalice limonium,
361
the Atriplex poriulacoides, the Salsola kali. "We have grow-
ing in South Carolina and Georgia the Salsola kali, and the
Staliee Carolinana, Walt., which should be tested, the
Atriplex hastata, and the two species of Salicornia, mentioned
above, which also grow on our coast. To show the alliance
of the natural families in physical resemblances and natural
properties, I find Chenopodium, Atriplex, Salicornia, and Sal-
sola all in one tribe, and each rich in potash or soda. The
fumitory (Fumaria) is one of the plants richer in potash
than the wormwood (Chenopodium).
Salicornia herbacea, L. Glasswort. Salt marshes along
coast of Georgia and Carolina.
We have two species of this genus, which is celebrated,
commercially, for the production of alkaline salts. Wilson
states of S. herbacea that the whole plant abounds in saline
juices, and possesses a saline taste; and that it was formerly
burned in common with the richly alkaline fuci in the manu-
facture of kelp; that it is greedily eaten by sheep and cattle,
and that it is sometimes gathered and used as a substitute
for rock samphire in Scotland. See " Salsola."
Chenopodiace^e. (The Goose-foot Tribe.)
Some are wholesome, others possess an essential oil, which
is tonic and antispasmodic. The beet and spinach, cultivat-
ed in the Confederate States, belong to this order.
Atriplex laciniata, L. Jagged sea-orach. Grows along
salt streams ; Fl. July. '
Shec. Flora Carol. 247. The expressed juice, in doses of
four to eight grains is said to act as a powerful purgative.
According to Schoepf, it is used as a substitute for gam-
boge in dropsy and asthma.
Chenopodium anthelminticum, L. Jerusalem oak; worm-
seed. Diffused; collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charles-
ton; ISTewbern. Fl. July.
Linnaeus, Veg. M. Med.; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii,
274; Eberle, Mat. Med. 218; Ell. Bot. i, 331; Chap. Therap.
362
and Mat. Med. ii, 71 ; Drayton's View of South Carolina,
65; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 191; U. S. Disp. 206; Bart.
M. Bot. ii, 183; Am. Journal Pharm. v, 180; Bergii, Mat.
Med. i, 183; Griffith's Med. Bot, 538. It is well known as
"one of our most efficient indigenous anthelmintics," adapt-
ed to the expulsion of lumbrici in children. Eberle em-
ployed the oil of the seeds with success in these cases, after
every other remedy had failed. The dose to a child under
five years is two drops; to an adult thirty drops, given on
sugar grated in water. The expressed juice may be used,
or a decoction of the leaves in milk, a wineglassful at a
dose. The dose of the seed, for a child two years old, is
from one to two scruples, mixed with syrup or bruised in
castor oil. The distilled water may also be used. These
plants are much employed on the plantations in South Caro-
lina and Georgia for their anthelmintic properties, the
seeds being collected in the fall.
The wormwood (Artemisia) of which there is a species
(A. caudata) growing in Florida and northward, is said to be
rich in potash. The Chenopodium, of which we have several
species, although not belonging to the same natural family,
is perhaps equally rich in the substance. The "wormwood
is highly recommended to be converted into charcoal, to be
used in the manufacture of gunpowder." See "Salix." In
fact, all the Chenopodiums (goose-foot) are also rich in alka-
line salts, potash, etc., and may be used for its manufacture.
The Persian insect powder, a species of Pyrethrum (or Per-
sian chamomile), destroys insects with great certainty. I
think it likely that some of the plants just mentioned, the
milfoil {Achillea millefolium), the tansy ( Tanaceium vulgare),
or ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare, L.), all growing in
the Confederate States, may possibly be found to answer
the purpose of destroying insects, lice, etc., on plants and
animals. They contain a pungent oil. There is a notice of
the Pyrethrum (roseu/n, purpureum, and carneum) in Patent
Office Reports, 1857, 129. I would advise experimenting
with our native plants.
See Dasistoma for plant hostile to insects.
363
I have several times stated that the allied Artemisia, worm-
wood, was exceedingly rich in potash. The natural affini-
ties are here borne out, for the family Chenopodiocece contains
many plants furnishing soda in large proportion. Such are
Salsola, Salicornia, Atriplex, and salt-marsh Chenopodiums ; a
notice of species of all these genera is included in this re-
port. They should receive the attention of the nitre manu-
facturers. Nitrate of potash "is found in the common
horseradish, in the nettle, and the sunflower." Farmer's
En eye.
Chenopodium botrys, Ph. Jerusalem oak of some. Grows
near Columbia. Fl. August.
U. S. Disp. 206; Le. Mat. Med. 235; Ed. and Vav. Mat.
Med. 304; Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 181; Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. ii, 225 ; Shec. Flora Carol. 388 ; Dem. Elem. de Bot.
250. The juice is similar to the other, being carminative,
pectoral, emmenagogue, and vermifuge; the essential oil is
antispasmodic, tonic, and vermifuge. An infusion, as tea,
is resolutive and expectorant, and is useful in flatulent colic,
spasmodic cough, humoral asthma, and in hysteria. The
expressed juice of this species is given in doses of a table-
spoonful, in molasses, to children affected with worms, or
the seeds are reduced to a powder, and made into an elec-
tuary with syrup. See Milne, Inch Bot. 76 ; Linn. Veg.
M. Med. 41. "It is asserted," observes Shec. Flora Carol.
389, "that the whole seeds produce worms in the stomach,
and if a parcel be baked in a loaf of bread they will gener-
ate worms. Such is the belief; what credit may be due to
it, I leave to the determination of those who either have,
or may hereafter, put it to the trial!"
Chenopodium ambrosioides, Ph. Vicinity of Charleston,
Bach; grows in Georgia, according to Pursh ; Newbern.
Fl. July.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. The essential oil of this is also
tonic and antispasmodic. U. S. Disp. 206. Plenk reports
five cases of chorea cured by the infusion made with two
364
drachms to one ounce of water, of which a cupful is to be
taken morning and night. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. ii, 222. M. Mack used it, with equal success, in the
hospital at Vienna, in this and in other nervous affections;
see, also, the supplement to the work last mentioned, 1846,
p. 165. It is employed by M. Martius in the injection of
the mucous membrane of the lungs. MM. Rilliet and Bar-
thez used it in the chorea of infants particularly. Ann. des
Sci. Nat. xii, 220; Bouchardat, Ann. de Therap. 1844; Ga-
zette de Med. de Saltzburg, Bill. Med. xii, 516. It is found,
by chemical analysis, to possess various products, the most
important of which are gluten and a volatile oil. Bull, des
Sc. Med. de Ferus, vii, 225. The infusion emits a very
strong, aromatic odor, and is used in parts of this country
in the place of tea.
Chmopodium album, L. Richland, L. Gibbes ; vicinity of
Charleston, Bach.
M6r. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 223; Phys. Med.
Trans., Calcutta, ii, 40. It is a sedative and diuretic; used
in hemorrhoids. Chevallier remarks the singular fact that
the C. valvaria, a foreign species, exhales pure ammonia dur-
ing its whole existence. This is the only observation on
record of a gaseous exhalation of azote by perfect vegeta-
bles, and the facility with which this principle is aban-
doned by ammonia may, perhaps, explain the presence of
azotic products in the vegetable kingdom. Ann. des Sci.
Nat. i, 444; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 209. It might be inter-
esting to observe whether anything of this kind takes place
in our species.
The above was printed by me in 1849. Worm-seed plant
is said to be very rich in potash — and wormwood has been
planted for the manufacture of glass — if so, the note on
the subject of the C. vulmria exhaling ammonia is corrob-
orated by the above observation. I have just learned, June,
1862, that an enterprise was set on foot several years since
near Columbia, S. C, to cultivate the wormwood on a large
scale for the production of potash. The sugar-maple is
365
very rich in potash, probably the other maples also. See
Salsola, Quercus, Zea, Phytolacca, etc., in this volume.
Phytolaccacejs. (The Virginia Poke Tribe.)
' Phytolacca decandra, L. Poke. Diffused in rich spots;
Newbern. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 537; Big. Am. Med. Bot. 135; Bell's Pract.
Diet. 355; Bart. M. Bot. ii, 213; Am. Journal Pharm. xv,
169; Murray's App. Med. iv, 335; Kalm, Travels in K Am.
p. 197; Graffenreid, Mem. Berne, iii, 185; Schcepf, M. Med.
71; Browne, Hist. Jamaica, 232; Amsen. Acad, iv; Miller's
Diet., art. Phyt. Dec; Sprogel, Diss. Cirven. 24; Beckman,
Com. 1764, 9; Allioni, Flora Ped. ii, 132; Franklin's Works,
i ; Cutler, Mem. Am. Acad, i, 447 ; Rush, i, 259 ; Thacher's U.
S. Disp. 300; Shultz's Inaug. Diss. N. Am. Journal vi;
Journal de Med. de Corvisart Leroux, xvi, 137; Ann. de
Chim. lxii, 71; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 298;
Coxe, Am. Dis. 486; Liud. Nat. Syst. Bot. 210. The juice
of the leaves or berries, inspissated in the sun to the con-
sistence of an extract, will, it is said, discuss hard tumors
if applied to the part, "and destroy cancers by eating them
out by the roots!" (Am. Herbal, by J. Stearns.) Mixed
with brandy, it is extolled in the cure of rheumatism, eas-
ing pain and producing discharge of the cutaneous and
urinary secretions. One ounce of the dried root infused
in a pint of wine is said to act kindly as an emetic, in doses
of two tablespoonfuls. Bigelow also was of the opinion
that it resembled ipecacuanha in its mode of operation; but
later experimenters give an unfavorable report, as it is some-
times uncertain, acting too powerfully by accumulation.
The pulverized root is also emetic in doses of one to two
drachms. "The tincture of the ripe berries seems to have
acquired a well-founded reputation as a remedy in chronic
and syphilitic rheumatism, and for allaying syphilitic pains."
By some thought to be more useful than guaiac. The de-
coction has been used in scrofula also. A spirit distilled
from the berries killed a dog in a few moments by its vio-
lent emetic effect; and, according to De Candolle, it is a
366
powerful purgative. The French and Portuguese mixed it
with their wine, to give it color, and this was prohibited by
royal ordinance of Louis XIV, " on pain of death, as it in-
jured the flavor!" Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 210; Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. states that two spoonfuls of the juice of
the old plant, which is acrid, will purge violently; applied
externally, it will irritate the skin, and it is used in the cure
of sanious ulcers, cutaneous eruptions, itch, and hemorr-
hoids; for the latter affection, an infusion is injected per
rectum. Drs. Jones and Kollock, of Georgia, assure us
(adds Merat) that they cure syphilis with it, in all its stages,
without the use of mercury. Dr. Rush relates that several
students of Yale College were severely purged from eating
the flesh of pigeons which had fed on the berries. From
the analysis in Annal. de Chimie, lxii, 71, it is shown to
contain an enormous quantity of potash, 42 in 100 parts,
and it is proposed to cultivate it for the manufacture of this
article. From later examinations of Dr. E. Donnelly (Am.
Jour. Pharm. ix, 168), it appears to contain gum resin 262,
starch 20, potash 2, a small quantity of fixed oil, and 66. o
of woody fibre. According to the U. S. Disp., it is also
somewhat narcotic, and, as an emetic, is considered very
slow in its operation, sometimes not acting for several hours,
and then frequently upon the bowels ; but the vomiting pro-
duced by it is not attended with pain or spasm. In over
doses, its effects are quite dangerous. As an alterative, the
dose is from one to five grains. Dr. Griffith has also used
it with success in syphilitic rheumatism. (Med. Bot. 535.)
In the supplement to the Diet. Univ. de M. Med. 1846, 557,
it is said to have been used with good effect in paralysis of
the intestines. Precis des Travaux de l'Acad. de Rouen,
188, 1838; Comptes Rendus Hebdom. des Sci. iv, 12, Janu-
ary, 1837. The ointment, prepared by mixing one drachm
of the powdered root or leaves with one ounce of lard, has
been applied with advantage in diseases affecting the scalp,
as psora, tinea capitis, etc. Dr. Bigelow was successful with
it, and Dr. Haynard cured cases in which sulphur had fail-
ed. A gentleman informs me that he has frequently seen
367
the sores of secondary syphilis heal up by the application
of a strong decoction of the roots. Dr. Braconnot consid-
ers the yellow liquor produced by the juice of the berries
one of the most delicate tests of the presence of acids. Dr.
Shultz procured from half a bushel of the berries six pints
of spirits, sufficiently strong to take fire and burn with
readiness. The root of the plant should be dog in autumn,
sliced, dried, and kept in close-stopped bottles.
Dr. R Moore, of Sumter district, S. C, informs me that
the berries of the poke in alcohol or whiskey, a dessert
spoonful repeatedly given, has been found one of the most
efficient remedies we possess in rheumatism. Dr. Ballard,
of the same district, has used it with satisfactor}' results for
fifty years. It is very generally employed in this way by
many. The root is commonly used, applied externally, to
cure mange in dogs. The root should be dug late in
autumn, or during the winter, and the powder kept in
close-stopped bottles, as it deteriorates.
An excellent crimson dye is thus prepared (Thornton's
So. Gardener): to two gallons of the juice of pokeberries,
when they are quite ripe, add half a gallon of strong
vinegar made of the wild crab-apple (ordinary vinegar will
do, as the writer has seen), to dye one pound of wool, which
must be washed very clean with hard soap ; the wool when
wrung dry is to be put into the vinegar and pokeberry*
juice, and simmered in a copper vessel for one hour, then
take out the wool and let it drip awhile, and spread it in
the sun. The vessel must be free from grease of any kind.
The writer has seen articles dyed successfully with this
plant during the present year (1862). The " Solferino "
color is obtained from it. With alum to fix the color, I
have used the juice of the pokeberry as a red ink. The
directions to the printer for this volume were written with
this ; before adding alum I found that the red color was
fugitive. I consider it, prepared as above, an excellent
substitute for carmine ink.
The juice of the leaf of the garden Tanya makes an
indelible dark brown dye. I would suggest that the addi-
tion of nitrate of silver, sulphate of iron, or alum would
make an indelible ink for marking linen.
Polygonace^i. [The Buckwheat Tribe.)
The leaves and roots are generally acid and agreeable.
Rumex crispus, L. Dock. Grows around buildings;
diffused; collected in St. John's; Newbern. Fl. June.
Ell. Bot. 414 ; IT. S. Disp. 606. The decoction is astrin-
gent, alterative, and tonic, uniting a laxative power with
these, and resembling rhubarb in its mode of operation.
It has been used with success as an alterative in itch and
syphilis ; the powdered root with milk, or as an ointment,
is applied externally in scabies.
Dr. N". S. Davis, formerly of New York, " is satisfied
from his experiments and observations that the chief value
of dockroot ' consists in its alterative and gently laxative
qualities.' As an alterative he esteems it to be 'fully
equal to the far-famed sarsaparilla.' Quod est demonstran-
dum." Dunglison.
It is recommended as a dentrifice, especially where the
gums are spongy. A decoction of the roots is used as a
coolins: alterative — no doubt on account of the saline con-
stituents of this genus. The expressed juice is applied to
ringworm and eruptive diseases.
It is supposed that our species possess all the virtues of
the officinal ; two ounces of the fresh root, or one ounce of
the dried may be boiled in a pint of water, of which two
ounces can be taken at a dose.
Rumex aeetosella, Walt. Flora Carol. Sorrel. Sheep's-
sorrel. Abundant in sandy pastures ; collected in St.
John's ; Richland, Gibbes ; ]STewbern. Fl. June.
IT. S. Disp. 605 ; Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 279 ; Ed. and Vav.
Mat. Med. 536 ; Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 300 ; Griffith, Med.
Bot. 546. This is also considered one of the most valuable
of the species. It is refrigerant and diuretic, and is em-
ployed as an article of diet in scorbutic complaints; the
369
young shoots may be eaten as a salad; but it is said to
prove injurious in large quantities, on account of the oxalic
acid existing in it. The acid taste is owing to binoxalate
of potash and tartaric acid ; this is almost destroyed by
drying.
The bruised plant is often applied to sores, and it is
thought to be very active in allaying inflammation — doubt-
less owing to its saline constituents.
Plants containing vegetable acid. — The acids vary during the
several stages of vegetation — these are the oxalic, citric, ma-
lic, tartaric, gallic, acetic, Prussic, etc. Oxalic acid has been
found by M. Deyeux free in the hulls of the chickpea, and
it has been extracted from the expressed juice of the plant ;
also found in the stalks and leaves of sorrel, and in the juice
of all the varieties of rhubarb (Chaptal). I have seen its
peculiar crystals in the several plants put under the micro-
scope. It is used in detecting the presence of lime, and its
power of dissolving rapidly the oxide of iron makes it
useful in stamping cotton cloths. " In this process the whole
fabric is covered with a mordant of iron, which is after-
ward removed by means of this acid combined with gum
— so that the color applied adheres firmly only to those
parts where the mordant has not been destroyed." It is
also used in removing ink spots from cloth.
The astringency of the root of the dock is due to tannic
acid, and the acidulousness of the leaves to tartaric acid
and the binoxalate of potash.
Wilson observes of the Rumex acetosa, the " common
dock" of England, which is closely related to our H. aeeto-
sella, that it has been celebrated from very ancient times for
its cooling, antiscorbutic, diuretic, and gratefully esculent
properties. The expressed juice of its leaves, or a decoc-
tion of them in whey, aflbrds a useful drink in cases of
inflammatory fever, and the leaves themselves, eaten freely
as a salad, cool the blood, and act as either a cure or a pre-
ventive of scurvy. It is also much used as a salad, and as
a season for soups, broths, etc. Rural Cyc. Now that we
know the composition of the juices of the sorrel we can
24
■a
370
well understand to what to ascribe its cooling and diuretic
properties. There is an Italian proverb which says that the
"sorrel always grows with the thistle " — the leaves of the
first being particularly grateful when applied over parts
irritated by the stings of the last. Our plant is not so use-
ful as the English one.
Humex obtusifoUus,~L. \ Common dock. Diffused; around
" dwaricatus, Ell. / buildiegs ; introduced.
" A decoction of its root is highly efficacious in obstinate
cases of the kind of skin disease called ichthyosis, and
when taken in large quantity — as well, indeed, as the decoc-
tion of any of the fusiform dockroots — it acts as a purga-
tive, in the same manner as the powder or the tincture of
Turkey rhubarb." Wilson's Rural Cyc. Our various
species of Humex may upon examination be found to be
capable of supplying the place of cathartics, now so diffi-
cult to obtain.
Humex sanguineus, Walt. Flora Carol. Dragon's blood.
Grows around Charleston ; ISTewbern. Fl. July.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. 240. The root is astringent, sto-
machic, and eccoprotic. Linn. Veg. Mat. Med. 65. This
and the seeds are used in dysentery and wounds ; referred
to in Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 136, as a mild
astringent. Journal de Med. xxiii, 415. Dr. "Wood, in the
XL S. Disp. 606, says that it may be used indiscriminately
with the officinal.
Humex Briiannicus, Walt. Swamps and along streams.
Fl. May. U. S. Disp. 606.
Polygonum punctatum, Ell. Sk. } Water pepper ; Smart-
" hydroviperoides, Ph. > weed; Biting knotweed.
" hydropiper,Mx. ) Grows in damp, rich
soils ; collected in St. John's, where it grows abundantly ;
observed in Charleston ; Richland, Gibbes ; Newbern. Fl.
July.
371
Eb. Mat. Med. i, 441 ; U. S. Disp. 559 ; Ed. and Vav.
Mat. Med. 128; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 193; Ogier, in So. Journal
Med. and Pharm. 1846 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
v, 433. In the Bull. Plantes Yen. de France, 140, the
young leaves are said to ease the pain of gout, and the
decoction is used with great success for dissipating old
ulcers. Dem. £lem. de Bot. iii, 2(57. The expressed juice
is an excellent diuretic, and is applied to putrid ulcers;
u aqua hujus stillatltia efficax est ad comminuendum calculam
etiam vesica?." See Ray's Catalogus Plantarum, 230. This
plant is, however, more remarkable for its power in
amenorrhoea. Eberle asserts that he employed -it in twenty
cases, and was never more successful. Dr. Ogier, of
Charleston, S. C, has published cases in the journal alluded
to above, confirming its value. One to two ounces of the
strong infusion is given two or three times a day, or a
tincture may be used.* The juice of this plant. is very acrid
and caustic to the taste. It is stated in the Flora Scotiea,
207, that it is found a convenient and useful application for
driving off flies from wounds, occurring on cattle for
instance ; the decoction will dye a yellow color. Linn.
Veg. Mat. Med. 71 ; Boyle, de Util. Philosoph. Nat. pt. iij
69. This plant should be selected with care, as it differs
but slightly from the P. mite, and others, which possess no
value. It may be distinguished by its burning taste, by
the sharp, pellucid leaves, and simple flower-stalk, with the
stamens and pistil of equal length. The stipules are long,
truncate, and fringed, with the margin and midrib of the
leaves slightly scabrous.
A writer from Manchester, S. C, 1862, recommends for
our sick soldiers in camp the use of this plant in dysentery,
thus : " Draw a tea strong enough to taste peppery, and
use instead of water, with or without sugar, hot or cold,
as the patient may prefer. It may be drunk freely, having
no unpleasant effect. It may be gathered and dried in the
* Mr. P., of Charleston, informs me that he has repeatedly found an ointment
made with the leaves give immediate relief when applied to piles in an irritable
and painful condition.
372
shade or used fresh. Some years ago, when that disease
raged in the village where I lived, I used it only in my
household, every case recovering with scarcely impaired
strength. The tea being astringent keeps up the strength.
Polygonum aviculare, L. Knotgrass. Diffused ; grows in
pastures and yards; Richland; collected in St. John's; ob-
served in the streets of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Lind. Nat. Syst. 211 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
v, 440 ; U. S. Disp. 558. According to the encyclopaedia
the root is powerfully astringent, and is used in diarrhoea,
and in uterine hemorrhage. Dem. de Bot. iii, 268 ; Linn.
Veg. M. Med. 72 ; Am. Herbal, 164. It is stated in the
Supplem. to the Diet, de M. Med. 1846, 578, that Dr. Bour-
geois announced, in 1840, that this plant was an excellent
febrifuge, and was used in middle Africa and Algeria as a
substitute for quinine, and furthermore, that the assertion
was not doubted. Dr. Levat Perroton, of Lyons, gives it
as an excellent remedy for chronic diarrhoea, using a strong
decoction for a month or more ; he reports nine cases
cured which had resisted other plans of treatment. See
Revue Medicale, Nov. 1845; Flor. Med. ii, 107. It has
also been administered in hematemesis. This plant had
some reputation in these diseases in former times. It was
said to be emetic and purgative, useful in hernia, and in
arresting the vomiting of blood, and was regarded as an
excellent vulnerary in moderating fluxes, diarrhoea, and
dysentery. Griffith, in his Med. Bot. 546, observes that the
emetic property so unusual in this genus is thought by De
Candolle to reside in the testa. Thunberg, in his "Voy-
age," mentions that in Japan they obtain a color from it
similar to that from indigo.
Polygonum polygama, Vent, and Malt. ") Grows in san-
" parvifolia, Mx. / dy pine barrens;
Richland district.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 129 ; U. S. Disp. 558. In small
doses it is tonic ; in large laxative and diaphoretic. Bige-
373
low says the infusion is useful in imparting tone to the
digestive organs.
Polygonum convolvulus, and scandens, L. Grows in dry
soil and pastures ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. August.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 547. " The seeds closely resemble
buckwheat, and may be substituted for them."
Polygonum fagopyrum. Buckwheat. Cultivated in the
Confederate States.
Rheum palmatum, and emodii. Rhubarb. Ex.
I insert this plant and Beta here, being unable at this
time to place them in the natural system. The cultivation
of rhubarb, rosemary, sage, rue, chamomile, and many
other medicinal plants, is briefly described in the Patent
Office Reports, 1854. See, also, seven articles in the "Bath
papers, vol. 1," giving an account of the mode of culture
in England. The superiority of foreign rhubarb is by
some ascribed to a better mode of drying. Rural Cyc. See
a paper translated by E. G. Smith, in Patent Office Re-
ports, 1848, p. 604, for varieties, mode of cultivation, and
relative value.
In Patent Office Reports, 1855, p. 25, is another paper
on the cultivation of the medicinal rhubarb (P. palma-
tum). " In the middle and cooler parts of the United
States the seeds may be sown in March in a gentle hot-bed,
and when the roots are an eighth of an inch in diameter
they may be carefully drawn up, preserving the top-root,
and planted in a fine, rich, and deep soil," etc., etc. In the
Middle and Southern states, if planted in the spring, they
thrive in the open air. They should be shaded from very
hot weather, and continually watered. They are, however,
injured by a superabundance of moisture. In the month
of August, or before, the seed-stalks should be cut off,
which ought always to be done on the withering of the
radical leaves, and the crowns of the plants should then be
374
covered with mould in the form of a hillock. The largest
specimens of this drug have generally been allowed to
grow six or seven years. The roots are then very large,
sometimes weighing from thirty to fifty pounds. The
Chinese take up their rhubarb in winter, as they then con-
tain the entire juice and virtue of the plant. They are cut
transversely into pieces of moderate size, and this should
not be delayed. These are then placed on long tables or
boards, and turned three or four times a day, in order that
the yellow, viscid juice may incorporate with the substance
of the root. They are then hung up to diy, exposed to the
air and wind, but sheltered from the sun. Thus in about
two months the roots are completely cured. Much loss in
weight occurs in drying.
Those interested in the culture of rhubarb will find an
excellent account of the success with which it was raised
in England, of good quality, in Thornton's Family Herbal.
Consult Pereira's Materia Medica, and other treatises on
the subject. The importation of rhubarb into the Confed-
erate States was enormous, and it commands a very high
price. The greatest difference exists in the quality of the
roots. Turkey rhubarb imported from Russia is the best.
I will state in passing that the Report for 1855 also contains
notices of the best mode of cultivating many other medici-
nal plants — such as the rhatany, gall-nut oak, Iceland
moss, liquorice, quassia, senna, gum arabic, etc.
Beta vulgaris. Beet. Mangel-wurzel. Introduced.
Vinegar is quite important to us in the present exigency.
The following method will enable us to supply the place of
imported vinegar: the juice of one bushel of beet, which
is easily obtained, will make from five to six gallons of vin-
egar, equal to the best made of elder wine. Wash and
grate the beets, and express the juice in a cheese-press, or
in any other way which a little ingenuity can suggest ; put
the liquor into a barrel, cover the bung with gauze, and set
it in the sun, and in fifteen or twenty days it will be fit for
use. The best vinegar is thus made. Boston Cultivator.
375
The saccharine matter of course soon takes on the acid
fermentation. So the ripe fig, the skins, etc., added to
vinegar, increases largely the amount, and large quantities
can thus be easily made with the refuse or over-ripe figs,
which are ready to be converted into vinegar. The juice
of the watermelon can no doubt be as easily converted
into vinegar or boiled down into a syrup like molasses.
The following is the ordinary process of extracting sugar
from the beet: the roots are reduced to a pulp by pressing
them between two rough cylinders. The pulp is then put
into bags, and the sap it contains is pressed out. The
liquor is then boiled, and the saccharine matter precipi-
tated by quick-lime. The liquor is now poured off', and to
the residuum is added a solution of sulphuric acid, and
again boiled. The lime united with the acid is got rid of
by straining, and the liquor is then gently evaporated, or
left to granulate slowly, after which it is ready for under-
going the common process of refining raw sugars. The
French manufacturers have acquired so much experience,
adds Wilson, that from every one hundred pounds of beet
they extract twelve pounds of sugar in the short space of
twelve hours.
The Silesian or white beet is said to be the most profita-
ble. The reader interested in preparation of sugar from
cane or beet may consult Boussingault's Rural Chemistry,
Law's ed. 123, 1857, lire's Diet, of Arts and Manufactures,
Wilson's Rural Cyclopaedia, and Chaptal's Chemistry ap-
plied to Agriculture. In France the same land from
which the beet has been cut is planted in wheat with ad-
vantage to the latter. As the cultivation of the beet may
be undertaken at no distant date, I insert this brief plan
by a correspondent of the Southern Field and Fireside : I
will give you my plan of planting and culture of beets. In
the first place I have my ground broken up deeply ; then I
have the ground covered over with stable manure ; have it
ploughed in tolerably deep ; level the ground with a hoe or
rake ; hen-house manure is scattered over the ground ; hoe
it in deep with a grubbing-hoe ; level it again ; lay off the
376
rows eighteen inches apart, and the hills one foot apart;
and then they will grow without any trouble. In cultivat-
ing them I have the grass and weeds cut up between the
rows. I have raised beets on the above plan that weighed
five and six pounds apiece.
It has been observed that beets containing sugar fre-
quently underwent a change during winter, by which the
sugar entirely disappeared, and "was replaced by saltpetre."
Chaptal. See, also, paper by Prof. Leconte, of the South
Carolina College, on mode of formation of nitre beds; also,
consult Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines,
article "Nitrate of Potash."
Coccoloba uvifera, Jacq. Sea-grape. South Florida, along
the coast. Chapman.
C. Floridana also grows in Florida. The fruit of some,
though very astringent, is eaten by the natives; and the
wood of the tallest and bulkiest is used as timber. Wil-
son's Rural Cyc.
Menispermace^e. [The Coeculus Tribe.)
Menispermum Canadense, L. Moon-seed; yellow parilla ;
yellow sarsaparilla. Ell. never saw it, but thinks that it
grows in the mountains. Dr. Gray determines a specimen
sent from St. John's, Charleston district, by H. W. Ravenel,
Esq., to be this. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 1275. It is said to be much used in Virginia
by physicians ; and in domestic practice, as a substitute for
sarsaparilla, in scrofulous and cutaneous affections. Ryd-
del, in his Synops. West. States, says that the roots are
tonic, alterative, and diuretic. Griffith, Med. Bot. 103. It
is also employed by the vegetable practitioners. See How-
ard's Imp. Syst. Bot. Med. 334. Said to be laxative and
tonic, and used in debility and in giving tone to the stomach
and nervous system.
377
Pyrolaceje. [The Winter-green Tribe.)
Chimaphilamaculata,~Pursh.. | Spotted winter-green. Pip-
Pyrola, " Linn, jsissewa. Shaded soils ; dif-
fused; collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston;
ISTewbern.
Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. i, 313; Eberle, Mat. Med.
ii, 321; Ell. Bot, Med. Notes, 505; Eat. Man. Bot. 240;
Bell's Pract. Diet. 128; Mitchell's Inaug. Thesis, 1803; Ed.
andVav. Mat. Med. 320; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii,
380; U. S. Disp. 208; Bart. Collec. ii, 21; Lind. Nat. Syst.
Bot. 219; TT. S. Disp. 207; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 281.
See P. umbellata. "Ev€ry part of the plant is possessed of
considerable activity;" and it is very valuable as a diuretic
in dropsy. See Mitchell's Thesis, and Dr. Summerville's
paper in Lond. Med. Chirurg. Trans, vol. v. It is particu-
larly useful in those cases attended with disordered diges-
tion and general debility, for in these its tonic properties
and general acceptability to the stomach prove highly use-
ful auxiliaries to its diuretic powers. It has been success-
fully administered in ascites, in dysuria and ischuria, gravel,
strangury, hematuria, acute rheumatism, and in various
intermittent disorders. The Indians considered it of uni-
versal efficacy; but employed it particularly in nephritic,
scrofulous, and rheumatic disorders. Dr. "Wood, in the U.
S. Disp., states that it does prove of benefit in obstinate,
ill-conditioned ulcers, and cutaneous eruptions supposed to
be connected with a strumous diathesis: used both inter-
nally, and locally as a wash. The decoction and watery
extract are employed.
In our present need for tonics and diuretics, in dropsy, or
swelling following low and protracted fevers among our
soldiers, no plant will be found more serviceable than the
pipsissevva. It is aromatic, tonic, and diuretic. It can be
easily collected around our camps, in shady woods, in al-
most every part of our Confederacy.
The black alder (Alnus serrulata) is an astringent diuretic.
The catkins or flowerets, dissolved in whiskey, is a domestic
378
remedy in South Carolina — relied on by many, Dr. B..
Moore informs me, in gonorrhoea in place of copaiba. Pills
of pine gum are given together with it. The C. umbellata,
pipsissewa, grows in North Carolina, and northward.
Chimaphila umbellata, Nutt. North Carolina, and north-
ward.
Both the C. umbellata and maculata are used. Dr. Thomp-
son says of the P. umbellata: "It is diuretic and tonic. It
has been given successfully in ascites, after digitalis and
other diuretics had failed; and has also proved serviceable
in acute rheumatism and intermittents. It produces an
agreeable sensation in the stomach soon after it is swal-
lowed; increases the appetite, and acts powerfully on the
kidneys." The whole plant is decocted.
One of these plants may be used extemporaneously in
our camps for its combined tonic and diuretic properties,
associated with astringency. Its uses consequently are
obvious in the convalescence from fevers. It can be found
in high woods near almost every locality where a regiment
is pitched. See " Eupatoriwn" "Persimmon," "Dog-
wood," etc.
In a pamphlet issued from the Surgeon-General's office,
it is stated that the C. umbellata "should not be gathered,
as it is inferior." The decoction of either plant is made
with the bruised herb one ounce, water three half-pints;
boil to one pint; one pint to be given in the twenty-four
hours, in divided doses. Pereira refers to both species as
being useful. I have found the spotted winter-green valu-
able as a tonic diuretic.
Pyrola rotundifolia. Grows in South Carolina. See Chi-
maphila.
MONOTROPACE^!.
Monotropa uniflora. Fit-root. Grows in roads ; attached
to roots; collected in St. John's; Newbern.
This is used by the steam practitioners. See Ploward's
Impr. Syst. Bot. Med. 339.
379
Ericaceae. (The Heath Tribe.)
Generally astringent and diuretic.
Andromeda mariana, L. Dry soils. Richland; vicinity
of Charleston. Fl. May and July.
U. S. Disp. 1238, App.; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
i, 289; Coxe, Am. Disp. 84; Shec. Flora Carol. 156. It is
employed in domestic practice; a remedy for herpes. The
decoction is used as a stimulating wash for ulcers and
ground itch, to which negroes are liable. The honey which
bees extract from this is slightly poisonous. See Nichol-
son's Journal, 163.
Andromeda nitidi, Walt. Grows in damp, pine land, bogs ;
collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. April.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 483. A decoction of the leaves
of this also is used in the cure of itch. The young branches,
deprived of their pith, form good pipe-stems, see Cliftonia;
and the bark, with copperas, yields a purple dye. Upon
examination I find that the leaves contain a great deal of
tannin. See " Liquidambar," sweet-gum, for detail of ex-
periments.
Andromeda arborea, L. l Sour-wood, sorrel tree; clif-
Oxydendron arbor enm, D.C. j fused; grows in upper dis-
tricts. I collected it in St. John's, and Spartanburg district,
S. C.
U. S. Disp. 1227. The leaves, when chewed, allay thirst.
A decoction of the bark and leaves is also given as a tonic.
Andromeda speciosa, Mich. Vicinity of Charleston. Bach.
U. S. Disp. 1228. It is said to be a powerful errhine.
Andromeda angustifolia, Ph. Vicinity of Charleston.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 223. This and the A. mariana are
said to be poisonous to sheep.
Clethra alnifolia, L. (C. tomentosa, Lam.) Abundant in
wet pine lands and swamps throughout the Confederate
States.
880
Upon careful examination with reagents of the leaves of
the plant, I find tannin in great amount. I recommend it
with the leaves of sweet-gum, myrtle, etc., as a substitute
for oak bark in tanning leather. See " IAquidambar " for
detail of experiments.
Gaultheria procumbens, Ph. Spicy winter-green ; par-
tridge-berry ; mountain-berry. Grows in the mountains of
South Carolina, Dr. MacBride ; ISTewbern. Fl. May.
U. S. Disp. 345 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 29 ; Lind. Nat.
Syst. Bot. 221 ; Bart. M. Bot. i, 178 ; Kalm, Amcen. Acad,
iii, 14 ; Bart. Collec. i, 19 ; Raf. Med. Fl. i, 202 ; Griffith,
Med. Bot. 425. It possesses stimulant aromatic properties,
united with astringency; hence used with advantage in
some forms of chronic dysentery. It is said to have also
some anodyne power. The infusion of the leaves has been
found beneficial in amenorrhcea. attended with debility,
and in promoting the mammary secretion when deficient.
In the Revolutionary war it was used as a substitute for
tea. The berries, which are aromatic and pleasant, are
employed to flavor spirituous liquors. An infusion of them
in brandy is a convenient and useful substitute for the ordi-
nary bitters. An essential oil is obtained from the leaves
by distillation. From Mr. Procter's examination (Am.
Journal Pharm. viii, 211 ; and ix, 241) it is shown to pos-
sess acid properties, and to have the same composition as
the salitilate of methylene. It is one of the heaviest of the
essential oils, having a specific gravity 1.173, with a burn-
ing, aromatic taste, mixing with alcohol or ether in all
proportions. This is found also in the Betula lenta, some of
the Spiraeas, etc. It is applied with good effect to diminish
the sensibility of nerves affected by carious teeth, and to
disguise the taste and smell of nauseous medicines.
Rhododendron maximum, L. Mountain laurel; wild rose-
bay. Grows among the mountains. Fl. July.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 221. "It is well known to be pos-
sessed of poisonous properties." Mer. and de L. Diet, de
381
M. Med, vi, 75. Employed with success in chronic rheu-
matism, gout, and glandular enlargements. The petioles
act as a sternutatory. Coxe, Am. Disp. 526; Big. Am.
Med. Bot. iii, 103. It is a resinous astringent, its leaves
containing tannin ; but its supposed poisonous, narcotic
power is doubted by some, as Bigelow swallowed an entire
leaf, and no bad effects resulted. B. S. Barton, however,
in his Collections, i, 18, says it is certainly poisonous. The
brown powder attached to the foot-stalks possesses consid-
erable power as an errhine. The purple variety, one of
the most beautiful, grows in South Carolina.
A writer under the signature of "Cunio" commmuni-
cates the following to the "Atlanta Commonwealth,'' 1861:
" Wood for engraving. — Upon the authority of Mr. Charles
Foster, long known as a wood engraver at Nashville, Ten-
nessee, many years since, I can state that the wood of the
maximum or mountain laurel, as well as its confrere, Kalmia
latifolia, known by every farmer as poison ivy, are equalled
only by the best boxwood, the former of which abounds
on every mountain from Mason and Dixon's line to North
Georgia that has a rocky branch." I had reported the K.
latifolia in my Sketch of the Medical Botany of South Car-
olina, as "possessing a wood much used for mechanical
purposes, being hard and dense." See Amelanchier for sub-
stitutes for boxwood, which is costly.
Rhododendron punctatum, L. and Ph. Grows at the head
branches of rivers in South Carolina and Georgia; "Tugo-
loo branches of the Savannah." Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 75 ; Griffith, Med.
Bot. 428. A stimulant and astringent. Michaux says it
furnishes to bees a deleterious honey.
Kalmia latifolia, L. Calico bush ; ivy bush. Grows
along rivers in upper districts ; Richland, Gibbes ; at Sis-
ter's ferry, Savannah river; Aiken, S. C. Fl. July.
Drayton's View of South Carolina, 69 ; Ell. Bot. i, 481 ;
U. S. Disp. 1269; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 133; Kalm's
382
Travels, i, 335; Barton's Coll. i, 18, 48; and ii, 26; Thach-
er's Disp. 247; Thomas' Inaug. Diss., Raf. ii, 16; Griffith,
Med. Bot. 528. The leaves are poisonous and narcotic,
and animals have been poisoned by eating them. It is
said that death has been occasioned by eating the flesh of
partridges and pheasants that had fed on them. Dr. Shoe-
maker publishes two cases ; see 1ST. Am. Med. and Surg.
Journal. Thomas, in Inaug. Diss. Phil. 1802, reports cases
of obstinate diarrhoea cured by a decoction, thirty drops
being taken four times a day. The leaves have been ad-
vantageously used in syphilis, and extensively applied in
tinea, psora, and cutaneous affections. Dr. Barton states
that nervous symptoms have resulted from the external use
of the strong decoction, thirty drops taken internally six
times a day producing vertigo. Dr. Bigelow detected in
the leaves tannin, a resinous matter, and gum. Besides
these, Dr. Stabler finds a volatile oil of a narcotic odor
and nauseous smell, supposed to be the active principle :
see Am. Journal of Pharm. x, 241 ; Griffith, Med. Bot.
428. From these experiments of Dr. S. he determines it
to be a direct arterial sedative, without any acrid or nar-
cotic property ; hence he supposes it suitable to cases of
hypertrophy of heart, and other diseases, when it is neces-
sary to decrease the action of that organ ; and from the
tannin present that it is peculiarly fitted for cases of hem-
orrhage, dysentery, etc. He proposes that two ounces of
the leaves be macerated in a pint of alcohol for a week,
and then strained, the dose of which for an adult is thirty
drops every two or three hours. If these observations are
confirmed it will give the plant a high reputation as a
sedative, and attention is invited to it. The wood is much
used for mechanical purposes, being hard and dense.
Kalmia hirsuta, Walt. Grows in wet pine barrens ; vi-
cinity of Charleston. PI. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 483. The leaves are used by
negroes, and the poorer white people, as a cure for itch, and
for the mange in dogs. A strong decoction is applied
383
warm to the eruptions, which occasions much . smarting ;
and it seldom requires more than one application to effect
a cure.
Kalmia angustifolia, L. Sheep laurel. Barren hills ; upper
districts. Chapman.
The leaves of the Kalmia (angustifolia ?) exude a sweet,
honey-like juice, which is said when swallowed to bring
on a mental intoxication both formidable in its symptoms
and long in its duration (Torrey). In this it appears
closely to resemble the Armenian azalea (Johnston's Chem-
istry of Common Life, vol. ii, p. 157). About Long Island
the K angustifolia is believed to kill sheep, and is known
by the name of sheep poison. The Azalea pontica, a kin-
dred shrub, is said to be the source of the narcotic quality
for which the Trebizond honey is famous.
VaccinacejE.' (The Bilberry Tribe.)
Bark and leaves are astringent, slightly tonic, and stimu-
lating.
Vaccinium macrocarpon. Ait. (Oxycoccos.) American cran-
berry. Grows in North Carolina, and northward.
The cranberry, useful for their ascescent, cooling proper-
ties, for making pies, etc., are now exported to Europe, and
they are said to bring eight dollars a bushel in the London
market, as they are easily transported without suffering
from the voyage. They are cultivated on boggy or swampy
land, sand being thrown over it to kill the grass. There is
a communication in the Patent Office Reports, 1857, on the
mode of cultivation of the plant. Cranberries may be pre-
served perfect for several years merely by drying them a
little in the sun, and then putting them up closely in clean
bottles. They also keep well in fresh water. The red-
fruited variety yields a juice which has been employed to
stain paper or linen purple.
384
Vaccinium arboreum, Marsh. Farcle-berry. Grows in
damp soils; diffused; collected in St. John's; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. May.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 496; Griffith, Med. Bot. 431.
The bark of the root is very astringent, and is employed in
diarrhoea and bowel complaints. The leaves also are astrin-
gent, and a decoction, as tea, is given in diarrhoea and dys-
entery, and as a wash in sore mouth; the fruit is more
palatable, and equally as efficacious. The bark is also used
for tanning. The root and bark are very much used as an
astringent in Sumter district, S. C, given in the form of
tea to children affected with diarrhoea from teething, simply
because it contains tannin, I suppose, like the chinquapin,
oak bark, etc. It is very much relied upon. The root is
sometimes stewed in milk and given in the same way.
Most of the species possess qualities similar to this one.
Some of those in South Carolina bear fruit very pleasant to
the taste, and are generally known as huckleberries. I re-
gard the wood as uncommonly hard and close.
Primulace^. (The Primrose Tribe.)
More remarkable for beauty and fragrance than for their
sensible properties.
Anagallis arvensis, L. Red chickweed; scarlet pimpernel.
Nat. on Sullivan's island. Collected in St. John's, Berkley.
Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 1227; Le. Mat. Med. i, 80; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. i, 276; Orfila, Toxicologic, ii, 275; Woodv.
Med. Bot.; Mem. Acad. Royale de Med. 18 Mars. aim. 1826.
The flowers close at the approach of rain, and occasions the
plant to be called the "poor-man's weather-glass." Rural
Cyc._
This plant enjoyed great reputation at one time, and was
said to possess sudorific, vulnerary, antiepileptic, and anti-
hydrophobic virtues. Woodville states that it is acrid and
poisonous. It was considered very valuable for the bite of
serpents, but more particularly in hydrophobia, given in
385
the form of powder in doses of two drachms. See the re-
port to the Econ. Soc., Berne; Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 124.
Milne, in his Ind. Bot. 260, asserts that it was frequently
successful even after dangerous symptoms had supervened;
and the great Hoffman himself yielded to this opinion. It
"really possesses highly energetic powers, for Oriila de-
stroyed a dog by making him drink three drachms of the
extract." Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 224. It is used as a local
application in ill-conditioned ulcers, and internally in vis-
ceral obstructions, dropsy, epilepsy, and mania.
Samolus valerandi, L. Brookweed. Vicinity of Charles-
ton ; grows in morasses ; collected in St. John's, Charleston
district. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 201; Journal Gen.
de Med. lii, 413; Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 121. Lemery says
it is an antiscorbutic, aperient, and vulnerary.
Sapotace^e. (The Sapotilla Tribe.)
Bumelia lycioides,1£\\.$k.. Ironwood. Vicinity of Charles-
ton, Bach; very rare in St. John's, Berkley; a tree on Sa-
razin PL (Mrs. I. S. Porcher's). PI. June.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 441. The bark is said to be austere,
and to be useful in bowel complaints. The tree is classed
by some, with the persimmon, under the "ebony tribe" —
the wood being characterized by great density and hard-
ness.
Ebenace,e. (The Ebony Tribe.)
Wood generally hard and black.
Diospyros Virginiana. Persimmon. Diffused ; grows
abundantly in both upper and lower districts. Fl. March.
Coxe, Am. Disp. 259; U. S. Disp. 302; Ed. and Vav.
Mat. Med. 135; Am. Journal Med. Sc, N. S. iv, 297; Mer.
and deL. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 657; Ann. Chim. de Montp.
xxiv, 247; Shec. Flora Carol. 510; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot.
25
386
227; Griffith, Med. Bot. 436. An astringent and styptic.
The inner bark is used in intermittent fever, in diarrhoea,
and with alum as a gargle in ulcerated sore throat. The
powdered bark can be used wherever an astringent is re-
quired. The unripe fruit is exceedingly astringent; em-
ployed while fresh, or dried in the sun and powdered, it is
very valuable in diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, and uterine
hemorrhage. It forms a convenient and useful prescription
for those residing in the country, made into pills or in the
shape of a spirituous tincture. Mr. B. Smith found that the
green fruit contained tannin, sugar, malic acid, and woody
fibre ; the first disappears, and the others increase as it
ripens. (Am. Journal Pharm. xii, 157.) The juice, in the
unripe state, is said to be preferable to oak bark for tan-
ning ; and a black dye may be extracted from it. The fruit,
when matured, is very sweet and pleasant to the taste, and
yields on distillation after fermentation a quantity of
spirits; a beer is made of it, and mixed with flour, a pleas-
ant bread. I have used the wood for engraving. Every
tree of slow growth seems to me to have a dense and hard
wood, because the rings are close together, though the con-
sistence of the interspaces varies in different plants. See
"Amelanchier." Persimmon bark with iron yields a dye, the
color depending on the mordant used. See " Rhus ;" also
Treatises on Calico printing and on Dyeing, Ure's Diet, of
Arts and Manufactures, and Wilson's Rural Cyc. Processes
are there described. Upon testing for tannin the leaves of
the persimmon I find very little, but a great deal in the un-
ripe fruit. See detail of experiments under sweet-gum,
" Liquidambar."
I am informed by a friend that the persimmon makes a
particularly fine brandy. He tells me that a variety of
persimmons are occasionally met with in Sumter district,
S. C, with fruit almost twice the size of the ordinary
plant. I have known of a large-fruited variety from
Cooper river also. They were found near Claremont and
the river. Ale, also, can be made with the different species
of gentian, and in England they use G. lutea and purpurea
387
as substitutes for hops. The persimmon should be used in
camps as an astringent. See " Castanea"
To make Persimmon Seer. — Gather the persimmons per-
fectly ripe and free from any roughness. Work them into
large loaves with bran enough to make them consistent ;
bake them so thoroughly that the cake may be brown and
dry throughout, but not burned. They are then lit for
use. But if you keep them any time it will be necessary
to dry them frequently in an oven moderately warm. Of
these loaves broken into a coarse powder, take eight bush-
els. Pour on them forty gallons of cold water, and after
two or three days draw it off; boil it as other beer, adding
a little hops. This makes a very strong beer. See Thorn-
ton's Southern Gardener, p. 138. W. Gilmore Simms, Esq.
writes me word that the persimmon beer manufactured in
Orangeburg district,' S. C, by the Hon. J. M. Felder,
equalled the best sparkling "Jersey Champagne." The
latter is generally made of apples, and is a species of car-
bonated cider. See "Apples," "Hops," "Sassafras," for
method of manufacturing useful liquors.
The following, from the Southern Cultivator, was pub-
lished in the Charleston Mercury :
Persimmon Beer. — The best persimmons ripen soft and
sweet, having a clear, thin, transparent skin, without any
rough taste. A good ripe persimmon is a delicious morsel;
most animals fatten on them; the chicken, duck, turkey,
goose, dog, hog, sheep, and cow, all eat them greedily.
The fruit, when mashed and strained through a coarse
wire sieve, makes delightful bread, pies, and pudding.
When kneaded with wheat bran, and well baked in an
oven, the bread may be put away for winter use in making
beer, and used when wanted.
The following is one of the very best receipts for making
the beer: sweet ripe persimmons, mashed and strained,
one bushel; wheat bran, one half-bushel. Mix well to-
gether, and bake in loaves of convenient size ; break them
in a clean barrel, and add twelve gallons of water and
two or three ounces of hops. Keep the barrel in a warm
388
room. As soon as fermentation subsides, bottle off the
beer, having good long corks, and place the bottles in a
low temperature, and it will keep and improve for twelve
months. This beer, when properly made, in a warm room,
is an exquisitely delightful beverage, containing no alcohol,
and is to the connoisseur of temperate taste not inferior to
the fermented juice of the vine.
The ordinary way of making it is more simple, and the
drink is relished heartily by most persons: a layer of
straw is put in the bottom of the cask, on which a suf-
ficient quantity of fruit, well mashed, is laid, and the cask
then filled with water. It should stand in a warm room,
and if the weather is cold, fermentation will be promoted
by occasionally putting a warm brick or stone in the barrel.
The addition of a few honey locusts, roasted sweet po-
tatoes, or apple peelings, will make the beer more brisk.
Wheat bran always improves the quality.
A syrup made with unripe persimmons boiled in sugar
is recommended as a portable and useful astringent to be
used by our soldiers in camp to prevent dysenteries and
diarrhoeas.
(1862). The ripe fruit of the persimmon. May-apples,
figs, etc., are also useful with a basis of molasses or honey
in making vinegar.
Hopea linctoria, L. Sweet-leaf. Diffused ; grows spar-
ingly in the low country ; vicinity of Charleston, Bach.;
collected in St. John's, Berkley; Ward swamp; Newborn.
Fl. May.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 437. The root is esteemed a valuable
stomachic. Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 177. Its leaves afford
a yellow dye; they are sweet and pleasant to the taste, and
are eaten by cattle. Major J. Le Conte informs me that
the leaves and root are much used in Georgia, in syphilitic
and scrofulous affections. This does not seem to be the
genus Hopea belonging to the order .Dipteracece, which fur-
nishes such valuable resins.
389
StyracacEjE. (Styrax Tribe.)
Styrax. Several species grow in the Confederate States,
but none are medicinal, so far as I can ascertain. It is
well known that storax and benzoin are furnished by some
of them.
Symplocas tincloria, L'Her. Low woods and banks of
streams. Florida to North Carolina and westward. (Chap).
The dyer's or laurel-leaved species, under the name of
sweet-leaf, is used for yielding a yellow dye. Rural Cyc.
AquifoliacEuE. (The Holly Tribe).
These are generally astringent.
Prinos verticillatus, L. Black alder; winter-berry. Damp
soils. Fl. May.
U. S. Disp. 874 ; Wild. Spec. Plantaruin, 275 ; Mer and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 15 ; Barton's Med. Bot. i, 203.
The berries and- bark are tonic and astringent, and are used
in intermittent fevers, diarrhoeas, and diseases connected
with a debilitated state of the system, especially gangrene
and mortification. It is a popular remedy in ill-conditioned
ulcers, chronic cutaneous diseases, administered internally,
and locally as a wash. Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 229. " The
bark and berries possess in an eminent degree the proper-
ties of the vegetable astringents and tonics, combined with
antiseptic powers highly spoken of." They are extensively
prescribed in some parts of the country in diarrhoea, and
as a corroborant in dropsy. The leaves are employed as a
substitute for tea. The plant was used by the Indians. It
may be taken in substance, in doses of thirty grains to a
drachm, to be repeated, or a decoction made with two
ounces of the bark to three pints of water, of which three
ounces may be taken several times a day. A saturated
tincture of the bark and berries has also been used.
Bigelow did not speak highly of this plant, but W. P. C.
Barton extols it, and recommends it to the profession,
390
having employed it on several occasions. Dr. Meara, in
the Phil. Med. Museum ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 434 ; Coxer9
Am. Disp. 500.
Prinos glaber, L. Inkberry. Grows in damp soils, along
bays; Richland district; collected in St. John's. Fl. May.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 229 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. vi, 53. The leaves are employed as a tea. The
plant probably possesses properties similar to those of the
other. Upon chemical examination I find very little
tannin in the leaves. See sweet-gum (Liquidambar) for
detail of experiments.
Ilex opaca, L. Holly. Diffused ; in rich soils ; New-
bern. Fl. May.
Griffith, Med. Bot.' 432; U. S. Disp. 1263. I am
informed by gentlemen who have used this plant that the
decoction of the bark of the root has been found very
serviceable as a demulcent in colds, coughs, and incipient
phthisis ; and by Dr. Joseph Johnson, of Charleston, that
the berries are serviceable as an emetic. It is asserted by
some to possess properties fully equal to those of the /.
aquifolium of Europe, the inner bark of which also yields a
viscid substance called birdlime ; its leaves are esteemed as
a diaphoretic in the form of infusion ; employed in catarrh,
pleurisy, small-pox, etc. Its febrifuge virtues are supposed
to depend on a bitter principle, ilicin, and the berries are
considered purgative,' diuretic, and emetic. The good
effects resulting from the use of the I. opaca, in diseases
affecting the mucous passages, may be owing to the
substance contained in the inner bark. Some declare that
they find it fully as efficient in intermittent fevers as the
Peruvian bark. As an emetic, the berries are said to be
more active than the leaves.
