Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/b2840547x_0001 '■ • ■0 tc fs?-/ 2^ 'tV t % / I # v , / '/r/v/i CULPEPER S ENGLISH / FAMILY PHYSICIAN; O R, Medical Herbal Enlarged, WITH N SEVERAL HUNDRED ADDITIONAL PLANTS, PRINCIPALLY FROM SIR JOHN HILL. MEDICINALLY AND ASTROLOGICALLY ARRANGED, AFTER THE MANNER OF CULPEPER. AND, A NEW DISPENSATORY, FROM THE MS. OP THE LATE DR. SAUNDERS, LECTURER OF GUY’S HOSPITAL. BY JOSHUA HAMILTON, M. D. LATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LEYDEN. 1792. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS LIBRARY CLASS & f ACCN. SOURCE DATE INTRODUCTION. FROM DR. BLACRAVE. 6ENERAL RULES TO KNOW UNDER WHAT PLANET EVERY HERB OR PLANT IS GOVERNED, BY THE ONLY USE OF AN HERBAL THE firft thing confiderable is, to take notice of the elemental qua- lities of each planet, viz. whether hot and dry, hot and moift, cold and dry, or cold and moift, and of what degrees; as firft, fecond, third, or fourth. Secondly, we muft, by an Herbal, find the nature or elemental quality of the plants; if both the planet and plant accord in elemental qualities, then it may be concluded, that fuch an herb or plant is under fuch a planet : for any true philofopher well knows, that every element naturally fympaftiizes with its own like, juft as the ac- tions of men fympathize with the complexion and condition of that pla- net which has predominance over them. EXAMPLES.. I? Saturn is a planet cold and dry in die diird and fourth degrees : now by the Herbal I find, that Hemlock, Henbane, Nightfhade, and fuch like, are cold and dry in the third and fourth degrees; and therefore may be juftly attributed to the planet Saturn. If Jupiter is by nature hot and moift: now by the Herbal I find, that Borrage, Mallows, and the herb or plant called Dogftones, are by nature hot and moift; and therefore may juftly be attributed to Jupiter. S Mars is by nature hot and dry in the third and fourth degrees : now by the Herbal I find, that Carduus, Wormwood, Tobacco, Rhubarb, Hellebore, Box, and fuch like, are all under the dominion of Mars, as being hot and dry in the third and fourth degrees. 0 The Sun is by nature hot and dry in the firft and fecond degrees, and near to the third: now by the Herbal l find, that Angelica, Baum, Marigolds, Rue, Sweet Marjoram, and fuch kinds, are all hot and dry in the firft and fecond degrees, perhaps near to the third; and therefore are all attributed to the Sun. ? V enus is by nature cold and moift, in the firft and fecond degrees : row by die Herbal I find, that Violets, Spinach, white Beets, white A a Beans, 4 BLACRAVE’s INTRO DU C T I O N. Beans, and the like, are all under the dominion of Venus, as beino- Cold and moift in the firft and fecond degrees. $ Mercury is by nature cold and dry in the firft and fecond degrees : now by the Herbal I find, that Endive, Succory, Woodbine, Lung- wort, Liverwort, &c. are all cold and dry in the firft and fecond de- grees, and are therefore und,er the dominion of Mercury. D The Moon is by nature cold and moift in the third and fourth de- grees: and by the Herbal I find, that Cabbage, Sengreen, Chickweed, Orpine, Purflane, &c. are all cold and moift in the third and fourth degrees, and are therefore under the dominion of the Moon. HOW TO ATTRIBUTE EACH HERB OR PLANT TO THE RIGHT PLA- NET, THAT SO THEY MAY AGREE BOTH IN ELEMENTAL QUA- LITIES AND VIRTUES; MORE ESPECIALLY OF THE FIRST PART, IN THE DEGREES OF HEAT AND COLD. FIRST, having by an Herbal found the virtue of the plant which is approved for the curing of fuch infirmities or difeafes, which are under the dominion of the planet that caufes them, although the herb or plant agree but in the firft elemental quality of heat or cold; yet the herb or plant may juftly and rationally be attributed unto the planet which owns the difeafe, and thereby makes a fympathetic cure; as, for inftance, Ju- piter, who is by nature hot and moift, and has predominance over the liver, lungs, blood, veins, plurifies, and the like : now by the Herbal we find, that Lungwort, Wood-bettony, Agrimony, Scurvy-grafs, &c. &c. are all good to cure fuch infirmities, notwithftanding they are all hot and dry in the firft and fecond degrees; yet having the firft elemental quality of heat, together with virtue to cure fuch defeats which Jupiter caufes, they may juftly be attributed to Jupiter; and fo Plan- tane, white Beets, and Dandelion, accounted by authors cold and dry, may fairly be afcribed to Venus, as having the firft elemental quality of being cold in the firft or fecond degree, and has virtue to cure by Jympathy fuch defects which Venus caufes; or otherwife by antipathy to Mars ; as does Plantane, which cures cuts and wounds that Mars caufes. White Beets and Dandelion cure by fympathy: the firft brings down women’s courfes ; the other helps to cleanfe the paflages of urine, always provided, in thefe particular applications, that the firft ele- mental quality of heat or cold agrees, as aforefaid, without which there can be no true gathering or attributing the plant right to the planet. And farther, fhould we not fometimes ule this particular way herein ex- prefled, both Jupiter and Venus, who are great friends to nature, would have very few herbs or plants allotted to them; efpecially Jupiter, who is the greater fortune: for by the Herbal you will find very few herbs or plants which accord in elemental qualities of heat and moifture with Jupiter; and the truth is, that moft authors agree in the firft elemental quality, or part of heat or cold, but in the latter part of dry- blagrave’s introduction. 5 nefs or moifture they differ; and without queftion they follow each other by tradition; they do not give true knowledge therein (efpecially in many herbs and plants;) as, for inftance, Dandelion, which has a known virtue to open and cleanfethe urinary pa-ffages: now if this plant were cold and dry, as moft authors fay, how could it have the virtue to open and cleanfe? Of 'neceffity, moifture muft do it ; for all plants of a dry nature, are ufiially binding ; and fo Saturn, a planet cold and dry, when afflicting the 5 tn earthly ftgns, always produces bindings in die body. The blof- foms of plants alfo are fomewhat to be regarded, more efpecially when they agree in the firft elemental quality of heat or cold; as, for inftance, Wood-bettony, Hylfop, Buglofs, Borrage, and fuch like, whofe blof- fbms are blue, a colour which if owns: and, notwithftanding, they are all hot and dry (except Borrage) yet they are rightly appropriated to Jupiter, by reafon of their virtues, as curing fuch defects which 2£ caufcs. But fhould we grant that herbs and plants, which are by na- ture cold and dry, to be under Jupiter (as many learned authors hold) Endive, Succory, and the like, there can be no reafon given for it, became they fo much differ in elemental qualities; for the plants are cold and dry, and the planet Jupiter hot and moift, exacftly oppofite to each other; wherefore it ftands by reafon, and is rational, to be under Mercury, whofe nature fympathizes, as being cold and dry; and fo to cure by antipathy to Jupiter, the herbs being of known virtue to cure fuch diftempers, which Jupiter caufes. I find likewife that many authors attribute, Clary, Mints, Penny-royal, and many others, to Venus, a planet cold and moift ; whereas the herbs are all hot and dry, of a con- trary nature. Now tilde plants properly belong to the Sun; and the rather, in regard of their virtues, as being comfortable to the heart and vital fpirits, and being of fweet linell and pleafant tafte. I could inftance many more, which authors erroneoufly apply; in particular they attribute Angelica, Sage, and Box, to be under Saturn, whereas the herbs are all hot and dry, efpecially Box, which is fo in the fourth degree: both the firft plants are without queftion under the dominion of the Sun, as being of a good fmell and tafte, and of known virtues to comfort the heart, arteries, and vital fpirits, and to refift poifon. The other being very hot, and of bitter tafte, belongs to the planet Mars, as agreeing in elemental qualities. AN UNCONTESTED WAY TO GATHER SUCH HERBS AND PLANTS, AS ARE OF KNOWN ELEMENTAL QUALITIES AND VIRTUES. BOTH the planet which is lord of the hour, and the plant which is to be gathered, muft agree in elemental qualities, efpecially in the firft part of heat or cold. Example, if I were inclined to gather Baum, Rofemary, Marigolds, Angelica, and fuch plants or herbs which are under the dominion of the Sun, upon Sunday the 14th of March 1699; now from the Sun’s rifing, until he is an hour in height, which 6 blagrave’s introduction. which is until feven o’clock, is the hour of the Sun. He likewife reigns again the eighth hour, which is between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, at which times you may gather any herbs or plants under the dominion of that planet. If any one wifhes to gather herbs of the Sun upon Tuefday the 16th day, then between feven and eight o’clock in the morning is the hour of the Sun ; and likewife between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, as wall appear in the Almanack anfwer- able to the day of the month. By the fame rules, any other herbs or plants may be gathered at the right planetary hours. RULES TO GATHER SUCH HERBS AND PLANTS, AS ARE IN CONTRO- VERSY, AND TO PRESERVE THE TRUE PLANETARY INFLUENCE. WHEN you wilh to gather any herb or plant in controverfy — as Dandelion before-mentioned, this plant being by my rules under Venus, but by fome authors appropriated to Jupiter, by reafon it has a virtue to open the obftrudtions of the liver — let both planets in queftion, at the time of gathering, be in conjunction, Sextile or Trine afpedt to each other ; or, otherwife, let the Moon be feparating and applying by any of thofe afpecls from the one planet to the other. By this rule you may have the true planetary influence of both the planets; provided that the lord of the hour accords with the firft elemental quality of the planet, be it hot or cold ; wherefore, in this condition, V enus mull be lady of the hour at the time of gathering the herb or plant accordingly. I fhall inftance one herb more; and that is Sweet-marjoram, which plant is, by many authors, appropriated to the planet Mercury; and the reafon they give is, becaufe Mercury is conjoined in fome particular operations of the brain, and this plant is of known virtue to comfort the brain. But, by my rules and daily experience, I find it to be under the dominion of the Sun; firft, by reafon of its elemental qualities, as agreeing with heat and drynefs; fecondly, in regard of its virtues, for all herbs and plants which are of fweet fmeil, and are of approved virtues to comfort the heart, brain, nerves, arteries, and vital fpirits, as this plant is, are juftly and rationally accounted to be under the dominion of the Sun, who is the fountain of life, lord of Leo, and exalted in Aries; whereas Mercury has only predominance over fome particular operations of the brain, as he has in the five fenfes. It is generally approved by authors, that the bulk of the brain, in all creatures, is under the dominion of the Moon ; the vital and quickening part under the Sun ; the operation of Mercury as aforefaid. Now to gather this plant at the right planetary hour, to obtain the influence of both the planets, you muft let thofe planets concerned be either in Conj undtion, Trine, or Sextile afpedt to each other, at the time of gathering, or otherwife let the Moon be feparating and applying from the one planet to the other, at the time of gathering, by any of the foregoing afpedts : Example, to gather Sweet-marjoram in September, 1669, about which time fuch plants blagrave’s introduction. 7 plants are in their prime. In this month, upon the fourteenth day, the Sun and Mercury are in partile Conjunction, but their influence holds above a week before and after; for, until they are feparated ten degrees from each other, their orbs, rays, or influence, holds ftrong to per- fection, wherefore you may gather this plant right upon Sunday the fifth day, or upon Sunday the tenth day, or upon Sunday the fifteenth day, from the Sun’s rifing, until the Sun is about an hour in height; and likewife in the afternoon between one and two of the clock, as ap- pears in the Ephemeris for the day appointed. Alfo you may gather any days of thofe weeks, when the Sun is lord of the hour; and if the Moon be in friendly afpect, the better. Note, That in gathering all kinds of herbs and plants whatever, more efpecially when any great cure is intended, you muft get the influential virtue of one of the fortunes, viz. the Sun, Jupiter, or Venus, to be joined, or be in fome friendly afpeCt with that planet which owns the plant, having regard to the infirmity or difeafe, which, either by fympathy or antipathy, has any relation to the fortune: for inftance. Endive, which is cold and dry under Mercury, yet in regard it is ap- proved good to cool the heat of the liver, which is under Jupiter; there- fore let Jupiter be in Conjunction, Trine, or Sextile afpeCt to Mer- ff' cury, or the Moon feparating and applying by any of thofe afpeCts from the one planet to the other, when you gather the plant. This is to be1 done, when an infortune owns the plant or herb about to be gathered. PLAIN METHOD OF GATHERING HERBS OR PLANTS AT THE DAY AND HOUR WHEN EACH PLANET REIGNS WHICH OWNS THE PLANT, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR: AND ALSO TO GATHER ANY HERBS OR PLANTS FOR PHYSICAL USES; BEING FITTED FOR EVERY TEN DAYS OF THE MONTH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. ALL herbs and plants, under the dominion of Sol, are to be ga- thered on Sundays : all thofe under dominion of the Moon, on Mon- days: all thofe under Mars, on Tuefdays; and all under Mercury, on Wednefdays: all thofe under Jupiter, on Thurfdays: all thofe under Venus, on Fridays: and all thofe under Saturn, on Saturdays. Now every planet which is lord of the day, culls the firfl: and the eighth hour of the day, each day being divided into twelve equal parts, called the Planetary Hours, which are nearly twice as long in the height of fummer, as in the midft of winter. Example, fuppofe I wifhed to gather herbs or plants under the dominion of Sol, oh one of the firfl: ten days of January; then upon Sunday from the Sun’s rifing, which is fix minutes after eight o’clock, until 46 minutes pafl: eight in the morning, and likewife from 40 minutes pafl: noon, until 20 minutes pafl: one, you may gather any herb or plant under the do- minion of the Sun; by which means you have the benefit both of the day and hour as aforefaid, as appears in the table following. You may do 8 blagrave’s introduction. tha like for any other plant or herb whatfoever, always remembering that the planet which is lord of the day, ever rules the firft and the eighth hour, divided into twelve equal parts. JANUARY, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. LENGTH OF PLAN. H. Bef. noon From the Sun’s riling, which is 6 min. after 8, h. m. until 46 min. pad 8 - Aft. noon From 40 min. part noon, until 20 min. pall 10 40 JANUARY, FROM THE TENTH TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 47 min. after 7, until 30 min. paft 8 Aft. noon From 43 min. paft noon, until 20 min. paft 10 43 JANUARY, FROM THE TWENTIETH TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 26 min. paft 7, until 30 min. after 8 Aft. noon From 43 min. paft noon, until 26 min. paft I O 46 FEBRUARY, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 12 min. after 7, until 8 o’clock Aft. noon From 48 min paft noon, until 36 min. paft 10 48 FEBRUARY, FROM THE TENTH TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 57 min. paft 6, until 40 min. paft 7 Aft. noon From 51 min. paft noon, until 14 min. paft 10 51 FEBRUARY, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 36 min. paft 6, until 28 min. paft 7 Aft. noon From 54 min. paft noon, until 48 min. paft I O 54 MARCH, THE FIRST TEN D.AYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 7 min. paft 6, until 5 min. paft 7 Aft. noon From 58 min. paft noon, until 58 min. paft 1 o 5^ - MARCH, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 6 o’clock, until 7 o’clock Aft. noon From 1 o’clock, until 2 o’clock 1 0 MARCH blagrave’s introduction. 9 ■4 LENGTH OF MARCH, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. pLAN p Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 28 min. after 5, h* m- until 33 min. paft 6 Aft. noon From 5 min. paft 1, until 1 1 min. paft 2 15 APRIL, THE FIJ13T TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 3 min. after 5, until 13 mm. paft: 6 Aft. noon From 10 min. after 1, until 19 min. paft 2 1 13 APRIL, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 45 min. paft 4, until 58 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 13 min. paft 1, until 25 min. paft 2 I 13 APRIL, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being '8 min. after 4,- until 48 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 14 min. paft 1, until 29 min. paft 2 I 14 MAY, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 8 min. after 4, until 37 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 19 min paft 1, until 37 min. paft 2 1 19 MAY, FROM THE TENTH TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 56 min. after 3, until 17 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 22 min. after 1, until 42 min. paft 2 I 22 MAY, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From die Sun’s rifing, being 45 min. after 3, until 8 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 23 min. paft 1 until 45 min. paft 2 I 23 JUNE, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 39 min. after 3, until 3 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 24 min. paft 1, until 47 min. paft 2 I 24 JUNE, FROM THE TENTH TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 39 min. after 3, until 3 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 23 min. paft 1, until 46 min. paft 2 1 24 V OL. I. B JUNE, 10 blagrave’s introduction. LENGTH OF JUNE, FROM THE TWENTIETH TO THE END. J ’ PLAN. H. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 44 min. paft 3, h. m. until 7 min. pall: 5 Aft. noon From 13 min. paft 1, until 46 min. paft 2 1 23 JULY, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 35 min. after 3, until 16 min. after 5 Aft. noon From 1 min. paft 1, until 42 min. paft 2 1 22 JULY, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 8 min. paft 4, un- til 27 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 19 min. paft 1, until 37 min. paft 2 1 19 JULY, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 26 min. paft 4, until 49 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 16 min. paft 1, until 22 min. paft 2 I 16 AUGUST, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 45 min. paft 4, until 58 min. paft 5 Aft. noon From 13 min. paft 1, until 25 min. paft 2 I 13 AUGUST, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 3 min. alter 5, until 1 3 min. paft 6 Aft. noon From 6 min. paft 1, until 13 min. paft 2 1 10 AUGUST, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 23 min. after 5,. until 47 min. paft 6 Aft. noon From 6 min. paft 1, until 13 min. paft 216 SEPTEMBER, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 4.7 min. after 5, until 47 min. paft 6 Aft. noon From 2 min, after 1, until 4 min. paft 212 SEPTEMBER, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH PAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 6 min. paft 6, until 5 min. paft 7 Aft. noon From 59 min. afternoon, until 58 min. paft 1 1 59 SEPTEMBER, blagrave’s introduction. 1 1 LENGTH OF SEPTEMBER, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE END ’ PLAN. H. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 26 min. after 6, h. m. until 22 min. paft 7 Aft. noon From 56 min. after noon, until 50 min. part 1 1 56 OCTOBER, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 50 min. after 6, until 42 min. paft 7 Aft. noon From 52 min. after noon, until 43 min. paft 1 1 52 OCTOBER, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 11 min. after 7, until 8 o’clock Aft. noon From 49 min. paft noon, until 37 min. paft 1 1 OCTOBER, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 27 min. paft 7, until 14 min. paft 8 Aft. noon From 46 min. paft noon, until 31 min. paft 1 0 NOVEMBER, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 48 min. after 7, until 30 min. paft 8 Aft. noon From 43 min. paft noon, until 24 min. paft 1 0 49 46 43 NOVEMBER, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 3 min. after 8, until 43 min. paft 8 Aft. noon From 40 min. paft noon, until 19 min. paft 1 o NOVEMBER, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 45 min. paft 8, until 53 min. after 8 Aft. noon From 38 min. paft noon, until 15 min. paft 1 o DECEMBER, THE FIRST TEN DAYS. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 20 min. after 8, until 57 min. paft 8 Aft. noon From 37 min. paft noon, until 14 min. paft 1 o 40 38 37 DECEMBER, FROM THE TENTH DAY TO THE TWENTIETH DAY. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 20 min. paft 8, until 57 min. paft 8 Aft. noon From 37 m. paft noon, until 14 min. paft 1 B 2 0 37 DECEMBER, 12 blagrave’s introduction. DECEMBER, FROM THE TWENTIETH DAY TO THE END. LENGTH OF PLAN. H. Bef. noon From the Sun’s rifing, being 15 min. part 8, h. m. until 53 min. part 8 Aft. noon From 38 min. paft noon, until 15 min. paft 10 38 EFFECTS OF THE MOON IN ANY OF THE TWELVE SIGNS, UPON THE BODY OF THE SICK, SHE BEING AFFLICTED BY THE CONJUNC- TION, SC£UAR.E, OR OPPOSITION ASPECTS OF MARS AT THE DE- CUMBITURE*. THE X) IN V OF $ AFFICTED OR OPPRESSED. If, at the time of decumfciture, the j be in T, of $ or o oppreffed either by C □ g ; then the fick fliall be tormented with continual fe- vers, have little or no reft; a continued extreme thirft, and drynefs of fire tongue and bread:; an inflammation of the liver, tending to a phrenzy ; high and inordinate pulfes ; fometimes a deprivation of fenfes, and an extremely fevere-pain in the belly, or fmall guts, occafioned by choleric obstructions: the original caufe of this difeafe proceed- ing from a diftempered affection of 'the membranes, or pellets of the brain, and excels of choleric matter. If V enus be ftronger than Mars, then cooling remedies will be fuitable; however, it will be neceffary to bleed. THE MOON IN TAURUS OF MARS AFFLICTED. Thofe who take their bed under fuch configuration as aforefaid, fhall be afflicted with a continued fever*; the1 whole frame of the body ob- ftrudted, with an inflammation of the throat, neck, &c. and pains of the bones; infomniation, or inordinate watching, very thirftv, and long- ing after cooling things; ailfo the ftranguary, or ftone, gravel in the reins and kidneys, peftilent fore throat, or hoarfenefs: the caufe pro- ceeding from much ill blood, choler, and fweet phlegm. THE MOON IN GEMINI OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed under this configuration, will be afflicted with a violent burning fever, and with obftruclions; their blood extreme- ly windy and corrupted, fome great pains or lamenefs in their arms or joints ; the pulfes long and inordinate: the patient will be troubled with the ftone, or heat in the reins, and fometimes fpitting of blood. The * The Sun afflicting the Moon, works nearly the fame effefts, only the © ftrikes more upon the heart and vital fpirits. caufe J3 blagrave’s introduction. caufe of this diftemper ufually is from ingurgitation, or too much drink- ing of lir^Kig wine or beer, and ionic choleric matter. THE MOON IN CANCER OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed when the a is in Cancer of Mars afflifted, will be troubled with much phlegm, and ill matter will fettle at their breaft and ftomach; alfo with 'frequently turning cf the ventricle, de- fying to vomit, and with fome defect in the blood. , This difeafe proceeds from furfeits, or too much ingurgitation, and oftentimes turns to a* loofenefs or rotten cough; and fometimesa (pitting of blood fucceeds. THE MOON IN LEO OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take, their bed when the Moon is in Leo of Mars airlift-! ed, will be fubjeft to a ftrong fever, with a difturb d brain, and ftrong raging fits; they will alfo be drowfy and heavy; the heart will be op- preiied with faintnefs and fwooning tits; and the patient will be almoft delirious, with little or no appetite. The caufe of tins diftemper arifes from excefs of choler, and fuperajmndance of blood over-heated. THE MOON IN VIRGO OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed under this configuration, will be fubjeft to a flux in the belly, final! fevers, the pulfe, remifs averiion of the ven- tricle; wind in the belly or guts, and colic; and weaknefs or pains in the legs near the ankles. The caufe, cr.ginal cnoier, melancholy, and (harp fretting humours. THE MOON IN LIBRA OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in of opprefled, will be fubjeft to inflammation all over the body; feyeriih, unapt to fleep, high pulfes, wind, anu plenitude of blood; many times the ftone or gra- vel in die kidneys, or great heat therein. The caufe, furfeiting or irre- gular diet; andTometimes plenitude of blood. i THE MOON IN SCORPIO OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Scorpio of Mars op- prefled, have fome grievous infirmity in their privy parts. If children or young people, then it argues the lmall pox or mealies: it alfo {hews die peftilence, or fome poilonous or peftilential difeafe: many times it induces boils or fcabs to break out. The caufe is from blood ex- tremely corrupted, or from fome infeftions accidentally taken into the body by fmell or tafte. THE blacrave’s introduction. H THE MOON IN SAGITTARY OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Sagittary of Mars op- prefled, will be tormented with high fevers, and choleric paffions ; with the flux or lafk; the pulfes few and faint; extreme burnings; the hands and feet gouty; breakings out, and fore throats; and fometimes fharp rheums offend the eyes. The caufe is from furfeiting or gluttonv, or too much repletion; from inordinate exercife, and overheating of the blood. THE MOON IN CAPRICORN OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Capricorn of Mars op- preffed, will be troubled with excefs of choler, and with great defire to vomit; no perfecl concoction, and returning fevers; a puffing up of the finews; and a flux of the belly immediately follows an inflammation of tile breaft: fome exulceration in a choleric humour, will afflict the hands or joints of the fingers; and the yellow jaundice will fometimes occur. The caufe is from choler, evil digeffton, and corrupted blood. » THE MOON IN AQUARIUS OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Aquarius of Mars op- preffed, are troubled with fwooning fits, and pains at the heart, and are very feverifli; pulfes high, and the blood fweilmg in all the veins; and oftentimes complaining of great pain in the breaft, drawing their wind with great difficulty. The caufe is from fharp and violent affections, or vehement paffions. THE MOON IN PISCES OF MARS OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed wdien the Moon is in Pifces of Mars oppreffed, will be tormented wdth fharp burning fevers, and vehement third: ; and ufually affiidted with a violent loofenefs, complaining of great pain in the belly, or an extraordinary rotten cough; alfo a dan- gerous deflux of rheum falling from the head to the throat, fwoln bellies, danger of dropfy, and oftentimes troubled with itching, and a fait hu- mour in the blood. The caufe of the diftemper is from too much in- gurgigation, and drinking of wme and ftreng liquors, the body abound- ing with choler, and fait phlegm, and corrupted blood, occafloned by previous diforder, EFFECTS blaorave’s INTRODUCTION. 15 EFFECTS OF THE MOON IN ANY OF THE TWELVE SIGNS, UPON THE BODY OF. THE SICK, SHE BEING AFFICTED BY THE CuN- JUNCTIQN, SQUARE, OR OPPOSITION OF SATURN AT THE TIME OF DEC U MBIT UR E*. THE MOON IN ARIES OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. THOSE who take their bed, the Moon being in Aries of Saturn or Mercury oppreffed, will be troubled with head-ach, and a diftiilation of rheums railing from the head into the throat and wind-pipe; alfo a fluffing in the head, with dulnefs of the eyes, inordinate drowfinefs, and dulnefs of mind; and bad ftomach, intemperate fweats, being hot within and cold without, and more afflicted in the night than by day. The occa- fion of this difLmper is from great cold, want of exercife, and fome- times by eating trafh contrary to nature. THE MOON IN TAURUS OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Taurus of Saturn or Mercury opprefl'ed, will be feverifh, proceeding from obftructiom and diflempers of the pericordiacs and arteries, viz. of the inward parts, near the heart, liver, and lungs; fome ulceration thereabouts, their pulfes lofty and high, and an inflammation of the whole body. The difeafe proceeds from too much luxury, or from furfeiting or inordinate repletion; alfo melancholy and ill diet. THE MOON IN GEMINI OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thcfe who take their bed under this configuration, will be in danger of a fever; the pain difperfes itfelr all over the body, but principally in the arteries and joints: alfo, the Tick is inclinable to a confumptjon; the vitals much afflicted, the pul A low and little: they will alfo be lubject to frequent fweatings, with lymptoms'of the fpleen; the difeafe more troublefome in the night than in the day. The caule o: this di {temper, from much waiting, wearinefs of the mind, and overburdening with multiplicity of affairs ; excefs of labour, and violent exercife. THE MOON IN CANCER OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Cancer of Saturn op- preffed, will be afflicted in the breaft with tough melancholy matter, or thick phlegm; coughs, catarrhs, hoarfenefs, and a diftiilation of rheums or humours falling into the breaft; their pipes narrow and obftrudteJ, * Mercury affiifting the Moon, works the fame effefts, onfy he flrikes fomewhat more upon the brain and nerves. inordinate i6 B'LAC. RAVE’S INTRODUCTION-. inordinate fevers, pulfes little and low; oftentimes a quotidian, but now efpecially a quartan ague follows, with "belly-ach, or feme infirm net's in the reins or fecrets. If the Moon be decreafing, and near the body of -Saturn,- the ficknefs is like to be long and lading. The caufe is frdm great cold and inordinate eating or/ drinking, and want of mode- rate exercile. THE MOON IN LEO OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, the Moon being in Leo of Saturn op- prefied, will be affiifted with much heat in the breafl, and intenfion of the heart-firings, with augmenting fevers, the puifes keeping no courfe, annoyed with external and internal heat; alfo great faintnefs of heart, or fwooning fits : after feme time, if not cured, the fick will be fubjedt to the black jaundice. The caufe proceeding from ill, me- lancholy blood. THE MOON IN VIRGO OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their beds, when the Adoon is in Virgo of Saturn opprefied, will be afflicted with inordinate fevers, pricking or (hooting under the ribs; vifcous phlegm alfo will obftrudt the bowels, and fome- times the wind colic; the gout, and aches in the thighs and feet; and oftentimes they are much troubled with worms. The caufe of this dis- temper is ufualiy from crudities, and bad digeftion. THE MOON IN LIBRA OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, when the Moon is in Libra of Saturn or Alercury opprefied, will experience pains of the head and bread; the cough, hoarfencfs, and diftillation of rheums, lofs of appetite, (mail fe- vers by night; fometimes great pains in die joints, knees, and thighs; and fome defeat in the reins, kidneys, and bladder. The caufe is ori- ginally from furfeiting, or gluttony, meat, not fully digefted, and excefs of venery. • THE MOON IN SCORPIO OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thcfe who take their bed, the Adoon being in Scorpio of Saturn affiidted, will be fubjedt to fome defeats in their fecret parts; hemorrhoids, piles, or fome exulceration; incontinence of urine; the ftone, and fome- times, if a man, the gonorrhoea; if a woman, too much of the men- ftrual courfes. The caufe, corrupt phlegm. THE MOON IN SAGITTARY OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, when the Aloon is in Sagittary of Saturn opprefied, will be tormented with defluxion of thin (harp humours, and aches blagrave’s introduction. 17 relies of the finews, and arteries; extremities of heat and cold; and often- tirries a violent burning fever at the firft being ill. The caufe arii'es from blood infected with choler and melancholy. THE MOON IN CAPRICORN OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, whilft the Moon is in Capricorn of Saturn opprefled, will be afflicted with heavinefs at the breaft and ftomach, and difficulty of breathing ; dry coughs, opprefled lungs, pained by night more than by day, with fevers, head-ach, and noife in the head. The caule proceeding from great cold, melancholy, and irregular diet. THE MOON IN AQUARIUS OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. T^liofe who take ’their bed, the Moon being in the fign Aquarius of Saturn or Mercury afflidted, will be troubled with melancholy, coa- gulated winds in the veins, the malady ceaflng unequally, with remif- fiQn and intenfion; their heads pained with wind or noife; faint fits, or paffion of the heart occur; fometimes afore throat, or a riling there, oftentimes occafioning fuffocation. The caufe, excefs of labour, want of lleep, and trouble of mind. . »• THE MOON IN PISCES OF SATURN OR MERCURY OPPRESSED. Thofe who take their bed, when the Moon is in Pifces of Saturn op- prefled, will be troubled with much fighing and pricking, Ihooting of the breaft and under the paps, and continual augmenting fevers, with extenfions of the precordiacs and heart-ftrings, or arteries; the throat opprefled with thick phlegm, and the breaft with a rotten cough, wa- try matter lodging there. The caufe, extremity of cold taken by bathing. ON URINES. THE Aftrological mode of giving judgment at the view or firft fight of urine, both in acute and chronic difeafes, is to erect a figure immediately, and to vary your afeendant, that it may be radical, and that the afeendant, together with its lord, may perfonate the lick; and if the difeafes be acute, then the time or decumbiture, or firft falling ill, muft be enquired after, that the afiured place of the Moon in any of the twelve figns may be obtained, for by the Moon in any of the twelve figns afflicted of die infortunes, the malady is difeovered, together with its caufe and termination. But if the difeafe be chronic, that is, of above a month’s Handing, dten from die Sun, the afeendant fixth houfe and their lords afflidted, judgment is ufually given. If the urine be of an amber colour (and the patient ill, for generally that coloured urine thews health of body) then the infirmity lies in the vital and anjrnal fpirits, from whence proceeds palfies, palpitations, Vol. I. C an4 18 blagrave’s introduction. and convulfions : in this the urine is not concerned, becaufe the blood and thofe paflages from whence the urine proceeds are not infedted, for the urine is but the excrement of blood. If the urine be white or paleifh, it fhews great weaknefs both in ftomach and body; and if the urine be high coloured and red, it augureth a fever, or fome extraordinary pain ; but cannot be known without a figure: fometimes it fhews plenitude of blood, efpecially if the veins be high; if gravel or red fand appear at the bottom, it fhews the ftone in the reins, kidneys, or bladder. If the urine be of a light fandy-colour, and fornewhat thick, it fhews great cold, and oftentimes turns to an ague; and if the urine be flimy, and fornewhat thick, it threatens worms in young people, and confumptions in old ones; but if the urine be green or black coloured, it ufually fhews death about to enfue. If the urine be of a brown colour, it alfo threat- ens death. Thofe who are well verfed in Aftrology, need not the fight of urine ; for I oftentimes, when urine hath been brought in a ftone bottle, have defcribed what kind of urine it was, and how coloured, by my figure, more efpecially in acute difeafes, when the time of decum- biture, or firft falling ill, hath been known. rules relating to long and short sicknesses; and in WHAT CASES THE PATIENT IS LIKELY TO LIVE OR DIE. ' LONG OR SHORT SICKNESS. 1. A Fixed fign on the cufp of the fixth, or the lord of the fixth, lord of the afcendant, or the Moon in acute, or Sun in chronic difeafes being fixed figns afflidted by the malevolent planets, or by the lord of the 1 2th, 8th, or 4th, augurs long and lading infirmities; if adhering to a partile afpedt, the malady increafes ; if drawing from partile afpedt, it diminilhes. Fixed figns give months, and fometimes years, before re- covery; common figns give weeks, and fometimes months, moveable days or weeks before recovery. As to the number of days, weeks, months, or years, it muft be obferved how many degrees are wanting before the influence is over, counting by the moiety of their orb, and fo many months, weeks, days, or years, will it be before recovery: but if the figure fhews death, then you muft count how many degrees is wanting to make the partile afpedt of the principal fignificators; and then reckon fo many days, weeks, months, or years, before the time of death. 2. The principal fignificator of the fick changing his fign, augurs a change of the difeafe, either for life or death. 3. The latter degrees of a fign on the cufp of the fixth houfe, or the fignificator of the fick in the latter degrees of a fign, argues a fudden change either for life or death. 4. The lord of the afcendant, or principal fignificator of the fick per- fon, being ftronger than the afflicting planets, fhews recovery, in move- able figns the fooner; but if the afflicting planets be ftrong, and the principal fignificator of the fick weak, more efpecially if the afflicting / _ planets blagrave’s introduction. 19 planets have relation to the eighth or fourth houfes, it fhews ftrong fymptoms of death. 5. If the lord of the afcendant, lord of the fixth, the ([ in acute, or © in chronic difeafes, be afflicted in azemine degrees, it fhews a con- tinual ficknefs, if not fudden death. 6. If the lord of the afcendant, or principal fignificator of the fick turn retrograde, it fhews a relapfe, and the cure goes backward. 7. The lord of the afcendant, or principal fignificator of the fick, ftrong, fwift in motion, with a fortune attending, efpecially in a move- able fign, fhews a fpeedy recovery. Laftly, we mud heed the nature of the difeafe ; for ftrong fevers, con- vuliions, apoplexies, rifings in the throat, with fome peftilential infirmi- ties, will fooner terminate, than diforders which are ufually lefs deftruc- tive in their operation. RULES RELATING TO RECOVERY. Firft, a fortune, or the ([ in acute, or 0 in chronic difeafes, ftrong in the afcendant, and not afflidted, nor yet being lord of the fixth, eighth, or twelfth houfes, fhews recovery, "Secondly, The lord of the afcendant ftrong, and more ftrong than the affii&ing planets, fhews recovery. Thirdly, The lord of the afcendant, or the ([ in acute, or © in chronic difeafes adjoined to, or friendly afpeCted with, a fortune, or ap- plying to a fortune, fhews recovery. Fourthly, The ([ encrcafing in light, fwift in motion, and ftrong applying to a fortune in acute maladies, fhews recovery. Fifthly, If the lord of the afcendant difpofes of the afflicting planet, efpecially if equal in ftrength, fhews recovery. SIGNS OF DEATH. Firft, The lord of the afcendant weak and affliCted by the malevolent planets, and no fortune interpofing, fhews death. Secondly, The lord of the afcendant, or the j afflicted in the fourth or eighth, or by the lord of the eighth, argues death, or if the lord of the eighth be in the afcendant. Thirdly, The lord of the afcendant combuft in the afcendant, fourth, fixth, eighth, or twelfth, or in the way called Via Combufta, fhews death. Fourthly, If the j in acute, or © in chronic cafes, be affliCted by the infortunes, or by the lord of the eighth or fourth, no fortune interpo- fing his friendly rays, more efpecially if the lord of the afcendant be weak, it fhews death. Fifthly, The afcendant, lord of the afcendant, the ([ in acute, or the © in chronic cafes, meeting with fixt ftars of the nature of the in- fortunes,, no fortune interpofing his friendly rays, fhews death. Sixthly, The ([ applying to combuftion in the afcendant, fourth, fixth, eighth, or twelfth houfes, or Via Combufta, fhews death. C 2 ' Seventhly, 20 blagrave’s introduction. Seventhly, The j applying from the lord of .the afcendaht to the lord of the eighth, and the lord of the afcendant weak, Ihews death. Eighthly, An eclipfe of the d in acute, Or of the © in chronic diforders on a critical day, and the lord of the. afcendant weak, no for- tune ftrongly interpofing his friendly rays, fhews death, generally in all decumbiture's ; the nearer the afflicting planets are to the earth, the worfe. THE BODILY SHAPE AND INFIRMITIES ATTRIBUTED TO THE TWELVE SIGNS. Aries t fignifies one of a reafonable ftature, dry body, ftrong limbs, and big bones, but not fat; rather a long face and neck; complexion brownifh ; hair and eye-brows inclining to black. The difeafes inci- dent to this fign, are pufhes, whelks, polypus, or noli me tangere ; and all difeafes which proceed from the head, as convulfions, dead palfies, cramps, madnefs, vertigo, falling-ficknefs, &c. Taurus b fignifies one fhort, but full and well fet; full face and eyes; broad forehead; large ftrong fhoulders; full hands; thick lips'; and black rugged hair. Under this fign are all difeafes incident to the throat; as kings-evil, q'uinfies, fluxes of rhurnes falling from the head into the throat, impofthumes, and wens in the neck. Gemini n . Perfons under the dominion of this fign, are generally tall, and firaight of body; with long arms, of a dark fanguine com- plexion, and blackifh hair; the body ftrong and acftive. Under this fign are all difeafes in the arms, hands and fhoulders, with windinefs in the veins, corrupted blood; and fometimes it produces diftempered fancies. Cancer °B fignifies one of a low and fmall ftature; bigger made from the middle upwards than downwards ; face big and round; of a pale complexion; brown hair; and apt to be field y. Under this fign are all imperfections of the breaft and ftomach; as cancers, phthific, fait phlegms, rotten coughs, weak digeftion, cc'd ftomach, dropfical hu- mours, and impoftumations. Leo £b fignifies one of a large, fair ftature ; full and flefhy, narrow fides, and broad fhoulders ; full and great and fometimes goggle eyes ; yellow or dark flaxen hair, fometimes curling ; and a fanguine or ruddy complexion. Under this fign are all tremblings or paffions of the heart, violent burning fevers, pains either at the heart or back, fore eyes, plague, peftilence, and yellow-jaundice. Virgo riji fignifies one of a mean ftature; black hair; thrill and fmall voice; ruddy complexion, but not beautiful. The difeafes inciderlt to this fign, belong to the belly; as obftruUions in the bowels, meferaicks, worms, wind colic, fpleen, and hypochondriac melancholy. Libra perfonates one of a well framed body, ftraight and tall; a round apd beautiful vifage; a pure fanguine complexion, but not very high coloured: the hair yellowifh or fandy-brown, and fomewhat fmooth. blagrave’s introduction. 