Birdlime can be made from holly and mistletoe ; also
from elder. The bark and juice are used. See process
described in Ure's Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures,
article "Birdlime." I have often noticed the mucilaginous
391
taste of the holly root {Ilex opacd), and have used it,
chewed, for colds and coughs. It is also a pleasant, agree-
ahle hitter, mucilaginous tonic. It is extensively employed
i»i this way by many persons in South Carolina, also a tea
made with the root. I would particularly recommend the
holly root as an .^article for the relief of colds and coughs.
It increases the appetite, and is a tonic. The leaves of the
Ilex opaca, like the Ilex dahoon and Ilex cassina, are used
as substitutes for green tea. See Ilex cassina.
I condense the following from Wilson's Rural Cyc. :
" Birdlime for catching birds, mice, and other vermin
is generally made from the middle bark of the holly,
which is boiled in water seven or eight hours, till it
becomes soft and tender. After the water has been
drained off it is laid in masses in the earth, covered with
stones, and left to ferment during a fortnight or three
weeks. When thus changed into a kind of mucilage it is
taken from the pit, pounded in mortars until reduced to a
paste, washed and kneaded in river water until freed from
all extraneous matter. It is left in earthen vessels four or
five days to purify itself by fermentation, and it is then
put up for use or commerce. In every kingdom or dis-
trict there is a different mode of preparing this substance.
The mode employed by M. Bouillon Legrange is to take a
sufficient quantity of the second bark of the green prickly
holly, to bruise it well, and boil it in water four or five
hours ; to pour off the water, to deposit the bark in pits in
earthen pans, to moisten it from time to time with a little
water, to let it remain until it becomes viscous, and to
cleanse it by washing when it has attained a proper degree
of fermentation."
Birdlime may be procured from the young shoots of the
common elder tree, from a number of plants, from slugs,
snails, and from the pods of certain caterpillars. The
common kind of birdlime readily loses its tenacious
quality when long exposed to the air, and particularly
when subjected to moisture; but it may be rendered
capable of sustaining the action of water by the following
392
process: take a pound of common birdlime and wash it
thoroughly with spring water till its hardness be de-
stroyed ; then pound it completely, that its water may be
entirely separated, and when it is well dried put it into an
earthen pot with as much goose or capon's grease as will
make it run. Add two spoonfuls of strong vinegar, one
of oil, and a small quantity of Venice turpentine, and let
the whole boil for a few moments over a moderate fire,
stirring it all the time. It is then ready for use ; and this
is the only kind that can be successfully used for snipes
and other birds which frequent wet situations. When
birdlime is to be applied for use it should be made hot, and
the rods or twigs should be warmed a little before they
are dipped in it. When straws or cords are to be limed it
should be very hot, and after they are prepared they
should be kept in a leather bag till used. In order to
prevent birdlime from being congealed by cold it should
be mixed with a little oil of petroleum ; and, indeed,
before the common kind can be used at all it must be
melted over the fire with a third part of nut-oil or any
thin grease, if that has not been added in the preparation.
It has been found to resemble gluten in many particulars,
but differs from it essentially in the acetous acid which it
contains ; in being very slightly animalized ; in the mucil-
age and extractive matter which may be obtained from it;
in the great quantity of resin which it yields by means of
nitric acid; and in its solubility in ether. See, also,
Wilson's article on "Bird-catching" for the various
methods of ensnaring game. See " Yiscus " in this paper.
Our Ilex opaca is said to resemble closely the English
holly {I. aquifolium). It has a hard, white wood, with a fine
grain. Among many trees and plants which I have exam-
ined, with a view to testing their relative hardness, I do not
rank the holly so high as others. The English holly is said
by Wilson to be very retentive of its sap, which renders it
liable to warp unless well dried ; to be susceptible of a high
degree of polish, which renders it well adapted to many
purposes in the arts. It readily takes a durable color of any
393
shade, hence used by cabinet-makers in forming what are
technically called ''strings and borders" in ornamental
works. When properly stained black, its color and lustre
are little inferior to ebony. It ma}' be turned to a great
number of purposes by turners, engineers, cabinet-maker's,
philosophical-instrument makers, and others. Next to box-
wood, the pear tree is the best wood, says Wilson, for en-
graving upon, as it is compact, and stands the tool well.
Rural Cyc. I do not think that I found our I. ojmca equal
to the dogwood for the purposes of the engraver; certainly
when green it yielded to the graver's tools more readily, and
was not so hard.
The berries of the English holly are said to be purgative,
and six or eight of them swallowed will produce violent
vomiting ; the bark is said to be febrifugal. Op. til.
Ilex cassina, Mich. ~i Yaupoh ; cassina; emetic-
" vomitoria, L. and Ait. j holly; grows near the sea-
coast; Newbern. Fl. March.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 591 ; see I. vomito-
ria. Linn. Veg. Mat. Med.; U. S. Disp. 1263, App. ; Grif-
fith, Med. Bot. ; Ell. 8k. of Bot. of South Carolina, ii, 682.
The leaves act as a powerful diuretic, and are employed in
calculous, nephritic diseases, diabetes, gout, and small-pox.
This plant is said also to act as a mild emetic. (Mer. and
de L.) The Indians used the cold infusion, which was
called the black drink, and which was said to enliven them,
in the place of opium. The Creeks employed it, according
to Elliott, at the opening of their councils, sending to the
sea-coast for a supply. They considered it one of their
most powerful diuretics. (Bart. Coll. 38.) The inhabitants
of North Carolina purify brackish water by boiling in it
Cassina leaves.
In North and South Carolina much use is made of the
leaves of cassina for making tea. I would refer the reader
to the Ceanothus Americana, New Jersey tea tree. The
leaves of the common holly [Ilex opaca) are also recom-
mended by some as a substitute for tea; and I would call
394
attention to the fact that the famous plant used so exten-
sively in Paraguay, Mate or Paraguay tea, is an Ilex (L Par-
aguaiensis, plants of which have been introduced by Lieut.
Page, and distributed. See a notice of it in Patent Office
Reports, 1854, p. 34, and 1859, p. 15. Mate is univer-
sally drunk in many of the South American States, and
almost fabulous properties are attributed to it. "It is un-
questionably aperient and diuretic, and produces effects
very similar to opium. * * * Like that drug, however,
it excites the torpid and languid, while it calms the restless
and induces sleep." I have little doubt but that great re-
semblance does exist between this and the kindred plant,
the cassina, from which also was prepared a "black drink,"
which was used by the Indians of North America in their
ceremonials. The mode of preparation may be lost to us.
The Yaupon is sometimes referred to as I. vomitoria. The
Indians drank it very strong, and in copious draughts, at a
certain period of the year, in order to purify themselves.
It acted as an emetic. The Matt of Paraguay is not iden-
tical, says a recent writer, with our 1. cassina. Lawson, in
his account of this plant, in his Travels in Carolina (pp.
90, 91, London, 1709), celebrates the virtues of the tea, and
gives a particular account of the mode of preparing it.
"This plant (the Yaupon, called by the South Carolina In-
dians Cassina), is the Indian tea, used and approved by all
the savages on the coast of Carolina, and from them sent to
the westward Indians, and sold at a considerable price."
"The savages of Carolina bore this tea in veneration above
all the plants they are acquainted withal," p. 221. "As for
purgings and emetics they never apply themselves to, unless
in drinking vast quantities of their Yaupon or tea, and
vomiting it up again, as clear as they drink it." Croom,
in quoting the above, adds that in North Carolina it is still
esteemed a useful diaphoretic. Notes to his Catalogue, p.
45, referred to as I. cassina, of Walter.
The preparation of Mate" is very simple. It can be gath-
ered during the whole year. It is collected in the woods —
"a process of kiln-drying is resorted to upon the spot, and
395
afterward the branches and leaves are transported to some
rude mill and powdered in mortars. The substance, after
this operation, .is almost a powder, though small stems, de-
nuded of their bark, are always permitted to remain." A
small quantity of the leaf, either with or without sugar, is
placed in a common bowl, upon which cold water is poured;
after standing a short time, boiling water is added, and it is
at once ready for use. It must be imbibed through a tube
on account of the particles of leaf and stem which float
upon the surface of the liquid. The plant is not cultivated.
See, also, Ceanothus and Thea viridis.
Ilex dahoon, Walt. Also called cassina. Grows in swamps ;
it is said to possess properties similar to those of the I. cas-
sina.
Ilex myrtifolia, Walt. Grows around ponds, in flat, pine
barrens, forty miles from Charleston ; ISTewbern.
Dr. Joseph Johnson, of Charleston, informs me that this
is used to some extent in domestic practice in South Caro-
lina, as a diuretic in dropsy.
CuSCUTACEiE.
Cuscuta Americana, Linn. Dr. Engleman, of St. Louis,
has determined that we have not the C. Am. of Linn., and
he has substituted three distinct species which are found in
South Carolina, the C. compacta and cornuti of Choisey, and
C. vulgivaga, Engl. Love-vine. Grows in damp soils ; col-
lected in St. John's; Hewbern. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 527; Flora Med. des
Antilles, ii, 334; Shec. Flora Carol. 485.
This is said to be laxative and hydragogue. It imparts
a yellow dye to cloth. The vine may be snapped in pieces,
and the divisions will retain a separate existence, throwing
out new tendrils, and reattaching themselves to surround-
ing objects.
396
Convolvulace^i. ( The Bindweed Tribe.)
An acrid, milky juice is found in their roots, which is
strongly purgative, this quality depending upon a peculiar
resin, which is the active principle of the jalap, the seam-
mony, etc., plants belonging to this order.
Ipomcea nil, Pursh. | Grows in dry soil;, vicinity of
Convolvulus, Sprengel. /Charleston; St. John's; Newbern.
Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 409. The root was
employed by the ancients as a purgative.
Convolvulus, Ell. Sk. | Wild potato vine ; found
Ipomcea panduratus, of late bot. J in dry pine barrens; col-
lected in St. John's, Charleston district, where it grows
abundantly; Newbern.
Coxe, Am. Dis. 226; Barton's Collec. ii, 49; Ell. Bot.
Med. Notes, i, 254; XL S. Disp. 269; Mer. and de L. Diet,
de M. Med. ii, 409; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. i, 252; Griffith's
Med. Bot. 477. The root is diuretic, and in the form of
infusion, is said to be very serviceable in calculous com-
plaints. It is employed with great success by Dr. Harris,
of New Jersey, in these and in other affections as a substi-
tute for jalap and rhubarb; Dr. B. S. Barton says that an
extract from one of our native species is little inferior to
scammony. The powder or the decoction may be used.
Convolvulus macrorrhizus, Ell. | Vicinity of Charleston ;
Ipomcea of Michaux. /dry soils.
U. S. Disp. 408; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 253; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 406; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med.
140. This is thought to resemble jalap. De Candolle men-
tions the root as possessing purgative properties (Essai);
and the expressed juice was said to be very active. Lind.
Nat. Syst. Bot. 231; Flore Med. des Antilles, ii, 288. Dr.
Baldwin, however, was of the opinion that it possessed very
little purgative power. It is said to contain a great deal of
saccharine with a considerable quantity of farinaceous
matter.
397
Convolvulus Jfilapa.
It has been supposed by some that the officinal jalap
may be obtained from plants growing within the limits of
the Confederate States, but late researches have almost dis-
proved it. See XL S. Disp. ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med.
Batatas edulis, Chois. "» Sweet potato, and its varie-
Convolvulus batatas, Cult, j ties.
This valuable plant is cultivated to a large extent in the
Confederate States, and great use is made of the root as an
article of food. It may, therefore, not be out of place to
furnish some references to the various sources of informa-
tion concerning it that have come in my way. A large
quantity of sago, called "Bowen's patent sago," was made
in Georgia from the potato, particularly by Dr. Bancroft,
near Savannah The roots were scraped and grated, the
pulp was then mashed through sieves, and the deposited
flour collected and dried in pans either by fire or sunlight.
See Shec. Flora Carol. The root is used as an article of
food prepared in various forms. They majr be grated when
raw and the pulp made into a pudding; they are sometimes
eaten roasted or boiled, in which state, with wheat flour, a
very pleasant bread is made of them. On the plantations
they furnish a large proportion of the food of animals.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 1846, 205. See
Depuy's Memoire sur la culture de la patate, Bordeaux,
1801 ; Lelieur de Ville-sur Arce, Mem. sur la culture de
la patate et du ma'i's, Paris ; Gosse, Culture de la patate
(Biblioth. Univ. de Geneve, iii, 1818); Roberts' Note on
the culture of the potato in the Mem. de la Soc. Roy.
dAgric. 1841; Southern Agriculturist, Charleston, passim.
In Patent Office Reports, 1854, p. 169, is an illustrated
paper on the Dioscorea batatas, or Chinese yam, recom-
mended as a substitute for the potato. See Dioscorea
villosa in this volume.
The Cantharis vittata, or blistering fly, can be found on
the potato, and I have myself produced blistering by ap-
398
plying them to the hand. I collected the flies from vines
growing on Daniel's island near Charleston. Mr. Town-
send Glover, in a valuable paper illustrated with wood-cuts
in Patent Office Reports, 1854, page 59, states that he found
a species of cantharis, C. strigosa, in large numbers on the
cotton plants near Columbia, S. C, in the month of Sep-
tember. I have little doubt that the Confederate States
could be easily supplied with blistering ointment from
these flies.
The reader interested in the appearance, nature, and his-
tory of the "insects injurious and beneficial" to plants
and vegetables, is referred to the paper cited. Those in-
festing the cotton plant, the peach, the vine, garden vege-
tables, etc., are all described. I am indebted to Mr. Glover
for drawings of these. See, also, Patent Office Reports, p.
88, 1855, in which the papers are continued.
A Substitute for Spanish Flies. — The present scarcity of
Spanish flies for medical use in blister plasters makes a
proper substitute a desideratum. A writer in the Savan-
nah Republican says we have in this country many repre-
sentatives of the same genus, and enumerates the blister-
ing beetle, or potato fly, so prevalent in our gardens, and
so injurious to vegetation, as efficacious. He says :
The blistering plaster and Cantharides of medicine are
prepared from the Spanish flies, Cantharis vesicatoria, which
are collected in Spain and Italy in large quantities for ex-
portation. We have in North America many representa-
tives of the same genus. Several species have been used
for the same purpose, and in this immediate neighborhood
the Cantharis vitlata, var, striped blistering beetle, com-
monly called the potato fly. The blistering beetles have
been enumerated among the insects directly beneficial to
man, on account of the important use made of them in
medical practice ; yet the gardeners in our neighborhood
will testify that the insect in question is very injurious to
vegetation, appearing in large numbers on the Irish potato,
tomato, egg-plant, and beet, which they will strip of every
leaf. I have, however, remarked that they will give the
399
preference to a common weed, if in close proximity — an
Amarantus — a kind of prince's feather. The insect is of a
dull, tawny, or light yellowish color, with two black spots
on the head, two black stripes on the thorax, and three
broad ones on each wing cover. The under side of the
body, the legs (excepting the first joint, which is yellow-
ish), the antennae,, or feelers, are black. Its length is from
five to eight lines, its breadth of body two lines. The body
is quite soft. These beetles are very shy, timid insects,
and whenever disturbed fall immediately from the leaves,
and attempt to conceal themselves among the grass, or
draw up their long slender legs and feign themselves dead.
In the night, and in rainy weather they descend from the
plants and burrow in the ground, or under leaves and tufts
of grass. It is, therefore, during clear weather, in the
morning and evening that they feed, and are to be col-
lected. They should be killed by throwing them into
scalding water for one or two minutes, after which they
should be spread upon cloth or paper to dry, and may be
made profitable by selling them to the apothecaries for
medical use.
Dunglison, in his Theraputics, says that the Cantharis
vittata, Lytta vittata, potato fly, is somewhat smaller than the
Spanish fly (Cantharis vesicatoria), its length being about six
lines. The head is of a light red color, with dark spots on
the top ; the feelers are black ; the elytra, or wing-cases,
black, with a yellow longitudinal stripe in the centre, and a
yellow margin; the thorax is black, with three yellow
lines ; and the abdomen and legs, which are of the same
color, are covered with an ash-colored down (Wood and
Bache). They are first observed about the end of July or
the beginning of August. They are found in the morning
and evening, and are collected by shaking them from the
plant in hot water, after which they are carefully dried in
the sun. It resembles the Spanish fly in all its properties.
Other species are found in the United States, viz: C.
cinerea, a native of the Northern and Middle states; C.
marginata; 0. atrata, common in Northern and Middle
400
states; but C. vittata is the only one that is officinal, op. cit.
sup. In England, according to Pereira, the blistering bee-
tle is found on species of the Oleacece, as the ash, privet, and
lilac, and upon the elder and lonicera. Cloths are spread
under the trees and the flies shaken upon them or beaten
with long poles ; the flies are then killed by being exposed
to the vapor of vinegar, hot water, or oil of turpentine.
Potato Coffee. — I have seen this used on several planta-
tions in lower Carolina as a substitute for coffee. It is one
of the best when carefully made by our Southern matrons.
The following is given as the mode of preparing and
using: the sweet potato is peeled and cut to the size of
coffee berries, spread in the sun until perfectly dry, then
parched in an oven or pan until thoroughly brown before
being ground. As much as is intended to be used is then
put into a cup with a little hot or cold wTater ; it is mixed
well until all is wet; boiling water is added, and it is set-
tled like coffee.
The mucilaginous liquor prepared from potatoes washed
and grated, the fecula being allowed to remain at the bot-
tom of the vessel, is used for cleansing silk, woollen, and
cotton goods without damage to the color. The coarse
pulp which does not pass the sieve is of use in cleansing
worsted curtains, carpets, tapestry, and other coarse goods ;
also in cleansing oil paintings.
Among the plants for supplying starch, none is superior
to the sweet potato — the red-skin variety, white within, is
preferred. Large supplies are made upon our plantations
by grating and washing out the starch granules, then dry-
ing. See Maranta arundinacea in this volume for mode of
making starch; also, Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufac-
tures, etc., vol. 2, p. 462, New York, 1853, for a paper on
the manufacture of sugar from the potato, with a table of
the amount of starch in the several varieties of the potato.
IIydroleace^e.
Itydrolea quadrivalvis. Immersed in ponds; collected in
St. John's. Fl. July.
A bitter principle exists in this genus.
401
LiOBELIACEjE.
Lindley states that all are dangerous or suspicious, in
consequence of the excessive acridity of their milk.
Lobelia inflata, L. Indian tobacco ; lobelia ; emetic-root.
Grows in Spartanburg and Abbeville districts, and in
Georgia. Ft. August.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 219 ; U. S. Disp. 434 ; Barton's
Collec. 36, 56 ; Thacher's IT. S. Disp. 267; Frost's Elems.;
Mat. M6d. 83. This is one of the most valuable of our
indigenous plants, well known as a nauseating diaphoretic
and expectorant, possessing some narcotic power, and act-
ing particularly on the bronchial mucous membranes. The
infusion of the flowers promotes urine, diaphoresis, and
the discharge of the lochia ; used also in convulsions and
palpitations of the heart. The juice which exudes from
the plant is of a penetrating and diffusible nature; from
its effects upon the eye it is called "eye-bright." The tinc-
ture, in small doses, is used to prevent colic and croup in
infants, just sufficient to produce slight nausea. The plant
in spirits is given largely in the bite of serpents and in-
sects, and the tincture applied externally is said to relieve
the pain caused by the stings of spiders and insects. See
the "Cherokee Physician." The infusion of the plant is
stimulating to the throat, and is largely employed in
asthma, as it occasions a copious secretion of saliva and
of mucous fluid: "It, however, sometimes operates vehe-
mently and speedily on the stomach." Lind. Nat. Syst.
Bot. 237; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 137. Chap-
man, Bigelow, and Barton spoke of it as a very active and
dangerous plant. Supplem. to Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. 1846, 438. Dr. Noach, of Leipsic, says that it acts
specifically on the "pneumogastric nervous system," and
consequently possesses such a remarkable influence on the
bronchial mucous membrane. In Geneva, also, it has
acquired great reputation in spasmodic asthma. See the
12th series of the Journal de Chim. et de Pharmacie, i, 454.
Dr. Elliotson cured two cases in four days with the alco-
26
402
holic tincture in a sufficient quantity of distilled water.
It has been found in Europe very useful in chronic bron-
chitis, aphony, and nervous affections of the bronchia, and
in laryngitis and hooping-cough. It has been administered
in convulsions, tetanus, and dance of St. Guj7. Mer.
Supplem. See also Lancet, February 23, 1838. The In-
dians used it as tobacco, and this is a convenient way of
administering it. Rufz, d'empoisonnement pratique par
les 2^"egres, 139; Sigmond on the properties of L. inflata
and syphilitica, in Journal de Chim. Med. ix, 587, 1833 ;
Glasgow Med. Journal, May, 1828; Bidault de Villiers,
notice sur l'emploi du Lob. inflat. dans l'asthme et comme
emetique, Nouv. Biblioth. Med. v. 226. Lobeline has been
extracted from it: Phil. Journal Pharm. 1834. Dr. Proctor
found it also to contain an odorous volatile principle, a
peculiar acid, lobelic, gum, resin, fixed oil, lignin, salts of
lime, potassa, oxide of iron, etc. Am. Journal Pharm. ix,
106, xiii, i. It has been used as an enema in the same way
as tobacco, and, in small doses, to produce relaxation of
the os uteri. Eberle employed it with success in a case of
strangulated hernia; he considers the root and inflated
capsule the most powerful parts of the plant. Am. Journal
Med. Sc. xvii, 248. Some have doubted whether it pro-
duces its effects in the same way as tobacco. Dr. Cutler,
who introduced it, says if the leaves be held in the mouth,
they induce giddiness and pain in the head, with agitation,
and finally nausea. Both Dr. Randall and himself found it
very efficacious in asthma, and employed it as a speedy
expectorant in catarrh ; the latter did not observe any
narcotic effect ensue from it in moderate doses. In Xew
England the infusion has been used advantageously in
leucorrhcea. The active principle is extracted by water
and alcohol; hot water is said to impair its emetic power;
te?i to twenty grains of the powdered leaves will act as an
emetic, a moiety less as an expectorant: two ounces of the
dried plant are added to one pint of diluted alcohol, of
which one teaspoonful given to an adult will generally
bring on nausea, and "sometimes vomiting. This is the
403
form in which it is usually prescribed in asthma, repeating
it several times a clay, and desisting when headache or
nausea ensues. Coxe, Am. Disp. 373 ; Big. Am. Med.
Bot. i, 179 ; Cutler, Mem. Am. Acad, i, 484; Schcepf, 128;
Mass. Report, vi; Griffith's Med. Bot 419; Raf. Med. Fl.
ii, 22. Great use is made of the lobelia in South Carolina
and Georgia — the steam and vegetable practitioners relying
on it. , Obstinate and very violent cases of flatulent colic,
which the tinctures of cardamom, etc., fail to relieve, we
know to be immediately dissipated by preparations of this
plant. See Matson's Veg. Pract. and Howard's Imp. Syst.
Bot. Med. 334. I have generally selected the tincture or
powder of lobelia wherever I thought relaxation was re-
quired, and where there was a tendency to spasmodic
action. Some physicians use the powder habitually as an
emetic ; others consider it too depressing for ordinary
cases, and prefer ipecacuanha. The habit of giving an
agent like this repeatedly, almost daily, throughout a long
attack of pneumonia, must certainly be injurious; it is,
nevertheless, adopted by some practitioners.
Lobelia syphilitica, L. Mountains of Carolina and Geor-
gia; jSVwbern. Fl. September.
Bart. M. Bot.; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 268. In the
Dem. Elem. cle Bot. ii, 92, it is spoken of as an acrid and
purgative plant: " Se guerissont de la verole en buvant
line decoction de cinq a six racines." Am. Herbal, 208.
The Indians employed the decoction internally and topi-
cally for lues; they communicated their opinion of its vir-
tues in this respect to Sir W. Johnson, who published it in
the April number of the Amam. Acad.; "Woodv. Med. Bot.
177; Kalm. L. C. ; Linn. Veg. M. Med. ; Thornton's Fam.
Herbal, 727. Dr. Wood, in the U. S. Disp. 436, allows its
emetic, diuretic, and cathartic properties, but denies it any
value in syphilis. Dr. Chapman states that it is beneficial
in dropsy. It is less powerful than the L. inflata, but more
diuretic and diaphoretic ; its diuretic effects are produced
by free doses, purging or vomiting as it is augmented.
404
From an analysis by M. Boissel, it is found to contain a
fatty, butyraceous matter, sugar, mucilage, a volatile bitter
substance, some salts, etc. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iv, 138 ; Des Bois de Rochefort, Mat. Med. ii, 212 ;
Diet, des Drogues, iii, 378. For analysis, see Journal de
Pharm. x, 623 ; Kalm. Description du Specifique contre
le Mai. Venerien, in the Mem. de l'Acad. de Storck, xii,
1750.
Lobelia cardinalis, L. Cardinal flower. Grows in inun-
dated soils, roots often immersed ; vicinity of Charleston ;
collected in St. John's, Charleston district; Richland, Prof.
Gibbes ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 268 ; Drayton's Views, 77 ; U. S.
Disp. 436; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv. 137;
De Candolle's Essai, 189 ; Journal de Pharm. iii. 470 ;
Bart. M. Bot. ii, 186 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 236 ; Griffith's
Med. Bot. 421. This plant is used by the Indians as an
anthelmintic — some say quite as efficient as the pinkroot.
(Spigelj llaryland.) Merat says it is employed as a poison
by the negroes at the Cape of Good Hope. It is well
known for its beautiful scarlet flowers.
Cinchonace^e. (The Co fee Tribe.)
The grand features of this order are powerful febrifugal
properties in the bark and emetic in the root. Quinquina
represents the first and ipecacuanha the second.
Pinckneya jmbens, Mich. Georgia bark. "Found from
New river, South Carolina, along the sea-coast to Florida."
Vicinity of Charleston, Bach. Named in honor of Gen.
C. C. Pinckney. Fl. June. Plants sent to me by Dr. F.
P. Pope from Bluffton, S. C.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 267 ; Coxe, Am. Disp. 1830 ; U.
S. Disp. 128; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 519; Griffith,
Med. Bot. 366. It was said by Michaux in his N. Am.
Sylva to be very useful in intermittent fever. Dr. Law,
of Georgia, cured six out of seven cases with it. It did
405
not distress the stomach, though to two patients one ounce
was given at a dose ; one drachm is the usual quantity in
which it is administered. Dr. Farr detected a considerable
amount of cinchonine in it, but was prevented from com-
pleting his examination. The attention of those residing
where it may be found is invited to it as a substitute for
quinine. In Georgia a handful of the bark is boiled in a
quart of water till the liquid is reduced to one-half; the
infusion is given.
Mitchella repens, L. Mitchella ; partridge-berry. Vicin-
ity of Charleston ; grows in shady swampy lands ; collected
in St. John's. Fl. May.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 199. An infusion of the stems
and leaves is used in dysuria, its diuretic powers, however,
not being of any importance. The "Cherokee Doctor"
declares that the " decoction taken freely is an excellent
article to facilitate childbirth. It should be used daily
for two or three weeks before that period ! " The fruit is
slightly acid, and is edible.
Cephalanthus occidentalis. Button-bush. Grows along
rivulets in damp soils ; collected in St. John's ; specimens
from Aiken ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 187; Drayton's View, 62; Mer.
and de L. Diet, de Med. ii, 176; Shec. Flora Carol. 376.
The decoction has been used in palsy. Elliott states that
the inner bark of the root is frequently employed in obsti-
nate coughs. Merat notices it as an anti-venereal. A
writer in the "Mercury" says: "The root of the button-
wood or crane willow, a shrub which is conspicuous in our
swamps in the spring, when boiled with honey and cum-
frey, makes a pleasant syrup, which is the most effective
remedy known to me in diseases of the lungs. It is
thought by many intelligent persons to be a radical cure for
consumption."
Cojfea Arabica, L. Coffee. Exotic.
Should the culture of coffee be attempted in the Con-
406
federate States, I would refer the reader to Patent Office
Reports, Agriculture, 1858, p. 313, for an instructive con-
densed report on the mode of cultivation in Jamaica,
Central America, and other countries, with the mode of
planting, harvesting, curing, etc., etc. See "Potato " and
"Rye" for substitutes for coffee.
RuBiACEiE. [The Madder Tribe.)
Rubia tinctorium. Madder. Exotic,
Any one interested in ascertaining what amount of any
plant, vegetable or agricultural product was exported from
or imported into the United States, can obtain a list of
quantities and value in Patent Office Reports, 1858. It
serves to show the consumption of certain articles, the
demand for them, and the consequent necessity for their
cultivation. I find upon consulting these tables, that
madder, for example, was imported to an enormous
amount, twenty million pounds, for calico-printing, dye-
ing, etc.; a plant which might be cultivated within our
limits. See method, Patent Office Reports, 1855. So, also,
soda, barilla, coffee, and numerous other articles which we
are or were in the habit of importing. We may find
among the genus Galium some plants yielding dyes —
Galium trifidum, L. and hispidulum (Rubia JBrownii, Mx.),
grows from Florida to jSTorth Carolina. G. verum, found
in England, contains so much pigment as to have been
cultivated in place of madder. "Its flowering tops boiled
in alum dye a bright yellow color, its roots yield a red dye
equal to that of madder, and the whole of the plant when
bruised has the property of curdling milk, and is some-
times employed both for coloring and flavoring milk in-
tended for cheeses;" hence called cheese-rennet. Rural
Cyc.
Since writing the above I see it stated by Pursh that the
Indians use our G. tr(fidum, L. (G. tinctorium) for dyeing
their porcupine quills, feathers, leather, etc., of a beautiful
red color.
407
Oldenlandia, Houstonia, Medyotis. These plants, growing
abundantly in the Confederate States, and belonging to the
madder tribe, should be experimented with for tinctorial
purposes.
CAPRiFOLiACBiE. {The Honeysuckle Tribe.)
Independently of the fragrance and beauty of these
plants, astringent and purgative properties are possessed
by some of them.
Triosteum perfoliatum, Linn. Fever-root ; wild ipecacu-
anha; wild coffee ; horse gentian.
Bart. M. Bot. i, 59 ; Barton's Collec. 29 ; Ell. Bot. Med.
Notes, i, 271 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 91 ; Raf. Med. Fl. i,
59 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 353. This plant acts as a gentle
but certain cathartic, particularly when combined with cal-
omel, when its operation is almost as marked as that of
jalap. The bark of the root is also emetic, the leaves and
stalks proving less powerful. To produce its cathartic
effect Bigelow finds a somewhat larger dose than that of
aloes or jalap necessary, though it is supposed to be influ-
enced by age. Rafinesque says the leaves are also diapho-
retic ; and it is stated by Dr. Muhlenberg that the hard
seeds, properly prepared, are a good substitute for coffee.
Randall, in his communication to the Linnsean society,
asserts that water extracts its virtues best; but it is now
recommended to be treated with alcohol. The decoction is
said to be used by the Cherokee Indians in the cure of
fevers ; also given hot in colds and female obstructions.
The dose as a purge is from ten to fifteen grains of the
extract, and twenty to thirty grains of the powdered root.
Dose of the extract from ten to twenty grains.
Triosteum angustifolium, Linn. Grows in South Carolina.
Dr. Tinker's weed.
Griffith Med. Bot. 353. Possesses properties similar to
those of the T. perfoliatum,
408
Lonicera semjpervirens, Ait. and T. and G. \ "Woodbine.
Caprifolium, Ell. Sk. J Grows in wet
swamps ; more abundant in lower country ; vicinity of
Charleston ; collected in St. John's. Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 143. The plant is
not much used in medicine. The syrup made of the leaves
is given in asthma, and in angina tonsillaris. The leaves and
bark of the L. caprifolium of Linn, are styptic and acrid ;
the flowers diuretic ; the latter in decoction calm the pain
of colic (coliques ou tranchees) following childbirth.
Diervitta trifida, Mcench. and T. and G. ^ Bush honey-
" Canadensis, Ell. Sk. Muhl. \ suckle. Grows
Lonicera diervilla, Linn. ) in the moun-
tains of South Carolina and Georgia. Fl. June.
Dem. Eem. de Bot. iii, 554. The leaves possess a nar-
cotic principle, inducing nausea, and are recommended as
a gargle in catarrhal angina. The decoction calms the
pain attending the disease ; taken largely it causes stupor
and catalepsy.
Sambncus Canadensis, Linn. Elder. Grows abundantly
in South Carolina along fences, and in rich, damp soils ;
diffused ; Newbern. Fl. June.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 248 ; Bell's Pract. Diet. 404 ; Dray-
ton's View, 55; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 325; U. S. Disp. 625;
Eoyle, Mat. Med. 423 ; Cullen, Mat. Med. ii, 534 ; Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 196 ; Griffith, Med. Bot.
354. " The leaves are fetid, emetic, and a drastic purga-
tive;" the plant acting in the same way as the European
species, the S. nigra ; the leaf-buds also operating as a pow-
erful purgative. The flowers are excitant and sudorific,
and are used in the form of an ointment as a discutient.
The inner bark is a hydragogue cathartic and emetic, act-
ing well in dropsy, and as an alterative in various chronic
diseases. The purgation which results from its employ-
ment is sometimes, however, too severe. The berries are
diaphoretic and aperient, and are used as a remedy in
409
rheumatic gout and syphilitic affections. The juice of
these diluted with water furnishes a cooling and valuable
laxative drink. This plant is employed to some extent in
domestic practice for the purposes severally referred to
above. A decoction made by pouring boiling water over
the leaves, flowers, or berries of the elder is recommended
as a wash for wounds to prevent injury from flies. An
ointment used for the same purpose is prepared by stirring
the elder or mixing the juice into lard while boiling, and
straining through a coarse sieve. Beeswax may be added.
According to Mr. Cozzens, the ripe berries afford a delicate
test for acids and alkalies.
The leaves of the English elder (S. nigra) are noxious to
insects, moles, etc. The flowers are used in fomentations
and cooling ointments. " The leaves boiled in lard make
one of the most emollient and suppling unguents known to
the farmer. The flowers are used for making a perfumed,
distilled water. The berries, according to experiments of
M. Wehrle, of Vienna, produce a comparatively much
larger quantity of spirits than can be obtained from the
malt of the best wheat. The juice in these experiments
was expressed from the berries, treated in the same manner
as the must of grapes, and afterward distilled." "Wilson's
Rural Cyc. It would be interesting to ascertain to what
extent our species share the above properties.
Composite.
These embrace four orders, all of which are distinguished
by bitterness, which in the different sections is variously
combined. In the order Asteracejs it assumes a particular
character, being united with a resinous principle; in the
Cynarace^e this bitterness depends upon the mixture of
extractive with a gum, which is sometimes yielded in great
abundance; the Chichorace,e are characterized by a juice,
which is milky, bitter, astringent, and narcotic.
Vernonia angustifolia, Mx. Grows in the pine lands in
lower country; collected in St. John's. Fl, July,
410
The root is used by the negroes in South Carolina as a
remedy for the bite of serpents. It is also considered by
them to be aphrodisiac.
Liatris odoratissima, Walt. Wild vanilla. St. John's, S.
C. ; Wassamasa swamp ; North Carolina, near sea-coast
(Croom).
Very aromatic. Used for scenting cigars. The aroma is
abundantly given out when trodden upon by horses' feet.
Liatris squarrosa, W. Crows in pine lands; collected in
St. John's; Richland district; vicinity of Charleston.
IT. S. Disp. 1273; Journal de Chim. Med. v, 419. "Y
sont usitees contre la morsure des serpens." Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 97.
Liatris scariosa, W. Grows in pine lands ; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 1273, Appendix. It is employed in gonor-
rhoea, and as a gargle in sore throat.
Liatris spicata, W. Crows in wet pine lands ; collected
in St. John's, Charleston district; vicinity of Charleston;
iSTewbern. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 1272. One of the "rattlesnake's masters."
Dr. Barton said that all the tuberous-rooted Liatres were
active plants.
This plant, called " button-snakeroot" by some, is report-
ed to be a stimulant, diuretic, and expectorant; also pos-
sessing powers as an anodyne ; it is consequently given as
a remedy in colic, the tincture or the decoction of the root
being employed — said to resemble senega snakeroot, and
to excite a flow of saliva when chewed.
Eupatorium perfoliatum, Linn. Thoroughwort ; boneset.
Grows in damp soils ; diffused ; Richland district ; common
in low country. Fl. July.
Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. i, 387, and ii, 435 ; Bell's
411
Pract. Diet. 197 ; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 303 ; Pe. Mat.
Med. and Therap. 389; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 216;
Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 216 ; Royle, Mat. Med. 445 ; U. 8.
Disp. 319 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 197 ; Big. Am. Med.
Bot. i, 34 ; Thacher's Am. Disp. 217 ; Am. Med. Record,
iii, 331; Barton's Essay to Mat. Med. 28; Ball, and Gar.
Mat. Med. 315 ; Schcepf, Mat. Med. 121 ; Guthrie, in An-
nal. of Med. iii, 403 ; Anderson's Inaug. Thesis, New York ;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 177 ; Coxe, Am. Disp.
271; "Shec. Flora Carol. 549; Bart. M. Bot. ii, 133; Lind.
Nat. Syst. Bot. 253. A warm infusion of this plant is
emetic, sudorific, and diaphoretic ; employed cold as a tonic
and febrifuge. The hot decoction may be given in the hot
stages of fevers without exciting the system. Small quan-
tities of the cold infusion, repeatedly given will, it is said,
>purge, and are prescribed in constipation. The leaves and
flowers, in powder, also purge, given in doses of ten to
twenty grains. The discharge of bile is promoted by it.
It has been repeatedly prescribed with advantage in rheu-
matism, typhoid pneumonia, catarrhs, dropsy, and in the
influenza which prevailed at the North, and which was de-
scribed b}7 Dr. Rush ; he also used it with great success in
the yellow fever of 1798 ; and Dr. Chapman found it one
of the most effectual remedies in the epidemic called the
"break-bone fever." Graves, of Dublin, has made much
use of it in the ship, or typhus fever. See note to Graves
and Gerhard, Am. ed. This plant is extensively employed
among the negroes on the plantations in South Carolina as
a tonic and diaphoretic in colds and fevers, and in the ty-
phoid pneumonia so prevalent among them. In a few cases
which have come under my observation, I have found this
and the senega snakeroot [Poly gala senega) convenient and
useful prescriptions in this disease; the latter, with tartar
emetic solution, to promote expectoration ; and the former,
with flaxseed tea, as a stimulant diaphoretic, combining
them with spirits of turpentine when it has assumed the
typhoid form. From its action on the capillaries, it has
been recommended in chronic cutaneous diseases. Barton
412
said it possessed no power in this regpect ; but in the hands
of Dr. Zollickoffer it has proved eminently successful in
tinea capitis, given in combination with cremor tartar. See
Griffith, Med. Bot. 391. In the Supplem. to the Diet, de
M. Med., 1846, it is reported to have been given with benefit
in asthma. Echo du Monde Savant, 16 ; Janvier, 1845.
The infusion of the roots and leaves is usually preferred, of
which one to three ounces may be taken several times a
day; of the root, in powder, the dose is thirty grains. As
an emetic and cathartic a strong decoction is used, made by
boiling an ounce of the herb in three half-pints of water to
one pint ; given in doses of one or two gills or more.
Given hot, it acts as a diaphoretic ; cold, as a tonic.
Thoroughwort or boneset tea used hot, in the cold stages
of malarial fever, and cold in the hot stages, is believed by
many physicians in South Carolina, who have used it since
the beginning of the war, to be the very best of our indige-
nous antiperiodics as a substitute for quinine. It is thought
to be superior in this respect to either poplar bark (Lirioden-
dron tulipifera), willow (Salix), or dogwood. It is also an
excellent stimulating diaphoretic in low fevers.
The plants just mentioned, the blackberry, chinquapin,
(Ga&tama) and dogwood to be used as astringents, the
gentians, pipsissewa, Sabbatia, etc., as bitter tonics, can
easily be obtained by our soldiers while in camp, and they
will be found to fulfil all the indications required in most
cases of fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, catarrhs, etc. In the
formation of demulcent drinks, as substitutes for flaxseed
and gum-arabic, the roots and leaves of the sassafras, and
the leaves of the Bene (Sesamum) will suffice. The Podo-
phyllum (wild jalap) will supply the purgative ; therefore,
with the possession of opium and calomel, the surgeon in
the field can himself obtain almost everything desired, and
with comparatively little aid from the Medical Purveyors.
Our chief desiderata now are the preparations of potash,
viz : nitrate chlorate and bicarbonate, and sup. carb. of soda.
We may procure soda from our Salsola kali.
The winter-green (Chimaphila umbellata) is both tonic and
413
diuretic, and may be given with advantage in dropsy. In
examining* (1862) the excrescences produced by an insect on
nearly all the leaves of the cotton-wood tree [Populus hete-
rophylla, L.) I find them possessed of an intensely bitter
principle, which may be made useful as a tonic given in
spirits. The cinquefoil (Potentilla) is mucilaginous, and I
am informed that in Sumter district, S. C, it is used with
great advantage as a remedy in affections of the lungs,
chronic colds, etc. The "Indian doctors" make a pill to
act upon the liver, which they call the "hepatic pill," by
boiling thoroughwort leaves until their strength is extract-
ed, then strain the decoction and continue boiling till it
becomes thick — an extract in other words. It is made up
with starch into pills, and three are given at a dose. See
"Indian Guide to Health."
Eupatorium purpureum, L. Purple thoroughwort; gravel
root. I have a specimen from Abbeville district from Mr.
Reed ; Richland district ; collected in St. John's, Charles-
ton district ; grows in damp or inundated soils ; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 319 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii,
177. It is said to operate as a diuretic ; and it is one of
the popular remedies for calculus, probably possessing prop-
erties somewhat similar to those of the Eup. per/.
Eupatorium teucrifolium, W. and T. and G. 1 Wild
" verbencefolium, Ell. Sk. j horehound.
Grows in damp soils ; collected in St. John's. Fl. August.
Michaux, Flora Amer. ii, 98 ; U. S. Disp. 319. This is
tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and aperient. A popular
remedy in intermittents. See observations of Dr. Jones,
of Georgia. It may be substituted in some cases for the
Eup. perfol.
Eupatorium rotimdifolium, L. Grows in dry pine barrens ;
collected in St. John's, Berkley ; vicinity of Charleston ;
Richland district. Fl. July and August.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 177 ; Journal Gen.
414
de Med. xxxvi, 111. The infusion is said to be useful in
consumption. See Dr. Mitchell's letter.
Ewpatorium fceniculacewn, Willd. Dog-fennel.
This plant is said to tan leather in an extraordinarily short
space of time, by a process which attracted much attention
during the fall of 1861. Strange that in my examination
of this plant, with that of others, I found that it contained
scarcely a trace of tannin. But the common name of dog-
fennel has been applied to the ox-e}-ed daisy (Leucanthe-
mum vidgare, Lam.), and to the wild chamomile (JSIaruta,
cotida), or stinking Mayweed. Since my publication advis-
ing the myrtle as a material for tanning, I see a notice of
its being used by Mr. Cummings for the purpose. It is
believed by some that the presence of this plant indicates
the existence of the cause of malarial fevers. It is used to
keep off insects and bugs by strewing on the floors of
cellars and dairies.
The Tallahassee Floridian (1861) says :
" Leather tanned by the new process. — "We have seen a
specimen of kip leather said to be tanned by Isaac Bier-
field, of aSTewberry, S. C, in twenty days, with his dog-
fennel preparation. The sample was soft and pliable, and
had all the appearance of being equal to the best French
leather. We understand that our shoemakers so pro-
nounce it.
"Everybody knows what dog-fennel is, and will be glad
to learn that it is of some account after all. The weed
grows in great abundance and perfection in all parts of
Florida. Mr. Bierfield says that now is the time to gather
it, and that it should be put under shelter. Planters
would do well to lay by a goodly portion of it, as it may
prove highly valuable in the manufacture of their leather."
I have not been able to procure, by application made to
Mr. Bierfield, any specimens of the plant.
Aster iortifolius, Mx. Mouse-ear. Vicinity of Charles-
ton ; grows in dry pine barrens : collected in St. John's.
415
This plant has some reputation in domestic practice in
South Carolina as a diuretic. I have noticed the summit
generally covered with little insects.
Aster cordifolium. Grows in rich lands. Fl. August.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 387. It possesses antispasmodic prop-
erties. A small species (Diplopappus Unarifolius, Hooker,
Aster, Ell. Sk.) grows in pine barrens, St. John's, S. C, the
leaves of which contain an unusual amount of silica ; they
are employed to polish horns, and as a substitute for sand-
paper.
Erigeron Canadense, L. Colt's-tail ; flea-bane. Common
in damp, sandy soils; collected in St. John's; vicinity of
Charleston ; Richland, Gibbes ; Kewbern. Fl. July.
Royle, Mat. Med. 447 ; Matson's Veg. Prac. 368 ; U. S.
Disp. 316; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 140;
Journal de Bot. 448 ; et des Pharm. 214 ; Coxe, Am. Disp.
268 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 395 ; D6m. £lem. de Bot. 200 ;
Raf. Med. Fl.
This is a stimulant tonic, diuretic, and astringent,
employed with marked success in dropsy and diarrhoaa; it
is much used by the vegetable practitioners in the latter
disease ; they give a teacupful of the infusion of the herb
in hot water every two hours ; when chewed it relieves
cholera morbus. Dr. Depuz found it useful in these
diseases. See his observations quoted in the U. S. Disp.
316. He found tannin, gallic acid, and volatile oil among
its constituents, from whence its beneficial action in the
diseases specified may be inferred. An infusion of the
powdered flowers is antispasmodic, and is employed in
hysterical and nervous affections. The oil obtained from
the plant possesses extraordinary styptic properties. The
dose of the powder is thirty grains to one drachm.
Erigeron Philadelphicum, L. iSTon. Ell. Frost-root. Com-
mon in pastures ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. May.
Liud. Nat. Syst/Bot. 253; Shec. Flora Carol. 537;
416
Royle, Mat. Med. 447; Bart. M. Bot. i, 234; IT. S. Disp.
317. It is diuretic, without being offensive to the stomach.
Fr. Elems. 81. In great repute as a remedy in calculus
and in nephritic diseases. It was a favorite prescription in
Philadelphia in dropsy, and Dr. Wistar recommends it in
hydrothorax complicated with gout. The plant is officinal.
One ounce of the plant to be administered in infusion or
decoction of one pint in twenty-four hours.
Erigeron strigosum, Muhl. Grows in sandy soils ; vicin-
ity of Charleston.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 396. It is similar in properties to
the jE7. annuum, a favorite diuretic in the dysuria of chil-
dren— used by Physick and Dewees in painful micturition
dependent on nephritis. This also yields a styptic oil
similar to that afforded by the E. Canadense.
Erigeron pusilum, Grows in pastures and cultivated
soils ; collected in St. John's. Fl. June.
IT. S. Disp. 316.
/o odora, Ait. Golden rod. Grows in rich soils,
among the mountains, and in the upper districts, accord-
ing to Ell. Collected in St. John's also; Newbern. Fl.
October.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. 437 ; IT. S. Disp. 679 ;
Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 189. An aromatic, moderately
stimulant, and carminative plant, and like other substances
of the same class, diaphoretic in warm infusion. It is used
to allay pain from flatulence, lessen nausea, and cover the
taste or correct the operation of irritating or unpleasant
medicines. Merat states that the infusion is also employed
as an astringent in dysentery, and in ulceration of the
intestines. Journal Gen. de Med. xxxvi, 3. When the
leaves are subjected to distillation a very aromatic, volatile
oil collects, and an essence may be made by dissolving this
in proof spirits. This will also stop vomiting and correct
the taste of medicines, even laudanum and castor oil ;
417
Griffith, Med. Bot. 397, observes that it is valuable in
allaying the pain from headache, externally applied. It is
much used in the Eastern states, and Bigelow thinks it will
entirely supplant more expensive articles. According to
Pursh, the dried flowers are a pleasant and wholesome
substitute for tea.
Solidago Canadensis, L., ) Margin of fields. Used in
" ^mocera, Ell. J Canada as a most valuable dye.
The leaves^ and flowers of the English species are used
for making a yellow dye; said to be as good as woad.
Eng. Flora, v. iii, Farm. Encyc. Its stalks are numerous,
straight, and grow almost five feet in height; they afford
very strong fibres if treated in the same manner as hemp.
Solidago sempervirens, L. Narrow leaf golden-rod. Grows
in wet lands ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. September.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 437. Very effica-
cious in the cure of wounds.
Inula helenium. Elecampane. Mountains of North Caro-
lina. Chap. Introduced.
Inuline, a vegetable substance of closely kindred nature
to starch and dextrine, was discovered by Rose in Elecam-
pane, and takes its name from the old botanical designation
of that plant (I. helenium). It is spontaneously deposited
from a decoction of the roots of Elecampane, and it consti-
tutes the greater part of the solid matter of the tubes, both
of the dahlia and the Jerusalem artichoke. It is a white
powder, and consists by analysis of Payen of 46.6 per cent,
of carbon, 6.1 of hydrogen, and 49.3 of oxygen. It is solu-
ble in hot water, being distinct from both gum and starch
by its insolubility in cold water. But when exposed to a
temperature of three hundred and seven degrees, it com-
pletely melts, acquires new properties, and becomes solu-
ble both in cold water and in alcohol. Boussino;ault
showed that it is not colored by iodine, while acetic acid,
which is without action on starch, produces with inuline
27
I 418
precisely the same effects as the sulphuric and other acids ;
finally, diastase, whose reaction upon starch is so peculiar, so
prompt, and so powerful, does not cause any change in inu-
line. It is, therefore, easy to separate these two substances
when they are mingled, by heating the mixture either with
acetic acid, which dissolves the inuline, or with diastase,
which dissolves the starch. I insert the above from Wil-
son's Rural Cyc. and Boussingault's treatise on account of
the interesting nature of the product. See, also, works on
chemistry. The roots should be dug in autumn, and in the
second year of their growth, as when older they are apt to
be stringy and woody. The dried root has a very peculiar
and agreeable aromatic odor, slightly camphorous. The
taste at first is glutinous and somewhat similar to that of
rancid soap ; upon chewing it becomes warm, aromatic,
and bitter. In its medical properties, elecampane is tonic
and gently stimulant. By the ancients used in diseases of
females ; in the United States mostly confined to diseases
of the lungs. It has also been extolled when applied ex-
ternally for the cure of itch, tetter, and other diseases of
the skin. Farmer's Encyc.
Baccharis halimifolia, Jj. Sea myrtle; consumption weed.
Grows along the sea-coast ; collected in St. John's, where
it is found in abundance ; vicinity of Charleston ; JSTew-
bern. Fl. October.
Shec. Flora. Carol. 256. This plant is of undoubted
value, and of very general use in popular practice in South
Carolina, as a palliative and demulcent in consumption and
cough ; I have frequently seen it used with advantage, and
have often heard those employing it confess the benefit de-
rived from it. A strong decoction of the root may be
drunk several times a day. It is slightly bitter and mucil-
aginous to the taste. No analysis has yet been made, so
far as I can learn. Shecut states that the " bark is said to
exude a gum so much resembling honey as to attract bees
in great numbers." This, like many others of our indige-
nous plants possessed of unequivocal utility, is unnoticed
in the dispensatories and other works.
419
Pterocaulon pycnostachyum. Grows abundantly in dry
pine barrens; collected in St. John's, Berkley. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 324. Much use is made of this
plant in St. John's, Berkley, as an alterative; it is supposed
to be possessed of decided value. It is well known as the
blackroot of the negroes. A decoction of the root is given
several times a day.
Xanthium strumarium,~L. Burr; burdock. Grows abun-
dantly in cultivated lands ; collected in St. John's, Berk-
ley; vicinity of Charleston; Richland, Gibbes. Fl. Au-
gust.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 970 ; Dioscorides,
lib. iv, 133. It has been used in scrofula. The only works
in which we have been able to find any account of it are
the Dem. filem. de Bot. iii, 91, where the leaves are said to
be astringent, the seeds diuretic, and the expressed juice
useful in affections of the bladder, and as an auxiliary
remedy in the treatment of ringworm ; also in Linnaeus,
Vegetable Mat. Med. 172, according to which it is found
beneficial in herpes and in erysipelas ; hence, we may infer
that it has at any rate some power as an alterative. Its
leaves afford a yellow dye. No use is made of it in South
Carolina or Georgia, so far as I can ascertain. The plant
is considered a nuisance by farmers, as the burrs get entan-
gled in the wool of sheep, from which they are with diffi-
culty removed.
Verbesina Virginica, Linn. Grows along fences ; collect-
ed in St. John's; Richland district. Fl. July.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 380. The root, in decoction, is said
to be a powerful sudorific.
Ambrosia arteiyiisicefolia, "W. Rag-weed. Grows in culti-
vated lands and pastures; collected in St. John's, Charles-
ton district.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 227. The plant is
ueed in fevers in Maryland as a substitute for quinine; a
420
tincture is made, or the juice given with whiskey. It is
very bitter, and is thought to be useful.
Ambrosia trifida, Linn.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 387. A plant has been noticed by
Dr. Robertson (Am. Journal Med. Sci. xii, 382, new series),
which appears to be this, which is highly beneficial in ar-
resting excessive salivation.
Eclipta erecta, Linn. T. and Gray. 1 Collected in St.
" procumbens, Ell. Sk. J John's; dry soils;
vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 387. It is said to stain the hair black.
Helianihus tuberosus. Artichoke. Cultivated in South
Carolina.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 1846, p. 351.
The root washed in water, and given to animals, will, it
is said, produce meteorism ("meteorizations mortelles").
Nouv. Biblioth. Med. viii, 426.
In Patent Office Reports, p. 578, 1848, a paper on the
culture of the Jerusalem artichoke, translated from the
French, is published. This contains a full description of
its various uses as an article of food, etc. I will enumerate
some of them :
The tubers are regarded in Alsatia, and near Strasburg,
as an excellent nutriment for milch cows; equally good
as food for horses, which are thus kept in a good condition,
and sustain hard labor. With the addition of salt, they
are also useful in feeding sheep. The tubers compare very
well with the potato in the amount of dry matter they con-
tain, and its relative value as a root-plant used for fodder is
maintained. The " stalks are of nearly as great use as the
tubers ; and here is the advantage which it has over the po-
tato." Even if the stalk is cut early in September, which
diminishes the size of the tubers, it is compensated for by
the supply of green food at that early period. According
to Schwertz's experiments, one hundred kilogrammes of
421
the green stalks equal, as regards nutritious qualities,
31.250 kilogrammes of our hay. The stalks of the arti-
ehoke can be employed even should they be allowed to
remain till the tubers are ripe, when they are readily eaten
by all domestic animals. "Finally, the stalks of artichokes
have for fuel a value which no other product of field cul-
ture has. To prepare them for use they are cut in two,
and made up into fagots. This fuel is especially adapted
for heating ovens or furnaces."