21 fmoothr. Under this ftgn are all difeafes of the reins and kidneys; alfo all difeafes proceeding from wind, and corruption of blood. Scorpio ill fignifies one of a middle ftature, ftrong, full, and well fet; fomewhat broad-faced, of a muddy or darkifti complexion; blackifh. hair; bow-legeed; Ihort-necked; and fomewhat? hairy. The difeafes incident to this iign are, ulcers, inflammations, gravel or ftone in the bladder, all imperfections and difficulties, of urine, ruptures, hemorr- hoids, French-pox, running of the reins, priapifmus, and all difcafe* which affect the privities both of men and women. Sagittary $ fignifies one of a fair ftature, and ftrong body; long face, but full and flefhy; complexion fanguine or ruddy; the hair a kind of chefnut colour. The difeafes under this fign are fevers, and fuch in- firmities as are occafioned through heat of blood; theffdatica, pains in the hips and thighs, falls from horfes, and hurts by four-footed bealts. Capricorn vj fignifies one rather lhort than tall; narrow, long face; thin beard; black hair; narrow breafts; fmall neck; and complexion fwarthy. Under this fign are all difeafes in the knees and hams, lepro- fies, itch andfcabs; all difeafes of melancholy, fcirrhous tumors, fprainS, and fraCtures and diflocations. Aquarius zz reprefents one thick and fquare, ftrong, and well com- poled; not very tall; vifage long; complexion fair and clear; hair landy- coloured; but if Ip be in this houfe at the birth, then black hair, and the complexion more fanguine; with diftorted teeth. Under this fign are all difeafes incident to the legs and ancles, cramps, and all melan- choly winds, coagulated in the veins and blood. Pifces x reprefents one of a fhort ftature; not decent, but rather ill- compofed ; a large face ; complexion pale ; the body flefhy or fwelling ; and fomewhat incurvating with the head. The difeafes incident to this fign are lamenefs, pains incident to the feet, and all difeafes arifmg from fait phlegm, and mixt humours ; pucr-ified blood, itch and blotches ; fmall- pox and meafles; with cold and* moift difeafes, and all thofe which ori- ginate from taking cold, and wet at the feet. THE BODILY SHAPE, WITH THE PARTS AND MEMBERS OF THE BODY, AND DISEASES WHICH THE PLANETS GENERALLY RULE. b Saturn reprefents one of a middle ftature, broad and large fhoulders ; fometimes crooked; lean thighs; crippled feet and knees; broad fore- head; little eyes; complexion muddy or fwarthy; looking downward; thick lips and nofe; thin beard, and black hair. Difeafes and fick~, nefles fubject to this planet are, quartan agues, and difeafes proceeding from cold, dry, and melancholy diftempers ; the retentive faculties, all impediments in the right ear, and teeth; confumptions, black-jaundice, paliies, tremblings and vain fears, dropfies, gout irf the hands and feet, the fpleen, &c. ' \ % Jupiter fignifies one of an upright and tall ftature; a 'large deep belly; thighs and legs ftro.ngly proportioned; feet long; face oval, full and 22 biagrave’s introduction. and flefhy; complexion brown, and ruddy; high forehead; foft hair, andbrownifh; much beard; and fober fpeech. The difeafes under this planet are pleurifies, and all infirmities in tire liver, lungs, ribs, Tides, veins, and blood; the digeftive faculty, cramps, pain in the back-bone, quiniies, windinefs, and putrefaction in the blood ; fevers proceeding from wind, and ill blood. $ Mars fignifies one of a middle ftature; ftrong body, big bones, lean vifage, round complexion, and ruddy; the hair between red and fandy flaxen, crifping or curling; hazel eyes; a bold, confident, and fearlefs man or woman. The fickneffes incident to this planer are, peftilential burning fevers, tire plague, bloody-flux, fmall-pox, all difeafes ofcholer, the fhingles, gall, left-ear phrenfies, fudden diftempers in the head, carbuncles, fiftula, fears and hurts by iron. © Sun. Thole who are under the Sun, are ftrong and large; well com pofed body, fat and flefhy; of a yellow fiiffron ruddy complexion; goggle or large eyes, and hair yellowifh. The fickneffes under this planet are, all difeafes of the heart and brain; palpitations, tremblings, fwoonings, catarrhs, the nerves and arteries, the right-eye of men, the left-eye of women, and vital fpirits of both; all infirmities of the eyes, and difeafes of tire mouth; rotten fevers, and {linking breaths. $ Venus fignifies one fomewirat fhort, but full and well fet; fat and fierhy face; round complexion ; dark, but lovely light-brown hair, and fmooth ; a rolling eye, and full of amorous enticements ; a body well frayed, and delightful. Sicknefles under this planet are, all difeafes of the matrix, and members of generation; running of the reins; tne ve- nereal complaint; diforders of the belly, back, and navel; and thofe arifing from inordinate lull:, priapifms, diabetes, hernias, and impotency in tire act of generation ; afflictions in the throat, women’s breads, &c. g Mercury denotes one tall of ftature, but fpare body; long arms and hands; long face and nofe; thin lips; little hair on the chin, but much on tire head, inclining to blacknefs; an olive or fallow com- plexion; and eyes between black and grey. Sicknefles under this pla- net are centered in madnefs, vertigos, lethargies, giddinefs in the head, phthific, Hammering, lofs of memory, dry coughs, fnuffling in the , head nr nofe, dumbnefs, intellectual derangements, nervous diforders, and de- feats of the uvula, or gargareon. ([ Moon. The Moon generally reprefents one of a fair ftature, phlegmatic, full, fat, and flefhy round face; complexion whitifh; lower- ing looks ; hair light-brown ; and grey eyes. The difeafes are, apoplexies, palfy, colics, bclly-ach, the menftruous in women, dropfies, fluxes of the belly, all cold rheumatic difeafes, and cold ftomachs, furfeits, rotten coughs, convulfions, falling-ficknefs, kings-evil, apoftems, fmall-pox and mealies, defeats of the bladder, and members of generation, OF blagrave’s introduction. 2i OF THE OCCULT QUALITIES OF PLANTS. THEIR hidden qualities may be difeovered two ways — I ft. By their fignature or external qualities, either in form, colour, or property; as reprefenting the parts of the hu-^an body, the humours or difeafes, ac- cording to appropriation: or, 2d. Aftrologically, or internal, of which tlie references are to the planets, under which every herb is governed and produced, as will, in the following Herbal, be full {hewn; there- fore, here, would be labour loft by anticipation. It fhould be remembered, that, in all thefe, the fympathy and antipathy of the figns and planets is to be obferved ; both efl'entia! by houfe and exaltation, temperature, quality, or conditions; or elfe acci- dental, by configurations, of which fome are obnoxious and hateful, as a quartile and oppoiition, alfo the conjunction of bad planets. Others are healthful, as a fextile and trine, and the conjunction of beneficent planets. The artift muft next confider, what difeafes every planet caufes diftinCtly of himfelf, and what under the figns of the zodiac; what parts are under the government of the planets, and what of the figns they are under, and houfes of heaven in a celeftial fcheme; and likewife, what part each planet particularly rules, according to his tran- fit through each fign. Then we may judge of the nature and kind of the difeafe, by the figure of the decumbiture. i. By the houfes of heaven, of which the fixth, feventh, and twelfth fignify difeafes. 2. By the nature of the figns, as fiery, earthy, airy, and watery. 3. By the planets, and their afpefits. The part iliay be found out, byconfidering the government of die fign: where mafeuline planets are found, they fignify the right fide, and the feminine the left, and afflict where they rule. As for the length of the difeafe, judgment is formed by the nature of the planets; as, for example, Saturn caufes long ficknefl'es; the Sun and Jupiter fhort ones; Mars lliorter, but {harp; Venus is iij the mo- derate way; Mercury is inconftant, as aipeCted; the Moon gives fuch as often return. Whether difeafes {hall end by life or death, well or ill, may be con- jectured from afpeefts. The Sun gives vital heat to the creation; the Moon gives radical moifture; Saturn fixes and purifies this; Jupiter turns it into nourifhment ; Mars calcines it; Venus makes it fruitful; and Mercury makes it rational. As for elements, the fire preferves the earth that it may not be drowned or deftroyed by a continual flux of water upon it; the air preferves the fire, that it may not be extinguilhed; the water preferves the earth, that it may not be burned; and the earth is the nouriiher of all. The air and fire are thin and active; but the water and earth, thick and paf- five, with a proportional difference: or, as others fay, air has motion, with thinnefs and invilibility; fire has the two firft, with biightnefs; water has motion, darknefs and thicknefs; and the quality of the earth is to polLl's the two laft with immovability. The S c :i is alfo die chief in 24 BLAG-RAVE’s introduction. in chronica! difeafes, and the Moon in the acute with the 2fcendant; ancf thefe fecrets are amply confirmed by experience, which is the fafeft and fureft guide to wifdom. OF SYMPATHY AND. ANTIPATHY. IT has been remarked, that whatever difeafe or infirmities any planet caufes, there are herbs by fympathy, as well as antipathy, to cure it;, wherefore know, that although an herb or plant may, by elemental qua- lities, ' be under the dominion of Mars, as being hot and dry, and fo ga- thered at his hour; yet in regard of his virtues, and being approved good to cure fuch infirmities which are under the dominion of Saturn, it may juftly and rationally be called a fympathetical cure, by reafon Mars is exalted in Capricorn, «th’e houfe of Saturn. Example, agues, efpecially quartans, are ufually* caufed by Saturn. Now Wormwood, Carduus, and fuch like plants being hot and dry, are properly attributed to Mars: yet in regard thefe herbs and plants are of known virtues to cure agues, which Saturn caufes; and Mars being exalted in Capricorn, which is the houfe of Saturn, therefore it may properly be called a fympathetical cure: and fo herbs under the dominion of Sol, cure infirmities by iym- pathy caufed by Mars, becaufe the Sun is exalted in Aries, the houfe of Mars : and fo herbs under V enus cure, by fympathy, infirmities under Jupiter,- "by reafon Venus is exaltedln Pifces, the houfe of Jupiter; and fo herbs of Jupiter cure b/ fympathy fuch difeafes which are under the dominion of the Moon, by reafon Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, which is her houfe. The benefit which we have from this obfervation is as fol- lows: If Saturn, Mars, or any other planet, be the afflicting planet, and frrong (which argues a compliance) then thofe herbs which are under the dominion of that planet which is exalted, in his houfe, being good to cure the infirmity, maybe ufed, and for the reafon aforefaid it may be called a fympathetical cure, for when planets are flrong and afflict-/ ing, we muft comply with them ; for in all fympathetical cures whatfo- ever, there muft be one elemental quality in the planet of compliance, with the nature of the planet afflicting; as, for example, herbs under Mars have the quality of drith with Saturn; and barbs under the Sun have the quality of heat with Mars; and herbs under V enus have the quality of moifture with Jupiter; and herbs under Jupiter have the quality of moifture with the Moon. The truth is, that in very cold infirmities, as agues, dead palfies, and fuch like, it is impoffible to make a fympathetical cure when Saturn is ftrong; as, for example, if the pa- tient be old, his complaint cotd, his complexion cold, the feafon of die year told, and his remedies to' be^applied cold, it muft needs deftroy nature, for where heat idwsvanting there can be no life: but if Saturn be the afflicting planet and weak, then herbs which are under the dominion of the Sun and Jupiter being of known virtue to cure the diftemper, will do it, they being by nature hot and moift; whereas Saturn is by nature blagrave’s introduction. 25 cold and dry, wholly differing in elemental qualities, and this is called an antipathetical cure; but in all infirmities whatfoever which are caufed by the evil influence of Mars, he being ftrong in the heavens, the re- medies uf-d muft be by fuch herbs and plants as are under his own do- minion, together with herbs cf the Sun : but if the complexion of the patient, the age, and the feafon of the year naturally produce heat, then to ufe home frnall numbers and dofes of fuch herbs, which are under the dominion of Venus, may be proper at feme convenient times to give the patient towards refreming nature; yet chiefly, in point of cure, you muff: adhere to thofe herbs and plants, which are under Mars and the Sun. If you give cooling remedies in hot diftempers, when Mars is itrong, it will deftroy the patient; but if Mars be the afflidting planet, and weak, then thofe herbs and plants under the dominion of Venus and the moon, together with a felect number of herbs under the dominion of the Sun, will anfwer the purpofe. Therefore, in all cures whatever, a fcledt number of herbs under the dominion of the Sun muff: be ufed. Time is concerned in the Aftrological practice of phyfic raoft elpe- cially, for it is the firft confideration to gather each herb or plant at the right planetary hour, whereby to obtain its utmoft virtues and powers; and likewife to know the hoar and time when raoft proper to adminifter the phyfic, for if it is given at a wrong hour, it will work contrary effedts: as, for example, if you give a purge when die Moon is in an earthy fign, afpedted by a planet retrograde, and that the afeendant with its lord correfpond, then the purge will turn into a vomit; and the con- trary effects will be produced by a vomit given when the Moon is in a watery fign, afpedted by planets fwift in motion out of watery figns; the fign afeending widi its lord correfponding, dien the vomit will turn to a purge; and the right time of erecting the figure, as will be hereafter fnewn, is of the utmoff: moment in judging right of the nature and ten- dency of difeafes. It has been fuppofed by fome, that a correct judgment can be given in all cafes by the urine alone ; but they are miftaken, for, fingly, by this, no true judgment can be given, except in fome few infirmities which proceed from the blood or paflages cf urine, for urine is but the excrement of blood, as has been before obferved. Sympathy is, when any planet, who is ftrongeft in the heavens by eflential dignities, afflicts the principal fignificator of the fick; efpeci- ally if more ftrong than that planet which is of a contrary nature; then thofe herbs or plants which are under his dominion, muff, according to their virtues and numbers, be collected to cure the infirmity, provided they are gathered at the right planetary hours- Example, if Mars be the afflicting planet, and is more ftrong in eflential dignities than Ve- nus, then you muft make choice of fuch herbs as are under the domi- nion of Mars to cure fuch infirmities which he ufually produces. T here is no infirmity or difeafe whatever, but in a lecond caufe proceeds from the evil influence of the affiidting planets; and what infirmity foever any Vol.I. D planet 26 blagrave’s INTRODUCTION. planet caufes, he has herbs by fympathy to cure it: in this conditior heat muft fetch out heat, juft as if one fhould burn one’s fingers, am then heat them againft the fire, which cures by fympathy. I have known a great cold cured by a pippin taken in cold water, V enus beinc ftrong in eflential dignities; but to give cooling remedies when Mars i: ftrong, would deftroy the patient; for it ftands by reafon, that if a weal man contends with a ftrong man well armed, he muft be worfted; bu if Mars be the afflicting planet, although ftrong, and V enus be nearh equal in ftrength, then we muft chufe a feleft lefl'er number of her herb to join with thofe of Mars, and the dofe muft be proportioned according to the ftrength or weaknefs of die patient; the remedies will be betwee: both, but rather adhering to the ftrongeft planet. As to Antipathy, admit the Moon, or principal fignificator of the fick be afflicted by Saturn, a planet cold and dry, and be weak in the hea- vens, and the planet which is of a contrary nature ftrong, as for in ftance Jupiter, who is hot and moift, then a felect number of herbs un- der the dominion of Jupiter, being of virtue to cure the diftemper, muf be ufea, provided they are gathered at the hour when Jupiter reigns But if Saturn and Jupiter be nearly equal in ftrength, then ufe a me- dium between both, and let one part of your herbs be by fympadr under Saturn, and the other part under Jupiter, always adhering to thi ftronger planet, and ever remembering, in all cures whatever, to ufe ; feleCt number of herbs under the Sun, as he is the fountain of life, am foie monarch of the heavens : all thofe herbs under his dominion an always approved good to comfort the heart, brain, nerves, arteries, am vital fpirits, and are good to refill poifon. You muft aifo have regar< to the age of the patient, complexion, and the feafon of the year, tha you may help to fupport nature’s defects ; for choleric, fanguine per fons, require things more cooling than phlegmatic or moift and me'lan choly} which laft muft be comforted by heat, and dry medicines. t / A NECES 27 BLAGRAVES INTRODUCTION. A NECESSARY TABLE, SHEWING WHAT PART OF MAN’S BODY IS GOVERNED BY EVERY PLANET IN ANY OF THE TWELVE SIGNS. t? u o ¥ 5 D T >reaft arms head neck throat he . rt belly head thighs lead reins feet fecrets legs knees head « ieai‘c 'read broat (houlders arms lielly reins throat neck knees lecrets head thighs feet legs thfqat LI i-nns ' art >clly ihoulders bread tins fecrets arms biead legs ancles 'highs throat head knees feet ihoulders arms SB tins icily highs eart ferrets thighs bread domach thighs eet toes 'egs throat eyes legs thro ? t eyes he 'd bread domach a f crets cins heart belly thighs knees knees heart belly head feet arms Ihoulders throat feet arms Ihoulders throat domach neart m ihiehs fee rets ret reins knees guts bowels leg- belly throat belly- head oread heart head biead heart arms (houlders bowels thighs kr.ees reins feercts legs nead eyes feet reins lecrets (houlders arms head Irr.all guts throat h> art domach belly bread reins heart m legs feet fee rets thighs feet l'ecrets head arms thighs bread heart throat reins fecrets (houlders arms bowels back domach heart fecrets t legs feet thighs knees head thighs throat legs feet heart belly ihoulders arms thighs heart bread reins heart fecrets * oo we Is thighs back kf head feet knees legs neck eyes arms ihoulders knees belly back bread heart thighs domach heart fecrets reins knees thighs head neck thighs arms 'houlders bread bread legs heart reins lecrets heart knees bowels thighs heart fecrets legs ancles X arms neck ihoulders head bread heart heart belly ancles feet fecreta thighs belly legs neck reins knees lecrets thighs thighs feet Dz THS *8 blagrave’s introduction. THE USE OF THE TABLE. Suppofe a perfon fell Tick at a certain time, when $ his fignificator was in SI ; I enter the table with $ at die top, and SI in the firft co- lumn on the left hand, againft which, in the angle, I find SI and vy, which (hews the patient is much afflicted at heart, with pains in his back, weaknefs in his knees, and the extreme parts of his body, as reprefented by thofe figns and planets : underftand the fame of the reft, which will be eafily conceived by an intelligent perfon. Firft. Confiderin your figure the 6th, 7th, and 12th houfes, which fignify difeafes, as alfo the lords thereof. Secondly. Confider the nature of the figns, upon the cufps thereof, for fiery figns fignify difeafes proceeding from choler ; earthy figns, melancholy; airy figns, wind and corruption of blood; watery figns, phlegm. the offending humour, and the nature of the difeafe. TO FIND WHAT PLANET REIGNS EVERY HOUR IN THE DAY AND NIGHT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR; AS ALSO THE LENGTH OF EACH PLANETARY HOUR. Every day, be it fhort or long, muft be divided into twelve equal parts, every one of which are called a Planetary Hour, as are alfo the nights. You muft from an ephemeris, or in the annexed table, feek out how long the day is from fun -rife to fun-fet; as fuppofe it was ioh, 20'; reduce thefe into minutes, and divide by 12, and what remains, reduce intofeconds; this done, you will find it to quote 51', 40", the juft length of the planetary hour, when the day is of that length. But the following Page is fufficiently explanatory. 'hirdly. Obferve the nature of the planets, and thofe with whom are in afpecl; which being judicioufly mixed, will dearly difcover EXAMPLE. A TABLE blagrave’s introduction. 29 A PERrETUAL TABLE OF BREAK OF DAY, TWILIGHT, THE LENGTH OF THE DAY AND NIGHT, THE INCREASE AND DECREASE OF DAYS, AND THE LENGTH OF THE PLANETARY HOURS. Months. fc Break Day. H. M. Twi- light €?u's, H. M. Length o f the Day. H. M. Length of the, Night. H. M. Lncreaf of Days. H. M. Planet. Hour ly Day. H. M. P.anet. Hour ly Night. H. M. January 1 5 52 6 8 8 0 16 0 0 26 0 40 1 20 I 1 5 42 6 1 £ 8 26 *5 34 0 52 0 42 I 18 21 5 30 b 30 8 58 •5 2 1 24 0 45 1 lS February 1 5 13 b 47 9 38 14 2 4 0 48 [ I 2 I I 4 53 7 5 10 1 6 13 44 2 42 0 5 1 I 9 21 4 36 7 24 10 54 •3 6 3 26 0 54 1 6 March 1 4 19 7 4! 1 1 26 12 34 3 72 0 57 1 3 1 1 3 57 8 3 1 2 6 1 1 54 4 32 I O 1 0 21 5 33 8 27 I 2 46 1 1 H 5 1 2 I 40 56 April 1 3 4 8 56 >3 28 1 0 32 5 54 I 7 0 , 53 1 1 2 35 9 25 »4 4 9 56 6 30 I 10 0 5° 21 2 2 9 5? *4 4» 9 18 7 8 I 13 0 47 May 1 I 23 10 37 *5 H 8 46 7 40 I !7 0 43 1 1 O 14 1 1 46 1 3 44 8 16 8 10 I 1 1 0 41 2 1 No No 16 6 7 54 8 3Z I 20 0 40 June 1 Night Ni ght 16 22 7 38 8 48 I 21 0 39 1 1 but but 16 26 7 34 8 52 I 22 0 38 2 1 Twi- Twi- 16 20 7 40 0 O 6 I 21 0 39 July I light ]iS ht 16 6 7 54 CO 20 I 20 0 40 1 1 0 17 1 1 43 l5 44 8 16 °o 42 I *9 0 4i 21 1 24 10 36 J5 14 8 46 1 0 12 I *7 0 43 Auguft 1 2 6 9 54 »4 38 9 22 I n> 48 I 13 0 47 I I 2 38 9 22 *4 4 9 56 2 22 I 10 0 5° 21 3 7 8 53 !3 26 10 34 3 0 I 7 0 53 September 1 3 38 8 22 I 2 44 1 1 16 3 42 I 3 0 57 1 1 3 59 8 1 1 2 4 1 1 56 4 22 I 0 1 © 21 4 2; 7 39 1 1 24 12 36 5 2 0 57 1 3 October 1 4 41 7 9 10 46 ’-3 !4| 40 0 54 1 6 1 1 5 0 7 0 10 6 >3 54 6 20 0 5° 1 10 2 1 5 *7 6 43 9 28 H 32 5* 0 47 1 »3 November 1 5 ' 33 6 27 8 5° ‘5 ioj7 36 0 44 1 ib 1 1 5 A5 6 *5 8 20 1 3 40 8 6 0 42 1 18 21 5 54 6 6 7 56 16 48 3° 0 40 1 20 December 1 3 59 6 1 7 4C 16 2o]8 46 0 3 8 L 22 1 1 b 0 5 59 7 34 16 26 8 52 0 38 I 22 21 5 59 5 1 7 30 16 20I9 H 0 38 I 22 A TABLE blagrave’s introduction. A TABLE OF PLANETARY HOURS FOR EVERY DAY IN THE WEEK, BEGINNING AT SUN RISING. Sunday Planets H. Monday | Tuelday Planets H. Planets H. 1 Wednef. Planets PI. Thurfday Planets H. Friday Planets H. Saturday Planets H. O l 5 1 S 1 $ 1 4 1 ? 1 b I 2 2 b 2O 2 D 2 3 2 13 b 13 0 13 D i3 18 S 18 3 iS 4 18 ? 18 b 1 8 O 18 lb 19 O 19 P 19 $ ’9 5 19 4 *9 2 19 !4 20 2 20 b 20 0 20 P 20 d1 20 S 2 \s 31 24 ale Is a kind of calyx peculiar to the grafs kind ; it confifts of two or three membranaceous valvuke, generally tranfparent towards the edge. When it is feparated from corn, it is called chaff. Amentum is an aggregation of flowers of the fame ftx, fixed to a kind of an axis. If there are any fquamae at the fame time, they ferve inftead of a calyx. It is alfo called jiiius, that is in Englifti, a catkin. Calyptra, or a Cap, is a thin membranaceous involucrum or cover- ing, which is generally conical, and is put on the parts of fructification; as may be frequently feen in the anthers or apices of mofs. 2. Corolla furrounds the parts of generation immediately. Of this there are two kinds ; the petallum, and the nedtareum. The Petallum or Petal, is that corolla which is generally taken no- tice of for the beauty of its colours. When the corolla confifts of one petal, it is divided in the tube and the limbus. When it is made up of feveral petals, it is diftinguifhed into the unguis or heel, and the bractea. Nectareum is a kind of corolla, but more frequently a part of it, which is defigned for the reception of honey. It is of various figures; - fometimes it confifts of a fovea or pit ; fometimes of a fquama or fcale : as alfo of a fmall tube, or tubercle. A tubulated corolla confifts of a campanulated limbus, cleft into four or five parts, with open laciniae turned back. A ligulated coroilula confifts of a plain linear limbus turned outwards, with three or four truncated teeth. 3- The Stamen is the male or°;an of generation, and confifts of two parts ; the filament, and the anthera or apex. i he Filament fuftains the anthera, and is fometimes faia to be fubu- ^ lated, from its likenefs to a Ihoemaker’s awl. ft he Anthera or Apex is the effential part of the ftamen, or the male genital organ. It confifts of an uni-locular, ora multi-locular fmall bag, and generally adheres to the top of the anthera. v 4. The Piftil comprehends the female parts of generation; namely, the germen, the ftylum, and the ftigma. The EXPLAINED AMD IMPROVED. 35 The Germen, called otherwife the ovary, contains and cherifhes the embryoes of the feeds: in plants, it ferves in the room of an uterus. The Style is placed upon the germen, and fuftains the ftigma. It ferves inlfead of a tube. But fometimes it is wanting. Stigma is tire female genital organ, and is of various fhapes: it gene- rally terminates the llyle ; but if the ftyle is wanting, it is placed upon the germen. , 5. The Pericarpium belongs to the fruit, and is placed upon the eermen. It grows thick, and contains the feeds. Sometimes, how- ever, it is wanting. The fpecies of this are. nine, capfula, concepta- cuiem, filiqua, legumen, nux, drupa, pomum, bacca, and ftrobulusi The Capfula confifts of feveral dry elaftic valves, generally open at the apex. It is faid to be uni-locular; or multi-locular, according as the feeds are diftributed into one or more cells. The conceptaculum is diftinguifhed from the uni-locular capfula, in having its valves more foft, and lefs rigid. The Siliqua confifts of two valves, opening from the bafts to the apex, and feparated by a membranaceous diffepi merit, from which, by means of an umbilical funiculous, the feeds depend. A Legumen is an oblong, flattifh, bivalved pericarpium, having a longitudinal future' above and below. The feeds are joined alternately to the fuperior limbus of each valve. Nux, or a Nut, is a pericarpium approaching to the conftftence and hardnefs of a bone, Drupa confifts of a foft, flefliy, fucculent pulp, in the middle of which lies the nucleus ; in fome fruits it is called the ftone. Pomum has a folid carnous pulp, in the middle of which the feeds are refted, and defended with membranaceous coverings. Bacca contains naked feeds in the middle of a fucculent pulp. Strobulus is made of feveral vaginae laid upon each other, which are contorted towards the apex. 6. Semen, a feed; this is generally known. It has two parts, the femen and the corona. The femen, or body of the feed, is of various figures and fhapes. The corona is either fimple or pappous. The pappous is either feffile or placed on ftipes. Both thefe are again divided into the fimple and ramous. Thq fimple confifts of fingle radii; the ramous confifts of pennated or feathered radii. 7. Receptaculym is that part on which the flower-or fruit is feated; or both together. Its fhape is various. According to the difpofition of the male and female organs, Plants are difpofed into various claffes. In confequence of which, fome flowers are termed hermaphrodites, as having the ftamina and piftils in the fame flower: of thefe fome do not adhere together, and others do, in fome part or other, or with the piftils. Of thefe that do not adhere to- gether, fome have no proportion with refpect to longitude between themfelves, or have two ftaminas fhorter than the reft. Of the former, E 2 o: 3& SEXUAL SYSTEM OF LINNiEUS, of which one kind is called the Mcnandria, having only one ftamen in an hermaphrodite flower. Among the latter, there is the monodelphia, hav- ing the ftamina united into one body with the filaments ; and diadelphia, whofe ftamina and filaments are joined and make two bodies. There are various other diftintftions, which thofe that have a defire to fee, may confult his Syftema Naturae, or his Genera Plantarum. Such diftinc- tions as thefe, however accurate, are not fo proper for beginners a,s Ray’s method; for when the diftindtions of plants are taken from the flowers alone, they are only to be feen at one particular feafon of the year; not to mention, that the fructification of fome are not even vifible to the naked eye, and in others not with a microfcope. It is now generally known, that the apices or anthera of the ftamina, are fmall capfula, or bags full of a farina or duft, called the farina fae- cundans ; and that the ftamina, with the anthera and farina, make the male part of the plant, and the piftil the female. There are likewife fome plants that are entirely female, and others wholly male ; and yet the female plants will produce fruit without the impregnation of the male ; but whether this fruit or feed, when fown, will produce another plant, has not yet been afeertained. Some experiments that have been made, plainly prove the contrary; yet how, or in what maimer, the farina enters into the female organs to fecundate the feed, is not cer- tainly known. In hermaphrodite plants, which have both the male and female part in the fame flower, one would think there fhould be no great difficulty, and yet it is in reality a difputable point : but in thofe which grow in different parts of the fame plant, or in two plants at fome diftance afunder, it is no wonder that the method of fecunda- tion cannot be readily Accounted for. Therefore it would be needlefs to trouble the reader with a recital of doubtful opinions, which have r,o other foundation than Ample conjecture. However myfterious the method is, by which feed? are fecundated, yet we are certain, that they have all cafes to preferve them until they are committed to the earth. Some of them are contained in the heart of the fruit, as the pepins of pears and apples. Some are fhut up jn pods, as peas, beans, lentils, lupins, vetches, &c. Others are enclofed in ftiells almoft as hard as wood, as nuts, the kernels of cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches. Many, befides the fhell, have a thick green coat, as walnuts ; and others have very rough hulks, as chefnuts. Befides thefe external teguments, every grain has its epidermis or fkin, in wnich the pulp or placenta, and germen are contained. One may judge of all the reft by a pea or bean. Take off the hufk from the bean, and it will readily divide into two parts, called Jobes; thefe con- fift of meal, which being mixed with the nourifhment derived from the earth, furnifli.es matter proper to nourifh the vital germ, pr embryo. In the fifiure appears a point which is the proper germ, fixed there like a fmall nail, which fhoots out a root downwards, and a bud upwards. The firft fpreading itfelf in the earth to catch the moifture thereof, and the latter mounting itfelf in the air, becomes the ftem of the new plant. ^The EXPLAINED AND IMPROVED. 37 The frnall root or pedicle is connected to the two lobes by tubes whofe branches are difperfed into the lobes, feemingly to derive a nutri- tious juice from thence. The body of the plant is wrapt up in two leaves which entirely cover it, fhutting it up as it were in a box, or between two fhells. Thefe two leaves advance fir ft out of the grain and out of the earth, preferving the youfig plant from the roughnefs of the foil. Thefe are called the leminal leaves. The lobes of forne grain will arife cut of the earth, and perform the fame offices as the two leaves. In the covering of a grain, and in the fhells of the hardeft nuts, there is a frnall aperture for the paffage of the radicle, which afterwards lends out frnall hairy filaments to receive and carry nourifhment to the body of the plantule. The lobes deprived of nourifhment grow dry, and the feminal leaves wither away. Then the plantule, beginning to gather ftrength by little and little, difplays the different parts which before feemed in a manner rolled up one in another. The pith of a plant confifts of a vaft number of frnall veficles ex- tremely thin, fine, and full of fap. It occupies the middle of the ftalk or trunk, and of the branches. Around the pith are placed other hollow fibres, one by the fide of ano- ther in bundles, which afeend from the bottom of the plant upwards, and are tied together by fibres which pafs obliquely from one rank to another like net-work. This is properly called wood, and the ufe of the vacuities is to convey the fap for the nourifhment of the plant. Aboot tfie wood are placed other hollow fibres nearly in the fame manner as the former, which are called Bark, and is diftinguifhed into three parts. The inner bark, which is the fineft part, lying immedi- ately next to the wood. The epidermis, or the external covering, which is a net-work extended over all the outfide of the tree. The middle- bark lying between both the farmer. The inner bark feems to be a mafs of fine pellicles laid one over ano- ther, or fibrous webbs paffed one upon another; the firft layer of which feems to get loofe in the fpring, and join the wood of the tree; this, en- circling it in every part, gives a new covering to the whole length of the tree. Every year they gain a frefh addition, infomuch that thefe annular coats, which are vifible on a tranfverfe feftion of the trunk, fhew by their number how many years the tree has been growing. The moft external part of thefe rings is always lefs folid than the heart, and is called the fappy part of the wood, Befides the fibres which afeend from the root, of which the wood and the bark confift, there are other veffels which run in the fame direction as thefe fibres, and are placed there at certain diftances throughout the fubftance of the wood, - Thefe are the air veffels, and the veffels proper to particular fpecies. The air veffels, confift of fibres which turn about in a fpiral man- ner; the branches of one part run towards the external air; and the other defeends towards the roots, enlarging itfelf as it goes along. The botanical arrangements. 38 The proper veflels are placed lengthwife between the fibres of the wood, and advance like the air veflels by different rami lie ations to the top of the plant, to receive the external air. They contain an oleous hub fiance, which is of different confiftence in different plants. Infome they contain turpentine; in others a vifcuous liquor, which will after- wards concrete into rofin, Some have a kind of milk, and others a real oik Sometimes this matter is like fugar; and ether plants pro- duce manna. From feveral parts of the tree, but commonly towards the top, fe- veral rows cf fibres proceed in bundles, and traverfe the wood, the fappy * part, and the bark, whofe extremities reach the external air, Thefe rows are compofed of hollow fibres, the proper veflels, and efpecially the empty tracheae. Thefe veflels thus united, enlarge cr fwell the t bark, and are called knots. All this apparatus is defigned fer the life and the growth cf the buds, which are fo many entire plants, wrapped up and lodged in the knots of the tree to receive all tne neceilary aid for their being difplayed in due time. Some would have the juices fiitred through thefe knots, to render it more fit to nourifh the fruit. MODE OF ARRANGEMENT FROM CERTAIN AGREEMENTS OR CIRr CUMSTANCES OF RESEMBLANCE IN VEGETABLES. IN order to fimplify the Science of Botany, it is necefiary to obferve fome method in the diflribution of daffies ; and to render the matter more perfpicuous, we have added examples upon ten Copper-plates, which will make the whole obvious to the plained: capacity. All the terms of art which occur here and elfewhere in thefe volumes, will be explained in alphabetical order at the conclufion of the work. Plants with radiated flowers are an intire divifion by themfelves. They are formed of compound flowers with plain florets in the »rar- gin, and hollow florets in the centre. We have exemplified upon the Plate Radiatje, the chryfanthe- mum, or corn marigold ; tuffilago, or coltsfoot; matricaria, or fever- few ; fenecio, or groundfel ; bellis, or the daify ; and millefolium, or '.’arrow, / This clafs is feparated by nature in a very diftind manner from all other plants; and the circumftance of the feed not being winged with down, charadlerifes with obvious and unalterable marks of diftindion the whole genus. This is the fourteenth clafs of T ournefort’s method, and is placed by Linnaeus in the clafs Syngenefia. Tubulatae, or Tubulus Plants, are fuch as flower from a tube, and widen at the top, where they open and divide into fegments, which are ah contained in a common cup, of a hemifpheric figure, compofed of numerous pointed leaks, fet ciofe together. The feeds are oblong. The BOTANICAL -ARRANGEMENTS* 39 The plants reprefented are tanacetum, or tanzy; a b the flower, c d tubus and floret. Bidens and eupatorium, or agrimony, jaflone, Alcaemilla 35 \ K AittzMaceaz 3° . /> 33 'J&wton&x a // //-> y ' m , ■ 'Etntncniaxe- ~~~ . v^.l ■ Tot// Hydmchans- Hydrcchans Vi* I Chrys anthemum . Tufsilago . 2 Othonna . Ca/yce/ !Matricari.a V - ■'!, J . V- ' ■ ■ ' TVJ\ ZTJj^LTsR Bidens. Eupatoriunx 2 o J afixme \ LjGT/J^sLTSE. Sonchus /.vtt/rncOstd eJT'tf erae/ta/ m/ £a/it > t "V /o /■/'•/ ~ r T £//adnndo SJluadnfido ^dnyzufido V/tSano Plant a go Pulmonaria Ap arme mTrnr* Symphytum '^zi/a/o Asperula g ^damzca/a Cvnoglotsum. JE chium [ysimacliia V TRAPE TAIjJ£i Epiloliium v, 4', w l ’rib US 1 'pee l/lonof/jf/ta EupliolBia Turn us 2 Pap aver Tjiibvs 3 Ca/yee lets aft/ // //o Epinxe dium C . ^aeze/sie/eeitato Titliymalus Epioxedium. ■J//afua mu/oe •Bufonia ■* t V# ♦ jfyu'dt. T srmoe. % Sibbaldia Ql emoune rin ce. Ranunoulu s , accui-ce Jl; ^ Pamafsia 4 Hedera dPod/i irr ^rmce t AS ■rimoma 'y?ZxrnorpJvuXtc^ Tilonac etp-Julare J % # Po ten. til La QPcnJu jriijfMce 1 7 Drosera Saxifrage . ddnjdctto dyc**Svni/ilicia uUto k&i Wt, IV, * "Ljdd'i O/j/tmc, w 9 Ciftus Catnparut/a fro io Pvrola 11 " I 12 Prankema Lycbnis *3 Saponaria \ it- 14 ntapJijflio C£i(t Quirt qua- cufuru/arerf * Gypsophila dd’oiycnqoju/ arrJ 15 . Hypericum dSaccuf ^f'l'tn.p.luri Iruvf *^Crr 18 Hedera lS Sedum Secured Ocf^e^cLtd x9 Pi. bus ... • ■ . •. I ■ 3: ■ ■ . .+. I BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. At die countries through which he paffes, or as a labourer learns to diftin- guifh the few plants which come under his observation, It would be Superfluous to have recourfe to other means. But, even with the provifo we have mentioned, fuch a method would have its inconveniences. It would be tedious, irkfome, and, always uncertain. The refemblance of feveral ufeful and wholefome plants, with fuch as are noxious and ufclefs; the impoffibility of diftinguifhing fuch fimilar plants, without a diftincft idea of each; the external agree- ments of feveral Species, wnofe properties are efferitially different ; the great danger of committing miftakes ; and the ill confequences of fuch miftakes : t'nefe, and other circumftances, concurred to fuggeft the ne- ceffity of having recourfe to divifions determined by accurate and diftindt characters. The neceffity of divifions becomes ftill ftronger, if we extend our views, and, not fatisfied with the few medicinal plants which our own country affords, embrace the whole of vegetable nature. Here me- mory mult unavoidably fink under the mighty load, if obfervation, rea- foning, and method^ did not bring it timely affiftance. By obfervation, we diftinguifh the external marks or characters which are obvious in the appearance of natural bodies: by reafoning, we fix or determine the relations which fubfift betwixt them : and by method, we colleCt, under one head, fimilar bodies; and Separate fuch as differ. Hence arife divifions and fubdivifionsk which the mind feizes with avi- dity, and retains ever after. Thus it is, that the ftudy of plants, which at firft feems, and for a long time actually was, a fimple nomenclature, becomes a fcience; and this fcience is called Botany. Agreeable to this idea, Boerhaave de- fines Botany to be a part of natural knowledge, by means of which, plants are moft certainly and eafily known, and engraved on the me- mory. It was not, however, till after many ages, and much obfervation, that botany began to be confidered in this philofophical view: though divifions of a certain kind have always been admitted, in order to faci- litate the knowledge of plants. Thus vegetables have been fucceflively diftinguifhed from the place of growth, into aquatic, marine, wild, and domeftic ; from the time of flowering, into fpring, fummer, autumnal, and winter plants ; Some- times too, lefs philosophically {till, they have been arranged by the names of the authors who firft difcovered or defcribed them ; and not Seldom, according to the letters of the alphabet, Theophraftus, the Scholar of Ariftotle, arranges plants, from their qualities and ufes, into efculent grains, Succulent and pot-herbs ; Diof- Corides, into aromatic, alimentary, medicinal and vinous plants. Thefe philofophers, ftudious to render botany ufeful, were ignorant of the means to facilitate its knowledge. Their vague and uncertain divifions, can, at beft, aflift his memory, who already knows the plants Vol. I. F they 42 BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. they defcribe; but will never conduct to the knowledge of them. They fuppofe every thing — they teach nothing. The fame may be affirmed of all the divifions or methods founded folely on the qualities or medicinal virtues of plants. Thefe methods, generally adopted by phyficians, with a view to confine the fcience to its true obj efts, have always the contrary effect, by confounding things which ought to be diftinguifiied. Three reafons, according to M. Adanfon, concur to render every fuch method uncertain and dangerous. 1. The fame plant has often feveral different virtues. 2. The different parts of a plant have often different, and even op- pofite virtues; fo that, according to the rules of ft riel arrangement, the root fhould be placed in one divifton, the flower in another, and the Laf in a third. Thus in buckthorn, and diftaff-tree, the leaves are aftrin- gent ; the fruits purgative. In rhubarb, monk’s rhubarb, and common knot-grafs, the roots are purgative, th. leaves and feeds binding. 