It bears a great amount of cold. It can be left in the
ground all winter, and does not easily suffer from heat. It
is well adapted even to dry and poor soils. The article
which I condense contains full information as to the best
mode of planting, gathering, etc. "Kade, an Alsatian,
saw the same soil produce every year for thirty years a tol-
erable crop of stalks and tubers of this plant, though it had
not for a long time received either culture or manure."
Early in April is the best time to plant, but even in winter
they can be put in the ground. Withered tubers may be
used as seed if soaked; but planting of pieces or cuttings
has not the same success as with the potato. Unless the
season is too moist the tubers may be left in the ground all
winter. To preserve them when gathered " it is sufficient
to make a heap and cover them with earth, for they are not
affected by cold unless when exposed to the open air. The
stalks intended to serve as fodder in place of hay are cut
with a sickle, and carefully dried by leaning them up in
heaps." M. Vilmerne, of the Agricultural Society of Lyons,
remarks that the artichoke was known as an esculent plant
by the Romans, but neglected in the dark ages, till it again
came into notice in the sixteenth century. Almost all
parts of this plant, he says, may be rendered useful. The
leaves yield an extract which may be substituted for quinine.
The leaves themselves may be cooked and eaten after the
fruit is gathered, or used as fodder mixed with certain
grasses. They may be substituted for hops in making
beer, and they contain a great proportion of potash.
The Jerusalem artichoke contains a very large propor-
422
tion of starch. It is used for making pickles, and eaten as
a vegetable. It is easily cultivated, gives less trouble
than almost any other plant, reproduces with scarcely any
attention, and is a most valuable food for cattle, hogs, etc.
See Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, etc. ; Thae'r's
Science of Agriculture.
Among our best plants which may be cultivated for
starch may be mentioned the potato, .wheat, rice, arrow-
root (Maranta arundinacea), corn, etc. For methods, see
Ure, and domestic receipt books.
Helianthus annuus. Sunflower. Cult.
Evaporation takes place in plants to an inconceivable
degree under certain circumstances. It is known by the
experiments of Dr. Hales that a sunflower plant will lose
as much as one pound fourteen ounces by perspiration in
twelve hours. " Taking all things into account, a sunflower
perspires seventeen times more than a man."
The French make a moxa out of the pith of the sun-
flower. The English use for this purpose cotton dipped in
a solution of saltpetre.
A few years since Commander Maury recommended the
sunflower to be planted around exposed residences, as a
barrier against malaria.
The seeds are used for fattening poultry, as they are
highly nutritous. One hundred pounds of the seed of the
sunflower are said to yield forty pounds of oil. The refuse
after expression furnishes excellent food for cattle. "From
the leaves of the plant cigars are manufactured, of singular
pectoral qualities. The stalk affords a superior alkali."
(Mrs. Ellsworth.)
The following I extract from the Farmer's Encyclopaedia:
"An acre of land will contain twenty-five thousand sun-
flower plants, twelve inches distant from each other. The
produce will be according to the nature of the soil and
mode of cultivation ; but the average has been found to be
fifty bushels of the seed per acre, which will yield fifty
gallons of oil. The oil is excellent for table use, burning
423
in lamps, and for the manufacture of soaps. The marc, or
refuse of the seeds after the oil has been expressed, made
into cake, will produce fifteen hundred pounds, and the
stalks when burnt for alkali will give ten per cent, of
potassa. The green leaves of the sunflower when dried
and burnt to powder make excellent fodder for milch cows,
mixed with bran. From the ease with which sunflowers
are produced in gardens (for they seem to flourish in any
soil, and to require no particular care), we may safely say-
that an acre of land will yield a considerable return.
Poultry are very fond of the seeds."
The following appeared in the "Atlanta Commonwealth,"
1862 :
"Sunflower seed and ground-nut oil. — The fact has been
known for some time that the crop of linseed oil was
short, and that there would, in consequence, be a great
scarcity of linseed oil. Very naturally those interested
began to look around for a substitute, and the oils of cotton
seed, sunflowers, and pea-nuts have been favorably men-
tioned. How far either will serve as a substitute we do
not know; but certainly the oil extracted from some one or
all of them might subserve some useful end.
" We recollect that some years ago the cultivation of the
sunflower was strongly urged in an agricultural periodical
for various useful purposes ; first, for a bee pasture ;
secondly, the seeds were good for poultry, or the manufac-
ture of oil; and then, after the oil was expressed, to be
compressed into oil-cake for cow-food and fattening hogs ;
the leaves for fodder and the stalk for wrapping paper. In
the present condition of the country, these suggestions
may not be without value.
" The manufacture of oil from cotton seed, we believe,
has been carried on for some time in !N"ew Orleans, and
expressed seed made into oil-cake for cow-food. We see
no reason why this oil should not be made in any desirable
quantity and with great profit, as well as serve most of the
purposes for which oil is used."
Anthemis. See Maruta.
424
Maruta cotula, D. C, T. and G. "I Wild chamomile ;
Anthemis, Ell. Sk. J May -weed. Grows
in dry soils; collected in St. John's, Berkley; vicinity of
Charleston ; liTewbern. Fl. July.
Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 741 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. i, 741 ; Ed. and Yav. Mat. Med. 263 ; IT. S. Disp.
278 ; Shec. Flora Carol. 171 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 398. A
tonic, diaphoretic, and emetic; resembling chamomile in
its effects, to which it is full}7 equal, but more nauseous.
It is one of our most useful domestic remedies, and is
given in numerous diseases. It is also possessed of some
power as an antispasmodic. A decoction acts as a sudor-
ific and anodyne, and is given in colds and hysterical
attacks. Merat mentions it as a substitute for assafcetida,
that it is employed as an antihysteric, and is recommended
in rebellious bilious fever. Dr. Ash by speaks of it as a
prompt and powerful vesicant when bruised and applied to
the surface as a poultice. Barton and Rafinesque had con-
veyed a different impression concerning it. Dr. Ashby
adds that unlike blisters caused by other vegetable irri-
tants, the vesications readily heal. Journal Phil. Coll.
Pharm. Every part of the plant is fetid and acrid, has
minute resinous dots upon its surface, and when much
handled blisters the skin. Rural C}7c. The flowers of the
medicinal chamomile are powerfully antiseptic — one hun-
dred and twenty times superior to salt.
Achillea millefolium, L. Milfoil; yarrow. Grows in damp,
rich soils; collected in St. John's, Berkley; vicinity of
Charleston ; ISTewbern. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 1225, Appendix; Le Mat. Med. ii, 108; Ed.
and Vav, Mat. Med. 267; Bergii, Mat. Med. 738; Hoff-
mann, "De Prfestantia Remed. Domest. ;" Matson's Veg.
Pract, 299; Mer. and de L. Diet, de Mat. Med. i, 22;
Shec. Flora Carol. 91; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 253; Woodv.
Med. Bot. 180. This is an astringent; employed in the
suppression of hemorrhages. The Highlanders made an
ointment of it to dry up wounds. Linnaeus informs us
425
that the inhabitants of Delecarnia mix it with ale in place
of hops, and think it imparts to the liquor an intoxicating
quality. Lightfoot's Flora Scotica, 486; Thornton's Fam.
Herb. A tablespoonful of the expressed juice will arrest
spitting of blood ; and it is also valuable as an astringent
in dysentery. Dr. Buckwald says he experienced great
benefit from the plant in the bleeding piles. Stahl boasted
of it as a specific; and the great Haller asserts that the infu-
sion, taken inwardly, with the outward application of the
leaves, cut fine, will dissipate dreadful wounds — cicatrizing
them rapidly. Stahl, Diss, de Therap. ; Hoffman, "De
Pnestant. Remed." 18 ; Linnaeus, Flora Shec. 299. Besides
the astringent, it possesses a mild, antispasmodic, tonic
power, which renders it beneficial in hysterical affections
and in leucorrhoea. The flowers are stronger than the
leaves, being somewhat similar to chamomile, and yielding
by distillation a small quantity of essential oil of a blue
color. Dr. Grew says it resembles contrayerva in its
effects. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 1846,
p. 5. See Analysis in Bull, des Sci. Med. de Ferus, xxii,
119, and xxvi, 253; Soc. de Med. Botanique de Londres,
1830. It is asserted that this plant has a marked tonic
power upon the bladder ; it is employed in debility of that
organ, and is especially useful in correcting the involun-
tary discharge of urine in children. A handful of the
leaves is infused in a pint of boiling water, and three
ounces may be taken by an adult three times a day. See
Culverwell's treatment. This plant might be found of
great service by practitioners residing in the country.
The leaves of yarrow, or milfoil, are said by Johnson, in
his Chemistry of Common Life, to "have the property of
producing intoxication. These are also used in the north
of Sweden by the Delecarnians to give headiness to their
beer."
Tanacetum vidgare, L. Tans}^. Sparingly nat. in North
Carolina. Chap.
Plant emits a strong but not unpleasant odor, and has a
426
bitter taste; said to possess tonic, cordial, and anthelmintic
properties. Rural Cyc. See, also, medical authors. Plant
yields an oil, and is culinary and medicinal.
Leucanthemum vulgare, Lam. and T. and G. \ Ox-eyed
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, L. J daisy; white
weed. Natural in upper districts; collected in St. John's
Charleston district; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Shec. Flora Carol. 394; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
ii, 271; Nouv. Journal de Med. v, 208; Griffith, Med. Bot.
387. It is vulnerary and detergent. Dem. Elem. de Bot.
iii, 212. In Siberia, according to Dr. Rehmann, they em-
ploy the plant in leucorrhoea. It is not used in this country.
Nouv. Journal de Med. v, 208. Contraine states that it is
a certain safeguard against fleas, destroying, or driving them
oft' in a short time. Bull. Acad. Brux. viii, 234.
Antennaria margaritacea, R. B. T. and G. T Cat -weed;
Gnaphalium margaritaceum, L. Ell. Sk. - / life - everlast-
ing. Grows among the mountains of South Carolina;
vicinity of Charleston, Bach. Fl. Sept.
U. S. Disp. 1258. It is employed in popular practice in
diseases of the chest and bowels, and is externally applied
as a fomentation to wounds and bruises. Schoepf says it
possesses anodyne properties.
Gnaphalium polyeepkalum, Mx. Cat-foot. Diffused in
upper and lower country. Grows in pastures; collected in
St. John's; vicinity of Charleston; •STewbem. Fl. August.
U. S. Disp. 1258; Matson's Veg. Pract. 275. "It proba-
bly possesses little medicinal virtue." A popular remedy
in hemorrhagic affections, and as a fomentation in bruises
and languid tumors. The infusion is employed by the
vegetable practitioners in fever, influenza, fluor albus, and
consumption. Acting probably as a warm sudorific. It
has a pleasant, aromatic, and slightly bitter taste when dry.
Arnica nudicaulis, Ell. Grows in damp, pine barrens;
vicinity of Charleston, Bach; St. John's, S. C; Florida;
Richland, Gibbes.
427
Griffith, Med. Bot. 409. It is supposed that this may be
used as a substitute for the European species, the A. Mon-
tana, which is well known as a powerful plant, possessing
stimulant properties ; directed with peculiar energy to the
brain and nervous system. It also produces an emetic and
cathartic effect, and is much used by the Germans in paral-
ysis, amaurosis, and other nervous diseases.
Senecio aureus, Ell. Sk. Ragwort.- Mountains of South
Carolina. Fl. July.
II. S. Disp. 1295. It is said by Schcepf to have been a
favorite vulnerary with the Indians; the juice of the plant
in honey, or the seeds in substance, are employed.
Onicus benedictus, T. and G. \ Nat. along the sea-coast,
Centaur ea benedicta,~L. J near Beaufort; collected in
St. John's; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. August.
Trous. et Pid. Traite de Therap. etc., i, 253 ; Pe. Mat.
Med. ii, 408 ; Ed. and Yav. Mat. Med. 179 ; U. S. Disp.
196; Le. Mat. Med. i, 202; Woodv. Med. Bot. 34, i, 14;
Ann. de Therap. 1843, 206; Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 747; Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 171; Thompson's Steam
Pract.
The plant is emetic, tonic, and febrifugal; one drachm of
the powder of the flowers in wine, with a decoction of the
leaves, is said to be invaluable in anorexia, weak stomach,
impaired by irregularities of diet, atony, jaundice, and ter-
tian fevers ; Thorn. Fam. Herbal, 725 ; Dem. Elem. de Bot.
iii, 115. It is used, also, in chronic diarrhoea and in gout.
Woodv. he. cit. A decoction "possesses marked tonic
properties;" a large dose acting as an emetic, and occasion-
ing a plentiful discharge from the cutaneous surface. It is
employed as a febrifuge in dyspepsia, pleurisy, and chronic
peripneumony. Woodville says the extract is strongly rec-
ommended in the catarrh of children ; the seeds are very
bitter, and may be used with the same intention as the
leaves. Rectified spirits extract the virtues of the plant.
The watery extract appears, also, to possess the emetic prin-
428
ciple. By keeping, a salt is produced upon the surface
resembling nitre. See Hist, des Sc. de Berlin, 79; and
Duncan's Edinb. New Dispensatory.
Cynara scolymus. Jerusalem artichoke. Ex. Cult.
I call attention to this plant, as it grows luxuriantly in
the Confederate States.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 1846, 234.
"Dr. Montaine, of Lyons, assures us," remarks Merat, "that
each year he treats with success a large number of fever
patients with the extract of the leaves in the form of pills."
Great use is made of it on the plantations in this state as
a tonic and diuretic in dropsy; the leaves are steeped in
rum, of which a wineglassful is administered three times a
day; among the negroes I have frequently seen it pre-
scribed with advantage in this way. It is employed also in
jaundice, the expressed juice or the infusion being used; of
the former two or three spoonfuls may be given; large
doses purge. We also use the corollas for curdling milk.
The modern Arabians consider the root aperient, and class
the gum among their emetics. Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 284;
Ainslie, Mat. Med. Ind. i, 22. Dr. Copeman, pharmaceu-
tist to the hospital at Norfolk, makes a favorable report on
the value of the leaves in the form of tincture and extract,
in rheumatism. See London Med. Gazette, 1833, from
extracts in Gazette Med. de Paris, 13th April, 1833. Dr.
Barry first employed the leaves in chronic jaundice, and
Perroton, of Lyons, also administered it frequently in the
same disease. Revue Med., Nov. 1845.
Taraxacum de)is-leonis,Desf., T. and Gray. \ Dandelion.
Leontodon taraxacum,, Ell. Sk. / Collected in
St. John's, Berkley; I have observed it growing in the
streets of Charleston and New York; Newbern.
Watson's Pract. Physic, 39; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med.
184; Wilson Philip, Diss. Abdom. Viscera; Bell's Pract.
Diet. M. M. 445; Royle, Mat. Med. 453; Pe. Mat, Med. ii,
401; IT. S. Disp. 706; Le. Mat. Med. i, 396; Brande, Diet.
429
Mat. Med. and Pharm. v, 632; Woodv. Med. Bot. 39, t. 16;
De Cand. Prodromus, vii, 45; Ball. Gar. M. M. 319 ; Bergii,
Mat. Med. ii, 687; Mer. and de L. Diet, de Mat. Med. iv,
87; English Physician, by Mch. Culpepper, gent, "Student
in Physic and Astrology," p. 109.
The root is deobstruent, cathartic, and diuretic. "Good
in obstructions of the viscera, scirrhosities of the liver, stone
in the gall-bladder, ascites, jaundice, etc." A decoction of
the root is also useful in impetigo and itch; the doses are
one drachm of the juice and two ounces of the decoction.
Thornton's Fam. Herbal, 677; Dem. Elem. de Botanique,
iii, 169. At Gottingen the roots are washed and substitut-
ed for coffee by the poorer inhabitants ; they say the differ-
ence between this and the imported article can scarcely be
distinguished. Murray's Apparat. Med. Withering men-
tions that when a swarm of locusts destroyed vegetation on
the Isle of Minorca the inhabitants subsisted on this plant.
The great Boerhaave entertained a favorable opinion of it;
and Bergius found it useful in derangement of the biliary
apparatus from gall-stones, etc. Mat. Medica. Delius, de
taraxaco praBsertim aquse, etc. Dr. Mendelstaed cured black
jaundice (l'ictere noir) with it. Van Swieten, in his Com-
ment., Zimmermann, and Storck spoke of it in jaundice and
hypochondriacal affections. Later writers have confirmed
these opinions expressed by those living at an earlier period.
Dr. Wood, in the IT. S. Disp., says that his experience in
derangements of the biliary secretions has been decidedly
in its favor, it being particularly valuable in chronic hepa-
titis. Eberle recommends it in chronic cases of infantile
jaundice: "Diseases of Children." Griffith, in his Med.
Bot. 415, alludes to its use in deranged conditions of the
digestive organs, connected with an abnormal state of the
liver, and in dropsical effusions arising from the same cause.
In habitual costiveness, dependent on a want of due biliary
secretion, it acts with peculiar benefit; and, as an adjuvant
to more active remedies, where the liver is indurated, it has
been prescribed with advantage. It has been employed,
likewise, in affections of the spleen, uterine obstructions,
430
chronic cutaneous disorders, etc. "When its diuretic effect
is desired, it is advised that it be given in combination with
supertartrate of potash. This plant is supposed to be pos-
sessed of valuable properties as an alterative, and much use
is made of it among patients of a strumous diathesis, and
those affected with diseases of the skin. I have seen it em-
ployed to some extent in New York for these purposes,
constituting an important ingredient of diet drinks. It
may be easily obtained, and might be found of much ser-
vice to practitioners residing in the country. The young
shoots are eaten as salad. It has been observed that the
flowers possess a certain degree of sensibility; for when
under the influence of the direct rays of the sun on a sum-
mer morning an evident motion of the filaments is percep-
tible. See MSS. Lect. of Dr. Hope. The plant should be
gathered in the summer and early in the autumn. An
analysis of it is found to contain gum, gluten, albumen, an
odorous principle, extractive, caoutchouc, a peculiar bitter
crystallizable principle, some salts, etc. The decoction
made with two ounces of the root of a whole plant to two
pints of water, boiled to one-half, may be given in doses of
a wineglassful; of the extract, the dose is ten grains to a
half-drachm; the latter should be of a brown color, and
entirely soluble in water.
The young shoots are edible, and produce in children a
diuretic effect. The leaves and roots of this plant are bit-
ter, and contain a bitter milky juice. I have given the
extract largely during five years attendance at the Marine
Hospital, Charleston; and I ascertain that the extract
certainly produces a laxative effect given in from ten to
Shirty grains — the same, or a much larger quantity, dissolved
in water, proved diuretic. In this way I account for the
different qualities ascribed to it. There was always a ten-
dency to ascribe a power in the dandelion to act upon the
portal system. "The roots of the plant were esteemed to
be diuretic, saponaceous, and resolvent, and to be powerful
remedies for removing obstructions of the liver, and of the
other viscera." Their purified, expressed juice has been
431
given, from two to six ounces, twice, thrice, or oftener in
the day ; and infusions and decoctions of the herb and root
have been used for the same purpose. Boerhaave had such
a great opinion of the continued use of the juice, or of the
infusions of the plant, that he believed they were capable
of removing most obstructions of the viscera that were to
relieved by medicines. Bergius, likewise, as was stated,
speaks much in the praise of this simple, and says "that
he has often seen it prove of service after other reme-
dies had failed; and that he had seen hardness of the liver
removed by patients eating, daily, for some months, of a
broth made with dandelion root, the leaves of sorrel and
the yolk of an egg with water, while they took at the same
time cream of tartar to keep their bodies open;" and he
adds "that he has seen a similar course of service in the
ascites, and in cases of gall-stones." (Thornton's Herbal,
677.) The yolk and yellow of eggs undoubtedly produces
a laxative effect ; so does the dandelion in the fresh state, or
in the form of the extract. It is a useful vegetable laxative
in place of calomel. I have seen a physician in Charleston
send to the ISTorth for the fresh plant while it grew abun-
dantly at his own door. Leontodon contains caoutchouc.
Cichorium intybus. — Wild endive; chiccory. Introduced.
As this plant is cultivated to some extent in the Confeder-
ate States, and will probably be largely required in the
future, I insert the following, which I find in Dickens'
"Household Words."
Chiccory is in truth, however, one of the most harmless
substances that ever have been used for the purpose of the
adulteration of coffee, not excepting even water — as it is
obtained in London. In the case of all low-priced coffee —
of all coffee purchased by the poor — adulteration with chic-
cory yields profit to the grocer simply because it yields pleas-
ure to the customer. Good chiccory and middling coffee
dexterously mixed can be sold at the price of bad coffee,
and will make a beverage at least twice as good, and possi-
bly more, certainly not less wholesome. Coffee that chic-
432
cory would spoil is bought by none of the poor, and by a
portion only of the middle classes. We do not advocate
secret adulteration, but we would have the adulteration to
be made open, and all people to understand distinctly that
since chiccory is altogether wholesome it is a matter that
depeuds upon the taste and the pocket whether they will
buy coffee pure or mixed. Take away all fraud from the
use of chiccory, and we shall be glad to see its use fairly
promoted. Let us look a little more closely into the sub-
ject.
Chiccory is better known to many of us when growing
wild in many parts of England on dry, chalky soils under
the name of the wild endive; it belongs to a tribe of com-
posite plants called "the Cichoracese," in which are inclu-
ded, also, dandelion and the garden lettuce. It shoots
above the soil a tuft of leaves, and when it runs to flower,
sends up a stem from one to three feet high, rigid, rough,
branched, clothed with leaves and blue flowers. It has a
long root like that of a carrot, which becomes enlarged by
proper cultivation, and is the part used for the manufacture
of a substitute for coffee. Every part of the plant is per-
fectly wholesome — the root when fresh is tonic, and in large
doses slightly aperient. Chiccory is cultivated extensively
in Belgium, Holland, and Germany. It is cultivated in
France for its leaves, as herbage and pasturage; in Germany
and Flanders for its roots. It was first cultivated in Eng-
land about 1780 by the well-known agriculturist, Arthur
Young. It is a most valuable article of farm produce. On
blowing poor and sandy land it yields more sheep food than
any plant in cultivation ; it will thrive on fen, and bog, and
peat ; it is good fodder for cattle ; it is good for pigs. It
grows only too readily, if that be an objection, for if not
carefully extirpated, it is apt to become a vivacious weed.
For herbage chiccory is sown precisely in the same way as
clover; for the roots it is sown and thinned in the same way
as carrots, and taken up, as carrots are, in the first autumn
after sowing.
The great demand for chiccory has led to its very exten-
433
sive cultivation in this country; considerable sums of money-
have been expended on the kilns and machinery required to
prepare it for the markets, and a large amount of capital is
at the present time profitably employed upon this new
branch of English agriculture. It is not unimportant to
notice that the cultivation of chiccory requires and remuner-
ates the use of lands worth from five pounds to eight pounds
per acre; that so far from exhausting the soil, wheat may
be grown upon it after chiccory with the greatest advantage ;
that it furnishes occupation for a very large number of la-
borers, including women and children, and at a time of year
when the fields aflbrd but little other employment ; and that,
consequently, in some parishes, the poor's rate has been
diminished by one-half since chiccory was introduced.
The blanched leaves of chiccory are sometimes used as a
substitute for endive, and are commonly sold as an early
salad in the Netherlands. If the roots, after being taken
up, be packed in sand, in a dark cellar, with their crowns
exposed, they will push out shoots, and provide through the
winter a very delicate blanched salad, known in France as
Barbe de Capucin. When chiccory is to be used for coffee
the roots taken up by the grower are partly dried, and then
sold to the manufacturer, by whom they are cut into slices,
roasted, and ground. The ground chiccory thus made is
used by many poor upon the Continent as a substitute for
coffee by itself. It has not, of course, the true goftee flavorr
but it makes a rich and wholesome vegetable infusion of a
dark color, with a bitterish sweet taste, which would prob-
ably be preferred by a rude palate to the comparatively
thin and weak, and at the same time not very palatable in-
fusion of pure coffee of the second or third quality.
By the combination of a little chiccory with coffee the
flavor of the coffee is not destroyed, but there is added to
the infusion a richness of flavor, and a depth of color — a
body, which renders it to very many people much more
welcome as a beverage. The cheapness of chiccory enables
a grocer, by the combination of chiccory powder with good
coffee, to sell a compound which will yield a cup of infi-
28
434
nitely better stuff than any pure coffee that can be had at
the same price. Any one with a sensitive taste, and a suffi-
cient purse, would of course buy coffee of the finest quality,
and never think of bettering with chiccory the enjoyment of
its delicate aroma. The majority of the people, however,
are by no means in this position. Coffee, with an admix-
ture of genuine chiccory (which we take care to procure by
purchasing the article in its raw state, and having it roasted
the same as coffee), was preferred to coffee in its pure state.
The reason of this we can clearly understand, and will ex-
plicitly state. We can afford to sell, and do sell a finer
coffee when mixed with chiccory than we can sell in its pure
state at the same price; and the superiority of the coffee in
conjunction with the fulness of the chiccory, in our opinion,
decidedly gives greater satisfaction to the public.
It is, however, a rule that will bear harshly on the com-
forts of the poor if coffee is to be sold only in its pure state,
and chiccory cannot be obtained in any less quantity than a
two-ounce packet. Two ounces of chiccory would go in
mixture to about a pound of coffee, and there are thousands
who buy coffee itself by ounces. Moreover, the chiccory cof-
fee sold by the grocer is made with coffee of a higher price
and better quality than the poor man would dare to give
for coffee bought pure, when he has to make another outlay
upon chiccory for mixing. The necessity of two purchases
would suggest the idea of greater cost, lead to a desire for
more economy ; so in the buying the poor man would be a
loser. Certainly, also, he would lose by having to make at
home, in his own clumsy way, the mixture which it had
been before the interest of the grocer so to proportion that
he might bring custom to his shop by issuing an article as
good and palatable as any that could be contrived by his
competing neighbors.
"Of all the plants," says Thaer, in his Principles of Agri-
culture, "which have been proposed as substitutes for coffee,
and which when roasted and steeped in boiling water yield
an infusion resembling coffee, chiccory is the only one
which has maintained its ground. It has been used in this
435
manner for thirty years, even when the price of coffee has
"been low; and has always yielded considerable profits, both
to manufacturers who prepare it in large quantities and
those who cultivate it in their neighborhood. It has also
been cultivated as a fodder-plant, and highly recommended
by Arthur Young in England. A plentiful supply of fodder
is obtained without injury to the roots." See Thaer for
method of cultivation, etc.
In Patent Office Reports, 1854, p. 348, is a briet notice
of the mode of cultivating chiccory. A variety which the
French call Chicor&e sauvage h cafe, has long fleshy roots
like the white carrot, which are used for making coffee.
" In the Middle and Southern states the roots may remain
in the ground during winter without injury from frost."
Among the substitutes for coffee employed in the Con-
federate States during its great scarcity, I may mention
rye, raw yam potato, cut into small fragments, roasted and
parched, okra seed, and corn flour parched and ground, cot-
ton seed, the ground-nut, Bene, etc., which have all been
tried.
Lactuca elongata, Muhl. } Wild lettuce. Damp soils;
" longifolia, Mx. / collected in Charleston dis-
trict; Newbern. Fl. June.
U. S. Disp. 421; Ann. de Therap. Ann. 1843; Woodv.
Med. Bot. 75-31 ; see L. virosa, Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iv, 10.
It is said to act as an anodyne, and to produce discharge
by the kidneys and skin, being similar in its effects to the
L. virosa of Europe; according to others, it is destitute of
narcotic power; see M. Aubergier's experiments.
Nabalus fraseri, D. C. and T. and G. V Gall of the earth,
Prenanthes alba, Ell. Sk. J Grows in damp
pine lands; collected in St. John's; Richland; vicinity of
Charleston ; Newbern.
The root is excessively bitter; it is used in domestic prac-
tice in this state as a tonic. I would invite further ex-
amination.
436
Sonchus oleraceus, L. Common sow-thistle. Diffused;
collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston; JSTewbern.
Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 439. It is said to be
useful in stagnation of the portal circulation ; according to
some, it increases the secretion of milk. Fl. Scotica, 428;
Dem. Elem. de Bot. iii, 177. The tender leaves are boiled
and eaten in some countries as greens; they are of a cool-
ing nature, are applied outwardly as an emollient cataplasm,
and are found serviceable in inflammatory swellings, car-
buncle, etc. The flowers open at 6, a. m., and close at 12, m.
The roots are milky and bitter, but have occasionally been
converted into bread. Rural Cyc.
Plantaginace^;. (The Bib-grass Tribe.)
The herbage slightly bitter and astringent.
Ptarttago major. Plantain. Nat. Collected in St. John's,
Berkley, near the Santee river; I have also observed it in
the streets of Charleston; Richland district; Newbern. Fl.
June.
Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 71; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 232; U. S.
Disp. 1289, App.; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 135; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 358; Journal Univ. des Se. Med.
xix, 127.
The leaves, when chewed, tinge the saliva red. This
plant was a popular vulnerary and astringent once in great
repute. It was also highly valued for its efficacy in fevers.
Bergius, however, tested it with unfavorable results. We
are informed that "the seeds in milk will stop a dysentery."
Boerhaave states, from his own experience, that the fresh
leaves applied to the feet will ease the pain and fatigue oc-
casioned by walking, and that the whole plant was esteemed
useful in healing and consolidating ulcers and recent wounds,
and as a dressing for blisters and sores. The leaves no
doubfrmake a soothing application to inflamed surfaces. A
decoction of the leaves in milk was employed as a gargle
in inflammation of the fauces, and a collyrium was made
with a decoction of the seeds. Thornton's Fam. Herb.;
437
Woodv. Med. Bot.; Dem. Elena, de Bot. 85; Milne, Ind.
Bot. 102. It was looked upon as a panacea by the ancients;
see Pliny, 1. 26, c. 11; Celsus, lib. iii, c. 22; Scultz, Mat.
Med. i, 112; Boyle de Util. Phil. Nat. ii, 150; Petzolat,
Eph. Nat. cur. cent, vii, Obs. x, 25. It was formerly carried
as an amulet. "En fin," remarks Merat, "on a porte la
racine des plantains en amulet pour guerir ou prevenir une
multitude des maladies." See the Diet, de M. Med. Sup-
plem. 1846, 567; Rev. Med. Juin, 1837, 399. Dr. Perret
communicated to the Soc. des Sc. Med. de Lausanne a re-
port on the beneficial effects derived from the root in vari-
ous maladies: Journal Univ. des Sc. Med. xix, 127; and
Desbois says he has seen the good effect resulting from the
use of the leaves in scrofulous ulcers and in indolent tu-
mors. Mat. Med. ii, 254. The authors of the U. S. Disp.,
however, refer to it as a plant of feeble power, allowing it
to be refrigerant, diuretic, deobstruent, and somewhat as-
tringent. A chemical analysis would be desirable, as it is
probable that a narcotic principle exists in it.
Plantago lmiceolata,VYi. Ribwort; snake plantain. Grows
around Charleston and Savannah; collected in damp mead-
ows in St. John's, Berkley; Newbern. Fl. July.
Fl. Scotica, ii, 1089. It possesses properties very similar
to the above. The Highlanders attribute great virtue to
the leaves as an ointment for healing up fresh wounds.
Plumbaginace.e. {The Leadwort Tribe.)
This order embraces plants possessed of very opposite
qualities; part are tonic and astringent, and part acrid and
caustic in the highest degree.
Statice limonium, Torrey. V Marsh rosemary.
" Caroliniana, Walt. Fl. Carol. / Grows on the sea-
shore. Fl. Sept.
U. S. Disp. 680; Big. Am. Med. Bot. 251; Coxe, Am.
Disp. 568. This is one of our "most intense and powerful
astringents;" much used in New England for all the pur-
438
poses to which catechu and kino are applied. A large dose
acts as an emetic, and in smaller quantities as a powerful
expectorant; it also possesses considerable antiseptic power.
Its chief popular application is to aphthous and ulcerative
affections of the mouth and fauces. Dr. Balies, of Massa-
chusetts, found it highly serviceable in eynanche maligna:
he used a decoction of the roots both internally and locally,
and these beneficial results have been corroborated by
others. It is also given with advantage in S. anginosa, and
in aphthous fever attendant on dysentery, where bark is in-
admissible. From the experiments of Prof. Y. Mott, in an
inaugural thesis spoken favorably of by Dr. Bigelow, it
proved serviceable in chronic dysentery after the inflamma-
tory symptoms had subsided. From his observations, as
well as from those of Dr. Edward Parrish, the cold infusion
was the best form. Dr. P. found it to contain twelve per
cent, of tannin', also gum, extract, alkali, etc., but no gallic
acid. Am. Journal Pharm. xiv, 116; Griffith, Med. Bot.
525; Am. Journal by John Stearnes, 281; see S. limonium;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 524. It was regarded
as an astringent in the time of Pliny ; lib. xxvi, 28. The
root is employed in infusion, decoction, or tincture. Alco-
hol is a better solvent of the properties of the root than
water. The infusion with cold water is preferable to that
with hot.
Ehretiace^e.
Heliotropium Indicum. Turnsole. Michaux found it at
the Eutaw battle-ground, St. John's, Berkley ; and Mr.
Oemler in the Dutch Fork, in Richland district. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M! Med. iii, 462. It
has been employed in the cure of headache. See Walke-
naer, "Voyage," xii, 469. It is used in Guinea and in
India. The juice is applied to eruptive surfaces, opthal-
mias, etc. Ainslie, Mat. Med. Ind. ii, 414. Rottboll, after
Sprengel, says it is a vulnerary, employed in some coun-
tries to arrest flooding. Hist, de la Med. iv, 467 ; Abbet,
Guyane, i, 117.
439
Boraoinaceje. {The ISorage Tribe.)
Characterized by soft, mucilaginous, and emollient prop-
erties. Some are said to contain nitre, a proof of which is
shown by their frequent decrepitation when thrown on the
fire. Lindley.
Lithospermum arvense, L. Bastard alkanet. Introduced.
Waste places, Florida, and northward.
"Wilson states that the red bark of the root stains paper,
linen, oily substances, and the human skin ; and that it is
sometimes used as a rustic substitute for rouge, and as a
coloring matter of ointments. Rural Cyc.
Cynoglossum amplexicaule, Mx. 1 Hound's tongue. Wild
" Virginicum, L. j comfrey. Grows in shady
spots ; Richland and Charleston districts. Fl. June.
The root is mucilaginous, and much emplo}7ed in domes-
tic practice for complaints of the lungs, and externally for
poultices in sprains, bruises, etc. Farmer's Encyc.
Shec. Flora Carol. 489. According to Clayton, the root
is astringent, and is administered in diarrhoea. The leaves
intoxicate when smoked as tobacco. According to Griffith,
it is stated that the root may be used as a substitute for
comfrey. Med. Bot. 500.
Cynoglossum officinale, L. Introduced. Waste grounds,
North Carolina, and northward. Chapman.
The leaves, when touched, emit a pungent and disagree-
able odor, like that of mice in a trap. The plant is eaten
by goats, but is disliked by all other domestic animals. Its
roots have astringent and narcotic properties — regarded as
antiscorbutic. Wilson's Rural Cyc.
Lamiace^e or Labiate. ( The Mint Tribe.)
These do not contain a single unwholesome or even sus-
picious species ; their tonic, cordial, and stomachic quali-
ties are due, according to Lindley, to the presence of an
aromatic, volatile oil, and a bitter principle.
440
Mentha tenuis. American spearmint. Cult.
It is an antispasmodic, and is said by Culpepper to be
also an aphrodisiac. English Physician, by Nieh. Culpep-
per, gent, " Student of Physic and Astrology," p. 214. It
is considered by the steam and vegetable practitioners a
specific in allaying nausea and vomiting. Thompson's
Practice, and Matson's Veg. Pract. 286.
Melissa officinalis. Balm. Introduced.
The balm, sage, mint, and other aromatic plants, for the
most part cultivated in our gardens, need scarcely more
than a reference. The melissa is cultivated for bees. The
reader is referred to an article on "Secretion in plants,"
in Wilson's Cyc, showing the deposits of aromatic and
other properties at the base of plants, with the theories of
De Candolle, Macaire, and others.
Mentha piperita, L. Peppermint. Introduced.
We have also the round-leaved mint (M. rotundifolia) —
introduced.
They abound in resinous dots, which contain an essential
oil. The pleasant, aromatic, antispasmodic properties of
these labiate plants are well known. They flourish within
the Confederate States, and the essence and mint water can
be extracted in any quantity. In Patent Office Reports,
1854, the mode of culture of a number of medicinal herbs
is described, particularly the aromatic plants, viz : sage,
mint, rosemary, mustard, etc., pp. 367 to 380. Nearly all
the native and introduced plants containing aromatic oils
can be raised at the South in sufficient quantities to supply
all demands. An establishment such as that at New Leba-
non, New York, and at other localities, for the cultivation
of medicinal and useful plants on an extensive scale, should
now receive consideration. See my paper in De Bow's Re-
view, August, 1861. . .
Ijycopus Europeus, Eat. M. ^ Water horehound. Nat. in
" angustifolius, and V damp soils; collected in St.
" sinuatus, Ell. Sk. J John's ; vicinity of Charles-
ton. PL July.
441
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 25; U. S. Disp. 437; Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 168; Matson's Veg. Pract. 250;
Milne, Ind. Bot. 34. This is reputed to give an indelible
stain to whatever it touches. Hoffmann says the gypsies
use it to disguise themselves. It has been highly spoken
of on the Continent of Europe in intermittent fevers; Prof.
Re, of Turin, declares that in doses of two drachms of the
dried plant the most obstinate intermittents were removed.
Broffiero says it is astringent. See letter (in French) on
the properties of L. Eurojjeus in allaying fever. Dr. Brof-
fiero's note in the Repertorio Medico Chirurg. 832, and
Griffith's Med. Bot. 505. It is emplo37ed by the vegeta-
ble practitioners in diarrhoea, atonic conditions of the di-
gestive organs, and as a cleansing wash for sores. I
would invite attention to this and the following, which are
easily obtained.
Ly co-pus Virginicus, Mich. Bugle-weed; Virginian ly co-
pus. Diffused; collected in St. John's, Berkley; vicinity
of Charleston; Richland district. Fl. August.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 168. It has been
administered internally with great success in hemorrhage
aiid haemoptysis ; and in phthisis it lessens the force of the
circulation. Iu the diseases first mentioned Dr. Silliman
verifies the results obtained b}^ Linstey — twent}^ persons
having tried it with benefit in internal hemorrhage. Drs.
Porter and Winkoop also report cases in which they have
employed it with success. See Journal des Sc. Med. 154.
According to Dr. Ives, of New Haven, it' is a mild narcotic.
Drs. Pendleton and Rogers, of New York, obtained favor-
able effects from it in incipient phthisis and hemorrhage
from the lungs. See New York Med. and Phys. Journal
i, 179; U. S. Disp. 436; Raf. Med. Fl. 11. As a direct
sedative, it is useful in diminishing the frequency of the
pulse, quieting irritation, and allaying cough. Practition-
ers, observes Griffith (Med. Bot. 505), are unanimous in
declaring that it is an important addition to the Mat. Med.
It appears to act like digitalis in abating the frequency of
442
the pulse; its use, however, not being attended with the
disagreeable symptoms sometimes accompanying the em-
ployment of the latter. An infusion may be given ad libi-
tum, made with one ounce of the herb macerated in a pint
of boiling water. It imparts a black color to linen, wool-
len, and silk. This plant grows abundantly in the lower
country of South Carolina.
Salvia lyrata, L. Caucer-weed. Grows in shady, rich
lands ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ;
Richland district; Xewbern. Fl. June.
Ell. Bot, Med. Notes, i, 31. " The fresh radical leaves of
the plant, when bruised and applied to warts, generally
destroy them;" continue the application for a day or two,
and renew it every twelve hours. The leaves of the
Hieracium gronovii are also applied in this way. The H.
venosum is announced as a certain remedy against the bite
of the rattlesnake.
Salvia officinalis. Sage. Ex. Cult.
Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 268 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. vi, 191. This is a warm aromatic, and according to
the experiments of Ellinger, is possessed of marked anti-
spasmodic power : it strengthens the circulatory, cutane-
ous, and digestive functions ; stimulates the action of the
nerves, and has a decided effect upon the cephalic organs
(see Merat and authors) ; prescribed as a stomachic, and in
catarrhal and cellular infiltration, and used as a gargle in
mucous angina and fungous ulcers. uCur moriaiur homo
cui salvia crescit in hortof became an adage, so much confi-
dence was formerly reposed in the plant. Its reputation is
most extensive in domestic practice, the warm infusions
being given as a sudorific, and in promoting the menstrual
discharge. The plant is said to have great power in resist-
ing the putrefaction of animal substances. Van Swieten,
Com. ii, 370 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. It is thought to have a
remarkable efficacy in stopping night sweats, infused in
wine or spirits, and this opinion was sustained by Quarin,
443
Methodus Medend. 37. Baron Yan Swieten also found it
efficacious in restraining the inordinate flow of milk after
weaning children. In the English Physician, p. 295, the
quaint author, Nich. Culpepper, gent., "Student in Physic
and Astrology," mentions it as an aphrodisiac: "Helpeth
conception and hinders miscarriage." "Jupiter claims
this, and bids me tell you it is good for the liver and to
breed blood!" The essential oil deposits camphor in abun-
dance, hence employed as a friction in rheumatism, paraly-
* sis, etc. Journal de Pharm. xvi, 574.
I introduce the following on the cultivation of
Sage. — The cultivation of this herb is among the most
profitable of the market gardener's products. Large quan-
tities of it are sold while green during the season, as every
housekeeper uses it in the cooking of game, or water-fowl,
and it is essential as a component of sausages, so that tons
of it are used in the winter season. At the price it is usu-
ally retailed in the markets of our larger cities, an acre of
sage plants will yield a return of over seven hundred dol-
lars; and at the wholesale price, it will give a return of
over three hundred dollars .to the acre. The seed can be
had of most seedsmen. It should be sown in any light,
loamy soil, covered about half an inch deep ; and when the
plants are about two inches high, should be picked out and
replanted at distances of about one foot each way. As
soon as it has grown so as to begin to show form of flower
buds, cut it off' to within two inches of the ground, and so
on, again and again, throughout the season. If planted on
land thoroughly drained, the plant will stand many years ;
but plants not over two years old produce the best flavored
leaves.
Monarda punctata, L. Dotted monarda ; horsemint ;
origanum. Grows in rich and damp soils ; collected in St.
John's, where it is found abundantly ; vicinity of Charles-
ton ; Richland district ; Spartanburg. Fl. August.
Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. ii, 302; Ell. Bot. Med.
Notes, 30 ; IT. S. Disp. 462 ; Am. Med. Record, ii, 496 ;
444
Ball, and Gar. Mat. Med. 360 ; Mer. and de L: Diet, de M.
Med. iv, 444 ; Bull des Sci. Med. de Ferns, xi, 302. This
is another of our very aromatic indigenous plants, possess-
ing stimulant aud carminative powers, and regarded as a
very popular emmenagogue among those residing in this
country. The French authorities speak favorably of it; an
aromatic oil is obtained from this ; and the infusion of the.
leaves, recent or dried, is very efficient in allaying nausea
and vomiting in bilious fevers. Dr. Chapman mentions
cases of long-standing deafness cured by the oil rubbed on
the head as a counter-irritant. It was used in cases of this
description, and in many diseases, by Dr. Atlee, of Phila-
delphia; see his essay; among other affections in hemi-
plegia and paralytic diseases, in the sinking state of epi-
demic typhus, in cholera infantum, where there is prostra-
tion of strength, and in mania a potu ; sometimes employing
a liniment (see Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. ii, 305) ; and
sometimes the undiluted oil rubbed on the parts. The oil
is of an amber color approaching to red, and if exposed to
a great degree of heat, leaves a beautiful straw-colored
camphor !
Thymus vulgaris. Ex. Cultivated in South Carolina.
A well-known warm aromatic.
Collinsonia Canadensis. Gravel root ; horseweed ; knot-
weed; Canadian collinsonia. Grows in the mountains of
South Carolina. Fl. September.
The root is used in colic from lochial discharge. Linn.
Veg. M. Med. 9. " The infusion of the bruised root in
cider cured several alarming cases of dropsy." Shec. Flora
Carol. 482, and Mease's Domestic Encyc. ii, 177. Dr.
Wood says it possesses tonic, astringent, diuretic, and dia-
phoretic powers ; the root in substance, even in small
doses, is said to irritate the stomach, and produces vomit-
ing; the active principle is volatile, so that it is best em-
ployed, in the fresh state. The decoction is efficacious in
catarrh of the bladder, leucorrhoea, gravel, dropsy, etc.,
445
and as a cataplasm to internal abdominal pains. IT. S.
Disp. 1248. Merat says, Diet, de M. Med. ii, 364, that in
America it merits the name all heal (gu&rit tout), having the
properties referred to above. Drs. A. French and Beers
speak highly of it in pains of the bladder, in ascites, and
dropsy of the ovaries; given, also, as a powerful tonic in
putrid and malignant fevers, and in leucorrhoea; the con-
tused leaves are applied to bruises, lividities (les meurtris-
seurs), pains in the stomach, and as an application to erup-
tions produced by the poisonous sumachs. (See Rhus.)
The plant, by chemical analysis, contains tannin, gallic
acid, extractive matter, and a coloring principle. Op. cit.
See, also, Ann. de la Soc. Linn, de Paris, v. 508. In his
late work, Griffith (Med. Bot. 513) states that externally
it has been employed as a friction in rheumatism. See
account of it by Dr. Hooker, of New Haven, Ann. Linn.
Soc. Dr. H. thinks the infusion should be made with a
gentle heat, in a close vessel. The best preparation is sup-
posed to be the essential oil, which is said to be an excel-
lent tonic, given with benefit in low fevers, exhaustion of
the forces, etc. This plant certainly merits further notice.
Collinsonia anisata. Griffith's Med. Bot. 515.
It possesses an odor somewhat similar to that of anise-
seed, having the properties of the C. Canaden.
Collinsonia scabra. Rough-leaved collinsonia. Collected
in St. John's, in shaded soils. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 364. It is possessed
of properties similar to those of the C. Canaden. Tonic,
astringent, and diuretic. See C. Canaden.
Cunila mariana, Mx. Dittany ; Maryland cunila. Grows
in the mountains of South Carolina; Richland; I find it
abundant in Spartanburg district, S. C.
Bart. M. Bot. ii, 175 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
ii, 517; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 276; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes,
127. The infusion forms a pleasant and refreshing drink ;
446
it is diaphoretic, and is employed in fevers and colds. A
gentleman in Spartanburg district, S. C, tells me that
in his day "everybody cured everything with dittany."
Doubtless they took less mercury and drastic purgatives in
consequence.
Hedeoma pulegioides, Pursh. Pennyroyal ; tickweed.
Grows in the upper districts, and among the mountains of
South Carolina ; abundant in Spartanburg, S. C.
U. S. Disp. 365; Bart. M. Bot. ii, 165; Lincl. Fat. "Syst.
276, and Flora Med. 491 ; Griffith's Med. Bot. 508 ; Raf.
Med. Fl. i, 231 ; Bart. Veg. Mat. Med. ii, 165. A gently
stimulant aromatic, given in flatulent colic, and sick stom-
ach; also as a stimulant diaphoretic in catarrhs and rheu-
matism. The warm infusion is a convenient and useful
prescription, which is largely employed in popular practice
in promoting the menstrual discharge. It is said that the
plant, or the oil extracted from it, is an effectual remedy
against the attacks of ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes.
Prunella vulgaris. Heal-all. Grows in dry soils; col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley. Fl. July.
' Le. M. Med. ii, 245; Med. Diet, by Carr, art. Brunella ;
U. S. Disp. 1291 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 276 ; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 520. This plant, though pos-
sessing some power as a stimulant, has fallen into disre-
pute. It was also used as an astringent in affections of the
throat.
Scutellaria lateriflora. Mad-dog scull cap; hood wort. Grows
along ditches; Richland, Gibbes; collected in St. John's;
Elliott says it is found in the mountainous districts.
Watson's Pract. Physic, 386 ; IT. S. Disp. 1294, Appen-
dix ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 274 ; Bulletin de
la Faculte, vii, 191, aim. 1820, where Spalding's (of Geo.)
report concerning its antihydrophobic virtues is referred
to. Youatt spoke in favorable terms of this remedy as
enjoying the reputation for some time of being the only
one for this disease. See Watson, loc. cit.
, 447
Scutellaria integrifolia, L. Diffused in swampy soils : col-
lected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston. Ft. June.
U. S. Disp. 1294.
Nepeta caiaria, L. Catnip. Nat. in upper districts ; col-
lected also in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Le. Mat. Med. ii, 130 ; II. S. Disp. 191 ; Ed. and Vav.
Mat. Med. 216 ; Bergii, Mat, Med. ii, 540 ; Mer. and cle L.
Diet, de M. Med. iv, 592 ; Dem. Eletri. cle Dot, 248 ; Am.
Herbal, 26. This plant is possessed of stimulant, tonic,
and warm aromatic virtues. Employed in popular prac-
tice in colds, asthma, amenorrhcea, chlorosis, hysteria, and
the flatulent colic of infants ; in the latter condition this
herb is universally employed. It was also used in yellow
fever, and, like many others, enjoyed an ephemeral repu-
tation as a remedy in hydrophobia. An iufusion of the
flowers was said to open obstructions of the liver and
spleen. In the Supplement to the Diet. Univ. de M. Med.
1846, 509, it is stated that Dr. Guastamachia had used the
N. cataria with great advantage in toothache, caused by
cold or carious bone, mashing the leaves in the decayed
tooth ; this produces an abundant flow of saliva, and causes
the pain to cease in a few moments. See, also, Journal de
Chirm Med. vii, 2d series. The dose of the powder is a
drachm and a half. This plant is used by the vegetable
practitioners. Cats roll in it with the same avidity that
they do in valerian, and cover it with their urine.
Dracocephalum variegatum. Vent. Grows in inundated
swamps ; roots frequently immersed. Collected in St.
John's, Berkley; in the Santee swamps, near Somerset PL;
vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 682. The organiza-
tion of the peduncle is peculiar. See observations on cer-
tain phenomena attending the plant called the D. Ameri-
canum. Acad, des Sci. 276, 1702. It is supposed to pos-
sess a "cataleptic power." "Pourvues de cette singuliere
faculte," namely: " la propriete, de la cataleptique, e'est-a-
448 ,
dire, de garder la position dans laquelle on place la fleur."
Siippiem. to Diet. Univ. de M. Med. 252, 1846.
Dracocephalum Virginianum, L. Grows in the mountains
of South Carolina.
Its properties are similar to those possessed by the pre-
ceding.
Leojiurus cardiaca, L. Motherwort. Nat. Grows around
buildings ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
" The leaves are deobstruent, laxative, diaphoretic, em-
menagogue, antihysteric, and anthelmintic." Am. Herbal,
230 ; Linn. Veg. M. Med. 168. L. states that the herb,
drunk as a tea, is useful in hysteria and hypochondriacal
affections. Griffith, in his work on Med. Bot. 515, supposes
it to be tonic, and to relieve palpitation of the heart. It is
extolled in Russia as a preservative against hydrophobia.
In the "Indian Materia Medica" it is stated that "an
infusion of the plant is a stimulant, cordial bitter, and
when taken at bedtime it procures a quiet, refreshing
sleep, even where opium and laudanum have failed." It is
probably useful as an ingredient for a soothing tea. See
Linden, " Tilia."
Marrubium vulgare. Ex. Nat. Ilorehound.
Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 284; Watson's Pract.
Physic, 118 and 332 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 273 ; Trous.
et Pid. Mat. Med. ; Traite de Therap. 308 ; Royle, Mat.
Med. 470 ; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 89 ; U. S. Disp. 452 ; Ball,
and Gar. Mat. Med. 358; Matson's Veg. Pract.; Cullen,
Mat. Med. ii, 154 ; Bergii, Mat. Med. ii, 558 ; Wooclv. Med.
Bot. In the United States, it is used only as a warm,
aromatic stimulant. The leaves are tonic and somewhat
laxative, and are employed in colds, asthma, hysteria, and
meuorrhagic diseases. The warm infusion acts as a sudor-
ific, and is applicable as a palliative in phthisis and perip-
neumonia, but is not allowed the possession of any very
decided powers. In the Supplem., however, to the Diet.
449
Uni. de M. Med. 457, 1846, it is said to be certainly useful
in chronic rheumatism, one ounce and a half of the infu-
sion being given morning and evening. See, also, the
Journal des Connaissances Medic. Dec. 10, 1836. Ferrein
notices the root as an excellent vermifuge. Mat. Med. i,
279, iii, 312; and Desbois de Rochefort says the decoction
of three or four ounces is a good remedy in taenia. Dr.
Cutler asserted that the infusion was a very useful applica-
tion in salivation. Am. Herbal, by J. Stearns, LL.D.
Griffith states that obstinate catarrhs are much benefited
by the expressed juice taken in milk. Dose, one drachm
of the powder, or one ounce to two ounces of the infusion
made with an ounce of the dried herb to one pint of boiling
water. From this plant it is well known the candy so
much used in pectoral affections is made.
The horehound has a bitter taste and an aromatic odor.
"It possesses tonic, diuretic, and laxative properties, and it
seems to owe all its powers to a bitter extractive, a volatile
oil, and gallic acid." Used in coughs, colds, asthma, etc.,
on account of the combination of moderate qualities just
described. From the very fact of its simplicity, I consider
it one of the very best remedies for children and infants
suffering with colds and coughs. Given during the day
with opiates, and nitre at night, it restores appetite, is
expectorant and duretic, and thus removes the slight re-
mains of cold and fever so frequent with children. If the
fever is a prominent symptom ipecacuanha should also be
used. Besides, it may perform a most important role in
taking the place of more active and injurious drugs. I
know of no better remedy for colds and coughs than the
juice of horehound sweetened and given during the day.
Verbenacete. [The Vervain Tribe.)
Callicarpa Americana, Mx. French mulberry. Collected
in St. John's, Berkley, in dry soils ; vicinity of Charleston ;
Richland district; Newbern.
Drayton's View of S. C. 62. This is said to be useful in
dropsical complaints. It bears very pretty red berries,
29
450
growing in wliorls around the stem, which are slightly
sweetish to the taste. I could not extract much coloring
matter from their skins with vinegar or alum.
Verbena urticifolia, L. Kettle-leaf vervain. Common in
damp soils; collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston.
Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 1301. Boiled in milk and water, and com-
bined with the inner bark of the white oak, it is advan-
tageously used in poisoning from the sumachs (Rhus). Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 868 ; Journal de Med. lxx,
529.
Verbena hasiata, L. Vervain ; Simpler's joy. Middle
districts of South Carolina, and in Georgia ; vicinity of
Charleston ; ISTewbern. Fl. Aug.
U. S. Disp. 1304. This is more bitter than the European
species, and it is said to be emetic. This plant is described
by the "Cherokee Physician" as an emetic inferior to the
"Indian Physic ;" a decoction of the dry or green herb or
a powder is prescribed like lobelia. A decoction of the
root is used to check fevers when given in the early stage.
The plant should be examined.
Verbena aubletia, L. Grows in the middle districts of
South Carolina and in Georgia. Fl. Sept.
Mer and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 865. It is said to
contain a very acrid mucilage. Die. des. Sci. ]STat. x, 426.
Pedaliace2E. (The Oil Seed Tribe.)
Sesamurn Indicum. ~) Bene. Introduced by the Africans.
" Orientate. J Fl. July. .
This is the sesame of the Anabasis, mentioned also by
Dioscorides, Theophrastus, and others. The seeds contain
an abundance of fixed oil as tasteless as olive, and for
which it may be substituted ; it is said to be used ex-
tensively in Egypt and Arabia. Lind. Nat. Syst. 280; U.
S. Disp. 661. Merat says that in Egypt they drink large
451
quantities of the oil morning and evening, to give them
embonpoint. It is also used medicinally as a laxative, and
is by some preferred to castor oil ; also as an application
to furfuraceous eruptions. In India it is regarded as an
emmenagogue and as provocative of abortion ; employed in
cutaneous affections and ophthalmia; a solution is given
in colic and dysentery, and used as an application for soft-
ening the skin. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 332,
and the Supplem. 1846, 657, according to which it is also
becoming an object of considerable commercial impor-
tance, being substituted for olive oil in the manufacture of
Marseilles soap. See Essay of M. Hardy, Revue Agricole,
Avril, 1845, 177. In the Trans. Phil. Soc, it is said that
one hundred parts of the seed yield ninety of oil. Coxe,
Am. Disp., art. Sesam. orient., states it was found beneficial
in a dysentery which prevailed in 1803. We have seen it
given to some extent, and with great advantage, in New
York, in diarrhoea and dysentery, particularly in these
affections as they occur in children; two or three of the
leaves, thrown in water, are sufficient to render it very
mucilaginous. This is taken internally. It also serves as
a convenient vehicle for enemata, gargles, collyria, etc. In
South Carolina the seeds are largely used by the negroes in
making broths. They are also eaten parched, and are
made with sugar into a very nice candy. It might be
made a source of profit to raise the plant in the Con-
federate States, as it grows well and the seeds bring a
high price.
The above was contained in my report on the Med. Bot.
of South Carolina, published in 1849.
The oil pressed from the seed will keep many years
without acquiring any rancid taste, but in two years be-
comes quite mild, so that the warm taste of the oil when
first drawn is worn off, and it can be used for salads and all
the ordinary purposes of sweet oil. In some countries it is
used for frying fish, as a varnish, and for some medicinal
purposes. Nine pounds of seed are said to yield upward
of two pounds of fine oil. The oil may be extracted by
452
bruising the seed and immersing them in hot water, when
the oil rises on the surface and may be skimmed off. But
the usual mode of extraction is similar to that practised in
the expression of linseed oil. The plant is generally sowed
in drills about four feet apart, in the month of April. Am.
Farm. Encyc. I consider, after examination, that the sas-
safras leaf contains more mucilage than the Bene, and that
both should be gathered and cured for winter use in mak-
ing mucilaginous teas to be used in dysenteries, pulmonary
diseases, etc.
From a statement of H. M. Bry, of Louisiana, P. O.
Rep., 1854, p. 225, sixteen bushels of seed of Bene plant
(S. orientale) was sent to a mill in Cincinnati to be manu-
factured into oil. It yielded thirty-nine gallons of clear
oil and about live quarts of refuse oil, or about two and a
half gallons to the bushel. In consequence of the mill im-
parting the flavor of flaxseed he could not use it as a salad
oil, for which purpose he was confident it would be su-
perior, when pure, to the adulterated imported olive oil.
It was used, however, as a substitute for castor oil. All
who used it praised it for its gently purgative effect, and
because it was free from the nauseous taste peculiar to
castor oil. Twenty bushels is believed to be a moderate
estimate of the amount of the seed produced by an acre.
It yields a gallon of oil to the bushel more than flaxseed.
The excellent effect of the leaves steeped in water as a
mucilage to be used in diarrhoea and dysentery is testified
to by all persons who have used it. For this purpose two
or three leaves are soaked in a tumbler of water and ad-
ministered repeatedly. This plant will act as a substitute
for gum-arabic on account of the mucilage it yields. It
should be used in the bowel affections of children and
among our soldiers in camp. Planters should collect and
cure all the leaves at their disposal. At page 838 of the
same volume another paper on the Bene is to be found.
It is there stated that the plant will throw out a great pro-
fusion of leaves by breaking off the top when it is half
grown.
453
Nelson quotes Miller on the Bene, as cultivated by the
African negroes in South Carolina: "The inhabitants of
CD
that country make an oil from the seed which will keep
many years and not take any rancid smell or taste, but in
two years becomes quite mild ; so that when the warm
taste of the seed which is in the oil when first drawn is
worn off they use it as a salad oil and for all the purposes
of sweet oil. The seeds are also used by the negroes for
food — which seed they parch over the fire and then mix
with water and stew other ingredients with them, which
makes a hearty food." Rural Cyc.
The seeds of the Bene, the myrtle, and the tallow tree,
with the fruit of the ground-nut (Arachis) might afford use-
ful material to the soap manufacturers within the Confed-
erate States. I will insert here what I have upon the
oleiferous plants most useful to us in the present exigency.
In Boussingault's treatise on the subject of oils, pages 135
and 139, he says:
" The following sums may be taken as a pretty accurate
estimate of the average quantity of oil yielded by the dif-
ferent oleaginous seeds : colewort, winter rape, and other
species of cruciferous plants, from 30 to 36 and 40 per cent. ;
sunflower about 15 per cent. ; linseed (flax) from 11 to 22 ;
poppy from 34 to 63 ; hemp-seed from 14 to 26 ; olives
from 9 to 11 ; walnuts 40 to 70 ; Brazil nuts 60 ; castor oil
beans 62; sweet almonds 40 to 54; bitter almonds 25 to 46:
Modiva sativa 26 to 28 per cent." I would refer the reader
to a more extensive table than this in Ure's Dictionary of
Arts. I have little doubt that the Chinese tallow tree
(StUUngia sebifera) introduced and growing around Charles-
ton is richer than any above mentioned. Hickory nuts,
when bearing abundantly, broken and thrown in a vessel
of boiling water, would no doubt yield oil abundantly and
cheaply for soap. I have, however, upon experiment
found it difficult to extract the oil (1862).
The plants most commonly cultivated for the produc-
tion of oil belong to the genus Brassica; all plants of this
genus produce seeds containing considerable quantities of
454
oil, and are sometimes used for obtaining it. All the
species are biennial, save the spring colza, or field cabbage
(Brassica campestris). It is not, as some suppose, a degener-
ated variety of autumnal rape or cole seed, but really a
distinct species. "Thaer's Principles of Agriculture," p.
449. In the description by this author of colza and rape
(autumnal varieties), he lays great stress upon the great
value of the colza [Brassica oleracea lacineata, a variety of
the garden cabbage), as perhaps one of the most abundant
in the oil it gives out. The rape, a variety of the Brassica
napus, is less productive. The colza (Brassica campestris)
requires a dry soil. I introduce this information here
because the plant might be cultivated to great advantage
in the Confederate States for supplying oil, and because
Thaer adds at the conclusion of his paper that the seeds of
the ruta. baga, or Swedish turnip, which is already grown
extensively throughout the Southern states, are equally rich
in oil. For the method of culture and gathering, see
Thaer's work, published in New York, 1857. It is also an'
excellent plant for fodder. The seed does not mature well
in South Carolina. The oil is obtained by a press or oil
mill. Even the spring rape (Brassica campestris) yields
more than twenty pounds of oil per bushel. The rape is
grown and produces well in Clarendon district, S. C, Mr.
Sanders informs me. It will produce seed.
I would particularly advise the extensive introduction
and cultivation of the rape in the Confederate States, both
because it grows and matures well, and because of the
amount of oil the seeds afford, which would supply what-
ever is necessary in making soap (for processes, see Ure's
"Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures"), and also because
it would allow the Southern planter to devote the tallow,
grease, etc., which has been economized for this purpose,
to the support of his slaves. The Bene probably yields as
much oil as any plant we possess, as I am informed by a
practical gardener. See, also, flaxseed, Chinese tallow tree,
etc.
Mustard seed oil concretes when cooled a little below
455
32° Fahr. The white or yellow seed (lire's Dictionary of
Arts and Sciences, p. 285) afford thirty-six per cent, of oil,
and the black seed eighteen per cent. I would refer the
inquirer to Ure's Dictionary for paper on the subject of the
oils, mode of obtaining, etc. Also to Kurten's work on
the "Art of manufacturing Soaps, including the most
recent discoveries — with receipts for making camphene oil,
candles, etc. Phil.: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1854." This
treatise gives very plain directions concerning the articles
necessary. In Ure's Dictionary a plan of an oil mill is
given, and information on "seed crushing" and extraction
of all oils. Ure says that the oil of colza is obtained from
the seeds of the Brassica campestris to the amount of thirty-
nine per cent, of their Aveight. " It forms an excellent
lamp oil, and is much employed in France." Hemp-seed
oil resembles the preceding, but has a disagreeable smell
and a mouldish taste. It is used extensively for making
both soaps and varnishes. Linseed oil is obtained in great-
est purity by cold pressure, but by a steam heat of 200°
Fahr. a very good oil may be procured in larger quantity.
"The proportion of oil," Ure adds, "usually stated by
authors is twenty-two per cent, of the weight of the seed,
but Mr. Blundell informs me that by his plan of hydraulic
pressure he obtained from twenty-six to twenty-seven."
In the Encyc. 31etropolitana, under "Oil-press," a quarter of
seed (whose average weight is four hundred pounds) is said
to yield twenty gallons of oil. ISTow, as the gallon of
linseed oil weighs 9.3 pounds, the total product will be
one hundred and eighty-six pounds, which amounts to
more than forty-five per cent., an extravagant statement,
about double the ordinary product in oil mills, etc., etc.
When kept long cool, in a cask partly open, it deposits
masses of white stearine along with a brownish powder.
This stearine is very difficult of saponification. The
reader is referred to the last paragraph of p. 297 of Ure's
Dictionary, vol. ii, and all of p. 298, ending at word
"Dutch plan," top of p. 299; and on the subject of oils,
456
soap, candles, starch, and sugar, I would refer to the same
work, where many of the best processes are described.
Chaptal, in his Chemistry applied to Agriculture, makes
the following practical remarks on oils: "The oils are fat,
unctuous bodies, of various degrees of fluidity, insoluble in
water, forming soap with the alkalies, and burning and
evaporating at different temperatures. It is the last char-
acteristic particularly which establishes that difference
among them by which they are divided into fixed and
volatile oils. The fixed oils are contained in seeds and
fruits, from which they are extracted by pressure. The
first portion which is expressed is the purest, and is known
by the name of virgin oil ; that which follows is rendered
more or less impure by the mixture of other principles
contained in the fruit submitted to compression. It is
particularly by the mucilage, which is found in greater or
less quantity in all vegetables, . that the purity of oil is
affected. After all the oil which can be extracted by press-
ure has been drawn off, it is customary to moisten the
mash with boiling water and to subject it to another and
more powerful pressure ; but the oil thus obtained carries
with it a large portion of mucilage, and is usually em-
ployed only in some of the trades. In some countries it is
customary to collect the fruits into heaps and to subject
them to a degree of fermentation before pressure ; by this
means the extraction of the oil is rendered easier and the
quantity of it is increased, but the quality of it is much
injured. Similar results are obtained by breaking the fruit
previous to expressing the oil. It would be hardly right
to condemn these last methods as erroneous, because in
the numerous soap-works, dye-houses, cloth manufactories,
etc., this quality of oil is preferred to that which is purer.
The learned will do well to condemn the processes now
employed for procuring the fine oils, and to present others
by which we may obtain them purer and of a better taste;
but the grand consumption of the oils is in the manufacto-
ries, and there the fine oils would but imperfectly replace
those of a coarser kind; thus, by perfecting the produce
457
the usefulness of it would be lessened. ' When oil is to be
extracted for domestic purposes it is without doubt desira-
ble that it be obtained as pure as possible, but that which
is destined to be employed in the trades and in manufac-
tures, as in that of soaps for example, is the better for
being combined with a portion of mucilage. The great
art of manufacturing consists in appropriating the prod-
ucts to the wants and tastes of consumers. When mucil-
age is so abundant in an oily seed that it yields upon
expression only a pasty combination of mucilage and oil,
the seed is dried by fire; when the mucilage is thus de-
prived of fluidity the oil flows off pure. In this manner
the seeds of flax, of poppies, of henbane, etc., are prepared
for expression. Nearly all the oils are colored, and contain
some of the principles of the fruits from which they are
procured; these are in some of their effects injurious to the
oil, and great pains have been taken to find some means of
freeing it from them. Oil is clarified to a certain degree
merely by standing in a cool place in open earthen vessels;
it forms a deposit, and is thus rendered purer, clearer, and
better. If oil is exposed to the sun it gradually loses its
color. In order to clarify the oil of mustard one per cent,
of sulphuric acid is put into a large earthen pan into
which the oil is thrown and carefully stirred ; the oil
becomes green, and upon being allowed to remain at rest
forms upon the sides and bottom of the pan a blackish
deposit, which is principally composed of carbon ; the
process must be repeated after a few days if the oil has not
acquired the wished for clearness. But before using the
oil it ia necessary that it be allowed to remain -for some
time undisturbed. In this operation the mucilage appears
to be precipitated and consumed by the acid. Most fixed
oils contain some mucilage, and most of them become
rancid.
" Most fixed oils have but in a very slight degree the
property of drying, but some of them acquire it by being
combined with some metallic oxide, and this greatly in-
creases the use of them, as they can in this way be
458
employed as varnishes for covering bodies which it is
necessary <to preserve from air and water, or as the
recipients of colors to be used in painting upon cloth,
wood, or metal. The best drying oils are those of flax-
seed, nuts, and poppies. Linseed oil will dissolve at
boiling temperature one-quarter of its weight of that oxide
of lead known in commerce by the name of litharge. It
becomes brown in proportion as the oxide is dissolved ;
when saturated with the oxide it thickens by cooling, and
it is necessary to render it liquid by heat at the time of
using it. In consequence of the numerous purposes to
which the fixed oils are applied the consumption of them
is immense ; they form the basis of the soaps, both soft
and hard, according as they are combined with potash or
soda ; they are used to fix in the most durable manner
upon cotton the colors obtained from madder ; they are
employed to facilitate the operations in all establishments
for carding and spinning wool. It is by the use of oil that
the play of all machinery is rendered more regular and
easy, and that friction is moderated, and by it metals are
preserved from rusting. The most important use to which
oil has been applied is that of lighting buildings, the
defects of the light being remedied by argands and other
lamps which aid in the consumption of the carbon by
admitting more air to the wick.
"The volatile oils do not belong exclusively to any one
part of plants; in some, as in the Bohemian angelica, the
oil is distributed throughout the whole plant; sometimes, as
in balm, mint, and wormwood, it is found in the leaves and
stalks; the elecampane, florence iris, and bennet contain it
in their roots; thyme and rosemary in their leaves and
flower buds; lavender and the rose in their calyces; chamo-
mile, lemon, and orange plants in their flowers; the petals
and the rind of the fruit of the two last abound in oil ; that
of the indigo and fennel is contained in vessels forming the
raised lines which may be perceived on the bark. Volatile
oils vary in color, consistency, and weight; there are some,
as those of sassafras and the clove, for instance, which are
459
heavier than water; and there are some, as those of the rose
and parsley, that remain in a concrete state at the usual
temperature of the air, etc.
" The volatile oils are extracted either by distillation or
expression. When the oil is contained in vesicles upon
the surface of the rind, as in those of the lemon and berga-
mot, the cells may be broken and the oil caused to flow out
by merely rubbing the rinds together; or the rinds may be
taken off by grating, and the oil separated from the pulp by
a light pressure, or by allowing the whole to remain undis-
turbed for a few days, when the pulp will settle at the bot-
tom and the oil remain floating above it. When these rinds
are scraped with a bit of sugar, the oil combines with it,
forming an oleosaccharum, useful in giving a pleasant flavor
to liquors."
Count Chaptal gives this simple process for extraction of
oils: "With the exception of the oils of which I have just
spoken, all the volatile oils are extracted by distillation; in
this process the plant is put into the boiler of the alembic
and covered with water; when the water boils the oil rises
with the steam, and is condensed with that in the worm of
the still, whence they flow together into the receiver ; the
oil which swims upon the top is separated from the water,
and this water, which has a milky appearance, is again em-
ployed from preference in new distillations. It is customary
to make use of a narrow straight-necked vessel as a re-
ceiver; the oil collects in the upper part of this, while the
water passes off" through a siphon in the side about four
inches below the neck. In the south of Europe where
great quantities of the volatile oils are prepared, the distil-
lers place their portable apparatus in the open air, in those
places which offer a plentiful harvest of aromatic plants ;
when these are exhausted they remove elsewhere.
" The aromatic oils are employed particularly as perfumes,
and for this purpose are often combined with other sub-
stances. They are likewise used in the manufacture of var-
nishes, from the readiness with which they dissolve colors,
and from their quick evaporation after being applied."
460
At Cannes, in the south of France, I have myself wit-
nessed the operations for extraction of essence of roses,
which are planted in great abundance. On the plantations
in South Carolina rose-water is distilled from the petals of
the sweet rose by a simple process.
Bignoniace^;. (The Trumpet-flower Tribe.)
Bignonia crucigera, Walt. (N. A.F.) 1 Rich, shaded soils;
" capreolata, L. and Ell. Sk. / collected in St. John's,
Berkley; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. March.
Shec. Flora Carol. 278. See B. crucigera, Walt. The
root and vine, in infusion or decoction, answer the purpose
of sarsaparilla. It is detergent and alterative, aperient,
diuretic, and sudorific, used in syphilis, chronic rheumatism,
and in derangements arising from impurities of the blood.
The pith is said to be divided longitudinally into four equal
parts, so that when the stem is cut transversely it exhibits
the appearance of a cross, and hence Walter's name. This
vine appears to be possessed of instinct; it shoots up to the
highest tops of trees before sending out a branch.
Bignonia catalpa, Mx. 1 Catalpa. Grows in the upper
Cataljja cordifolia, Ell. Sk. J and lower country of South
Carolina; collected in St. John's. Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.; Supplem. 1846, 107.
The physicians at Naples, after the favorable report of Thun-
berg and Keempher, as well as those of Brera, have given
incontestable evidence of the advantages resulting from its
use in asthma. The decoction of the fruit is also employed.
See Gazette Medicale, 8, 1834; Journal de Chim. Med. x,
164. Ksempher says he also applied the leaves to the pain-
ful part. Poultry are said to thrive on and to be fond of
the seeds. The timber makes durable posts. I find no
notice of the plant in the American works. The honey
collected from the flowers is somewhat poisonous — resem-
bling, though less active, that collected from the yellow
jessamine. See following.
461
Gelseminum sempervirens, Juss. Jessamine. Grows in
swamps; diffused through the alluvial regions. It is ob-
served that it is gradually gaining ground in the upper
country. I have noticed it just beyond Columbia, and
near Norfolk, Va.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 312 ; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 490.
"Possessed of narcotic properties to a very considerable
degree." A spirituous tincture of the root is used with
success in rheumatism. It is also employed in gonorrhoea ;
ninety drops of the bark of the root in tincture, taken in
three doses, produce vertigo, perverted vision, etc. Its
marked effect on the nervous system has been repeatedly
observed.
The root of the jessamine has been much more freely
used since the publication of my report on the Med. Bot.
of South Carolina, made to the Am. Med. Association, 1849.
Special articles can be found descriptive of its uses in the
Charleston Medical Journal. Dr. Mays, of South Carolina,
has contributed one of these. Drs. Ford and White used
the tincture of the root as they did that of the Vercdrum
viride in yellow fever, for its depressing influence upon the
circulation ; see Ch. Journal. Many employ the tincture of
the root in fevers ; it acts in a manner similar to digitalis
and V. viride, with the addition of some narcotic property.
It. has to be used with caution on these accounts, and because
it induces delirium in overdose. I regret my inability at this
moment to make direct reference to the authorities. Stille's
Therap. and Dunglison's New Remedies may be consulted.
My venerable friend Dr. John Douglass, of Chester, S. C,
writes me that he has used it repeatedly with advantage in
gonorrhoea; see his letter which I published in Ch. Med.
Journal. The active principle, gelseminine, is much used
latterly by a certain school of practitioners at the North
and West, with other substances of similar nomenclature.
I give the following statement of the method of extract-
ing the perfumed oil of flowers, as it may enable those
living where the jessamine, rose, violet, and other flowers
bloom in such abundance, to prepare it. "The essence of
462
rose, of jessamine, violet, etc., are possessed of a more fee-
ble odor, and being obtained from the flowers of their re-
spective plants, require much care in their preparation.
This is done by spreadiug upon white wool, impregnated
with olive oil, the petals of the flowers, and leaving them
for some time covered over with a woollen cloth, upon
which flowers are also scattered. The flowers are renewed
from time to time, until the olive oil employed appears to
be saturated with the oil of the flowers, when this last is
separated by digesting the wool in alcohol." "Wilson's
Rural Cyc. ; consult, also, Ure's Dictionary of Arts, and
Chaptal's Chemistry applied to Agriculture; also Bene
(Sesamum) in this volume. I have seen in the south of
France young girls manufacturing essence of rose. Our
Southern matrons do not lack jessamine flowers or rose
petals for making perfumes, essences, rose-water, etc.
VALEMANACEiE. (Valerian Tribe.)
Valeriana scandens, L. East Florida. Chap.
"We have also V. pauciflora, Mx. Growing on mountains
of Tennessee. They should be examined on account of
their relations with the officinal valerian.
Acanthaceje. ( The Justicia Tribe.)
Huettia strepens, L. Grows in pine barrens ; collected in
John's ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Ainslie, ii, 153 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 285. The leaves
are said to be subacrid.
Orobanchace^:. (The Broom-rape Tribe.)
Orobanche uniflora,, L. Squaw-root; cancer-root; broom-
rape. Grows in pine barrens in the middle district.
U. S. Disp. 1282. It is said to possess properties similar
to the following :
Orobanche Virginiana, L. \ Beech-drop. Grows on
JEpiphegus Americana, Nut-tall. J beech trees exclusively;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. August.
463
U. S. Disp. 128. It has a bitter, nauseous, astringent
taste, diminished by drying; it is given internally in bowel
affections. Dr. Barton thought it was one of the ingredi-
ents of a secret remedy for cancer, known as Martin's can-
cer powder. This is supposed to possess some of the pow-
erful astringency belonging to the 0. major. Michaux says
that in Virginia they use the powder in inveterate ulcers
and cancers. Lind. Nat. Syst. 288; Bart. Med. Bot. ii, 38;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iv, 102.
Orobanche Americana, L. Collected in St. John's in rich
soils ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
This has been also used as a remedy in carcinomatous
affections, ulcers, etc.
ScrophulariacEjE. (The Figwort Tribe.)
Generally acrid and bitterish, sometimes dangerous in
their properties.
Verbascum ihapsus, Walt. Mullein. Diffused; grows in
pastures, upper and lower country of South Carolina ;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Le. Mat. Med. ii, 440 ; Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 295 ; U. S.
Disp. 735; Watson's Pract. Physic, 202; Royle, Mat. Med.
493 ; Journal de Chim. Med. ii, 223 ; Home, Clin. Experi-
ments and Hist.; Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 118; Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. vi, 864; Bull, des Sc. Med. de Ferus,
xvi, 341. The leaves of the flowers contain a narcotic
principle ; a decoction of the flowers and leaves as tea, is
beneficial in dysentery and tenesmus ; it calms pain in the
fundament caused by hemorrhoids ; and it is used in the
convulsions of infants, in ardor urinse, and wherever the
indication is to moderate spasm or irritation. A large
quantity of the flowers will even induce sleep, so active is
the narcotic principle it contains. Dem. ltllem. de Bot. ii,
135; Milne, Ind. Bot. 293. The leaves of mullein, warmed
and applied to the feet, have given relief to those affected
with gout; and the distilled water of the flowers has been
464
used effectually in diseases of the skin; Merat says in ery-
sipelas and colics. Scopoli relates that in Carniola mullein
is esteemed valuable in the pulmonary complaints affecting
cattle (hence called cow's lungwort). "The roots, both
recent and dried, have the property of fattening poultry,
even to obesity." Thornton's Fam. Herbal, 238. It is
useful in stopping or diminishing diarrhoeas of long stand-
ing, and often in easing pain of the intestines, which is ac-
counted for by the anodyne, emollient, and gently astrin-
gent qualities of the plant. Woodv. Med. Bot. ii, 343.
Linnaeus states, in his Veg. Mat. Med. 31, that fish will
become so stupefied by eating the seeds as to allow them-
selves to be taken. See, also, the JEsculus pavia, which
possesses similar powers. Dr. Wood refers to its value in
pectoral diseases, coughs, etc. U. S. Disp. 736. The
leaves, steeped in hot water, are applied externally as a
feeblj7 anodyne emollient dressing for sores, and are much
used by the poorer class. Equal parts of mullein leaves
and the bark of the root of sassafras boiled in water and
concentrated, then mixed with powdered sassafras bark to
form pills, are reputed valuable in the treatment of agues
by the herbalists. See "Indian Guide to Health." Taken
internally, the dose is four ounces, one ounce of the leaves
being added to one pint of water. It would be desirable
to obtain an analysis of this plant.
Verbascum lychnitis, L. Grows iu South Carolina, accord-
ing to Dr. Muhlenberg. Fl. July.
Dem. filem. de Bot. ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med.
vi, 863. The root has been used in jaundice. Durand
gave an extract of the leaves iu this disease, in pectoral
affections, and in colics ; no doubt beneficial, from its
sharing the possession of the narcotic principle ascribed to
the V. thapsus.
Griffith states that the flowers are said to destroy mice.
Med. Bot. 517.
Verbascum blatiaria. Moth mullein. Grows abundantly,
465
according to Elliott, in the middle and upper districts ;
sparingly in the lower; collected in St. John's, Berkley;
near the bridge at the Big Camp, on the Santee canal;
vicinity of Charleston, Bach. Fl. March.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 86^
Serophularia nodosa, Linn. (Prodrom.) V Vicinity of
" Marylandica, Ell. Sk. J Charleston, Bach.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 518. It is vulnerary and soothing,
when applied as a poultice to ulcers, burns, etc.
Chelone glabra, L. Snake-head. Grows in damp soils ;
Richland district; collected in St. John's, Berkley; viciu-
ity, of Charleston; Xewbern. Fl. July.
Griffith, Med. Bot, 520. In small doses it is laxative;
large quantities purge. It acts on the liver; one drachm
of the powder may be given at once. It is administered
by the vegetable practitioners as an anthelmintic ; also in
jauudice, in hepatic disorders generally, and in constipa-
tion. It is prescribed as an alterative and tonic in impure
conditions of the blood — 'the decoction, powder, or tincture
used.
Digitalis -purpurea. Digitalis ; foxglove.
It is stated in one of the gazettes that this plant grows
native around Charleston! See Shec, Flora Carol. 305.
Elliott makes no mention of it; neither does Bachman in
his Catalogue. The power this remarkable species pos-
sesses of diminishing the force of the circulation is well
known. It sometimes proves violently emetic and purga-
tive. See authors.
Gratiola officinalis, j Hedge hyssop. Kafr-
" Virginiea, of Mx. Ell. Sk. J ural. Abundant along
the margins of ditches; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. April.
Bull. Plantes Ven de France, 118. It is purgative and
emetic; like the arum, however, it loses much of its
virtue when dried; a small quantity of the fresh root will
30
466
purge excessively (des superpurgations extremement dan-
gereuses). It was used, says Lieutaud, as a hydragogue
cathartic, sixty grains of the dried root being given in
dropsy and intermittent fever. Thornton's Fam. Herbal,
23. It is also sdfd to be powerfully anthelmintic, and was
highly spoken of by the celebrated Boerhaave, by Hoff-
mann, and Dureau. '; Relieves dropsy in the chest." Lind.
K"at. Syst. 291. According to Vauquelin, the purgative
property depends upon a peculiar substance analogous to
resin, but differing from it in being soluble in hot water.
Graiiola awed, Muhl. Vicinity of Charleston.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 519. It is said to be fully as power-
ful as the above, as a substitute for which it is employed;
attention is called to it.
jDaiysioma pubeseens, Benth. • \ Abundant in rich, dry
Gerardia Flam, L. and Ell. Sk. J woods.
This plant, it is said, will prevent the attacks of yellow
and other flies upon horses; probably owing to its great
viscidity. See '•'•Juglans." It is pubescent and highly vis-
cous. It has very little taste, unless chewed for some time.
Upon a subsequent examination (1862) of the G. Flava, I
find that each hair with which the plant is covered secretes
from a gland at its summit a tenacious, gummy substance,
to which insects may adhere. Under the microscope it is
an interesting object. The leaves of the English elder
(Sambucus nigra') "kill several species of noxious insects,
offend and banish moles, and are greedily eaten by sheep."
Our Lysima.chias should be examined, as the leaves and
flowers of L. Nummularia, steeped in oil, have the power of
destroying insects and worms which infest granaries.
Veronica officinalis. Speedwell. Grows in South Caro-
lina, according to Pursh. Fl. May.
Linn. Veg. Mat. Med. 1. This is tonic and pectoral;
used in asthmas and coughs, four spoonfuls of the ex-
pressed juice being given in the form of tea. Indig. Bot.
467
18. The infusion of the leaves is employed on the west
coast of Africa as a drink in gravelly complaints. Drs.
Frank and Scopoli wrote monographs on it; the latter
affirms that he cured a very violent case, where suffocation
arose from catarrhal affection, by introducing through the
mouth, by a funnel, the vapor of a decoction of Veronica,
mixed with vinegar. It contains tannin. Mer. and de L.
Diet, de M. Med. vi, 875; Flore Med. vi, 845. It is al-
luded to in the U. S. Disp. as a diaphoretic, diuretic, and
expectorant, which had passed out of use. Griffith refers
to it as a mild astringent. Many of these plants only re-
quire examination to regain the confidence once placed in
them; all being liable to the fluctuations which have char-
acterized some that are now considered our most valuable
agents.
Veronica peregrina, Mx. ISTeckweed. Vicinity of Charles-
ton; l"Tewbern.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 517. In some portions of the United
States it is supposed, to be very efficacious ; and is used
internally, and externally as a wash in scrofulous tumors
on the neck.
Veronica Virginica, L. 1 Virginian veronica. Grows in
Leptandra, Nutt. J the mountain valleys. Fl. Au-
gust.
U. S. Disp. 772; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi,
816. • The root is bitter and nauseous, yielding its active
properties to boiling water. In the recent state it is said
to act violently, sometimes as a cathartic, and sometimes as
an emetic.
Under the name blackroot, Gulver's root, and the proba-
bly erroneous botanical name [Leptandra alba), the author
of a work professing to describe the Indian mode of treat-
ing diseases, entitled the "Cherokee Physician," recom-
mends the plant as aue efficient purge: "operating with
mildness and certainty;" peculiarly adapted to typhoid and
bilious fevers. Dose, a large teaspoonful of the root in a
468
gill of boiling water, repeated in three hours. It is said to
be also diaphoretic. The root may be given in any shape,
and is thought to have a slow, alterative action. An
extract is also used in making cathartic pills by concen-
trating the decoction, and using starch or liquorice root
powder; or a syrup is made by adding molasses or sugar.
It is laxative in tablespoonful doses. A principle called
leptandrine, from the Leptandra, is much used in the West-
ern states. An emetic decoction is made by the vegetable
practitioners with the Leptandra root: half a pound Amer-
ican ipecacuanha, or the Indian physic one pound, put
into a gallon of water and boiled down to a pint, of which
the dose is an ounce every twenty minutes till vomiting is
induced; or two teaspoonfuls of the powder may be given
in an ounce of boiling water, to be repeated.
Veronica ariagaUis, Mich. Brook pimpernel; long-leaved
brook-lime. Grows in South Carolina, according to Pursh.
Nat. Fl. July.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 130. The infusion is diuretic,
antiscorbutic, and vulnerary.
Solanace^e. ( The Nightshade Tribe.)
Leaves are narcotic and exciting — tubers generally whole-
some.
Capsicum annuum. Pepper. Cultivated in South Caro-
lina. •
Its properties are well known. It may be used as an
external irritant in place of mustard.
Solanum nigrum, L. Deadly nightshade. Grows in rich
soils; collected in St. John's, Charleston district; vicinity
of Charleston; ]S"ewbern. Fl. July.
Trous. et Pid. Mat. Med. i, 206; IT. S. Disp. 304; Eberle,
Mat. Med. ii, 89; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 343; Poyle, Mat.
Med. 495; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 326; Le. Mat.
Med. ii, 272: Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 417;
469
Journal de Chim. Med. iii, 422 and 541 ; Eouv. Journal de
Med. x, 67; Alibert, Nouv. Elems. de Therap. i, 417. The
berries are an active narcotic poison ; one grain of these, in
augmented doses, is used as a remedy for increased flow of
urine. It is indicated in diseases affecting the bladder, re-
bellions ulcers, etc. Milne, Ind. Bot. 315; Bull. Plantes
Ven. de France, 155; Bern. £lem. de Bot. ii, 139. When
swallowed, headache, violent distortion of limbs, and delir-
ium supervene. Rucke mentions a case of a family having
eaten the leaves, and being attacked with swelling of the
face, accompanied with burning heat, followed by gangrene.
Forskall, in his Flora JEgypt. Arabica, says that an appli-
cation of the bruised leaves acts as a specific in the disease
termed by the Arabs bulla, and, applied with hog's lard,
cures whitlows. Cgesalpinus states that the juice, or a de-
coction, proved useful in inflammation of the stomach. Gat-
aker, in his "Observations on the Use of the Solanum,"
commenced by giving a grain, which acted gently as an
evacuant by sweat, urine, and stool; if the dose was too
large, it produced vomiting, profuse perspiration, or too
copious a discharge by the kidneys, or diarrhoea, and some-
times dimness of sight, vertigo, etc. He used it frequently
in nervous affections, obscure pains, and dropsy. Stearns'
Am. Herb.; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. The leaves,
beat up into a poultice, are applied to painful parts, hemor-
rhoids, etc., and as a cataplasm in spasmodic retention of
urine, and in catarrh of the bladder, no doubt producing
beneficial results by its narcotic properties. Combined with
bread, or bruised and applied alone, it eases headache and
pain in the ears, helps inflammation of a venereal kind, pains
from cancerous tumors, and is applied with advantage in
herpetic, syphilitic, and scorbutic eruptions. Given inter-
nally, one half-grain infused in one ounce of boiling water
may be used. See, also, Linnaeus, Veg. Mat. Med. 34 ; Flore
Med. v, 239. It was mentioned by Bioscorides, iv, 56. By
the analysis of Besfosses, the berries furnish an alkaloid
called solanine, possessed of marked properties. jNouv.
Journal de Med. x, 67; Journal de Chim. Med. iii. 541,
470
Dunal says it induces dilatation of the pupil by friction, as
completely as it is accomplished by belladonna. Auc.
Journal de Med. vi, 150; Hist. Med. des Solane, by Dunal.
It has been doubted whether it produces any impression
upon epileptic patients. Botanique Med. 292. The fumes
arising from the burning of the fresh fruit are valuable in
curing toothache. Gazette of Health, May, 1824. The
juice furnishes a reactive agent, which indicates at the same
time acids and alkalies, according to S. Boullav, Bull, des
Pharm. ii, 576; and in the Observs. on different English
species by Bromsfield. See also Desfosses, Chem. Anal, of
the narcotic principle, followed by some cases illustrating
the action of that principle; 'Revue Med. iv. 463. Griffith,
Med. Bot. 482, says that it appears to possess the same prop-
erties as the S. dulcamara, but in a greater degree ; accounted
for by the fact that solanina exists in it in larger proportion.
Orfila found the extract equal in power and energy to that
of lactucarium. Toxicol. Gen. ii, 190. It may be employed
in the same description of cases as the bittersweet. Eberle
thinks it is by far too much neglected.
Solarium. Caroline?! se, Michaux. Horse-nettle. Diffused ;
collected in St. John's, in pine barrens; vicinity of Charles-
ton ; Xewbern. Fl. August.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 410. Valentine em-
ployed it in tetanus (non traumatique). The juice of five
or six berries was used, augmenting the dose from day to
day. See "A notice of the different methods of treating
tetanus in America, with observations on the good effects
of the S. Carolinen.sc" (in French). Journal Gen. de Med.
xl, 13. They did not have it in sufficient quantities to re-
peat the experiment; with us it is abundant. It possesses
some reputation among the negroes in this state as an
aphrodisiac-.
Solanum mammosum, Pursh. Vicinity of Charleston.
Lind. ISTat. Syst. 295. The decoction of the root is bitter,
and is esteemed a valuable diuretic. Ainslie, M. Med. 291 :
471
Griffith's Med. Bot. 483. It bears a poisonous fruit, which
is said to contain malate of solanina. Its extract, in small
doses, has been given in cardialgia, lepra, etc. Flore Med.
Antill. iii, 159.
Solamcm Virginianum, Pursh. Grows in sandy soils; A'i-
cinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Stearns' Am. Herbal, 154. The leaves are anodyne; the
juice of the whole plant is sharp and corrosive, and inspis-
sated in the sun to the consistence of an ointment, is applied
to cancers and ulcers. "The plant is good in rheumatic
affections, and in those proceeding from venereal taint —
surpassing opium." It has also been found serviceable in
itch and herpes. From this statement, it appears to resem-
ble in its properties the 8. nigrum.
Solanum tuberosum. Cult. Irish potato. It is said to
have been originally carried to Europe from Virginia. Bald-
win found it growing wild in Peru.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 142. The juice of the leaves is
said to be an excellent diuretic. "Nous avons remarque
que les enfans de nos provinces, nourris avec ces racines,
ont le ventre gros, dur, et sont sujets a des glandes tume-
fiees!" Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 295, where it is mentioned
that the root, in a state of putrefaction, is affirmed to give
out a light sufficient to read by. Macculloch said potash
could not be obtained from the stalks, though it exists
largely in the plant. Griffith's Med. Bot. 488. An extract
of the leaves is highly spoken of by Mr. Dyer in chronic
rheumatism, and in painful affections of the stomach and
bowels; he thinks it ranks between conium and belladonna.
Pharm. Journal, i, 590.
The Irish as well as the sweet potato, rice, etc., contain
starch in large amount, and it is easily obtained. See " Ma-
ranta," arrow-root, in this volume.
The following is a method of clemming silks with potatoes :
three Irish potatoes are pared into thin slices, and well
washed ; pour on them a half-pint of boiling water, ana*
472
add to it an equal quantity of alcohol; sponge the silk on
the right side, and when half-dry iron it on the wrong
side. The most delicate colored silks may be cleansed by
this process, which is equally applicable to cloth, velvet, or
crape.
Solatium lycopersicum. Ex. Cult. Tomato.
The fruit of this plant is well known as an article of
food; it is slightly acid, and has a constipating effect,
which renders it so appropriate as an article of food during
the warm months of summer. The leaves are said to pro-
duce vomiting, from an alkaline principle which exists in
them; they also contain calcareous sulphates, extractive,
and a coloring matter, combined with a volatile oil. See
analysis in Journal de Pharm. xviii, 106; Griffith's Med.
Bot. 483. The alkaloid principle contained in the leaves is
analogous to, if not identical with solanina. A peculiar oil
and an annualized extractive are also ascribed to it' by
other observers. Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. iv, 224. The
fruit contains a peculiar acid, and a brown, tarry, odorous,
resinous matter, with some indications of the presence of
an alkaloid. It is said to act on the biliary functions.
Tomatoes may be preserved for winter use in a portable
form suitable for distribution to soldiers in camp as well
as for families in the following manner: mash the fruit,
strain the juice through a coarse towel, season with salt,
boil in a pewter or tin vessel until one-third is evaporated;
then spread on a flat surface and expose to the sun till it
looks like a paste. When ready to store away put writing
paper over the paste, wet in vinegar. This is a plan used
by the ladies in South Carolina. The watery parts are all
evaporated, and a small portion is enough to season soup,
broths, etc. The economical value of the plant is well
known. The seeds are irritant to the mucous coat of the
digestive organs, but the laxative effect is corrected by the
juice, which darkens the, excreta as if a salt of iron had
been taken. The use of the fruit tends to promote consti-
pation and prevent diarrhcaa.
473
Phy satis pubescens. Grows in sandy soils; collected in
St. John's. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 296 ; Journal de Chim.
Med. vi; 210. It is supposed that the species bearing this
name in Europe and America are different. The former is
interesting.
Phy salts viscosa, L. ^ Ground -cherry. Diffused;
" obscura, Mich. V grows along roads; collected in
" pubescens, W. ) St. John's, Berkley; vicinity of
Charleston. Fl. Aug.
This is said by Clayton to be actively diuretic.
Atropa physaloides. Grows around buildings; in rich
soils. Fl. Aug.
This plant would probably be found upon examination
to be possessed of some medicinal qualities.
Nicotiana tabacum, W. Tobacco. Introduced.
This plant grows in South Carolina and Georgia. . In
the lower portions of the latter state it is planted as an arti-
cle of trade. Its properties are well known. See authors.
Tobacco should be more extensively cultivated for home
use, particularly for the comfort of our negroes in Carolina,
Georgia, and Alabama. I have seen it springing up, and
bearing abundantly near Stateburg, South Carolina; it
was flourishing without culture. Consult Johnson's Chem-
istry of Common Life, vol. ii, p. 32, for an interesting
account of tobacco; the papers in the Lancet during the.
controversy on the subject of the use of tobacco; also the
British and Foreign Med. Chirug. Review. In the manu-
facture of Killickinick tobacco in Virginia they add sumach
leaves, which lessens the strength. See a paper on the
"Cultivation of Cuba Tobacco," by J. M. Hernandez, of
St. Augustine, Florida, in Patent Office Reports, 1854, p.
212; the best mode of preparing it is also treated of. The
ashes of tobacco contain a large proportion of potash.
The residuum of ash after burning is very great, as any
474
one can observe by noticing what remains when a cig;ar is
consumed. The plant also yields ammoniacal salts. A full
account of the amount of tobacco produced in the several
states, and of the culture and mode of preparation may be
found in the Farmer's Encyc. from the Farm Register.
Datura stramonium. Linn. Jamestown weed; thorn-
apple; stramonium. Diffused; grows abundantly in upper
and lower districts; Newbern. Fl. July.
Trous. et Pid. Traite de Therap. et de M. Med. i, 230 ;
Orfila, Traite de Toxicol. Journ. Univ. des Sci. Med. 47,
227 ; Ell. Bot. 276 ; Drayton's View, 63 ; Edin. Med. and
Surg. Journal vii and viii, 1812; Trans. Med. Chirurg. Soc.
Edin. i, 285; Archives Generates de Med. iv, 373; Med.
Chirurg. Trans. Loud, vii, ann. 1806 ; Bell's Pract, Diet. 434;
Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 80; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 438; Pe.
Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 308;. Frost's Elems. Mat Med.
460; IT. S. Disp. 688; Watson's Pract. Physic, 197; De
Cand. Phys. Veg. i, 354; Bayle, Bill. Therap. ii; Big. Am.
Med. Bot. i, 17; "Wooclv. Med. Bot. 74, 197; Trait6 de
Chimie, 81, 319; Paris's Pharm.; Bart, Essay Form. Mat.
Med. 48; New England Med. and Surg. Journ. iv, 226;
Med. Chirurg. Trans, vii, 2; Ball, and Gar. Mat. Med.
346; CuMen, Mat Med. ii, 281; Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 122;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 593; Bull, des Sci.
Med. de Ferns, xi, 197; Lindeustolpe, de Venenis, 531, op.
tit.; Sauvage, Xosol. ii, 430; Greding, in Ludwig's Adver-
saria, i, 345; Murray's Apparat. Med. i, 670; Fowler, in
Med. Comment, v, 161 ; Adhelius, cit, in Med. Com. Phil.
Trans. Abridg. vi, 53; Rush, in Phil. Trans, i, 384; SchoBpf,
Mat. Med. 25; Wedinburg, Med. Comment, iii, 18; Bev-
erly's Hist. Virginia, 121; Med. and Phys. Journal, xxv,
xxvi; Cooper, in Caldwell's Thesis, vol. i; Shec. Flora
Carol. 497; Mew York. Med. Repos. ii, 27; Lind. Nat,
Syst. Bot. 294.
A well-known narcotic and antispasmodic, employed in
mania, epilepsy, chorea, tetanus, and palsy.
Bergius frequently saw maniacs restored to perfect sane-
475
ness of mind, which they never afterward lost, by the
continued use of the extract of our common stramonium;
and by the same means he effectually cured the delirium
so often attendant upon childbirth, where every other
remedy had proved abortive. Bull, des Plantes Ven. et
Suspect, de France, i, 38; Dem. IClem. de Bot. ii, 75;
Milne, Ind. Bot. 285. Adhelius states that of fourteen
patients who suffered under epilepsy and nervous affec-
tions in a hospital at Stockholm, eight were completely
cured, five relieved, and only one received no benefit.
Thornton's Fam. Herb. 188; Woodv. Med. Bot. ii, 339;
Storck, i, c. 5 ; Karnes in Comm. Nov. 1733, p. 251 ; Lob-
sten, Epistle ad Gurren, Plantes Yen. Alsat. Eph. Nat.
Cur. cent, ix, obs. 94; Huckel in Comm. Nov. 1744, 14;
Barrex, Essai sur l'Hist. Nat. de la France, 48 ; Buchner,
Misc. Phys. Mat. 122. The seeds are soporific, and are
said to induce delirium and a partial forgetfulness, and to
be used by women in the East for purposes herein stated,
viz: uAb India alia inebriantia et aromatica in electuarium recip-
itur semen, ad grata phantasmata cienda, et, ui quidem vohmt,
quo ad cetera patranda, tanto audaciores evadant." Ksempher,
Exotic, 650. " Somnumfacit adeo profundum ut impune pudi-
citia puellce violari possit, quce hoc toxicum, sumserit." Haller, t.
c. " A mulleribus iiifidis Turcis gynecceis inclusis, ad consopticn-
dos et dementandos maritos, quo aliorum mqjis desideratorum
ajnplexibus satientur, usurpari, et Hamburgi a vetula sic honest-
am feminam, quo se inscm mazchum admitteret, intoxicatam nar-
ratm\" See Lindenstolpe, de Venenis, 531 ; Mer. and de
L. Supplem. to Diet, de M. Med. 238, 1846. Dr. Begbie
has given the extract with great success, in doses of one-
quarter to one-half grain every four hours, in many cases
of neuralgia. Iievue Med. iii, 57, and iv, 414. Dr. Fott
relates the case of a young lady who was cured in six
weeks of tic douloureux bv usine' eiffht to fifteen drachms
of the tincture. Gazette de Sante, Janvier, 1830, p. 8 ;
Emploi du Stramonium dans 1'Asthme Nerveux, Paris,
1835. Series of observations in relation to the use of the
dried leaves as a purgative in the treatment of asthma (in
476
French). Bull, de Therap. vi, 12, 336. Ducros' Observa-
tions on the efficacy of the leaves of Dat. stramonium in a
case of angina pectoris, from the Bull, de Therap. vii, 93.
Serres' Observations on the employment of extract of Stra-
monium in facial JSTeuralgia. Bull, de Therap. xiv, 51. F.
Moreau, Mem. on treatment of Hallucination by Stramo-
nium, in Gazette Medicale, 373, 1841; see, also, Biblio-
theque de Therap. by M. Bayle, ii, 249. Lindley, in his
^Natural S}7stem, says it is more particularly applicable in
"mania without fever." The remedies for poisoning by
this plant are a speedy emetic, the free use of vegetable
acids, strong coffee, etc. Dr. Fisher, President of the
Massachusetts Medical Society, found stramonium useful,
remarks Bigelow, in those cases of epilepsy which are
diurnal or have regular returns. It was unsuccessful in
those which did not observe any regular period. In tic
douloureux of long standing it is advised that it be taken
in large doses, and that the system be kept under its
influence. The leaf, prepared and smoked as tobacco, has
been found to act as a palliative in asthma; the root being
less useful in this respect. From the observations of Br.
Marcet, Phys. Guy's Hosp., taken internally it had proved
very effectual in removing acute pains, as in those arising
from chronic diseases, acute uterine affections, for instance.
Decided benefit was obtained from it in four cases of
sciatica, and in two others complicated with syphilitic
pains. Eberle used it in this disease with entire success;
and he states that his trials with it in rheumatism were
exceedingly flattering. Dr. Chapman administered it in
dysmenorrhoea. The employment of the ointment in
allaying pain was known as far back as the time of
Gerarde, 1597. It is efficacious in changing the condition
and promoting cicatrization ; acetate of lead being employ-
ed with the ointment as an application to painful and
irritable ulcers and hemorrhoidal tumors. Preparations of
stramonium applied to the eye, it is well known, diminish
sensibility and dilate the pupil. I have seen the extract
employed to a large extent in the New York Eye Infirm-
•477 '
ary, in which institution it has entirely taken the place of
belladonna as an application for dilating the pupil. Its
virtues reside in an extractive principle, which is dissolved
by water. The powder should be kept in closely stopped
bottles ; the juice may be pressed out of the leaves with a
bag. The ointment ma}' be made with a pound of the
fresh leaves simmered in three of lard until the leaves
become crisp, then strained, and cooled gradually. Grif-
fith, Med. Bot. 461. Its peculiar properties depend upon
a principle called daturia, very analogous to hyoscyamia,
slowly dilating the pupil and exercising a poisonous influ-
ence. Mr. Morries, in Ed. Med. and Surg. Journal, xxxix,
379, has described an empyreumatic oil obtained from it,
closely allied to that from the foxglove. Stramonium is
stated to be an acro-narcotic, very similar to( belladonna,
but acting in a more marked manner upon the secretory
functions. Chapman says it is considered useful rather in
allaying the excessive mobility of the system than in tend-
ing to the absolute cure of the complaint; referring to its
effects in mania and epilepsy. Dr. Marcet regards its
operation on the bowels as relaxing rather than astringent.
The ointment has been recommended in nymphomania, to
lessen venereal excitement. The dose of the powdered
leaves is one grain, of the seeds half a grain ; of the
extract of the seeds one-quarter of a grain, from the
leaves one grain ; of the tincture ten drops, to be increased
if necessary. The tincture is made with four ounces of the
bruised seed to two pints of diluted alcohol — macerate for
fourteen da}s. In dilating the pupil with the extract, pre-
liminary to an examination of a diseased eye by the catop-
tric test, I have repeatedly found it to allay supra-orbital
pains. To relieve the latter, so often a distressing concomi-
tant, we frequently prescribe it, with equal parts of
mercurial ointment and thirty grains of mur. morphise, as
a local application. The plant while young and tender is
readily collected and eaten as a salad by soldiers in camp.
Datura tatula, L. Purple thorn-apple. Grows around
Charleston. El. July and September.
478
IT. S. Disp. 690. "It possesses very much the same
properties as the D. stramonium." Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. 599. The decoction of the leaves is employed in
leprosy. Diet, des Drogues, ii, 56. Said to be aphrodisiac.
GENTiAtfACEiE. (The Gentian Tribe.)
Characterized by intense bitterness.
Gentiana JElliottii, Chap. Fl. \ Sampson's snakeroot.
" Gatesbm, Ell. J Damp soils along rivu-
lets ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ; grows
in Georgia also ; l^ewbern. Fl. September.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 138 ; U. S. Disp. 348 ; Bell's
Pract. Diet. 218; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii,
361 ; Coxe, Am. Disp. 304 ; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med.
359; Griffith, Med. Bot. 461. An excellent bitter tonic,
"little inferior to the European gentian," introduced to
notice by Dr. McBride, of St. John's, Berkley, South
Carolina. It is frequently prescribed with advantage in
pneumonia attended with typhoid symptoms, and in dys-
pepsia. The virtues reside in a bitter extractive principle,
soluble in water and alcohol. It may be advantageously
combined with chalybeates. It is employed to some extent
in popular practice in this state, and is found of much
service as a substitute for bitters. The decoction is the
form prescribed in pneumonia. The saturated spirituous
tincture is advised in dyspepsia and in debility of stomach,
in doses of one-quarter to one-half of a fluidounce. The
root is officinal ; dose of the powder from fifteen to thirty
grains. The compound infusion is made with one-half
ounce of the root, orange peel and coriander each one
drachm, cold water twelve fluidounces, macerate for twelve
hours; dose, one fluidounce. Dose of extract, ten to thirty
grains. Given before meals it invigorates the stomach,
increases the appetite, and prevents acidification of the
food.
For extraction of "bitter principle" in plants, see Rural
Cyc. 435, vol. i. It is believed by many that the use of bit-
479
ters in spring and autumn will counteract the action of
malaria." They certainly prevent debility, and increase the
digestive and nutritive powers, and thus indirectly act as
prophylactics, even when they possess no positive virtue
as antiperiodic agents. The various species of gentian,
thorough wort, sabbatia, dogwood, poplar bark, willow, pip-
sissewa, or winter-green, wild cherry bark, sarracenia, etc.,
supply useful bitters. They may be collected and prepared
by any one. Cold water extracts bitters, and alcohol may
also be added to preserve the infusion.
Gentiana purpurea, rubra, and lutea are used in England as
substitutes for hops. No doubt our species would serve the
same purpose; at any rate, they will give a bitter tonic
property when used in the manufacture of ale, beer, etc.
Gentiana ochroleuca, W. Grows in damp soils ; collected
in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. September.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 340. It possesses properties some-
what similar to the above.
Gentiana, saponaria, L. \ . .
G. catesbeei, Walt. J ^ lcimt^ ot Ctoayiepton,
Griffith, Med. Bot. 461.