3. Several plants, characterized by a particular virtue, poiiefs it to fuch a degree of ftrength or weakir fs, that we may reafonably e*pe<£l very different effefts from this difference of intenfity in the fame qua- lity. T hus in the natural family of lip flowers, the aromatic virtue which is common to the whole tube or order, is poffeffed in the higheft degree by rofemary, fage, mint, marjoram, baulm, and hyffop; in a lefs degree, by germander, and felf-heal: and becomes almoft infenfible in fage tree and bafe horchound. It is the fame with ether qualities ; tinClures, for example. T hus the roots of moft of the pea-bloom tribe, and flurry plants, (ftellatae) afford a dye or tinfture, which is more or lefs lively; in the fame manner, a coloured juice, which is more or lefs vivid, is procured from the leaves and flowers of that nu- merous tribe of plants called Compound. The knowledge of this com- mon quality, 'however, is fo far ufeful, that on the difeovery of a new plant in any particular family, we are ied by analogy to explore thofe properties in it which are known to be poffeffed by the family to which it belongs. It was on this principle that M. Adanfon drew from a fpecies of indigo at Senegal, which had efcaped cbfervation, a fecula of an azure blue colour, different from that of America, and perhaps fuperior beauty. From thefe obfervations, which are furnifhed by experience, it fol- lows as a corollary, that the principal or prime virtue of any plant is that which is found to be poffeffed in common by all the plants of the family to which it belongs; and that, although the virtue in queftion fhould not be moft predominant in a particular fpecies. It is for this reafon that the family of the purflanes may be regarded, in a particulaj manner, as cordial; for although many of that tribe are likewife aftrin- gent, yet the former is the prevailing or general virtue. For the fame reafon, the family of the jujubes are reckoned antivenereal ; although the leaves are aftringent; the wood, fudorifick; the bark, flowers, and fruits purgative. BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 43 Upon the whole, divifions drawn from the virtues of plants, far from enlightening botany, plunge it anew into a chaos of confufion and igno- rance. We allow them their ufe in the Materia Medica, where plants are diftinguifhed by their feniible qualities, into bitter, acid, fait, fweet, and acrid; and by their virtues, into purgative, aperient, fudorific, he- patic, &c. But this is not botany; it is the Materia Medina: the one conducts to the knowledge of plants; the other indicates their ufe: the firft oughiy/fcdafequently, to precede and direct the fecund ; but cannot itfelf be enlightened, without divifions founded upon figns more deter- minate in their nature, more conftant, and fenfible to the eyes of the obferver. In the progrefs of the fcience, botanifts have endeavoured to diftin- guifh thefe figns, to fix their characters, and afeertain their relations. The mo ft apparent would, doubtlefs, firft attract regard; fuch are the fize and duration of plants; circumftances from whence arofe the firft diftindtion of vegetables into herbs and trees : that is, into plants of a tender fucculent nature, which lofe their items during the winter; and into fuch as are of a folid confiftance, woody, and whofe items fubfift during the winter. See Arbor, where this diftyiftion, as likewife that of fhrubs and under-ihrubs, is particularly difeufled. Ancient, however, as this diftindtion is, and numerous as are the authors who have adopted it, it can be of very little affiftance alone in determining plants with precifion ; as viy muft wait' at leaft a full year to be afeertained of the duration of a particular plant. Some annuals, too, have a woody fort of ftem, which may caufe them to be miftaken for ihrubs ; nay more, fome plants, which in a warm climate are ihrubby, become herbaceous, and even annual, when removed into a cold one ; as the ricinus or pabna chrifti. The fame infulficiency to ferve as foundations of a method, will be found in the roots, and Itill more in all the variable qualities of vege- tables, fuch as tafte, colour, and fmell, which are modified in a thou- fand different fliapes, by culture and climate. The leaves being earlier, more apparent, more common, and more permanent than the flowers, fooner engaged attention: but in propor- , tion as botany made advances, the uncertainty of charadteriftic marks ' drawn from the ’leaves, manifeftly appeared. In the courfe of thele ad- s vances, it has been found that the leaves vary in their forms, even on jC the fame individual; that the fame plant, under a different climate, with different management, or fown at different feafons, fhall be. covered ■J with leaves wh:ch have not the fmalleft refemblance to each other; that J plants, otherv/ife extremely fimilar in their appearance, have leaves ab- n' Mutely difnmilar; and that others, whofe figure, qualities, and habit, ;e differ eiTentially, arefo remarkably fimilar in their leaves, that confufion E muft he unavoidable,, if the characters of the leaves are made the foun- Adation of primary divifions. Thus a fpecies of veronica or fpeedwefl bears the leaves of the germander ; which, in like aiaitfler, bears thole the oak., T 2 Not- 44 BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. Notwith (landing thefe difcouraging circum fiances, a fyftem of plants founded upon the leaves, has been attempted bptwo ingenious moderns, both Frenchmen; Mr. Sauvage, in a work entitled, “ Methode pour connoitre les Plantes par les Feuilles;” and Mr. Duhamel du Mon- ceau, in his “ Traite des Arbres.” Thefe gentlemen do not, how- ever, mean to fix precife characters from the leaves; their foie inten- tion is to prefent us with new relations, and thereby facilitate the dif- tin&ions which they fuppofe determined by means more certain and me- ' thodical. They have even let out with declaring the iilfufficiency of the leaves for this purpofe. Methods having hitherto been attempted to be erected without fuc- cefs, occafioned by the infufHciency of the leading characters, men had recourfe to fuch as were more folid, more conftant, and more general. Thefe were named natural characters, and are drawn from the habit, or general appearance of the plant; and from the combination of the molt effential parts of vegetation; the flower, fruit, feed, difpofiticn of the Item, and branches, Sic. All the accidents of each of thefe parts, viewed and compared together, led to natural and determinate divifions. Thefe divifions, founded upon numerous, permanent, and fenfible relations, are called natural orders, or natural families. Such are the grades; the crcfs-fhaped, umbelliferous, liliaceous, pea-bloom, and lip flowers. Each plant in every one of thefe natural families, colleCts fenfible characters, which are eflentially the fame in all the plants of that family to which it belongs. The families alluded to, feem to have been truly diftinguifhed by nature; and botanifts have fucceflively determined a great number of them. If they had been able to arrange, in like manner, all the fpe- cies of known plants, they would have difcovcred a natural method, the great defideratum in botany, and which has in vain engaged the at- tention and refearches of every naturalift fince the origin of the fcience. Such a natural method would be a kind of table, exhibiting the gra- dual progreflion which nature has obferved in the formation of vege- . tables, as in that of all other beings. Many of the intermediate (leps of this progreflion; feveral links in the great chain, are not known. A ; great number of plants cannot find a place in the natural families; de- void of uniform relations betwixt themfelves, they cannot conflitute new families; they remain, in fome fort, folitary; and would again involve , the fcience in confufion, . if art had not fupplied what nature refufed to grant. Artificial methods were invented, and charaClers effablifhed, which, although lefs fenfible, and lefs numerous than the natural characters jufl mentioned, were fimpler, more general, and equally invariable. Upon thefe general characters, fcrupuloufly obferved, and minutely examined, primary divifions have been founded; which are again fub- divided from an attention to other characters lefs apparent. Thefe divifions, which form a kind of fcale or progreflion, are cha- racterized by different names; as claffes or families; orders or feCtions genera , cei fpa pref .ract ferei fern ter Ac« Jtiiei i-4 BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 45 genera; fpecies *, varieties; and the individual ; and all together conffi- tute what is called a Method; and, when the principles upon which the divifions proceed, are fixed and determined, a Syftem. As this fubjedl is of the utmofl importance to die beginning BotaniR, I mull bee; leave to dwell upon it, and to trace the order of bodies into genera, fpecies, varieties, and individuals, both in inveRigation and enunciation of truth ; that thence the generaL laws of method may be eftablifhed. Every natural body differs fo from ail others which are expofed to our fenfes, that it may be confidered as Angular <3r individual. Thus a dog, a fpiirrow, a fly, a tulip, a diamond, nitre, are all bodies which may be confidered in themfelves, and without relation to others, as often as they folicit*the fenfes. Many individuals of the fame kind give an idea both of fimilitude and plurality. The fimilitude, therefore, of fevsral individuals, conili lutes a fpecies or kind, an abRradt or general term, to which all thefe in- dividuals, on account of their agreement in certain characters, may he referred. But two bodies are never obferved of fiimilar properties in every re- fpedt; and, therefore, the idea of a fpecies would never arife, were not certain characters diftinguilhed from others, the effential from die mere- ly accidental. The effential characters never vary in the fame fpecies ; the accidental fometimes vary in the lame fpecies, from certain accef- fory caufes, which are not always and neceffarily prefent in a natural body. Thefe accidental characters give rife to the varieties ; which are not, by any means, to be confounded with the fpecies. Thus of the fpecies of dogs, different breeds, as the greyhound, fpaniel, and beagle, conftitute the varieties; all together make up taeTpecies of that animal. In the fame manner, difference of colour, magnitude, Rent, tafte, and other attributes, exhibit varieties in the different fpecies of vegetables. In a number of fpecies accurately diftinguilhed, fome fimilar characters are found: thefe beget the idea of a Genus or Race, a general term, ex- prefling a fimilitude of fpecies, from an agreement in fame fome cha- racters. Thus to take an example from botany: of various plants, which, in fpring, are leen in our meadows, and are confidpred as dif- ferent fpecies, from the appearance of their leaves, which are eitfter dif- ferently cut, or of different figures, if intire; the petals are of an equal number, (five) the ftamina and Ryles numerous, and at the claw or bottom of each petal is a finall prominence or pore. Thefe refemblances in the parts of the flower, in Rich a number of different fpecies, conR*- tute a genus, which in the inRance I have been giving, is called genus ranunculi; and all plants which agree in the characters juR mentioned, are referred to that genus. Similitude or refemblance admits of almoR innumerable degrees. Accordingly, orders and claffes, higher degrees Rill are conRkuted fre.n genera, by attending to the agreements of a number of genera in the firff caf^ and of a number of orders in the fecoud. Thefe divifions, however, botanical arrangements.' 46 however, arp altogether arbitrary, according to the points of refemblance under which we confider bodies. From what has been faid, it is clear how natural things are to be in- veftigated, and how communicated. The difcoverers of natural thing's have evidently proceeded from the confideration of individuals to that of fpecies and genera, and fo on to the higher arbitrary divifions : and a like method do all adopt, who would improve natural knowledge by farther difcoveries. But when invented and propofed to be communicated to others, wre take a different route, and beginning with the higher arbitrary divifions, as claffes and orders, defcend to genera, fpecies- and varieties, in a di- rection retrograde to what we followed in invention. This method is found moil adapted to the capacity of learners. This general idea of the divifions admitted into artificial methods or fyftems wall be better underftood by the application which we intend to make of it to particular methods. At prefent 1 would obferve with Csefalpinus, “ that, by means of thefe diftinctions, the vegetable king- dom is divided like a large body of troops. The army is divided into regiments; the regiments into bataliions; the batallions into compa- nies; the companies into foldiers.” Vegetables are ranged in claffes, which are divided, into orders ; the orders confift of genera, the genera of fpecies: and, as the term Regiment is an aggregate of foldiers, fo the term Clafs, or, to go higher ftill, Syffem, is nothing elfe than an aggre- gate of fpecies. To be convinced of the great utility of artificial methods in conducting to the knowledge of plants, let us fuppofe the number of known fpecies of plants to be ten thoufand, and the number of claffes in a certainknown method to be twenty-four; a plant is prefer.ted to me which I never faw ; I immediately look for the general character which ferves to dif- tinguifh each of the twenty-four claffes ; this being found, and confe- quently the clafs of the plant being determined, I have no longer to look for my plant among ten thoufand, but among a twenty-fourth part of that number, that is about five hundred. I next look for the cha- racter of the order, the fecond divifion, which being likewife found, will reduce this number to about an hundred. The character of the genus, which I next explore, will reduce this ftill farther; twenty, for inftance: that of the fpecies determines the plant in queftion. This method of proceeding is fimilar to that which is obferved in turning over a dictionary, where, in fearching for a word, as Space, we nrft look for the letter S, next P, then A, and fo fucceffively the C and E. S may reprefent the clafs; P the order; A the genus; C the fpecies ; and E the variety. Artificial methods, however, were a long time in attaining that de- gree of accuracy and precifion, which we have been defcribing. The determination of the general and particular characters which conftitute fuch methods, require obfervations fo much more exact and numerous; as their principal merit confifts in collecting the greateft poffible num- ber BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 4 7 her of natural families; as they mud at the fame time agree with all known plants: and, as botany, fince the difcovery of the new world, has more than doubled its former riches. Lobelius in 1 570 ; Clufius in 1576; and Dalechamp, a phyfician of Lyons, in 1587, gave lucceffively very good defcriptions of a large number of plants, but were greatly puzzled in determining what pai'ts were mod proper for furnifhingclaflic and generic characters. Gefner was the frit who fuggefted the propriety of the parts of fructification for thispurpofe; and Crefalpinus, a phyfician of Pifa, firft arranged plants according to Gefner’s idea; and began the period of fyftematic botany. In 1583, he described eight hundred and forty plants, and divided them into fifteen clafles, by a method, in which, after admitting the general diftinCtion former!) mentioned, of herbs and trees, he draws his diftinctive characters from the parts of fructification; particularly from the fruit, the number of cells, tiie number, form, and dilpofition of the feed?, the fituation of the radicle in the Led, and other circumftances. Thefe fifteen clafles are fubdirided into forty-feven feCtions or orders, from art, attention to the dilpofition, fituation and figure of the flowers; the fituation of the radicle or embryo-plant in the feed; the number of lobes or feed-leaves; the fruit or feed-veflel; the colour of the flowers; the form of the leaves and roots, and fome other circumftances. Cre- falpinus’s method then is not founded folely upon the fruit, as has been imagined; but combines with feveral other parts of fructification, va- rious modifications of parts, which, like the root and leaves, are con- nected neither with the flower nor fruit. The fituation of the radicle or embryo-plant in the feed, as likewiie the number of lobes or feed- leaves, are faid to have been firft obferved and accurately diftinguifhed by this author. The fame botanift diftinguifhed with great accuracy the cells and partitions of feed-veflels. He made no methodical diftinCtion of ge- nera; each fpecies being deferibed as a diftindt genus. Cotemporary with Caefalpinus flourilhed Acofta, a Spaniard; Came- rarius, a German; Porta and Profper Alpinus, both Italians. The latter wrote an excellent treatife on the plants of Egypt; aslikewife two feparate diflertations on rhubarb and balfam. Porta, in 1588, publifbed a work, entitled, Pnytognomica, or the Aftrology of Plants. In this motley colledfion, vegetables are divided into feven clafles, from their place of growth, their refemblances and relations to men and animals, and their relations with the ftars. Thefe clafles are fubdivided into forty-feven feftions. According to Porta, plants, which have any of their parts like a liver, are proper for the difeafes of the liver; fuch as refemble eyes, are good for tire eyes ; and fo of others. This idea, fays a French writer, and the method founded upon it, is very ingenious; and contains, at leaft, as many truths as falfehoods. In botanical ARRANCEMSNTS, 4* In 1592, F abuts Cclumna, a Neapolitan, improved upon the diftri- Nation of the genera, and invented rnoft of the terms now ufed for de- nominating the parts of Nullification. His engravings on copper are elieemed excellent. Columha pubjifhed his Phytobafanus, at Naples, in 15945 with thir- tv-five figures. The firft part of his “ Ecphrafis minus cogr.itarum Jtirpium” was pubhfhed in quarto, at Rome, in 1610, with one hun- dred and fifty-fix figures; and the fecond part at the fame place in 1616, with forty-three figures. This author is faid to have been drawn into the ftudy of botany, by feme experiments on valerian to cure himfelf of the epilepfy. He followed no particular method, but treated of plants hiftorically, or without order. In 1596, Cafpar Bauhin, a Swifs, fixed, with indefatigable labour, in his Pinax, the name of every plant then known and deferibed; and in 1650, his brother, John Bauhin, wrote his Univerfal Hiftory of Plants, in three volumes folio. In this work are deferibed five thoufand two hundred and fifty- fix plants, divided, not very methodically, it muff: be • aiiowed, into forty claffes. To this “ par nobile fratrum” is botany in- debted for a confiderable part of its progrefs; yet the rage, which Hill fub lifted of forming divifions from the virtues and ufes of plants, greatly retarded the introduction of thofe orthodox methods, as Linnaeus terms them, which alone can bring the fcience to perfection. In this period of botany, gardens were eredted at the public expence, and opened for the convenience of fiich as addicted themfelves to the ftudy of plants; a circumftance which greatly accelerated the progrefs of tne fcience. The firft botanical garden was opened at Padua in 1540, by the fa- mily of the Medici. That at Bononia and Pifa in 1547. That at Mont[?eTier in 1598. That at Paris in 1626. That at Edinburgh in 1675, by Sir Andrew Balfour, prefident of the Royal College of Phyficians. That at Upfal, hi Sweden, in 1657. That at Oxford in 1683. That at. Leyden in 1677. That at Amfterdam in 1682. That at Utrecht in 1725. Befid'eS thefe and many other academical and public gardens which might be enumerated, there were three erected in Italy, one in France, one in England, five in the Low-Countries, eight in Germany, and two in Sweden by private gentlemen. In 1680, Pvobert Morrifon, a native of Aberdeen in Scotland, pub- jifhed at Oxford, an Univerfal Hiftory of Plants, in which he retains, under a new form, the divifions of CaTalpinus, founded upon the parts of Nullification, particularly the fruit. Morrifon BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 49 Morifon was long an exile in France, where he applied himfclf to botany, and other branches of phyfic, and was appointed fuperinten- dant of the gardens at Orleans. Upon the reftoration of Charles the fecortd, he was invited over to England by that Monarch, who appointed him Regius Profeffor of Bo- tany at Oxford. The Hiftory of Plants was completed by Mr. James Bobart, after Morifon’s death, and publifhed in folio, in -1699, with one hundred t and ninety-five figures on copper. Morifon’s Method, fays Mr. Adanfon, although not very elaborate, is extremely difficult in practice, and has not, on that account, been followed by any author, except Bobart, who completed his large work ion plants, and the anonymous author of a work publifhed in octavo, at Oxford, in 1720, under the title of ct Hiftorite Naturalis Sciagraphia.” His arrangement of the umbelliferous plants is very ingenious, and has been followed by moft fucceeding authors. John Ray was born near Braintree in EfTex, in 1628, and early ap- plied himfelf to the ftudy of Natural Hiftory. In his Natural Method of Plants, publifhed in 1682, he fuggefted an idea or plan of arrange- ment, much fuperior to that of either Cadalpinus or Morifon, and, per- haps, in many refpects, inferior to none of the boafted methods that have appeared fince his time. This plan Mr. Ray did not execute till 1686, when he publifhed his General Hiftory of Plants, in which are deferibed eighteen thoufand fix hundred and fifty-five fpecies, including varieties. His arrangement or method is founded upon the general •habit or ftrufture of plants; their fize and duration as herbs and trees; their greater or lefs degree of perfection; the place of growth, the num- ber of feed-leaves, petals, capfules, and feeds; the fituation and difpo- fition of the flowers; the form of the leaves ; the abfence or prefence of the flov/er-cup and petals ; the fubftance of the leaves and fruit ; and the difficulty of arranging and claffing certain plants. From a combi- nation of thefe circumftances, Ray has arranged, all vegetables into thirty-three clafles, which are fubdivided into one hundred and twenty- five fedbions. His method is extremely elaborate, and collects more natural clafles than any artificial fyftem I am acquainted with; it is, however, extremely difficult in practice, and, therefore, ftudied more for curiofity than ufe. It would have fucceeded better, fays Mr. Adan- fon, if Ray had been as great a botanift, as he was a learned writer, and judicious compiler. In 1700, Ray publifhed an edition of his Method, augmented and corrected after that of Tcurnefort, which had appeared in 1694. Some pretenders to botany, envious of the fuccefs which thefe great men had ! juftly obtained, endeavoured to embroil them, though without effect; for it appears that they always lived in the ftricteft intimacy and friendfhip. Ray’s Method was followed in 1707, by Sir Hans Sloane, in his Hiftory of Jamaica. Vol. I. G In 50 eotanical arrangements. In 1713, by Petiver, in his “ Herbarium Britannicum.” In 1724, by Dillenius, in his “ Synopfis Stirpium Britannicarum.” In 1727, by Martin, in his cc Methodus Plaatarum circa Cantab fi- giam.” Chriftopher Knaut, in his enumeration of the Plants which grow round Hal, tin Saxony, publifhed in 1687, invented a method, efta- blilhed, in part, upon the fruit, which differs but little from that of Ray. It is exceedingly complex and difficult. Paul Hermannus, Profeffor at Leyden, Magnolius Profeffor at Montpelier, and Rivinus, Profeffor at Leipfick, fucceflively enriched botany with ingenious methods and new obfcrvations ; the dawn of the day, which the illuftrious Pitton de Tournefort was about to diffufe over eyery branch of the fcience. This great reformer of Botany was born at Aix, in France, in 1656. He was early defigned for the church, but, upon the death of his father, he quitted all thoughts of embracing that profeflion; and, about two or three years thereafter, went to Montpelier, where he ftudied anatomy, and other branches of phyfic, with great diligence. In 1694, he publifhed his Method, which confifts of twenty-two claffes, and is founded on the regularity and figure of the petals or painted leaves of the flower. The perfpicuity, facility, and precifionof this method, gave it defervedly, from its firft appearance, the preference above all thofe which had hitherto appeared. By the acknowledgment of all botanifts, Tournefort has introduced into the fcience, order, purity, and precifion, by delivering the beft and moft certain principles for eflablifhing the genera and fpecies; and by founding on thofe principles the eafieft and moft accurate ifcethod which has yet appeared. His objeCI was not, as he himfelf declares, to eftablifh an univerfal method, a thing which he confidered as impof- fible to be erected upon hypothetical and arbitrary principles ; but to trace that method which appeared to him moft convenient for obtaining an eafy and accurate knowledge of vegetables. His twenty-two claffes, which, by the way, might have been reduced to feventeen, are fubdi- vided into fix hundred and ninety-eight genera, which are again fub- divided into ten thoufand one hundred and forty-fix fpecies and va- rieties. Upwards of twenty authors of eminence have fucceffively adopted Tournefort’s method, after making the alterations, which new difco- veries, and the correction of trivial errors, rendered neceffary. Having given an accurate abftraCt of tire Linnaean Syftem juft be- fore this, we fhall leave the reader to his own choice to follow which he pleafes ; only obferving, that the facility of acquiring it, has procured it an almoft univerfal reception, which even die Sexual Syftem has not been able to prevent. It was die fyftem which the late Sir John Hill adopted, with little alteration, as he perceived it fuited beft for plain under Handings. The BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 5i The Sexual Method, when fird propofed by Its author, gained little approbation. Thich was certainly owing to the great reputation which Tournefort’s had obtained, and which nothing but the higheft fenfe ot fuperior ingenuity, merit, and induftry, could poffibly diminifh. With- out entering at prefent into a detail of the refpe£tive merits of thefe two illudrious botanids, let us endeavour to derive indrudtion from the diverfity of their principles and methods. The order of nature is alone without imperfection ; but that order j we have not vet been able to deteCt. Every artificial method has ne- ceffarily defects, voids, and obfeure points. But two methods, fuch as thofe of Tournefort and Ljnnaeus, fo well conceived, fo judicioufly executed, and founded upon obfervation, mud enlighten each other mutually. They cannot err on the fame fubjeft; it the one wanders but for a moment, the other immediately fets him in the right path. The lad obfervation we fltall make in this place, is upon the Sleep of Plants; a curious, though little obferved fubjeef. Under this term, botanids comprehend the precife time of the day in which the flowers of different plants open, expand, and fhut. As all plants do not flower in the fame feafon, or month ; in like manner, thofe which flower the fame day, in the fame place, do not open and fhut precifely at the fame hour. Some open in the morning, as the lip-flowers, and compound flowers with flat fpreading petals; others at noon, as the mallows; and a third fet in the evening, or after fun-fet, as fome geraniums, and opuntias: the hour of fliutting is equally determined. Of thofe which open in the morning, fome fhut foon after, while others remain expanded till night. The hours of opening, like the time of flowering, feem to vary, ac- cording to the fpecies of the plant, the temperature of the climate, and | that of the feafon. Flowers, whofe extreme delicacy would be hurt by j the drong impreffions of an ardent fun, do not open till night; thofe j which require a moderate degree of heat to elevate their juices, in other words, whofe juices do not rife but in the morning or evening, do not expand till then; whild thofe which need a more lively heat for the fame purpofe, expand at noon, when the fun is in his meridian drength. Hence it is, that the heat of the air being greater betwixt the tropics titan elfewhere, plants which are tranfported from thofe - climates into the cold or temperate climates of Europe, expand their flowers much later than in their native foil. Thus, a flower which opens in dimmer at fix o’clock in the morning, at Senegal, will not i open at the fame feafon in France and England till eight or nine; nor in i Sweden till ten ; that which opens at eight at Senegal, expands at ten in France and England, and at noon in Sweden; a flower which opens at ten at Senegal, does not open in France and England till noon ; and, in Sweden the plant does not flower, or, at lead, lofes its petals, and frequently bears no fruit; ladly, a plant which opens its flowers, in Senegal, at noon, or at one or two hours after noon, bears neither flowers nor fruit in F ranee, England, and Sweden. The fame happens to 52 BOTANICAL ARRANGEMENTS, moft plants of temperate countries, when removed to Senegal, or other fultry climes. Linnaeus diftinguifhes by the general name of folar (flores folares) all thofe flowers which obferve a determinate time in opening and {hut- ting. Thefe flowers are again divided, from certain circumftances, into three fpecies, or kinds : Equinoctial flowers (flores ssquinoctiales) are fuch as open and fhut at all feafons, at a certain fixed or determinate hour. Tropical flowers (flores tropici) are fuch whofe hour of opening is not fixed at all feafons, but accelerated or retarded according as the length of the day is encreafed or diminifhed. Meteorous flowers (flores meteorici) are fuch whofe hour of expan- fion depends upon the dry or humid ftate of the air, and the greater or lefs preflure of the atmofphere. Of this kind is the Siberian fow- thiftle, which fhuts at night, if the enfhing day is to be clear and fe- rene, and opens if it is to be cloudy and rainy. In like manner the African marigold, which in dry ferene weather, opens at fix or feven in the morning, and fhuts at four o’clock in the afternoon, is a fure indi- cation that rain will fall during the courfe of the day, when it continues, (hut after feven, ' s CULPEPER’S / ( 53 ) CULPEPER’S ASTROLOGICAL JUDGMENT OF DISEASES, MUCH ENLARGED, BY HIMSELF. CHAP. I. OF CRITICAL DAYS. IT is a palpable nnd apparent truth, that God carries men to the principles of grace, by the book of the creatures; for this beginning of Abraham Avenezra, an Arabian Phylician, and a fingular Aftrologer, favoured! of the diings beyond heathenifm; for, in this treatife of Cri- tical Days, he begins thus: “ I entreat the Lord God, that he would enlighten my heart with his “ light and truth, fo long as my fpirit remains in me; for his light is u very delightful and good for die eye of my foul to fee by; for fo ftiall u the night be enlightened to me as the day, neither fhall the clouds u fhadow it; it fhall not be like the light of the Sun by day, becaufe it “ fhall not be clouded; nor like the light of the Moon, bccaufe it fhall “ never be diminifhed, as her light is.” God has made thefe lights as he has made man, and he appointed the greater light to rule the day, and the Idler to rule the night: Hence it appears, the Sun was made to rule the day, and not wholly to give light to it; and the Moon was made to rule the night, not to give light to it only, as appears, Gen. i. becaufe fhe has no light to give; alio he has made the whole hoffc of heaven, the fixed ftars and planets, and given them virtues, together with the luminaries; but their virtues are not fo great as the virtues of the luminaries; neither is the virtue of the Moon fo great as the virtue of the Sun, becaufe die borrows her light from the Sun: the whole hoft of heaven, that is the fixed ftars, move all in the fame fphere; and there- fore their diftance and their latitude is always the fame one from the other: but it is not fo with the planets; for their courfe is various, and fo is their diftance one from the other, and fo is their latitude; for forne- times they are upon the ecliptic, fometimes north from it, fometimes fou tli, fometimes retrograde, fometimes direct, fometimes in conjunction one with another, fometimes in oppofition, fometimes in other afpects. The reafon of this is, becaufe the fphere of one is lower than the fphere of the other ; and the lower the fphere is, the fooner they make their revolution. The neareft to the earth of all the planets is the Moon, and there- fore her courfe is fvvifteft: and befides her difference in longitude and O latitude, 54 culpeper’s astrological judgment latitude, there happen other accidents to her which are not vifible to other planets; for fometimes fhe encreafes, fometimes decreafes, and fornetimes (he is invifible or faileth in light. The reafon why the pla- nets are not feen horned as the Moon, is, becaufe their diftance is greater frcru us ; all the planets feern biggeft when they are at their greajeft diftance' from the Sun, or when they are neareft to the earth, according to Copernicus: alfo fometimes the Moon is eclipfed, but not in the fame manner as the Sun; for the Sun never lofes its light, but is only flia- dowed from a particular people or place, by the body of the Moon; but the Moon, eclipfed totally, lofes her light; and the reafon is, the Sun’s light is his own, but the Moon’s is borrowed. This being premifed, confider that all things under the Moon univer- fally, whether men, beads, or plants, are changed, and never remain in the fame ftate, neither are their thoughts and deeds the fame : take counfel of your head, and it will certify to you what I fpeak is true, and 'they are varied according to the various courfe and difpofition of the planets: look upon your own geniture, and you fhall find your thoughts moved to choler, fo often as the Moon tranfits the place where the body or afpect of Mars was in your genicure ; and to melancholy when fhe does the like to Saturn: the reafon is, becaufe the Moon is aflimilated to the body of man: w'nofe virtue, as well as her light, encreafes and diminiihes; for fhe brings down die virtue of the other planets to the creatures, and to man if he lives upon the earth. The Sun caufes heat and cold,- day and night, winter and fummer. When he arrives to the houfe of his honour or exaltation, viz. Aries, then the trees fpring, living creatures are comforted, die birds fing, the whole creation rejoices, and ficknefTes in the body fhew themfelves in their colours: alfo when he arrives at his fail, viz. Libra, the leaves of the trees fall, all creatures are dull, and mourn iike the trees in Oc- tober. Another reafon is alfo plain; ufually fick' people are fomething eafed from midnight to noon, becaufe then the Sun is in the afeending part of the heaven ; but they are moft troubled when he is descending, that is, from noon to midnight. I he courfe of the Moon is to be obferved in many operations both in the fea and rivers, vegetables, fheh-fifh, as alfo in the bones and marrow of men and all creatures ; alfo feed fown at the wane of the Moon, grows either not at all, or to no purpofe. '\ ife men have experience of many virtues of the ftars, and have ; It them to pofteritjr. and phyficians in old time have found out the changes and terminations of difeafes by the courfe of the Moon: where- fore the 7, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, or 29th days of ficknefies, are called Critical Days, which cannot be known but by the courfe of the Moon; for let not your brain reft in the number of the days, becaufe the Moon is fometimes fwifter, fometimes flower. As for fuch difeafes as do not terminate in a month (I mean a lunar month } viz. the time the Moon traces round the zodiac, which is 27 days. OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 55 days, lomc odd hours, feme few minutes; you may judge of thefe by Vhe courl'e of the Sun. The day is not called Critical becaufe it is the feventh day from the decumbiture, as if the virtue lay in the number 7, but becaufe the Moon comes to the quartile of the place fhe was ill at the decumbiture; it is no matter whether it be a day fooner or later. When fhe comes to the oppofition of the place fhe was in at the day of the decumbiture, (he makes a fecond crifis; the third when fhe comes to the fecond quartile, and the fourth when fhe comes to the place fhe was in at the decumbiture ; and it is well ihe can make fo many. The reafon of the difference of the Moon’s motion is the difference of her diitance from the earth; for when the centre of her circle is neareft the centre of the earth, ihe is iwift in motion ; and hence it comes to pafs, that fometimes fhe moves more than 15 degrees in 2-5- hours; fometimes lefs than twelve; therefore, if ihe be iwift in motion, fhe comes to her own quartile in fix days ; if flow, not in leven, there- fore you muff judge according to the motion of the Moon, and not ac- cording to the number of the days. Upon a critical day, if the Moon be well afpefted with good planets, it goes well with the iick; if, by ill planets, it goes ill: but I know you would be refolved in one particular, which is, if the crifis depend upon the motion of the Moon, and her afpe£t to the planets, what is the rea- fon, if two men be taken fick at one and the fame time, that yet the crifis of the one falls out well, and not fo the other? I anfvver, 'I he virtue working is changed according to the diverfity of the virtue receiving; for we all know the Sun makes the clay hard, and the wax foft; it makes the cloth white, and the face black ; fo then, if one be a child whole nature is hot and moift, the other a young man, and the third an old man, the crifis works diverfely in them all, becaufe their ages are different. Secondly, The time of the year carries a great flroke in this bufinefs; if it be in the fpring-time, difeafes are moil obnoxious to a child, be- caufe his nature is hot and moift ; a difeafe works moft violently with a choleric man in fummer; with a melancholy man in autumn; with a phlegmatic man, by reafon of age or complexion, in winter. Thirdly, To this I add, fuppofe, at the beginning of a difeafe, the Moon was in the place of Mars, in the geniture, whofe nature is hot and dry; if the difeafe be of heat, it mightily aggravates it ; not fo if it | be of cold; and you feldcm find two men that have Mars in one and tire I fame place in their geniture, fali fick together, and the difeafe differ neither at the middle nor at the end. Quest. Put the cafe, the age of the people, the feafon of the year, and the difeafe be the fame, wrould the crifis be the fame; yea or no? I anfwer thus, Their complexions may be different, the one hot and dry, the other cold and moift: if the difeafe be hot and dry, the effect will not be fo. violent upon a cold and moift body, as it will be upon a hot and dry ; the fire will fooner fiffze upon that which is hot and dry, than that which is cold and moift. 2. imagine 56 culpeper’s astrological judgment 2. Imagine the complexions to be the fame upon both parties ? I ! anfvver, I That is impoffible, there mud be fome difference upon complexions ; for though they may be the fame in general, yet in particular there | muft be feme difference, by reafon of their different diet, exercife and | climate, unlefs they are born and brought up under one latitude. 3. Let us imagine them to be all alike, yet divers things may inter- vene and alter the crifis ; their nativities may not agree; for example, if the Moon be in the place of Saturn cr Mars in the nativity, the difeafe is dangerous: not fo if fhe be in the place where Jupiter or Venus was in then ; or it is pofilble Jupiter or Venus may hurt in the nativities of fuch to whofe afeendants they are inimical or pofited in the fixth or eighth houfes. 4. Again, Saturn may be lord of the one nativity, and not of the other, and then he may hurt the one and not the other whofe nativity he is lord of; for the Devil will not hurt his own. The like of Mars. Innumerable fuch things may be added, as that the one may provide for the ficknefs before hand, not the other, but it is needlefs. Object. But then you will fay, there can be no certainty at all found in the crifis ? I anfwer, Aftrologers pafs j udgment two manner of ways in difeafes. The firft we call Univerfal; and fo Saturn rules confumptions, Mars fevers, V enus over women, Mercury over fcholars, &c. The lecond is Particular, and the feventh houfe has dominion over Women, the ninth over fcholars, &c. Now no particular can deftroy an univerfal; for example, if Venus be ill feated in a nativity, and the lord of the feventh well feated, we fay the native (hall generally incur evil by women, though fome particular good may occur from them; in like manner judge in this cafe by the : general fignificators of ficknefs, viz. Saturn and Mars. But fecondly, If you can poffibly get the nativities, you fhall not ern And new give me leave to quote one experiment of my own. If the nativities be one and the fame, the crifis will be one and the fame : For example, I know three children born at one and the fame time, (as the event proved;) at five years of age they all three had convulfions, whereby thej? were all three lame of one leg, the boys on the right leg, and the girl on the left: at fourteen years of age they all died in one I and the fame day of the fmall-poX. Thirdly, it the nativity cannot be gotten, view the urine, and erecl a celefnal fcheme upon the fight of it ; and if you have the decumbiture, compare it with the celeftial fcheme at the view of the urine, and you may judge clearly of the crifis. To proceed to the matter ; if the Moon be ftrong when fhe comes to the quartile, or oppofition of the place fhe was in at the decumbiture, viz. in her heufe or exaltation, the lick recovers, if fhe be afpedted to no planet. Judge OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 57 Judge the like of the Sun in chronical difeafes, but judge the contrary if either of them be in the detriments of falls ; for there is as much dif- ference between them, as there is between the Zenith and the Nadir. If the Moon be void of courfe at the beginning of a difeafe, the fign is neither good nor bad. Look then to the fign afcending at the begin- ning of a difeafe, and let the Moon alone for a time. If the Moon be angular at the decumbiture, and in the afcendant, judge of her alone, and make ufe of no other fignificator ; if fhe be not lb, join the lord of the afcendant with her in your judgment. It is very dangerous when the Moon is eclipfed, when fhe comes to the quartile or oppofition of the place fhe was in at the decumbiture, for ui'ually at fuch a time Death turns phyfician. If in tire beginning of a ficknefs the Moon be in a moveable fign, the ficknefs loon moves to an end one way or other: fixed figns prolong ficknefs, and common figns fet a flop to the wifeft brain in the world. Alfo this is a certain rule, as fure as the Sun is up at noon day, that difeafes of plenitude are very dangerous, when a man is taken fick upon a Tull Moon ; difeafes of falling or emptincfs are moft dangerous when a man is taken fick upon a new Moon. Let me intreat you to give phyfic for a difeafe of emptincfs when Ihe is near the full ; and for dif- eafes of fulnefs when the Moon has loft her light. Diminilh a humour when the Moon diminifhes in light : increafe when fhe increafes in light: phlegm oppofes choler, melancholy oppofes blood. It is none of the worft ways to diminifh choler by increafing phlegm; a word is enough to the wife. It is very bad when in the beginning of a ficknefs the Moon is in a fign of the nature of the humour offending. Naturally when fhe is in a fiery fign, amend a difeafe of phlegm; but if choler abound, it is very good if fhe be in a watery fign. You may know by a penny how a fhilling is coined. If the Moon be in conjunction or afpect with any planet, and neither of them have latitude, the crifis will be firm: if they differ much in la- titude, the crifis will be weak. The Moon in conjunction with Saturn at the decumbiture, fhews Jong ficknefs; and if Saturn be flow in motion, fo much the worfe (and bad is the belt) at all times in fuch a cafe. If Saturn be retrograde when he comes to the oppofition of the Sun, beware of a relapfe. If Saturn have north latitude, be fure the fick is bound much in body. If the Moon be joined to a retrograde planet, the fick vomits up his phyfic. V enus helps more in the ficknefs of young men and women, then fhe does in old. If the difeafe comes of heat, Venus h^lps more than Jupiter; if the difeafe comes more of cold, Jupiter helps more than Venus. If the difeafe comes of love, there is not a more peftilent planet in the heavens than Venus, then call for help of Jupiter : in perfecutions of religion, Yql. I, H Jupiter 58 Culpeper’s astrological judgment Jupiter is little better than the Devil; call help of Venus in fuch a cafe. Mercury occidental and ftrong, fignifies good in difeafes. If Mars caufe the difeafe, Venus helps more than Jupiter; if Saturn, then Jupiter more than V enus. If, in the beginning of a ficknefs, the Moon be in conjunction with , any fixed ftars of the firft magnitude, whofe latitude from the ecliptic is but fmall, you may fafely judge of difeafes by the nature of that ftar fhe is joined to: fuppofe he be of the nature of a planet good or bad, take him according to his nature. When the Moon is joined to any planet by body or afpedt in the be- ginning of any ficknefs; if fhe afpedt that planet when fhe comes to the i; quartile or oppofition of the place, the crifis will be firm and liable, and it will move no fafter than a houfe, and it will not be altered be it good or bad. But if, when fhe comes to the quartile or oppofition, fhe meets with another planet, be fure the difeafe changes either to better or worfe, ac- ■ cording to the nature of that ftar fhe meets with. And this will appear in the fick party, or elfe in the phyfician, or in the courfe of phyfic. See what houfe the planet fhe meets with at the crifis is lord of in the; decumbiture, and judge accordingly. If it be a fixed ftar of another nature to that fixed ftar fhe was with I at tire decumbiture, it will not alter fo much, or at leaf! there will not be a univerfal alteration of the difeafe; and my reafon is, becaufe the fixed ftars are fo far from the earth. And the laft is, That whatfoever is faid of the Moon in acute difeafes, will hold as true of the Sun in chronic difeafes, THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD CRISIS, ITS USE, CAUSE, KINDS.I DIVISIONS AND DIFFERENCE. CRISIS, according to Galen, is a fwift and fudden change of arw difeafe, whereby the fick is either brought to recovery, or death; and alt fick man can be brought to nothing elfe, unlefs you will make him a beaft of a man. For every fwift and fudden change wherever it hap-;- pens, whether in the Moon or the air, or fick body, Galen calls a Crifis / and from this Crifis is judgment given, whether the fick be likely tc live or die. The word Crifis is a Greek word, derived from apo tow krino , which fignifies to judge or difcern, or pafs fentence upon a thing; therefor* critical days are nothing elfe but days wherein a man may difcern :i difeafe, or give judgment upon it, be it good or bad it matters no much; it is taken by a metaphor from the judicial court to the art 0 phyfic, becaufe it is fomething like to plead a man’s caufe for his life and to labour acutely under a difeafe to be drawn by inimical accufer befor OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 59 before the judgment feat, and to run the hazard of life, with a cruel and hoftile difeafe. Moreover, there are three things requiiite to a ju- dicial court, the accufer, the perfon indidted, and the judge. So like— 'wife are there three things by which the art of phyfic confifts, and '•by which every cure is perfected. I. The difeafe. 