I
Gentiana quinqueflora, Frl. This and the G. sap. are
esteemed fully equal to the imported gentian. In large
doses they are said to be laxative !
Sabbatia angular is, Pursh. \ Am. centaury. Grows in
Chironia, Linn. j low soils along rivulets ; col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley; vicinity of Charleston.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 385; Chap. Therap. and Mat.
Med. 438; ii, 417; U. S. Disp. 611; Pe. Mat. Med. and
Therap. ii, 344; Royle, Mat. Med. 475; Eberle, Mat. Med.
i, 307. See Chironia, Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 147 ; Bart.
M. Bot. 1255 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat, Med. 1176 ; Barton's
Collec. i, 15; Lincl. Nat. Syst. Bot. 297; Griffith's Med.
Bot. 459 ; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 529. " This is a pure
480
bitter, with tonic and stomachic properties." Bigelow does
not hesitate to attest its utility; and Eberle considers it one
of the most valuable of our indigenous remedies of this
class ; employed in domestic practice in intermittent fever,
but principally to invigorate the stomach and alimentary
canal. Barton says it was given with success in certain
stages of the yellow fever. The cold infusion of one ounce
of the herb to one pint of boiling water, taken in doses of
a wineglassful every two hours, may be used, or thirty
grains to sixty grains of the powder, which also acts as a
vermifuge. The decoction, extract, and tincture may be
used.
Sabbalia stellaris, Ph. (Prodrom.) V Grows in damp soils;
" gracilis, Mich. Ell. Sk. JXewbern; vicinity of
Charleston; collected in St. John's; sent to me from Ab-
beville by Mr. Reed. It possesses properties similar to the
above.
Frasera Carolinensis, Walt. ^ Am. Colombo. Found in
" Walteri, Mich. /Fairfield and Abbeville dis-
tricts ; Xewbern.
Ell. Bot. McBride's Xote, i, 205; Drake's Cincinnati, 86;
Bart. Veg. Mat. Med. iii, 107 ; Raf. Med. Fl. i, 196 ; Coxe,
Am. Disp. 297; Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 534; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 291 ; Griffith's Med. Bot. 463.
"A pure, powerful, and excellent bitter, destitute of
aroma." Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. In the recent state it is
said to possess considerable emetic and cathartic power;
the root is employed as a tonic and febrifuge, and is sub-
stituted for the officinal Colombo with equal advantage,
given during the convalescence from fevers. By the anal-
ysis of Mr. Douglas, Am. Journal Pharm. vi, 157, it con-
tains bitter extractive, gum, tannin, gallic acid, resin, fatty
matter, sugar, etc. Griffith, in Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm.
iii, 269. In the recent state it is employed as a substitute
for rhubarb, in doses of thirty grains to one drachm of the
infusion of one ounce of the root to one pint of boiling
481
water, of which a wineglassful may be taken three times a
da}r. It should be collected in the autumn of the second or
spring of the third year. The root before being dried should
be cut in transverse slices. An infusion is made with one
ounce of the bruised root to one pint of boiling water;
dose, one or two iiuidounces. It is also useful prescribed
as a tonic. This plant holds a deservedly high rank
among our native tonics, and I would recommend its
employment to those residing in localities where it may be
found. The tincture is given as a tonic, and the powdered
plant applied externally to ulcers in the form of a poultice
for its antiseptic powers.
Spigeliace^. (The Wormseed Tribe.)
Shigella Marylandiea, Walter. Pink-root. Abundant in
the lower portions of South Carolina ; collected in St. John's ;
vicinity of Charleston. Fl. May.
Lining, Essays and Obs. Phys. Lit. South Carolina, i, 386 ;
Garden's Essay Phys. and Lit. iii, 145 ; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes,
237; Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 377; Chalmers on the Weather
and Diseases of South Carolina, i, 67; Frost's Elems. Mat.
Med. 187; Le. Mat. Med. ii, 377; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i,
142; Home, Chirm Exper. 420; Murray's App. Med. i, 548;
Royle, Mat. Med. 469; Thompson's Inaug. Diss. Fenella,
Journal de Pharm. ix, 197 ; Griffith, Phil. Journal Pharm.
1833; Bell's Pract, Diet. 433; Ed. and Vav. Mat. Med. 5%;
Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 344; U. S. Disp. 680; Ball.
and Gar. Mat. Med. 334; Bergii, Mat. Med. i, 96; Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 502; Coxe, Am. Disp. 128
and 558; Bull, des Sci. Med. de Ferus, xi, 301; Lind. Nat.
Syst. Bot, 299; Bart. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 80; Woodv. Med.
Bot. ii, 289. See Dr. Brocklesby's Obs. Med. 282; Grif-
fith's Med. Bot. 466. This plant is a well-known indigenous
anthelmintic, possessed of narcotic and cathartic powers.
Dr. Barton found it also useful in the fevers of children not
proceeding from verminous irritation, as from those, for in-
stance, consequent upou hydrocephalus. The root contains
a heavy, gross, and volatile oil, a small quantity of resin, a
31
482
peculiar bitter substance, spigeline, albumen, gallic acid, salts,
etc. See Anal. Journal de Pharm. ix, 197. According to
Feneuille, spigeline is bitter, nauseant, and purgative, and
produces a sort of intoxication (ivresse). The root is much
more active in the recent state. With senna, it forms the
well-known and efficacious remedy called worm-tea: com-
posed of spig. half an ounce; senna two drachms; savin
half a drachm, and manna two drachms — to be infused in
a pint of water and strained, of which one to two ounces
may be given to a child. This dose does not excite narcotic
symptoms. Chalmers' Hist, of South Carolina. Dr. Lin-
ing, of South Carolina, gave twelve grains of the root of
this plant to an infant morning and evening; ten to twenty
grains may be given to one of seven, and one drachm to an
adult, repeated two or three times a day; or an ounce of
the root infused in one pint of water, of which a half may
be taken by an adult, and one or two spoonfuls by a child.
When a full dose is given at night, it is well to follow it by
a purge in the morning. Dr. J. P. Thomas informs me that
his children drink the pink-root tea habitually as a bever-
age, and prefer it to the hyson; and in this way it proves
prophylactic against worms.
Apocynace^e.
It contains species with purgative, acrid, and febrifugal
properties.
Forsteronia diffbrmis, D. C. (Prodrom.) I A vine; found
Echites " Walter, and Ell. Sk. / sparingly in
South Carolina; collected in St. John's, Berkley, on Sarra-
zin PI. (Mrs. I. S. Porcher's); found also in the vicinity
of Charleston.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 51. With milk, it
is used as a wash for freckles. The juice is said to be suffi-
ciently caustic to destroy warts and scirrhous excrescences.
Any portion of the plant will coagulate milk.
The juice of our species of Echites and Forstercfuia (E.
difformis, Ell. and Walt.) should be examined, for from this
483
genus is obtained the highly poisonous Woorari (from E.
subereeta) growing in Jamaica.
Apocynum cannabinum, L. ) Indian hemp; dog's-bane;
A. pubesccns, Ell. Sk. /old Amy-root; grows along
fences in wet soils; collected in St. John's; vicinity of
Charleston; Newbern. Fl. July.
Bell's Pract. Diet, 61; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 365;
Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. v, 136; Am. Journal Med. Sci.
xii, 55; Dr. Griscom, in op. til; IT. S. Disp. 108; Am. Med.
Rev. iii, 197; Ball, and Gar. Mat. Med. 338; Mer. and de
L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 368. This is a powerful emeto-ca-
thartic, producing diaphoresis, and expectoration, inducing
also a tendency to sleep, independent of the exhaustion con-
sequent upon vomiting. The evacuations brought on by it
are large, feculent, and watery'; and they are succeeded by
perspiration. Am. Journal Med. Sci. loc. tit : "It diminishes
the frequency of the pulse, and induces drowsiness." This
plant is one of our most powerful hydragogue cathartics
and diuretics, and has frequently cured aggravated cases of
ascites. It acts so decidedly in draining the system that
Dr. Rush called it the "vegetable trocar." We have seen
it used with advantage in dropsy by Dr. V. Mott among his
clinical patients; he employs it in all cases of tonic dropsy,
being too active for those of an atonic character, where iron
would have been advisable. Dr. Knapp states, in his Inaug.
Thesis, that fifteen to twenty grains of the powdered root
would induce vomiting; he gave it in intermittent fever, in
pneumonic affections, in dysentery, and as an alterative in
enteritis. It acts as a sternutatory, and the fresh juice has
been employed as an external application in some cutane-
ous affections. By chemical analysis, it is shown to contain
tannin, gallic acid, gum-resin, wax, fecula, and a bitter prin-
ciple, apoc.yne. Merat states, in the Supplem. to the Diet,
de M. Med. 52, 1846, that the preparation called apocyne
combines all its valuable constituents. Revue Med. Oct.
1833, and Journal de Chim. Med. x, 95 et 567; see, also,
Griffith, Med. Bot. 449. The decoction, made with one
484
ounce of the root in one pint of boiling water, is given in
doses of a wineglassful three times a day. The bark fur-
nishes a fibre resembling hemp, of a whiter color, and supe-
rior in durability; and the decoction affords a permanent
dye, brown or black, according to the mordant used. It is
given to some extent in domestic practice in the lower por-
tions of this state, and is called by the negroes "General
Marion's weed," from its having been a favorite remedial
agent in the camp of the partisan leader.
"This plant has been proved by Prof. Thouin, of Paris,
to possess a stronger fibre than that of hemp; and it is used
by the American Indians for making cordage, fishing nets,
and coarse cloth. The name alludes to the noxiousness of
the juice to dogs." Rural Cyc. See Urliea, Linum, Ascle-
pias, for plants containing textile fibres. We have also A.
androscemifolium. In St. John's, Berkley, S. C, this plant
is known as "Amy root," and is esteemed to possess great
virtues in arresting intermittent fevers — used as a substitute
for quinine. It is generally given steeped in whiskey, or a
decoction may be drunk as a tea. I am told by residents
that the plant is also purgative, and it affords a singular
example of a bitter and a purgative united, hence its appli-
cability as a stomachic in constipation, dyspepsia, and de-
praved conditions of the nutritive organs. A subject of
violent asthma assures me that the decoction gives her more
relief than any other agent tried, possibly by promoting
digestion. See next species.
Apocynam androscemifolium, L. Dog's-bane. Grows in
damp, rich soils; vicinity of Charleston.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 148; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. i, 868; Coxe, Am. Disp. 85; Kalm's Travels, 326;
Griffith, Med. Bot. 450. Thirty grains of the powder of
the recently dried root is emetic and diaphoretic, causing
scarcely any previous nausea; so that it is suitable for
evacuating the contents of the stomach without producing
exhaustion or relaxation of the muscular system. It oper-
ates in this way as effectually a$ two-thirds of the quantity
485
of ipecacuanha. The active property is diminished by
keeping. As a diaphoretic, it is best combined with one
grain of opium. Dr. Zollickoffer considers it a useful
tonic in doses of ten to twenty grains. The Indians use it
in lues venerea. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. It is
also employed by the vegetable practitioners. See How-
ard's Imp. Syst. Bot. Med. 291. It is supposed to contain
a bitter extractive principle, a coloring principle, soluble
in water, caoutchouc, and a volatile oil. The wounded
plant emits a copious milky juice.
The properties mentioned above closely resemble those
ascribed to the "Amy root" (A. cannabifium) by residents
of St. John's, South Carolina, viz: a laxative united with a
bitter principle.
ASCLEPIADACE^.
Roots generally acrid and stimulating. Some of them
emetic.
Gonolobus macrophyllus, Mich. Variety a and b. Col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley; vicinity of Charleston. FL
July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 328 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iii, 409; Ann. du Museum, xiv, 464. It is one of the
substitutes for colocynth. Merat says: "Cette apocynee
des Stats Unis passe pour fournir le sue avec lequel les
sauvages de ce pays empoisonnent leurs Heches."
Asclepias tuberosa, W. \ Pleurisy root, but-
" decumbens, of some Bot. J terfly-weed. Grows
abundantly in pine barrens; collected in St. John's; New-
bern. Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 127; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 347;
Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med. i, 351 ; Ed. and Vav. Mat.
Med. 345; Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 219; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes,
i, 326; Big. Am. Med. Bot. ii, 65; Thacher's IT. S. Disp.,
art. A. tuberosa; Bart. M. Bot, i,. 244; Lind. Nat. Syst.
Bot. 304; Am. Med. Record, iii, 334; Frost's Elems. Mat.
486
Med. 217; Bell's Pract. Diet 82; Cullen, Mat. Med. i, 6;
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 467; De Cand. Prodro-
mus, 458; Shec. Flora Carol. 220; Barton's Collec. 48;
Lind. JTat. Syst. Bot. 304. This plant is actively diapho-
retic and expectorant, without being stimulant, "It has
the singular property of exciting general perspiration with-
out increasing in any perceptible degree the heat of the
body." (Lindiey, see A. decumbens.) In large doses it is
purgative. It has been advantageously used in rheuma-
tism, in most pectoral affections, catarrh, subacute pneu-
monia, and in phthisis, as a palliative. It has also beeu
favorably employed in dysentery. Shecut says that thirty
grains of the powdered root at a dose was much esteemed
in this disease. Dr. McBride, of St. John's, Berkley, South
Carolina, experimented largely with it in pleurisy, gener-
ally finding it to act with advantage. Eberle used it; and
Dr. Parker employed it for twenty years with continued
confidence. In a communication from Dr. John Douglass,
of Chester district, South Carolina, we have the results of
the experiments of Mr. McKeown, who believes it expec-
torant, tonic, diaphoretic, and sudorific; and who has em-
ployed it with benefit in pectoral affections; he considers
that a teaspoonful of the powdered root in hot water, often
repeated, acts as a safe and useful substitute for the prepa-
rations of antimony; he has also observed that the same
quantity of the root, with half the amount of snakeroot
(Aristoloch serp.), given several times a day for several days
will induce soreness of the mouth, with free and copious
salivation; this soon subsides, without any of those disa-
greeable results which follow the administration of the
mercurial preparations. Should this effect be constant, it
might be made of great service. The powdered root has
been employed as an escharotic, for restraining the growth
of fungous flesh in ulcers. When the diaphoretic effect is
desired the decoction of one ounce of the root to one
quart of water is best, given in doses of a teacupful every
two hours. Dose of powdered root, twenty grains to one
drachm several times a day;
487
In the neighborhood of Camden, South Carolina, the
root of silk-weed (pleurisy root) is much relied on in rheu-
matism. The root is macerated in brandy. It is believed
by many that it has a marked influence in promoting the
excretion of bile, and the tincture is said by those who use
it to have a laxative effect. It is used as a substitute for
calomel. This testimony, recently obtained (1862), will be
found to correspond with what was written by me long
since of the pleurisy root (A. tuberosa), in my report on
Med. Bot, S. C. 1849.
From a work reputed to contain the practice of physic
among the Cherokee Indians, entitled the "Indian Guide
to Health," I quote the following, which adds little to our
previous knowledge: "Few articles in the Indian materia
medica maintain a higher standing than pleurisy root. It
acts as a mild purgative on the bowels, but it is more par-
ticularly and inestimably valuable in producing expectora-
tion, or throwing off" mucus from the throat and lungs,
and in causing perspiration or sweating when other reme-
dies fail. This root possesses one remarkable power —
given in proper quantities it affects the skin and produces
perspiration without heating the body or increasing circu-
lation. It is a valuable article in diseases of the lungs
generally. Its use in a strong decoction often gives relief
to pain in the chest, stomach, and intestines, by promoting
perspiration and assisting digestion."
The milky juice exuding from Asdepias, Leontodon, Lac-
duea, and the EuphorbiacecB yield caoutchouc. I would sup-
pose that the queen's delight {Stillingia), which is abundant,
would also furnish it. It might be procured from those
which give a large exudation of milk when cut. I have
collected and dried the juice of Asdepias. "When any of
these plants are incised there exudes a milky juice which
by exposure to the air gradually lets fall concrete caout-
chouc. The juice is pale yellow, thick, and similar to
cream. When spread in thin layers on a solid body it soon
becomes solid caoutchouc, amounting to forty-five per cent,
of the weight of juice. The black color is owing to
488
the method of drying it after it has been spread upon
moulds." Wilson's Rural Cyc., art. " Caoutchouc.1' Ure's
Diet, of Arts contains full descriptions of processes, adapt-
ability, etc. Caoutchouc is insoluble in water, alcohol,
acids, or alkalies. By long boiling in water it softens and
swells up. It is slightly soluble in ether.
The downy substance attached to the seed of the silk-
weeds may be used for many purposes — for stuffing beds,
cushions, etc.
Asclepias incarnata, W. "Grows in the valleys among
the mountains of South Carolina," Elliott; vicinity of
Charleston, Bach.; Xewbern. Fl. July.
U. S. Bisp. 126; Journal Phil. Coll. Pharm. iv, 283;
Griffith, Med. Bot. -±55. Br. Griffith speaks of it as a use-
ful emetic and cathartic ; and Br. Tully says it may be
given advantageously in asthma, catarrh, and syphilis ; no
doubt very similar in properties to the A. decumbens.
Asclepias verticillata, L. Dwarf milk-weed. Collected in
St. John's, Berkley; Xewbern.
This is a domestic remedy in repute for the bite of
snakes. It is said by those who have used it in the upper
districts of South Carolina to be very deservedly celebrated.
These plants emit a milky juice when bruised ; with the
aigrette of the seeds, a fleecy down one or two inches in
length, somewhat resembling silk, it has been proposed to
make cloth.
Asclepias cornuti. Becaisne. 1 Virginian swallow-wort;
A. syriaca, L. J Virginian silk. Fields and
roadsides ; Xewbern. Chap., and Croom's Cat.
The flowers are highly fragrant, especially in the morn-
ing and the evening, and "are gathered in their native
country while the clew is on them, for the purpose of
making sugar. The young shoots in spring are a very
good substitute for asparagus; the down of the pods serves
well for stuffing pillows and cushions, for making thread
489
and cloth, and for some other purposes ; the fibrous matter
of the stems is abundant in quantity, excellent in flax-like
quality, and is used and highly appreciated in some parts
of North America for making thread, cordage, fishing nets,
and cloth. It has been successfully experimented with as
an agricultural plant in France and Germany. It may be
propagated either by transplanting roots in rows about two
feet apart or by sowing seeds." Wilson's Rural Cyc.
Many of the milk-weeds have strong fibres. The above
only confirms a note in Prof. Gibbes' "Catalogue" as fol-
lows: the cortical fibres of many possess great strength, as
is easily proved by the attempt to break their stems. From
those of the A. syriaca a number of articles have lately
been manufactured at Salem, Mass. — such as thread, net-
ting, bags and purses, tapes, socks, knotting for fringes,
etc. The silk from the pods forms an excellent article for
stuffing cushions, pillows, mattresses, etc. Mixed with cot-
ton it may be spun into yarn for gloves and socks. It is
used in making artificial feathers and flowers. Bonnets,
capes, and tippets of very handsome appearance are made
by sewing the tufts in overlapping rows on cotton or silk.
In Germany, in 1785, the cultivation of the A. syriaca was
begun with six plants, and in eight years there was a plan-
tation of thirty thousand, which yielded eight hundred
pounds of silk the first crop, three hundred and fifty-five
the second, and six hundred the third. In the same
country, a paper was made from the cortical fibres which
was distinguished with difficulty from that made from
rags. See Silliman's Journal, vol. xxviii, p. 380, and an
article in the Horticultural Register, by Dearborn, in which
he also gives an account of his mode of cultivation of the
same plant for its young shoots, which he considers nearly
equal to asparagus. Loc. cit. sup. From nearly all the spe-
cies of silk-weed the down from the seeds may be collected.
They abound in almost every portion of the Confederate
States.
The Indian doctors use the root of the silk-weed as a di-
uretic decoction in gonorrhoea. The root is said to be
490
emetic and cathartic, and is used in dropsy. The A. curas-
savica, L. curasoa, which grows in South Florida (Chap.),
is possessed of emetic and sudorific qualities.
Oleace^e. (The Olive Tribe.)
This order is said by Lindley to offer one of the few
instances of oil being contained in the pericarp, it being
in most other plants yielded by the seeds.
Olea Mzropea. European olive. Introduced.
This well-known plant, of which it has been said "Olea
prima omnium arborum est," is cultivated in Charleston as a
garden plant, and matures its fruit. A tree in Lamboll
street bears fruit of good size, which I have seen made into
excellent "olives" for table use; also pickled. Repeated
attempts have been made to cultivate the olive, and little
doubt exists that with greater efforts it may become a valu-
able oil-bearing plant. In Patent Office Reports, 1854, p.
28, is a brief statement of several efforts to introduce
the olive into South Caroliua, Georgia, and other Southern
states. A paper was also published on this subject by
Judge King, of Charleston. In 1755 Mr. Henry Laurens
imported and planted olives, capers, limes, ginger, etc.
The latter is still easily raised in our gardens in South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. In 1785 the olive was suc-
cessfully grown in South Carolina. It is not easily propa-
gated from seeds. A colony of Greeks, settled at East
Florida, had planted the olive, and sixty years ago it is said
there were large trees marking the site of that settlement.
The tree was also cultivated by Mr. Cooper, of St. Simons,
and Mr. Spalding, of Georgia. See a paper in Southern
Cultivator, p. 7, vol. iii; also Jefferson's letter to Drayton,
in his Memoirs.
As this plant is an important one, and experience con-
cerning its propagation in the Confederate States is difficult
to obtain, I add the following statement of Mr. R. Chis-
olm, Beaufort district, S. C. :
" My olive trees were imported from the neighborhood
491
of Florence, by the way of Leghorn, in 1833, and consist
of two kinds — the small, round, esteemed best for oil, and
a much larger and more oval-fruited sort, which turns
white before it becomes purple, the latter having been sent
as stalks to engraft the other upon. The winter of 1834-5
was an excessively cold one, and injured to the roots all
the orange trees of the South, and some of them so severely
that they never afterward sprouted ; yet I do not recollect
that my olive trees suffered at all — certainly, none were
killed. No cold which we have experienced since has
ever caused them to shed a leaf, whereas our orange
trees have suffered much, and about four years since barely
escaped being killed to the ground. My olive trees are
planted in a rather flat, clayey piece of land, quite near the
salt water, and but little elevated above high tides. In
Italy, I believe, it is generally thought that this tree does
not thrive well far from the sea, but does best on what they
call a fat soil, which contains more or less clay. From
what I have seen of it on sandy soils in this vicinity it has
proved not very fruitful. Finding that my trees grew very
slowly, and not expecting to derive profit enough from
them to pay for their culture, the idea occurred to me of
trying to cultivate the sweet potato, field and cow-peas
among them, hoping that the expense of cultivating the
olive might be covered by these means. The land was
well manured every year in June and cultivated with one
or the other of these crops, in such a manner as the other
operations of the plantation would render convenient,
generally, however, with sweet potatoes, irrespective of ro-
tation. The result has much more than answered my ex-
pectations, as I very seldom failed to make a fair crop of
potatoes, and the trees have grown vigorously, and rapidly
come into bearing, and have continued to bear good crops
of fruit every year, occasionally abundant ones ; while in
Europe the habit of almost every variety of this tree is
to bear only in alternate years. As the olive ripens during
the months of October and November, at a time when we
are straining every nerve to save most of our other crops,
492
no attempt has ever been made to gather all the fruit; but
one year enough was gathered, pounded in a mortar and
the oil pressed out, to justify me in saying that I produced
a very clear and good looking article, which was exhibited
about two years since at the Fair at the South Carolina
Institute. The only use that has yet been made of the
olives is to pickle them while green, in a full grown state,
in August or September, for which purpose they seem
admirably adapted. A few may now be found on sale,
which are preferred to those imported. The recipe for
pickling was obtained from France, and is as follows:
'For each pound of the fruit take a pound of strong ashes
(those of the hickory wood are the best we have) and an
ounce of good slacked lime; mix the lime and ashes with
water until a soft paste or mortar is formed, into which
stir or imbed the olives, and finish by covering the
whole mass with a layer of dry ashes. Let them lie in
this state until all the bitumen is extracted, which may
be known by the stones slipping readily out of the pulp
when squeezed between the forefinger and thumb, for
which purpose a few may be tried once an hour, or oftener
if desired. The length of time required for this will
depend entirely upon the quality of the ashes and lime,
and may vaiw from two to three hours to as many days.
As soon as the olives have been deprived of their bitter-
ness they must be washed clean and put to soak in fresh
water, which must be changed about once an hour for
twenty-four hours, when the taste of potash will have been
removed and the water cease to be discolored. The olives
must then be put into bottles or jars, and a strong brine
put over them made from good rock or alum salt. This
brine will generally require to be changed several times, in
consequence of becoming ash-colored, after which the
bottles must be sealed air-tight, and if kept in a cool, dry,
dark place the olives will keep good for years.' Olives
carefully cured after this plan will be found less salty than
those pickled in France which are usually sold in this
country, and will retain much of the nutty flavor of pure
493
olive oil. I do not think that the making of oil from the
olive will be likely to prove sufficiently profitable to be
pursued in this country for many years, as labor is expen-
sive, and other crops will necessarily take the lead unless
the price of labor or soil in Europe should be increased,
when there will, consequently, become a greater demand."
The oil is obtained of two or three qualities. The
virgin oil is that which spontaneously separates from the
paste of crushed olives. This is purified for watchmakers
by placing in a vial containing in it a slip of sheet lead. In
Sicily the olives are beaten from the tree. It is allowed to
ferment in bins or receptacles. It is then conveyed to a
mill, ground into a paste under heavy stones, and chaff or
small straw occasionally thrown in to retain the oil. The
pulp is then rammed into round, flat baskets, made of a
strong kind of rush, and submitted to a press. "When the
oil ceases to run from a first pressing, the baskets are
removed, their contents again pressed under the mill,
returned to the baskets, submitted to the press again. Hot
water is sometimes thrown over the mass to increase the
flow of oil, the latter being subsequently skimmed from
the surface. What is finally left in the baskets, after the
third pressure, is refuse material, used for lamps by curriers
and tanners. To procure the best oil no fermentation
should be used. Consult Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Patent
Office Reports, 1859, p. 114.
We have the Oka Americana growing in the Confederate
States. The fruit matures near Charleston, but not in St.
John's, Berkley.
Oka Americana. Devil-wood ; American olive. I have
collected it near Charleston, Eutledge's farm, and at Sarra-
zin (Mrs. I. S. P.), St. John's, S. C. I have never seen
berries except near Charleston. Rare and ornamental.
The wood has a fine and compact grain, and when per-
fectly dry it is excessively hard and very difficult to cut
or split; hence is derived the name of devil-wood. On
laving bare the cellular intes-uments of the bark its natural
494
yellow hue changes instantaneously to a deep red, and the
wood, by contact with the air, assumes a rosy complexion.
Michaux**suggests that experiments be made to test the
nature of this active principle. Am. Sylva ; Farmer's
En eye.
Chionanthus Virginica, Walter. Old-man's beard; poison
ash; fringe tree. A very ornamental plant; collected in
the swamps of St. John's, Berkley ; vicinity of Charleston ;
Kewbern. Ft, April.
Ell. Bot. Med. jSTotes, i, 6. An infusion of the roots is
given in long standing intermittents. It is tonic and feb-
rifugal, with some acro-narcotic properties ; used in the
form of cataplasm as an application to wounds and ulcers.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 44.
Fraxinus acuminata, La. M. ' Grows in rich swamps ; St.
John's; I^ewbern.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 673. The wood is light, elastic,
and strong; used by carriage and cabinet makers and
wheelwrights.
Fraxinus Americana, L. White ash.
In the Confederate States we have the white, red, green,
blue, and water ash. Wilson says that F. Americana differs
in few respects from the English ash, F. excelsior, which in
England is used for every conceivable purpose by the
farmer, turner, cabinet-maker, wheelwright, and for fire-
wood. "The bark of the tree is used for tanning calfskins,
and for dyeing green, blue, and black; the ashes of the
trunk, root, or branches are comparatively rich in potash."
Coal was also made from it. The leaves of the F. Ameri-
cana "are said to be so highly offensive to the rattlesnake
that that formidable reptile is never found on land where it
grows; and it is the practice of hunters and others having
occasion to traverse the woods in the summer months to
stuff their boots or shoes with white ash leaves as a pre-
ventive of the bite of the rattlesnake."
495
Class II. GYMNO SPERMS.
Conifers or Pin ace.e. {The Fir Tribe.)
One of the most important orders, whether we view it in
reference to its timber or its secretions.
Pinus palustris, L. ) Long-leaved pine. The specilic
" australis, Mich, f name is a misnomer, as it grows
on high land. Grows along the sea-coast in the tertiary
region, and within one hundred and twenty miles of the
ocean. 1 have observed it in the lower part of Fairfield
district; iTewbern. Fl. May.
Bell's Pract. Diet. 359; V. S. Disp. 709 ; Pe. Mat. Med.
ii, 167; Ball, Gar. M. Med. 309; Royle, Mat. Med. 564.
This is the most valuable of the pine trees, and from it the
largest amount of tar, pitch, and turpentine is obtained.
The spirits of turpentine is a well-known and valuable dif-
fusible stimulant, diuretic, and anthelmintic, in large doses
acting as a laxative. It is from this species that the Boston
turpentine is obtained, which enters into the composition
of a soap of very superior quality. This tree shoots up into
a straight shaft, devoid of branches sometimes for fifty or
sixty feet ; the heart is very durable, and the wood is em-
ployed for almost every purpose. It is, indeed, one of the
great gifts of God to man.
The forests of pine are not only useful but beautiful.
The characteristic moan of the winds through their branch-
es, their funereal aspect, almost limitless extent, and the
health-giving influences which attend their presence, all
contribute to make the pine an object of peculiar interest
to the people of the Southern states. The terebinthinate
odor of the tree, some electrical influence of its long, spear-
like leaves, a certain modification of "ozone" (an allo-
typic condition of oxygen, see Faraday's examinations),
are severally esteemed to modify the atmosphere and
diminish the effects of malaria. They also create a me-
chanical barrier to the ingress of malaria, and hence the
496
pine land residences, though contemned for their sterile
aspect, have proved a blessing to the Southern planters in
affording a comparatively safe refuge from the unhealthy
emanations of the neighboring plantations. The seeds of
the loug-leaf pine are edible and nutritious, and are largely
consumed b}r hogs.
I need not describe the processes for making tar. It is
a very compound substance (see Rural Cyc), and contains
modified resin, oil of turpentine, empyreumatic oil, acetic
acid, charcoal, and water, and when inspissated by boiling
is converted into pitch. It is extensively used in the cord-
age, caulking, and sheathing of ships, to preserve them
from the weather. It is of great service in many of the
arts and medicinal usages connected with agriculture. I
will add what Wilson states of its economical employment,
as it ma}' be made of great service on our plantations and
in veterinar}" medicine. It serves well as a paint to coarse-
kinds of boarding and paling, but is improved in its use
by the addition of tallow or other coarse fat. It is applied
as a covering to cuts on animals and to parts affected by
the fly. It serves, either alone or in combination with
some fatty substance, to defend the sore or diseased feet of
cattle from being further injured by wet or abrasion ; when
spread upon coarse cloth it is a prime covering for broken
horns, and makes an excellent application to various kinds
of wounds and punctures in cattle. It is given internally
to horses as a remedy for cough, also as a detergent and
local remedy for scaly and eruptive diseases. Rural Cyc.
It is used to cover the lower surface of posts to prevent
their rotting, and grain soaked in it is not eaten by birds.
Tar water was formerly much used in medicine, but at
present wood naphtha and pyroligneous acid, etc., are more
commonly employed.
The buds of the pine or the inside barks steeped in
water is a favorite domestic remedy on our plantations for
colds and coughs. Bits of fat pine steeped in gin are also
used. A decoction of the inside bark is given daily as a
remedy in chronic diarrhoea. Pills of resin are often
497
employed as a simple diuretic. Resin also enters into the
composition of strengthening plasters.
A preparation with rosin, to preserve leather and shoes,
is recommended by Col. Macerone, in the Mechanic's
Magazine, 1848. I hope it will be found useful to our
soldiers and others :
A cheap and easy method to preserve the feet from wet and the
boots from wear. — A pound of tallow and a half-pound of
rosin are put into a pot on the fire, and when melted and
mixed it is applied while hot, with a brush, to the leather
previously warmed. This must be done thoroughly and
repeatedly. If it is desired that the leather should receive
polish, dissolve an ounce of beeswax with an ounce of
turpentine, to which add a teaspoonful of lamp-black ; a
day or two after the leather has been treated with the
tallow and rosin rub over it the wax and turpentine,
but not before the fire. Tallow or any other grease
becomes rancid and rots the stitching as well as the
leather, but the rosin gives it an antiseptic quality which
preserves the whole. Boots or shoes for the soldier, as wTell
as for all who go much in the wet, should be so large as to
admit of wearing in them cork soles — cork being a bad
conductor of heat.
Wilson in his Rural Cyc, articles "Fuel" and "Char-
coal," gives the best mode of preparation, including the
quality and yield of several trees. See Salix, in this
volume, for manufacture of charcoal.
Lamp-black is obtained by the turpentine manufacturers
" from the combustion of the refuse of their operations in
furnaces appropriated to that purpose. The smoke depos-
its itself on the sacking which is hung up ; it is swept off
and sold for common use without further preparation.
The lamp-black in this state contains some oil, which is
separated by being heated to redness in a close vessel."
This may be easily made in our large turpentine distilleries
throughout the Confederate States.
The chief consumption of charcoal is as fuel. It is also
employed as a tooth powder and to purify tainted meat.
R9
498
No mode of preparation for the first of these objects is
at all necessary, and for the two last it must merely be
reduced to a fine powder. It forms a part of all reducing
fluxes. It is the basis of most black paints and varnishes.
It is used to polish brass and copper, and is an excellent
clarifier. It is used in farriery, in combination with lin-
seed meal, as an antiseptic cataplasm for cracked heels and
foul and fetid ulcers. Powdered charcoal must be heated
to redness in a covered crucible, with an opening in the
middle of the cover, and kept in that state till no flame
issues out; it must then be withdrawn, allowed to cool,
and then put into close vessels. Whenever either wine,
vinegar, or other fluid is to be clarified it is simply to be
mixed with the liquor ; a froth appears at the surface, and
after infiltration it is pure and colorless. Charcoal is also
used as a valuable manure, fully described in Wilson's
Rural Cyc. Charcoal and sand placed in the bottom of a
barrel or hogshead will purify water passed through it.
(See Salix). It is generally believed that it will prevent
contagion, yellow fever, etc., if taken during the preva-
lence of an epidemic. It is also used as a mild mechan-
ical laxative in dyspepsia with foul stomach. See medical
authors. Its power of absorbing gases and vapors is well
known.
Creosote, also a product of the pine, is obtained from
" crude pyroligneous acid and the heavy portion of the oil
of wood tar, sometimes called the essence of tar, and used
in the preservation of meat, the flavoring of hams, and as a
remedial agent for its constringing effect." It coagulates
albumen. Fresh meat suspended over creosote will be
preserved. Wilson's Rural Cyc; Ure's Diet.; and medical
authors. Pyroligneous acid, obtained from the pine, is
used in preserving meat rapidly in lieu of the slow process
of "smoking."
Vinegar and acetic acid, obtained from pyroligneous
acid, is purified by converting it into acetate of soda and
decomposing that salt by means of sulphuric acid. The
acetic acid, after being distilled, is lowered by water,
colored, and used as vinegar.
499
Turpentine is now one of the most universally employed
of remedial agents ; it is quite surprising to how great a
diversity of conditions it is applicable ; all these depend
naturally, however, upon its natural properties. See
Trousseau's " Therapeutique,'' Stille's Mat. Med., and re-
cent authors. As an external rubefacient, a stimulant, an
astringent, a stimulating diuretic and laxative, it admits
of frequent application. In the arts, also, and as a material
in the manufacture of soap, as a resin, and for the produc-
tion of light, it is equally worthy of attention. To burn
turpentine in lamps it only requires purification by redis-
tillation, and a burner which will give increased oxygen
for the consumption of the large amount of carbon which
it contains.
The fumes of turpentine inhaled will cause irritability of
the kidney if breathed. I have been called to attend sev-
eral negroes with dysuria and bloody urine from sleeping
aboard a boat laden with resin and turpentine in defective
barrels. "Turpentine is one of the best means of chasing
away fleas whether from place or animal, and a bed of very
fine shavings of some wood which abounds in turpentine
is one of the easiest and most effectual means of banishing
them from dogs." Wilson's Rural Cyc. See, also, uJu-
glans." See "iTv/rm," Rural Cyc, for preservation of tim-
ber; also Boussingault's Rural Econ. and Agricult. Chem-
istry. "Wilson states that the oil of turpentine is almost a
specific for spasm in the bowels of the horse.
That variety of long-leaved pine which acquires a reddish
hue from growing in certain soils, and is known by the
name of red pine, is most esteemed, and in the opinion of
some shipwrights is as solid and durable on the sides of
vessels as the white oak, but is said to form less perfect
joints at stem and stern. It is also in great request at the
North for flooring boards. The long-leaved pine supplies
what is known as naval stores both to the United States
and Europe. Rural Cyc. Pyroligneous acid, obtained
from the pine, is used in preserving meat rapidly in lieu of
the slow process of "smoking."
500
Turpentine and rosin are both abundant within our lira-
its. An excellent English "mixture to render leather vjater-
proof" is made with turpentine. In the present scarcity of
leather and exposure of our soldiers, I think its introduc-
tion not inappropriate. It is used by the punt-shooters in
the fenny parts of England : melt together in an earthen
pipkin half a pound of tallow, four ounces of hog's-lard,
two ounces of turpentine, and as much beeswax; make the
boots thoroughly dry and warm, and rub in the mixture
well with a little tow as hot as the hand can bear, or else
hold the leather over a very gentle fire till it has thorough-
ly imbibed the mixture. Another mixture for the same
purpose, and used by fishermen, soldiers, and others, is
made thus: Burgundy pitch (rosin?) and turpentine each
two ounces, tallow four ounces; or half a pound of bees-
wax, a quarter of a pound of rosin, and a quarter of a
pound of beef suet. The leather must be dry and the mix-
ture warm. Oil of lavender also prevents leather from
moulding.
To make cloth water-proof with turpentine. — In making cloth
water-proof for negroes in picking cotton when the weed
is wet from rains or dews, and also for tents, the following
method is adopted: "To every gallon of spirits of turpen-
tine put two and a half pounds of beeswax, boil well in a
pot, remove the fire, and while it is hot put in the goods;
move it about until it is well saturated, then hang it up to
dry. It will require one gallon of turpentine to every
eight yards of goods." It is more pliant than India-rubber.
Candle for war times, made with rosin. — "A model eco-
nomical candle, sixty yards long, for use of soldiers in
camp, which will burn six hours each night for six months,
and all that light at a cost of a few cents, is made as fol-
lows: take one pound of beeswax, and three-fourths of a
pound of rosin, melt them together, then take about four
threads of slack-twisted cotton for a wick, and draw it
about three times through the melted wax and rosin, and
wind it in a ball; pull the end up, and you have a good
candle."
501 •
A preparation of turpentine, probably turpentine redis-
tilled, called Terebene, is manufactured at Camden, South
Carolina, and largely used as a burning fluid since the
blockade. The price is moderate ; it gives a good light,
but requires a modification of the old kerosene chimney.
"Palmetto oil," so called, is probably pure turpentine.
Prof. P. A. Porcher has used and recommends turpentine,
and I have known others who have employed it for months
as a burning fluid; it is not explosive. In using these
highly carbonaceous agents an abundance of air must be
admitted to the wick to consume the excess of carbon,
which would otherwise be thrown off as smoke or de-
posited as lamp-black ; an extra amount of oxygen is of
course required to increase the combustion. Lamp-black
is prepared from the imperfect destruction of turpentine in
large burners with suitable apparatus to collect it; it may
be made in the Confederate States with profit.
An economical "soap without grease" is made with rosin:
to four gallons of strong lye add ten pounds of distilled
rosin, or eight pounds of pure gum not distilled and free
from trash, boil steadily until there is no rosin to be seen,
and if the quantity of lye is not sufficient add more, and
continue to add until the rosin disappears, boiling until it
makes a brown jelly soap. This soap has been extensively
made in St. John's, South Carolina, during the past year
(1862), and is stated to be "equal to the best soap made with
grease." I am induced to insert here the following, also,
which has been successfully repeated in the country par-
ishes of South Carolina since the blockade:. Tallow candles
equal to star. — To two pounds of tallow add one teacupful
of good strong lye from wood ashes. Let it simmer over a
slow fire, when a greasy scum collects on the top, which
should be skimmed off and used in making soap, with
which it is closely related. A pure tallow candle with a
small wick may then be moulded, which is said to equal
sperm caudles. A little of the juice of the prickly pear
or beeswax will render the tallow harder, and the wicks
steeped in a little spirits of turpentine will make them
burn brighter.
• 502
The following preparation of coal tar I append on account
of its utility in camps and hospitals. Pyroligneous acid is
itself a well known disinfectant:
Antiseptic Powder. — To correct the offensive odors of
wounds, mix one hundred parts of calcined plaster of Paris
and two parts of coal tar. Rub well together. Sprinkle
this upon the wound once or twice daily. This has been
fully tested for years in the Bellevue hospital.
Decoction of the leaves of the pine tree sweetened, to be
freely drunk warm when going to bed at night or cold
during the clay, is very much used as a domestic remedy
for colds and coughs. The holly root [Ilex o-paca) chewed,
and a tea made of the blade of the Indian corn, are also
given for colds; the latter also in intermittent fevers, it is
said with much success.
Duration of wood impregnated ivith sulphate of copper. — A
paper upon this subject, translated from the bulletin of the
Horticultural Society of the Seine, is published in the
Farmer and Planter, p. 306, October, 1861. It is impreg-
nated with sulphate of copper by M. Boucherie's process,
which consists in causing a solution of the sulphate of cop-
per to penetrate to the interior of freshly cut woods, which
preserves them indefinitely from decay. AIL woods do not
permit penetration equally. " The beech, elm, and fir
readily admit all kinds of salts into their tissue. The oak
impregnates completely its sap wood, while the heart of the
tree absorbs absolutely nothing," so that that part of the
tree which was thrown away may with this process be
made useful. Sulphate of copper was found to be superior
to corrosive sublimate. "The process of the injection of
wood with the salts of copper is as simple as easy. For
those woods intended for rods, it consists in plunging the
base of a branch furnished with leaves into a tub contain-
ing the solution. The liquid ascends into the branches by
the action of the leaves, and the wood is impregnated with
the preservative salt. As for logs, the operation consists
in cutting down the tree to be operated upon ; fixing at its
base a plank which is fixed by means of a screw placed in
503
the centre, and which can be tightened at will when placed
in the centre of the tree. This plank has on the side to be
applied to the bottom of the tree a rather thick shield of
leather, cloth, pasteboard, or some other substance, intend-
ed to establish a space between it and the wood, sufficient
for the preserving fluid to keep in contact with the freshly
cut surface of the tree. The liquid is brought there from a
tub or other reservoir by the help of a slanting pole made
on the upper side of the tree, and in which is put a tube
adapted at its other extremity to a spigot in the upper
reservoir, which contains the solution. A pressure of five
metres suffices, so that the instant the sap of the tree is
drawn away it escapes and is replaced by the liquid satu-
rated with sulphate of copper. As soon as the operation
terminates, and it lasts for some hours for the most difficult
logs, the wood can be sold and put to any use." M. De-
caisne enumerates the immense advantage which this proc-
ess would procure to horticulture. Boxes, frames, green-
houses, supports, etc., submitted to the deleterious action
of all the exterior agents which destroy them so rapidly, all
can acquire an almost indefinite duration, and thus furnish
a very great economy of time and money. M. Decaisne op-
poses the process by simple immersion. M. Audry asserts
that even cloths, curtains, etc., exposed to the weather,
" last eight years after being immersed in a solution of one
kilogramme of the salt to eight litres of water."
On the subject of the difference between dry and wet
wood, I quote from a paper in Southern Field and Fireside
on "Economy in the use of salt," by the editor. It is ap-
plicable to the present wants of the Southern Confederacy:
" Last year we killed a vicious bullock in September, when
the weather was hot and dry. The meat was cured with a
trifle of salt, and we have some of it now, which is as sweet
and good as dried beef can be. All the larger bones were
cut out and partly used for making soup and partly for
making soap. The rib pieces were dried with the bones in
the meat, which was generally cut into slices. The drying
was done over a wood-coal fire, and not over a wood fire — -
504
a distinction worth remembering." Ashes are sometimes
used a substitute for salt in curing meat.
On economy in plants, manures, etc., during non-impor-
tation of guano: "Weeds, leaves of trees, and all the succu-
lent plants which grow so abundantly in ditches and waste
lands, under hedges and by the roadside, if cut or pulled
when in flower, and slightly fermented, furnish from
twenty to twenty-five times more manure than straw does.
These plants carefully collected furnish to the agriculturist
an immense resource for enriching his lands. Besides the
advantages arising from the manure furnished by these
plants, the agriculturist will find his account in preventing
the dissemination of their seeds, which by propagating in
the fields deprive the crops of the nourishment of the soil.
The turf that borders fields and highwa}rs may be made to
answer the same purpose by cutting it up with all the roots
and the earth adhering to them, rotting the whole in a
heap and carrying the mass upon the field, or what is still
better, by burning it and dressing the land with the prod-
uct of the combustion." The alkaline salts are most
abuudant, it will be remembered, in green, herbaceous
plants. M. DeSaussure has observed that the ashes of
young plants that grew upon a poor soil contained at least
three-fourths of their weight of alkaline salts, and that
those of leaves of trees which grew from their beds con-
tained at least one-half. The ashes of the seeds contain a
greater proportion of alkaline salts than those of the plants
that produced them. M. Pertuis found that the trunks of
trees afford less ashes than the branches. Chaptal's Chem-
istry, p. 97. The scrub oak ( V. catesbcei) is said to yield
ashes very rich in potash.
Pinus rigida, L. Pitch pine. Vicinity of Charleston.
U. S. Disp. 207. From the P. palustris and from this
species tar is extracted, which contains two principles valu-
able in medicine, viz : picromar and creosote. It is used in
chronic cough and bronchial inflammation. Tar water had
great reputation at one time, and is really not devoid of
505
some value. The vapor also is employed in bronchial dis-
eases, and the ointment in tinea capitis and psoriasis. The
resin from these species is frequently made into pills, and
taken for colds by those residing in the country — among
whom also it,is frequently employed with success in chron-
ic blennorrhagia. A medical friend informs me that in one
individual who took the pine gum in large quantities it
produced an irritation of the urethral mucous membrane,
similar to that resulting from the use of the spirit when
improperly given.
Pinus nigra, Aiton. Black spruce ; fir. Confined to
the high ridges of the Alleghany mountains. Fl. May.
U. S. Disp. 710; Ell. Bot. ii, 641. From this species the
essential oil of spruce is obtained ; prepared by boiling the
young branches and evaporating the decoction ; it has a
bitterish, astringent, acidulous taste. The tall, slender
bodies of this tree are used for the spars of vessels.
Pinus strobus, L. White or Weymouth pine, northern
pine. Found in the declivities of the mountains of South
Carolina, in the dark, sphagnous swamps along rivulets.
Fl. May.
The wood is soft, fine grained, and light, and free from
turpentine. It is used for the inner work of houses, for
boxes, cabinets, etc. "Preferred for the masts of vessels to
all other wood."
The wood has little strength, gives a feeble hold to nails,
and is liable to swell from humidity in the atmosphere ;
but on the other hand it is soft, light, easily wrought. In
ornamental work and carving of every description the
white pine is used; in fact, wherever a light wood is
required. Masts are also made of it, and are exported to
Liverpool, though not fully equal to those from Riga.
The bowsprits and spars are made of white pine. Rural
Cyc. In Eaton's Botany, a work published at the North,
it is stated that " perhaps nine-tenths of the boards used in
America are of this species." This, however, is incorrect,
506
as a large quantity of timber is obtained from our long-
leaved pine.
Pinus glabra, Walter's pine. St. John's, S. C, H. W. R.;
common spruce pine of our swamps.
It is comparatively light and soft, and might serve as a
substitute for northern pine, so much in demand for the
manufacture of the inner work of houses, cabinets, presses,
cases, etc., and particularly as a light material for boxes for
the transportation of merchandise. The poplar is also
very light and suitable for similar purposes. The loblolly
pine (P. taeda) is also useful for making tables, presses, etc.,
containing little turpentine. A decoction of the inner
bark of the spruce pine acts on the skin, and is used in
rheumatism, coughs, colds, etc. It is also employed as
a fomentation in swellings and sprains. Pinus inops, which
I collected at Reidville, Spartanburg, S. C, resembles
somewhat our lower country spruce, and is sometimes
so called. It never attains the same height.
Pinus tceda, L. Abundant along the sea-coast ; collected
in St. John's ; grows in Georgia; I^ewbern. Fl. April.
Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 161 ; IT. S. Disp. 709. This also yields
turpentine. Frankincense is said to be got from this
species.
Abies balsamea, ) American silver fir, or Balm
" balsamifera, Mich. / of Gilead tree. Grows on the
Pinus balsamea, Willd. ) summits of the mountains of
South Carolina. Fl. April.
Griffith Med. Bot. 605; U. S. Disp. 710. From this
elegant species the Canada balsam is obtained ; receiving
this name, though containing no benzoic acid. Mer. and
de L. Diet, de M. Med. v. It is used as an external appli-
cation to wounds.
Abies Canadensis, \ Hemlock spruce. Confined to the
Pinus, Linn. / highest mountains.
507
Ell. Bot. ii, 641. The bark is valuable for tanning,
though inferior to that of the oak.
Abies nigra, Poir. Black spruce. High mountains of
North Carolina and northward.
The tops of its branches yield the best kinds of essence of
spruce for the manufacture of spruce beer. Its young stems
and the upper parts of its old stems are light, strong, and
elastic, and are much used in America for the spars and
topmasts of ships. Its large roots and the lower parts of
its old stems are sometimes employed as substitutes for
oak in making the knees and other bent parts of ships.
Its timbers are exported to the West India islands and to
Britain for making packing boxes, herring barrels, and
other similar articles. Its resin is comparatively scarce and
poor, and does not suffice for yielding turpentine or Hue
pitch. Wilson's R. Cyc.
Abies alba, Mx. White spruce. High mountains of
North Carolina and northward.
The root fibres are macerated, stripped, and made into
cordage by the North American Indians. Wilson's R.
Cyc. °
Thuja occidentalis, L. American arbor vitse. Confined
to the mountain districts, along streams ; Fl. May .
U. S. Disp. 1301 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 609. The leaves
and twigs have a balsamic odor ; the decoction was used in
intermittent fevers, and, according to Schcepf, in cough,
scurvy, and rheumatism ; Boerhaave employed the distilled
water in dropsy. The leaves are said to form an excellent
irritating ointment, which has proved useful in rheuma-
tism ; and the oil has been given with success as a vermi-
fuge. The wood is said by Michaux to be the most
durable which our forests produce ; fences for enclosures,
rail posts, etc., are made of it. Said to be indigenous, and
to grow abundantly on the banks of the Hudson ; "rocky
banks on mountains of Carolina." Chapman. Prof. L.
508
R. Gibbes expresses to me his doubts of its being found in
the mountains of Carolina.
" It makes the finest ornamental hedge known to the
climate. It requires pruning every year, attains any re-
quired height, and is very compact and beautiful." A
writer, B. F. Maurice, of Kings county, 1ST. Y. (in Patent
Office Reports, 1855, p. 316, see papers on "live fences"),
states that he has hedges from two to fourteen years
growth, from one to ten feet high, that will compare favor-
ably with any in this country or in England. It is easily
and readily cultivated by la}-ers. If the hedge is for orna-
ment, considerable care is required in trimming. A hedge
should be pruned every year. See, also, "Wild orange"
(Cerasus Caroliniana), in this volume. The arbor vitse, when
it can be grown large enough, as in Canada, furnishes one
of the hardest and most durable of woods, adapted to all
the purposes of the turner and machinist, for the con-
struction of posts, fences, etc. "Fences made of it last
three or four times longer than those constructed of any
other wood." Wilson. The leaves are employed like the
savin (Juniperus) in making a stimulating ointment. If
the grain is close and compact it may be found to suit the
purposes of the wood engraver. See " Amelanchier " for
wood for engraving. In Canada, the thin, narrow pieces of
wood which form both the ribs and the bottom of the bark
boats are taken from this wood, because it is pliant enough
for the purpose when fresh, and also because *it is very
light. The wood is considered one of the best for the
use of lime-kilns. Its branches are used in Canada for
brooms, which leave their peculiar scent in all the houses
where they are used. Farmer's Encyc.
Sehubertia of later Bot. 1 Bald cypress.
Cupressas disticha, L. and Ell. Sk. / Grows in swamps in
the lower portion of South Carolina and Georgia ; vicinity
of Charleston ; St. John's.
. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 229, 652;
see the Cultivateur, ii, 668, for an article upon the cypress.
509
Recherches sur l'histoire du Cypres, Ann. de Hortic. xv,
37 ; Strauss, Mem. sur le Cypres, Montpellier, 1841 ;
Mirbel, Abridg: des Voyages, xiii, 396; S. T. Cubieres'
Mem. on the Cypress of Louisiana (in French), Paris
1809. This remarkable tree, lifting its giant form above
the others, gives a striking feature to our swamps. They
seem like watch-towers for the feathered race.
For a description see Michaux, N". Am. Sylva, Shee.
Flora Carol. 484. The seeds are said to possess an odorif-
erous principle; a rich balsam of a deep red, inclining to
black, is obtained by boxing the tree, and from the nuts
and fruit by distillation. It is applied to cuts and wounds,
and is possessed of valuable balsamic properties ; the cones
are also balsamic, and the resin from them is diuretic and
carminative. This is undoubtedly one of the most valua-
ble timber trees that we possess. The wood is soft, and
rather fine grained, resisting the action of weather and the
changes of terriperature remarkably well ; hence used for
making the interior work of houses, posts, shingles, staves,
etc. Barton mentions that boats from eight to twelve feet
diameter and eighty feet straight shaft are made out of a
single trunk. See, also, Ell. Bot. for a description; and
also an elaborate paper in the April number of the Am.
Journal of Science for 1848, by Drs. Dickeson and Brown,
a committee from Louisiana, appointed by the Association
of Geologists and Naturalists. Cypress leaves boiled dur-
ing several hours afford a fine, durable, cinnamon color.
The tree should be felled in winter.
Oupressus tkyoides, L. (White cedar.) Said to grow
around the savannas in Horry and Williamsburg districts;
Newbern.