2. Nature, and the phyfician, which is nature’s fervant, or at leaft fhould be fo; and 3. the accidents which manifeft what the difeafe is, and ftand as witnefles. The caufe of the Crifis is twofold ; inward and outward: the inter- nal caufe is taken from its own proper principle, if you will believe Hippocrates, and that is double or twofold; for either nature labours to expel the humour that caufes the difeafe, or elfe the humour itfelf being drawn to a place, and not fit for excretion, by its own weight or qua- lity, burdens nature, and fo breaks out. The fecond internal caufe may be afcribed to nature itfelf; nature, if Ihe be ftrong, is a good phyfician for all difeafes, and concocts the hu- mour which caufes the difeafe, and feparates that which is good from that which is bad ; and having done fo, prepares that which breeds an- noyances for excretion, and at laft caffs it out. The external caufe of the Crifis, is caufed by an alteration of the air, whence arifes an alteration of the breath a man draws in, from cold or heat, from dry to moift, or the contrary to them both. Hippocrates, in his 6th Aphorifm, and in his Treatife de Natura Humana, fpeaks in downright plain language, that heat and moifture in the body, moves forward the Crifis ; for fomc difeafes, fays he, come by ill diet, others by the air we draw in. So then the diet, as it breeds fuch and fuch humours in the body, is internal; but the air we draw in, is the external caufe of the Crifis. And now give me leave to quit my author, and yet I will not for- get him quite neither. The Lord eternal, in the beginning, when he formed the creation, made ' it of a compofition of contraries ; difeord makes a harmony, as in mufic. If the world be compofed of a compo- fition of contraries, various mud be the difpofition of man’s life: hence comes fometimes health, fometimes ficknefs,fometimesmelancholy, fome- times choler to the body of man; and happy is that man that knows himfelf. Thefe qualities in man being altered by the various influence of the Stars, the fphere of the one carrying a fwifter motion than the fphere of the other, then various mud needs be the difpofition of man’s body. The Luminaries Carry the greateft ftrength in the Heavens, and fo do the time-fervers in the ftate ; and this needs not be doubtful to any body, if you confider that the found of a drum or trumpet incites a man to valour, and die found of a fiddle to dancing. Befides, other manifefc effects of the Luminaries appear to our eyes. Who makes hours and days, and feafons in the year ? is it not the Sun, who makes alterations in the air, in plants, and in living creatures? What is the reafon that oyfters are fuller at the full Moon than at the new? To the number of H 2 oyfters, 6o CULPEPER’S ASTROLOGICAL JUDGMENT oyfters, join crabs and lobfters, nay the marrow in the body of man ; is it not the Moon ? Now then we have brought the matter-to this purpofe, that the uni- verfal caufe of the Cribs is in the influence of the Heavens: for the ce- leftial bodies, either by heat, light, motion, or afpedt, configuration, or all of them, or fome of them, aft not only in the four elements, but ele- mentary bodies ; for if they aft in the one, they muft needs in the other, and then by confequence in man, which is but compounded of ele- ments. If the bodies of men are elementary, compofed of fire, air, earth, and water, we muft needs participate in one meafure or other, of all thefe elements. The elements being contraries, cannot always agree ; hence comes the caufe of health, fometimes of ficknefs, fometimes of death it- felf ; and Ariftotle was half of my opinion when he wrote thefe words : u From the rain and dew of Heaven, both good and bad things are caufed to bud.” ; KINDS OF CRISES. THE kinds of Crifes are two ; one in acute difeafes, and they are to be judged by the Moon ; the other in long and lalting, or chronic dif- eafes, which are to be judged of by the Sun : for thofe Crifes which come from their proper principle, are from the internal caufe, depending only upon the motions of the Moon, and her configurations and afpects to the place fhe was in at the decumbiture. But you muft note in acute difeafes, the afpedts or radiations of the Moon, to wit, her quartile or oppofition, are not taken from the con- junction of the Moon to the Sun, as they are in almanacs or epheme-, rides, but from the place in which the Moon was found at the decum- biture. There are acute and chronic difeafes. Of acute difeafes, fome are fimple acute, others are per-acute, others are very acute, per-peracute, or exceeding acute. Thofe which are Amply acute, are finifhed in 8, io, 1 1, 14, 20, 2 1 days,i and they are called monthly difeafes by fome, and lunary by others; they are terminated in the time the Moon traces the 12 celeftial figns of the Zodiac, which is in 27 days, fome odd hours, and fome odd minutes. Thofe acute difeafes which fufFer changes, or degenerate, are to be judged of by an imperfect way; for fometimes they encreafe, fometimes they are remitted ; they are as fickle as a weather-cook, according as the Moon meets with the beams either of good or evil planets : for fometimes they change out of acute difeafes into chronic difeafes ; and fo a continued fever may change into an heftic fever; or an intermit- ting fever into a continual fever ; and thefe difeafes terminate in forty days ; very acute dileafes, fuch as are concluded in 5,6, 7, 8 days, among winch is an inflammation of the lungs. Exceeding OF DISEASES ENLARGED. 6l Exceeding acute difeafes are fuch, which end in three or four days at fur thert, as peftilencies, apoplexies, Sec. Chronic difeafes follow the motion of the Sun, and it is about ninety days before the tirft Crifis appears; for in that time the Sun comes to the proper quartile of the place he was in at the decumbiture, as appears in hedfic fevers and dropfies : but when he comes to his fextile, or trine afpedf of the place he was in at the decumbiture, fome motioi#appd?ws whereby a man may judge of the Crifis to come. It falls out well, if the Sun be well afpedlcd by good planets, and worfe if to evil planets ; and this holds true, if you coniider it from the nativity, throughout all the whole courfeofa man’s life ; for difeafes are particular attendants on a man’s life. Moreover, of the Crifes, feme are perfect, fome are imperfedl. A perfect Crifis is when the difeafe appears entirely, and perfectly to be judged of; and this is fometiines hopeful, ibmetimes defperate: hope- ful, when there is great probability of health and recovery; defperate, when there is palpable figns of death. An imperfect Crifis, is, when the difeafe is changed upon every light occafion ; and if Mars be author of the difeafe, and in align of a double body, upon my life you fhall not fail ; for the Crifis happens as true as the weather-cock. Your fafert way then to judge of the difeafe is, by the afpccts of tbs Moon to the Planets: when the Moon meets with the inimical or hoftile beams of Saturn or Mars, have a care of your patient: and if yen know what hinders, by the fame reafon you may know what helps. Phyfi- cians in former times, uiftinguifhed the Crifes of difeafes thus : Some were fafe, fome doubtful ; feme fit to be judged, and fome not fit to be judged. That Crifis is fafe which comes without great and pernicious afpecis. It is doubtful, fufpicious, I had almoft Paid dangerous, which comes with great pernicious afpedts. The difeafe is fit to be judged, when figns of concodfion come the fourth day, and then certainly the Crifis will appear the ninth. The Moon moves not upon an equal motion; therefore you had beft truft to her motion, rather than the days. The Sun has dominion in chronic difeafes; the Moon in acute: if you be a wife man, your judgment {hall be as fure as die Sun, and drat never fails without a miracle. What I have fpeken, I have only fpoken to {hew that it is the mo- tion of Sun and Moon that produces the Crifis in difeafes, and not the number of days. Of days, fome are called by their own name, Critical Days, other are called Judicial Days; and they are fo called, becaufe upon diem nature and reafon make manifeft what the difeafe is, and experience tells me it is true. Another 6Z CULPEPER ’S ASTROLOGICAL JUDGMENT Another time is called Intercidental, which falls out between the judicial days and critical. Upon thefe intercidental days, the difeafe is ufually remitted ; if fo, then a good Crifis may be expected ; if not an evil. I fhall explain thefe terms before I go further ; a man falls fick, there is the fir ft Crilis, let the caufe of the difeafe be what it will ; when the Moon comes to the fame degree of the next fign fhe was at in the de^mbiu^ there is the judicial day ; for in that time the difeafe fhews itfelf in its colours. When the Moon comes to her fextile, it brings the intercidental day, and fhould mitigate the difeafe ; if fhe do not, fhe is afpedled to evil planets, and if fhe be afpefted to evil planets, an ill Crifis is to be expected, and fo the contrary ; and you will never find this fail. CHAP. II. THE WAY TO FIND OUT THE CRITICAL DAYS, AS ALSO THE DECUMBITURE, BOTH BV ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS. ANCIENT Phyficians being ignorant' of the motion of the Moon, though not of her operation, made their account by number of days ; but, in fo doing, erred egregioufly : and although Duret quotes their opinions, I hold it not worth time to recite men’s failings. But of the certain term or time when the critical days begin, I fhall quote thefe few words : When any fharp difeafe comes, if you would difcern whether it tends to health, death, mutation, or continuance, it is neceffary that you being at the firft point of time of the invafion of the difeafe. This Galen fays is very hard, if not impoffible to find ; it is taken pro confeflo, that it may be eafily known, when a man takes his bed in his ficknefs : but when the beginning of the ficknefs is, that is the queftion ; for a lufty flout man bears the difeafe longer, and is longer before he takes his bed, than a puny, weakly, fickly man ; a mere fufpicion of a ficknefs, will fend a faint-hearted man to bed; you may perfuade him he is fick, whe- ther he be fo or not. Notwithftanding this is moft certain, that in moft acute difeafes, as alfo in many other difeafes, as the falling-ficknefs, palfies, apoplexies, plurifies, &c. it is an eafy thing to find out the beginning, or the pre- cife time of the invafion of the difeafe. The common opinion of fuch as are learned in Aftrology is, and according to their opinion I affirm, that that moment of time is to be taken for the beginning of die difeafe, in which a man finds a manifeft pain or hurt in his body : for inftance, when a man has got a fever, ufually the head achs certain days before ; this is not the fever, but a meffenger or forerunner of the fever; the true beginning of the fever is . when OF DISEASES ENLARGED. when the difeafe appears fenfibly, or when a horror or trembling in- vades the lick, as does ufually in the beginning of a fever; that is the beginning of the difeafe, when the difeafe appears manifeftly to fenfe; and this was the judgment of Hippocrates, one of the moll honcft of phy- ficians. And you fhall find this always, that the more acute the difeafe is, the more manifeft the beginning of it is to fenfe, yea fo manifeft, that it is almoft impoffible that the beginning fhould lie hid from any one, if he have but fenfe. CHAP. III. OF THE SYMPATHY AND ANTIPATHY OF THE SIGNS AND PLANETS. BEFORE we come to a prognoftic, we mull know that there is a Sympathy between celeftial and terreftrial bodies ; which will eafily ap- pear, if we confider that the whole creation is one entire and united body, compofed by the power of an All-wife God, of a compofition of difcords. Alfo there is a friendfhip and hatred between one fign of the Zodiac and another ; for fiery figns are contrary to watery, and noCturnal to diurnal, &c. The planets are alfo friendly and inimical one to another ; but in their friendfhip and enmity, whatever the matter is, I cannot agree neither with ancient nor modern writers; for they all hold Mars and Venus to be friends. And what their opinion is of all the reft, you may find in Lilly’s Introduction. My own opinion, grounded upon reafon, is this, that there are two caufes of friendfhip and enmity between planets, eftential and accidental: planets are effentially inimical three ways. Firft, when their houfes or exaltations are oppofite one to the other; and fo Saturn is an enemy to both luminaries, Jupiter to Mercury, and e contra Mars to Venus. 2d. Planets are inimical one to the other, when their temperatures or qualities are oppofite ; and fo Jupiter is an enemy to Saturn, he being hot and moift, Saturn cold and dry: fo Mars is an enemy to Venus, |ie being hot and dry, fhe cold and moift. 3d. Planets are inimical when their conditions differ ; fo there is en- • mity between Sol and Saturn: Jupiter is enemy to Mars, for he loves peace and juftice, Mars violence and oppreflion: Mars is enemy to Venus, for he rejoices in the field, fhe in the bed; he loves to be pub- lic, fhe plays leaft in fight. And thus you fee in every refpeCt, what a difficult thing it is to make Mars and Venus rationally friends. Accidental inimicalnefs to planets, is when they are in fquare or cp- pofition, &c. the one to the other. Alfo inimicalnefs muft needs be in the figns ; for if cold and heat, moifture, and drynefs, be inconftftent to- . gether 64 culpeper’s astrological judgment jrether in one and the fame place, as your eyes will tell you, if you will but pleafe to take a pail of water and throw it into the fire, then can they not be in one and the fame place in the heavens. And if fo, as is moft true, then mu ft ftgns be, fome cold, feme hot, and fome moift : one fign muft needs cherifh one quality more than another : and fee- I ing tile firft qualities are adverfa the one to the other, there is a ne- |; ceffity, that fometimes one muft yield, and fometimes overcome : and this is the reafon of the corruption, generation, and viciftitude of things. Moreover, the Moon conftituted in a lign, commonly ftrikes upon the nature of the fign fhe is in : as if fhe be in a fiery fign, file ftirs up choler, &c. Alfo as every element has two qualities, fo has every celeftial fign; aerial figns are hot and moift, and earthly figns cold and dry ; the fiery figns hot and dry, the watery figns cold and moift : and thus ) ou fee how the concords are made of djfcords; for airy figns are joined to fiery by heat, and to watery by moifture, and to earthly by coldnefs ; the earthly are joined to the watery by coldnefs, and to fiery by drynefs ; this is an old true maxim of philofophers, which I fhail not at this time be captious againft. Befides, the congrefs and configurature of the planets and fixed ftars is diligently to be heeded; of thefe, fome are obnoxious and hateful; as a quartile and oppofition, as alfo the conjunction of bad planets;: others are healthful, as fextile and trine, and conjunction of good pla-l nets ; and indeed the chiefeft part of Aftrology confifts in the due ob- fervation of configurations ; for by thele come alterations in things be- low, either to better or worfe, according to the nature of the planets or ftars that fignify them : for when two ftars are joined with, or afpeft- ed to one another, they feminate fomething in lublunary bodies accord- ing to their own nature; if diffention are between the ftars, the fperm' proves malicious, deftrueftive, and tumultous; even as the oppofition! of winds, efpecialiy the north and fouth winds, produce thunder, light- ning, and peftilential vapours : and this we find never fails, if the fouth- wind prevails, and the Moon and Mercury behold one another. Thus you fee a reafon, why difeafes in the body of a man are either exafperated, or remitted, according to the good or evil meeting of the planets. Of the afpects, oppofition is the worft of all, not by any contrariety or diverfity of nature of the figns in which the oppofitions fall out, but in refpebt of the planets them fid ves oppofing, which being at greateft dis- tance are moft inimical, they being in a pofture to outface one another, and this is the principal caufe of enmity. A quartile is inimical, becaufe the Stars fo afpedted are in figns of contrary nature ; as Sol in Aries, Luna in Cancer, the afpedt is hateful, becaufe Aries is hot and dry, Cancer cold and moift ; Aries mafeuliae. Cancer feminine ; Aries diurnal. Cancer nocturnal. And OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 65 And now by leave of the great Ptolemy himfelf, and of all the fons of art, if this be the original of the enmity of a fquare afpecl, as is agreed upon on all Tides ; then, why do they hold that a quartile in figns of long afcenfions is equivalent to a trine, and a trine in figns of fhort afeen- lions as pernicious as a fquare? Is not this the way to bring the art into a labyrinth, if not into a confufion ? In truth, in my opinion it is. This I will confefs, and give you my reafon for it when I have done: one fquare is not fo bad as ano- ther; as from Aries to Cancer, is worfe than from Cancer to Libra, becaufe the ligns Cancer and Libra are in better harmony, as agreeing in paffive qualities, namely moifture; whereas Aries and Cancer dis- agree totally. By this rule you may find out the reft. Alfo this I affirm, and will prove it when I have done, that fome femi-fextiles are worfe than fome quartiles : for Pifces is more inimical to Aries than to Capricorn ; firft, becaufe it is the twelfth fign from him . 2dly, difagrees more in qualities. A Textile afpedt is good, becaufe the figns which are in fextile the one to the other, are both of the fame active quality, both of a fex, both of a time; for example, Aries and Gemini are both mafeuline, both diurnal; Taurus and Cancer are both cold, both feminine, both nocturnal ; but becaufe they differ all in paffive qualities, it is not alto- gether fo friendly as a trine afpedl is ; for that confifts altogether of ligns of the fame nature, fex, quality, and time, and are correfpondent the one to the other every way. A conjunction or fynod is the ftrongeft of all, and cannot properly be called an afpedt. A conjunction of good planets with good, is ex- ceeding good, it is good in the higheft degree; a conjunction of bad planets with bad planets, is as bad, as the former was good; a conjunc- tion of good planets with bad, is no ways commendable. I have now done, if you will be pleafed but to take notice, that the conjunction of all planets with the Sun is bad, becaufe the Sim, who gave them their efficacy, takes it away at fuch times. CHAP. IV. . the way of finding out the critical and judicial days BY A FIGURE OF EIGHT HOUSES. THIS is the method of Hippocrates, and from him Galen ufed it, and it is to be done in this manner. 1. Make your fcheme of eight equal parts. 2. Search out the fign, degree, and minute, the Moon was in at the beginning of the ficknels, Vol. I, I 3. Place I 66 culpeper’s astrological judgment. 3. Place the fign, degree, and minute, the Moon was at the begin- ning of the ficknefs upon the cufp of the firft houfe, as though that were afcending at the time. 4. Add forty-five to this ; you need not regard the latitude of the re- gion, for it is of no ufe in critical figures, but take the degrees barely from the ecliptic ; when you have added forty-five degrees to the place of the Moon at the decumbiture, the point of the Zodiac anfwerable to that, fhall make the cufp of the fecond houfe. 5. Forty-five degrees more added to that, will bring you to the cufp of the third houfe, to which when the Moon comes, fhe comes to the quartile of the place fhe was in at the decumbiture ; and this makes the firft crifis. 6. F orty-five degrees more added to this, makes the fourth houfe ; forty-five degrees more added to that, points out the place of the true oppofition of the Moon to the place fine was in at the decumbiture; and this makes the fecond crifis. The fecond quartile of the Moon to her own place at the decumbiture, makes the third crifis : and the fourth is when fhe comes to the fame fign, degree, and minute, that fhe was in at the decumbiture. The time or hcufes noted betwixt the crifis, are called the judicial, times, or fuch times wherein a man may judge what the difeafe is, or what it will be ; remember this all along in fuch kinds of judgment ; and do not forget to number the time by days, as the ancients did ; for they were either ignorant, or regardlefs of the courfe of the Moon ; for the Moon comes to the judicial or critical days fometimes fooner, fome- times later, as fhe is either fwifter or flower in motion. Now the time called Critical, is always evil, becaufe of the contrariety of the fign the Moon is in then to the fign fhe was in before, or the con- trariety of her nature to the oppofite place ; at fuch a time there arifes a controverfy, as it were, between the difeafe and nature ; the Moon maintains nature in acute difeafes. And now you may have the reafon why, that if fhe be afHidted upon a critical day by the bodies, or ill beams of Saturn and Mars, or the lord of death, (which is always lord of the eighth houfe, and fometimes lord of the fourth houfe, will ferve the turn, if he be a malevolent, becaufe he fignifies the grave,) the difeafe increafes, and fometimes the fick dies: but if the Moon at the time of crifis beholds the lord of the afcendant, or the fortunes fortunately, health enfues ; for the malady is vanquifhed and routed in the conflict. If the difeafes terminate upon the firft crifis, fee how the Moon is con- figurated on the fecond crifis, and judge then by the fame rules. If it terminate not then neither, as fometimes fuch a thing happens, view the third crifis, and judge by that the fame way; if your judgment balanced by reafon, and the former rules, certify you the difeafe will not end one way nor other, neither in health nor death ; fee what you can fay to the Moon when fhe returns to the place fhe v/as in at the decumbiture, which is about twenty-feven days, eight hours, and fome minutes ; and fee how the Moon is then feated, and to what planets fhe I lit tt;: te1 llsi m, a: fn n OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 67 is configurated then : and this of neceflity mud be the end of all acute difeafes. Thus you fee an acute difeafe can lad but a month at longed ; not one in an hundred lafts fo long ; not one in twenty lads above half fo long. If the difeafe end not then, the acute difeafe is turned into a chronic cafe ; and all chronic difeafes mud be judged of by the Sun. The rules of judging of chronical difeafes by the Sun, are the fame by which we judge of acute difeafes by the Moon. As for judicial days, that is, the intercidcntal time which falls out between the fird and judicial days in crifis, which fail out jud in the midd between the critical days, I lhall pals them by at this time, be- caufe I fancy not this way of judgment by a figure of eight houfes; vet I dull not fo pafs them by, but that I fhall remember them in this Treadle. CHAP. V. THE FORMER RULES ILLUSTRATED BY AN EXAMPLE. A Certain man fell Tick of an acute difeafe at Paris in France, Anno 1641, Jan. 12, about eight of the clock in the afternoon, at which time the Moon was pofited in Aquarius, 10. 19. This I place in the afcendant. To this Aquarius, 10. 19. I add 45 degrees: the produdd is Pifces 25. 19. which makes the fird judicial time. To which adding 45 degrees more, it will bring you to Taurus 10. 19. to which place, when the Meon arrives, die comes to the exa£l quartile of the place fhe was in at the decumbiture, and makes the fird crifis. Add 45 degrees to that, and it produces Gemini 25. 19. which is the fecond judicial time. If you would know when the fecond crifis comes about, it is but only adding 45 degrees to that, and you will find the refult to be Leo 10. 19. jud the place oppofite to the Moon at the decumbiture. The remainder are found out in the fame manner. When you have done fo, it is no more but this. Fird, Seek the time when the Moon comes to Taurus 10. 19. and you fhall find it comes upon the 19th of January, about eight of the clock at night. Secondly, View fird the face of Heaven; fecondly, the pofition and configuration of the planets one with another at the fame time. Vide George Wharton Hemefofcopeion, 1652, his Difcourfe at large, in Gadbury’s Edition. I 2 A SYNOPSIS, 63 Culpeper’s astrological judgment A SYNOPSIS, OR JOINT VIEW OF THE CALCULATION. Critical days. Moon's “motion. Time of In- cidence. Lunar ftace, according to the Decumbiture, her afpedts, as alfo the mutual afpeils 01 the Planets. Decumb. judicat. 1. January 1.2 -CC? 10, 19. K *5 19- D. H IV! . 12. 8. 0. P. M. t6. 5. 43. A. M D ad * . « :ad J & 12 6 © It 5 a O ]) vacua. ]) ad J, threatens an ill Crifis. J) vacua, an i 1 Crifis. j) ad Tp Tf. A good Crifis to be hoped. ]) ad A 5 , He recovers. 3. Judicial 3. Crifis 15. 19. nj 10. ig. 30. 3. 44. P. M. February, 2. 9. 1. P. M. 4. Judicial 4. Crifis 15- 19- t 10. 39. XS? - 4. , - The hiftory cf this obfervation is of a certain perfon who, by reafon of great wearinefs in a journey, was furprized with a fever at the time before mentioned; together with his fever he had a cough and a pleurify. The fever came to a.Te/Ja/o^-r, I never read of this name in Ga- len, as I remember ; I take it both by Monfieur Duret’s defcription, and alfo by his figure of Heaven, to be the very fame which Galen calls The original of this difeafe is choler putrified with blood in the veins, and is the moft violent of all fevers. The night after the decumbiture the fever appeared, although on the third day all fluking left him, yet felt not the patient the leaft intermillion, the Moon being in Aquarius io. 19. Aquarius being alfo a fign of infirmity, the Moon being in Textile to Mars applying to Venus and Saturn, Mars afEidting the Sun with a quartile, as alfo Jupiter and Mercury who were in combuftion. The 1 6th day of the fame month of January the difeafe increafed, at which time tire Moon came to a femi-quadrant making the firft ju- dicial time. And meeting then with never an afpecft, the crifis could be expended no other than doubtful and unfortunate. The 19th day of the fame month at eight of the clock in the afternoon, the firft crifis came about, fome little fweat the difeafea had. And if you view the pafiages of Hippocrates, which you will find at the latter end of this Book, you (hall find the words run thus, or to this purpofe: It is very hopeful when a man fick of a fever fvveats upon a critical day ; however! OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 69 however my author confefies, that both his cough, and his pain in his fide left him, though his fever ftill remained, nay increafed, by reafon of the quartile of Mars and Venus at the fame time. Mercury being lord of the afcendant at the decumbiture. Alfo it is worth noting, that the Moon being in Aquarius at the decumbiture, and comes to Taurus at the firft crifis, both Taurus and Aquarius are figns of infirmity ; y~t you fee the pleurify left him, the Moon being ftrong in her exaltation, though void of courfe. January 23. When the Moon by tranfit made the fecond judicial time, fhe was afflidted by the trine of Saturn, which prognofticates caufe enough of fear in the fecond crifis. January 27, at 5. 50. in the morning, the Moon came to the true oppofition, to the place fhe was in at the decumbiture, file being then without any afpeft, either good or evil : this brought no hopes to the fick man of cure at that time; and indeed the iick was then very bad ; yea, fo bad, that his phyficians were in doubt whether he would live or die. January 30, at three hours 44 minutes afternoon, comes about the third judicial time, at which time the Moon was in trine to Jupiter, which gives ftrong hopes that a healthful and propitious crifis would enfue, and fo it did; for, upon February the 2d, at nine o’clock afternoon, the Moon coming to 10 degrees 9 minutes of the Scorpion, where fhe made the fecond quar- tile to the place fhe was in at the decumbiture, and the third crifis fhe applied to the trine of V enus, his fever began to leave him, and he be- gan to recover his health. By this one example, you may fee die wonderful harmony and con- fent of difeafes widi the motions of the heavens, which, that it may ap- pear more clear, and be vifible to all, unlefs it be to fuch as are fo blind they will not fee; a rational figure is fubjoined, and judgment given upon it. 70 Culpeper’s astrological judgment A RATIONAL FIGURE UPON THE DECUM3ITURE. ■ ill AN ASTROLOGICAL JUDGMENT UPON THE FACE OF HEAVEN AT THE DECUMBITURE. THE chief fignificators of this figure are the afcendant and Mercury lord of it, retrograde in Capricorn, a moveable fign, in the 5th houfe of the Heaven, and in the houfe of Saturn. The 6th houfe, and his lord Saturn in Aquarius, in the 6th houfe ilrong and potent. The Moon in the 6th houfe upon the cufp of it ; Sol in the 5th houfe with the lord of the eighth afRiHed by the quartile of Mars in a fiery fign ; this plainly fhews a difeafe of choler. Jupiter in a moveable fign in the 5th houfe, who rules the ftomach, liver and fides, combuft and in quartile to Mars, ftirred up a pleurify, and Mercury afflicted fhewed a dry cough. The Moon in Aquarius applying to Saturn at the beginning of the; difeafe, fhews the difeafes come of wearinefs, according to the doflrin both of Hippocrates and Hermes: but here rifes another queftion; fhall, the difeafe be long or fbort ? This is anfwered thus : the fixed fign upon) the cufp of the 6th houfe fhews length of the difeafe. Saturn in the 6th houfe, fhews no lefs, and tells the fame tale. Again, Saturn lord of the 6th, ftronger than the lord of the afcen- dant, fhews a violent increafe of the difeafe. Seeing Mars in a fiery fign afRiHs both luminaries, the Sun by a quartile, and the Moon by a fextile ; hence we may fafely gather, that Saturn and Mars are authors of the difeafe; and fo the one makes it violent, other continuing. «# Give OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 71 Give me leave now a little to pafs my judgment upon this figure. When firft I viewed the figure, upon the firfh light I admired the man fhould live, the lord of the afcendant being combuft, and applied to the Sun, Mars afflicting the Sun, the Moon upon the cufp of the 6th, cum multis aliis. The only reafons that I could find of the life were thefe : 1. Saturn and Mars are both ftrong, and neither, of them lord of death, though both of them fhew themfelves like potent enemies, that are able to hurt their foe, but fcorn it; though they are enemies to life, yet they are honourable enemies, becaufe flrong. 2. The Moon applies not immediately to Saturn, but to the body of Venus, who is lady of the 10th; which rfiews the difeafe might be pured by phyfic, if a wife phyfician had it in hand. 3. There is a reception between the Sun and Mars, which ties the fword of Mars from killing. 4. Venus beautifies the fignification of the 6th houfe, almoft as much as Saturn deforms it. 5. Neither Saturn nor Mars behold the afcendant, and that is good. 6. The difeafe came by the man’s own mifguiding himfelf, becaufe the lord of 1 2th and afcendant are both together. 7. The Moon applies to a fortune which hath triplicity in the afcend- ant, though in an ill houfe. 8. I am confident the man journicd again as foon as he was well; ■ firft, becaufe Mars lord of the end, is near the houfe of journies at the decumbiture; fecondly, becaufe the Moon applies to the lady of the third houfe at the decumbiture, which is Venus. »r i *\ CHAP. VI. * 1 THE WAY TO SET A FIGURE OF SIXTEEN HOUSES. '1 THE way of fetting this figure, differs nothing from the former, - fave only that the heavens are divided into twice as many parts. The ■nanner of ereCling it, is thus; The true place of the Moon being taken • it the decumbiture, place that upon the cufp of the afcendant, as though '• t were afcending at the time, to which add 22 degrees 30 minutes, tnd you have the firft intercidental time; 22. 30. being added to that, . hews the firft judicial time; as many more being added to that, fhew he fecond intercidental time; and as many added to them, brings about he firft crifis : this fhall be clearly fhewn in the following example. \ Figure of Crifis in XVI. 4 onj 4 fit A STNOPSIJ *]% cul^eper’s astrological judgment A SYNOPSIS OF THE CALCULATION. Critical Moon's Time ot inci- State and Afpedts of the Moon and ! j] days. motion. deuce. other Planets. 0 Decumbit. 27. 18. rO- i’ 5753 23929 , 1 2 369 59 31950 24934 20850 1 7959 15720 13891 22345 60 | 31780 | 24849 | 20794 | 17917 1 1 5686 [ 13863 J 12321 : Vol. I. L Culpeper’s astrological judgment a table of logistical logarithms. 1 i 7 1 8. 1 9 1 io | II i 1 2 | | 1 3 1 14 0 1 3321 10986 9808 8755 7801 6931 6 x 3 1 539 I 1 2298 10965 97°9 8738 7786 6918 61 18 537- 2 12274 10944 97 7 1 8721 7771 6904 6105 536( % I22t;0 10924 9753 8705 7756 6890 6093 535- 4 12227 10903 9734 8688 774i 6876 6080 534- 5 1 2201 10882 97x6 8672 7726 6862 6067 533 ; 6 12x79 10862 9698 8655 7711 6848 6054 53 7 1 21 56 10841 9679 8639 7696 6835 6042 5 :c7 8 I 2 I 10821 9661 8622 768 1 6821 6029 529^ 9 12109 10800 9643 8606 7666 6809 60 1 6 5283 TO 1 2086 O OO O 9625 85S9 7651 6793 6004 5272 I I 1 2063 10759 9607 8573 7636 6779 5991 5260 I 2 1 2040 10739 9588 8557 762 1 6765 597s 5248 T3 1 201 7 107 19 9570 8540 7606 5752 5966 5236 H 11 993 10699 9552 S524 7592 6758 5953 5225 1 5 1 1970 10678 9534 CO O VO CO 7577 6725 5940 5213 16 11947 10658 9516 8191 7562 67 1 2 5928 5201 17 U925 10638 9498 8475 7547 6698 59 1 S 5190 l8 1 1902 1061 8 9480 8459 7532 6684 59°3 5x78 l9 U879 10598 9462 8443 7518 6671 5890 5166 20 x 1836 10578 9445 8427 7503 [6657 5878 5i55 2 1 11833 10558 9427 841 1 7488 6644 565 5 1 45 22 1 181 1 10538 9409 8394 7474 6630 5853 5131 23 11788 10518 9391 8378 7459 6617 5840 5120 24 1 1 766 10498 9373 8362 7444 6604 5828 5108 25 1 1 743 10478 9356 8346 743° 6590 5815 5°97 26 1 x 72 1 10459 9338 8330 74i5 6577 5803 5085 27 1 1698 10439 9 ',20 8314 7401 6563 579i 5°74 28 [ 1 1676 1 04 1 9 93°3 8298 7386 6550 5778 5064 29 1 *l6S4 10399 9285 8284 7372 6537 5766 5050 50 S 11631 | 10380 | 9268 | 8267 | 7357 I 6523 | 5754 1 5039 OF DISEASES, ENLARGED, 33 A TABLE OF LOGISTICAL LOGARITHMS. M | 7 I s 1 9 1 10 n 1 12 | 1 3 1 *4 30 1163 10380 9268 8267 7357 6523 5754 S°34 31 1 1609 10360 9250 8256 7 342 65 1 1 5 7 4 1 5027 * *> D “ ”5S7 10341 9232 8235 7228 6497 5 7 29 5016 33 n 565 10321 9215 8219 7314 6483 5716 5°°5 34 1 1 543 10302 9293 8293 7299 6470 57°4 5993 3 3 1 1 521 10282 9180 8188 I 7285 6457 5692 4987 36 11499 10263 9l63 8172 7270 6444 5680 497° 37 T 1 47 7 10243 9146 8156 7256 6430 5668 4959 38 1 '455 10224 91 28 8144 7242 6417 5*^55 4947 39 1 1 43 3 10205 91 1 1 8 125 7227 6404 5643 4936 40 1 1412 101 S6 9094 8109 7213 6 39 1 563 1 4925 41 1 1 390 10166 9077 8094 7T99 6378 56i9 49 1 3 42 1 1 368 10147 9°59 8078 7 lS5 6364 5607 4902 43 1 1 347 10 ' 28 9042 8062 7I7° 6351 5594 4891 44 11325 1 0109 9025 8047 7156 6338 5582 4879 45 n3°4 10090 9008 803 1 7r42 6320 557° 4868 46 1 1 282 1007 1 8991 8016 7128 63 1 2 555s 4s 57 47 1 1 261 10052 8974 8001 7 1 r4 6299 5546 4845 43 1 1 239 10053 8957 7965 7099 6286 5534 4824 49 11218 10014 8940 797° 7085 6273 5542 4823 5° 1:197 9995 8923 7954 7071 6260 55 10 4812 Sl 1117; 9970 8909 7939 7°57 6247 5498 4800 52 1 1 154 9957 8889 79-3 7°43 6234 5486 4789 53 1 1 1 33 9939 8872 7908 7029 622 1 5474 477s 54 1 1 1 1 2 9920 8855 7893 7015 6208 5462 4767 55 1 1091 9901 8838 7878 600 i 6 1 9 5 1 545° 4755 56 1 1070 9883 8821 7862 69S7 6182 5,43 s 4744 57 1 1049 9864 8S05 7S47 6973 6169 5426 4733 5s 11028 9S4S 8788 7832 6959 6157 I 54H 4722 59 11007 9827 877! 7817 6945 6144 1 54°2 47 11 60 | 10986 | 9808 1 875S 1 7801 1 6931 i 6131 1 539° 1 0470 \ 84 culpeper’s astrological judgment A TA3LE OF LOQISTICAL LOGARITHMS. IM I i5 1 16 i 17 18 19 | 20 1 21 22 ! 23 0 47°° 4055 3448 2877 2330 1023 1335 870 425 1 4&8g 4044 3439 2867 2327 1816 1327 862 418 2 4678 4°34 3429 2858 2319 1807 1319 855 41 1 3 4667 4023 34*9 2S49 2310 1708 1312 847 394 4 4656 1 4013 34°9 2840 2301 179° x3°4 84O 397 “ 4645 4°°3 3399 2831 2292 i783 1 296 832 389 6 4634 3992 339° 2821 2284 1773 1288 825 382 7 46z8 3982 3 3 80 2812 2273 1765 12S0 Si? 375 8 4612 3972 337° 2803 2266 1757 1272 8lO 368 9 4600 3961 3360 2794 2257 1748 1264 802 361 10 45^9 395i 3 35 1 2785 2249 1740 1 256 795 353 11 4578 3941 334i 2775 2240 1732 1248 787 348 12 4S67 393° 333 1 2766 2231 1724 1 240 780 339 13 4557 3920 3322 2 757 2223 1715 1233 772 332 14 4546 391° 33H- 2748 2214 1707 1225 765 320 *5 4535 3900 3302 2739 2205 1699 1217 757 317 l6 4524 3S89 #293 2730 2197 1691 1 209 755 310 17 45*'3 3879 3283 2721 2188 1682 1 201 742 3°3 18 45°2 3869 3273 2711 21 79 1674 1193 735 290 19 4491 3859 3264 2702 2171 1666 1186 727 287 20 4480 3848 3254 2693 2162 1 658 1178 720 282 21 4469 3838 3245 2684 2154 1650 1 170 712 274: 22 4458 3828 3235 2675 2145 1641 i 1 62 705 267 23 4448 3818 3225 2666 2136 i633 1154 697 260 24 4437 3808 3216 2657 2129 | 1625 1 147 690 253 2 5 4426 3797 3205 2648 2119 1617 1139 682 246 26 4415 3787 3 ’97 2639 2111 1609 1131 675 239 27 44°4 3777 3i87 2630 2102 1601 1123 668 232 28 4394 37^7 3i 77 2621 2093 1592 1 1 1 6 660 225 29 4383 3757 3168 2612 2085 i 1584 1108 653 218 30 [ 4372 | 3747 | 3158 | 2603 | 2076 j 1576 | I IOO | 645 | 210 OF DISEASES, ENLARGED, 85 A TABLE OF LOGISTICAL LOGARITHMS, w i5 1 16 l 17 1 18 ! ro 20 2 1 l 22 I 23 3° 437- 374-7 3158 2603 2076 1576 1 100 643 210 31 4361 3737 3H9 2594 2068 1 368 1092 638 203 32 .4351 3727 3139 2585 2059 1 360 1084 630 196 33 434° 3717 3130 2376 205 1 1552 >o 77 623 1 89 34 43 27 3707 3120 2567 2042 >544 1069 616 1 82 35 4318 3696 311! 255S ?°34 1536 1062 ! 608 175 36 4308 3686 3101 2549 2025 1528 i°54 601 168 37 4297 3676 3°92 254° 2017 1520 1046 594 161 38 4286 3666 5083 253i 2008 1511 1038 386 154 39 4276 3656 3073 2522 2000 1503 1030 579 >47 40 4265 3646 3064 25 1 3 1991 >495 1 023 57> 140 41 4254 3636 3°54 25°4 1983 1487 101 5 564 >33 42 4244 3626 3°45 2493 >974 >479 1007 557 1 26 43 4233 3616 3° 3 5 2486 1966 1471 1000 549 >19 44 4223 3606 3026 2477 1957 1463 °992 542 1 1 2 45 4212 3596 3OI7 2469 1949 >455 984 535 m 10- 46 4201 3587 3007 2460 1940 M47 977 527 98 4190 3577 299S 2451 1932 1439 969 520 9i 48 41 80 3567 2988 2442 1924 *43 1 961 5i3 84 49 4170 3557 2979 2433 1915 1423 954 506 77 5° 4160 3547 2970 2424 1907 >4>5 946 498 70 Si 4' 49 3537 2960 2415 1898 >4°7 938 491 63 52 4138 35-7 -95 1 2407 1 890 1399 93> 484 56 53 4128 35 ‘7 2942 2398 1 882 >39* 923- 476 49 54 41 16 35°7 2932 2389 1873 1382 916 469 42 55 4108 3497 2923 N CO O 1863 >375 I 908 462 35 5^ 4096 3488 2914 2371 >837 >3 b7 1 900 455 28 57 4086 3478 29°5 2362 1 848 1359 893 447 21 58 4°75 3468 2893 2354 1 840 1 35 1 885 44° M 59 4065 3458 2S86 2345 1831 1 344 878 433 °7 60 | 4055 1 3448 | N 00 '-l 2336 1 1823 | >335 1 870 | 423 i c 86 culpeper’s astrological judgment Having the hour and minute of the decumbiture, find the places of the planets for that time. In the Ephemeris you have their places every day at noon. When planets 2re direft, fub tract their place the day precedent, from their “place the day fubfequent, and you have their diurnal motions,; but when they are retrograde, fubtradt their place the fubfequent day from their place the precedent day, and you have likewife their diurnal motions. Upon the Logiftical Logarithm of the hours and minutes afternoon, of the decumbiture, add feverally the Logiftical Logarithm of the planets diurnal motions, and the fums (hail be the Logiftical Logarithm of the proportional degree or minute: which, when planets are diredt (the Sun and Moon are always fo, if you call yourfelf to remembrance) muft be added to their place the day precedent ; but when they are retro- grade, it muft be fub tracked from their place the day precedent, and their aggregate or remainder will be their true place at the decumbiture. Having found the Moon’s place at the decumbiture, by adding 45 degrees thereto, you have her place at the firft judicial time ; by adding three figns to her place at the decumbiture, you have her place at the firft crifis ; and fo by a continual addition of 45 degrees, the Moqn’s place at the crifis and judicial days is found, as is fhewn before. Obferve in the Ephemerides what day the Moon’s place is next lefs than her place at the crifis, or judicial day, and note the difference; and alfo note the diurnal motion that day. Then from the Logiftical Logarithm of the difference of the Moon’s place at noon that day, and her place at the crifis, fubtradt the Logiftical Logarithm of her diurnal motion, and the remainder will be the Logiftical Logarithm of the tftne afternoon, of the crifis, or judicial day. example. A man fell fick of a fever, 1652, November 7, being Sunday, at S’ and 10 minutes at night. At which time he was taken with a great tremor and with (baking, as in a violent ague, &c. In my Ephemeris for that year, you will find (if you look) the planets, places upon the 7 and 8 days of that month, as follows : © 5 E 3 33 8 1 0 1 2 0 36 0 58 1 38 The I 1 1 6 7 DISEASES, ENLARGED. 8; The Logiftical Logarithm of 8 hours io. min. is 10780, which ad- ded unto the Locjftical Logarithm of the planets diurnal motions, the work will be as in the following examples : Logiftical Logarithm of Q O 1 8 1 O diurnal motion 10 time afternoon 3.1616 10780 o 21 to be added - 42396 to 25, 47, which will produce the Sun’s place in Scorpio 26 degrees and 8 minutes. Logiftical Logarithm of 33 diurnal motion 10 time afternoon 5716 10780 J 4 37 to be added - 16496 to 20 n 31 3) place the 7 day, which will make 25 degrees 8 mi- nutes in u , her place at the decumbiture. If you try after the fame manner with the reft of the planets, as in thel'e two examples of the Sun and Aloon, their places at the decutnbi- ture will be. 0 in D n 6 a U >f | c? =5= ? ^ 26 oS 25 08 1 3 02 n 49 | 0 59 9 32 13 03 Then the firft judicial day will be when the Moon comes to 10 de- grees 8 minutes of Leo, on the 10th day of die fame month ; the Moon’s place is 29 degrees 52 minutes, Cancer being the next lefs, and wants of 10, 8, in Leo, 10, 16, and her diurnal motion is 12. 27. r 10 12 16 the difference 27 the diurnal motion 8491 6563 Logiftical Logarithm of © © 19 48 the time - - 1928 afternoon that the firft judicial day falls on, ylz. the nth day, at 7 o’clock, and 48 minutes in the morning. The firft crifis happens when the Moon comes to 25, 8, of Virgo, on the 14th day, the Moon’s place is in Virgo 19,44, and wants of 25, 8, 5> 24, her diurnal motion is 1 1, 55. }5 24 the difference - 14916 n 55 the diurnal motion - 7°°* 10 53 the time 79*5 afternoon 88 culpeper’s astrological judgment afternoon of the rirft crifis, viz. at ten o'clock, and 53 minuteS at night, the 14th day of November. The fecond crifis will be when the Moon comes to 25, 8, of Sagitary, the 21 day, the Moon’s place is 14, 50, in Sagitary, and wants of 25, 8, (the place of the crifts) io, 18, and her diurnal motion is 12, 40. fio 18 the difference * 8459 Logical Logarithm of ( 12 +° the diurml motion ’ ^Z1 {.19 31 the time - - 2008 of the fecond drifts afternoon, viz. at half an hour after 7 in the morn- ing the 22d day. The like method ufed in the other, as in thefe examples; the Moon’s place, and time, &c. will be as in the following Synopfis. A SYNOPSIS OF THE WHOLE CALCULATION. Critical days. Moon’s place. Time or In- cidence. fhe lunar afpefts, and the mutual alpects of the Planets. Decumb. 