Ell. Bot. ii, 644 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 610. The infusion
is reputed to be stomachic, and in the warm state diapho-
retic. The wood is soft, fine grained, light and durable,
and is adapted for purposes similar to the above. The
young trees are easily handled and transported, and are
510
particularly suited for telegraph poles. Shingles from this,
sometimes called juniper shingles, last for forty years.
Juniperus Virginiana, Linn. Cedar. Grows in upper
and lower districts ; jSTewbern. Fl. March.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 49; Pe. Mat. Med. ii, 184; Fr.
Elems. 195; U. S. Disp. 413; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iii, 698 ; Mich. K Am. Sylva, iii, 221 ; Am. Journal
Pharm. xiv, 235; Thacher's Disp. 247; Lind. Nat. Syst.
Bot, 316; Griffith, Med. Bot. 607; Supplem. to the Diet,
de M. Med. 1846, 406; Bull, de l'Acad. Roy. de Med. vi,
478; S. Cubieres' Mem. on the Red Cedar of Virginia, in
French, Paris, 1805; Nicolet's Essai on the Physiol, and
Chemistry of genus Juniperus; see Journal de Pharm.
xxvii, 309, and Bonastie's note on a volatile oil from the
Virginia cedar, in Journal de Pharm. xxi, 177, 1834.
The bark is employed in Abyssinia, under the name of
Bisenna. The expressed oil is very useful as an application
to rheumatic pains and swellings of the joints. One bushel
of the dried shavings, heated in an inverted iron vessel,
will yield a half-pint of oil. A decoction of the berries
promotes diaphoresis, and is also beneficial in rheumatic
pains, stiff joints, etc. It acts very much as savin, being
stimulant and emmenagogue, and employed in catamenial
obstructions.
The cedar berry is used in a popular remedy for dropsy,
which is claimed by some to be highly efficacious. We can
readily understand the reason that it may prove useful when
we remember its close alliance with the juniper berry. It
is as follows : take one handful of the seed of the cedar,
the same of mullein, the same of the root of dogwood;
put into two quarts and a pint of water, boil down to one
quart, and add one gill of whiskey. Dose, a wineglassful
night and morning. A cerate is made for keeping up the
irritation and discharge from blisters; this is quite ser-
viceable, and is prepared by boiling the fresh leaves in
twice their weight of lard, with the addition of a little
wax. The fungoid excrescences on this tree are thought to
be anthelmintic.
511
The wood of this tree is well known. It is sometimes
dug up in the mud of our swamps in a perfect state of
preservation. It is aromatic, light, soft, bearing exposure,
to water and weather, and suitable for all kinds of cabinet
work, in the construction of posts, staves, the inner work
of houses, and particularly in the building of boats. Cedar
boxes are not infested by insects, moths, etc., and are used
for storing away woollens. The leaves also prevent the
attacks of insects when spread over cloth.
Class III. ENDOGENS, OR MONOCOTYLEDONS.
MARANTACEiE. ( The Arrow-root Tribe.)
Maranta Arundinacea. Bermuda arrow-root. Cultivated
in South Carolina for domestic use. »
U. S. Disp. 449; Royle, Mat. Med. 585; Bell's Pract,
Diet. 48. See authors. The root is grated, washed, and
then dried in the sun on flat dishes.
In a report to the Patent Office by Robert Gamble, of
Florida, published in volume of 1851, p. 326, he says :
"The Bermuda arrow-root flourishes throughout South
Florida, producing, even in the pine lands, from 200 to 300
bushels to the acre, the quantity beiug largely increased
when planted on rich lands. The yield of merchantable
arrow-root flour obtained by very imperfect mills is from
six to eight pounds to the bushel — worth from 25 to 30
cents per pound. Along our Atlantic coast south of 27°
the Cumpti, or Indian arrow-root, grows spontaneously, giv-
ing results nearly equal to that of Bermuda, with the ad-
vantage that it requires no cultivation. The sole labor
consists in bringing it from the forest lands and conveying
it to the mill, the simple stirring occasioned by the digging
being sufficient to secure a better crop than the one just
removed. The Sisal hemp grows readily and luxuriantly,
512
even upon our pine lands, and will eventually become a
valuable staple, but in the multitude of others it is at pres-
ent overlooked. So, also, the Palma Christi, which be-
comes a tree, and is perennial." See "Jerusalem artichoke"
(Cynara), and "Potato" (Convolvulus), for substances yield-
iug starch. P. 0. Reports on Agriculture, p. 324, 1858,
contain a condensation of a report before the Am. Pharm.
Assoc, by R. M. Batty, of Rome, Ga., on the "Production
and Manufacture of Arrow-root in the South," with an ac-
count of the apparatus used in rasping. It is made a staple
crop by one or two gentlemen near St. Mary's, and 2,900
pounds of Georgia arrow-root was sold in Savannah in one
year. It can be raised by any farmer or planter. "Costing
no actual money expended, the consumption of it as a die-
tetic article is unrestrained, and it supplies the place in great
measure of corn starch, farina, Irish moss, gelatine, and
even rice and flour, in the preparation of delicacies for the
table, as well as the invalid's chamber." The yield of roots
of all sizes t<* the acre is about 150 bushels. Col. Hallows,
St. Mary's, Ga., has gone largely into the field culture, and
has erected extensive buildings and machinery. Another
species of plant grows wild also in South Florida, from
which Florida arrow-root is made. It is called coonti, and
is described in the New Am. Enc. as a species of sago
palm- (Zamia integr if olid). A fecula was formerly prepared
and used by the Florida Indians from the Chamcerops ser-
rulata, or saw palmetto.
The cultivation of the arrow-root is precisely that of the
sweet potato. A rich, fresh, sandy soil, a large, full bed,
the seed (roots) placed six inches deep and a foot apart,
careful hoeing and keeping the bed up, constitute the
culture. The seed roots should be planted as soon as the
spring is confirmed — with us (Ga.) about the middle of
March. The smaller tubers or roots are to be selected for
seed, and are best preserved by placing ten to fifteen bush-
els in a conical heap, stacking closely around them a layer
of corn-stalks, and placing over the whole a coating of two
or three inches of earth. The object is to keep up a
513
uniform temperature, and to avoid dampness and the
extremes of heat and cold. The plants are allowed to
grow until the leaves and stems are slightly affected by the
frost, the roots are then to be dug as potatoes, the larger
selected for manufacture and the smaller for seed. Those
intended for manufacture are to be stacked in heaps of
twenty to twenty-five bushels in the same way as directed
for the seed roots. They must be carefully protected from
cold, as the fecula is changed by freezing.
The following is the mode of manufacturing for family
use: the roots are washed, the scales on the outside re-
moved by hand with a knife, and then again washed and
placed in a tub of pure water. The next operation is to
rasp down the roots by pressing them endwise against the
circumference of the rasping machine. (P. 0. Reports,
1858, see plate vi.) This machine consists of two wooden
discs, framed as large pulleys, about three and a half feet in
diameter, placed six inches apart and covered with strong
tinned iron, punched from within like a coarse nutmeg
grater. It revolves around a central axis of wood with as
great a velocity as can be given without throwing off the
water from its circumference. A large trough is placed
under the wheel, which is kept nearly full of water, the
wheel dipping into the trough about six inches. As the
wheel revolves the grated pulp is washed off into the
trough, and when it becomes too thick the mass is passed
into a largie tub and the trough refilled with fresh water.
The pulp collected in the tub is then pressed by hand until
the fecula is separated from the fibre, and after removing
the latter the fecula is allowed to settle to the bottom.
The next and most important operation is to pour off the
water from the sediment, and when the latter has become
pretty firm, to break it carefully into cakes and with a large
knife blade to remove from the bottom all sand and other
impurities. The cleansed portion is then to be resuspend-
ed in a tub of pure water, allowed again to settle, again
dried and cleansed. This operation must be repeated until
the fecula settles in a perfectly white and clean cake. On
33
514
the careful performance of this part of the manufacture
depends the excellence of the article. The cakes are next
to be broken up and placed upon cotton cloth stretchers
until thoroughly dry and pulverulent, when the powder
should be firmly packed in boxes or barrels. Air-drying
in the shade is preferable to sun-drying, and dust must be
sedulously avoided. Whatever the scale of manufacture
and the machinery used, the essential points are : 1st,
maturity of the roots; 2d, cleansing the roots before rasp-
ing; 3d, rasping so as completely to separate the fecula
from the fibre ; 4th, separating the fecula from sand and
all other impurities by frequent agitation and subsidence ;
5th, thorough and careful drying to avoid mustiness or
mildew ; 6th, packing so as effectually to exclude the air.
The principle of separating fecula being the same, any
labor-saving machinery adapted to the manufacture of po-
tato starch may be applied to arrow-root. On a large
scale there would be great economy in driving several rasp-
ing machines by an engine, agitating the feculent mass
from the rasper in large vats, filtering through cloths, dry-
ing by hot air in large buildings furnished with cloth
stretchers, etc. Tinned iron is used for the rasping part of
the mill, and wooden vessels for washing and precipitation.
The reader will consult the article cited for the best mode
of cultivation. The writer quotes from Mr. Hamilton
Cooper or Col. Hallowes, I believe, as follows : " There is
no secret in making arrow-root. The great requisition,
after the roots have been well washed and reduced to a
fine pulp, is an abundance of water together with great
cleanliness, and until the hands are well trained, the con-
stant vigilance of the master. The latter is more or less
necessary at all times. The pulp is passed at one opera-
tion through three sets of sieves of different degrees of
fineness, put into motion by machinery, and using an
abundance of water. As it is strained the fluid runs into
vats, where it is allowed to settle, water drawn ofi' and
fresh water added, stirring up the sediment thoroughly.
This process is repeated a second time, and it is then
515
strained through sieves of the finest bolting cloth, again
washed with successive portions of water, allowed to settle
in tubs, water decanted, and the tubs removed to the dry-
ing house, where the fecula, when settled into a solid mass,
is broken up and placed on frames of convenient size,
covered with cotton shirting, which are carried into the
drying room, heated artificially, and allowed to remain
eighteen to twenty-four hours, taken out, allowed to cool,
and put into bins ready for packing. I use boxes contain-
ing about one hundred pounds each. In the course of the
process of the manufacture I have attempted to describe
three thousaud gallons of water are used daily, all of which
is furnished by a well of the purest water, not exceeding
twelve feet in depth. The use of tank water, it is thought,
may be the cause of the pearly appearance of Bermuda
arrow-root, or the greater maturity of the plant. lire
says it requires eleven months to mature in the island of
St. Vincent." "What is called Portland sago is made from
the Arum maculatam ; we have two species in the Confeder-
ate States. See "Arum," in this volume.
I have seen the plant cultivated and the arrow-root pre-
pared on the plantations in St. John's, Berkley, S. C. The
great value of arrow-root as an article of food for the
sick and convalescent, and its consequent great utility to
our armies in the field, make it particularly desirable that
its culture should be extended at this time. I therefore
introduce the following directions by the late Governor
Seabrook of South Carolina. The method of culture is
simple, and is as follows : upon a piece of ground moder-
ately high, and of a loose soil, make small beds three feet
asunder, and at the distance of every two feet drop one
seed, which should be covered about two inches deep.
The middle of March is the proper season for planting,
and no care or attention is subsequently required but to
keep the plants free from grass and weeds. After the first
frost they should be dug, and when you have selected the
seed it is necessary for their preservation that they should
be buried at least one foot in some dry and warm spot.
516
The preparation of the root for food is tedious, and in eon-
sequence of the toughness of the outer coat it would be
advisable to perform the operation as speedily as possible
after digging. As soon as this is effected, grate the roots
in a clean vessel of water, then pass the contents thereof
through a sieve ; this must be repeated, taking care to
change the water at every successive operation so long as
any coarse particles remain in the sieve. The water is
then allowed to settle, and if it exhibits a clear and natural
appearance the sediment is in a fit state to be be dried,
which should be done, if possible, in the sun, and in a
confined situation, where no dust can reach it. To a table-
spoonful thus prepared pour on a pint of boiling water,
stirring it at the same time briskly, to which add a little
sugar and nutmeg, and you will then have a jelly pleasant
as it is healthful. Boiled with milk it is excellent.
When starch is obtained from any other plant than one
of the grains, as from potatoes, corn, flag, bryony, horse-
chestnut, wild orchis, dogbane, burdock, iris, heubane,
patience, ranunculus, etc., it is known by the name of
fecula. Chaptal describes two processes for extracting
starch, by washing with cold water and by fermentation,
the latter being more efficient:
When starch is to be extracted by cold water, the sub-
stance must either be reduced to the state of flour or be
broken so that the pulp can be acted upon by the water.
In the first place the flour of wheat is kneaded with water
till it takes the consistency of a stiff paste; this is placed on
a cloth stretched tightly over a tub and cold water thrown
upon it; the kneading with the hand is continued till the
water runs off* clear ; the fecula is carried off" by the water
and deposited at the bottom of the tubs; the wafer retains
in solution the sugar and the extractive matter of the
farina, while the insoluble gluten alone remains upon the
filter ; the deposit is washed to free it from any foreign
substance, and then dried. When it is not wished that the
substance containing the fecula should be reduced to flour,
it may be broken in a mortar or under a millstone, or it
SI?
may be grated; the pulp is then to be placed upon a very
fine horse-hair sieve and water thrown upon it till it runs
off clear, care being taken to stir the pulp constantly with
the hand and to squeeze it hard. When the substance
from which the fecula is to be extracted is fleshy and of a
loose, spongy texture, it can be reduced to a pulp by
means of a press ; the juice thus expressed deposits the
fecula, which must be carefully washed in order that the
noxious principles contained in it may be perfectly sepa-
rated. The whiteness and excellence of the fecula depends
upon its being thoroughly washed.
Fermentation is the means most commonly employed for
extracting starch from grain, but this operation will pro-
duce only alcohol if care be not taken in mixing the acid
with the grain to prevent the spirituous fermentation.
This acid is made by mixing with a bucket of hot water
wvo pounds of baker's yeast, to which is added two days
after several buckets of hot water ; in forty-eight hours
from that time the acid will be sufficiently developed.
This acid, which is called by the starch manufacturers sure
water, is thrown into a hogshead having one end taken out.
The hogshead is then filled half-full of common water, into
which flour is stirred till it is full ; the whole is then left
to macerate during ten days in summer and fourteen in
winter. The sufficiently advanced state of the maceration
may be known by a deposit being formed and the liquor
above it remaining clear, while the surface is covered with
foam or fat water. The water and foam are drawn off, and
the deposit is thrown into a sack of haircloth, which is
placed in a tub and water thrown over it till it runs off
without any cloudiness. The substance remaining in the
bag, which is only the coarsest part, serves as food for
cattle. At the end of two or three days the water floating
above the deposit formed in the tub is drawn off, and a
part of it preserved to serve as sure water for succeeding
operations.
In order to have good starch, the water must be washed
in a great deal of water and well mixed ; two or three
518
days after the water for the remaining washings may be
thrown on. The deposit which forms presents three layers,
differing widely in their quality ; the first is principally
composed of fragments, and is taken oft' as food for cattle
or to fatten hogs with. The second layer is generally
formed of the mealy part of the vegetable mixed with
some other substances ; the product of this layer is known
under the name of common starch. The third layer con-
tains the purest and heaviest starch, but in order to give it
all the qualities it ought to possess it must be washed with
water, and the water afterward separated from it by filtra-
tion through a sieve of silk, so as to free it from all impu-
rities. "With these precautions starch may be obtained
fitted for any use. As soon as the starch has been well
washed it is put into baskets lined with linen to be well
drained. It is afterward divided into loaves, and the dry-
ing finished by exposing it. in the open air upon laths.
Before packing for sale, the surface of the loaves, which is
slightly colored, is scraped, and the drying of them is com-
pleted in the sun or in a stove. Starch acted upon by sul-
phuric acid is converted into sugar, and in this state may
be made to undergo the vinous fermentation ; a few years
since extensive establishments were formed in France for
supplying numerous distilleries with the fecula of the
potato which had been treated in this manner.
Amarillidace^:. (The Narcissus Tribe.)
Some of these are poisonous, and Lindley says that it is
one of the few of the monocotyledonous orders in which
any poisonous properties are found.
Agave Sisalana. Sisal hemp.
This gigantic plant has been introduced into Florida by
Dr. Henry Perriue, who was consul at Yucatan. It is said
by W. C. Dennis, of Key West (P. O. Reports, 1855, p.
243), to delight in arid, rocky land, which contains a super-
abundance of lime. It is adapted probably only to the
south of Florida, where it can be cultivated during the
519
absence of frost. It does not require a great deal of cult-
ure, but grows on arid, rocky soil around Key "West unfit-
ted for any other purpose. "In fact, the land on these
keys and much of it on the southern point of the penin-
sula is nearly worthless for every other agricultural pur-
pose, so far as known, yet there are thousands of acres in
this region where a ton of clean Sisal hemp can be made
to the acre yearly, after the plant has arrived at such an
advanced state of maturity as will allow the lower leaves
to be cut from it, which takes in this climate from three
to five years to grow, according to the goodness of the
soil. Nor is there any longer a doubt as to the good-
ness of the fibre, a number of tons having already been
collected and sent to market, where it readily brought
within a half cent to a cent per pound as much as the best
kind of Manilla hemp ; that is, in the neighborhood of
two hundred and fifty dollars per ton." See article cited
for method of planting and preparing. " About a thou-
sand plants should be set on an acre, and from young ones
coming up from the long lateral roots ; if these be kept at
proper distances it will be seen that the same land requires
no replanting if coarse vegetable manure be applied from
time to time. After the plant is of sufficient growth the
lower leaves are cut off" at proper times, leaving enough on
the top to keep it healthy. These leaves are composed of
a soft, watery pulp, and are from two to six feet long, and
in the middle from four to six inches wide, being frequent-
ly three inches thick at the but, but having the general
shape of the head of a lance. They contain a gum, which
is the chief cause of their being rather troublesome in
separating the fibres from the pulp. Neither the epidermis
nor this pulp is more than a powder after becoming dry if
the gum- be entirely crushed and washed out."
This is a most important fact in relation to the mauner
to be adopted to cleanse the fibres from the pulp. As
these are continuous, and parallel, and imbedded in it, I feel
certain that a system of passing the leaves through a series
of heavy iron rollers firmly set, something after those used
520
in crushing sugar-cane, and throwing water on the crushed
leaves, in jets or otherwise, in sufficient quantities to wash
out the gum (which is perfectly soluble in it), will thor-
oughly clean out the fibres, without any loss, so that after
they are dry, and have been beaten to get out the dust, they
will be fit for market; at any rate, the right plan for sepa-
rating the fibres has not yet been discovered, although
there has been enough done at it to show that they can be
got at a profit.
I obtain the following statements from the Patent Office
Reports, 1856, p. 252, by W. C. Dennis: "The plant evi-
dently requires dry, hot weather, as well as a dry soil; for
since I have observed its growth I have never seen it suffer
from drought in the driest and hottest weather and in the
most arid spots, provided its roots could find a plenty of
the right kind of soil. The meteorological record for the
last twenty-five years shows that this plant is well adapted
to these keys and the southern extremity of the peninsula,
for such winters as the two designated are evidently rare.
"It would seem that there are lands enough in Florida,
south of the limit where the frost would injure this plant,
to grow it in sufficient quantities for the present and pros-
pective wants of the country, and that, too, in a frontier
region which it is of national importance to settle. As far
as known, these lands are not well adapted to an extended
range of agricultural products, yet I am certain that the
tropical agaves in all their varieties will flourish here in
the greatest perfection.
"Mr. Hermonds, of Indian river, Florida, says that Sisal
hemp grows well there, and has contiuued to thrive well
for years. He thinks that my last year's estimate of the
product per acre is too low for that region. The experi-
ments I have made within the past year in getting out a
number of tons of this fibre convince me there are but few
difficulties in accomplishing this work cheaply. These
experiments prove that if all the vesicles of the leaves are
ruptured by crushing or rolling, the pulp and gum are
easily washed out either by salt water or fresh. The plan
521
which I found most successful was to roll the leaves, being
careful to rupture all the vessels, then confine these crushed
leaves in an open-work wooden frame or box, which I
placed in such a manner that the tides forced the sea-water
through them both at the ebb and flow. In this manner
the gum and pulp were so far washed out in from three to
six days (according to the temperature of the air and water)
that by beating the fibres a little after they were dry they
were fit for market.*
"Mr. Hermonds mentioned as a tested fact that steeping
the crushed leaves in boiling water, even for a few minutes,
at once dissolved the gum and cleaned the fibre. This
renders it almost certain that where a steam-engine is used
to propel rollers and crush the leaves the waste steam can
be rendered effective to clean this hemp by blowing it off
between the rollers, aided by a little water in a jet, while
the leaves are passing through.
"The amount of the imports and consumption in this
country of fibres similar to Sisal hemp in 1854 was over
$2,500,000, of which more than $1,500,000 was for Manilla
and Indian hemps, and over $1,000,000 for gunny bags and
cloth, jutes, etc.
"I am of opinion that this hemp can be cleaned, and
cheaply, by running the leaves through a series of powerful
rollers, having water dashed on them during the operation ;
and this plan would be much facilitated in this region
from the fact that the gum of the leaves seems equally
soluble in salt water as in fresh. But experiment must
decide which of the methods would be the best. Care
must be taken not to allow the leaves or fibres to come in
contact with the mud or other substances which will stain
them while they are in a damp state; and it will be well to
have them in the sun, or strong light, while under the proc-
ess of cleaning and drying; for the juice of the plant is
both a saponaceous and a bleaching fluid.
"Last year I spoke of the fact that the celebrated pulque
* Would not this method be objectionable on account of the difficulty of drying
the fibre or the materials manufactured therefrom? 1>. .t. b.
Jt
522
plant [Agave pulque) was introduced by Dr. Perrine. It
grows enormously large here where there is sufficient depth
of soil, and although I presume that the mean temperature
is too high to make from it the Mexican drink, yet alcohol
could be distilled from its juice, and probably the leaf can
be made to yield a cheap and abundant material for paper.
The ancient Aztec made much of the paper on which his
picture-writing was transcribed out of the leaves of one or
more of the varieties of the agave; and this pulque plant
most likely is one of the kinds; for its thick, fleshy leaves,
containing very fine fibres, are sometimes eight feet long
and from seven to eight inches broad."
Agave Vir g mica, L. Called by negroes rattlesnake's mas-
ter. Grows in damp soils; collected in Wassamasaw, St.
John's; vicinity of Charleston.
Ell. Bot. i, 402. A domestic remedy for flatulent colic;
used in Charleston district for the bite of the rattlesnake.
Amaryllis atamasco, L. Atamasco lily. Grows in damp
soils; collected in St, John's, Berkley; vicinity of Charles-
ton.
Ell. Bot. i, 884. This is supposed to produce the dis-
ease in cattle called "staggers."
Pancratium maritimum, Walt. I " Seen by Catesby in the
" Carolinianmn, L. j Parachucla savanna, St.
Peter's parish," Ell.; collected on Cooper river, St. John's,
Berkley.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 179 ; Dioscorides,
lib. ii, c. 168. Pliny also speaks of it, lib. xvii, c. 12. The
bulbs are bitter and emetic, and are useful in dropsy.
Loiseleur, Manuel des Plantes Indigenes, 19. In the expe-
rience of one writer forty grains of the powder produced
vomiting five times.
ILemodoracejE. ( The Blood-root Tribe.)
Bilatris tvnetoria, Ph. 1 Newbeni. Florida.
Lachnanthes, Ell. Sk. J
Griffith, Med. Bot. 622. The root is astringent and
523
tonic. It is distinguished, says Wilson, for yielding a
beautiful dye; hence the name. Rur. Cyc.
Burmanmace^e.
Tripterella ccerulia, L. Blue tripterella. Grows near Sa-
vannah and Purysberg ; collected in St. John's, Berkley,
near Pinopolis ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. ISTov.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 331 ; Nuttall, in Acta, Philacl. 723.
A flavor like that of green tea is discernible in this plant.
Iridace^i. (The Corn-flag Tribe.)
Iris versicolor, L. Var. a and b. Blue flag. Grows in
bogs, morasses, and inundated land; collected in St. John's ;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern. Fl. July.
Coxe, Am. Disp. 354 ; Lind. ISTat. Syst. Bot. 333 ; U. S.
Disp. 405 ; Big. Am. Med. Botv 105 ; Bartram's Travels,
451 ; Cutler's Mem. Am. Acad. 405, 6 ; Ell. Bot. 146 ; Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. iii, 659; Frost's Elems. 279.
The expressed juice is acrid, and has been employed as a
local application ; it is also purgative, and sometimes occa-
sions distressing nausea like sea-sickness, accompanied with
prostration of strength. The plant is, however, more re-
markable for its diuretic powers. It was prescribed by Dr.
McBride with great success in dropsy, combining it with
the button snakeroot (Eryngium yuccifolium). The propor-
tions are as follows : root of blue flag one ounce ; button
snakeroot two drachms ; water half a pound ; which is to be
boiled down to one pint and taken in divided doses. See
Bigelow. This does not disturb the stomach, and was used
with success in cases of hydrothorax conibined with an-
asarca. Bartram said the root was considered by the
Indians a very powerful cathartic, and it was found in arti-
ficial ponds made for the purpose near their villages. See
his Voyage dans la partie sud de l'Amerique Septentri-
onale, ii, 322, and the Supplem. to Mer. and de L. 1846.
According to Bigelow its active chemical constituent seems
to be a resin, which separates as a white precipitate when
524
water is added to the alcoholic tincture. The plant is
much employed in domestic practice in St. John's, Berkley,
in dropsy.
Iris Virginica.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 625. It is said to possess properties
similar to those of the I. versicolor.
Bromeliace^e. (The Pineapple Tribe.)
TiUandsia usneoides, Linn. Long moss. Grows within the
tertiary districts of South Carolina ; I have observed it as
high up as Columbia ; j^ewbern.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 748 ; Journal de
Pharmacien, iii, 185. It is stomachic, purgative, and even
diuretic. Employed in hemorrhoids. Op. cit. I see no no-
tice of it in the American works. Great use is made in
South Carolina of this plant when dried in stuffing chair
cushions, mattresses, etc. It gives to the trees in winter
quite a venerable and pleasing aspect, and is an indication
of great moisture.
Orchidace^:. ( The Orchis Tibe.)
Some species of orchis are said to possess aphrodisiac
properties. The roots when boiled are farinaceous and eat-
able, furnishing an article of food. Attention is invited to
those growing in the Confederate States, among which are
several beautiful species.
Bletia verecunda, IS. Elliott is doubtful whether it grows
in South Carolina. Mich, cultivated it near Charleston.
Fl. Aug.
Lind. Xat. Syst. Bot. 239. The cormus is said to be
stomachic and tonic: see Browne's Jamaica.
Bletia aphylla. Xutt.
The tuberous root, as well as the whole plant, contains a
great deal of gum and starch. It has a gummy taste, and
is closely related with Aplectrum hiemale (Corallorrhiza of
525
Ell.), which has the name putty-root, probably from the
same property of gummmess and adhesiveness. The
granules of the tirst named can be seen with the micro-
scope. I have ascertained that it forms an excellent gum
in place of Spalding's glue or gum-arabic. Paper united
by means of it tears before it will separate. It should
be well broken up in a little water.
Gypripedium pnbesce?is, W. Yellow lady's slipper; yellow
moccason. l^ewbern.
Griffith, Med. B'ot. 640. It is employed by the Indians,
and held in high estimation in domestic practice as a
sedative and antispasmodic, acting like valerian in alle-
viating nervous symptoms ; said to have proved useful
in hysteria, and even in chorea. A teaspoonful of the
powder is taken at a dose. Op. cit, and Raf. Med. Fl. 140.
More use might be made of this tea as a cpiieting agent in
place of paregoric; see "Tilia."
PALMACEiE. (The Palm Tribe.)
Chamcerops serrulata, L. Saw palmetto. Grows on the
coast of South Carolina, and at Blythe's island, in Georgia.
Mr. Elliott says that it extends also through the pine lands
of that state.
Shec. Fl. Carol. 435. The pulp is very sweet, but is pos-
sessed of a purgative property, often producing a copious
evacuation attended with griping.
A correspondent, "F. I. S," of Charleston "Mercury,"
from Waresboro, Ga., writes as follows in adding to our
"resources: "
"You speak of black moss for mattresses. Our common
saw palmetto leaves, when split into shreds with a fork or
hackle, boiled, and dried in the sun one or two days, make
a light, clean, healthy, and durable mattress. Let me sug-
gest that palmetto pillows would be cheap and comfortable
for our soldiers on the coast ; their corn and flour sacks
would in the absence of anything better furnish ready-
made pillow ticks. Our negroes are busily employed in
526
making light, durable, and handsome palmetto hats for our
soldiers — quite a protection from the sun's burning rays in
the heavy drills of this and the next two months. A bed
made from a downy swamp plant, which our people call
cat's tail, took a premium at the late Agricultural Fair in
Carolina.
Chamcerops palmetto, Mich. ) Tall palmetto. Cabbage
Corypha palmetto, "Walter. / tree. Grows along the sea-
coast; vicinity of Charleston.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 432.
From this noble and characteristic tree is derived the
well known armorial emblem on the escutcheon of the
State of South Carolina. It scarcely needs any description
at my hands. It has been carried in the fore-front of bat-
tle by every regiment in the service of the state from
Mexico to Manassas. The leaves are employed in the
manufacture of hats, baskets, mats, etc. Forts, wharves,
conduits, and structures under water are made of the logs,
which do not splinter. The cabbage, or expanded embryo,
may be classed among the " most delicious vegetables pro-
duced for our tables." The tree, however, perishes when
deprived of these. State enactments should forbid their
destruction, for ere long when the supply is exhausted the
tree will still be absolutely required. Griffith says (Med.
Bot. 614) that the bark contains taunin.
Pieces of the spongy part of the stem afford a very good
substitute for scrubbing brushes, and are much used in
Carolina and Georgia. The leaves of the smaller species
afford excellent and durable thatch for covering barns and
outhouses ; and the younger leaves of the cabbage tree are
manufactured into beautiful light and durable hats. Since
the war (1862) the tree has been highly useful for this pur-
pose. The repent caudex of the saw palmetto (Farmer's
Encyc), being torn from the surface of the earth, cut into
proper lengths, dried, and burned to ashes, produces the
greatest quantity of potash of any known vegetable. The
drupes, or large berries of this species, which are of the
527
size and figure of dates, and as sweet, afford good and
nourishing food to the Indians and hunters. Thej are not
palatable to white people till they become accustomed to
them. Op. cit.
Sabal adansonii, Guerns. V Dwarf' palmetto. Swamps in
" pumila,~E\l. flower districts.
Excellent fans may be made of the leaves. The " bane
and antidote " are both present in abundance in the same
locality — mosquitoes and the palm-like leaves of the dwarf
palmetto !
Melanthacb^. (The Colchicum Tribe.)
"Poisonous in every species."
Melanthium Virginicurh, "W. Grows in wet soils.
Griffith, Med. 641. In infusion it is an effectual anthel-
mintic. It will operate as an active poison. The decoc-
tion, used as a wash, is a certain but somewhat dangerous
cure for the itch.
Chamcelirium Carolinianum, Willd. (K'th's En. PL'
Iielonias dioica, Ph. and Ell. Sk.
Common blazing star. Grows in damp pine barrens ;
collected in St. John's, Berkley, Charleston district, near
Pinopolis ; vicinity of Charleston ; ISTewbern. Fl. July.
Lind. Hat. Syst. 348; Ell. Bot. i, 423; De Cand. and
Dubug. 472, an. 1828; Matson's Veg. Pract. 218. The
infusion is anthelmintic and the tincture tonic. Prof.
Ives recommends it as efficient -in checking nausea and
vomiting. The Indian women employed this plant in pre-
venting abortion. It is used by the vegetable practitioners
in debility of the digestive organs, given in doses of a half-
teaspoonful of the powder in warm water three times a
day. The root when chewed relieves cough.
Amianthus musccetoxicum, Gray in K'th's En. PI. \ Fly
Helonias erythrosperma Mx. and Ell. Sk. J poison.
Grows in rich, shaded soils ; collected in St. John's, Berk-
528
ley; near Brunswick, PI. (T. W. Peyre's, Esq.); vicinity
of Charleston. Fl. May.
Ell. Bot. 421. "A narcotic poison, employed in some
families to destroy the house-fly. The bulbs are triturated
and mixed with molasses. The flies, if not swept in the
fire, or otherwise destroyed, revive in the course of twenty-
four hours." I would invite others to an examination of
this plant as a remedial agent.
Veratrum viride, \ Itch-weed ; Indian poke ;
" album, Mich. J white hellebore. Abbeville
district, S. C. ; grows in mountain streams.
Lind. Kat. Syst. 348. "An acrid emetic and powerful
stimulant, followed by sedative effects." Big. Med. Bot.
ii, 125. Dr. Tully also says it is a deobstruent or altera-
tive, an acrid narcotic, an emetic, an epi spastic, and an
errhine ; found very useful in gout, rheumatism, diseases
of lungs, and some complaints of the bowels. Osgood, in
the Am. Journal Med. Science, states that it is perfectly
certain in its operation, and is, in all respects, analogous to
colchicum, which it should supersede. Bigelow states that
in his hands it has arrested the paroxysm of gout, and has
given relief in some cases of protracted rheumatism. It
has been externally employed, in the form of ointment, in
many cutaneous affections. Mr. Worth in gt on, who made
a full analysis, found veratria, gallic acid, extractive, etc.
See Am. Journal Pharm. IS". S. iii ; Dr. Osgood's examina-
tion, Am. Journal Med. Sci. 1885, and Am. Journal
Pharm. i", 202, N". S. ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 644; Am.
Journal Pharm, 1ST. S. iv, 89; Raf. Med. Fl. 585. The
tincture or the extract is the best form of administration ;
the dose of the first is thirty drops, of the latter one-third
of a grain, gradually increased. Kalrn says that corn
soaked in a strong decoction will be protected against the
encroachment of birds ; those that eat of it becoming
giddy fall to the ground, and thus deter others. The
plant is considered eminently deserving the attention of
the profession.
529
The above was written in my report printed in 1849.
The great value of this plant is now. fully recognized as a
depressor of the heart's action. It is also emetic and
expectorant. As it is scarce, our other species, V. inter-
medium, growing in Florida, and V. parvifolium of Mx.,
found in the mountains of North Carolina, should be
examined. Many of the recent journals and medical
treatises contain full descriptions of the application of the
V. viride to the treatment of typhoid and yellow fevers,
pneumonia, etc. See Charleston Medical Journal for Drs.
Ford and White's paper on the treatment of yellow fever
with this agent. The same journal contains papers by
Norwood and others on the employment of this powerful
sedative. Its discovery is encouraging to those who be-
lieve that the same perseverance and enlightened skill
which gave us quinine, morphia, ai;d chloroform, may add
still more conquests as greater familiarity is attained with
the vegetable wealth of our country. The dose of the
tincture of V. viride is three to four drops, cautiously in-
creased. The remedy for an overdose is alcoholic stimu-
lants. Dr. Norwood, of South Carolina, deserves great
credit for establishing the method of using the V. viride.
His tincture is made by macerating eight ounces of the
dried root in sixteen ounces of alcohol for two weeks ;
dose, from six to eight drops, repeated cautiously every
three hours, gradually increasing till its effects are pro-
duced. The roots should be collected in autumn ; they
deteriorate.
Veratrum parvifolium and angustifolium. Both are found
in South Carolina; they are probably active, and should
be examined.
Gyromia Virginica, \ Indian cucum-
Medeola " Linn, and Ell. Sk. / ber ; Virginian
medeola. Grows in moist soils ; generally found under
beech trees ; Newbern. Fl. June.
U. S. Disp. 274. Pursh states that the root was eaten
34
530
by the Indians. Dr. Barton thought it useful in dropsies.
Bart. M. Bot. ; Liud. jSTat. Syst. Bot. 318. It enjoys some
reputation as a hydragogue. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iv, 270 ; according to which it is esteemed a very
active diuretic. De Cand. Essai, 293.
Trillium sessile, L. Rare ; grows in rich shaded soil ;
collected in St. John's, Berkley, near "Wantoot PL; vicin-
ity of Charleston ; I have observed it on the Ashley road.
Fl. May.
Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 348. '< Roots generally violently
emetic."
Liliace^e. ( The Lily Tribe.)
♦
Erythronium Americanum, L. V Dog's-tooth violet ; ad-
" lanceolatum, Ph. jder's tongue. Grows in
the upper districts and in • Georgia ; sent to me from
Abbeville by Mr. Reed. Fl. April.
IT. S. Disp. 318 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 151 ; Mer. and
de L. Diet, de Mat. Med. iii, 147; .Coxe, Am. Disp. 269;
Bart. Flora F. Am. 133 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. The recent
bulbs are emetic when powdered and given in doses of
twenty to forty grains. When dried or cooked they
become eatable. The berries are said to be more active
and certain in their operation than the root.
Yucca Jilamentosa, L. Bear-grass. Diffused ; I have col-
lected it in Sumter district, S. C.
A tincture of the roots is much employed in rheuma-
tism. The " Cherokee doctors " use it in the form of a
poultice of the roots, or a salve, as a local application in
allaying inflammation.
The fibre is uncommonly strong, and is used for various
purposes on our plantations : for making thongs for hang-
ing up the heaviest hams, bacon, etc. I do not know
whether it has been tried as a substitute for hemp and
cordage, as Mr. W. G. Simms suggests in a letter to me.
I have since (July, 1862) seen an article in the Charles-
531
ton Courier, entitled " Confederate Flax," in which it is
stated that Mr. D. Ewart, of Florida, had presented for
exhibition " specimens of scutched fibre, and of cordage
and twine of different sizes, made from the very common
plant familiarly known as bear-grass, or Adam's needles."
He also communicated the processes employed in reducing
it to cordage. The Columbus (Ga.) Sun, of a later date,
reports a coil of rope made by Mr. Jas. Torrey, which was
pronounced by competent authority to be equal to Ken-
tucky rope. The plants in the above instance were rotted
and prepared by a negro boy.
Gov. Call (see Southern Cultivator, p. 27, vol. 5, 1847),
in stating that the bear-grass is an evergreen, says that it
may be prepared for use at any season, as it sustains no
loss or depreciation by remaining in the ground. Six
months growth will give a plant of good size, and the
hemp made from such a plant will be as long and possess
quite as much strength as that made from plants of older
growth. But it will have fewer leaves, and consequently
produce less fibre. It will require planting but once in a
lifetime, and with but little culture will produce abundant
crops of five or six tons per acre. "After boiling the
leaves and putting them up in small bundles of convenient
size for the purpose, I have passed them through an ordi-
nary wooden sugar mill, dipping them in water at each
passage until the surplus matter has been removed, leaving
the fibres perfectly cleansed, unimpaired, and ready for
use." It can be propagated by cutting the roots like the
sweet potato. The same number contains a report from
the Secretary of War upon the same subject. Congress
allowed Dr. Perrine a grant of land in Florida for the
purpose of raising Sisal and other hemp plants. His
death defeated the enterprise.
Allium Ccmadense,W . Onion-tree; meadow garlic. Grows
in damp soils ; Newbern.
Griffith, Med. Bot. 653. It is employed as a substitute
for the common garlic, and it is said to be fully as efficient.
532
Its top bulbs are greatly prized for pickling, being consid-
ered of superior flavor to the common onion for that pur-
pose. For cultivation, see Farm. Encyc, Gr. W. Johnson.
Most of the exotic alliaceous plants, the leek, onion, garlic,
etc., are cultivated in the Confederate States. Cotton or
wool wet with the juice of garlic, and applied in the ear, is<
said to relieve deafness. The juice or syrup is given to
infants with colic ; a few drops being used in place of
paregoric. Said to be both stimulant and carminative.
Allium Carolinianum. "Wild garlic.
Several species of alliaceous plants grow within the Con-
federate States. The juice of garlic acts medicinally as an
expectorant. It is a strong cement for broken glass and
china. Preparations of garlic will expel snails, grubs,
moles, worms, etc., placed near their haunts. Wilson's
Rural Cyc.
Schoenotyrion Jlichauxii, Torr. Swamps and pine barrens;
Florida, and westward. Chap.
The bulbous, roots of this and the Molina Georgiana, Mx.,
are allied to the squill, and should be examined.
Aletris fariuosa, L. Star-grass ; unicorn root. Diffused
in damp pine lands ; collected in St. John's ; vicinity of
Charleston ; INTe wbern. Fl. July.
Big. Am. Med. Bot. iii, 92 ; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap.
ii, 121 ; Frost's Elems. 283 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de Mat.
Med. i, 161; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 353; Clayton's Phil.
Trans. Ab. viii, 333; Cutler, Am. Acad, i, 435; Griffith,
Med. Bot. 623. " The root is tonic and stomachic in small
doses, but one of twenty grains occasions nausea, with a
tendency to vomit." Lind. Nat. Syst. Bigelow knew of
no plant exceeding this in genuine, intense, and permanent
bitter. Pursh says it is an excellent remedy in colic ;
Cullen, in chronic rheumatism ; and Dr. Thacher, in
dropsical affections. Infused in vinegar, it is given in
intermittent fever attended with dropsical accumulations.
533
The decoction of the root and leaves in liberal doses is
much employed in popular practice in the lower portions of
South Carolina. The root is quite resinous, and is sup-
posed to contain a portion of extractive matter, hence its
use in coughs and colds, as it does not at the same time
impair the tone of the digestive organs. It is said to pro-
duce soreness of the mouth. Ten grains act as a tonic.
The tincture is the strongest preparation. It is employed
by the vegetable practitioners. See Howard's Imp. Syst.
Bot. Med. 285.
Aletris aurea, Walter. Yellow star-grass. Grows in sim-
ilar situations; collected in St. John's, Berkley, near
Pinopolis : vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 39 ; Frost's Elems. 283 ; U. S.
Disp. 67. It is purgative and nauseating in large doses,
probably possessed of properties similar to the above.
Convallaria majallis. Lily of the valley. According to
Elliott, grows on the highest mountains of South Carolina.
Bull. Plantes Yen. de France, 164. The powder of the
leaves is said to be a very active sternutatory. Dem. El6m.
de Bot. by Gillibert, ii, 6. Some practitioners order the
powder of the leaves in epileptic affections, depending upon
verminous influence. The flowers furnish a good deal of
essential oil. "We have tried with success a powder
of the flowers in inveterate pain of the head." Trans,
from op. ait. This was taken in the nostrils as snuff. Dr.
Wood, in the U. S. Disp. 1249, confirms the assertion ir.
reference to the power the flowers possess of exciting
sneezing. They have a delightful odor, resembling that of
musk, and when dried and powdered are much employed
as a sternutatory, acting sometimes quite violently. Ac-
cording to Merat they are esteemed in nervous headaches
and vertigo; and when pulverized are emetic and purgative.
See Diss. Botanico Med. Inaug. de Lilium. Conval. 1718?
Al Torfii ; Diss. Inaug. at Gottingen, 1757 ; one by Misdorf,
in 1742; and another by Schultze, in the same year. Shec,
534
in his Flora Carol. 431, states that the dried flowers are nar-
cotic. "The extract of the root and flowers possesses pur-
gative properties similar to aloes." The poultice of the root
enjoys some celebrity for taking away the marks of bruises,
etc. With the addition of lime to the leaves a beautiful
green color is obtained. The dose of the simple distilla-
tion of the flowers is four ounces ; when powdered sixty
grains ; of extract two to three grains. The berries are
large, and scarlet colored. The plant is much admired and
cultivated throughout Europe. The dried flowers have a
narcotic odor, and when pulverized they provoke sneezing,
and may be used as a sternutatory. Rural Cyc.
Convallaria multiflora, \ Solo-
Polygonatum multiflorum., Desfont. and Ell. Sk. / mon's
seal. Grows in damp soils.
U. S. Disp. 1249. This is used in similar cases ^vith the
European species (the Con. polygonatum), the root of which
was employed as a cosmetic, and which according to Her-
mann is a good remedy in gout and rheumatism. See
Kouv. Journal de Med. v, 209. Thirty grains of the dried
root is given in Russia as a preventive against plague.
Bull des Sc. Med. v, 209.
Polygonatum biflorum, L. \ This, Convallaria majalis (lity
P. pubescens, Pursh. /of the valley), and species of
the genus Smilacina (Solomon's seal), growing in the Con-
federate States, yield starch from their roots. I have often
noticed the tuberous roots of Convallaria bifiora. Starch is
abundant in them.
Uvular ia perfoliate, L. Grows in damp soils ; collected
in St. John's. Fl. June.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 641. The roots of the different spe-
cies are subacid and mucilaginous when fresh ; and a
decoction of them has been employed as a domestic remedy
in sore mouth and in affections of the throat ; also consid-
ered as alexipharmic in snake bites. The roots are, how-
535
ever, edible when cooked, and the young shoots are a very
good substitute for asparagus. See, also, Smilax.
»
JJvularia sessiliflora, L. Collected in St. Stephen's parish,
in damp soils. Fl. July. Similar in properties to the above.
Asparagus officinalis, L. Ex. Wat. on banks of Cooper
river; vicinity of Charleston, Bach. Fl. May.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. Supplem. 1846, p. 73.
A preparation in the shape of a syrup was much in vogue
as a powerful sedative in palpitation of the heart, used
by Broussais. Journal de Pharm. xix, 667. Its diuretic
property is well known. Revue Med. 1838, p. 409. See
M. Locliberts on its culture, and an account of the alco-
holic fermentation from the branches, in the Journal de
Med. Militaire.
Asparagus for coffee.-^-L\eb'ig states that asparagus con-
tains, in common with tea and coffee, a principle which he
calls taurine, and which he considers essential to the health
of those who do not take strong exercise. By this a writer
in the London Gardener's Chronicle was led to test aspara-
gus as a substitute for coffee. He says : " The young shoots
were not agreeable, having an alkaline taste. I then tried
ripe seeds, and they, roasted and ground, make a full fla-
vored coffee, not easily distinguished from fine Mocha.
The seeds are easily freed from the berries by drying them
in a cool (warm, I suppose he means) oven, and then rub-
bing them on a sieve. There is in Berlin, Prussia, a large
establishment for the manufacture of coffee from acorns
and chiccory, the articles being made separately. The
chiccory is mixed with an equal weight of turnips to ren-
der it sweeter. The acorn coffee, which is made from
roasted and ground acorns, is sold in large quantities, and
frequently with rather a medicinal than an economical
view, as it is thought to have a wholesome effect upon the
blood. Acorn coffee is, however, made and used in many
parts of Germany for the sole purpose of adulterating
genuine coffee." Annual of Scientific Discovery.
536
Commelinace^e. ( The Spiderwort Tribe.)
Commeliria communis, Pursh. Grows in pine barrens ;
collected in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston ; ISTewbern.
Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 272. In Cochin
China it is said to be employed as a refrigerant and relax-
ant ; prescribed in constipation and strangury. The flower
is of a beautiful blue, and Ksempher says that a color like
ultramarine might be obtained from it.
Alismace.33. {The Water Tlantain Tribe.)
All are aquatic plants, and many contain a fleshy rhizome
which is eatable.
Sagittaria sagittifolia, Mich. V Arrow-head. Grows in
" latifolia, ~W, J rice fields; collected on Coop-
er river ; I have specimens from Sumter district ; vicinity
of Charleston, Bachman ; Kewbern. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 153 ; Journal Comp.
des Sc. Med. xix, 143. The leaves are acrid, and it is pro-
posed to employ them in dispersing scrofulous ulcers.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 416. The Chinese are said to cul-
tivate it on account of the bulbous roots, which are eaten.
It was employed as food by the Indians. Wade's PI. Rari-
ores, 80. It is said that the leaves, applied to the breasts
of nursing women, will tend to dispel the milk. Griffith's
Med. Bot. 619. The fecula is like arrow-root (Maranta
arund.), and has been used for similar purposes.
The root of this plant is often of great length. In China
it is used as an article of food. ~No doubt it contains starch.
Our canna (C. flacida) very probably yields starch, for the
arrow-root, utous les mois," from C. eoccinea, makes a stiffer
jelly than that from the Maranta or Florida arrow-root.
Alisma plantago, L. I Water plantain.
A. trivialis and parviflora of Pursh. J Ditches and ponds;
Georgia, and northward.
It is used by the vegetable practitioners as a demulcent
537
astringent in affections of the bowels, and by the "Chero-
kee doctors" as an external application to "sores, wounds,
bruises, swellings, etc.," being employed as a poultice and
wash.
Junce^e. {The Rush Tribe.)
Juncus communis, Mey, in Kuuth's En. PI. \ Soft rush ; bul-
" effusus, Linn, and Ell. Sk. /rush. Grows
in bogs and morasses; Kewbern. Fl. May.
Lind. Nat. Syst. 531. Cultivated in Japan for making
floor mats, chair bottoms, etc. It is sometimes employed
in South Carolina for similar purposes. The pith, when
dried and oiled, will -serve as a wick. A decoction of the
plant is said to be diuretic.
Smilace^. (The Smilax Tribe.)
Smilax pseudo- China, L. China-briar. Grows in swamps,
along streams; collected in St. John's, Berkley; jSTewbern.
Fl. May.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 700; IT. S. Disp. 634; Pe. Mat.
Med. and Therap. 133; De Cand. Prodrom. i, 351; Frost's
Elems. Mat. Med. 228. The decoction is alterative ; in large
doses emetic. It is much used in portions of the Confed-
erate States in the composition of diet drinks, and it is
considered one of the best substitutes for sarsaparilla.
Griffith. Med. Bot. 660, states that the Indians employed
the fecula of this, as well as that of the S. caduca, laurifolia,
and tamnoides — all indigenous to South Carolina.
The roots of this plant contain a good deal of starch.
They are, consequently, to a certain extent light and porous,
and are used to make pipes with, also by our soldiers in
camp in tlie manufacture of an extemporaneously prepared
beer. The root is mixed with molasses and water in an
open tub, a few seeds of parched corn or rice are added, and
after a slight fermentation it is seasoned with sassafras.
The young shoots of the China-briar are eaten as aspara-
gus, with which they are closely allied. They impart the
same odor to the urine, and probably contain asparagine.
538
Lawson, in his "Travels in Carolina," says: "The root
is a round ball, which the Indians boil and eat." Croom
states in the notes to his " Catalogue," p. 48, that these roots
become in time of scarcity an important article of food to
the southern Indians. The Seminoles, of Florida, obtain
from them, by maceration in water, their red meal, and from
the roots of Zamia integrifolia their white meal, "which have
subsisted them in part during their late campaign."
The seeds of the berries are exceedingly hard, and are
used as beads. I have seen a necklace made with them re-
sembling coral, which may well be called "Indian coral."
Smilax sarsaparilla, L. \ Rich soils ; Abbeville district ;
" glauea, Walt, j Fl. July.
U. S. Disp. 634; Woodv. Med. Bot. 161. This does
not appear to be the officinal sarsaparilla, though it proba-
bly shares the alterative virtues belonging to the genus.
Thornton's Fain. Herbal, 241 ; Journal de Pharm. xvi, 38 ;
Frost's Elems. Mat. Med. 223. It is supposed to be possessed
of undoubted efficacy, given in diet drinks and alterative
mixtures combined with the China-briar, and used in syph-
ilis and chronic rheumatism. Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. iii, 79; Humboldt's Voyage, viii, 378; Analysis in
Journal de Chim. Med. i, 215. A principle has been de-
rived from it, called smilacine. Journal de Pharm. xvi, 501,
and xviii, 324. From Bartley's examination, in the Edin.
Med. Journal, xvi, 473, the virtues appear to reside in the
cortical part; hence, it is best extracted by the cold infusion.
Biblioth. Med. xxvi, 119. According to these writers, it is
considered a powerful sudorific and alterative, indicated
when you wish to produce diaphoresis, as in rheumatism of
the joints; and this agrees with the experience of those
who have tried it in the Confederate States. J. Pope, Re-
cherches upon the different species of Sarsaparilla, in Journal
Gren. de Med. xci, 300, and Thunberg's Mem. on the quan-
tity of extractive matter furnished by the species.
Smilax caduea, L. Arouud ponds, and in rich shaded
539
soils; collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston; New-
bern. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 375. Some have
asserted that it furnishes caoutchouc. See Hist. Nat. Pharm.
ii, 590.
Smilax tamnoides, L. Grows in dry soils ; collected in St.
John's; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. vi, 384. The root of
this also, says Merat, is employed in the form of decoction
to purify the blood.
Smilax herbacea, L. Grows in rich wooded soils ; collected
in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. June.
This species has been used for its alterative properties.
Smilax ovata, Ph. and Ell. Sk. Grows on the sea-shore,
Ell.; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. June.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, ii, 698. Remarkable for the fra-
grance of its flowers.
Dioscc-REACEiE. (The Yam Tribe.)
Dioscorea villosa, L. "Wild yam. Grows in damp soils;
collected in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Griffith's Med. Bot. 659. The decoction of the root, ac-
cording to Riddell, in a late paper, Synops. Flo. West. St.
93, is eminently beneficial in bilious colic: one ounce is
added to one pint of water, and half of this is taken at a
dose. He says it acts with great promptitude, and that Dr.
Neville places much reliance on the tincture as an expecto-
rant; it is likewise diaphoretic, and in large doses emetic.
Attention is invited to its employment.
See illustrated papers in Patent Office Reports, p. 169,
1854, and p. 250, 1856, on the Chinese yam (Dioscorea ba-
tatas) which bears a large tuber, like the potato, and yields
starch, sugar, etc. The roots do not require to be stored in
cellars, though this may be done ; they are dug in the fall.
I have seen it growing at Col. J. B. Moore's, near State-
' 540
burg, S. C. The root is said to be "voluminous, ricb in
nutritive matter, and can be cooked in every respect like
the common potato, and even be eaten in the raw state."
The yam cultivated at the South is Dioscorea sativa; another
species raised here, D. alata, weighs sometimes thirty pounds.
Araceje. (The Arum Tribe.)
An acrid principle generally pervades this tribe, existing
in some of them to a high degree.
Ariscema atroreubens, Blum, in K'th's En. PL ~» Wake rob-
Aritm triphyllum, L. Ell. 8k. J in ; Indian
turnip; dragon-root.
Grows in rich soils; collected in St. John's; vicinity of
Charleston; Newbern. Fl. June.
Eberle, Mat. Med. ii, 437 ; Chap. Therap. and Mat. Med.
ii, 41; U. S. Disp. 123; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 78;
Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 52; Am. Journal Pharm. xv, 83;
Thacher's U. S. Disp., art. A. triphyllum, 153; Cullen,
Mat. Med. ii, 211 and 554; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M.
Med. i, 460; Coxe, Am. Disp. 121; Schcepf, Mat. Med.
133; Rush, ii, 301; Barton's Collec. 29; Shec. Flora Carol.