25 n 8 r 7 s to p D 1> g, ]) ad □ $. I. Judic. day 1° T 8 j 11 7 48 a. * b ?. 3) ?• 1. Crifis 25 HR 8 | , 14 TO 53 p. j) ad * £ & ad £5. 1. Judic. day 10 nj 8 5 i 18 5 2 P- 1 ad D hf & * Vf * 0 12. Under Pifces is all lamenefs, aches and difeafes incident to the feet; as gouts, kibes, chilblains, & c. All difeafes coming of l'alt phlegm, mixt humours, fcabs, itch, blotches, and breakings-out about the body, the frnall-pox, and meafies; all cold and moift difeafes, and fuch as come by catching wet and cold at the feet. / * This was w-i^en before 1650. And And if you will be pleafed but to confider the affinity PiRes holds with Aries, you will foon fee a reafon why wet taken at the feet ftrikes I fo fpeedily up to the head. As for the houfes of the heavens, they have the fame fignifications with the figns ; tire fir ft houfe with Aries, the fecond with Taurus, and fo analogically till you come to the twelfth houfe, which has the fame fignifications that Pifces has. I have now done with this part; only be plealed to take notice, that I the fiery figns ftir up difeafes of choler ; airy figns, difeafes of phlegm j figns of double bodies, difeafes of mixed humours. CHAP. XII. ■ t REGENCY OF THE PLANETS OVER THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY.' | I " I I" I. SATURN rules in the body of man the fpleen, the right ear, the' “ bladder, the bones, the teeth, the retentive faculties throughout the ' ' body. i. Jupiter rules the lungs, ribs, fides, liver, veins, blood, the digeftive i, faculty, the natural virtue of man which he rules, as lawyers call it, toto and folido. 3. Mars rules in the body of man the gall, the reins, the veins, the ' fecrets, the left ear ; he rules the apprehenfion, and that is the reafon that choleric men are fo quick-witted. Thus, a man of a mean underftanding, when he is angry, will make a quicker apprehenfion in things fatisfying his fury, than a man of a ' quicker apprehenfion can when he is pleafed. Anger fummons’ up all the powers of the body and mind to revenge wrrong, though it be but 3E imaginary. And then, again, Mars rules that faculty which incites men | il( to valour ; he makes a man a foldier every inch of him ; he fortifies the i 1 fmell, and that is the reafon why martial creatures have fo good fmells, as Dogs, &c. I ■ 4. V enus rules the womb, fcents, and inficruments of generation, the reins or kidneys, the throat, women’s breafts, and milk contained within ' > them, the feed, and liver. - ' H 1 5. Under the dominion of Mercury is the brain, efpecially the ra- tional part of it, the imagination, the tongue, hands, and feet, the mo- tional part of man. And that is the reafon Merculialifts (if Mercury is ftrong) are fo fwift in motions, fo fluent of fpeech. He gives aL quick apprehenfion, a ftrong imagination, and conceited; he makes a good penman, and ftirs up that faculty in a thirft after knowledge ; but he is very fickle in his man which caules difpofition. If OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 97 If Saturn be friendly, he is very conftant; otherwife, if you look to a ' weather-cock, you may fafely draw his picture, and no difparagement to his perfon neither, which will be very fickle. 6. The Sun governs the nerves, the heart and arteries, the fight, the eyes; and in the eyes, the right eye of a man, the left eye of a woman. Their operation is under Mercury; now then if Mercury afflidt the brain, the failing is in the operation. If the Moon rules the bulk or body of the brain or nerves, he that is a phyfician knows what the operations of nature are : and then he knows what I fay is truth, and the foundation of it built upon a rock. He will efteem it as a jewel. 7. Under the Moon is the bulk of the brain, the ftomach, the bowels, the bladder, the tafte, the left eye of a man, the right eye of a woman ; but they cannot incline me to believe that the Moon rules the tafte. Being in a cadent houfe and in Gemini, a fign which, in my opinion, more afflidts the Moon than Capricorn, fhews the utmoft danger. I confefs Mr. Lilly affirms Gemini to be a moft noble fign, but I dare fcarce believe him. Aries is the moft principal of all the figns: Gemini is cadent from Aries. Ergo, Stc. But not now to enter into a conteft with that famous man, to whom this nation is fo much be- holden. Be pleafed to take notice, that the twelfth houfe is more inimical to the afcendant than the feventh : which, if fo, then is the Moon more afflicted in Gemini, than in Capricorn. CHAP. XIII. THE PARTICULAR PARTS OF THE BODY, UNDER THE SEVERAL SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC, AND THE HOUSES IN THE HEAVENS IN A CELESTIAL SCHEME. 1. UNDER Aries is the head, and whatever belongs to it, as its bones, the face, brain, hair, beard, eyes, ears, nofe, tongue, teeth, &c. whatfoever in man is above the firft vertebra; of the neck. 2. Under Taurus is the neck, throat, the vertebras of the neck, which are in number feven; the channel-bone, and the fhoulder-blade, according to my opinion. 3. Under Gemini are the fhoulders, fhoulder-bones, arms, hands, fingers, together with their appendages. 4. Under Cancer is the breaft, ribs, lungs, pleura, the ventricle of the ftomach, womens’ breafts, the liver, fpleen, &c. and yet fome hold that the fpleen is under Virgo. 5- Under Leo is the Heart, the back, and the vertebrae of the breaft, which are in number twelve; the pericardium, the ftomach, and I am Vol. I. N perfuaded, 98 culpeper’s astrological judgment perfuaded, the appetite, is under Leo; and that is the reafon fuch as have that fign afcending in their nativity, are fuch greedy eaters. You that are Aftrologers, and have the nativity of fuch perfons in your hands, you know my words are truth. And if, in a nativity, the prevalency of other fignificators fhould happen to ccntradidl it, you know the old proverb, “ One fwallow makes not a furnmer.” 6. Under Virgo is the belly and bowels, the navel and fpleen, the omentum, and all their appurtenances, &c. 7. Under the Balance are the reins, loins, and kidneys, between which, in my judgment, is as much difference as is between eight- pence and two groats. Under Libra befides, they fay, are the hams buttocks, bladder, and navel: thus authors. And I quoted only to this end, that young (Indents may fee what a monfter tradition is, and may avoid being led by the nofe by it, as bears are led to the (lake You know well enough, if the blind lead the blind, what will become of them both : let every one, that defires to be called by the name of artift, have his wits in his head (for that is the place ordained for them) and not in his books. The hams are under Capricorn, the bladder under Scorpio, the navel under Virgo. 8. Under Scorpio are the fecrets of both fexes; as alfo the feminal veflels ; all the veflels dedicated to the generation of man, the bladder and fundament: and, therefore, though artifts cry out fo much againfl: the Scorpion for a falfe, deceitful, treacherous, mifehievous, violent, poifonous fign, let them look back to the rock from whence they are hewn : it may be they (hall fee the reafons of fome of their violent, fpeeches againft myfelf. A word is enough to wife men, let them no' fpeak evil of what they know not. This is mold certain, from thofe parts of the body under the dominion! of Scorpio, have all men and women in general the influence of their propagation. 9. Under Sagittarius are the thighs, the bone called Os facrum, the rump-bone, the thigh-bone, together with ail the appurtenances be-' longing to the thigh. 10. Under Capricorn are the knees, hams, and what belongs unto; them. 11. Under Aquarius are the legs and whatfoever belongs unto them,' even from the outward Ikin called Cuticula, to the midft of the marrow in both bones. ' 12. Laftly, Pifces claims the feet and ancles, toes and all the bones, and the bones of the toes. It rules alfo the ikin of the foot, the flefh, and veflels betwixt the ikin and the bones. Some authors hold an opinion that the figns carry the fame fignifi- cation in order that the houfes of heaven do, and that Aries fhould fig nify life, Taurus eftate, Gemini brethren ‘and fhort journeys; you know the reft. Truly, my own opinion is, many authors invented whimfiei, pB> tbati . int ifielpa Its the: Its the tei i,1 2,1 ■M [Bear t iorCa I Clous OF DISEASES ENLARGED. 99 whim Ties, and when they had done, fet them down to polferity for truth. By this account Cancer fhould rule the fathers, but experience tells us, that an ill planet in Cancer in the nativity threatens evil to the mo- ther, but in Leo to the father. A word is enough to a wife man. Alfo there is another fignincation made of the planets, according to the refpeclive figns they are in, every planet making his Aries in his own houfe. Firft of all, becaufe it conduces not much to my prefent fcope: for example, a urine came to me about a year ago, Mercury was the afflicting planet, and in Aries; according to this rate, Mercury rules the legs and privities; but the man was difeafed in his head, for he was mad. CHAP. XIV. HO W THE NATURE AND KIND OF THE DISEASE MAY BE FOUND OUT BY THE FIGURE OF THE DECUMBiTURE. 1. THE nature of the difeafe is to be found out three ways : Firft, by the houfes of heaven ; of which, the fixth, feventh, and twelfth, fignify difeafes. 2. By the nature of the figns, of which, fiery figns fignify choler, and difeafes thence proceeding ; earthly figns fignify the difeafes of me- lancholy; airy figns difeafes of blood and wind; watery -figns difeafes of watery and fait phlegm. 3. By the planets themfclves, and their afpe&s: All this I (hall make clear by this fubfequent difeourfe, before which I lhall premife thefe following aphorifms: 1. If Saturn fignify the difeafe, it is like to con- tinue long enough, if not too long: yet if he be with benevolents, it mitigates ; if with malevolents, it increafes the evil. 2. Saturn in Leo, or Capricorn, with the Dragon’s Head or Tail, or with Venus corn- bull, or with violent fixed liars, he ftirs up pellilences, or other perni- cious fevers that are little better. 3. Saturn alone in fiery figns fhews hedlic fevers. 4. In watery figns, ficknefies, or watery humours. The difeafe comes of grofs and vicious humours, which will continue long, with continual fluxes, and cold tremblings. 5. Saturn in moveable figns, Ihews flux of humours in ail parts of the body: imagine the dropfy, or other difeafes like to it; and yet it is fome quellion to me, whether Saturn caufes dropfies or not, unlefs aflilled by the Moon in fignification. 6. Saturn in common figns gives compound difeafes, and fuch as run out of one difeafe into another by complication, and yet they pafs lei- furely out of one difeafe into another. N 2 7. Saturn 100 culpeper’s astrological judgment 7. Saturn in fixed figns, if in Leo, gives hectic fevers: in other fixed figns, quartan agues, gouts, leprofies, and other difeafes that flay j longer than they are welcome. 8. If Jupiter caufe the difeafe, look to the liver, for that is afflicted ; the digeftion is bad; blood abounds either in quantity or in quality; a thoufand to one if it be not too hot. 9. Jupiter in fiery figns afflidts men with fuch fevers as come of 5 mow blood without putrefaction, fuch as the Greeks call Synochus non pu- trida, and they laft but a very little while. 10. Mars gives violent fevers with putrefactions, and the Sun gives no other. 11. If you find Mars in a fiery fign, judge the difeafe either a burn- ing fever called Kanfos-, or elfe the peftilence; if Saturn bear a (hare in bonification with him, melancholy bears a (hare, or elfe aduft choler, which is molt ufual. 12. Mars in common figns varies the difeafe, take heed of a relapfe; the crifis is as uncertain as a weather-cock; fo exceeding fwiftand bid- den will they come, even as fwift as the wind, not waiting the Moon’s influence: in fuch a cafe you may more fafely judge by the afpedts of the Moon to the planets than by the crifis, 13. Mars in Leo afflidts the heart, the difeafe is a fever, and the j caufe of it choler. 14. Always when Mars fignifies the difeafe, it is very fliort, but ex- tremely acute. 1 5- If the Sun at the decumbiture be afflicted by the body or quartile ! oppofition, antifcion of Saturn, the difeafe is faturnine melancholy, and will, in all probability, laft longer than you would willingly have it. 16. If the Sun be afflidted in the fame manner by Mars, the caufe is choler; the motion of the difeafe is as fwift as the wind, and as violent , as the whirlwind. 17. If Venus be ill-affedted to the fick, the difeafe comes of intern- I perance, either one way or other; perhaps with drinking, perhaps by j venereal fports; whatever the caufe be, thofe parts of the body fignified j by V enus fuffer for it. 18. Venus in fiery figns caufesone day fevers; but if Mars join with her in fignification, the fever is bad, and proceeds from phlegm. 19. If Mercury be infortunate, and caufe the difeafe, he declares that the infirmity lies in the brain, perhaps madnefs, or falling-ficknefs. 20. If Mercury join in fignification with Mars, you may be confi- dent the dileafe is a phrenzy. 21. 1 he lord of the ninth in the fixtb, hypocondriafm is to be feared, or elfe the difeafe lies very occult; or fhould it be the lord of the twelfth i 1 the nxth; for the lord of the ninth rather occafions the difeafe about whimfies in religion. 22. The Moon in Aries in the eighth, afflidls the head with a difeafe too hot for it to bear, whether the difeafe lie in tire mind or in the body. CHAP. 1. THE irl, and If bo jitbisl Site pn oi into be |kfe affli disail then Wet bit pel n>4 ;ill pit J1 Is® I 101 OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. I CHAP. XV. TO KNOW WHETHER THE DISEASE BE IN THE MIND, OR IN THE BODY. 1. THE Sun, Moon, and Lord of the Afcendant impedited, and thvir lords fafe, fhew the difeafe lies in the body, and not in the mind. 2. If their lords be impedited and they fafe, the difeafe lies in the mind, and not in the body. , 3. If both Sun, and Moon, and the afcendant, and their lords alfo be impedited, or the greateft part of them, both body and mind are difeafed: and this I confefs is fomething rational, 4. Saturn generally dignifies of melancholy, and by confequence alie- nation of mind, madnefs, See. and therefore, always when you find him to be fignificator of the difeafe, or in the afcendant, or in die fixth houfe afflidfing the lord of the afcendant, or either of the luminaries, the fick is affiibled with care, or grief, or fomething elfe that is as bad; be fine the mind fufFers for it. 5. If Jupiter be fignificator of the difeafe, it lies in the body, if it lies any where; for Jupiter never troubles the mind, unlefs it be in thofe monftrous concerns which fome make of religion. 6. It were a good thing when a man is troubled in mind, if an artift could tell the caufe of his trouble; that you may do fo, make ufe of thefe two or three rules ; there is enough of diem, though there be but few: if you have but wit enough to know by a penny how a fhilling is coined. They are thefe : 1. If the Sun be author of the diftemper, as he may be, if he be lord of the houfe afcendant, fixth or twelfth houfes, the diftemper comes through pride, ambition, vain glory. 2. If it be Jupiter, it comes through religion ; fome zealot prieft has feared the poor creature out of his wits. 3. If it be Venus, love, luxurious expence, or fomething elfe of like nature, is the caufe. 4. If Mercury be the affliefting planet, the fick is peftered with ftrange imaginations, and as many vain fears attend him ; great vexation, or ftudy, or both is the caufe. 5. Saturn, jealoufy, fear, rage, envy, &c. 6. Mars, through anger, contention, violent paffion, &c. 7. Luna, care, fear, drunkennefs, &c. By thefe rules you may find out all the reft, for this is the fum of the bufmefs. CHAR 102 # Culpeper’s astrological judgment CHAP. XVI. TO KNOW WHAT PART OF THE BODY IS AFFLICTED. THAT this may be known, for it is not only pofiible, but alfo pro- bable, be pleafed to confider, 1. If the fign the lord of tire fixth poffefles, efpecially if he be an in- fortune, or a fortune infortunated. And then, 2. Confider what part of the body the fign he is in governs, as Aries governs the head, Taurus the neck and throat, &c*. and be fure that part is afflidfced. 3. Confider what part of the body the afflidling planet rules, what fign, ,which are under that fign, and you need not queftion but that is afflidted; for example, Venus, though fhe rule many parts of the body, yet in Scorpio fhe rules only the privitiesf. 4. Saturn lord of the fixth and in the tenth, in Taurus afHidts the body univerfally, but efpecially the left fide. 5. Saturn lord of the fixth in the laft degrees of Gemini, or in the firft degree of Cancer, caufes pain in the left fide, as though an awl Were run into it. 6. Saturn lord of the fixth in Leo in the fecond houfe, caufes pain in the back and heart, the original of which I fhould rather drink is melan- choly. 7. If he be in Virgo in the twelfth houfe, fignifies pain in the head if he be in Scorpio oriental and flow in motion, fignifies difeafes in the reins, as the gravel, ftone, and pifling blood. 8. If Saturn be lord of the difeafe, and in Aquarius, the difeafe comes by travel. * Here the lord of the fixth, or afflidling the fixth, fhall fignify the dif- eafe. Vide Rule 12. p. 92. viz. the there. ■f Viz. That planet, being in the fign of Venus in Virgo, rules the pri- vities, &c. Good rules alfo you may obferve, and I think not amifs, though any pla- net Ihould call out an afpebl to- the 1 governs in the fign, as well as thou afpeft afflidfs that part he governs. And lb in all afpedls in phyfical judgment to confider the part the afpedling planet governs in that fign he afpebis : as if any planets afpebl the aged, fee whether the planet afpedling governs firft in that fign, fo that part is affiibled according to the nature of the planet afflidling. You may, if you pleafe, con- fider according to the feccnd rule what fign the planet afflidling is in. fixth to fee what parts the afpedling planet gh he were daily in that fign, and fo by planet that affhdts the fixth, or planet 9. Mars OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 103 9. Mars lord of the fixth and in the fifth, and in Scorpio, gives an internal pain in all parts of the body: if it be a woman Ihe is not well in her womb, the illnefs of which afflicts all her body, efpecially her head, by reafon of that admirable congruity betwixt that part and her womb; for it is as true as that the Sun is up when he is upon the me- ridian. All cephalic medicines help the womb, and remedy its pains, becaufe Aries and Scorpio are both the houfes of Mars. 10. If Mars be retrograde in Scorpio and in the afeendant, the whole body is univerfally afflicted, but externally, viz. the man breaks out in boils and ulcers, or itch, perhaps it is the fmall-pox or mealies : if Venus fet forward the mifehief, the venereal is fhrewdly to be fufpedted. xi. If Mars be lord of the fixth in Leo, the lick is extremely pained in his back; in this you need never fear failing. 12. if Mars be lord of the fixth in Virgo, it will lie in the left fide, or always proves the colic, and heat in the bowels ; take heed it comes not to tne gravel in the kidnies, when Mars comes into Libra ; and to the {tone in the bladder, when Mars comes into Scorpio. He that is a phyfician, knows as well how to prevent a difeafe before it comes, as how to remedy it when it is come. 13. The Moon in the afeendant afflidted by Saturn or Mars, be- llows difficulty of breathing, and infirmities in the lungs upon a man or woman. 14. Venus lady of the fixth and infortunated by Mars, gives fufpi- cions enough of the venereal. FURTHER RULES TO JUDGE JUDICIOUSLY OF DISEASES. 1. If the lord of the fixth houfe be afflidted above the earth, and in a diurnal fign, the ficknefs is in the right fide of the body, and in the up- per part of it. 2. If the lord of the fixth be under the earth, and in a nocturnal fign, the ficknefs lies in the inferior parts of the body, and on the left fide. 3. Whether he be under or above the earth in a diurnal, the ficknefs is in the forepart of the body; imagine the forehead, face, breaft, belly, or fome other vifible part. 4. If it be in a nodturnal fign, the difeafe lies in the back part of the body, or elfe in fome part that lies invifible, as the bowels, &c. or per- haps the difeafe lies occult; for take this for a general rule, the difeafes are more hid from the eyes of your underftanding, when the fignifica- tors of them are in nocturnal figns, than they are when they are in diurnal. 5. If the fignificators are corrupted by other planets, and a difference in thefe rules between the fignificator and die planet diat corrupts them, the patient is afflicted both ways ; namely, according as he fignifies, and according as the planet corrupting fignifies. 6. In fuch a cafe, view diligently which of them is moil afflicted : and your reafon, if you have any, will tell you, that the molt part of the 104 culpeper’s astrological judgment the malady lies in that part of the body fignified by the planet which is molt affiidted. _ ' 7. To wind up all in a word, mafculine planets denote the right fide of the body, feminine the left; all of them a thief that part of the body which they govern, as $ fecrets, and £ head, &c. CHAP. XVII. WHETHER THE DISEASE SHALL BE LONG OR SHORT, OR WHETHER IT SHALL END IN LIFE OR DEATH. FOR judging of this, take a few cautions by the way. j. Confidcr if the Sun, Moon, Afcendant, and their lords be much or little affiidted. 2. Confider the age of the Tick party ; for old age brings longer fick- nefs than youth. 3. Confider the time of the year ; for autumn and winter bring longer ficknefles than fpring and fummer. 4. Confider the complexion of the patient ; for a melancholy man is more fubjedt to retain a ficknefs than a choleric man. 5. Confider the planet afflicting, for Saturn produces longer ficknefs than Mars. 6. The planets generally and briefly order the ficknefles they give in this manner; Saturn gives long ficknefles, the Sun and Jupiter fhort, Mars fhorter than either of them, but acute; Venus mean, Mercury various and unconftant, according to the planet he is joined with or afpedted to. The Moon gives fuch ficknefles as often return, as agues, fallins-ficknefs, &c. And therefore the diredtion of the Moon to the body, or afpedt of Saturn, will fooner caufe a falling-flcknefs than the diredtion of anv other fi°;nificator. CHAP. XVIII. SIGNS OF LONC OR SHORT SICKNESS. FIR.ST, the fixth houfe being poflefled by a fixed fign, argues length in the difeafe; if the fign that poflefles the culp of the fixth be moveable, the difeafe will be fhort ; if the fign be common, the difeafe will either be mean in refpedt of length, or elfe the change of the difeafe, or a relapfe is to be feared. 2. If OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 105 2. If the latter degrees of a fign be upon the cufp of the fixth, the difeafe will quickly end either one way or another. 3. A fixed fign on the cufp of the fixth, {hews tough and hard. hu- mours to be the caufes of the difeafe, and fuch as are hard to be ex- pelled. 4. Saturn lord of the fixth fhews long difeafes; Jupiter,- Mars, and the Sun fliart; Mercury fuch as are as inconftant as the weather-cock. 5. If the lord of the fixth be ftrongcr than the lord of the afeendant, the ficknefs gets ftrength againft nature; if you find it fo upon a figure in urine, judge the difeafe increafes, 6. If the lord of the fixth be weaker than the lord of the afeendant, nature gets ftrength over the difeafe, and will at laft put him to a total roilf. 7. Common figns {hew the difeafe will not ftay in one ftate. 8. The lord of the fixth, if he be a malevolent, it is an ill omen; if a benevolent, you need fo not much as fear a long ficknefs, for die difeafe will be cured both fpeedily and eafily ; unlefs the faid bene- volent be lord of the eighth. 9. If the Moon apply to the lord of the fixth, the difeafe will be en- creafed till it has put life to its trial. If the Moon be lady of the afeendant, ill diet was the caufe of it ; perhaps a furfeit by drinking. If Venus be lady of the fixth, it is women and venery. 10. If the lord of the fixth apply to the quartile or oppofition of the lord of the afeendant, the difeafe encreafes, and is not yet come to the height. 1 confefs this and many other aphorifms hereabouts, belong not at all to the decumbitures, but to queftions Upon urine, and moft of them, if not all of them, will hold true in them alfo. 11. The lord of the fixth in the eighth is but an unlucky fign, and {hews the ficknefs will end in death : if it be in the fourth, it fhews the ficknefs will end in the grave. 12. The lord of the fixth in the twelfth, declares that the patient op- pofes his own health. 1 3. The lord of the eighth in the fixth, aijd the lord of the fixth in the eighth, if they are in friendly afpect, the fick foon recovers. 14. If there be an oppofition, fextile, or trine between the lord of the fixth and Jupiter, the fick foon recovers. 15. But if, in fuch a cafe, Jupiter be in the ninth, houfe, the ficknefs comes by reafon of fame phyfic formerly taken, which will at laft much Conduce to the patient’s health. 16. A malevolent in the fixth, is an ill fign; but a benevolent there is as good a one for all that. 17. The lord of the twelfth in the fixth, {hews hypochondriac affec- tions ; and if he be a malevolent, you may take it for granted, it is as fure as can be. Vol. I, o 18. The io6 cu'lpepeii’s astrological judgment 1 8. The lord of the afcendant in the fixth, and the lord of the fixth in the afcendant, fhews long difeafes, and fuch as will continue till one ! cf them, if not both of them, make his exit out of the fign he is in. 19. If, in fuch a cafe, the malevolent caft ill afpedts to it, the feat I of death is not fmall. 20. The lord of the afcendant and fixth houfe, in quartile, o^pofw tion, or conjunction, in fuch degrees as artifts call Azemini, and in ; angles, threatens fuch perpetual pain, which none but death is likely to cure. 21. The lord of the fixth in the afcendant, fhews the djfeafe will continue long enough, nay, longer than it is welcome; but it doth not fignify the fick muff needs die ; for that belongs to the eighth houfe and his lord. 22. It is no good fign cf quick recovery* when the lord of the fixth' houfe is a malevolent. 23. If the Sun, Moon, and Lord of the Afcendant is free from ill1 beams of ill planets; and apply to fortunes that are any thing ftrong and1 like to do good, the cure will come as foon as you can in reafon hope for it. 24. It is always bad when the Sun, Moon, or Lord of the Afcend- ant apply to the lord of the fixth, eighth, or twelfth houfes ; and it is not a whit better, if they be lords of thofe houfes. 25. It is an exceeding good fign at the beginning of a ficknefs, if neither the Lord of the Afcendant, Sun or Moon, behold the lord oil the fixth or Eighth houfes. 26. It is very ill when the lord of the afcendant is afflidled, namely, if he be retrograde or in an ill houfe, in his detriment or fall, or befiegec by malevolents. All houfes which behold not the afcendants or il houfes, namely the fixth, eighth, and twelfth : I will take no notice at al of the feccnd in this cafe, becaufe it is fucceeding to the firft; but thf feventh fhall not efcape fo, becaufe it oppofes the afcendant ; it is ven bad when the .lord of the afcendant is there. 27. In fuch cafes, it is true, the difeafe may happily be cured, i good courfes be taken; but either a relapfe into that difeafe is to bi feared, or elfe the difeafe is fubjtdl to a change out of that difeafe int< | another as bad, whereby the fick is in danger of death, unlefs in th mean Lafon the lord of the afcendant grows ftronger : for the ftrongel he is, the better able he is to preferve life. 28. The lord of the afcendant infprtunated by the lord of the fixth though he be but in his term, prolongs the ficknefs. 29. If the lord of the afcendant be infortunated by the ford of th eighth, it gives fear enough, that none but death can end the quarrel be tween the fick and the ficknefs. 30. If the lord cf the afcendant be flow in motion, the ficknefs wi be as flow in the parting, and flower if Saturn be lord of the afcendant but if the lord of the afcendant be Twift in motion, according to th ' hafte he makes, fuch fpeed you may expedl of the difeafe. 31- Th nnnv, utter M iifoitu JfTI Mine, [ Itiifeafi fclfi.fi pcafc pin;d ]Uf ItM ( life we 1 lotion ptile,( Bit lion T M fifk Itiie OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. IO7 31. The lord of the afcendant angular and ftrong, and no way im- jpedited, let the difeafe be never <0 violent, the fear of death is more than the harm; 32. The lord of the afcendant entering into another fign, though it be out of his own houfe into another, provided it be not into tli ; houfe of the lord of the fixth, eighth or twelfth, the difeafe foon ends in health; if it be into the houfe of the lord of the eighth, the fick dies at the time: if it be into the houfe of the lord of the fixth, the ficknefs is encreafed; if into the houfe of the lord of the twelfth, the fick either keeps ill diet, or is unruly, or is mad : in fuch a cafe, he that will not be ruled by reafon, mull be ruled by force. 33. If the lord of the afcendant be weak of himfelf, yet if he be joined to a fortune, the recovery will be very fpeedily ; for if the fortune be any thing ftronj, he will help it forward with fpeed. 34. The lord of the afcendant, the Sun or the Moon joined to an in- fortune, prolongs the difeafe ; and the weaker they are, the longer is the difeafe like to lad. 35; If the fignificator of the difeafe be in a fign of the nature of the difeafe ; for example, fuppofe the difeafe proceeds of melancholy, if the fignificator be in an earthly fign, it exceedingly prolongs the difeafe : ■ judge the like by the reft of the humours, in fuch cafes die cure is ex- ceeding difficult : vis unita fortior. 36. If the fignificator of the ficknefs be an infortune, and applied to the lord of the afcendant, it mightily retards the cure: you fee what need there is the phyfician be an Aftrologer ; I know not how a man fhould help nature unlefs he know it. ft 37. If the. Moon be with the lord of the afcendant, or applied to him, the cure comes ealily on, if file be fwift in motion ; but if fhe be flow in motion, lhe puts th.e cure backwards. ? 38. If the Moon decreafe both in light and motion, and be with the quartile, oppofition, or body of Saturn, the difeafe is extremely bad, for the next time fhe comes to his body or oppofition, unlefs you can cure the difeafe before, and he is a phyfician indeed that can do it, death takes pofieftion of the patient. I 39. The Moon, or any other fignificator of the fick joined to a pla- net direct and fwift in motion, (hews but a fhort ficknefs ; but if the planet be retrograde or flow, the cure will be as flow to a minute. 40. If Scorpio afeend, the fick is the caufe of his own ficknefs, be- caufe then Aries is upon the cufp of the fixth houfe, and one planet is lord of both places ; and if he be in either of both thefe hcufcs, it is fo much the worfe, for he will add fire to the fuel, and make all bad enough. I 4 l- Both the luminaries in cadent houfes and their difpofitors toge- ther wvh the lord of the afcendant afflicted, fhevv a difeafe fo dangerous, that the phyfician has need enough to look about him. 42. If, in fuch a cafe, the benevolents let their helping hands, the difeafe will be prolonged, and for acute become chronic ; yet if the be- nevolent be ftrongeft, the difeafe will at laft be cured beyond all hope; O 2 if io8 culpeper's astrological judgment if the malevolents be ftrongeft, it is fhrewdly to be feared that death mu ft turn phyfician when all comes to all. 43. Suppofe Mars be lord of the afcendant, and in the fixth, yet if he be in any afpect to Venus, it is not defperately bad, becaufe the mi- tigates his evil. 44. The lord of the fixth in the eighth afflidled by Saturn or Mars if he be weak, viz. retrograde or combult, or in his detriment, the difeafe will continue till death cures it. 45. The Sun, Moon, or Lord of the Afcendant with the fortune and that fortune they are with retrograde, promifes a cure; but togethe; with the promife cornes a threatening of length of the difeafe. 46. The Moon in a bad place of the heavens prolongs the difeafe i fhe be in a fixed fign, without any further aifpute of the ftory. 47. Never forget this general rule, the {Longer the Moon is at th decumbiture, the better it is for the Tick; the weaker fhe is at tha time, the worfe. 48. It were a good thing and very commendable if the nativity c the Tick could be procured, for if Saturn be lord of the nativity, th fick may live though the Moon be in conjunction with his body, or op pofition at the decumbiture. 49. Judge of the length or fhortnefs of the difeafe according as th difeafe is : for it is not to be expedited that a fever fhould laft feve years; and it is as little to be hoped that a confumption fhould be cure in a day. CHAP. XIX. SIGNS OF LIFE AT THE DECUMBITURE. FIRST, Jupiter, Venus, the Sun and the -Moon in the afcendan nor afflicting nor beholding the lord of the eighth, nor being lord of th eighth themfelves, take away not only the fear of death, but alfo prc mile a fpeedy cure. | 2. "1 he conjunction of the Moon with Jupiter is always profperou: molt propitious if he be in Cancer: if doubtful at all, it is when they ai in Capricorn, becaufe in the one drey are both dignified: in the oth( both cadeht from their dignities. And yet let me tell you but thi much, Jupiter is Jupiter ftill, be he where he will. 3. Tl he Moon m an angle well difpofed in good terms, and free fro: the body or beams of Saturn or Mars, it reflores the lick to healdi, ar fcorns to be behold:., to any of them all. \ 4. The Moon applying to the lord of the afcendant,- unlefs fhe carri< She beams of the lord of death to him, does the like. 5. Th I- \ OF E IS EASE 3, ENLARGED. I0} 5. The Moon encreafing in light, and fwift in motion, and not po- fited in the fixth, eighth, nor twelfth houfes, applying to the Textile* trine, or antifcion of the lord of the afcendant, though the lord of the afcendant be a malevolent, it matters not, fo he is direct, and not in- fortunated by houfe, nor impedited by another malevolent, neither in his detriment nor fall, it promiles recovery. 6. If the Moon be void of ccurfe at the decumbiture, if on the cri- tical day fhe behold a good liar, there is no i^ueftion of recovery to be made. 7. If, on a critical day, the Moon be in her own houfe or exaltation* though Ihe be void of courfe, the fear of death is more than the harm, for the fick will recover. 8. The Sun, Moon, and Lord of the Afcendant free from the beams /of Saturn, Mars, or the Lord of Death at the decumbiture, there can- not be fo much as a bare fufpicion of death. 9. If the benevolents be ftronger than the malevolents at the decum- biture, and withal if they behold the Moon, the afcendant, or his lord* they pfomife recovery. The malevolents may threaten hard, but the benevolents will flay the deadly blow. 10. If the Moon be feparated from the weak malevolent, and ap- plied to a ftrong benevolent, the fick is eafily recovered ; for the weakeft always goes to the wall. 11. If Saturn be fignificator of the ficknefs, oriental of the Sun* the difeafe coming of cold, See. occidental of the Sun, the difeafe coming of heat, ftldom kills. Saturn is not fo fubjeft to take away life in ruch a cafe as in the contrary. 12. Mars is not fo formidable when he is occidental as when he is oriental. 13. Mars afflidls the Moon more when fhe is oriental than he does when fhe is occidental. 14. A reception between the lord of the afcendant and the lord of the eighth, if they are benevolent, or if the benevolents lend them aid, fhewS recovery. 15. Alfo, if the lord of the eighth receives the lord of the afcendant without the malicious beams of ill fortunes, the fick will efcape, even when there is no hope of life. Now fome are of opinion, that it is far better that the lord of the afcendant dilpofe the lord of the eighth, than that the lord of the eighth difpofe the lord of the afcendant. Is it not better, that life difpofe of death, than that death difpofe of life ? Indeed if the lord of the afcendant difpofes the lord of the eighth, the fick will take fuch a courfe as will be for his own prejudice, and the haftening on of his end. But if fick people will not be ruled by fair means, they mull be ruled by other ■, and that is all I can fay unto it. 16. If no Culpeper’s astrological judgment i 6. If good planets be in the afcendant or mid-heaven at the decum- biture, and pretty ftrpng withal, they will hourly maintain life, thougit the fignificators of it be never fo much afflicted. CHAP. XX. V SIGNS OF DEATH. FIRST of all, the loi'd of the afcendant afflicted in the eighth, the pa- tient is more deflrous to be apud inferos, than death is to have him ; the man will die, and his life will be caft away abfolutely with evil conduct. 2. If, at die decumbiture, you find the lord of the afcendant combufl in the afcendant, pafs the fame judgment with the former. 3. If the lord of the eighth houfe is in the mid-heaven, and afflict the lord of the afcendant, the phyfician will be in a flirewd miitake; and, inftead of curing, go near to kill. 4. The lord of the eighth very ftrong in the afcendant, gives you fair warning that death is coming. 5. A conjundti on between the lord of the eighth, and the lord of die afcendant, is as mortal a fign as the heavens can fhew. 6. It is a very unlucky fign, when the lord of the eighth houfe is lord of the houfe at the decumbiture. And not much better if the lord of the houfe at the decumbiture is adhered by the lord of the eighth, efpecially if the lord of the eighth be a malevolent. Such ill beginning of a dtfeafe ufually proves fatal at die latter end, unlefs the phyfician be a very able man. 7. If the lord of the afcendant fall retrograde from the body of the lord of the eighth, it gives you a timely warning of death at their next conjunction, unlefs the lord of the afcendant meet with the Sun before he meet with the lord of death again. 8. The lord of the eighth in conjunction, fquare, or oppofition to the Moon at the decumbiture, threatens death, unlefs there be a recep- tion between them. If the lord of the eighth be retrograde or infortu- nated, you may the more confide in his j udgment. 9. The lord of the eighth in an angle, efpecially the weftern angle, the Moon and lord of the afcendant being in cadent houfes, or afflidted by malevolents, death may be feared, and that j uftly too; efpecially if a malevolent be in the eighth, or lord of that houfe. 10. The Moon with either Saturn and Jupiter profits not the fick at all, unlefs Jupiter be much ftronger than Saturn, or with the lord of the afcendant than either of them. In fuch a cafe, medicines under the influence of Jupiter will do good, becaufe his body is afflicted by fo potent an adverfary. II. The OF DISEASES, ENLARGED, III l v. The lord of the afeendant in the afpe&s, or with the antifcion of an infortune in the eighth, threatens death, unlefs the wholefome beams of Venus and Jupiter help- which if fo, there will be a ftrong conteft between nature and the difeafe. The fortunes ftrive to maintain nature, the infortunes to deftroy them. In fuch a cafe, look which is ftrongeft, and pafs judgment upon the end of the difpute accordingly. 12. If you find the Moon in like cafe in an acute difeafe, or the Sun in a chronical, pafs the fame judgment. 13. If there be a reception between the lord of the afeendant, and the lord of the eighth by any afpecl, the fick will probably live, But the iicknefs will be long and tedious, and the effects of it lie long in the body. 14. The Moon with Saturn and Mars, or the Moon with the one, and the Sun with the other, or either of them with one, and the lord of the afeendant with the other, or the lord of the afeendant with both, gives fhrewd fufpicions, that the Iicknefs is but the Prodromus or ufherer in of death. 15. The flower in motion the afflicting infortune is, theworfeit is; for then the Moon meets him again upon the critical day. 16. The lord of the afeendant in the feveivth or fourth houfe, and there affliCted, gives warning to the fick man that his dilTolution is at hand. 17. An infortune upon the cufp of the horofeope, bids the fick pro- vide for a change. 18. Fixed ftars of a violent nature, fpeak the fame .language if they ;ire upon the horofeope. 19. Thofe fixed liars are faid to be of a violent nature, which are of the nature of Saturn or Mars ; as, the Bull’s eyes, the Scorpion’s heart* Sic. and fome which are of the nature of the fortunes, as Algol, or the head of Medufa, which is placed in the buckler of Perfeus. The Gre- cian Aftrologers call him the Devil’s Head; and yet all the AftrologerS hold Jupiter and Venus to have a flhare in this nature. 20. If the Moon be void of courfe, at the beginning of the ficknefs, and yet afflicted upon a critical day, a good crifis cannot be hoped; an ill crifis may juftly be feared, and that not without grounds from fober rules of art. 21 The lord of the. afeendant in Leo or Aquarius impedited by the body of the lord of the fixth or twelfth houfes, fignifies danger of death, 22. Both the luminaries afflicted under the earth, carry the fame fignification. 23. It is evil if the Moon be in her detriment or fall at the crifis, though file be not affliCted at all ; the time of the crifis, is the time of a combat between nature and the difeafe. And if the Moon be weak, fhe is not able to maintain nature in the Combat. 24. The culpeper’s astrological judgment 1 12 24. The Sun afflicted by the body, fquare, or oppofition or antiicion of. a malevolent, it tells the patient the diftafe will be long and tedious, if not mortal; and bids him provide himfelf of fuch a phyfician as knows how to do fomething elfe befides only to tell money. 25. The Moon oppofed to the lord of the afeendantat the beginning of a ficknefs, if the lord of the afcendant be alfo- retrograde or combult, fhews bitter accidents will fall out to the fick during the time of his fick- nefs ; he is a wife phyfician that can remedy them; but he is wifer that can anticipate them. 26. The Moon in the fourth houfe with the body fquare, oppofition or antifcion of Mars, foon brings a man to his iaft inheritance, the grave; fhe threatens it, if fhe is there no way affiidled, unlefslhe is| very ftrong. 27. As I have judged by the Moon, fo judge by Mars if you finclj him ; for if he being there have any dignities in the afcendant, he Vvull urge a man as fall: to the grave, as ever fleep urged him to bed. 28. Saturn oppofite to the lord of the eighth houfe, threatens danger enough to the fick. 29. The Moon in conjunction with Mars in the fourth houfe will I fend the fick to take a fupper in another world, though both their for- [t tunes Hand and look upon him. 1 30. The Moon in the afcendant, always hurts, becaufe there fhe hath moll power over the body of the fick. But if fhe is there, and in Can.cer or Taurus, fhe will rather help than hinder the fick. If the Moon afpect the afcendant, and I fuppof; the reafonto be, becaufe Saturn loves it; and then fhe hates the eighth and twelfth houfes by the fame rule. 31. If the Moon be in the afcendant, and th,e fign afcending of a con- trary nature to her, it is a hundred to one if that the fick die not of that1 difeafe. 32. The Moon applying to the body of the Sun, within twelve de- grees of the decurnbiture, the ficknefs comes not fo much to terrif) your body, as to give you warning of your end. And the nearer the Moon is to the body of the Sun, the fpeedier dif-j patch will death make of the body of his captive. 33. The Moon befieged by the bodies of the malevolents, pofitet between the Sun and one of them, tire hopes of life are very fmall, 01 none at all. 34. Authors fay, that if a man or woman fall fick when the Moot! is going out of combuftion, their ficknefs will encreafe till fhe come: to the oppofition of the Sun. And if then fhe meet with an ill planet, the fick recovers; if not, they die. For my own particular, I fpealj no more than I have found by continual experience; I have often foum, this falfe, and never true. 35. If the Sun and Moon be lord of the houfe at the decurnbiture- and behold the lord of the eighth, the ficknefs is fent to proclaim thtfl approach of death. 36. 1 ' »TH ST, U Ufii OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. IX3 36. It is very bad when the Moon carries the light of the lord of the afcendant to the lord of the eighth, it threatens death ; but it does not fo in all difeafes neither : for example, in fuch as come and go by fits, as agues, falling-fic lends, & c. you may make this ufe of it, that none are fit to make phyficians, J>ut fuch as are intimately acquainted with nature, and her wonderful operations. , 37. It is extreme bad when the Moon applies to any {far in the eighth, as bad as when fhe applies to the lord of the eighth himfelf. 38. The Moon combuft in the eighth in Leo, threatens death ; and fo the truth is, if fhe is combuft in any other houfe or fign, unlefs fhe feparate from the body of the Sun. 39. The difeafe will appear little otherwife than the forerunner of death, if the Moon is in Libra, and Jupiter and Venus in conjundtion; ae that knows any thing in phyfic that he fhould know, knows the rea- bn well enough. 40. The Moon with the pleiades, and the aldebaran, or with any ither violent fixed ftar, fhews danger of death. 41. The Moon applying to her own nodes, namely, the head and ail of the Dragon, is very bad, but not fo bad if file feparate from hem. 42. It is very bad when Saturn is in his Perigaeon, or near it, if the lifeafe come of retention. 43. Judge the like by Mars, if the difeafe be a fever, or proceed of holer ; and here you have another inftructor to teach you knowledge ; he nearer a planet is to the earth, die more rigidly will he maintain nd encreafe the humours he governs. 44. It is a very bad fign, if not defperate, if there happen an eclipfe f either luminary upon a critical day; and if it mifs a day of it, it will reak no fquares in fuch a cafe : the time of die eclipfe has, to my nowledge, anticipated the time of the crifis a whole day natural, and roved mortal too, as I have had experience in ElTex the latter end of fetober, 1649. CHAP. XXI. FOR THE CURE OF ANY DISEASE, TAKE THESE FEW RULES. FIRST, determine what the difeafe is. 2. Confider who is the author or caufer of it ; and that you may fee, you confider what planet governs that difeafe. 3. Confider whether it be caufed by the fympathy or antipathy of e planet. 4- And that you may know this (which is the whole key of phyfic) )nfider firft, whether the planet affl idling govern the part, afflidted ; Vol. I. P and 1 14 culpeper’s astrological judgment and if he has any dominion in that part of the body, he caufes it by fym- pathy : one example will clear all: As'fuppofe difeafes in the bones, fpleen, &c. if Saturn be the caufe of it, it is by fympathy^ becaufe he governs thofe parts. 5. If, by antipathy, confider what part of the body any planet afflicts, either by his pm fence. or afpedts; and then, fecondly, confider who or what p]anet governs that part; if the planet affiidting bean enemy to that planet governing that part, then the difeafe is caufed by antipathy. 6. As is the difeafe, fo is the cure. 7. If, by antipathy, then apply thefe medicines proper to the place af- fedted and governed by the affiidted planet ; then the cure is by antipathy. As fuppofe Saturn affiidts feme parts that the Moon governs, here the I difeafe is cured by antipathy, becaufe Saturn is an enemv to the Moon ; I to cure which, apply things proper to the part affedted and governed by j the Moon, becaufe they are antipathetical to the difeafe caufed by Saturn. 8. If the difeafe be caufed by fympathy, then muft you apply medi- caments proper to the part affedted, or difeafe affedting, and governing by that planet affiidting; here is cure by fympathy; here the planet that kills or ftrik.es is repelled, or is beat with his own weapons. 9. A difeafe may be cured by fympathy or antipathy another way. By fympathy thus: "When a planet affiidts, or caufes a difeafe, the cure may be made by applying medicaments to the part affedted, or difeafe affedting (and that you muft befure alv/ays to obferve) and go- verned by another planet with the affiidting planet. By antipathy mutatis mutandis, &c. with this caution, ufe no antipathetical medicines. Thefe few rules, well obferved, may make a ^ good phyfician. / 10. By the foregoing rules, it feems all or moft of the planets govern fome one or more particular things proper ,to all or moft difeafes, by which it will follow, that every planet has a fhare in every particular member there, by fympathy or antipathy, as to the member itfelf, or planet governing. I anfwer in general, every particular planet has a compound or mixt fhare in every part, the fame as has the four elements : but particularly every planet has ihare in every part, either fympathetically, or antipa- thetically. Whereby you fee that one medicine may cure, or be good for more difeafes than one, and fo may cure one difeafe by fympathy, another by antipathy; that which may cure a Saturian difeafe by fym- pathy (viz. when Saturn caufes the difeafe, and affiidts any parts he hirnfelf governs) may cure a Lunarian difeafe by antipathy, when the Moon affiidts any part that Saturn governs ; fo whereas the medicine cured when he caufed the difeafe hirnfelf, fo here it cures being caufed by another by antipathy, becaufe thefe things which Saturn governs are antipathetical to the afflictions or difeafes of the Moon, or lunar caufes. CHAP. I t: can . lofopl lion I Bi New confc butt ever, tei were liged to th nerb So worn worn riodie Ai preci for it two; becai clesi one’s but t ■ M bate main thep nsof various forts, fuch as the venereal, the fcorbufic, the cancerous, ie fcrophulous, the pforic, the arthritic, and the hydrophobic. The l'ecreted fluids may be faulty, when their quantity is too fmall 'too great i or when their fluidity, denfity, or Qualities are preter- . ?. itural. The 118 CULPEPER. ’S ASTROLOGICAL JUDGMENT The external caufes of difeafes are blows, ccmpreffions, ligatures the action of fire, bad, air, infectious concaCts, venomous bites, poifons the introduction of Arrange bodies into natural orifices, and the abufe c the non-naturals. Whir refpsdt to feme of thefe which are more mo mentous and intricate, I fhall be more particular. The knowledge of thofe things that are infalubrious and hurtful to perfon in health are highly neceflary to a phyfician, both with regard t the prefervation from difeafes, and cure of mem when prefent. A plethora and cacochmy are great caules of difeafes, efpecially th chronical; hence whatever contributes co increafe the quantity or Co ruption of the fluids is juftly placed in the infalubrious clafs. All excretions and evacuations, when they are flopped, contribu gready to produce a plethora, and heap up impurities in the body; ai all things, of whatever kind, that hinder the excretions, are hurtful ai noxious. Hereunto may be referred too much aliment ; the abufe acids and vifeids ; very cold and moift air; want of eXercife; incongri ous drinks, and corrupted victuals. Every thing that weakens the body and deftroys the tone and ftrength the parts, produces ftagnations of the fluids, obftrudtions of the giant and corruptions of the vifcera, and ccnfequently contributes to bring > chronical afredlions, and to render the acute fatal. Hence precede difeafes and improper remedies are highly noxious. Regard muft always be had to the particular conftitution, age, ft and cuftomary way of living of the patient. KJltl dioul) ifiji adit Etiraii we iquivc s, bee vnlligt ipize it. is a uni U pty, Sc ttfc CHAP. XXIV. \ SEMEIOTICE: ’OR THE SIGNS OF DISEASES. THE fign of a difeafe is that which helps us to know and diflingu the caufe of its approach, duration, and event. Signs are of three kinds, the Commemorative, the Diagnoftic, ; the Prognoftic. The Commemorative teach us what has happened before the dife; and are taken from every thing that preceded; that is, the patiei manner of living, the place of his habitation, the conftitution of his ■ rents; the difeales to which he has been fubjeeft, or has contracted ; pofture he was in at the time of being wounded, &c. The Diagnoftic figns difeover the prefent ftate of the difeafe, • affift in judging of its caufes and nature. They are diftinguifhed into common, proper, pofitive, excluf • univocal, equivocal, fenfible, rational, and pathognomonic. Common figns are thofe which are always met with in the fame If ■ Pathogn lifldarifft jerly Ip Igns rclad ’lenient ret jtatare im T-natu j||pogalliiu Prognofi pent of a 8d tie fon .iud their he *nt, and: ndtkeiite :hgn 'tats fe Or DISEASES, ENLARGED. ng iumes. Proper ftgns are thofe which are particular to each difeafe, and juake a difference between feveral difeafes of the fame kmd jrfor ex- ample, fluctuation is a particular fign which (hews the difference be- tween the tumour where that is found, and the tumour where it is not v found. ! Pofitive fiens determine fo clearly concerning a difeafe, that we can- not doubt of it ; thus a conliderable haemorrhage from a wound is a po- fitive fign that there is a veil'd opened. Exclufive figns, by teaching ithat a difeafe is not of fuch or fuch a kind, difeover of what kind it really is. Thus when a patient has the hiccup with a vomitting of bilious [matter and excrements, if there is no tumour in the groin or about the Ibellv, we know there is no hernia, and therefore we conclude that it ^proceeds from the iliac paffion. Equivocal figns are thofe which appear in feveral kinds of difeafes. For inftance, pain in any part and difficulty of motion are equivocal figns, becaufe th y equally belong to a luxation and a fradure. Uni- vocal figns are never met with but in one kind of difeafe, and charac- terize it. Thus in fearching the bladder, if we meet with a hard body, it is a univocal fign that the patient is afflicted with the ftone. Senfible figns are thofe which are evident to the fenfes. Thus by the fight we know a bad conformation, an external folution of conti- nuity, &c. By the hearing we perceive the fractured pieces make a crackling noife. By the fmclling we difeover a mortification. By the feeling we are fure of the extent, depth, and direction of a wound or finus. By the tafte w'e may determine the kind of fluid which pro- ceeds from a wound, that is, if it is bile or any other humour. Rational figns are thofe which ,reafon difeovers : thefe are not pro- perly fpeaking figns, but conclufions, that' are drawn from external figns relating to the difeafe, their degree, their circumftances, and con- venient remedies. In this cafe we muff have regard to the functions that are impaired, to the part affedled, to the evacuations fuppreffed or preter-natural, to the fituation and kind of pain which tire patient feels, and to the things which afluage or exafperate the d border. Pathognomonic figns are proper to a difeafe, are inleparable from it, and arife from its nature. Thus the quicknefs of the pulfe is the pathog- nomonic fisns of a fever, and a flux of urine from a wound in the hypogaftrium is a pathognomonic fign that the bladd.r is penetrated. Progr.oftic figns are thofe which help us to forefee the duration and event of a difeafe. They are taken front the degree, the difference, and the complication of difeafes; from the nature of the difordered parts, and their neceffity for life and health ; from the accidents, age, tempera- ment, and fex of the patient; from the difficulty of applying remedies, and the like. Nothing is fo important in fome difeafes as to be very attentive to the fenfible figns ; the quantity and quality of the urine and oi ;er excretions, fuch as fweat and perfpi ration; the maimer in which the patient lies ; the 120 culpeper’s astrological judgment the ftate of his fkin, eyes, countenance, tongue, and pulfe, which ge- nerally give a fufficient infight into the nature and degree of the difeafe. The knowledge of the pulfe is highly neceflary; for the pulfe is pro- duced by the dilatation, and by the alternate and fucceflive contraction 1 of the heart and arteries, by the means of which the blood is conveyed by the heart into the arteries, and by the arteries into the veins, which bring it back to the heart. Thus this puifation, which arifes from the circulation of the blood, is very proper to difcover the alterations that are made in it. CHAP. XXV. OF SIGNS FROM THE PULSE. WITH regard to motion, the pulfe is only of four kinds, great, little, quick, flow, from whence arife two others, violent, weak : for though a pulfe may be faid to be hard or loft, this refpects tire artery not the motion therein. There is another well worthy to be taken notice of, and that is the convulflve, with a tracfory, tremulous, fubfultory mo- tion, as if the artery was drawn upwards. This in acute fevers is a prefage of death, and may be called the pulfe of the dying. Though a pulfe may be termed frequent or rare, equal or unequal and intermitting, the former only regard the fucceflion and feries of motion, the latter the fucceflion and order. In fome writers we find the diftinCfions numerous enough. Thus with them the pulfe is ftrong, violent, great, full, long, fhort, hard, fcft, little, empty, weak, low,, frequent, rare, creeping, vermicular, formicating, caprizating, tremu- lous, undulatory, myurous, ferrated, dicrotous, manifeft, obfcure, in- termitting, unequal. In moft of which there is a diftinCHon without a difference. By myurous is meant a gradual alcent from little to great, and then a gradual defcent from great to little, A dicrotus puifation is when a Angle beat feems a little interrupted, lb as to make a kind of a double beat. The myurous, formicating, vermicular, tremulous, ca- prizating, ferrated, dicrotous pulfes of Galen are nothing but pulfes. more or lefs unequal, which vary in their mixture, order, and fucceflion; as when the beat is firft Anall, then great, afterwards quick, and then flow. An equal pulfe is caufed by the influx of a due quantity of blood from the veins into the auricles of the heart, and from thence into the ventricles, and its regular efflux from the ventricles into the arteries, which renders the motion of the heart equable and moderate, A great pulfe is that wherein the artery feels greatly dilated, and is ' caufed by a copious afflux of blood to the heart, and the like efFuAon into frie arteries. i A little OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 121 A little pulfe is fo called when the dilatation of the artery is but little felt, and fhews that a fmall quantity of blood is fent to the ventricles of the heart, and that the diaftole is fmall, as alfo that the effuiion into the f arteries is the fame. A quick pulfe is known by the frequent beating of the artery from a more fpeedy reflux of the blood from the veins to the heart. A flow pulfe is when the beating of the artery is perceived lefs fre- quent than ufual, and ihews that tiie reflux of blood from the parts to the heart is retarded in its motion. A ftrong or violent pulfe is when it is great and quick at the fame time, and happens when a large quantity of blood is carried to the heart by the veins, and is more than ordinarily rapid. A weak pulfe is when it is little and flow; and fhews that the quan- ■ tity of blood fent back to the heart is fmall and retarded in its courfe. A hard pulfe is when the artery itfelf feels more tenfe, retinent, or i ! hard. |j A foft pulfe denotes the artery to be foft, flaccid, and relaxed. Thefe , 1 two laft may be fometimes natural in different ages and temperaments. An unequal pulfe is fometimes great, fometimes little j now quick, then flow; fometimes weak, and then violent. An intermitting pulfe is when the pulfations are interrupted, that is, I when after two beats the third fails; or after three the fourth, &c. and I is caufed by fome obfhicle or impediment from grumous blood, or po- lypous concretions in the ventricles or auricles ; or when thick blood is f" forced in too great plenty to the heart, and for a while, fufpends its fyftole. : I From experiments it appears, that if the body weigh 1 40 pounds, eighty of it will confift of fluids. Suppofe then that the pulfe beats feventy times in a minute, then it will beat 4,200 times in an hour, and 100,800 in twenty-four hours. And if wq allow the great artery of a ftrong man to be capable of receiving an ounce of blood at every pulfe, the whole mafs will circulate at leaft three times in an hour, and 7 2 times in twenty-four hours; or more accurately almqft 79 times in the jaforefaid fpace. It is alfo worth obferving, that the pulfe is greater and quicker in a man than a woman; as alfo in bilious and fanguineo-bilious tempera- ments than in the phlegmatic and melancholic; in the lean and flender than in the fat and obefe. In infants the pulfe is quick and foft; in young perfons, harder, greater, and more violent. In the old, the pulfe is great, fomewhat hard and flow. Labour and exercife increafe the pulfe and circulation, but reft and idienefs render them more weak and flow. Loud fpeaking, or amend- ing fteep places render the refpiration intenfe, which enlarges and quickens the pulfe. In watching the pulfe is more fenfible; in fleep more flow and languid. The drinking hot tea, coffee, or the like, quickens the pulfe ; as alfo plentiful meals. Voe. I. Terror 122 culpeper’s astrological judgment v Terror renders the pulfe unequal, little, and contracted; joy, frequent and great; anger, quick and hard; fadnefs caufes it to be more flow, little, deep, and weak ; and intenfe thinking makes it more languid and weak. When the wind having been long wefterly or fouth turns to the eaft or north, the pulfe becomes more tenfe, vigorous, and large; as all'o when the quickfllver rifes in the barometer. But in thick, cloudy, rainy weather, with a foutherly conftitution of the air, when the life is feden- tary, the fleeps long, or the feafon autumnal, the pulfe becomes languid and fmall, and the excretions, particularly perfpiration, are impeded. In May the pulfe is great; in the middle of the fummer, quicker but not fo llrong; in the autumn, flow, foft, and weak; in the winter, hard and large. Draftic purges render the pulfe more hard, quick, and 'weak ; pre- parations of fteel and the bark, mere great and robuft; volatile me- dicines amplify and increafe it; bajfamics, aromatics, and generous wine enlarge the pulfe, which before' was flow and little ; acids and nitrous things allay and appeafe its violent motions; opiates and nar- cotics make the pulfe little and weak, as well as dejedt the ftrength; corrofive poifons render the pulfe little, contracted, hard, and frequent, and fome hours before death it is hardly perceptible. When the pulfe is fmall and deprefled from a redundance of blood, bleeding will render the pulfe Vigorous and quick; baths greatly increafe it, and when they are a little too hot they are followed with palpitation of the heart and pains in the head. Pediluvia, at bed-time, increafe the motion of the blood and arteries. An intermitting pulfe has been generally looked upon to be dangerous and fatal, and yet it frequently happens in the hyfteric paflion, and the colic, and great flatulences, without any bad event. And here it may be obferved, that the prefence of a phyfician often ' puts the patient into a flutter, and therefore he fhould have time to com- pofe himfelf before his pulfe be felt, otherwife great miftakes may hap- pen. He will beft judge of the quicknefs of a pulfe by a watch that has a hand which tells feconds. A frequent pulfe is the pathognomonic fign of a fever, and there are few fevers in which it is not fomewhat hard, except the malignant at- tended v ith fweats, and then it is undulous, w'ith great deiedtion of ftrength. In the beginning of a continual fever, or paroxyfm of an intermit- tent, the pulfe is generally tenfe, fmall, arid frequent, which increafes to the ftate, and then it is violent; but in the declination the tenfion and quicknefs remit. If the pulfe is weak and quick, or violent and quick, about the fe- venth, ninth, or eleventh day, with fhivering and coldnefs of the ex- tremities, and thin watery urine, it portends a fatal p&renzy. A fmal] OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. I23 A fmall, frequent, qnd quick pulfe is of a very ominous prefige, and (hews an internal inflammation tending to a fphacelus; and if it is like- wife unequal and intermitting, it foretels danger of fpeedy death. In the beginning of a quartan the pulfe is little, hard, frequent, and unequal, and in the ftate of a tertian and burning fever violent. In a fynocha it is great and quick. Before the eruption of the fpots in the fmall-pox and mealies, the pulfe is hard and frequent, which after the eruption ceafes, urdefs in the confluent fmall-pox, for then it continues many days longer. It returns again after the fuppuration in the fecun- dary fever, and gradually returns to its natural ftate. In malignant and fpotted fevers the pulfe is final), quick, weak, and -jl contracted, -with great lol's of ftrength; and when it becomes loft and undulous, with large fweats and urine like that of found perfons, it pre- fages death. In inflammatory fevers with pain, as the peripneumony, it is gene- rally hard and frequent, fometirrjies great. In catarrhal and flow fevers the pulfe is fuller, and quicker in the evening. In madnefs, the phrenzy, and melancholy, the pulfe varies much; it is quick, flow, robuft, languid, or unequal by turns, and beats ftrongly I in the head with a racking, lancinating pain. In the apoplexy, epileply, and hemiplexy, it is generally hard and frequent, fometimes great. In the lethargy, fopor, and difpofition to a fyncope, it is foft, rare, and languid, and at length becomes fo (lender, that it is perceived with dif- ficulty, which laft, with a cold fweat, clofes the fcene. In the palpitation of the heart and convulfive afthma, the pulfe is lan- guid and unequal, and if they proceed from a polypous concretion in ' the heart it will intermit. When the pulfe is frequent, fmall, and a little hard, it foretels the flux of the menfes or haemorrhoids; when they begin to flow it is quicker I and larger. The pulfe is quick and hard infpafmodic, hypochondriac, and hyfteri.c affeeftions; as alfo in the colic and ftone; when it begins to grow foft and large it fhews die fpafms are ceafing, lit the dyfentery the pulfe is fmall and frequent; but if joined to a fever, it is great. The lues venerea, feurvy, cachexy, and dropfy, are attended with a languid, weak pulfe. It is a great fault in phyficians not to give themfelves time to feel the pulfe; for often after ten pulfations they may perceive an inequality or intermiffion. Nor is it fufficient to feel the pulfe in one wrift, for both ought to be felt, as alfo that in the temples and neck, for fometimes there is a difference in different places. a* CHAP, 124 CULPEPER’S ASTROLOQICAL JUDGMENT CHAP. XXV L OF SIGNS FROM THE BLOOD. BEFORE we can determine which is a favourable or bad prognoftie j j i from the blood, it will be neceflary to know what the beft blood is,, j and why it is fo denominated; for phyficians vary in their opinions con- cerning it. Some fay the beft blood foon becomes a kind of a red gely, depofit- ing a thick coagulum at the bottom, with a moderate quantity of fluid ferum at the top. But let that be as it will, it is certain that this vital ! purple fluid differs according to the age, the nature of aliment, and , manner of living; as alfo with regard to the country, or climate, and i feafon of the year, while the perfon is in a good ftate of health. Be- fides, perfons of a fanguineous temperament, whofe blood feems pure, gelatinous, and of a beautiful red, are often attacked with many and grievous difeafes, , Blood of a bad afpect has been attended with no diibrders, while that which is taken for the beft has been drawn from perfons in a dangerous illnefs. The blood of fcprbutic and hectic patients has been fluid and of a florid red, while that of the found and robuft has been denfe, glutinous, black, and quickly coagulated. In apoplectic, paralytic, fpafmodic, and convullive cafes, the colour and confiftence of the blood has been N free from blame ; and even in a virulent carcinoma the blood that forced itfelf from the arteries was fluid and of a fine red without any fenfible diforder. Prognoftics from the infpection of the blood alone are. very deceitful, for though it is faulty, if it circulates freely there is feldom any danger. On the contrary, the beft blood, if it ftagnates, or is extravafated, not only caufes difeafes but death itfelf. Therefore the caufes of difeafes are to be fought for in the folids rather than in the fluids.' Though the blood is never fo good, if an extravafation happens, it putrifies, and excites dangerous fymptoms; in the head an apoplexy, fever, or epileptic convuliions, and by confent of parts vomiting. If it is poured into the cavity of the thorax or abdomen in any large quan- tity, it is foon turned into a fatal putrefaction. While the blood continues in the veflels, if it is ftrongly impacted into the membranes of the brain, it will caufe a phrenzy ; if into the coats of the ftomach or inteftines, a pernicious inflammation tending to a mortification. If the blood being grumous continues in the ventricles, auricles, or greater veflels of the heart, it will produce a fyncope or fudden death. When OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 125 When there is a firm ftafis in the fubftance of the mufcles, and its progreffive motion is flopped, it will turn to a mortification or fatal pu- trefaction. When the vifcera are infarfted or fluffed with blood or ferum, they will produce an obftruction and induration; the njoft grievous chronical difeafes, a cachexy, dropfy, or hedfic; and yet the blood taken from a vein fhall appear without fault. Poifons, peftilential and contagious miafmata, the matter of the gout and itch drove back, will kill perfons with violent fpafms, and yet the blood fhall feem without defect. ' The fpiflitude of the blood is greatly blamed in hypochondriac and hyfteric cafes, and yet experience tells us that the colour and confidence are quite free from pravity. In fevers there may be too great plenty or cxpaafion, or a latent acrimony in the blood, but not a dsnfity and thicknefs as is commonly fuppofed. ! Howevef, when the blood is thick, black, and coagulates too foon, it will be apt to ftagnate in the capillary veffels and produce obftruc- tions. When this kind of blood, by violent commotions of the body or ' mind, or intenfe cold, is driven forcibly into the lymphatic veffels, it will readily ftagnate and produce inflammations. This is evident in the oleurify and peripneumonies, in which the ferum on the top of the blood ippcars like tenacious glue. It fhould therefore be taken away plenti- fully till the remainder is fit for a free circulation ; giving at the fame ime alkalies, volatiles, diluents, and aqueous remedies to fubtilize the flood. When the blood is thin, florid, and of a fcarlet colour, it prefages no good, efpecially if it is deftitute of ferum; for this is the cafe of the irthritic and fcorbutic, and fhews that the blood abounds with alkaline alts. This alfo attends flow and hectic fevers, from a hot inteftinal notion. A free ufe of wine and aromatics will produce the fame effects n bilious conftitutions. This will likewife happen in malignant fevers, ind often in epileptic and fpafmodic difeafes. Bleeding in thefe cafes, vhen the blood is of this confiftence, fhould never be repeated; but ra- her gellies, mucilages, and nutritive fubftances fhould be given; as alfo Kings which are acidulated, deftroy acrimony, extinguifh heat, and ap- ieafe commotions. When the fernm is too great in proportion to the red coagulum, it hews that fanguification is hurt, the perfpiration or the urine too little, f md threatens a cachexy, aedematous tumours, or a dropfy. When the ferum is of an intenfe yellow, it either fhews the bilious ecrements are not feparated from the blood, or that it is reforbedby the ymphatic veffels, from an obftruftion of the biliary duffs. In the fcurvy, itch, cachexy, and fupprefiion of the menfes, the ferum s variegated, appearing livid and blueifh, being more or lefs turbid or vhltifh ; or there is a thick milky coat, and the coagulum is grumous, uid of a black colour mixed with brown. In 126 Culpeper’s astrological judgment In the lues venerea and confummate fcurvy, the ferum is generall] copious, muddy, and turbid. In burning fevers, there is little ferum, and the colour is'fcarlet, wit froth. In the fmall-pox, meafl.es, acute and continual fevers, the blood I very fluid, and does not coagulate. CHAP. XXVII. OF SIGNS FROM THE URINE AND OTHER EXCRETIONS. IT has beenfaid by San&orius, that perfpiration exceeds all the oth fecretions put together, which may be true in all hot countries, but i thefe northern climates the excretion of urine exceeds that of perfpir tion, which yet will be more or lei's according to the quantity of liqui drank. Urine that is light, thin, and pellucid like water, denotes grievoL fpafms of the internal membranous parts, violent hypochondriac a. hyfteric affedtions, a cardialgia, calculous and nephritic diforders, or t: . convulfive colic. The urine is alfo very thin and light in grievous difeafes of the he;, : as in violent head-achs, the vertigo, pnrenfy, madnefs, melancholy, al the epilepfy. The fame happens in grieyous affections of the nervd; parts, in convulfions from cauffic poifons, or the gnawing of worr. This kind of urine will often appear two or three days before the fit. 1 1 Thin, watery, or whitifh urine, if copious in the height of a fev,ff.i, before the critical days, foretels a phrenfy, or grievous internal inflaiK I mations, as of the uterus, lungs, or ftomach. But this prognoftic fails if the patient is juft recovered from a dyft- tery, fpotted fever, or fmall pox, for then it only fhews a defedt of he , and fpirituafcency in the fluids. : [i On this account there is plenty of crude, turbid, pale, thin urine, r of a greenifh or citron colour in the cachexy, leucophlegmatia, en«- mous haemorrhages, in the beginning of an anafarca, in the green fie- nefs, and fuppreffion of the menfes. Likewife in the fluor albus, win is generally the offspring of the cachexy and fuppreffed menfes, 2 ; urine is generally pale and turbid; fometimes with a fediment 1$ feales. The urine in all preternatural and febrile heats is made in a le r par quantity, and is higher-coloured than ufual. It is either yellow or r|- difti more or lefs deep in proportion to the caufe, either in intermitt 5 or continual fevers. OF DISEASES, ENLARCED. li7 In the paroxyfms of intermittents, or in the exacerbation of continual levers, the urine is thin, clear, and reddifh, and without fediment : in lurning and bilious fevers, it is generally tranfparent, and of a flame rolour. In intermittents, fomc hours after the fit, the urine is thicker and lefs ull of fediment. When this happens in continual fevers about critical lays, it fhews a folution of the fever, and portends health. If die urine is clear and depofits no fediment after the paroxifm of an igue, it is a bad fign. In children it is the forerunner of fatal epileptic its. In all internal inflammations, if the urine is thin and pellucid, of a mrple or deep brown, with froth and without fediment, it is a dangerous ig»- In a continual fever, if the urine is turbid, and yet without fettling after it has flood for fotne time, it is a prefage of the word kind. It is ikewifea bad omen in continual fevers, when the urine is turbid on the arft days, and on the red, cfpecially critical days, thin and without fediment. In the declination of cktarrhal fevers, the fmall-pox, and mcafies, if the urine was aqueous and pellucid in the height of the difeafe, but now becomes thick and higher-coloured, with a fediment, it promffes a good event. After a phthifis, or other violent chronic difeafe, if the urine continues thick, little, and of a darkifh red, with a copious fediment and fatty fub- dance on the top adhering to the Tides of the urinal, while the body wades away, it is a fign of a flow fever, and a hedtic full of danger. ? The fame danger is portended in dropfies, if the urine is like that of hedlical perfons. Thick heavy urine of a deep reddifh brown, fhews a ' confirmed feurvy, an arthritis, a fcorbutic palfy, or extreme old age. In the yellow jaundice, the urine is of a deep faflren colour, where- with it ti natures linen: but when it is of a blackifh brown, it denotes the black jaundice. Urine that leaves a tartarous crud on the champer-pot, fhews a dif- pofition to the gravel ; when land or gravel comes away, it demondrates the difeafe to be already formed. 1 Sometimes there are fhining yellow crydals on the fides of the pot, which are a fign of wandering arthritic, or rheumatic pains. If the urine is bloody and white from the mixture of pus, fometimes glutinous, of an ill finell, and which dicks to the bottom of the pot, and will not remix with the urine by fhaking, it is a fign of an ulcer in the kid- neys or bladder. f In a chronic or virulent gonorrhoea, the bladder is fometimes ulce- rated, and then the urine will be turbid and thick, with a copious mu- cous fediment, which, wnen thrown on the fire, is very fetid. In the done of the bladder, when it, or its fphincler is eroded, then a thick branny urine is excreted, with finall caruncles or threads. In the drangury, there is a frequent dimulus to make water, but little 128 CULPEPERS ASTROLOGICAL JUbGMENT little is made, and that turbid, fait, and fharp, with filaments that fink to tiie bottom, which generally (hews a fpafm of the fphinsSter. When blood is mixt with the urine- like the walkings of flefh or red wine, and finking to the bottom is purple, it is a fign it comes from the kidneys ; but if the colour is of a blackifh brown, it proceeds from the bladder. Sweat, which is copious on critical days in every part of the body, isj ah excellent omen, when attended with alleviation of the fymptoms, and. figns of codtion in the urine or {tools either preceding or fucceeding, Thofe fweats are belt, which beginning when the pulfe is quick, vio- lent, or hard, render it more foft and quiet. All fweats that happen in the beginning of fevers, and not on critical days, with no alleviation of the fymptoms, but are attended with cof- tivenefs, a thin urine without fediment, and a preter-natural pulfe, are, always bad. Thofe fweats are likewife. of an ominous kind that break out in one part of the body only, as the head, bread:, &c. Sweats are often large after the cure of fevers, and are excited by i flight caufe, fuch as a gentle heat or fleep. But fweats are at no time more profufe than in miliary fevers, which {hews that the whole mafs of the blood and humours is thrown into rl colliquative cfnTolution. In malignant fevers, with great lofs of ftrength a feeble and lefs frequent pulfe, and urine like that of perfons in health, the fweets are copious, fetid, cold, and fatal. In hedtics, with an abcefs or ulcer in the noble parts, there are plenty cf debilitating fweats, commonly called colliquative. In fcorbutic cafes:! from a fault in the liver, when the pile is defective, the fweats are great, efpecially if the body is bound. To reftrain profufe fweats, gentle laxatives are good, fuch as manna or tamarinds with a nitrous powder : when they are long and large.j analeptics, ftrengtheners, gentle aftringents, and acidulated medicines are proper. When the excrements are white or grey, it {hews a defect of the bile, which is not duly excreted, as in the jaundice. Scybals of a deep: brown, denote its redundancy. In bilious fevers, tertians, and burning fevers, the excrements are very bilious, efpecially at their decline. Likewife in the hypochondriac melancholy, madnefs, cachexy, and hyfteric paffion, the belly is flow, the faeces hard, and intenfely brown or almoft black. Green {tools are common to fucking children, with the gripes, reftlefinefs, and epileptic fits. In hyfteric and hypochondriac fits, green fnuff is often voided by vomit and {tool. Sometimes nature cleanfes the body by copious bilious {tools. In malignant difeafes and dyfenteries, if fcybals are evacuated of a moft fetid fmell, it is a forerunner of death. But when the {tools are not only fetid, but frothy, frequent, and of various colours, with a burning pain and a tenefmus, as in a dyfentery, this prognoftic never fails. Mucid 1 I I I ft I I : T OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. 129 Mucid faeces with a thick phlegm denote a weak digeftion, or crude aliment: if like the glair of eggs, with a fharp pain and tenefinus, it proceeds from the blood ftagnating in the reCtum, which depofits a plenty of mucus in the glands. When the excrements are copious and liquid, the appetite good while the body falls aw ay, the finer dufts of the villous coats of the in- teftines are l: efet with a vifcid mucus, and produce a chylous diarrhoea. On the other hand, when the fcybals are very hard, it fliews an ob- 'ftru&ion of the mucous glands, or exceffive heat, with a debility of the periftaltic motion. Excrements with pure blood and wfithout great pain, the blood pro- ceeds from the veins of the anus: but when there are grievous pains about the navel, and frequent dejections, it is a fign of the dyfentery. When the faeces are black like pitch, with great lofs of ftrength and a filthy ftcnch, they denote the black difeafe, efpecially if attended with vomiting of blood. In general, regular ftools are a fign of health ; but if they err either in time, quantity, or quality, they denote fome dilorder. Coftivenefs creates and exafperates difeafes of the head, as is obvious in the head-ach, hemicrania, epilepfy, madnefs, melancholy, paralytic affeClions, the ophthalmia, and hardnefs of hearing. When the body is coftive and the feet cold, they foretel conftriClive ; anxieties of the praecordia, the cardialgia, difficult breathing, melan- ' choly, the head-ach, want of digeftion, or flatulent pains in the hypo- chondria. No fever makes its attack without previous coftivenefs; and when the dejeCtions begin to be natural, it is a promifing fign of health. In putrid, malignant, and bilious fevers, if a loofenefs happens on critical days, other figns concurring, it is a falutary omen. In all difeafes, if the body is coftive, it fhould be kept open with laxatives: if loofe, reftrained, unlefs the dilcharge is critical; but not with opiates, but rather with mild, fixed diaphoretics, with a few grains of nitre, and one or two of cortex eleutheria;,. THE Crifis is defined by fome to be a fudden change of the difeafe either for life or death. Thefe changes happen on certain days which are termed critical days. Galen fays the principal critical days are the 7th, 14th, and 21ft ; and affirms there are more recover on thefe days than die. But Hippocrates reckons them by feptenaries and femi-fep- tenaries. CHAP. XXVIII. OF- THE CRISIS. VOL. I. R The 130 JUDGMENT OF DISEASES, ENLARGED. The crifis is performed on thsfe days by excretions; that is, by fweat, ftool, cr an hemorrhage. On ail other days they are only fymptomar tical. An ephemera terminates in 24 hours ; a mild fynocha on the fourth day; a more grievous on the feventh, by a bleeding at the nofe, with fleepinefs, or by a large fweat. Burning and bilious fevers go off on the fourth or eleventh day by a profufe fweat, often by a flux of the belly. A continual tertian remits on the third or fourth day, and turns to an intermittent. Catarrhal and epidemic fevers, with grievous fymptoms, have been obferved to end on the fourth day with puftules about the nofe and bps, with an itching fweat. A flight pleurify and peripneumony have gone off, between the third and fourth day, with the expectoration of bloody matter by a cough ; in young perfons on the feventh ; in adults, when the difeafe was bad, on the fourteenth, with a large fweat, copious fpitting, and a free refpira- tion: a baftard pleurify and hepatitis generally end on tire feventh or eleventh day, by fweat or a loofenefs. An eryfipelaceous fever, which often makes its attack with {Liven- ing ccid, violent heat, and a delirium, abates between the third and fourth day, when an acrid bilious matter is fent to the fkin. Some writers fry the plague is nothing but a peftilential erynpelas, which throw's out buboes or carbuncles on the third, fourth, or feventh day. The fmall-pox and mealies generally appear between the third and fourth day, and then the fever ceafes in the fmall-pox, in fome not till the eleventh, at which time the fecondary fever comes on; if it is fatal, ! the patients die on the eighth or eleventh. In fpotted fevers the fpots are feen on the fourth or feventh day. Many epidemic fevers of all kinds go off happily on the eleventh day with a copious flux of the belly. Authors obferve that the crifis hap- pens fometimes on the eighth, tenth day, &c. but then this arifes from the inequality of the Moon’s motion, as I have elfewhere obferved. If copious fweats break out in inflammatory or eruptive fevers before the ufual time, and if the matter of the fmall-pox is expelled too foon,, without an amendment in the pulfe, it is a fatal omen. There is a kind of a crifis in Intermittent?, by purulent eruptions ■: about the lips ; in quartans, by fcabby and ulcerous puftules. Many chronic difeafes go off by breakings out in the fkin, ulceroust e puftules, and the like ; and fieepy difeafes, the vertigo, convulfive 1 i afthma, &c. have been changed into the gout. ! CULPEPER’S \ CULPEPER’S ENGLISH FAMILY PHYSICIAN: O R, Medical Herbal Enlarged, tmsa ACONITE. Anthora Sive Aconitum Salutiferum. WE have many poifonous Aconites growing in the fields, of which we ought to be cautious : but there is a medicinal one kept in the fhops ; this is called the wholefome aconite ; antithora, and wholefome woolfs bane. Description. — This is a fmall plant, a Ipecie of woolfs bane, or monkfhood, about a foot high, with pale divided green leaves, and yellow flowers. It grows ere£b, and the flalk is firm, angular, and hairy ; the leaves do not Hand in pairs ; they are round almoflr, and cut into many< divifions like thofe of larkfpur. The flowers are large and hooded, and of a pleafant fmell, and grow on the tops of the branches in fpikes of a pale yellow colour, in fhape like the flowers of monkfhood, but fomevVha? le(s, each lucceeded by four or five horn-like pointed pods, including black angular feeds. The root is tuberous, and fometimes conlilts of one lump or knob, fometimes of more. f Place. — This plant is a native of the Alps, but with us is planted in gardens. I ime, — It flowers in July, and the feeds ^re ripe at the latter end of Augufh Govern** Rz 132 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Government and Virtues. — This plant is under the govern- ment of Saturn. The flioot only is ufed, and that not often. How- ever, it is faid to be very ferviceable againft vegetable poifons. A de- coction of the root is a good lotion to wafti the parts bitten by venomous creatures, but it is not much regarded at this time, and fliould be cau- tioufly kept out of children’s way, for there is a farina in the flower, j which is very dangerous if blown in the eyes ; the leaves alfo, if rubbed on the fkin, will irritate and caufe forenefs. Hill *, ADDER’S TONGUE. Ophioglossum. ■:'5 J Description. — Is a little plant common in our meadows. It con- fifts of a Angle leaf, like water plantain, of a freflh green, with a little fpike of feeds rifing from its bottom, which is fuppofed to refemble the tongue of a ferpent. The leaf is fhaped oval; is thick and flefhy, and has no ribs or veins. The ftalk rifes from a thick fibrous root, and is about four or five inches high. The fpike rifes about the fame height above it ; the tongue or feed veflel is notched on each fide, and is of a yellowifli green colour, much refembling the tongue of an adder. Place. — It grows in moift meadows, but is entirely buried among the grafs, and mull be diligently fearched for, before it can be dif- covered. Time. — It is only to be found in April or May, for it dies before the heats of fummer. Government and Virtue. — It is an herb under the dominion of the Moon and Cancer, and