273; McCall, in Phil. Med. Journal, ii, 84; Cutler, Am.
Acad, i, 487; Lind. Fat. Syst. Bot. 364; Matson ' s Yeg.
Pract. 295, and Thompson's Steam. Pract. It is said to be
similar in its action to the A. maculatum. Dr. Meara
affirms that it does not act on the general circulatory, but
only on the glandular system, which it stimulates greatly,
and the secretions of which it augments. Dr. Wood says
it stimulates the secretions of the skin and lungs also. It
is used advantageously in diseases of the mucous mem-
branes, particularly pertussis and asthma. "In the chronic
asthmatic affections of old people it is a remedy of very
considerable value." The powder of the fresh root, made
into a paste with honey or syrup, and placed in small
quantities upon the tongue so as to be gradually diffused
over the mouth and throat, is said to have proved useful in
the aphthous sore throat of children. Dr. Thacher em-
541
ployed it in this affection, and adds that it is of approved
efficacy in rheumatism. "Milk in which the acrid princi-
ple of the A. trifihyl. has been boiled has been known to
cure consumption!" De Cand. cit. in Lind. The sliced
root has been used as an application for poisoning by the
ivy {Rhus). Lindley remarks of some of this class that
"•the spadixes disengage a sensible quantity of heat when
they are about to open." An ointment, made by stewing
the fresh root in lard, is applied in scald-head, in ringworm,
and other eruptions and cutaneous diseases, acting as a
stimulant. The root is a decided expectorant. Agardh
considers that the acrid principle, which, notwithstanding
its fugacity, has lately been obtained pure, is of great power
as a stimulant. In corroboration, I would mention my
having produced vesication merely by rubbing the stem of
the Arum Walteri (South Carolina species) in contact with
the unbroken skin; and I observe that both species are
very irritating to the fauces. By chemical analysis (Am.
Journal Pharm. xv, 83) it contains, besides the acrid princi-
ple, from ten to seventeen per cent, of starch, which may
be obtained from it as white and as delicate as from the
potato; also albumen, gum, sugar, extractive, lignin, and
salts of potassa and lime. Bigelow states (i, 59) that the
starch is prepared by pouring repeatedly portions of water
Over the fresh root reduced to a pulp by grating, and
placed on a strainer, the farinaceous part being ^carried
through, and leaving the fibrous behind. Dr. McCall, of
Georgia, found it to yield one-fourth part its weight of
pure amylaceous matter, which is white, delicate, and nu-
tritive. See, also, the experiments of Bigelow to extract
the acrimonious principle of the fresh root. The root may
be preserved if kept buried in the sand. Dose of recently
dried root, ten grains mixed with gum-arabic, sugar, and
water, in the form of emulsion, repeated and increased.
During scarcity of food almost any substance that contains
starch, even though it be associated with bitter or noxious
principles, may furnish material for bread. "From the
acorn a kind of meal is produced which makes excellent
542
bread, provided that a little barley meal be mingled with it
to counteract its astringent qualities. M. Parmentier ex-
tracted the farina or starch of the bryony, the iris, gladiolus,
ranunculus, fumaria, arum dracunculus, mandragora, col-
chicum, filipendula, and hellebores, etc. It is only neces-
sary to cleanse these roots, to scrape and pound them, and
then to soak the pulp in a considerable quantity of water;
a white sediment is deposited, which when washed and
dried is a real starch. M. Parmentier converted these dif-
ferent starches into bread by mingling them with an equal
portion of potatoes reduced into pulp, and the ordinary
dose of wheaten leaven ; the bread had no bad taste, and
its quality was excellent." "Wilson's Rural Cyc. We have
in the Confederate States several species of the genera men-
tioned above. See index to this volume; also, " Zizania"
or Canada rice. A knowledge of these plants may prove
serviceable in case of an emergency.
Peltandra Virginica, Raf. (Kunth, En. PI.) ~» Common in
Arum Virginicum, L. j swamps; col-
lected in St. John's, Berkley; vicinity of Charleston. PL
May.
Stearns' Am. Herbal, 133. Property probably similar
to those of the above. "Powerfully stimulant, diuretic,
and diaphoretic. Stimulates the solids, promotes the se-
cretiorr»of perspiration, urine, etc.; good in languid, phleg-
monous habits, in relaxation and weakness of the stomach,
loss of appetite, in jaundice, hysterical and hypochondria-
cal complaints, rheumatism, pains, and obstinate head-
aches unattended with fever." Dose, ten grains, with sixty
grains of gum-arabic, twenty of spermaceti, and eight of
sugar.
Arum maculatum. I find that this species is not a native
of the Confederate States; but the indigenous A. irvphyllum
is said to possess precisely the same properties ; so I will
allow it to remain.
Bull. Plantes Ven. de France, 83. "The leaves, being
543
eaten by three children, produced horrible convulsions,"
swelling of the tongue, etc. One author mentions that he
uses the root with great success in rheumatic pains, in doses
of six to twenty grains of fresh root, three times a day.
The emulsion is more sedative. The dry root is quite nu-
tritious, serving as an article of food. Catalogus Planta-
rum, 28. The decoction of the root with hone}^ is a power-
ful expectorant, and is useful in asthma. {JExpectorat enim
validissime crassas lentasque excreationes.) The Catalogus
Plantarum of Ray, furthermore, expresses this high opin-
ion: " Remedium est prcestantissimum et minime fallax adversus
venenum et pestem, astkmaticos maxime juvat, hernias curat et
urinam ciet." See, also, the Historia Plantarum Paii, p. 1208.
The root, dried and powdered, has been sold as a cosmetic,
under the name of cypress powder; said also to possess a
soporific quality, and to be used in washing linen. Linn.
Veg. Mat. Med. 168 ; Woodv. Med. Pot. 75. The recent
root, according to Orfila, will cause the death of a dog in
thirty-six hours. Toxicol. 298; Ancien. Journal de Med.
xxxiv, 529. See Diet, des Drogues, i, 355, for chemical
analysis. Portland sago is made from the root. Encycl.
Plants, 800. The bad effects resulting from the use of the
Arum are alleviated by the administration of buttermilk
and oily liquors. Shecut, in his Flora Carol., speaks of its
great reputation as an effectual remedy in cachectic cases,
in weakness of stomach, and fixed rheumatic pains. The
fresh root, externally applied, is a good substitute for Span-
ish flies. Dr. Lewis, in the Fam. Herbal, 751, asserts that
neither water nor spirit extracts its virtues, the fresh root
being best administered in substance, in the form of a bolus
or emulsion, or by heating it up with resin or gum, and
keeping in pill. Geoffroi alludes to it as a valuable stom-
achic, for restoring lost appetite; useful in chlorosis, jaun-
dice, and hysterical affections. He says that by boiling the
root in vinegar it becomes powerfully diuretic. Bergius
reports the root as of great service, mixed with an alkaline
aromatic, in cases of obstinate periodical headache, when
the pulse is slower than natural without fever. Journal de
544
Pharm. xii, 158. Merat, in the Diet, de Mat. Med., endor-
ses the opinions generally expressed above. IT. S. Disp.
123; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 52. Sir J. E. Smith, in his
Introd. to Botany, says that it is asserted by that at
the period of inflorescence, between 4 and 10 o'clock, p. m.,
the flower is actually "hot," causing the thermometer to
rise several degrees.
Symplocarpus fceiidus. (Pothos of Mx.) Skunk cabbage.
A fetid plant, supposed to possess some antispasmodic
power. The root, chewed, produces a prickling sensation
in the mouth.
Orontium aquaticam, Mx. Golden-club. Roots often im-
mersed; common in lower country; collected in St. John's.
Fl. May.
Lind. Nat. Syst. 365. "The root is acrid, but becomes
eatable by roasting." Both the seeds and roots were eaten
by the Indians.
Typhace^e. (The Bulrush Tribe.)
Typha latifolia, L. Cat-tail; reed mace. Morasses and
stagnant waters, often immersed; collected in St. John's;
vicinity of Charleston ; Newbern.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. t. vi, 795; Journal de
Chim. Med. iv, 179; Journal de Pharm. xii, 564. This
plant receives an extended notice in European works. The
root is eaten as a salad. See, also, Lightfoot's Fl. Scotica,
ii, 339. A jelly also is extracted from it. Aublet assures
us it is good in gonorrhoea and chronic dysentery. See an
analysis in Journal de Pharm. xii, 564, and xiv, 221. Little
crystals of phosphate of lime are found in the stems. It is
said also to be abundant in fecula. Decouv. des Russes. iii,
450; Gmelin, Flora Siberica, i, 25-139. See Vignal's Essay
on the treatment of wounds with the pollen or aigrettes of
the Typha, which it is proposed to use as a substitute for
cotton (in French^ Paris, 1803. The bark has been em-
ployed in the fabrication of hats, and with cotton in making
545
gloves; and some have recommended it in making China
paper. See the Diet, de M. Med. The down has been
used to stuff mattresses. Linnsefts informs us that the coop-
ers in Sweden employ the stalks to bind their casks with.
In England they use the Scirpus laGustris, and in Italy the
Car ex acuta (all South Carolina species, which see) to fasten
the timber in the joints. The stalks are opened longitudi-
nally, and placed between the interstices, so as effectually
to prevent the escape of fluids. Those who manufacture
turpentine and rice barrels might fiucl these plants of much
service in this respect — serving the purpose much better
than the strips of wood shaving generally employed to ren-
der the seams tighter. I would invite further attention to
the Typha for the several purposes alluded to. It is stated
(Courier, 1863) that paper is made from this plant in New
York.
Sparganium. ramosum, Huds. ) Lagoons and ditches ;
S. Americqnum, Ell. / Florida, and northward.
The herbage of the branchy species of burr-reed {Sparga-
nium) is softer and more pliant than that of the reedy plants,
and serves well in combination with some of them in pack-
ing. I have been surprised that more use is not made of
such plants by merchants and packers. The unripe burr^
are very astringent; a strong decoction is employed for va-
rious purposes as an astringent. See Darlington's Flora
Cestrica.
ACORAC.E.
Acorns calamus, L. Sweet-flag; calamus. Diffused in
bogs and morasses ; I have collected it in Fairfield and in
Charleston districts; vicinity of Charleston, Bach; ISTew-
bern.
Le. Mat. Med. i, 251; Pe. Mat. Med. and Therap. ii, 76;
Royle, Mat. Med. 602; Hoffmann's Obs.Phys. Chim. i, obs.
i; Ell. Bot. Notes, i, 403; U. S. Disp. 145*; Ed. and Vav.
Mat. Med. 281; Ball, and Gar. Mat. Med. 431; Bergii, Mat.
Med. 287; M6r. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 63; Woodv.
35
546
Med. Bot.; Ann. de Chim. lxxxi, 382; Coxe, Am. Disp. 18;
Shec. Flora Carol. 96. This is a very pleasant, aromatic
stimulant and stomachic; esteemed as a stimulating tonic
in atonic conditions of the stomach and bowels; in the
East as a powerful aphrodisiac and carminative. Ed. and
Yav. state that it has been administered successfully in in-
termittent fever: " On l'a beaucoup vante pour combattre
les symptomes cerebraux qui accompagnent la seconde pe-
riode des fievres dites ataxiques." Dr. Thompson says, from
his own experience, he finds it one of the most useful adju-
vants to bark and quinine ; given also, combined with mag-
nesia, in the flatulent colics of infants. In the Supplem. to
Mer. and de L. 18-46, 10, Dr. Endelicher assures us that the
root is an excellent remedy in chronic gout: "qu'elle apaise
les douleurs, qu'elle assouplit les articulations" — adminis-
tered in powder, from eighteen to twenty grains every two
hours. Annal. de Med. and note, sur quelques plantes de
l'Aube, Mem. de l'Aube, 1841. The fresh root, candied, is
said to have been employed in large quantities as a preserv-
ative in epidemic diseases. Thornton's Fam. Herb. 354.
The root is used in vertigo. Linn. Veg. M. Med. 64; Grif-
fith, Med. Bot. 620. See Anal, by Trommsdorf ; Ann. Clin-
ique, xvii. From which it appears to contain volatile oil,
resin, extractive, etc. Thompson, in his M. Med., says that
the oil differs from other volatile oils in not dissolving
iodine.
The root of this powerfully aromatic plant is much used
as a flavoring substance throughout the Western states for
making bitters, particularly the compound tincture of gen-
tian. See treatises on the Mat. Med. "It is a principal
medicament in the preparation of the medicated malt
liquors called herb ales, and is supposed to be the ingre-
dient used by the French for giving flavor to their snuff
called Lt let violette. The whole plant has been used for tan-
ning leather, and in Poland it is strewed on the floors of
the upper and middle classes of society when they are
about to receive company, in order that the leaves may be
bruised by the feet of the guests, and fill the rooms with
) i 547
an agreeable odor." Rural Cyclopaedia, p. 40. The dose
of the root is from ten tq twenty grains. An infusion of
the root is made with one ounce to one pint of boiling
water. Dose, a wineglassful.
NaiadacEjE. {The Pond-weed Tribe.)
Zostera marina, L. Eel-grass. West Florida, and north-
ward; deep salt water coves. Chapman. Not in any cata-
logue of the plants in St. John's, S. C.
This marine herb with creeping stems is just attracting
great attention in England (1862) as a substitute for cotton.
The result is doubtful, as the amount to be obtained is
perhaps inadequate. The papers are filled with accounts
of the plant.
Substitutes for Cotton. — The London Index says :
Some new " substitute for cotton," which is to cost noth-
ing, to make the fortune of the inventor, and to reopen
the mills of Lancashire, is discovered every week. The
inventors are mostly persons who know nothing of cotton
spinning, and they forget, invariably, that a material which
costs nothing when supposed to be useless and gathered
by handfuls might become almost as dear as silk if there
were a manufacturing demand for hundreds of millions of
pounds weight of it. The following remarks by a "Med-
allist in Botany" deserve notice:
"I have obtained samples of most of the fibres proposed,
and I have submitted them to careful examination under
the microscope. I find them all to be varieties of woody
fibre, more or less split up or divided, varying in the
length and thickness of the fibrillre. The fibres of all the
specimens I have seen are nevertheless uniform in the fol-
lowing particulars : they are all solid and inelastic or brittle,
with joints and rough edges, showing where the bundles of
fibrillse have been torn apart. Having some practical
acquaintance with cotton* spinning and weaving, I assert
that the above qualities render woody fibre unfitted to be
used as a substitute for cotton without a considerable mod-
ification of our machinery. The fibres which have been
548 f
exhibited may probably be useful as substitutes for linen,
if they can be largely produced at a cheap rate ; but the
woody fibre (from which all the proposed substitutes, I feel
confident, are drawn) can never be a perfect substitute for
cotton, which consists of vegetable hairs, hollow, elastic,
ribbon shaped, and spiral, with smooth edges and surfaces.
If we want a substitute for cotton we must not look for it
in woody fibre."
PiSTiACEiE. ( The Duckweed Tribe.)
Spirodelia polyrrhiza, Schleid. in Kunth's En. PL ) Water
Lemma " W. and Ell. Sk. / flaxseed.
Santee canal. Fl. July.
Lightfoot's Fl. Scotica, ii, 538. The " leaves sink to the
bottom of the water in winter and rise in the spring." The
Lemna or duckweed destroy fish by covering so closely the
surface of ponds as to exclude the air.
Zea Mays. Maize ; Indian corn. (Introduced in this
place irregularly.)
Corn is certainly one of the most nutritious of the cerea-
lia with which man has been blessed. In one hundred
pounds of corn there are ten of oil ; the grain and meal
are prepared in a great variety of ways, and the whole
plant adapted to many useful purposes in the arts, in med-
icine, and in domestic economy. The article Zea, in the
Rural Cyc, is full of information compiled from numerous
authorities ; he refers to the manufacture of coarse paper
from the husks. Blade tea is quite a favorite diaphoretic
used recently by many in the Confederate States in fever —
its antipe^odic properties doubtful. Corn meal rubbed
into fresh meat will preserve it fresh several days during
hot weather ; a light covering with bran or a series of
dustings with oatmeal will be equally efficient — methods
so easily put in practice that a knowledge of them may
prove serviceable at present.
In the Patent Office Reports, 1855, p. 158, there is a
communication on "Bread crops," on the value and use of
549
the maize as an article of food, on its preparation for
bread in place of wheat flour, and on the ..economy of mix-
ing rye with corn. It is stated from a foreign report that
a "bread composed of two-thirds rye and one-third maize
is about ten per cent, cheaper than bread made of pure
rye." A method is given to prevent the souring of maize
flour. In our armies it is a universal subject of complaint
that corn meal, or flour, is not given to the soldiers in place
of wheat, as it is nutritious and much more easily and
better cooked. Besides, the Southern soldier is for the
most part more accustomed to corn bread. The "Boston
brown bread," a useful hygienic preparation, contains two
parts of corn to one of rye meal, and is made in the follow-
ing manner: "To three quarts of mixed meal are added a
gill of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful
of saleratus, and either a teacupful of home-brewed or half
a teacupful of brewer's yeast. This bread continues good
and wholesome as long as any other bread is usually kept;
but like other preparations of corn it is preferred warm,
and is generally eaten fresh, or after being toasted. Like
all other kinds of corn bread it is an acceptable substitute
not only for the bread made of other grains but for the
vegetables which use has made desirable at the noonday
meal." '
A chemical analysis of the corn-cobs is given by Prof.
C. T. Jackson, volume Patent Office Reports, 1855, p.
163, and a paper on green corn for fodder, p. 168. It
maybe planted as a substitute for northern hay. "The
amount of green food which may thus be grown under
favorable circumstances seems almost incredible. An acre
contains forty-three thousand five hundred and sixty square
feet; if, therefore, but one such stalk were to grow upon
each foot, there would be over seventy-six tons produced
to the acre." The Northern varieties are recommended to
be planted at the South for this purpose. Land that will
produce two tons of hay will yield, it is supposed, ten tons
of corn fodder for leaves, roots, etc., suitable for man and
horse in periods of scarcity. See "Alopecurus" and uAn^
thoxanthum," in this volume.
550
Mr. J. H. Salisbury, in a prize essay published by the
New York State. Agricultural Society, and quoted in Nor-
ton's Elements of Practical Agriculture, states that there is
in the cob of this grain two per cent, of gluten and gum,
and one or two per cent, of sugar, with a little starch. It
has, therefore, some importance of its own as food. In
Patent Office Reports, 1848, p. 355, it is stated in a report
from Richmond, Massachusetts, that "corn-stalks, well
secured and cut fine, furnish an agreeable and healthy
food for horses and neat cattle ; for the latter, if when cut
they are scalded by pouring on warm water, they are
almost equal to what they are when green, especially for
cows, causing them to produce milk of almost the richness
of June. They are worth when well cured six dollars per
ton, when hay is worth ten dollars; straw is worth from
four dollars and fifty cents to five dollars per ton. Large
quantities of straw are annually manufactured into paper,
and the demand for this purpose probably increases its
price some fifteen or twenty per cent."
On the subject of general economy, in absence of supply
of Northern hay, I introduce the following in an article on
corn-stalks for fodder by a correspondent of the Country
Gentleman, 1861. It is advised to be cured, cut up entire,
and fed to cattle. The editor of the Southern Field and
Fireside says: "For the last six years, while residing on a
farm in Georgia, we have followed the Northern plan of
cutting up corn near the ground, curing the stalks and
corn in shocks, then husking or shucking the corn, and
feeding the stalks and blades together. This we regard as
much better economy than to pull fodder and leave the
whole stalks in the field. If we had many cattle to feed,
we should procure a machine for cutting the stalks, steam
them a little, and add a little meal of some kind. .We have
fed dairy cows in this way with satisfactory results. Good
clover hay is worth more than any corn fodder for cows
and horses, pound for pound." See, also, same paper, May
4, 1861, for article on cultivation of hay. Corn-stalks are
also very useful as manure, when composted with a little
551
caustic lime, as it is a plant-food of considerable value.
"Dr. Spengle found eighty-eight pounds of ashes in one
thousand pounds of corn-stalks. Corn-cobs are rich in
potash, and yet one often sees them wasted in wood-lots or
the highway." The cob yields almost as much ashes as
the tobacco plant.
In the Richmond Examiner, 1862, a lady of Fluvanna
county, Virginia, communicates the following substitute
for soda: "To the ashes of corn-cobs add a little boiling
water; after allowing it to stand for a few minutes, pour
off* the lye, which can be used at once with an acid (sour
milk or vinegar). It makes the bread almost as light as
soda." I have seen this preparation made and used in St.
John's, South Carolina, 1862. It is, strictly speaking, a
potash mixture, has precisely the taste of a strong solution
of bi-carbonate of potash, and could be used in cough mix-
tures to correct acidity, and wherever an alkaline solution
is required. It would also serve the purposes of "concen-
trated lye." The bread made with it is excellent. For
manufacture of soda, see "Salsola kali."
An economical mode of making soap with corn-shucks,
which a correspondent in the Southern Field and Fireside,
March 8, 1862, saj-s "has been tried and approved by sev-
eral persons," I insert as follows: "Take one gallon of
strong lye, add a half-pound of shucks, cut up fine. Let
the shucks boil in the lye until they are reduced to shreds.
Then fish the shreds out, and put half a pound of crack-
ling grease in, or six ounces of lard, and boil until it is
sufficiently thick to make good soap." The amount of
potash in the blade and shuck of corn observed in the table
I have inserted from Ure's Dictionary may explain the
value of this substance. I am informed that soap has been
made satisfactorily from the corn-shuck, as above described,
in Sumter district, South Carolina. I will add the follow-
ing: to make twenty pounds of cheap, hard soap from
four pounds, the Southern Field and Fireside directs four
pounds of turpentine soap, half-pound of soda, add two
gallons of water, boil ten minutes, add a spoonful of salt,
552
and boil ten minutes more. I insert the following, believ-
ing that the ashes of the corn-cob, on account of the potash
it contains, would serve in place of those from hickory:
Preserving Meat. — Ashes prepared from green hickory
wood, combined with salt in the proportion of one-third to
two-thirds by measurement, and applied in the ordinary way
of salting meat, in ordinary quantity, will save pork fully
as well as salt alone, and give a delicacy of flavor to bacon
made from it which saltpetre or sugar pickle will not im-
part. Mix the ashes and salt thoroughly, in the above
proportions, and use the mixture as salt alone is commonly
used. There is no experiment in this, and no one need
hesitate to rely on it.
Beer may be made from corn thus : " Take one pint of
corn and boil it until it is soft, add to it a pint of molasses
and one gallon of water ; shake them well together and
set it by the fire, and in twenty -four hours the beer will be
excellent. When all the beer of the jug is used add
more molasses and water. The same corn will answer for
months, and the beer will be fit for use in twelve hours by
keeping the jug where it is warm. In this way the ingre-
dients used in making a gallon of beer will not cost over
six cents, and it is better and more wholesome than cider.
A little yeast greatly forwards the working of the beer:"
Agricultural paper. To make small beer : " Nine quarts of
water, three pints of bran, and a few hops ; strain and cool
to milk-warm, then put in a few raisins, one pint of mo-
lasses, let them stand one night, and strain and bottle it."
An excellent substitute for coffee. — For a familj- of seven or
eight persons, take a pint of well toasted corn meal and add
to it as much water as an ordinary sized coffee-pot will
hold, and then boil it well. We have tried this toasted
meal coffee, and prefer it. Many persons eannot drink
coffee with impunity, and we advise all such to try the
receipt. They will find it more nutritious than coffee, and
quite as palatable. The above is from a correspondent of
the Raleigh Register. See rice (Oryza sativa) for the use
of corn and rice as substitutes for coffee.
553
The "newspapers" (1862) continue to report that "blade
tea" is excellent in fevers, and that "raw corn m.eal, mixed
with water to drink, removes superfluous bile and cures
fever!" " Green corn and wheat make useful starch, and
rice starch gives lawns and colored articles a look of new-
ness unsurpassed."
Oil of a fine quality is manufactured from corn. "It is
said to burn with a clear, steady light, in every respect
equal to sperm or lard oil, without the smoke which usually
attends vegetable oils, and will not congeal in the coldest
weather." A liquor, well known as corn whiskey, is also
distilled from t^e fermented grain.
Thaer says "The use of unripe maize for the manufac-
ture of sugar has lately been again recommended, on the
ground that maize is better adapted for this purpose than
beet root. I have long been of opinion that of all plants
which can be raised in this country, maize is better suited
to the purpose in question ; the syrup extracted from it is
before crystallization decidedly superior to that of the beet
root." Principles of Agriculture, p. 485. In the Confed-
erate, States where the sugar-canes have been so generally
introduced the problem may be differently solved. As
it may become a matter of great interest I insert the fol-
lowing :
Making sugar of corn. — Extracts from the remarks on the
manufacture of corn sugar, by Wm. Webb, of Wilmington,
Delaware, May, 1862 :
The raw juice of maize, when cultivated for sugar,
marks 10° on the saccharometer, while the average of
cane juice (as I am informed) is not higher than 8°, and
beet juice not over 3°. From nine and three-quarter
quarts (dry measure) of the former I have obtained four
pounds six ounces of syrup concentrated to the point suit-
able for crystallization. The proportion of crystallizable
sugar appears to be larger than is obtained from cane juice
in Louisiana. This is accounted for by the fact that our
climate ripens corn perfectly, while it but rarely if ever
happens that cane is fully matured. In some cases the
554
syrup has crystallized so completely that less than one-sixth
part of molasses remained. This, however, only happened
after it had stood one to two months. There is reason to
believe that if the plant were fully ripe, and the process of
manufacture perfectly performed, the syrup might be en-
tirely crystallized without forming any molasses. Without
any other means for pressing out the juice than a small
hand mill, it is impossible to say how great a quantity of
sugar may be produced on an acre ; but the calculations
made from trials on a small scale leave no room to doubt
the quantity of sugar will be from eight hundred to one
thousand pounds. •
I have been informed by Mr. Ellsworth that Monsieur
Pallas, of France, had discovered in 1839 that the saccha-
rine properties of maize were increased by merely taking
off the ear in its embryo state. An experiment, however,
which I instituted to determine the value of this plan
resulted in disappointment. The quantity of sugar pro-
duced was not large enough to render it an object. The
reasons of this failure will be sufficiently obvious on
stating the circumstances. It was found that taking the
ear off a large stalk, such as is produced by the common
mode of cultivation, inflicted a considerable wound upon
the plant, which injured its health, and of course lessened
its productive power. It was also found that the natural
disposition to form grain was so strong that several succes-
sive ears were thrown out, by which labor was increased
and the injuries to the plant multiplied. Lastly, it ap-
peared that the juice yielded from those plants contained a
considerable portion of a foreign substance not favorable
to the object in view. Yet, under all these disadvantages,
from one hundred to two hundred pounds of sugar per
acre may be obtained. The manifest objections detailed
above suggested another mode of cultivation, to be em-
ployed in combination with the one first proposed. It
consists simply in raising a greater number of plants on
the same space of ground. By this plan all the unfavor-
able results above mentioned were obviated, a much larger
555
quantity of sugar was produced, and of a better quality.
The juice produced by this mode of cultivation is remark-
ably pure and agreeable to the taste. The sweetness of
the corn-stalk is a matter of universal observation. Our
forefathers, in the Revolutionary struggle resorted to it as
a means to furnish a substitute for West India sugar.
They expressed the juice and exerted their ingenuity in
efforts to bring it to a crystallized state ; but we have no
account of any successful operation of the kind. In fact,
the bitter and nauseous properties contained in the joints of
large stalks render the whole amount of juice from them
fit only to produce an inferior kind of molasses. I found
on experiment that b}^ cutting out the joints, and crushing
the remaining part of the stalk, sugar might be made, but
still of an inferior quality. The molasses, of which there
was a large proportion, was bitter and disagreeable.
From one to two feet of the lower part of these stalks
was full of juice, but the balance, as it approached the top,
became dryer and afforded but little. From the foregoing
experiments we see that in order to obtain the purest
juice and the greatest quantity we must adopt a mode of
cultivation which will prevent the large and luxuriant
growth of the stalk. The planting should be done with a
drilling machine. One man, with a pair of horses and an
instrument of this kind, will plant and cover in the most
perfect manner from ten to twelve acres in a day; the rows
(if practicable, let them run North and South) two and a
half feet apart, and the seed dropped sufficiently thick in
the row to insure a plant every two or three inches. A
large harrow, made with teeth arranged so as not to injure
the corn, may be used with advantage soon after it is up.
The after culture is performed with a cultivator, and here
will be perceived one of the great advantages of drilling;
the plants all growing in lines, perfectly regular and
straight with each other, the horse-hoe stirs the earth and
cuts the weeds close by every one, so that no hand-hoeing
will be required in any part of the cultivation. It is part
of the system of cane-planting in Louisiana to raise as full
556
a stand of cane upon the ground as possible, experience
having proved that the most sugar is obtained from the
land in this way. As far as my experience has gone, the
same thing is true of corn.
The next operation is taking off the ears. Many stalks
will not produce any; but whenever they appear they
must be removed. Any time before the formation of grain
upon them will be soon enough. Nothing further is neces-
sary to be done until the crop is ready to be cut for grind-
ing. The stalks should be topped and bladed while stand-
ing in the field. They are then cut, tied in bundles, and
taken to the mill. The mills used for grinding the Chinese
sugar corn will answer every purpose. The tops and blades
when properly cured make an excellent fodder.
On the whole, there appears ample encouragement for
perseverance. Every step in the investigation has increased
the probability of success, no evidence having been discov-
ered why it should not succeed as well if not better on a
large scale than it has done on a small one.
1. In the first place it has been satisfactorily proved that
sugar of an excellent quality, suitable for common use
without refining, may be made from the stalks of maize.
2. That the juice of this plant, when cultivated in a
certain manner, contains saccharine matter remarkably
free from foreign substances.
3. The quantity of this juice (even supposing we had no
other evidence about it) is sufficiently demonstrated by the
great amount of nutritive grain which it produces in the
natural course of vegetation. It is needless to expatiate on
the vast advantages which would result from the introduc-
tion of this manufacture into our country.
The process which has been employed in the manufac-
ture of maize sugar is as follows : the juice, after coming
from the mill, stood for a short time to deposit some of its
coarser impurities. It was then poured off, and passed
through a flannel strainer, in order to get rid of such mat-
ter as could be separated in this way. Lime-water, called
milk of lime, was then added, in the proportion of one or
557
two tablespoonfuls to the gallon. It is said by sugar man-
ufacturers that knowledge on this point can only be
acquired by experience ; but I have never failed in making
sugar from employing too much or too little of the lime.
A certain portion of this substance, however, is undoubt-
edly necessary, and more or less than this will be injurious,
but no precise directions can be given about it. The juice
was then placed over the fire and brought nearly to the
boiling point, when it was carefully skimmed, taking care
to complete this operation before ebullition cMmenced.
It was then boiled down rapidly, removing the lum as it
rose. The juice was examined from time to time, and if
there was any appearance of feculent particles which would
not rise to the surface it was again passed through a flan-
nel strainer. In judging when the syrup is sufficiently
boiled a portion was taken between the thumb and finger,
and if when moderately cool a thread half an inch long
could be drawn it was considered to be done, and poured
into broad, shallow vessels to crystallize. In some cases
crystallization commenced in twelve hours ; in others not
till after several days ; and in no case was this process so
far completed as to allow the sugar to be drained in less
than three weeks from the time of boiling. The reason
why so great a length of time was required I have not yet
discovered. There is no doubt that an improved process
of manufacture will cause it to granulate as quickly as any
other.
The stripping the ears from the corn is esteemed by some
essential in the production of sugar, though not in the pro-
duction of a much smaller quantity of excellent molasses.
The principal labor consists in stripping off the leaves,
which should be done before the stalks are cut. Dr. Wau-
dain, of Delaware, says (So. Cult. p. 26, vol. i) that the
corn should be planted as broom-corn is commonly planted
— very close in the row, probably a stalk every four inches.
At a meeting of the French Academy M. Biot read the
report of a committee, which paper contained the follow-
ing statements : of the corn-stalks experimented upon the
558
ears had been removed from one portion and left to grow
on others. The juice obtained from the stalks which had
been castrated yielded twelve per cent, of sugar ; that ex-
pressed from the stalks on which the ears had been permit-
ted to grow thirteen per cent. ; so that so far as France is
concerned the results of former experiments may be fal-
lacious. "The juice of maize contains as much if not
a larger proportion of sugar than that of sugar-cane."
Farmer's Encyc.
The r«fter interested will find the several numbers of
Southen*Cultivator, vols, i, ii, iii, and iv. See pp. 17,
19, and 25, aud 90 of vol. i, a large number of papers on
this subject. I regret that I can only refer to them. Hun-
dreds of pounds of sugar were made by several persons.
Six hundred to six thousand pounds can be made from one
acre. It must be far easier to ciystallize than that from
sorghum. It has been advised to take off the tassel instead
of the ear in order to increase the saccharine principle.
Twenty-five gallons of juice make four gallons of syrup, and
a gallon of juice will produce one and one-quarter pounds
of sugar. The corn is not lost as fodder, and the salted
refuse is also good. The boiling of the syrup should be
commenced immediately after the corn is cut. The high
price of sugar and molasses adds increased importance to
this subject. I obtain the following from the Louisville
Courier :
Paper. — The manufacture of paper from the leaves of
Indian corn is becoming extensive in Austria. The paper
is said to be tougher than ordinary paper made from rags,
while it is almost wholly free from silica, which makes
paper produced from straw so brittle.
If the above be true it is a discovery of immense impor-
tance to the United States. We consume more paper than
any other nation, and have Indian corn to make it of. If
Indian corn paper be tougher than rag or straw paper it is
just what we need, and our already monstrous corn crop,
which in 1850 was 592,071,000 bushels to 100,485,000 bush-
els of wheat, and is mainly devoted to feeding our immense
559
herds of live stock, will be greatly extended, and paper go
down in price.
Paper, from Indian corn leaves. — The London Daily Tele-
graph gives the following account of paper-making from
Indian corn leaves, which promises to make a revolution in
the paper business if only half is true that is stated, and
we do not see any reason to doubt its correctness :
"Recent experiments have proved Indian corn to possess
not only all the qualities necessary to make a good article,
but to be in many respects superior to rags. The discovery
to which we allude is a complete success, and may be ex-
pected to exercise the greatest influence upon the price
of paper. Indian corn, in countries of a certain degree of
temperature, can be easily cultivated to a degree more
than sufficient to satisfy the utmost demands of the paper
market. Besides, as rags are likely to fall in price owing
to the extensive supply resulting from this new element,
the world of writers and readers would seem to have a
brighter future before it than the boldest fancy would have
imagined a short time ago.
" This is not the first time that paper has been manufac-
tured from the blade of Indian corn ; but strange to say,
the art was lost, and required to be discovered anew. As
early as the seventeenth century an Indian corn paper
manufactory was in full operation at the town of Bievi, in
Italy, and enjoyed a world-wide reputation at the time ;
but with the death of its proprietor it seems to have lapsed
into oblivion. Attempts subsequently made to continue
the manufacture were baffled by the difficulty of removing
the flint, and resinous, and glutinous matter contained in
the blade. The recovery of the process has at last been
effected, and is due to the cleverness of one Herr Moritz
Diamant, a Jewish writing master in Austria, and the trial
of his method on a grand scale, which was made at the
Imperial manufactory of Schlogelmuhle, near Grlognitz,
Lower Austria, has completely demonstrated the certainty
of the invention. Although the machinery, arranged as it
was for the manufacture of rag paper, could not of course
560
fully answer the requirements of Herr Diamant, the results
of the essay were wonderfully favorable. The article pro-
duced was of a purity of texture and whiteness of color
that left nothing to be desired; and this is all the more
valuable from the difficulty usually experienced in the
removal of impurities from rags. The proprietor of the
invention is Count Carl Octavio Zu Lippe "Wessenfeld, and
several experiments give the following results :
"1. It is not ouly possible to produce every variety of
paper from the blades of Indian corn, but the product is
equal and in some respects even superior to the article
manufactured from rags.
" 2. The paper requires but very little size to render it fit
for writing purposes, as the pulp naturally contains a large
proportion of that necessary ingredient, which can at the
same time be easily eliminated if desirable.
"3. The bleaching is effected by an extraordinarily rapid
and facile process, and indeed for the common light-col-
ored packing paper the process becomes entirely unneces-
sary.
u4. The Indian corn paper possesses greater strength
and tenacity than rag paper, without the drawback of
brittleness, so conspicuous in the common straw products.
f 5. No machinery being required in the manufacture of
this paper for the purpose of tearing up the raw material
and reducing it to pulp, the expense both in point of power
and time is far less than is necessary for the production of
rag paper.
"Count Lippe having put himself in communication
with the Austrian Government an Imperial manufactory for
Indian corn paper (maishalm papier, as the inventor calls it)
is now in course of construction at Pesth, the capital of
the greatest Indian corn-growing country in Europe. An-
other manufactory is already in full operation in Switzer-
land, and preparations are being made on the coast of the
Mediterranean for the production and exportation on a
large scale of the pulp of this new material."
Manufactures from corn-shucks. — A foreigner has filed his
561
application in Washington (with specimens) for a patent
for various uses made of maize shucks. The varieties
include yarn, maize cloth, paper of beautiful qualities
(white and colored), from silk to parchment texture, maize
flour, etc.
Soap it is said can be made from corn-shucks by pouring
strong lye over them, boiling, taking out the strings, and
supplying more material.
Graminace^e. (The Grass Tribe.)
Well known for their great value for many purposes.
Anthoxanthum odoratum, L. Probably imported; found
near Savannah river, and around Charleston.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 316 and 514. It has
been used as a tonic and cordial. The fragrance, according
to the analyses of Vogel, depends upon the presence of ben-
zoic acid. Lind. Hat. Syst. 319.
This grass, as well as JSolcus odoratus, contains benzoic acid
(Wilson). It is thought to improve the quality of mutton.
"From its dwarfy growth, and the close sward it forms, it is
recommended to be sown on lawns or ornamental grounds."
In Patent Office Reports on Agriculture, 1854, p. 22, some
information is given concerning some of the best grasses
for pasturage suitable to this country.
The spurry (Spergula arvensis) is introduced, but grows
abundantly in our fields. In Germany and France it is
much cultivated as a winter pasturage for cattle; mutton,
as also the milk and butter of cows fed with it, are stated
by Thaer to be of very superior quality. It is usually sown
on stubble fields after the grain crops have been removed.
"But the principal use to which this plant can be applied
in this country is as a green manure on poor, dry, sandy,
or worn out soils." See article cited. See, also, in Patent
Office Reports, Agriculture, p. 187, an account of the couch-
grass (Triticum repens), by C. E. Potter, of I^ew Hampshire:
"It is a stocky, hardy, sweet plant, and if properly cut and
cured will command a higher price in the market where it
36
562
is known than the herds'-grass or timothy." Besides, it is
easily propagated from roots on poor lands — even on pine
plains. It is very difficult, however, to eradicate. The writ-
er states that is heavier than any other grass when dried,
and will produce more weight of fodder upon a given space.
The reader interested in the best grasses to be planted
for hay to supply the loss of Northern hay can consult arti-
cle on "Textile and Forage Crops," Patent Office Reports,
1855, p. 252. See, also, Patent Office Reports, 308, 1858, on
the cutting and curing of hay. The Southern planter can
here obtain information which may aid him in substituting
native for the imported. There are two grasses planted in
Holland that I think fit to cite here, as they may be made
useful where drainage is employed, or banks formed to pre-
vent the encroachment of water, viz : the sand or sea-side
lime grass (Elymus arenarius), which Sir H. Davy found to
contain one-third of its weight of sugar, hence called the
"sugar-cane of Great Britain." It is too hard and coarse
to be eaten by animals, unless cut up. "The purpose for
which this plant is generally employed, and for which its
creeping, matted roots fit it in an eminent degree, is for
binding loose sands when sown with the sea-reed (Arundo
arenaria), to prevent the encroachment of the sea. The
world renowned dikes of Holland owe much of their
strength and durability to the protection afforded by these
remarkable plants." See Patent Office Reports, 1854, p.
26. We have two species of Elymus growing within the
Confederate States. See article "After grass" in Wilson's
Rural Cyc, for method of raising grass and hay to advan-
tage, procuring a double crop, the combination of grasses,
etc. Law's Practical Agriculture, and Loudon's Encyc. of
Agriculture; Wilson's articles "Agricultural seeds" and
" Grasses," " Agrostis" etc.; Sinclair's Hortus Grameneus
Wobernensis, and Richardson's Essay on Fiorin (fiorin is pro-
duced from an aquatic grass, Agrostis stolonifera longiflord).
Alopecurns pratejisis, meadow or tall grass, which is found
in the Confederate States, is much cultivated as a grass in
Europe ; it is much relished by horses and cattle. For wet
563
soils Agrostis, and the Poa can be cultivated with great ad-
vantage, furnishing the greatest yield. In England they
plant a mixture of the most valuable grasses upon scientific
principles, upon land ill adapted for any other product, using
lime, etc. See article cited, also Rural Cyc, article "Barren
soils," for plants best adapted to such soils. See, also, Ben-
zoin." The Agrostis stolonifera latifolia (Fiorin) is considered
by many in England as the best and most productive grass
to sow on wet meadows ; it is said to yield enormous crops,
and it vegetates during the cold portions -of the year. It
has been a subject of much discordant opinion. See Rich-
ardson's Essay on Agriculture, and his Memoir on "Fiorin
grass."
"Wilson, in his Rural Cyc, article "Food of Animals,"
gives a list of the plants which are entirely avoided by all
animals; also the leaves of certain trees and plants which
can be used as substitutes for hay, when it is scarce, as fol-
lows: the leaves of elm, mulberry, ash, hornbeam; the
lime trees (Tiliri), the common maple and sycamore; the
common acacia (Robinia pseudacacia) ; the willows, the
poplars, the birches, beeches, plane trees, chesnuts, oaks,
dogwood (Cornus); hazel (Corylus) ; furze (Ulex), and the
vine are frequently used, he says, for this purpose on the
Continent, in places where they happen to be plentiful.
The green leaves of a tolerably large number of vegetables
are annually cultivated on a large scale, either as food for
man or for cattle, such as the leaves of maize, beet root,
cabbage, carrot, parsnip, potato, and some others, all of
which may be used for this purpose. Op. cit. So, also, the
roots of a great many plants — the turnip, carrot, etc.
In our present difficulty of obtaining provisions for man
and horse, many of these articles might be obtained by sol-
diers, detailed for the purpose from regiments in the service,
particularly for the use of the cavalry horses. It is only
necessary to know precisely what are the leaves or roots
which are edible. See uZea." Consult Rural Cyc, articles
"Grasses," "Hay," "Hay -making," for much information
on forage crops and grasses, etc.
564
Lolium temulerdum, L. Bearded darnel, Kyle. Grain
fields of North Carolina. (Chap.)
Johnston, in his "Chemistry of Common Life," vol. ii,
classes this among the intoxicating substances that are
liable to get mixed up with rye or wheat, and render it
poisonous. It "creeps occasionally into our fermented
liquors and our bread." It grows abundantly in corn-
fields, and is cut with the grain. "They have been long
known to possess narcotic and singularly intoxicating prop-
erties. When malted along with barley, which when the
grain is ill cleaned sometimes unintentionally happens, they
impart their intoxicating quality to the beer, and render it
unusually and even dangerously heady. When ground up
with wheat and made into bread -they produce a similar
effect, especially if the bread be eaten hot. Many instan-
ces are on record in which effects of this kind, sometimes
amusing, and sometimes alarming, have been produced by
the unintentional consumption of darnellecl bread or beer.
A recent case occurred, on Christmas day, 1853, at Roscrea,
in Ireland, where several families, containing not less than
thirty persons, were poisoned by eating darnel flour in
their whole meal bread. They were attacked by giddiness,
staggering, violent tremors, similar to those experienced in
the delirium tremens produced by intoxicating liquors, viz:
impaired vision, coolness of the skin and extremities, par-
tial paralysis, and in some cases vomiting. By the use of
emetics and stimulants, all were recovered, though greatly
prostrated in strength. The narcotic principle in these
seeds has not yet been discovered. When distilled with
water they yield a light and a heavy volatile oil; but that
the narcotic virtue resides in these oils has not yet been
shown. No volatile alkali like the nicotin of tobacco has
been detected in the water and oils which distilled over."
Page 148.
Wilson, in his Rural Cyc, affirms the highly dangerous
properties of the darnel. Its seeds being about the same
size as wheat are often exceedingly difficult to be sepa-
rated, and when they "find their way with the wheat into
565
bread flour they prove highly noxious to man, injuring his
health, and sometimes producing delirium, stupefaction,
and other symptoms of poisoning." "It fearfully deterio-
rates many samples of foreign wheat." I insert this, also,
because many of these symptoms, caused by eating bad
flour, have been ascribed to ergot. The people of whole
provinces in France were affected, and a commission had
to be sent to inquire into the cause, which was ascribed to
ergot. See "Ergot" "Ergote-tici,"
Panicum dactyloji, L. ) Bermuda grass. Common
Digitaria " Ell. Sk. J in the low country; vicinity
of Charleston. Fl. Aug.
Dem. £lem. de Bot. iii, 289. The root is used in the
shape of a ptisan, as an aperient, and diuretic. The extract
is said to purge like manna. It is eaten by dogs to pro-
cure vomiting. The plant contains a nutritive principle.
Panicum lialieum, Walt. Large-spiked panicum. Grows
in ponds and damp soils; vicinity of Charleston. Fl.
Sept.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. iii, 286. Detersive and mucilagin-
ous; eaten by birds, but said to be injurious to man. Mer.
and de L. Diet, de M. Med. v, 182.
Phleum pratense, Linn. Timothy grass. Grows on Sul-
livan's island. It is supposed to be a valuable grass.
On the subject of substitutes for Northern hay, see "Cul-
tivation of hay, cutting, and curing," Patent Office Re-
ports, 1858, p. 308. Grass for hay should be cut at that
period when the largest amount of gluten, sugar, and other
matters soluble in water are contained in it. That period
is not, generally speaking, when the plants have shot into
seed, for the principal substance is then woody fibre, which
is insoluble in water, and therefore unfitted for being as-
similated in the stomach. It has been ascertained that
when the grass first springs above the surface of the earth,
the chief constituent of the blades is water, the amount of
566
solid matter being comparatively trifling ; as its growth
advances, the deposition of a more indurated form of car-
bon gradually becomes more considerable, the sugar and
soluble matter at first increasing, then gradually diminish-
ing, to give way to the deposition of woody substance, the
saccharine juices being in the greatest abundance when the
grass is in full flower, but before the seed is formed. Many
of the natural pasture grasses — timothy grass (Phleum
pratense) — are exceptions to this rule. The culms of the
latter "are found to contain more nutritious matter when
the seed is ripe than those of any other species of grass that
has been submitted to experiment; the value of the culms
simply exceeds that of the grass when in flower in the pro-
portion of fourteen to five."
Holcus sorghum. Guinea corn; Indian millet, or doura
corn.
This plant, a native of India, has been for a long time
cultivated with great success on the plantations in South
Carolina and Georgia, and it grows throughout the South-
ern states. The seed are produced in great abundance —
they are pounded and eaten by the negroes, and are fed to
poultry. The Guinea corn makes excellent brooms, and it
affords one of the best materials to supply the demand, not
only during the present difficulties, but, I trust, in the
future also. A brief paper on its culture can be found in
the Patent Office Reports, Agricult, 1854, p. 161, by & T.
Sorsby, of Alabama. The reddish-brown variety is much
more prolific than the white, as it matures early. "The
plant grows well on the poorest soils, and makes a good
crop on our limestone rock, where there is enough of it
disintegrated to support the stalk." It needs but little cul-
ture ; after it gets a start it defies weeds and grass, and will
make a crop in spite of every disaster. "It is sometimes
cut green for soiling cattle aud mules, and if properly done",
so as not to injure the buds near the ground, it may be cut
several times in a season. It is also cured and made into
fodder or hay. The stalks are sometimes cut before frost
567
and put into barns, and then fed to stock. They remain
green for months, and do not ferment nor spoil so soon as
Indian corn or other grain." This plaint will therefore
serve as a substitute for Northern hay.
Sorghum vulgare, Pers. Doura corn. Cultivated.
It is said to yield a larger bulk of seed per acre than any
other cereal grass whatever, not even excepting maize. It
has a nutritive quality about equal to that of average sam-
ples of British wheat; it yields a beautiful white flour
when crushed ; and it may without any deterioration be
mixed or ground up with wheaten flour, though it differs
from wheat, and has some affinity to oats in containing a
large quantity of casein. See Wilson's Rural Cyc. The
broom-corn is S. saccharatum ; the Guinea corn S. cernuum,
Willd, according to Chapman's So. Flora.
Mr. N". P. Walker, late principal of the Institute for the
Blind, at Cedar 'Springs, near Spartanburg, S. C, 'writes
word that brooms are manufactured in large quantities by
the blind from broom-corn grown in the vicinity.
Sorghum saccharatum. Chinese sugar-cane. (Sorgho sucre.)
M. De Montigny, the French consul, introduced into
Europe the Chinese sugar-cane. Its juice furnishes three
important products, namely : sugar, which is identical with
that of cane, alcohol, and a fermented drink analogous to
cider. The density varies, and the proportion of the sugar
contained in it, from ten to sixteen per cent., a third part of
which is sometimes uncrystallizable. To this quantity of
uncrystallizable sugar this juice owes its facility of readily
fermenting, and " consequently the large amount of alcohol
it produces compared with the saccharine matter, observed
directly by the saccharometer." Climate makes a great
difference in the amount of sugar this plant yields. "As
the molasses, too, is identical with that manufactured from
the cane, it may be used in the distillation of rum, alcohol,
and the liquor called ' tapa,' which resembles brandy. It
will be remembered, too, that in the manufacture of brandy
568
or alcohol the uncrystallizable sugar can be turned to ac-
count, which in a measure would otherwise be lost. Anoth-
er advantage consists in. the pureness of the juice, which
when thus converted, from the superiority of, its quality
can be immediately brought into consumption and use."
The alcohol produced by onty one distillation is nearly des-
titute of foreign flavor, having an agreeable taste somewhat
resembling noyau, being much less ardent or fiery than
rum. M. Vilmorin observes that the sugar is most abun-
dant at the putting forth of the spikes, but the proportion
of the sugar in the stalks continues to increase until the
seeds are in a milky state. See Patent Office Reports,
Agricult., 1854, p. 223. I have seen excellent molasses
made from this plant in South Carolina by ordinary mills.
The flavor and taste was equal to good quality of treacle,
and it furnishes a most nutritious and useful food for
negroes. In Patent Office Reports, 1855, pp. 280-284, are
two statements by residents of New York and Penns}dva-
nia on the planting of the sorghum, also a republication of
Gov. J. H. Hammond's early experience with it. The
plant attains from ten to fourteen feet in height. I found
that in the City of Charleston, on a bit of ground which was
too wet to mature any vegetable, and subject to the tides,
this plant grew to a great height, even when closely sown.
I am convinced that it is particularly suitable to be planted
as a substitute for hay, and particularly in lands even too
wet for corn. It also grows well on high dry land. One of
the writers just referred to thinks it will be of great benefit
to every section of the country, "not only as a green feed
during the hot months, but after being cut up and cured
like the corn plant; its stalks may be steamed during the
winter and given to horses, oxen, or cows, which will com-
mence eating at one end and never leave them till entirely
consumed."
Gov. Hammond had a rude mill put up with two beech-
wood rollers. Ten canes selected, the heads of which were
fully matured, yielded three quarts of syrup. The juice
tested by the saccharometer showed that the youngest had
569
rather the most and the oldest rather the least saccharine
matter; he made syrup "equal to the best we could obtain
from New Orleans." Lime-water of the consistency of
cream was put to every five gallons of the cold juice. "A
good sugar mill, with three wooden rollers, may be erected
for less than twenty-five dollars, and a sugar boiler that
will make thirty gallons of syrup a day, may be purchased
in Augusta for less than sixty dollars." Since the period
at which this was written, great improvements have been
made in machinery, etc.
IsTo doubt, sufficient cane for syrup, and tobacco for the
use of negroes should be raised on every plantation. Syrup
made by Mr. J. T. White, near Charleston, which I tasted,
was as palatable as need be. Patent Office Reports, 1857,
contain chemical researches by Prof. C. T. Jackson (p. 185)
upon the Sorghum. It was also determined that the " Chi-
nese and African sugar-canes, broom-corn, and doura are
only varieties of a primitive species, the AndrojDogon sor-
ghum of authors, or allowing the genus Sorghum to stand,
Sorghum, vulgare. These plants should not be allowed to
amalgamate. The saccharine secretions of one variety will
be diminished by cross fecundation with another not produc-
ing an equal amount; and the saccharine qualities peculiar
to one may be lost by planting in a soil or climate differing
from that which has brought them forth in unusual quality.
If their cultivation as a forage crop, and a syrup and sugar-
producing plant shall prove profitable, the use of the grain
in the form of flour, as well as food for stock, may consid-
erably diminish the cost of productions. Bost. Soc. ISTat.
Hist. Proc. Molasses and sugar are both powerfully anti-
septic, and may be used in place of salt. Wilson states
"that a comparatively small quantity of sugar, without any
salt will, if applied to the muscular parts of the open fish,
preserve salmon, cod, and whiting for several days, and im-
part to them no disagreeable taste." Rural Cyc.
Prof. J. Lawrence Smith, of South Carolina, in an ex-
amination of the sugar-bearing capacity of the Chinese
sugar-cane, expresses himself with great moderation. He
570
reminds the reader that there are two well known varieties
of sugar, viz : glucose, or grape sugar (a sugar moderately
sweet, and difficult of crystallization), and cane sugar, with
a very sweet taste, and easily crystallized. The first form
occurs most abundantly in fruits, the latter in the sugar-
cane, the beet root, the watermelon, maple, etc. Now the
cane sugar is easily convertible into grape sugar, and in all
processes for extracting the former, one important aim is to
prevent this transformation. "For instance, were we to
take the juice of the sugar-cane (containing about twenty
per cent, of crystallizable sugar) and concentrate it, with-
out subjecting it to the action of lime, or some other defe-
cating agent, fully half of the sugar would be rendered
un crystallizable, and there would be only a small yield of
sugar, but a large amount of molasses." So the impurities
must be regarded which may give rise to the alteration
mentioned, and the yield of sugar may depend upon the
care and skill in working the juices. Dr. Smith then asserts
that the juices of the cane deteriorate when kept, and ad-
vises that no time be lost after cutting in expressing the
juice. By etfaminirig with polarized light (the most accu-
rate method), the juice being previously clarified by acetate
of lead, he says, "this result settles the question that the great
bulk of the sugar contained in the Sorgho is crystallizable or cane
sugar -proper. " The difference of opinion which has existed
on this subject no doubt arose, it is added, from the fact
that different degrees of care had been taken in the con-
centration of the juice, or that a more or less perfect proc-
ess of defecation was resorted to. He used Soleil's polar-
izing saccharometer.
Dr. Smith then speaks of the processes for separating the
sugar. Not successful with the method transmitted by Mr.
Wray through the Patent Office, he prefers the following :
warm the fresh juice rapidly to 120° F.; then add to each
gallon of juice three ounces of lime, first slacking it with
five or six times its weight of water, then bringing the tem-
perature up to 200°. It is then filtered, and carbonic acid
passed through the juice, afterward filtered and evaporated
to a proper consistency for crystallization.
571
Each time that the juice is filtered if it be allowed to
pass through well washed animal charcoal, the syrup may
be made very clear and the sugar prepared from it will be
perfectly white. During the evaporation the temperature
should at no time exceed 215°. It often happens that we
have days and even weeks for the crystallization to take
place ; but it may always be hastened by adding to the
thick syrup when cool a few grains of brown sugar or a
little pulverized white sugar. "It must not be forgotten
that sugar making is an art, and cannot be practised by
every one with a mill and a set of kettles ; also, in extract-
ing sugar from one vegetable, we are not to expect to apply
successfully those methods practised on other vegetables.
It was not by applying to the beet root the method of ex-
tracting sugar from the cane that France is now able to
produce 120,000,000 pounds of sugar from that root.
"What was necessary, for the beet root is doubtless required
for the sorgho, viz: a thorough study of its nature, with a
process of extracting the sugar specially adapted to it."
Another observer, from Missouri, says that a proper mill
for grinding the cane would consist of three cast iron
rollers placed horizontally, so that the cane when passed
through the mill would come out quite dry. Then a set of
iron kettles made broad and shallow, ranged in a furnace
so that evaporation might be accomplished more rapidly,
would be a near approximation to the true method of
grinding the cane and making molasses.
That the reader may appreciate some of the difficulties
in the crystallization of sugar, and perhaps obviate them
thereby, I will condense some passages from the article on
" Sugar " in Wilson's Cyc. It applies as well to the prob-
lem of the sugar-producing powers of the Sorghum :
All acids have the effect of rendering sugar uncrystal-
lizable. This is the case with citric, tartaric, and oxalic
acids, which completely and forever destroy in sugar the
property of crystallization. Alkaline substances also pre-
vent the crystallization of sugar when mixed in excess. In
the manufacture of sugar, therefore, from the expressed
572
juice of the cane, the beet, or any other sacchariferous
plant, the quantity of sugar will be less, and that of mo-
lasses greater, whenever too much lime is used in the first
purification of the juice. In pressing sugar-cane the juice
which runs from the mill passes directly into a large
boiler, in which, for purification, it is heated but not boiled
with lime. The use of this alkaline earth has a twofold
object — to neutralize the acetic acid which exists ready
formed in the woody part of the cane and is pressed out by
the mill together with the saccharine juice, and to clear this
juice from various foreign matters mingled with it. By the
application of gradual heat these impurities form a cake
with the lime at the surface of the resinous liquid, which is
drawn off* clear and conveyed to the first boiler. After
going through several successive boilers, in each of which
it is boiled to a thicker consistence, it at length becomes a
thick, dark syrup, when it is put into shallow, fiat coolers.
The molasses separates from it. In the very damp dis-
tricts the cane yields no crystallizable sugar, when the
whole of the juice is used in the manufacture of spirits.
Dr. J. Brown, in 1857, reported from the U. S. Agricul-
tural Society as follows, concerning the sorghum canes : the
yield of juice in weight of well trimmed stalks was about
fifty per cent. The number of gallons of juice required to
make a gallon of syrup varied from five to ten, according
to the locality, the nature of the soil on which it was pro-
duced, and the succulent condition and maturity of the
canes. In the province of New Brunswick it required ten
to one ; in the rich bottom lands of Indiana and Illinois
about seven to one : and in the light lauds of Maryland
and Virginia five gallons to one of syrup [observe the
effects of climate and latitude]. The yield of syrup per
acre varied .from one hundred and fifty to four hundred
gallons. The amount of pure alcohol produced by the
juice ranged from five to nine per cent. In cases where
the plant was well matured and grew upon a warm, light
soil, the juice yielded from thirteen to sixteen per cent, of
dry, saccharine matter, from nine to eleven per cent, of
573
which was well defined, crystallized cane sugar, and the
remainder uncrystallizable matter or glucose, but that taken
from stalks obtained on rich low lands, luxuriant in their
growth, yielded considerably less.
A palatable bread was made from the flour ground from
the seeds of this plant, of a pinkish color, caused by the
remnants of the pellicles pr hulls of the seeds. By ac-
counts from all parts of the country, this plant is univer-
sally admitted to be a wholesome, nutritious, and economi-
cal food for animals, all parts of it being greedily devoured
in a green or dried state bj^ horses, cattle, sheep, poultry,
and swine, without injurious effects, the two latter fatten-
ing upon it equally well as upon corn.
Paper of various qualities has been manufactured from
the fibrous parts of the stalk, some of which appears to
be particularly fitted for special use, such as bank notes,
wrapping paper, etc.
Prof. C. T. Jackson, in his chemical researches (p. 187,
P. 0. Reports, 1857), found by experiment that " it was
necessary to defecate the juice of the sorghum before set-
ting it to ferment, otherwise the vinous fermentation sets
in and converts all the sugar into lactic acid and mannite.
Hence, when either vinegar, alcofrbl, or wine is to be made
from the juice of this plant, it must first be clarified or de-
fecated by lime and heat, and then filtered. When this is
done the juice is readily made to undergo the vinous fer-
mentation by the addition of a little brewer's yeast, and
afterward the returns will serve for yeast to any quantity
of the juice that it may be desired to ferment. I mention
this because I know that many persons, unaware of the
above named facts, have lost the sorghum juice they had
endeavored to ferment both for vinegar and wine. At the
proper temperature the sorghum juice will undergo the
vinous fermentation in from three to five days." Dr.
Jackson, though he does not supply the great desideratum,
viz : a simple and clear method of obtaining the sugar, is
convinced that both the Chinese and the African variety of
the sorghum "will produce sugar of the cane type, perfectly
574
and abundantly, wherever the canes will ripen their seeds."
He trusts that even the farmers of the Northern and
the North-western states will not be discouraged. He says
that if vacuum apparatus could be applied to this manufac-
ture it would be far more sure to succeed, and " perhaps in
the operations of a large farmer it may not prove an un-
profitable investment to set up yacaum pans on his estate,
expressly for sugar-boiling. If this cannot be done, we
have only to caution the experimenters against burning
the syrup, and to ask them to wait at least a week before
they expect to see their sugar granulate."
The following is the plan recommended by Prof Jackson
in the "Manufacture of sugar and syrup from the juice:"
" Omitting as of no immediate practical value to the
manufacturer the more refined processes which were em-
ployed in determining the amount of saccharine matter in
the juice of this plant, I now describe a cheap and econom-
ical method of syrup and sugar making, which may be used
by the farmer. In the first place, it is necessary to filter
the juice of the plant as it comes from the mill, in order to
remove the cellulose and fibrous matters and the starch, all
of which are present in itwhen expressed. A bag filter, or
one made of a blanket, placed in a basket, will answer this
purpose. Next we have to add a sufficiency of milk of lime
(that is, lime slacked and mixed with water) to the juice
to render it slightly alkaline, as shown by its changing
turmeric paper to a brown color, or reddened litmus p%per
to a blue. A small excess of lime is not injurious. After
this addition the juice should be boiled say for fifteen min-
utes. A thick, greenish scum rapidly collects on the sur-
face, which is to be removed by a skimmer, and then the
liquid should again be filtered. It will be of a pale, straw
color, and ready for evaporation. It may now be boiled
down quite rapidly to about half its original bulk, after
which the fire must be kept low, the evaporation to be
carried on with great caution, and the syrup constantly
stirred to prevent it from burning at the bottom of the ket-
tle or evaporating pan. Portions of the syrup are to be
575
taken out from time to time and allowed to cool, to see
if it is dense enough to crystallize. It should be about
as dense as sugar-house molasses or tar. When it has
reached this condition, it may be withdrawn from the evap-
orating vessel, and be placed in tubs or casks to granulate.
Crystals of sugar will begin to form generally in three or
four days ; and sometimes nearly the whole mass will
granulate, leaving but little molasses to be drained. After
is has solidified, it may be scooped out into conical bags,
made of coarse, open cloth, or of canvas, which are to be
hung over the receivers of molasses, and the drainage
being much aided by warmth, it will be useful to keep the
temperature of the room at 80° or 90° Fahr. After some
days the sugar may be removed from the bags, and will be
found to be a good brown sugar. It may now be refined
by dissolving it in hot water, adding to the solution some
whites of eggs (say one egg for one hundred pounds of
sugar) mixed with cold water; after which the temperature
is to be raised to the boiling point, and the syrup should be
allowed to remain at that point for half an hour ; then
skim and filter to remove the coagulated albumen, and the
impurities it has extracted from .the sugar. By means of
bone-black, such as is prepared for sugar refiners, the sugar
may be decolored by adding an ounce to each gallon of the
saccharine solution and boiling the whole together ; then
filter, and you will obtain a nearly colorless syrup. Evapo-
rate this as before directed, briskly, to half the bulk, and
then slowly until dense enough to crystallize, leaving the
syrup as before in tubs or pans to granulate. The sugar
will be of a very light brown color, aud may now be clayed
or whitened by the usual method, that is by putting it into
cones and pouring a saturated solution of white sugar upon
it so as to displace the molasses which will drop from the
apex of the inverted cone. The sugar is now refined as
loaf-sugar. The methods here described are the common
and cheap ones, which any farmer can employ. It may be
advantageous when operations of considerable extent are
contemplated to arrange a regular system of shallow evapo-
576
rating pans for the concentration of the syrup, similar to
those now used in Vermont for making maple sugar. It
is now evident that no ordinary methods can compete with
those of a regular sugar refinery, where vacuum pans are
employed, and evaporation is consequently carried on at a
very low temperature. If the planter should raise suffi-
ciently large crops to warrant the expense of such an appa-
ratus on his farm; he would not fail to manufacture" larger
quantities of sugar, and to operate with perfect success in
sugar-making ; but this can be done only in the Southern,
Middle, or Western states, where extensive farming is com-
mon. Those who wish to have their brown sugar clarified
can send it to some of the large refineries, where the opera-
tion may be completed and the sugar put up in the usual
form of white loaves.
"A very large proportion of our agricultural people will
doubtless be satisfied with the production of a good syrup
from this plant. They may obtain it by following the
methods described in the first part of this paper, or they
may omit the lime and make an agreeable but slightly
acidulous syrup that will be of a lighter color than that
which has been limed. This syrup is not liable to crystal-
lize, owing to the presence of acid matter. The unripe
canes can be employed for making molasses and alcohol,
but, as before stated, will yield true cane sugar."
I am informed (1862) that the majority of cultivators in
the Confederate States have remitted all exertions to make
sugar from the African or Chinese sugar-cane. Their yield
of syrup, however, proves highly acceptable and remunera-
tive. The plants are largely grown, and tend measurably
to remedy the scarcity of Louisiana sugars and molasses.
A cheap and good vinegar can be made from molasses:
uTo eight gallons of clear rain-water add three quarts of
molasses; turn the mixture into a clean, tight cask, shake it
well two or three times, and add three spoonfuls of good
yeast or the yeast cakes. Place the cask in a warm place,
and in ten or fifteen days add a sheet of common wrapping
paper, smeared with molasses, and toru into narrow strips,
577
and you will have a good vinegar. The paper is necessary
to form the 'mother' or life of the liquor." The scientific
mode of making vinegar rapidly is to pass the liquor re-
peatedly through barrels filled with wood shavings ; any
sweet fruits, or roots, such as figs, beets, watermelon juice,
etc., add to the bulk and quality; see "Beta" and " Fie us."
Sweet substances added to vinegar will increase the quan-
tity when exposed to the oxygen of the air for the acetous
fermentation to be effected. This is promoted by heat.
Mr. W. G. Simms writes me word (1863) that he made
excellent vinegar during the past summer from both the May-
apple and persimmon, thus: three bushels May-apple pulp,
carefully crushed out of the sack, five gallons of molasses,
three gallons of whiskey ; this with thirty-five gallons of
water made forty gallons of fine red vinegar. The persim-
mon makes a "beautiful white wine vinegar," thus: three
bushels ripe persimmons, three gallons of whiskey, twenty-
seven gallons of water.
The following was communicated to the Charleston Cou-
rier (1862) by C. Orr, of Mississippi :
"I find from experiments I have made that the seed of the
sugar-cane (Sorgho sucre) parched and ground as coffee, pre-
pared in the usual way, but by being boiled a little longer,
make an excellent substitute for coffee, and my own impression
is that if it was brought into general use thousands would
adopt its use instead of coffee, even if coffee should again
be offered at its former low prices, from the fact that all
could grow and cultivate it with so little labor, and from its-
approaching so near to the best Java."
Saccharum offieinarum. Sugar-cane ; cultivated in South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana; growing tolera-
bly well in the lower portions of South Carolina. Its value
is well known. The juice is said to be an antidote for poi-
soning by arsenic, and it might be temporarily substituted
for the hydrated sesquioxide of iron.
In Agricultural Reports of the Patent Office, 1855, p. 268,
there is a paper on the "Failure of the Sugar-cane in Louisi-
37
578
ana — proposed plan for restoration," etc. A brief history of
the origin of the cane is given, and the varietes usually
planted. The introduction of new plants by cuttings from
British Guiana, or Venezuela, is advised, and the practice
of rotation with certain specified plants, viz: wheat, the
Chinese yam, the bitter and sweet cassada {Jatrofha), and
other fusiform roots, as well as the pea-nut, palma Christi,
Bene, etc.
For sugar from canes, whether Chinese or African, con-
sult DeBow's Review, and the Patent Office Reports, 1848,
pp. 281 and 512, for long articles with plans, drawings, and a
full description; also Olcott's work on the Imphee and
Sorgho, with methods of grinding, crystallizing, etc., and
translations from the French. In these all the processes are
described for preparation of syrup, molasses, best varieties
of cane, mode of culture, etc., etc. See, also, Gov. Ham-
mond's contributions and experiments in "South Carolina
Agriculturist," published by Mr. A. G. Summer, Columbia,
S. C, 1856. These papers are too long to admit of their
introduction here, and I content myself with directing the
inquirer to the best sources of information. Wax is obtain-
ed from the surface of the cane by scraping. See Olcott's
work for account of its collection in Algeria.
Oryza sativa. Rice. Cultivated extensively in the lower
portion of South Carolina and Georgia, on the Cooper and
Santee rivers.
IT. S. Disp. 1268. The "seeds, being wholly free from
laxative power, are adapted to cases of weak bowels, in
which there is a strong tendency to diarrhoea." The decoc-
tion of rice water is very applicable, as a nutritive drink, to
fevers, and inflammatory affections of the stomach, lungs,
and kidneys. Rice starch is said to give "lawns and col-
ored articles a look of newness unsurpassed." This plant
is well known, and largely used as an article of food, and for
exportation. See authors for references. Carolina rice was
found by Bracconnot to contain 85.07 per cent, of starch,
3.60 gluten, 0.71 gum, 0.29 uncrystallizable sugar, 0.13 of
579
fixed oil, 4.80 veg. fibre, 5.00 of water, and 0.40 of saline
substances. Dr. Wood (U. S. Disp.) discredits the opinion,
expressed by some, that a rice diet produces injurious effects
on the eyes — the condition of myope, for instance. During
a residence of some years in both sections of South Caro-
lina, my observations have been directed toward this point
with special attention. I can safely assert that in the lower
country of this state, where rice has long been a favorite
article of food — the whites partaking of it every day, and
in some form at almost every meal — the number of near-
sighted individuals bears a proportion of at least ten to one
over those residing in the upper districts, where it is well
known that its use has only lately been generally introduced.
So far as our experience goes, as well as that of many others,
of whom inquiries have been made, scarcely an example
can be found of it in the latter portion of the state, which
is distinguished from the other by pretty accurately defined
limits. If such a relation does exist between the quality of
the ingesta and the greater convexity of the cornea, which
further investigation and comparison must confirm or reject,
it is exceedingly curious, there being as yet not even a hy-
pothesis accounting for the modus operandi. It has also
been indistinctly assumed to depend upon a long course of
luxurious living in the ancestors; and another difference
characterizing these divisions of the state tends to corrobo-
rate this opinion, and perhaps to throw some light on the
existing disparity with respect to the power of vision. This
is found in the fact that the seaboard of South Carolina was
earliest settled by the Cavaliers and Huguenots, comprising
many individuals of large means, who have for several gen-
erations been enabled to indulge in most of the comforts
and luxuries of life. The case was otherwise with respect
to the upper portions, where the inhabitants for some time
lived necessarily in a more plain and frugal way. Any ob-
jections to the first ground, founded on the assertion that
the negroes in the lower country are not affected iu this
way, may be anticipated by the reply that we seldom or
never know when there is among them such defect in the
580
power of vision ; and besides, they are in fact not generally
furnished with rice as an article of food. The condition of
things in Hindostan and China might throw some light on
this question. I am informed by a gentleman in whose
statements I put implicit confidence that rats infesting a
granary where rice was stored were always found to be
blind.
Bread is made of rice flour by the matrons of the Con-
federate States. " A quart of rice flour is made into a stiff
pap by wetting it with warm water, not so hot as to make it
lump ; when well wet add boiling water, as much as two or
three quarts; stir it continually until it boils, then add one
pint of milk; when cool enough to avoid scalding the yeast,
add half a pint of good yeast and as much wheat flour as
will make it of a proper consistency for bread ; put it to
raise ; when sufficiently risen it will be necessary to add a
little more wheat flour. If baked too soft the loaves will
be hollow. The bread must stand half an hour or more in
a warm place after it is put in the baking pans, and it will
rise again almost as much as it did at first. The same
mixture, rather thinner, baked in muffin rings makes an
excellent bread." (Southern Agriculturist, from a lady.)
On the plantations of South Carolina much use is made of
rice in this and other ways, and I have inserted the recipe
among our other "resources" in times of war and block-
ade. See paper on culture of rice in P. O. Reports, 1854,
by Gov. R. F. W. Allston, of South Carolina; also article
"Rice," Rural Cyc.
Parched rice has been used as one of the substitutes for
coffee (see potato, Convolvulus). A correspondent of the
Mobile Register, 1862, says that corn and rice mixed in
equal parts, ground, and boiled, make an excellent substi-
tute for coffee. As the grain of corn is harder than that of
rice it needs more browning, and should be exposed to the
heat a few moments before the rice is put in. The writer
claims that " the beverage is equal to the best coffee ever
drunk! "
Zizania aquatica. Canada rice ; wild rice. Deep marshes
and ponds; Florida, and northward. Chap.
581
This plant was experimented with by Sir Joseph Banks,
by removing it from Canada to England in 1791. At first
it conld scarcely endure the climate, but gradually im-
proved and became thoroughly acclimated. It became "in
fourteen generations as strong and as vigorous as our indig-
enous plant." "It abounds in all the shallow streams of
North America, feeds immense flocks of wild swans and
other water-fowl, contributes largely to the support of the
wandering tribes of Indians, and seems destined, in the
opinion of Pinker-ton, to become the bread-corn of the
North. This grain has become acclimated in Middlesex,
producing bland, farinaceous seeds, which afford a very
good meal." Wilson's Rural Cyc. p. 80, art. "Acclimation."
It would perhaps reward the trouble to experiment with
this plant at the South, in order by cultivation to procure a
new cereal. Consult, also, Dr. Maoculloch on the Natural-
ization of Plants, Quarterly Journal of Science, vols, xxi
and xx vi.
Leersia oryzoides, Swartz. Florida; Columbia; St. John's.
This grass has been cultivated several years by Dr.
S. Stuart at his summer residence near Pendleton. He
expresses himself much pleased with it. It affords several
cuttings through the season, and seeds late. Gibbes' Cata-
logue of Plants, Columbia, S. C.
Trichodium perennans, Ell. 1 "Walter's grass. Swamps
Agrostis perennans. Gray. / and river banks ; Florida ;
St. John's parish, S. C.
This was the grass which was cultivated by Mr. Walter
and Mr. Fraser, who published a plate and description of
it for the purpose of procuring subscribers in England and
this country — the seeds to be furnished at two guineas a
quart when five hundred subscribers should have been ob-
tained. Mr. Thos. Walter, the author of the Flora Caro-
liniana, who resided at his place on the banks of the
Santee, near Mexico, in St. John's, Berkley, thus speaks of
it under his Cornucopia perennans ; uGramen undique keve,
582
saceharinum, cestaiem sustinens, in hyeme vigens, radicibus geni-
culisque se cito propagans. Donum inestimable, conditore ad
hanc diem, reservation, hoc cevum, me instrumente, locupleia-
rvml" Mr. Elliott says of it that "it is a fine, delicate
winter grass, but never appears to grow vigorously enough
for the scythe, nor will it bear, except in shaded or damp
soils, the heat of summer. See notes to Prof. Gibbes'
"Catalogue." The writer of this volume, in visiting the
ancestral residence of Mr. Walter, noticed this grass still
growing in close proximity.
Spartina juncea, Schreber, Ell. Sk. \ "White rush ; rush-
Limnetis of some Bot. / like spartina. Grows
in the salt water marshes ; vicinity of Charleston ; often
immersed. Fl. Aug.
Dem Elem. de Bot. vi, 655. The flowers are purgative.
The oil from the young branches is caustic, and is em-
ployed against ringworm, and in cutaneous eruptions gen-
erally. The leaves are pungent. "It has been proposed
as a cultivated field plant for yielding fibre, and it would
produce well on poor, silicious soils, which are unfit for
flax or com. Its manufactured fibre is clear, and as strong
and soft as that of flax, but is deficient in length. The
plant is of small value for forage." Rural Cyc.
Spartina glabra, Muhl. Cat. Salt marsh grass. Charles-
ton ; Newbern.
Ell. Bot. 96. This plant is greedily eaten by horses and
cattle ; and though it affords a good pasturage for out-door
stock, yet it is remarkable for a strong, rancid, and pecu-
liar smell, affecting the breath, the milk, butter, and even
the flesh of animals that feed upon it. During the block-
ade of Charleston it has served as an important substitute
for Northern hay ; it is also valued as a manure.
Ammophila arenaria, \ Reed bent-grass. North Carolina ;
Calamagrostis. j sea-shore.
This plant (Arundo arenaria) is the most valuable for
58a
planting on banks and on the sea-shore to prevent the
encroachment of the water. It is planted in Holland for
this purpose, and in Britain it is protected from destruction
by law, on account of its great utility in enabling the sand
to resist the action of wind and tide. JElymus arenarius is
also protected in Scotland. (Wilson.)
Avena saliva. Oat. Cultivated in Confederate States.
See authors. Used as a food for horses. A gruel may
be made of it, which is somewhat laxative, and which is
employed in fevers.
Triticum,. "Wheat (gluten).
The best wheat for making bread is that containing the
most gluten. That called Canada wheat in the United
States has the highest rank ; so Dr. Beck states in a paper
on the subject of the value of breadstuffs, P. 0. Reports on
Agriculture. And yet Chaptal asserts that the wheat of
southern countries contains more gluten than that of north-
ern. Chaptal says that the next grains in order, yielding
gluten, are barley, rye, and oats. Gluten may be extracted,
says Chaptal, from acorns, chestnuts, horse-chestnuts, ap-
ples, quinces, wheat, barley, rye, peas, and beans ; from the
leaves of the cabbage, cress, hemlock, lovage, and saffron ;
from the berries of the elder, the juice of the grape, etc.
It is, however, contained in the greatest quantity in the
grain of wheat, and it is from this that it is usually pro-
cured.
In order to extract gluten the flour of wheat must be
kneaded into a paste with water ; this paste must be after-
ward worked by the hand under a stream of water from a
spout till the liquid flows off clear ; the starch, sugar, and
all the other principles contained in wheat which are
soluble in water, are thus carried off, and there remains in
the hands only a soft, elastic, glutinous, ductile, semi-
transparent substance, adhering to the fingers after it has
lost its moisture, and exhaling an animal odor; this sub-
stance is called gluten, or the vegeto-animal 'principle. There
584
are some very nutritive vegetables, the author adds, in
which the starch instead of being combined with gluten,
as it is in the bread corns, is united with mucilage ; this is
the case with peas, beans, and potatoes. The flour of these
will not alone make bread, but it is frequently used in
years of scarcity, mixed with that of wheat to increase the
quantity of bread. It is not unusual in the domestic econ-
omy of our plantations( to have excellent bread by com-
bining the sweet potato (Convolvulus) with wheat flour. An
agreeable, sweet taste is thus imparted to the bread.
The wheat used in making starch in England is either
entire or coarsely bruised, and is steeped in cold water till
it swells and yields by pressure a milky juice ; it is then
subjected to pressure in coarse bags placed in vats filled
with water. When all the milky juice is expressed, the
bags are removed, the fecula gradually subsides to the
bottom, and the supernatant liquid soon ferments and
suffers a resolution of the principles dissolved in it into
alcohol and acetic acid. The whole, after fermentation,
is poured into tubs called frames, and after the fecula sub-
sides in these, the supernatant liquid is poured off — the
upper part of the sediment, being dirty and discolored, is
scraped off — and the rest of the sediment, constituting the
main bulk and purest portion of the fecula, is repeatedly
well washed, pressed in cloths, and dried by a gentle heat;
during the process of drying it so contracts as to form itself
into the somewhat regular, small, six-sided columns in
which it is sold in the shops. In this comparatively pure
state it is of course less suited as an aliment than sago,
arrow-root, etc. Wilson's Rural Cyc. Consult, also, Ure's
Diet. Arts. In South Carolina wheat flour starch is pre-
ferred to that procured from the potato. Rice makes an
excellent starch. Parched wheat, rye, and corn have been
used, as was said, as substitutes for coffee. The following
is offered by a contributor to a newspaper:
" The best substitute for coffee, and a practical receipt for its
preparation. — Take rye, boil it, but not so much as to burst
the grain, then dry it either in the sun, on a stove, or a
585
kiln, after which it is ready for parching, to be used like
the real coffee bean. Prepared in this manner it can
hardly be distinguished from the genuine coffee. The rye
when boiled and dried will keep for any length of time,
and consequently can be done at some convenient moment,
so as to have it ready whenever wanted for parching."
Ctenium Americanum, Spreng. 1 Low pine barrens; Flor-
Monocera aromatica, Ell. J ida to North Carolina.
The root of this grass is aromatic and highly pungent.
Glyccria ftaitans, Poa of Ell. Sk. 1 Floating sweet
Festuca of Linn. J meadow-grass ; water
fescue. Grows in the upper districts ; Newbern. Fl.
Aug.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. iii, 307. It furnishes a species of
manna. Wilson states that it will yield a considerable
produce even on common undrained land. It constitutes a
valuable forage for animals. Its seeds form a common
and enriching food for fresh water fish, for aquatic fowl,
and when gathered and dried they constitute the manna-
croup of the shops, and are extensively used as an agree-
able and highly nutritious material for soups and gruels.
The seeds are shaken out over pieces of cloth. Rural Cyc.
Poa compress, L. True blue grass. (P. pratensis of others.
Both good grasses; growing in Florida, and throughout
the Southern states.)
It is considered, says Dr. Lee, editor of the Southern
Field and Fireside, March 8, 1862, as the plant the very
" best adapted to stop washing and store up fertilizers in
their growth, for feeding stock, and yielding rich manure."
It does not require replanting, and grows well on poor
granite hills. It prevents all abrasion of the turf by the
heaviest rains. It is also not difficult to subdue with the
plough. "It makes a good sod and very fertilizing turf,
and thus fattens the land, and fattens all kinds of farm
stock." These perennial grasses enrich the land more
586
than forest trees, because "they approximate grain and
flesh in their chemical composition more than forest leaves.
Cattle that will starve on oak and pine leaves will wax fat
on blue grass." See, also, "Southern Homestead." See
Dr. Lee's editorials in Southern Field and Fireside, 1861,
for much information on the grasses best to be used as fer-
tilizers and for food and manure. He recommends the
"tall oat grass" (Arrhenatherum avenaceum) and the Texas
mesquit grass (Holcus lanatus) introduced from England,
called also velvet grass and white timothy. The "Ber-
muda grass" is very pertinacious, and is excellent in
eradicating nut-grass.
Among the grasses useful for hay are the herds'-grass,
timothy, orchard, and clover. See, also, Southern Field
and Fireside, May 4, 1861, for article on "Stalks of corn as
substitutes for hay."
Wilson states that the juice of the upright variety of Poa
consists almost entirely of pure mucilage. Rural Cyc. Con-
sult papers on the "Grasses," "Hay," etc., Sinclair's Hortus
Gramineus Woburnensis, Loudon's Encyclopaedia, etc., for
full account of the relative value of grasses. Salt is often
mixed with hay which has become wet, as a restorative ; it
is then much relished by cattle.
Festuca duriuscula, L. Fescue grass. Introduced.
Several species of Festuca grow within the limits assigned
to me. See botanical authorities. Wilson's Rural Cyc.
states that this is one of the best of the native grasses of
England for general utility. It thrives there on widely dif-
ferent kinds of soil, yields a moderately large bulk of prod-
uce, maintains much of its verdure in winter, and resists
the usual withering effects of excessive drought and heat
in summer. It is well adapted by its winter verdure and
fine foliage for forming the sward of parks and the herbage
of ornamental sheepwalks; and when raised on a thin,
healthy soil, or on poor, silicious sand, it has culms of so
very fine and slender a form as to appear well suited to the
straw hat manufacture. See op. cit. and the Woburn Ex-
587
periments. This grass would likely be serviceable when
planted on sands subject to inundation.
Arundinaria gigautea, macrosperma, Mx. Cane. Banks of
large rivers ; Lauson in his Travels in Carolina says it does
not grow north of James river ; confirmed by Nuttall.
Groom's Cat.
The cane and reed (A. teota, Muhl) are well known and
used for many purposes : sometimes slit and made into chair
bottoms, weavers' shuttles, and wherever a round, hollow
wood is required for cheap tubing, etc. The canes attain a
great height and size on our river courses, and are a char-
acteristic growth; they once grew luxuriantly throughout
the upper country of South Carolina and Georgia, whence
the names of the creeks and rivers, but have been almost
entirely consumed by animals. See, also, the "History of
the upper country of South Carolina," by my friend, Jno.
Logan, Ch. 1860.
Bromus seealinus, W. Chess. Dr. McBride found it in
St. John's, Charleston district. Fl. July.
Flora Scotica, 1087. This is the plant which is said to
render the seeds of wheat bitter. Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. i, 672 ; Journal Gen. de Med. lxxxviii, 82 ; Shec.
Flora Carol. 297. A good green dye is extracted from the
flowers. Griffith, Med. Bot. 662. M. Cordier finds that it
is bland in its action ; it was once thought to possess pur-
gative powers.
Bromus purgans, L. Cathartic bromus. Mountains of
S. C. Fl. August.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. i, 672. It was said
to be anthelmintic, and that forty grains would produce
vomiting. Effect uncertain.
Dactylis glo?nerata, Linn. American orchard-grass ; clus-
tered dactylis. James' island, near Charleston. Fl. July.
Shec. Flora Carol. 492. This is the species instinctively
588
sought after and swallowed by dogs and cats when they
are inclined to vomit, or to envelop the splinters of bone
collected in their stomachs. " It is a valuable grass, and
ought to be cultivated with care."
Cyperace^:. (The Sedge Tribe.)
They contain very little fecula or sugar.
Cyperus articulatus, Mich. Jointed cyperus. "Grows on
Hilton Head island, at Ogeechee," Ell.; vicinity of Charles-
ton. Fl. July.
Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 567. In Guinea
this is considered one of their remedies for worms.
Cyperus odoraius, L. River banks ; vicinity of Charles-
ton. Fl. August.
Lind. JSTat. Syst. Bot. 385. The root has a warm, aro-
matic taste, and the infusion is given in India as a
stomachic. Ainslie, Mat. Med. Ind. 288.
Cyperus virens, Mx. Sharp grass. If incautiously drawn
through the hand the stem will cut severely writh its sharp
angles.
Cyperus hydra, Mx. Nut-grass. St. John's ; Newbern.
Prof. Holbrook informs me that Gen. Pinckney told him
it was introduced, though Elliott does not mention it. Its
reproductive power is marvellous, and hence it is a great
scourge to the planter, depreciating the value of land. It
is with difficulty eradicated by constant hoeing; by this
process in its constant efforts to throw its leaves to the
light the root becomes exhausted. The experiment has
been successfully tried by J. McQueen, Esq., of Georgia,
Ell. The destruction of the seeds is also thus secured.
Scirjjus maritimus, L. V Maritime Scirpus. Marsh-
" macrostachyus, M. Jes; "Little Ogeechee bridge,
Beven miles from Savannah," Ell. Collected in St. John's ;
vicinity of Charleston. Fl. June.
Dem. Elem. de Bot. ii, 292. Aromatic, and slightly nu-
tritive.
Eleocharis palustris, R. Brown. ) Bog maritime
Scirpus " Linn, and Ell. Sk. j Scirpas ; marsh
club-rush. Grows in rice fields, often immersed. Collected
in St. John's ; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. June.
Mer. and de L. Diet, cle M. Med. vi, 262. Lemery says
the roots are astringent, and that they are employed in
decoction in diarrhoea and hemorrhage. It is much used
in Europe in the manufacture of chairs, mats, and delicate
work, and I would invite the attention of those engaged
in similar operations in this country.
Carex acuta, L. Grows in bogs in the upper districts,
often immersed, Lightfoot ; JSTewbern. Fl. April.
Fl. Scotica, ii, 566. In Italy the leaves are used by
glass-makers to bind their wine fiasks, and in the manufac-
ture of chair bottoms ; also by coopers to place between
the seams of cask heads to render them air-tight. The
Typha latifolia and Scirpus lacustris, both found in the Con-
federate States, have been used for this purpose. (See
these plants.) The makers of turpentine barrels might
find them convenient and valuable, supplying the place of
the strip of wood shaving I have seen some of them
employ.
Class IV. RHIZAaSTTHS.
Class V. ACROGENS, OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS.
In this volume I pass over very lightly the Cryptogamia,
Filices, Lichenes, Musci, and Algce, the ferns, lichens, mosses,
etc., referring the reader for full details to my report before
the Am. Med. Assoc, vol. vii, on the " Medicinal, Poison-
ous, and Dietetic Properties of the Cryptogamic plants
of the United States," a volume of 126 pages.
The leaves of ferns, one of the subdivisions of this
class, generally contain a thick, astringent mucilage, with
590
a little aroma ; on which account they may be considered
pectoral and lenitive. Lindley states that almost any of
them may be substituted for the Adiantum pedatum, and A.
capillus veneris, which especially abound in these products.
I have observed in the leaves of the Osmurtda regalis, and
of several other species, a taste strongly resembling that of
spermaceti.
Equisetace^e. {Horsetail Tribe.)
Eguisetum Icevigatum. Horsetail. IsTorth Carolina, and
northward. The seeds of the horsetail are remarkable for
hygrometrical movement. The}' contain a great deal of
silica. The dried stems of E. hiemale and E. arvense are
imported from Holland for cleaning wooden utensils and
polishing cabinet work, turnery, and metallic wares. " This
plant might be profitably cultivated for the use of turners,
cabinet-makers, and other artificers." "Wilson's Rur. Cyc.
Polypodiace^;.
Pteris aguilina, L. Brake. Grows in damp pine lands ;
sent to me from Abbeville district by Mr. Reed ; collected
in St. John's; vicinity of Charleston; !Newbern. Fl. July.
Dem. Elein. de Bot. iii, 347. The root is vermifuge and
astringent ; and is said to be a remedy for the tape-worm,
one ounce of the decoction being used at a dose. This plant
contains a very large proportion of alkali. Fl. Scotiea, 656.
Its ashes will yield double the quantity of salt afforded by
any other plant — forming, therefore, a manure adapted to
potatoes. Made into balls with water, it is employed to
wash linens. The astringency is so great as to render it
useful in preparing leather and kid gloves.
Wilson, in his Rural Cyc, says that the main interest in
British ferns is concentrated in the Pteris, and as it is abun-
dant in the Confederate States, I will condense his remarks:
it was formerly, he says, in great request for thatch, and
usually lasted in that capacity eight or nine years on the
north side of a roof, and fifteen or sixteen years on the south
side ; but, except in the meanest hovels, it has been super-
591
seded by heath, straw, tiles, and slates. It was formerly used
in considerable quantity in both the glass and the soap man-
ufactory, but cheaper and better articles have since supplied
its place; still, in the Confederate States we may find it use-
ful as a material for a supply of potash and in making lye.
The plant also possesses tannin. It is used as a fuel for
heating ovens and burning lime; it forms good litter to pro-
tect esculent roots in pits during winter. In England the
rank growth of the brake is destroyed by irrigation.
The Adiantum pedatum, L., maiden hair, yields a useful
syrup, called by the French "capillaire," which is a refresh-
ing beverage mixed with water in fevers. Farmer's Encyc.
OSMUNDACE^E.
Osmunda regalis, Mx. Royal fern ; flowering fern. Grows
in damp soils; collected in St. John's. Fl. July.
Wade's PL Rariores, 87. Dr. Stokes says that impres-
sions of this fern are observed in nodules of iron-stone in
the Colebrookdale iron-works, and that it is the only spe-
cies of an indigenous (European) vegetable which has ever
been found in a fossil state, all others being of American
growth. "Withering, Supplem. to Mer. and de L. Diet, de
M. Med. 1846, 536. It is sometimes employed in dropsy, as
an astringent in injuries, and by Dr. Heidenreich in the rad-
ical cure of hernia; he reports fifty cases ("gueris radicale-
ment") after the method of Simon: giving the root in wine
internally, and placing upon the hernial ring compresses
which have imbibed the decoction of the plant. Journal
de Chim. M6d. viii, 395, second series, 1842. In the Diet.
Univ. de M. Med. v, 113, its employment in this affection
was spoken of. Hermann boasts of it as having a direct
action upon the intestinal canal ("bas ventre"), which it
purges mildly in doses of two to four drachms of the pow-
der. It acts upon the bile, augments digestion, and strength-
ens chylification. The extract has been thought peculiarly
suited to cases of children affected with caries, mixed in
milk or water, and continued for some time. Aubeil's Obs.
592
sur l'emploi de l'Osmond, Journal Gen. de la Soc. de Med.
xlvi, 59, 1843. Lindley, in his Nat. Syst. Bot. 400, states
that it "has been employed successfully in doses of three
drachms in the rickets." The leaves have been selected to
make cradles for delicate children, from some supposed good
effects derived from their use. Encyclop. Meth. Botanique,
iv, 652. The strong resemblance which I have noticed be-
tween the taste of this species and spermaceti is quite marked.
The plant seems scarcely to be kuown in this country, and
I observe no notice of it in the American works.
Algle. (Inarticulate.)
Fucus serratus and F. vesiculosus. — Iodine exists most
abundantly in most species of Fucoidece, which form the
greatest part of the sea-weeds of our coast. I extract the
following from Wilson's Rural Cyc, in order that so use-
ful a substance may be made in the Southern Confeder-
acy, and also refer the reader to the plants furnishing
iodine, which are treated of in my paper in the seventh
volume Am. Med. Assoc. Iodine also occurs in the sponge,
and in many moluscous animals. But it is from the incin-
erated sea-weed or kelp that the iodine in large quantities
is obtained. As the soap manufacturers are in the habit of
obtaining their soda from kelp, iodine may be procured
very economically from the residuums of their operation,
according to the process invented by Dr. Ure, which is as
follows :
The brown iodic liquor of the soap-boiler, or the solution
of kelp from which all the crystallizable ingredients have
been separated by concentration, is heated to about 230°
Fahr., poured into a large stone-ware basin and saturated
with diluted sulphuric acid. When cold the liquor is fil-
tered through woollen cloths; and to every twelve ounces
(apothecary's measure) is added one thousand grains of black
oxide of manganese in powder. The mixture is put into a
glass globe or large matrass, with a wide neck, over which
a glass globe is inverted, and heat is applied, which causes
the iodine to sublime copiously, and to condense in the up-
593
per vessel. As soon as the balloon becomes warm another
is substituted for it; and when the second becomes heated
the first is again applied. The iodine is withdrawn from
the globes by a little warm water, which dissolves it very
sparingly ; and it is purified by undergoing a second subli-
mation. The test made use of for the detection of iodine
in any solution is, it is well known, starch; sometimes a
few drops of sulphuric acid should be added, and a blue
color is obtained if iodine be present. See Rural Cyc,
lire's Diet., and works on chemistry and mat. medica.
Kelp is obtained from the two fact mentioned above,
from which also soda is obtained. I will insert the process
as given by Wilson, in order that it may be better known
by those living on our coasts. He says that on the Scot-
tish coast the sea-weed is cut close to the rocks during the
summer season, and afterward spread out upon the shore
to dry, care being taken to turn it occasionally to prevent
fermentation. It is then stacked for a few weeks, and
sheltered from the rain, till it becomes covered with a
white, saline efflorescence, and is now ready for burning.
This is usually accomplished in a round pit lined with
brick or stone ; but the more approved form for a kiln
is oblong, about two feet wide, eight to eighteen long, and
from two to three deep. The bottom of this is covered
with brush, upon which a little dried sea-weed is now
thrown gradually as fast as the combustion reaches the
surface, and should there be much wind it is necessary to
protect it by covering the sides with sods; after the whole
is burnt the mass gradually softens, beginning at the sides,
when it should be slowly stirred up with a heated iron
bar, and incorporated till it acquires a semifluid consist-
ence. This part of the process requires considerable dex-
terity, and if the mass continues dry a little common salt
should be thrown on, which acts as a flux. When cold it
is broken up, and is now ready for sale. JSTotwithstandiug,
the author adds, that kelp contains but two or three per
cent, of carbonate of soda, while Spanish barilla often
contains twenty or thirty [see "Salsola" and "Salicornia"],
38
594
the manufacture of this article during the Continental
war increased prodigiously. Stones were placed within
the flood-mark of sandy shores, which became covered
with sea-weed. Potash will often supply its place, but
-soda is indispensable to the making of plate and crown
glass and all hard soaps. The barilla is obtained in France
from Salicornia annua, which yields fourteen per cent, of
soda. In the Confederate States we have species of all the
genera yielding soda and potash, viz.: Salsola, Salicornia,
Statice, Atriplex, and Chenopodium, all embraced under the
family Chenopodiacece.
"Sea-ware," or sea-weed, cast upon the shores is largely
'Collected and used as manures. They contain a large pro-
portion of nitrogenous and saline matters, with earthy salts
in a readily decomposable state. They also contain much
soluble mucilage.
Fungi, or Fungace^e. ( The Mushroom Tribe.)
There are many species among these allowed the posses-
sion of medicinal virtues of a high order as well as of
great value in the arts, and a rich field is open to the
investigator in these interesting departments of natural
history and indigenous medical botany. I am compelled
to refer the reader for details to the paper before men-
tioned.
Agaricus campestris. Edible mushroom.
The reader will find in my report to the American Med.
Association, vol. vii, 1854, on the Medicinal Properties of
the Cryptogamic Plants of the United States, a full and
elaborate account of the edible, poisonous, and medicinal
fungi. See, also, Eoques' treatise, "Champignons Comes-
tibles/' Paris. I introduce portions of a paper from the
Patent Office Reports, 1854, on the mode of cultivation
of the mushroom :
" The kind most generally cultivated in the gardens is
the '■Agaricus campestris,' which is thus described by McMa-
hon: 'The gills of this are loose, of a pinky red, changing
595
to liver color in contact but not united with the stem; very
thick-set, some forked next the stem, some next the edge of
the cap, some at both ends, and generally in that case ex-
cluding the intermediate, smaller gills. Cap white, chang-
ing to brown when old, and becoming scurfy, fleshy, and
regularly convex, but with age flat and liquefying in d»cay,
flesh white, diameter common ly from one inch to three, or
sometimes four or more. Stem solid, one to three inches
high, and about one inch in diameter.' Loudon says
'The mushroom is a well known native vegetable, springing
up in open pastures in August and September. It is most
readily distinguished when of middle size by its fine pink
or flesh colored gills and pleasant smell ; in a more ad-
vanced stance the sfills become of a chocolate color, and it is
then more apt to be confounded with other kinds of a dubi-
ous quality ; but that species which most nearly resembles
it is slimy to the touch, and destitute of the line odor,
having rather a disagreeable smell. Further, the noxious
kind grows in woods or on the margin of woods, while the
true mushroom springs up chiefly in open pastures, and
should be gathered only in such places.' Armstrong gives
the following directions for cultivating the garden mush-
room: 'Prepare a bed early in October, either in a corner
of the hot-house, if you have one, or a dry and warm cellar.
The width of the bed at the bottom should not be less
than four feet, and its length in proportion to the spawn
provided. Its sides should rise perpendicularly one foot,
Hiid. should afterward decrease to the centre, forming four
sloping surfaces. We need hardly say that the material
of the bed at this stage of the business must be horse-
dung, well forked, and pressed together, to prevent its
settling unequally. It should then be covered with long
straw, as well to exclude frost as to keep in the volatile
parts of the mass, which would otherwise escape. After
ten days the temperature of the bed will be sufiiciently
moderated, when the straw is to be removed, and a cover-
ing of good mould to the depth of an inch laid over the
dung. On this the seed or spawn of the mushroom (which
38*
596
are threads or fibres of a white color, found in old pasture
grounds in masses of rotten horse-dung, sometimes under
stable floors, and frequently in the remains of old hot-beds)
is to be placed in rows six inches apart, occupying all the
sloping parts of the bed, which is again to be covered with
a second inch of fresh mould and a coat of straw. If
your bed has been well constructed your mushrooms will
be fit for use at the end of five or six weeks, and will con-
tinue to be productive for several months. Should you,
however, in the course of the winter find its productiveness
diminished, take off nearly all the original covering, and
replace it with eight or ten inches of fresh dung, and a
coat of clean straw. This by creating a new heal will
revive the action of the spawn, and give a long succession
of mushrooms.' The garden mushroom is eaten fresh,
either stewed or boiled, and preserved, as a pickle, or in
powder, or dried whole. The sauce commonly called
'ketchup' is or ought to be made from its juice with salt
and spices. Wild mushrooms from old pastures are gen-
erally considered as more delicate in flavor and more
tender in flesh than those raised in artificial beds. But
in the young or butter mushrooms of the cultivated mush-
rooms there is evidently much less risk of deleterious
kinds being employed. The soil employed should be vir-
gin earth with turf well reduced, neither too dry nor too
wet, otherwise it will not be capable of being beaten solid.
It must be laid regularly over the beds, two inches thick.
From the time of earthing the room or cellar should be
kept at a temperature of 50° to 55° Fahr. If higher it
will weaken or destroy the spawn ; if lower it will vege-
tate slowly, and if watered in that state numbers of mush-
rooms will be prevented from attaining perfection. "Water
must be applied with extreme caution, being nearly as
warm as new milk, and sprinkled over the beds with a
syringe or small watering pot. Cold water destroys both
the crop and the beds. If suffered to become dry it is
better to give several light waterings than one heavy one.
Beds thus manas-ed will bear for several months, and a
597
constant supply kept up by earthing one bed or more every
two or three months. If when in full bearing the mush-
rooms become long stemmed and weak the temperature is
certainly too high, and air must be admitted in proportion
as the beds decline. To renovate them the earth must be
taken off clean; and if the dung is decayed the dang
must be reformed, any good spawn being preserved that
may appear y but if the beds be dry, solid, and full of good
spawn, a fresh layer of compost three or four inches thick
may be added mixed with a little of the old, and beaten
solid as before."
Mushrooms may be grown in a cellar or other vaulted
place with equal success, and *iot unfrequently with a great-
er advantage, the same rules being adopted; but no fire is
necessary, and less water. Antidote to poisonous sorts: all
fungi should be used with great caution, for even the edi-
ble garden mushrooms possess deleterious qualities when
grown in certain places. All the edible species should be
thoroughly masticated before taken into the stomach, as
this greatly lessens the effects of poisons. "When accidents
of this sort happen, vomitiDg should be immediately ex-
cited, and then the vegetable acids should be given, either
vinegar, lemon juice, or that of sour apples; after which
give ether and antispasmodic remedies to stop the excessive
bilious vomiting. Infusions of gall-nuts, oak bark, and
Peruvian bark are recommended as capable of neutralizing
the poisonous principle of mushrooms. It is, however, the
safest way not to eat any of the good but less common sorts
until they have been soaked in vinegar. Spirits of wine
and vinegar extract some part of their poison ; and tannin
matter decomposes the greatest part of it.
The following is a method of raising mushrooms by a
gentleman, "R. C," of Beaufort, S. C, which I obtain from
an agricultural paper. "I send you a method of raising
mushrooms, by which I have very unintentionally succeed-
ed in producing an abundance each spring for the past three
years, and sometimes during the winter and fall : fence in
a spot; strew litter or trash from the woods in it, say one or
508
two inches thick, and shut up stock cattle in it every night
for a week or two any time between January and June.
Let the manure remain untouched, and in the fall or winter,
if the weather proves mild, an abundance of mushrooms
will be produced, which may be eaten without any fear, as
only edible ones will grow."'
A discovery was made some few years since that two or
three species of agaricus form by deliquescence an inky
fluid which dries into a blister colorefl mass, is capable of
being used as a water color for drawing, and retains its
color in defiance of all the common chemical agencies. Dr.
Coxe, of America, who put the discovery completely to the
test, is disposed to think that the deliquescent fungi might
be prepared into an excellent India ink; that its dried de-
posit, mixed with oil, might probably answer for engravings,
and that as the ink appears to be indestructible by any
agency short of burning, it might be tried for the filling up
of bank notes and other valuable papers. The kinds of
agarici which possess the inky property appear to be those
designated ocatus, cylmdricus, and porcellaneus. It is this
propert}* of blackening which enables us to separate the poi-
sonous from the edible. Wilson's Rural Cyclop. See my
report Am. Med. Assoc, vol. vii, on Medic. Edible and
Poisonous Prop, of Cryptogamic Plants of the United
States.
The Patent Office Reports, 1854, contain papers on the
cultivation of the garden mushroom from Armstrong, Lou-
don, and others.
Uredo segetiun and U. fetida. Smut in wheat and corn is
prevented by soaking the grains before planting for twelve
hours in a solution of lime-water, salt and water, or acids.
The taste and smell of smutted wheat is disguised by mo-
lasses, hence it is often purchased by those making sweet-
ened bread. See a full description in Wilson's Rural Cyc.
•
(Ecidium, Uredo, Puccinia, etc. Minute parasitical fungi ;
attacking fruit trees, plants, etc. See article in Rural Cyc,
599
and my report on Medical and Poisonous Properties of the
Cryptogamic Plants of United States, Trans. Am. Med.
Assoc, vol. vii; also, H. W. Haveners Fungi Carotin. Exsi-
cati; Loudon's Encyc. of Plants; Sowerby's English Fungi,
and Berkely's Crypt, of England.
Lycoperdon solidum. Tuckahoe; Indian bread or Indian
loaf. 1 have collected it in the fields, St. John's, S. C. It
is not mentioned by Chapman.
This subterranean root or fungus has been described by
Clayton and LeConte, and by Dr. McBride, of South Caro-
lina, in a communication to the N. Y. Philosoph. Societ^y.
See, also, Med. Report, vol. vi, and Farm. Encyc. It is very
probably nutritious. Its internal color is white; it resem-
bles a brown loaf of coarse bread.
I am instructed to append the following formulae:
In coughs, with bronchial or pulmonary irritation:
I^s — Tinct. Sanguinaria3...fSj.
Tinct. Opii f3ij.
Vini Ipecacuanha? . . .f 5yj .
Syr. Tolutan fgij.
Ft. Mist. Xxx or xl gtts. three or four times a day.
If much inflammatory action be present the following
preferred :
j$r — Tinct. Sanguinarise..fSi.
Morph. Sulph gr. iss.
Tinct. Digitalis.
Vin. Antimon....a afgss.
01. Gaultheria3...gtts. x.
Misce. From xx to xl drops twice or thrice daily.
In general anasarca, with debility :
Jfe- — Juniperi Fructi...Sij-
Potass. Mtrat....Sss.
Vini Albi o ij.
600
Macerate for twelve hours ; dose two tablespoonfuls twice
a day.
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral:
jfc — Morph. Acetat gr. iij .
Tinct. Sanguin. Canaden 3y-
Yin. Antim. et Potass. Tart.
Vin. Ipecacuanhse aa^iij.
Syrup. Pruni Virginiani giij-
In chronic bronchial disease:
|Jr — Tinct. Cimicifugse Racemosa.
Tinct. Sanguinariee a aSj.
Morphiae Sulph gr. ij.
Syr. Acacise gij .
Ft. Mist. Dose, one teaspoonful when the cough is
urgent.
In lithic acid diathesis :
Jfr — Liquor Potassee fgss.
Tinct. Humuli fgiss.
Infusi Columbse fgiv.
Sjrrup. Aurantii f Sij .
Ft. Mist. Dose, one tablespoonful twice or three times
a day.
Excellent alterative and cathartic pills, used with advan-
tage in all glandular diseases, in anasarca, and in hepatic
derangement :
Jfc — Extracti Podophylli . . 5j .
Ext. Aloes Hepat...5iij.
Gambogise 3j •
M. Ft. pilulse, lx.
Cathartic pills :
Jfc- — Extracti Podophylli 3\j«
Hydrarg. Chlorid. Mitis..3j.
01. Cajuputi gtts. vj.
M. Ft. massa. in pilulas, lx div.
601
May "be prescribed in cases in which blue mass or mila
mercurials are indicated:
J$r — Podophyllin gr. xv.
Zinziberis Pulv 3SS-
Ext. Gentianse 5ss.
M. Ft. mass, in pilulas, xxx dir.
A mild laxative and alterative :
Jfc — Podophyllin 3j •
Sacchari Albi..3xix.
Triturate and mix thoroughly. Dose from v to x grs.
•Aperient, in torpor of bowels proceeding from hepatic
derangement :
jfc — Tinct. Sano;uinaripe.
Tinct. Aloes Comp. a afgij.
Ft. Mistura. Dose, from xx to xxx drops twice daily.
Laxative, in habitual costiveness :
Jgr — Sanguinarife Pulveris.
Ehoei Pulveris. .a a3j.
Saponis 9'ij.
Mix with water. Div. in pilulas xxxij. One pill morn-
ing and night.
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