therefore if the weaknefs of the retentive faculty is caufed by an evil influence of Saturn, in any part of the body governed by the Moon, or under the dominion of Cancer, this herb cures it by iympathy ; and it cures the following difeafes of the body under the influence of Saturn, by antipathy. The juice of the leaves drank with the diflilled water of horfe-tail, is a Angular remedy for wounds in the breafts, bowels, or other parts of the body, and is given with good fuccels to flay the bleeding of the nofe, mouth, or any immo- derate bleeding downwards or otherwife. The juice given in the dif- tilied water of oak-buds, is very ufeful for women, whofe menfes flow too faft, or too abundantly. A decoction is good for fore eyes. Of the leaves infufed, or boiled in oil, with fome green olives, is made an ex- cellent green balfam, not only for green and freflh wounds, but alfo for old and inveterate ulcers, efpecially if a little fine clear turpentine is dil- lolved therein. It is alfo reputed to do good in all inflammations that arife from pains, by hurts and wounds. It is a fine cooling herb, a good vulnerary, and an excellent ointment is made from it as follows : I he leaves are to be chopped to pieces, and four pounds of them are to be put into three pounds of luet, and one pint cf oil, melted together. isri U : Tho/e. Articles which have not this fignature, are by Culpeper. Boil OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. J 33 . Boil the whole until the herb is a little crifp, and then the ointment is to be {trained off, when it will appear of a beautiful green. ADONIS FLOWER. Flos Adonis. ! Description. — There are two forts: the firft has many {lender weak ftalks trailing on the ground ; fet on every fide with fine jagged leaves, deeply indented like thole of camomile, or may-weed. Upon thefe ftalks grow fmall red flowers, (haped like the field crow-foot, with a blackilh green pointel in the middle, which growing to maturity, turns into a fmall bunch of greenifh feeds, fomewhat refembling grapes ; and the root is fmall and fibrous. The fecond fort only differs in the co- lour of the {lower, which is more yellow, the other being redder. The cup is like that of the ranunculus. Place. — They grow wild in the Weft of England among their corn, and is troublefome like May-weed. t Time. — They flower in the fiummer months, May, June, and July, but feldom are to be found later. Government and Virtues. — It is under the government of Venus. The feed, which is warm, is the only part ufually ufed, and is : given with fuccefs, as a diffolvent of the ftone. Its tafte is very acrid: dried and ftamped, and the powder given in wine, ale, or beer, cafes the pains of the colic. But as there are better remedies, this is feldom ufed for want of better experience. Hill. UPRIGHT AGRIMONY. Acrimonia. I I Description. — This is a pretty upright fpiry plant, with a brown ftalk, pale green leaves, and a long {lender {pike of little yellow flowers, followed by rugged hairy feeds ; altogether about two feet high. Place. — It is a wild plant, common in our dry barren pafture grounds, by road Tides, and under hedges. Time. — Flowers in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This herb is the moft ufeful of thefpecie; for it is a certain cure for the jaundice, even of the worft kind, the black fort. The leaves of the plant contain its virtues in a very high degree ; but the crown of the root poffeffes them in the greateft perfection ; and the feeds may be ufed in the cafe of bloody {tools, which . frequently attend this difeafe, in which they exceed all other medicines. This was the dyfentery for which the ancients held them above all things in virtue. Agrimony communicates its virtues freely and fully to common water boiling, and for thofe who prefer a greater power of the herb, as every one now underftands the management of a ftill, a tinc- ture may be obtained to anfwer every purpofe expected. In the ufe of this herb for the jaundice, the body fliould be kept open, a tea of the leaves 134- THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; leaves constantly drank, and all ftrong liquors carefully avoided. The' crown of the root, that is the bottom of the Italk, juft between the air and earth, where the root ceafes, and the Item and leaves begin, is the moft powerful, and fhould be cut frefti with the buds on, and bruifed in a marble mortar; afterwards pour boiling water upon it, let it ftand twenty-four hours, after which, ftrain it off, and fweeten it with honey. This will certainly conquer the difeafe, in what time depends upon the particular nature of the cafe, and the time the diforder has had to Strengthen itfelf : the oftener and more of this decoftion is drank, the Sooner it will be effected ; anu that the cure will follow, is as certain as any thing in phyfic. Hill. 1 V COMMON AGRIMONY. Agrimonia Vulgaris. Description. — A common Englifh plant, the leaves of which are fomewhat long, dented about the edges, green above, greyifh under- neath, and a little hairy ; the ft elk is ftngle, firm, round, brown, and rifes two feet high, with fmaller leaves fet here and there upon it. The flowers are fmall, yellow, and grow in long fpikes, after which comes the feeds, which are rough like burrs, hanging downwards, which will catch and ftick upon the deaths of the pafiers-by. The root is /black, long, and fomewhat woody, abiding in the ground, and of a good feent. Place. — The plant is common about hedges, upon banks, and near the Tides of the way. Time.' — It flowers in July and Auguft, and the feed is ripe foon after. Government and Virtues. — Agrimony is an herb of Jupiter, and under the fign Cancer. The leaves may be ufed frefh or dried;! they never fail doing good in the diabetes, and incontinence, of urine. dm id . . The whole of the plant is vulnerary, and forms an ingredient in the right arquebufade water, and therefore rnuft needs be good for the gout, either ufed outwardly in oil or ointment, or inwardly in an eledtuary, or fyrup, or concerted juice. It is of a cleanflng and cutting faculty, without any manifeft heat, moderately drying and binding : it opens and cleanfes the liver, helps the jaundice, and is very beneficial to the bowels, healing ail in- .ward wounds, bruifes, hurts, and ether diftempers. The decodtion of the herb made with wine, and drank, is good againft the biting and flinging of ferpents, and helps them that make foul, troubled, or bloody water, to pafs it clear and fpeedily : it alfo much helps the colic, cleanfes the b ready and rids away the cough. A draught of the de- | edition taken warm before the fit, firft removes, and in time rids away the tertian or quartan agues. The leaves and feeds taken in wine, ftay the bloody flux ; outwardly applied, being ftamped with old fwines greafe, it helps old fores, cancers, and inveterate ulcers, and draws i forth thorns and fplinters of wood, nails, or any other fuch things gotten in ta tat II in the flelh. It helps to ftrengthcn the members that be out of joint ; land being bruifed and applied, or the juice dropped in it, helps foul and impofthumed ears. The diflilled water of the herb is good to all the faid purpofes, either inward or outward, but a great deal weaker, jit is a molt admirable remedy for fuch whofe lives are annoyed either jay hpat or cold. The liver is the former of blood, and blood the inourilher of die body, and agrimony a flrengthener of the liver. I [1 WATER AGRIMONY. Agrimonia Fluviorum. Description. — The root continues a long time, having many long lender firings. The flalk grows up abou. two feet high, fometimes higher. They are of a dark purple colour: the branches are many, j growing at diftances the one from the other, the one from one fide of he ftalk, the other from the oppofite point. The leaves are winged, I md m. ch indented at the edges. The flowers grow at the top of the j tranches, of a brown yellow colour, lpotted with black fpots, having a ubftance within the midft of them like that of a daify: if you rub them ! petween your fingers, they fmell like rofm or cedar when it is burnt. I'he feeds are long, and eafily flick to any woollen thing they touch. Place. — They delight not in heat, and therefore they are not fo fre- quently found in the fouthern parts of England, as in the northern, -vhere they grow frequendy: you may look for them iq cold grounds, f>y ponds and ditches lides, as alio by running waters ; fometimes you hall find therri grow in the midft of the waters. 1 Time. — They all flower in July or Auguft, and the feed is ripe irefently after. Government and Virtues. — It is a plant of Jupiter, as well as he other agrimonies, only this belongs to the celeflial fign Cancer. It leads and dries, cuts and cleanfes thick and tough humours of the ireaft, and for this I hold it inferior to but few herbs that grow. It lelps the cachexia or evil difpofltion of the body, the dropfy and yellow aundice. It opens obflruftions of the liver, mollifies the hardnefs of he fpleen, being applied outwardly. It breaks impofthumes, taken in- wardly. It is an excellent remedy for the third day ague. It provokes irine and the terms ; it kills worms, and cleanfes the body of fharp tiumours, which are the caufe of itch and fcabs : the herb being burnt, he fmoke thereof drives away flies, wafps, See. It flrengthens the ungs exceedingly. Country people give it to their cattle when they, ire troubled with tire cough, or broken-winded. 1 MOUSE TAIL. Miosurus. Description. — It grows from a whitifh fibrous root, with feveral raked pale green ftalks. The leaves are very numerous, and rife in a thick THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN;. I36 thick tuft, refembling the fhoots of grafs; they are three- inches long, very narrow, of a frefh green, and foft. The flower grows Angle in umbel form, with feveral threads ; at the top is found oblong buttons. After the flower comes the feeds, which grow with great regularity in a long and flender head, refembling the tail of a moufe: whence the plant has been named. Time. — Flowers in May. Place.— It is only a native of England, and is found abundantly about Paddington, and in damp places. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mars. The tafte of the whole plant is fiery and acrid, in which it agrees much •with the c: owfoot kind. Its internal ufe fhould be cautioufly attempted; but with woolfs-bane and water-pepper made into a decoction, it re- moves freckles and fuperfluous hairs. If a little foap lees are added, it never fails of deftroying warts. Hill, DROOPING HEMP AGRIMONY. Bidens Cernua. Description. — The Drooping Hemp Agrimony, is a plant common about the ditches in Ireland; but not fo often feen here. The ftalk is reddifh, branching, and about two feet high; the leaves are of a deep dull green, fmooth, and embrace the ftalk at their bafe; the flowers are of a dead yellow:- they hang their heads; but the tufts of feed which follow, (land upright. Place. — In Ireland, near ditches, and upon marfhy grounds. Time. — It is an annual; flowers in July, and remains till the frofl kills it. Government and Virtues. — Jupiter rules this plant. The fmell of it is very flrong and Angular. The tafte is {harp and biting, with a fpice of bitternefs. It is ufually given in deceptions for the gra-; vel, but with doubtful fuccefs, and fhould be very cautioufly ufed in that, terrible diforder. It is alfo fometimes prefcribed in infuAons and de- coctions for the dropfy, and as a balfamic and alterative to correct an ill habit of body; but it is more frequently ufed in external applications, as vulnerary fomentations to diflolve hard fwellings, and bring down watery tumours, being an abforbent of fuperfluous humiditieL In this herb is an inftance of the propriety and even neceffity of fpeak- ing of plants under their Latin names. This vegetable is recommended ■ to the praPtifers of phyftc, for trial, in a great and difficult, and yet a very common difeafe. If it is only diftinguifhed by its Englifh name, Hemp Agrimony, that is alfo the name of Eupatorium, the fub- jePf of another article, a plant as different from this, as any plant can well be from another ; and that in tafte, in fmell, and virtues, as well as in form: for the other herb, called Hemp Agrimony in Englifh, is pur- gative; but that this confuAon of names fiiould not occafton miftakes, the figures and defcription are added here. Hill. COMMON OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 137 COMMON COLTSFOOT. Tussilago Fa^fara. CALLED ALSO COUGH-WORT, FOAL’S-WORT, HORSE-HOOF, AND bull’s-foot. Description. — This fhoots up a {lender ftalk, with yellowifii flowers, very early, which falls off before the leaves appear, and fade and are quite gone by the time thefe have attained their natural fize. } The leaves are hearted almoft round, dented about the edges, as broad as one’s hand, of a palilh green, white and downy underneath, and of a tough, firm fubftance. The root is perennial, fmall and white, fpread- ing under ground, and the leaves are to be had till winter. Thefe are the part which contain its great virtue. They have a foft and mucilagi- nous but fomewhat bitter tafte. The ftalk grows almoft to a foot high, leaflefs, but hung about with fkinny films, and the flower is lemon co- loured. Place. — This low herb fpreads its root in damp and clayey grounds, but will fometimes grow in other places. Time. — It flowers at the end of February, and the leaves begin to appear in March. Government and Virtues.— The plant is under Venus. The frefti leaves or juice, or a fyrup made from them, is excellent for a fhort dry cough, wheezing, or fhortnefs of breath. The dry leaves are good for thofe who have thin rheums and diftillations upon their lungs,, caufing a cough, for which alfo the dried leaves cut finall and fmoked as tobacco, or the root, is very good. A deco&ion of the green leaves, fweetened with honey, is the beft remedy known in confumptive cafes. A diftilled water from thefe leaves, or together with elder flowers, is a Angu- lar good remedy againft hot agues ; to drink two ounces at a time, and apply clothes dipped therein to the head and ftomach, wiiich has been alfo found to do much good; being applied to any hot fweliing and inflam- mation, is alfo lingular in cafes of St. Anthony’s fire and burnings. This removes wheals and rallies that rife through heat, as alfo the burning heat of the piles, or privities. Ufed any way, coltsfoot will do more towards curing a confumption, than all the contents of the apothecaries fhops. r - ' / 1 1 COMN DUTCPI AGRIMONY. Eupatorium Cannabinum. 1 1 r* Description. — The ftalk is red, and grows to four feet in height, upright, and branchy. The leaves are of a bright lively green, loft to the touch, and difpofed with a handfome regularity. The flowers are fmall, but innumerable; they are crouded together in a compact head, Vol. I, S. and THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; I38 and are of a beautiful rofe colour. The cup is conic, its fcales are lanced, they are unequal in fize, and they ftand fir ait upright. Place. — This is a perennial water plant, a tall fpecies, and very; haridfome one, that edges our brooks and rivulets, in moft places. Time. — They biow in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is alfo under Jupiter. Thejj root is an acrid, bitter, and unpleafant purge. Externally it is good to bathe and foment fore legs with; a decodtion of this plant in ftrongj vinegar, is good to take away warts. This is the beft agrimony for outward applications in baths and lotions. Poultices made of the leaves; j and fomentations of the juice, are ufed with fuccefs in the venereal ; but, after all, the fi r ft article of the name contains all the virtues afcribed to any other of the fpecie feparatcly. Hill. Fid. Eupatwium. Hi ■■ In Pm Gov fjup filer; Wa UNI Desc PLOWMAN’S SPIKENARD. Conyza Squarrosa. Description. — This is a biennial, a coarfe, and but ill-look- ing plant. The flalk ri'fes to two feet and a half high, and is of 2 ruddy brown, brittle, dry, and branchy towards the top. The leave? are broad lanced, rugged on the furface, of a coarfe dead green, and i little dented about the edges. The flowers are of a dull yellow, anc Hand in a clofe tuft, at the tops of the ftalks ; they grow out of a cu[ oblong and rugged ; and thegcaies of it are fharp pointed, and they ftanc wide and bent out. Place. — It is found by road Tides, and in wade places, upon higl and dry grounds, but no where in great plenty. Time. — The flowers blow in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is under the government o Venus. The leaves, when bruifed, emit a quick and aromatic fmell T o the tafte they are bitterifh, with feme fharpnefs. A weak tea madi of this herb is good to promote the menfes, and much preferable to an; mineral. Where there is great efficacy, as in fteel medicines, there i: alfo great power of mifchief ; and we fhould have many different thing; to fuperfede their ufe. This is fuppofed to be the Baccharis of Dios corides. Hill. TRIFID HEMP AGRIMONY. Bidens Tripartita. Description. — This is a coarfe ill growing water plant, branchy an< robuft ; ah annual of no beauty. The ftalk is brown, upright, thick and near a yard high. The leaves are of a dufky brownifh green, and cui into three parts. 1 he flowers are yellow, and they grew in a cup tha is broad and cylindric, with hollow fcales. The feeds are oblong am avn i be A Put pound; Tim Gov be qi aft D’ Desc Ul' !f Karedi W drot tk: i G'jV • fo: ■1 ; ;r ■h' tlK r 0 Put OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. *39 I light, and have three points, by which they flick to the cloaths of thofe who pafs haftily by them. * Time. — They blow in Augufl. Place. — They are found by ponds, ditch fides, and wet grounds. | Government akd Virtues. — As, before obferved, this is un- i: der Jupiter. The leaves of this plant have the fingular fmcli and tafte :|j of the radiated agrimony of Ireland; but not in a greater degree: there- fore that plant Ihould be firfl tried in cafes of the gravel. UNDIVIDED HEMP AGRIMONY. Bidens Cernua. • Description. — This is alfo an annual; a bufliy, coarfe, robuft plant, that grows upon aflalk two feet and a half high, of a deep green, tinged witli a ruddy brown, and full of branches. The leaves are of a ftrong fhining green, lanced, dented, and fmooth; and they grow together at the bale; but, towards autumn, they com nonly get a ruddy brown hue alfo. The flowers are of a dull unpleafing yJlow; they hang down ; but the feeds which follow them, rife upright. Place. —They are found every where about our ditches and wet grounds. Time. — They blow in Augufl, and the feed ripens in September. Government and Virtues. — The tafte and fmcli declare Te fame qualities in this, as the preceding; but it is not to be recom- mended for trial before the other kind. DWARF HEMP AGRIMONY. Bidens Minima. Description. — This is a little plant, with a fimple upright ftalk, ; without any branches, and grows but to five or fix inches high. It is of a reddifli brown colour, with yellow flowers, and they lland upright, I not droop as the others do. The leaves are of a pale green, waved at the edges ; and they ftand free of one another at the bafe. Place. — It is an annual; native of our damp places, and where wa- ter has flood in winter. Time. — The flowers blow in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This has fcarcelv any of the pecu- liar fmell and tafte of the others; but yet where they cannot be pro- cured, may be ufed with caution. Farmers give either indiferiminately t to their cattle. The frefh leaves make a tea not unpleafant; and, taken conftantly in this method, will produce a favourable effect in difeharg- ing the obftrudting fuperfluities of the body. A fyrup of the root is alfo recommended againft catarrhs. Hill. S 2 AGARIC, 14.0 AGARIC. Fungus Laricis. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Description. — This is a fungous fubftance, of a roundifh, angu- I lar, unequal fhape, and of different fizes, from the bignefs of a man’s fift to that of his head. It is very light, as white as fnow, and may be readily rubbed into meal between the fingers; but it has a few fibres, and a callous afh coloured reddifh rind, whofe lower part is perforated f by exceeding fmall feeds that lodge in the holes. The tafte is at firft fweetifh, then bitter, acrid, and naufeous, with a flight affringency. Place. — It grows to the trunk of the larch tree, and is feldom or i its never found on the boughs. 3 j ill; Government and Virtues. — The beft is white, light, and pi, brittle. It goes under the denomination of a purge, though fome deny fa it has any fuch quality. However, it is under the government of Mercury in the fign Leo. It is fuppofed to evacuate phlegm, for which reafon it has been given in defluxions and diforders of the breaft, i but that only to ftrong people. Plowever it is a ufelefs medicine, or i rather noxious, for it loads the ffomach, diftends the vifcera, creates a naufea, and caufes vomiting. Its powder has been prefcribed from 1 wd; There are a great variety in thefe excrefcences ; and they differ as much in virtue, as does the fubftances on which they grow. A fort is found at the foot of oak trees, which is eatable and good tailed; it va- so ries very much in fhape and fize, having feen from an ounce or two, i to near two pounds weight. It is of a flefhy and juicy fubftance, has neither holes nor pores, but is dotted on the outfide with red, not un- like the meat of a lobfter claw. Sometimes it is fhaped like liver, nor very different in colour, for the upper furface is a brown red ; the un- der approaches to a buff colour, full of fmall pores; the inner fubftance is flefny and fucculent, ftreaked with deeper and paler red. They are frequently found a foot and a half in diameter, feemingly made up of nothing but leaves, of which fome pafs over, and fome pafs under each other; to which may be obferved, that thefe fungous leaves are moftly half an inch thick, all joining in one thick bafts, by which it adheres to | the flump of an oak tree. It conftfts of two forts of fibres ; thofe which i frame the upper and outward furface, are tough, and of a ligamentous firmnefs, placed horizontally; the others are foft and perpendicular to the i;ji firft, and form together tbe under furface, which is exceeding white and full of pores. Touchwood, or fpunk, is made from the fungous which grow’S about | willows ; this fort is full of minute pores, which can hardly be perceived, ' being hid with the fiimy white fubftance which covers the under fide of it while frefh. In 1H ranee and Germany they boil it in a very ftrong j ‘ lye, and when dry again beat it j.vith a mallet, and afterwards boil it, in Germany, with faltpetre; in France, with gunpowder. This generally half a dram to two drams. anfwcrs OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 141 I . . infwers the end of tinder, and is much cleaner. Decayed timbe ', ret-' .ten wood and old walls, produce many kinds of fungi, the virtues of [which are not fufliciently known to recommend the trial. Vide Decr's-BaUs, Jew's Eat s, and Spunk. BERRY-BEARING ALDER. BLACK ALDER. Alnus Nigra. Description. — This tree feldom grows to any large fize, but (hoots out into many fmall branches, covered with a reddilh brown ,3ark; it bears broad, roundiflh, but {harp pointed leaves, of a bright Igreen, and veined, about the bignefs of the leaves of the pear-tree. The jflowers are whitifn, and grow on the yoCrnger branches, on the lower [part next the trunk, feveral together, at the fetting on of the leaves, 1 inall and white, and are preceded by fmall round berries, about as big is juniper berries, green at fil'd:, then red, and when ripe, blackifh; full if a greenifh juice, of a bitter tade, with two flat feeds in each berry. Place. — This is rather a fhrub than a tree. It is frequent in moid woods, and the berries are fometimes mixed amongd thofe of the buck- I .horn, by fuch as gather them for fale. Time. — It flowers in May, and the berries are ripe in September. Government and Virtues. — Black-berry bearing Alder, is a Tee of Venus, and perhaps under the celedial fign Cancer. The in- ner rind is all that is ufed in medicine; this is yellow, and tinges the pittle like rhubarb. It purges ferous and bilious humours, and is re- :ommended for the dropfy and the jaundice. In Yorkdiire they bruife hefredi bark in a mortar with vinegar, and apply it outwardly for the tch, which it cures very fafely. The bed way to give it is in adecoc- ion. Boil an ounce of the dried bark in a quart of water, and throw n at lead two drachms of ginger, and a few caraway-feeds; let the latient proportion the quantity to his drength, beginning with a fmall Iraught, and increafing it as he {hall find occafion. The dried bark soiled with agrimony, wormwood, dodder, hops, and fome fennel, with inallage, endive, and fuccory roots, and a confiderable draught taken :very morning for fome time together, is very effectual againft the Iropfy and the jaundice, efpecially if fome fuitable medicines have been :aken before. All this mud be underdood to be performed by the dried aark; for the frefh green bark taken inwardly, provokes drong vomit- ngs, excites pains in the domach, and gripings in the belly, yet mixed with the above, or other aromatics, and let dand, and fettled two or :hree days, until the yellow colour is turned black, its operation is more gentle, drengthening the domach, and procuring an appetite to eat. The outward bark podefles a contrary virtue ; it binds the body, and is very good to leflen immoderate fluxes, but this alfo mud be dried fird, ir it will prove hurtful. A decoction in vinegar cures l’cabs _on the head. 142 the family physician; head, kills lice, eradicates humours and runnings in man or heart, by drying them up in a ftiort time. It is fingularly good to wafh the teeth) to remove the pains in them, to fallen thofe that are loofe, to cleanfl; them and keep them found. The leaves are good fodder for kine, tea make them give more milk; laid frefh onfwellings, they eafe the pain dirtolve them, and Hay inflammations; placed under the bare feet o wear y travellers, refrefhes them, and eafes the galling beat; gathered with the morning dew, and ftrewed about rooms peftered with fleas, they! foon gather up the vermin, fo that they may be fwept out, and the roorr' cleared, If, in the fpring, you ufe the herbs before mentioned, and to ar handful of each add another of elder buds, and having bruifed them all: boil them in a gallon of good table, or home-brewed beer, when it k new; and after boiling hair an hour, add three gallons more, and le,1 them work togetner, you will have an excellent fpring drink; half z pint of which, every morning farting, is a good and gentle purge t< confume the phlegmatic quality the winter has left behind, to keep the body open, and confume thofe evil humours which the heat of fummei will readily rtir up. Efteem it a jewel. i ' ,, ■■ ! . COMMON ALDER TREE. Alnus Vulgaris. Description. — Grows to a reafonable height, and fpreads wide, il the foil and fituation fuit. The bark is brown, and the wood reddei than elm or yew ; the branches are very brittle, and eafily broken ; the bark of the branches is fpotted, yellowifh within, and taftes bitter and unpleafant. The wood is white and full of pith ; the leaves are broad.: round, and nervous, and fomewhat like the leaves of the hazel ; they are indented, green, fhining, and clammy. It bears fhort brown anglets, like the beach or birch tree. Place. — Itufually grows near water, or in moift watery places. Time. — It flowers in April and May, and yields ripe feed in Sep- tember. Government and Use. — It is a tree under the dominion of Ve- nus, and of fome watery fign or other, I fuppofe Pifces ; and therefore the decoction, or diftilled water of the leaves, is excellent againft burn- ings and inflammations, either with wounds or without, to bathe the place grieved with, and efpecially for that inflammation in the breaft; which the vulgar call an ague. 'If you cannot get the leaves (as in winter it is impoffible) make ufe of the bark in the fame manner. The leaves and bark of the Alder Tree are cooling, drying, and binding. The frefh leaves laid upon fwellings diffolve them, and ftay the inflammations. The leaves put under the bare feet galled with travelling, are a great refrefhing to them. The faid leaves gathered while the morning dew is on them, and brought into a chamber trou- bled age ■::!! „ I OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. I43 led with fleas, will gather them thereunto, which being fuddenly call ut, will rid the chamber of thole troublefome bed-fellows. The baric pofl'efles a confiderable degree of aftringency, and the ecocfion is excellent in cooling fwellings and inflammations. It lyes woollen of a reddilh colour, and, with the addition of copperas, ‘ (lack. ALEXANDERS. Smirnium Olusatrum. Description. — Has a thick blackifh root, white within, and fmells fweet, but taftes fomewhit acrid and bitter. The Italic is above a yard jiigh, full, branchy, chaneli . d, and fomevvhat red. The leaves are of a. ipellowilh green, larger than thofe of marfh-fmallage, and the pieces ounder. On the tops are pretty large umbels of fmall five-leaved white lowers, fucceeded by large oblong-cornered black feed and chanelled. ( Place. — It grows wild upon the rocks by the fca-fidc, and is ufually cultivated in gardens. Time. — It flowers in June and July, and the feed is ripe foon after- wards. Government and Virtues. — This plant is under Jupiter, therefore friendly to nature. The whole plant has a ftrong warm tafte, and is more ufed in the kitchen than in the medicinal way, being either eaten raw, as a fallad among other herbs, or elfe boiled and eaten with fait meat, or in broths in the fpring feafon. The root pickled, is a good fauce. It is reckoned to be of the nature of parfley or fmallage, but Iftronger, and therefore may be ferviceable in opening obilrudfions of the 'liver and fpleen, provoking urine, and therefore good in the dropfy. For this purpofe, half a dram of the feeds powdered, and taken in white wine, every morning, is feldom known to fail. This herb has a mixed fort of fmcll between lovage and fmallage ; about December and January the (hoots appear above ground, which taken before the leaves fpread and grow green, and boiled in a pretty large quantity of water, and feafoned with butter, &c. are not only a very wholefome, but alfo a very pleafant-tafted fpring food. The flower buds, and the upper part of the (talk in the beginning of April, before the tufts fpread, and the flowers open, are likewife very good, if ma- naged tire fame way. ALEHOOF, OR GROUND IVY. Hedera Terrestris. i; HI T' Description. — This well-known herb fpreads and creeps upon the ground, (hooting forth roots at the corners of tender-jointed (talks, which are hollow and fquare, and grow a foot, or more, in length, fet with two round leaves. Place. *44 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Place.— It is commonly found under hedges, and on the fides oil ditches, under houfes, or in fh ado wed lanes, and other wafte- grounds, in k( aimoft every part of this land. Time. — They flower fomewhat early, and abide a great while ; the1 P® is Ik leaves continue green until winter, and fometimes abide, except the' jfaf ■ winter be very fliarp and cold. i Bin I Government and Virtues. — Itisanherb of Venus, and there- 1 fore cures the difeafes file caufes by fympathy, and thofe of Mars by an- PAC tipathy : you may ufually find it all the year long, except the winter be If® extremely frofty. It is quick, {harp, and bitter in tafte, and is thereby P® found to be hot and dry; a Angular herb for all inward wounds, exul- |TiM cerated lungs, or other parts, either by itfelf, or boiled with other the i |Govi like herbs ; and being drank, in a fhort time it eafes all griping pains, windy and coleric humours in the ftomach, fpleen, or belly ; helps the yellow jaundice, by opening the ftoppings of the gall and liver; and me-f »§! lancholy, by opening the ftoppings of the fpleen ; expels venom qr poi- fon, and alfo the plague ; it provokes urine and women’s courfes : the decoction of it in wine, drank for fome time together, procures eafe unto them that are troubled with the fciatica, qrhip-gout; as alfo the gout in nkit the hands, knees, or feet : if you put to the decodfion fome honey, and a little burnt alum, it is excellent to gargle any fore mouth or throat, and to walli the fores and ulcers in the private parts of man or woman ; it fpeedily helps green wounds, being bruifed and bound thereto. The juice of it boiled with a little honey and verdigris, both wonderfully cleans fiftulas, ulcers, and flays the fpreading or eating of cancers and ulcers; it helps the itch, fcahs, wheals, and other breakings out in any part of the body. The juice of celandine, field-daifies, and ground- ivy clarified, and a little fine fugar diflolved therein, and dropped into, the eyes, is a fovereign remedy for all pains, rednefs, and watering of them; as alfo for the pin and web, fkins and films growing over the fight ; it helps beafts as well as men. The juice dropped into the ears, doth wonderfully help the noife and finging of them, and helps the hearing which is decayed. It is good to tun up with new drink, for it will clarify it in a night, that it will be fit to be drank the next morning ; or if any drink be thick with removing, or any other accident, it will do the like in a few hours. It is an excellent vulnerary, outwardly or inwardly ufed ; a con- ferve may be made in fpring ; and it may be conftantly ufed as tea. In this way it is excellent for all diforders of the breaft and lupgs, the kid- neys, and againft bloody and foul urine. COMMON FENNEL. F^eniculum Vulgare. Description. — It has pretty large thick white toots, which runi deep into the ground, without much dividing, befet with fmall fibres. Itj OR, MEDICAL HERBAL 145 It has large winged leaves, of a dark green, divided into many feg- ments, of long, flender, very fine, capilacebus parts. The ftalk grows to four feet height, much divided, and full of whitifh pith. The flowers lire found at top in flat umbels, of fmall yellow five-leaved flowers, each of which is fucceeded by a couple of roundifh, fomewhat flat, ftriated brown feed. The whole plant has a very ftrong, but not unpleafant Place. — It is generally planted in gardens, to be near at hand, but it grows wild in feveral parts, towards the fea-coaft, and in the northern counties. T ime. — It flowers in June and July. Government and V irtues.— One good old fafhion is not yet left off, viz. to boil Fennel with fiih ; for it confumes that phlegmatic humour, which filh mod plentifully afford and annoy the body with, though few that ufe it know wherefore they do it ; I fuppofe the reafon of its benefit this way is, becaufe it is an herb of Mercury, and under Virgo, and therefore bears antipathy to Pifces. Fennel is good tobreak wind, to provoke urine, and eafe the pains of the ftone, and helps to break it. The leaves or feed, boiled in barley-water, and drank, are jgood for nurfes, to increafe their milk, and make it more wholefome i for the child. The leaves, or rather the feeds, boiled in water, ftays the hiccough, and takes away the loathings, which oftentimes happen to the ftomachs of fick and feverifh perfons, and allays the heat thereof. The I feed boiled in wine and drank, is good for thofe that are bit with fer- pents, or have cat poifonous herbs, or mufhrooms. The feed, and the roots much more, help to open obftrudlions of the liver, fpleen, and gall, and thereby eafe the painful and windy fwellings of the fpleen, and the yellow jaundice ; as all'o the gout and cramps. The feed is of good ufe in medicines, to help fhortnels of breath and wheezing, by {topping of the lungs. It aflifts alfo to bring down the courfes, and to cleanfe the parts after delivery. The roots are of molt ufe in phyfic drinks and broths, that are taken to cleanfe die blood, to open obltructions in the liver, to provoke urine, and amend the ill colour in the face after ficknefs, and to caufe a good habit through the body. Both leaves, feeds, and roots thereof, are much ufed in drink or broth, to make people lean that are too fat. The diftilled water of the whole herb, or the condenfate juice diflolved, but efpecially the natural juice, that in fome counties iffues out of its own accord, dropped in the eyes, cleans them from miffs and films that hinder die fight. The fweet fennel is much weaker in phyfical ufes dian the common fennel. The wild fen- nel is ffronger and hotter than the tame, and therefore mod powerful againf. the ftone, but not fo effectual to increafe milk, becaufe of its fmell. / khiVcL. I. T All- 146 *t HE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} ALL-HEAL. Pan a'x Coloni. Description. — This has a long thick root, that creeps, and is ex- • ceeding full of juice, of a hot tafte ; the plant grows to about a foot and half high; the flock is weak, fquare, and hairy ; and the leaves are large, divided like thofe of the afh-tree, and hairy alfo ; they are of a pale yel- lowifh green, notched at the edges, of a ftrong fmell, and bitterifh tafte being chewed in the mouth. The flowers ftand in clutters round the ttalk at the joints, and are of a reddifh yellow, fmaller, but refembling ; the dead-nettle kind. After the flowers are patted away, you may find j v/hitifh, yellow, fhort, flat feeds ; and of a very bitter tafte. Place. — Common in our wet grounds, and in gardens. Time. — They flower after the latter end of fummer, and filed their , feed foon after. Government and Virtues. — This plant is under the dominion jj of Mars. It is an excellent wound herb, but fhould be ufed frefh. The leaves bruifed, and laid upon a frefh wound, without any addition, flops the bleeding, and cures. A decodlion taken warm, kills the worms, helps the gout, cramp, and convulfions, provokes urine, and removes all joint-aches. It helps all cold pains of the head, the vertigo, falling- ficknefs, the lethargy, the wind-colic, obftrudlions of the liver and fpleen, ftone in the kidneys and bladder. It provokes the terms, expels the dead birth : it is excellently good for the pains of the finews, itch, ftone, and tooth-ach, the bites of mad-dogs and venomous beafts, and purges choler very gently. EVERGREEN ALICANET. Anchusa Sempervirens. Description. — This is a rough plant of no great beauty, culti- vated in France and Germany, for the lake of its root. It grows here to a foot and half high, from a large thick root, of a reddifh colour, or purple ; long, narrow, hairy leaves, of a blueifh green, like the leaves of young buglofs, which lie very thick upon the ground ; the ftalks rife up, compelled round about thick with leaves, which are lefs and nar- rower than the former ; they are tender and (lender, the flowers are hol- low, fmall, and of a reddifh colour : after thefe are fallen, grow four longifh feeds. Place.— Seldom found wild, but frequently cultivated in gardens. T. IMF..* — They flower in July, and the beginning of Auguft,sud the feed is ripe foon after ; but the root is in its prime, as carrots and parf.iips are, before the herb runs up to ftalk. r Government and Virtues. — It is an herb under the dominion of Venus, and indeed one of her darlings, though fomewhat har OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 147 come by. Ic helps old ulcers, hot inflammations, burnings by com- mon fire, and St. Anthony's fire, by antipathy to Mars; for thefe ufes, your bed way is to make it into an ointment; alio, if you make a vine- gar of it, as you make vinegar of rofes, it helps the morphew and le- profy; if you apply the herb to the privities, it draws forth the dead child. It helps the yellow-jaundice, fpleen, and gravel in the kidneys, f Diofcorides fays, it helps fuch as are bitten by a venomous bead, whe- ther it be taken inwardly, or applied to the wound, nay, he fays further, if any one that has newly eaten it, do but fpit into the mouth of a fer- pent, the lerpent inftantly dies. It flays the flux of the belly, kills worms, helps the fits of the mother. Its decodfion made in wine, and drank, drengthens the back, and eafes the pain thereof: it helps bruifes and falls, and is as gallant a remedy to drive out die fmall-pox and meafles as any is: an ointment made of it, is excellent for green wounds, pricks, or thrufts. A good way of giving it, is to add half an ounce of the dried root to a quart of hartfhorn-drink; this gives it a good colour, and increafes the virtue. ALMOND TREE. Amicdalus Amara et Dulcis. Description. — This tree is fo like the peach, both in leaves and blofloms, that the eye cannot eafily didinguifh them afunder, but by their fruit, which is lefs in this, containing little or no pulpy flefh, but a tough cottony fkin, and under which is the done, which is fnoother and more pointed at one end, but full of little hollowneffes. The ker- nel of this is the almond, not didinguifhable, whether bitter or fweet, but by the tade : one and the fame tree has, by a difference in the cul- ture, afforded fometimes one fort, and fometimes another. Place. — It owes its exiftence in this country to fuch gentlemen as are fond of propagating exotics. It originally came from the fouthern parts of Europe, and is chiefly valued here for the beauty of its flowers. Time — Flowers early in fpring. Government and Virtues. — Almonds being friendly to life, are under the Sun. Sweet Almonds contain a good medicinal •-'ounfh- ment; they are opening, concocting, and cleanfing, whereby they are ferviceable to the bread and lungs. Fhey are bed eaten newly gathered, for then they are eafier digeded than after they are withered and dried, when it is better to eat them with raifms. Wiien they are bruifed, they yield a large quantity of limped oil; and when made into an emulfion with water, they have a fweet plealant tade, but if it be kept long it will turn four like milk. Sweet almonds, when frefh, are nourifhing, but they Ihould be well chewed before they are f wallowed. They a e bed when frefh, and fmooth on the outfiie, but extremely white w ,- 'in, and of a fweet agreeable tade, for age renders t «? n •- . lcid, , and yellowifh in the infide. In all medicinal ufes ti :u , that is, the outer fkin fhould be taken off. Tne emuln on T 2 monds THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 148 BUS -V" monds is prefcribed in burning fevers, too great watchfulnefs, heat of urine, and inflammations of the kidneys and bladder; as well as in all cafes where the acrimony of the humours is to be corrected. Likewifel 01 the oil of fweet almonds, newly expreffed, is given for the fame pur- pofes, and to foften and relax the indurated fibres in inflammations, heat and fuppreffion of urine, in pains of the colic, and fits of the gra- vel; as alfo in coughs, to promote expedtorati on. It is given from one to four, and in fome cafes to eight ounces, and fhould be repeated every third or fourth hour. When children are griped, it fhould be given by fpoonfuls, mixed with fyrup of marfh-mallows. Bitter Almonds agree with the former in all refpedts, except the bitternefs of the fruit. They have been found to be poifonous when given to dogs and fome other animals, but they may be eaten by men without any damage. The oil that is exprefled from bitter almonds, differs in little or nothing from the former, and maybe ufed in the fame cafes; as alfo for foftening the wax in the ears, when put therein with bit of cotton wool. Some ufe it to take away freckles, and to preferve the fmoothnefs of the fkin of the hands ; for which purpofe it is much better than foap. The cakes that are left after prefling, afford, by diftillation, a water as poi- fonous as the laurel water. tent lert ::i? I lief ANEMONE. Ranunculus. Called alfo Wind Flower, becaufe they fay the flowers never open but with the wind. Description. — It has a long creeping root, purplifh or brown without, and yellow within, when young. The ftalk is fmall, flender, reddifh, and rifes to the height of a palm and a half; on the top of which there are three leaves, or reddifh pedicles, each of which are cut down into three jags, and on the top there is a Angle flower without a calyx, fomefimes white, and fometimes purplifh or flefh coloured; it conflfts of fix oblong leaves, in the middle of which there are feveral yellowifh ftamina, which are fucceeded by naked, oblong, h^iry feeds collected into a head. Thefe, in due time, are difperfed by the wind. Place, — They grow wild in the woods, and are fometimes fown in the gardens of the curious. d ime. — They flower in fpring, from the beginning of March to the end of April. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mars, being fuppofed to be a kind of crow-foot. The leaves provoke the terms mightily, being boiled, and the decoction drunk. The body being bathed with the decoction of them, cures the leprofy. d he leaves being ftamped, and the juice fnuft'ed up in the nofe, purges the head greatly; fo does the root, being chewed in the mouth, for it procures much fpitting, and brings away many watery and phlegmatic humours, and is therefore excellent for the lethargy. And when all is done, let phvficians prate what they pleafe, all the pills in the dilpenfa- tory Des litsol Fu Hit Kts, den cul it If id #co it OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. I49 lory purge not the head like to hot things held in the mouth. Being made into an ointment, and the eye -lids anointed with it, it helps in- .flammations of the eyes, whereby it is palpable, that every ftronger draws its weaker like. The fame ointment is very good to cleanfe malignant and corroding ulcers. WILD ANGELICA. Angelica Silvestris. Description. — A large and beautiful plant, found wild in many I parts of this kingdom, and kept in our gardens. It grows to fix or feven feet in height, and the ltalk is robuit and divided into branches. The root is long and large; the leaves are large, and compofed each of many fmaller, fet upon a divided pedicle ; they are notched at the edges, i .and of a fine bright green. The flowers are fmall, but they Hand in (,vaft clufters of a globofe form; and two feeds follow each flower. Place. — The wild, or that which grows in gardens, may be equally I ufed; and the College diredt, the roots brought from Spain, to be alone made ufe of. Time. — It flowers and feeds in June and July. Government and Virtues. — It is an .herb of the Sun in Leo; let it be gathered when he is there, the Moon applying to his good afpect ; let it be gathered either in his hour, or in the hour of Jupiter; I Jet Sol be angular: obferve the like in gathering the herbs of other pla- nets, and you may happen to do wonders. In all epidemical difeafes caufed by Saturn, it is as good a prefervative as grows: it refills poi- fon, by defending and comforting the heart, blood, and fpirits ; it does the like againft the plague and all epidemical difeafes, if the root be • taken in powder to the weight of half a dram at a time, with fome good treacle in carduus water, and the party thereupon laid to fweat in his bed; if treacle be not to be had, take it alone in carduus or angelica- - water. The ftalks or roots candied and eaten falling, are good prefer- : vatives in time of infection ; and at other times to warm and comfort a cold ftomach. The root alfo lleeped in vinegar, and a little of that vinegar taken fometimes falling, and the root fmelled unto, is good for the fame purpofe. A water diftilled from the root fimply, as fteeped in ! wine, and diftilled in a glafs, is much more effectual than the water of the leaves; and this water, drank two or three fpoonfuls at a time, cafes 1 all pains and torments coming of cold and wind, fo that the body be not bound; and taken with fome of the root in powder, at the begin- ning, helps the pleurify, as alfo all other difeafes of the lungs and bread:, as coughs, phthific, and fhortnefs of breath ; and a fyrup of the ftalks do the like. It helps pains of the colic, the ftranguary and ftoppage of the urine, procures women’s courfes, and expels the after-birth; opens the ■ ftoppings of the liver and fpleen, and briefly eafes and difeuffes all windinefs and inward fweliings. The decoction drunk before the fit of an ague, that; the patient may fweat before the fit comes, will, in two . 150 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; two or three times taking, rid it quite away; it helps digeftion, and is1 a remedy for a furfeit. The juice, or the water, being dropped into; 3 the eyes or ears, helps dimnefs of fight and deafnefs; the juice put into the hollow teeth, eafes their pains. The root in powder, made up into a plaifter with a little pitch, and laid on the biting of mad dogs, or any other venomous creature, does wonderfully help. The juice or the' water dropped, or tents wet therein, and put into filthy dead ulcers, or the powder of the root (in want of either) does cleanfe and caufe them] to heal quickly, by covering the naked bones with flelh j the diftilled » water applied to places pained with the gout, or fciatica, gives a great deal of eafe, I I SLENDER HONEWORT. Sison Amonnium. \ fc Description. — This is a fpecie of the ftone parfley, a weak plant, i of two feet and a half in height ; the ftalk is brown, and very {lender,; »» iupporting itfelf by leaning againft the bufhes, among which it grows: the leaves are of a very fine green; the flowers are fmall and white;; and the feeds are of an olive brown. j Place. — It is a native of damp thickets, and hedges with moift' >F bottoms. I ilit Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — This little plant is "under the do- minion of Venus in the fign Cancer; and is excellent to allay fwellings, which, in the country, are called Hones, from whence the herb doubt- | d lefs derived its name. The leaves are to be ufed freflh gathered, and beat in a marble mortar with a kind of pafte. They are then to be laid on a1 fwelling that is red, painful, and threatens to have bad confequences, and they difperfe. This application fhould be frequently renewed. It is good for diforders in the fkin, and even in the king’s-evil. The Corn Hone wort pofleiles flail more virtue. Vide Corn Honewort. > • # LEAST WATER PARSNEP, Sison Inundatum. ■ Description. — Rifes from many fmall fibres, with round, ftriated, and branched ftalks, about fix inches high. The leaves are placed al- ternately on thefe, broad and fhort, and dentated, of a pale green, not refembling thole which rile firft from the root. The flowers are fmall and white, and ftand at the top of the branches in little umbels; and the feed is ftriated and brown. Place. — It is common in fh allow waters. Time. — Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — It is a fpecies of the water-hem- lock, and under the government of Mercury; very deleterious if inward- ly uieu; but, where honewort is not to be found, may be ufed inftead, in ' or, Medical Herbal. 151 n removing hard fwellings. A decodtion with bran or nialt is good or eruptions of the fkin. APPLE TREE. Malus Sativa. Description. — This is a tree fo well known for its fruit, that it vould be needlefs to give any defeription of it here. Among the nu- nerous variety of Apples, tliofe which are accounted beft for medicinal de, are the pearmain and pippin, yielding a pleafant vinous juice, with little fharpnefs. Place. — It is well known to grow in orchards and gardens. Time. — Different kinds flower at different times : all between April nd the latter end of May. The john apple, which is the lateft, is not ipe till October. i Government and Virtues. — Apple trees are all under the do- linion of Venus. In general they are cold arid windy, and the beft are p be avoided, before they are thoroughly ripe; then to be roafted or :alded, and a little fpice or warm feeds thrown on them, and then lould only be eaten after or between meals, or for fupper. They are iery proper for hot and bilious ltomachs, but not to the cold, moift, I nd flatulent. 'The more ripe ones eaten raw, move the belly a little ; id unripe ones have the contrary effeift. A poultice of roafted fvveet . iples, with powder of frankinfccnce, removes pains of the fide; and a jultice of the fame apples boiled in plantain-water to a pulp, then Jiixed with milk, and applied, takes away frelh marks of gunpowder it of the fkin. Boiled or roafted apples eaten with rofe water and .gar, or with a little butter, is a pleafant cooling diet for feverifh com- aints. An infufion of diced apples with their fkins in boiling water, cruft of bread, fome bailey, and a little mace or all-fpice, is a very oper cooling diet drink in fevers. Roafted apples are good for the Ihmatic; either raw, roafted or boiled, are good for the confumptive, ji inflammations of the breafts or lungs. Their fyrup is a good cordial . faintings, palpitations, and melancholy. The pulp of boiled or rot- . 11 apples in a poultice, is good for inflamed eyes, either applied alone with milk, or rofe or fennel-waters. The pulp of five or fix roafted ">ples, beaten up with a quart of water to lamb's wool, and the whole 'ank at night in an hour’s fpace, fpeedily cures fuch as flip their water y drops, attended with heat and pain. Gerard obferves, if it does it effedlually remove the complaint the firft night, it never yet failed e fecond. The four provokes urine moft; but the rough ftrengthens oft the ftomach and bowels. This article occurs but in the folio Edition of Culpeper of 1652. ft THE THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; *5* THE CRAB-TREE OR WILDING. Malus Agrestis. Description. — This is ufually a leflertree than the orchard apple. It refembles it in the leaves and bloIToms; the fruit is fmaller, round; and fomewhat fiattilh, and the fide next the Sun ufually of a beautiful red colour, but of a four, rough, auftere tafte. Place. — The Crab-tree grows frequently in hedges. Time. — Flowers in April and May, and the fruit is ripe in Sep- tember. Government and Virtues. — The Crab-tree ferves to grafl upon. The juice of its fruit is called verjuice, is acid and fomewhat ■ Ijvli I' I I.Vr ;'A". aftringent, and is much ufed for fauce. The fruit is alfo fqueezed fecit among other apples to give the cyder a fmartnefs of tafte : this juict dropped into the eyes will take off an inflammation and cure watery eyes, and that by a fpecifical virtue, whereas it is well known that the aciditj or tartnefs is repellent, and that the aftringency of this juice is capabk in fome meafure to contract the excretory ducts of the lachrymal glands and by that to prevent the too violent difcharge of its contents. Thi ■ fame quality makes it recommended in all manner of inflammations, ef (Irons, pecially in St. Anthony’s fire; but in thefe cafes we have more fure an( laftn efficacious remedies. Crabs are very rough, acid, and aftringent ; thei juice fometimes fupplies the ufe of vinegar; fifti boiled in it is firme booth, and better tailed. Crab juice and balm laid to inflammations are ufe ful, or the juice dropped into inflamed eyes. It is a very ufeful wall for fcrophulous ulcers, and they fhould be afterwards wrapped up ii wool, moiftened with neatsfoct oil. They are good to bind the belly and to ftrengthen the ftomach of longing women. A decodlion of th mil Place. ME,- tRinii leaves is a proper gargle for the mouth when dry, rough, and furred i: hot fevers; nor is it amifs if they fwallow a little of it. Their verjuic is good for heat and weaknefs of the ftomach, and for great belching and vomittings. The ointment called Pomatum, ought to be made c a large juicy green apple, called a Pome water; but the pomatum noi in ufe, is made after another manner. APPLES OF LOVE. Poma Amoris. Description. — Thefe are large juicy fruits, but they are not prc *utaii duced on a tree, but on a final!, and low plant. The ftalks are weal fcl oil and divided into many branches; the leaves are large, but they a r compofed of many fmall ones fet on a divided ftock, and they are of K ^ (, faint yellowifh colour. The flowers are fmall and yellow, fever growing together, each divided into five parts like a ftar. The fru - follows the flower, is round, as big again as a cherry, and when rip fc, * Ik Hi, OR, MEDICAL HERBAL, 153 )f a good yellow red, in which are contained a great many flat whitifh beds, in a juicy pulp. Place. — This is a fort of night-fhade; it grows in gardens. Time. — It flowers in July ; the fruit is ripe in September, and pe- ithes with the firft frofts. Government and Virtues. — Saturn governs this plant. It is bf a cold nature therefore, and like other folanums fhould be verycau- ioufly admitted into the body. In outward cooling and moiftening ap- llications, in inflammations and other difordcrs of the fkin; it is very ifeful; and its juice is efpecially recommended in hot defluxions of heum upon the eyes : however it is not often ufed. In Italy and other (buthern countries of Europe, they eat theft* apples with oil and vine- gar, as cucumbers are eaten here. At any rate, they are very impro- per for the tender inteftines of children. APRICOT TREE. Armeniaca Malus. Description. — Has broad roundifh leaves, pointed at the end, and. I bur or five of them are placed together. The flowers are larger than thole )f plums, of a whitifh colour ; the fruit is round, and fomewhat flat fided, vith a ftreak on one fide running from head to firalk of a yellovvifh hue, vith a blufh of red : when ripe, eafily parting from the ftonc, which s fmooth, likeaplum-ftone; flattifh, with three prominent fharp ridges >n one fide, and a bitterilh kernel within. Place. — It is only produced by proper cultivation in gardens. Time. — It flowers in March and April, but the fruit is not ripe till fter Midfummer. Government and Virtues. — Is under the government of Ju- dter. Cultivation has multiplied the forts, but the virtues are the fame n all the fpecie. They are better than peaches; they neither putrify tor turn acid fo foon on the ftomach, and are generally fweeter and more ;rateful to it; but too great freedom with them will occafion fhort evers. They are more hurtful after meat than before, becaufe their con- ftence is fo corruptible, that if they do not quickly pafs through the :omach, they fill it with wind and water ; therefore, it is prudent to ike a draught of wine immediately after eating them. Thofe who re- )e£t their health had better avoid them entirely, and all fuch horary and erifhable fruit. To the aged, the cold and phlegmatic, and fuch as ave weak ftomachs and fubjebt to wind, they are very hurtful. The xprefled oil of the kernels is good to anoint the inflamed piles, and for ie lwellings of ulcers, roughnefs and chaps of the tongue, pains of the ars, and hoarfencfs. This oil, with a fifth part of myfcadine wine, good for the ftone, and helps the colic. The kernels, infufed 1 brandy, make a fine ratafee; but bitter almonds are often fub- ituted. Vol. I. U WHITE V54 THE FAMILY PHYSICIANS WHITE ARCHANGEL. Lamium Album. Description. — A common wild plant, more vulgarly called the dead nettle. The roots of this fpecie are white, long, /lender, and creep- ing along near the furface of the earth, fending forth feveral fquare hoi low ftalks about a foot high ; the lower leaves Hand on long foot-ftalks thofe towards the top have fhorter ; they are fhaped like the commoi flinging nettle, are hairy, and indented about the edges. The flower grow towards the top at the joints, with the leaves encompaffing th< ftalks in thick whirles : they are large and white, open, having three o four black apices ftanding in the middle. The feed is fmall, roundifh, and black ; the root abides many years in the earth. Place. — It grows in mod places about the hedges. Time. — And flowers in April and May. Government and Virtues. — This is an herb of Venus. Th chief ufe of it is for women. This is the mildeft fpecies. The flower are the only part ufed: they fhould be gathered in May ; and made infc a conferve. A pound of them is to be beaten up with two pounds an a half of fugar. They may alfo be dried. They are excellent in th whites, and all other feminal weaknefles in man or woman. Th flowers of the white archangel, as they are peculiarly foft, lubricating and at the fame time /Lengthening, are looked upon by many as a fove reign remedy in female weaknefles ; but this fhould only be underftoo- where the cafe is not of too long ftanding, and it requires a pretty lon;: continuance : there is a conferve ordered to be kept in the fhops for tha. purpofe, but as it is not frequently called for, it is very feldom met wit frefh, and often not made at all. Wherefore, they who would tr the virtue of thefe flowers, muft make the conferve themfelves, or be fpeak it in proper time. A ftrong decocStion of thefe in red port c Florence wine, with feme addition of liquorice, and a very few anifeed: will be found as good a way to anfwer the end as any other. RED ARCHANGEL. Lamium Rubrum. Description. — This is the Red Dead Nettle, a little plant, with re< and fometimes purplifh flowers ; it has many fquare ftalks, a little hair; at the joints whereof grow two fad green leaves, dented about the edge oppofite to one another, to the lower-moft upon long foot ftalks, bi without any towards the tops, which are fomewhat round, yet pointei and a little crumpled and hairy ; round about the upper joints, whei the leaves growthick,are fundry gaping flowers of a pale reddifh colour after which come the feeds, three or four in a hufk. The root is fmall ar thread' 1 OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 155 thready, perilling every year: the whole plant hath a ftrong feent, but not flanking. It never grows above five inches high. F lace. — Grows like the preceding in hedges, and by highways., Time. — Its flowering time is the fame as the preceding. Government and Virtues, — This herb, like the former, is un- der the dominion of Venus; therefore its virtues may be prefumed to be fimilar to the firft. The herb is uled frefh or dried. A decoflion of the leaves and flowers is good for all immoderate bleedings ; taken as tea, it has cured an old gleet, which the power of phyfic could not re- move. Bruifed and outwardly applied, it is ferviceable in wounds and inflammations. Befides thefe, there is a yellow kind, which is very much like the white, in the ftalks and leaves, but that the ftalks are more flraight and upright, and the joints with leaves are farther afunder, having longer leaves than the former, and the flowers a little larger and more gaping, of a fair yellow colour in moil, in fome paler. The roots are like the white, only they creep not fo much under the ground. 1 Place. — They grow almoft every where (unlefs it be in the middle of the ftreet), the yellow mod ufually in the wet grounds of woods, and fometimes in the drier, in divers counties of this nation. ■ \ Time. — They flower from the beginning of the fpring, and all the fummer long. ' Government and Virtues. — The Archangels are fomewnat hot, and dryer than the flinging nettles, and ufed with better fuccefs for the flopping and hardnefs of the fpleen, than they, by ufing the decoc- tion of the herb in wine, and afterwards applying the herb hot unto the region of the fpleen as a plaifter, or the decodfion with fpunges. Flowers of the white archangel are preferved or conferved to be ufed to flay the whites, and the flowers of the red to flay the reds in women. It makes the heart merry, drives away melancholy, quickens the fpirits, is good againft quartan agues, {launches bleeding at mouth and nofe, if it be ftamped and applied to the nape of the neck; the herb alfo bruifed, and with fome fait and vinegar, and hogs-greafe, laid upon an hard tu- mour or fweliing, or that vulgarly called the king’s evil, do help to dif- folve or difeufs them ; and being in like manner applied, much al- lays the pains, and gives eafe to the gout, fciatica, and other pains of the joints and finews. It is alfo very effectual to heal green wounds, and old ulcers ; alfo to flay their fretting, gnawing, and (breading. It draws forth fplinters, and fuch like things gotten into the flelh ; and is very good againft bruiles and burnings. But the yellow Archangel is moft commended for old, filthy, corrupt fores and ulcers, yea, although they grow to be hollow ; and to diflolve tumours. U 2 Arrach, 156 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; ARRACH, WILD AND STINKING. Atriplex Olida M, Description. — A fmall wild plant that goes by many other names the principal of which is Motherwort. The ftalks are a foot long, bu weak ; they feldom ftand upright ; they are flriated, of a pale green, anc the leaves are fmall, fhort, and rounded, of a blueifh green colour, and o the breadth of a fhilling, or lefs. The flowers are inconfiderable, o a greenifh yellow colour in clufters, fet with the leaves at the toj of the branches, and have a greenifh white appearance. The feeds are fmall, round and blackifh, and the plant grows from its own cafua fowing. The whole plant is covered with a fort of moift dull in large particles, and has a moft unpleafant fmell, like rotten fifh, or worfe. Place. — It ufually grows upon dunghills, and wafle places. Time. — They flower in June and July, and their feed is ripe quick' ly after. Government and Virtues. — This is an herb of Venus, pe. culiarly appropriated to the ufes of the female fex, and is good in uterine diforders. It fhould be ufed frefh gathered, for it lofes its virtue ir keeping. A fyrup may be made of its juice, a pint to two pounds o: fugar, and it will keep all the year. The leaves alfo may be beat intc a conferve, with three times their weight of fugar; in either of thefe forms it is an excellent medicine in all hyfteric complaints. It cure< fits, and promotes women’s terms, and the necefiary evacuations aftei delivery. ■so';' --..a ■-i: in: din GARDEN ARRACH. Atriplex Hortensis. Description. — The Garden Arrach is of another kind; it is an annual raifed from feed, for the ule of the kitchen. It grows to a yard high, and the leaves are broad: thofe which grow from the root have a little leaf alfo on each fide of the ftem. The leaves are covered with a wet duff, like the other kind; which may be eafily rubbed off, and of a palifh green colour; the ftalk is angular and branched ; the flowers are herbaceous, and grow in fpilces at the top, of a greenifh yellow colour, which are fucceeded by blackifh round feed, in flat feed-veflels, of two round leaves clapped together : the feed is of two forts, one fmaller by half than the other, and blacker, and more fhining. Another fpecies of this plant, has the leaves, ftalks, and feed-veffels, all of a purple colour, and differing in nothing elfe from the former. Place. — They are both cultivated in gardens, being ufed promif- cuoufly. Time. — Flourifhes rather later than the preceding. Government and Virtues. — This Arrach is moifter than the wild fort, but full as cold. The leaves are frequently boiled and eaten, like coleworts, with fait meats, and in fallads. They are cooling, moift- eninja I in a Flac Timi Desc dm tl mw Wen tube Her to I hided T® Goi W, OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. • i 157 ening, and opening ; and for this purpofe are ufed with other emollient herbs in cooling glyfters. Its feeds powerfully purge, and are reckoned antidotes to the milchicfs arifing from the ufe of cantharides. Sea Arruch , from its being more fait, purges more, and is very troublefome to the inteftines of weak conftitutions; but eaten in fat broth, it is good in the dropfy; prevents over-corpulency, and preferves from putrefaction. COMMON ARROW GRASS. Triglochin Palustre. Description. — The leaves are narrow, numerous, and of a beau- tiful green; rifing from a fibrous root by a ftalk a foot high, termina- ting in a flender fpike of pale green flowers. Place.— Frequently found in faltmarfhes. Time. — In June and July it arrives to perfection. SEA ARROW GRASS. Triglochin Maritimum. Description. — This other fpecie differs but infizefrom the other, and in the abundance of leaves, having more. It is diftinguifhed in many writers by the name of Gramen junceum maritimum fpicatutr.. Were the purpofe here only curiofity, a confiderable article might be made out of the grades ; but as their ufes in general are particularly pointed out in a compendious table at the end of the work, we fhail refer to that table for their purpofes and ufe. Hill. ARROW HEAD. Sagittaria Vulgaris. Description. — It rifes with a naked flender ftalk from a clufter of whitifh fibre roots, with long leaves upon a footftalk, fhaped like the bearded head of an arrow, of a pale green, and highly ribbed. The flowers are large, white, and beautiful ; and the feeds ftand naked in a little round button. Place. — It is common in fhallow waters in the north of England, and has been found on the Thames fhore by Lambeth. T ime. — The flowers appear in June, and the feed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues.— It is under the government of Venus, of a cooling nature. Countryfolks bruife the leaves, and ap- ply them to burns and fcalds, to eafe the pain, and remove the inflamma-, tion. It has been found of lingular efficacy in reftraining hemorrhages, and immoderate menfes; but greater advantages may be derived from the plant by experiment. Hill. Arsmart, THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN $ !5§ ' ' v ARSMART, THE DEAD OR SPOTTED SORT. Pers-icaria Maculata. Description.-— This Arfmart has many round (talks, two feet high, or more, full of branches, having thick fwelled joints, covered with a thin film or fkin. The leaves grow alternately, and are long and fharp pointed, but broader in the middle, and larger than the following article; they are fmooth, and have a dark or blackifh femi-circular fpot in the middle of each. The flowers grow at the epd of the branches in thick, round, pale, red fpikes, being finall and ftaminous, containing flattifh, angular, fhafp pointed, ihining feed. The root is long, with many firings, like a bufh of fibres, per idling yearly: this has not the fharp tafte of the next, but rather four like forrel. Place. — It grows in watery places, by ponds and ditch fides. Time, — It flowers in June and July, and the feed is generally ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — Saturn governs this Arfmart, as appears by the leaden coloured fpot he has placed upon the leaf. The leaves are of a cooling and drying quality, and very effe&ual for putri- fied ulcers in man or beaft, to kill worms, and cleanfe the morbid parts. The juice of it dropped in, or otherwife applied, is good for hot tu- mours, inflammations, impofthumes, and green wounds. The green leaves outwardly applied, difpel the congealed blood colledled about, bruifes. The juice deftrays worms in the ears, and the dried root has fometimes a confiderable effect in allaying the pains of the teeth. A decoftion of the whole plant is good to ftop gangrenes, efpecially if boiled in wine. ARSMART, OR WATER-PEPPER. Persicaria Urens, Description. — A common wild herb, negledled, but 6f great vir- tues. It does not grow fo high as the former; the ffalks are weak, green, reddilh, and pointed. The leaves are long and narrow, like thofe of the peach-tree, of a bright green, but not fpotted at all, and even at the edgps. The flowers ftand at the tops of the ftalks, in fiender fpikes of a greenifh white. As there are feveral other kinds of Arfmart, and moft of them different from this in their nature and qua- lities, great care ought to be taken to gather the right. It muft have jio fpot upon the middle of the leaf. There is another common kind of arfmart with thicker ftalks, and thick fpikes of reddilh flowers, which poffeffes none of the virtues of the prefent article. Place. — It grows in watery places, moftly in ditches, which are lefjt dry by the fqmmer heats. Time.— It flowers and feeds like the former article* Govern- 8 wifi) i A if. Descri it fee at t bare j. The ties; th It (billies Place. Time.- clofSej Govei lenus, an ttbofd re not fo Ibeylho bare n xiiyca! nit poll ruled ar tellings, Jerufal 'St, and i 4, nor itomer Disci anhe try on i&tle; St OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 159 Government and Virtues. — This is under the dominion of Mars. It is hot in an eminent d egree. If you break a leaf ofitacrols your tongue, it will make it burn, but not fo will the former. This kind is an excellent medicine in obftrudtions of urine, in the gravel and ftone ; and in the jaundice, and die beginning of dropfies it has done great cures. The juice of the frefh gathered plant, is the bed; way of giving it. Outwardly, the frefh leaves are fometimes applied for cleanfing old 'fiftulous ulcers, and confuming fungous flefh ; for thefe purpofes, they are much employed by the farriers, who apply the expreffed juice, or the frefh leaves, to all the purpofes before mentioned. ARTICHOKE. Cinara. Description. — This plantis of the thiftle kind; and its head, which we fee at table, owes much of its bignefs and flefhinefs to culture. The leaves are large, and divided into many parts, and they are often prick- ly. The ftem is robuft and ffriated, and the head is formed of large feales ; the flowers are alfo of the thiftle kind, and the feeds are, as in the thirties, winged with down. Place. — They are produced by the care of the gardener. Time. — And they are ripe in J une. They will flower at the latter end of September, if they are fuffered to ftand. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of Venus, and therefore it is not wonderful if they excite lull. The bell are thofe that are young and tender, for when their flowers are out, they are not fo pleafant, and very unwholefome when they begin to Hied. They fhould not be eaten raw ; but boiled with butter, pepper, and fait, they are reckoned a dainty difh, and rertorative, diuretic and cleanfing ; and yet they ftay the involuntary courfe of natural feed, which is com- monly called nocturnal pollution. A decoction of the leaves in white- wiiie poflet, is an extraordinary medicine for the jaundice. The roots bruifed and boiled with lugar-candy, or the ftalks candied, are good for the lungs. Jerufalem Artichokes are a root eaten boiled. with butter, pepper, fait, and vinegar, either by itfelf, or with meat; but is not of fo pleafant a tafte, nor does it polfefs any good quality to recommend it to the table, or to medical purpofes. ASARABACCA. Asarum. Description. — A very little and low plant. The roots creep near the furface of the ground, from whence rife many fmooth leaves, every one upon his own foot-rtalk, which are rounder and bigger than violet leaves, thicker alfo, and of a dark green fhining colour on the upper fide, and of a pale yellow green underneath, little or nothing dented i6o THE FAMILY .PHYSICIAN; dented about the edges, from among wmch rife fmall, round, hollow, brown green hulks, upon fhort italics, about an inch long, divided at the brims into five divifions, very like the cups or heads of the henbane feed, but that they are fmalier: and thefe are all the flowers it carries, which are fomewhat fweet, being fmelled to, and wherein, when they are ripe, is contained fmall cornered rough feeds very like the kernels or Hones of grapes or raifins. The roots are fmall and whitifb, fpread- ing divers ways in the ground, increafing into divers heads ; but not running or creeping under the ground, as fome other creeping herbs do. They are fomewhat fweet in ftnell, refembling nardus, but more when they are dry than green ; and of a Iharp but not unpleafant tafte. , Place.— It is very common in many parts of Europe, but with uS it grows in gardens. Time. — They keep their leaves green all winter; but (hoot forth new in the fpring, and with them come forth thofe heads or flowers which give ripe feed about Midfummer, or fomewhat after. Government and Virtues. — It is a plant under the dominion of Mars, and therefore inimical to nature. This herb being drank, not only provokes vomiting, but purges downward ; and by urine alfo, purges both choler and phlegm: if you add to it fome fpikenard, with the whey of goat’s milk, or honeyed water, it is made more ftrong, but it purges phlegm more manifeftly than choler, and therefore does much help pains in the kips, and other parts; being boiled in whey, it won- derfully helps the obftrudlions of the liver and fpleen, and therefore pro- fitable for the dropfy and jaundice; being fteeped in wine, and drank, it helps thofe continual agues that come by the plenty of ftubborn hu- mours; an oil made thereof by fetting in the fun, with laudanum added to it, provokes fweating (the ridge of the back being anointed there- with) and thereby drives away the fhaking fits of the ague. It will not abide any long boiling, for it lofes its chief ftrength thereby; nor much beating, for the finer powder provokes vomits and mine, and the coarfer purges downwards. The common ufe hereof is, to take the juice of five or feven leaves in a little drink to caufe vomiting ; the roots h^e alfo the fame virtue, though they do not operate fo forcibly: they are very effectual againft the biting of ferpents, and therefore are put as an ingredient both into Mithridate and Venice treacle. The leaves and roots being boiled in lee, and the head often walked therewith while warm, comforts the head and brain that is ill affedted by talcing cold, and helps the memory. I fhall defire ignorant people to forbear the ufe of the leaves; the roots purge more gently, and may prove beneficial in fuch as have can- cers, or old putrified ulcers, or fiftulas upon their bodies, to take a dram of them in powder, in a quarter of a pint of white wine, in the morning. The truth is, I fancy purging and vomitting medicines as little as any man breathing does, for they weaken nature; nor fhall ever advife them to be ufed, unlefs upon urgent neceflity. If a phyficiao be nature’s Xervai.t, OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. < i6r fervant, It is his duty to (Lengthen his miftrefs as much as he can, and weaken her as little as may be. ASH TREE. Fraxinus. Description. — The tall Afh-tree grows to a great height and big— nefs, with a ftraight body, covered with a whitifh or afh-coloured bark, from which it takes its name. It generally grows pretty upright and fmooth; the leaves are of a dark green colour, oval andfharp pointed, with an odd one at the end. The flowers grow in fmall ftaminous bunches, coming out early in the fpring, before the leaves ; the feed is called the A [h -keys, growing feveral together in bunches, fmall, long, flat and narrow, in thin hulks. Place. — They grow commonly in woods and hedges. Time. — The feed, which is the keys, are ripe in October; fome- iimes a little earlier. Government and Virtues. — It is governed by the Sun. The bark of the young branches is recommended in obftrudiions of the inteftines, particularly of the liver and fpleen, and therefore are very ufeful in dropfies, jaundice, and other complaints which originate in thofe parts. It adds diuretically, and the fame virtue is aferibed to the feeds, but they do not feem to be equally efficacious. The manna, fo ufeful in the difeafes of 'children, is the dried refinous juice of this tree, which is obtained by wounding the bark, and is per- formed in the fouthern countries of Europe, where it readily yields its i refinous juice. WILD ASPARAGUS, or SPERAGE. Asparagus Sylvestris. I * I Description. — The root of the Wild Afparagus is of more ufe in medicine than that of the cultivated kind ; but its ftioots have not that fine flefhy fulnefs. The plant, when full grown, is three feet high, and very much branched ; the leaves are fine, of a pale green, and the flowers are fmall and greenifh; but the berries which luedeed them, are as big as peafe, and red. Place. — The wild fort is found near the fea-coaft, as in Cornwall, near the Lizard Point; about Somerfetfhire, and other places: but the beft is cultivated in gardens. Time. — They flower and bear their berries very late in the year. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Jupi- ter. The root is one of the five opening roots, and is a powerful diureric and cleanfer. It is beft given in decodtions, in which form it has been known to perform cures in jaundices and dropfies, They are remark- able for giving a foetid fmcll to the urine. : Vol. I, X Garden i62 2 tTHE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; GARDEN ASPARAGUS. Asparagus Sativus, Description. — The prickly Afparagus of the gardens ufuallyrifes up at firft with divers white and green fcaly heads, very brittle or eafy to break while they are young, which afterwards rife up in very long and (lender green {talks, of the bignefs of an ordinary riding wand, at the bottom of moft, or bigger or lefler, as the roots are of growth; on ■which are fet divers branches of green leaves fhorter and fmaller than fennel to the top; at the joints whereof come forth fmall yellowifh flowers, which turn into round berries, green at firft, and of an excel- lent red colour when they are ripe, (hewing like bead or coral, where- in are contained exceeding hard black feeds; the roots are difperfed from a fpongeous head into many long, thick, and round (trings, wherein is fucked much nourifhment out of the ground, and increafes plenti- fully thereby. Time. — They do for the moft part flowrer and bear their berries late in the year, or not at all, although they are houfed in winter. Government and Virtues.— -They are both under the dominion of Jupiter. The young buds or branches boiled in ordinary broth, make the belly foluble and open ; and boiled in white wine, provoke urine being flopped; and is good againft the flranguary or difficulty of making water; it expels the gravel and (tone out of the kid- neys, and helps pains in the reins. And boiled in white wine or vine- gar, it is prevalent for them that have their arteries loofened, or are troubled with the hip-gout or fciatica. The decodficn of the roots boiled in wine, and taken, is good to clear the fight; and being held in the mouth cafes the tooth-ach; being taken faffing feveral mornings together, (firs up bodily luff in man or woman (whatever fome have written to the contrary). The Garden Afparagus nourifhes more than the wild, yet has it the fame effedfs in all the before-mentioned dif- eafes : the deception of the roots in white wine, and the back and belly bathed therewith, or kneeling or lying down in the fame, or fitting there- in as a bath, has been found effedtual againft pains of the reins and bladder, pains of the mother and colic, and generally againft all pains that happen to the lower parts of the body, and no lefs effedlual againft jftiff and benumbed finews, or tliofe that are fhrunk by cramps and convullions ; and helps the fciatica. Description. — An elegant garden flower, native of Italy, and preferved with us more for its beauty than its ufe, though fometimes taken as a medicine. It grows to three feet high, and the (talk divides WHITE ASPHODEL, or KING’S SPEAR. Asphodelus Albus. into OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. into three or four branches towards the top. The flowers are white, and they {land in fpikes on the tops of thefe divifions. They are ftreaked with purple on the top, and have yellow threads in the middle. The leaves are long and narrow, hollowed, and fharp pointed; the root is compofed of feveral oblong lumps; tins is the part uled in medicine. 1 Place. — It is only found with us in gardens. Time. — Flowers in May and June. Government and Virtues. — The frefn roots mafhed and {beep- ed in hot water, will provoke urine; but as there are feveral other plants more certainly effectual in forcing the water, this is but rarely ufed. This plant is arranged under Mars. There is another fpecie with yellow flowers, and called King’s Spear. This is fomewhat lower than the former, and the flowers are larger, t is likewife a native of warmer countries, and is planted here in gar- dens, flowering in May and June. The fame virtues are attributed to tl and, like it, it is but feldom ufed. Hill. AVENS, COLEWORT, or HERB BENNET. Caryophy Nata. Description. — The ordinary Avens has many long, rough, dark reen winged leaves, rifmg from the root, every one made of many aves fet on each fide of the middle rib, £he largefb three whereof grow ■ : the end, and are flipped or dented round about the edges; the other eing fmall pieces, fometimes two and fometimes four, {banding on ich fide of the middle rib underneath them. Among which rife up ,vers rough or hairy {balks about two feet high, branching forth with javes at every joint, not fo long as thofe below, but almofb as much it in on the edges, fome into three parts, fome into more. On the ps of the branches {band fmall, pale, yellow flowers, confiding of re leaves, like the flowers of cinquefoil, but large; in the middle lereof Ibands a fmall green herb, which, when the flower is fallen, ows to be round, being made of many long greenifh purple feeds, ■ e grains, which will flick upon your ciothes. The root confifts of Any browifh {brings or fibres, fuelling fomewhat like cloves, efpe- 1 dly thofe which grow in the high, hot, and dry grounds, and in free 1 d clear air. Place. —They grow wild in many places under hedges bides, and 1 the path-ways in fields ; yet they rather delight to grow- in fha- ' wy than funny places. Time. — They flower in May and June for the mofb part, and their 1 d is ripe in July at the farthelb. Government and Virtues. — It is governed by Jupiter. It is a c dial and fudorific. It is good in all nervous complaints, and in in- \ "nittent fevers. It is good for the difeafes of the chelb or breaft, for X 2 , pains. THE family physician; ■ 164 pains, and flitches in the fide, and to expel crude and raw humours from the belly and ftomach, by the fweet favour and wanning quality. It diffolves the inward congealed blood happening by falls or bruifes, and the fpitting of blood, if the roots, either green or dry, be boiled in wine, and drank; as alfo all manner of inward wounds or outward, if wafhed or bathed therewith. The deeoftion alfo being drank, com- forts the heart, and {Lengthens the ftomach, and a cold brain ; and therefore is good in the fpring-time to open obftructions of the liver, and helps the wind colic; it alfo helps thofe that have fluxes, or|are burften, or have a rupture ; it takes away fpots or marks in the face, being wafhed therewith. The juice of the frefh root, or powder of the dried root, has the fame effect with the decodtion. The root in the fpring-time fleeped in wine, gives it a delicate favour and tafle ; and being drank faffing every morning, comforts the heart, and is' a good prefervative againfl peftilential miafmas. A ftrong decodtion has been known to cure the ague when all ether means have failed. 'am ,:;c; 1 •LSOOIJ AZALEA. Azalea Procumbens. Description. — Trailing Azalea has a long fpreading root, dividec into many parts, and furnifhed with numerous fibres, fpreading ever] way in the ground. The flalks are woody and covered with a darl coloured rind, tough, thin, and four or five inches dong, lbmetime: much more. The leaves are very numerous and very fmall: they an of a dark green, and they Hand in pairs ; oblong, flender, and lharj pointed. The flowers grow at the top of the branches, two, three, 0 more together: they are of a beautiful red. Place. — It is uiually found in woods and bleak expofures. Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — It is a plant of Mercury, and ha a pleafing aromatic fmell, refembling that of lemons ; and is cordial an {Lengthening. It comforts the head and ftomach, removes palpitation of the heart, helps the vertigo, or giddinefs and fwimmings in the heat and is greatly extolled by many, as a fpecific in nervous and hypochor drical diforders. , lliARA ill.ARA! Ikomi, Iparim bom SUM liHWEE DOTTED FELLWORT. Swertia. Description. — A fpecie approaching gentian, for which it is oftf taken by the common herbalifts. The root is fmall, long, brown, ar divided, and has a bitter tafte. The ftalks are of a brownifh colou rigid, firm, ftraight, a little branched, and from three to eight or te inches high. Tire leaves are pretty near to one another: they are of dulky greensand the flowers are blue. The feed is fmall and brow Place. — It is common in hilly paftures. Tim OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 165 Time. — Flowers in April and May. Government and Virtues. — It is like gentian, under the domi- lion of Mars, and a very good ftomachic, but inferior to that great !cind, the foreign gentian. The country people ufe it as an ingredient ' in making bitters, mixing it with orange peel, fteeped in wine. Hill. REFERENCES. Acanthus Vid. Alecost — Algood — Alklakengy — AmaraDulcis • — Amaranthus — Anomi, or Amios — Aparine — Arrowhead — , Arum — Ashweed — ♦ ■ ■ ■ ’ ■ Brank Ursine, or Bears Breech, Costmary. Wild Mercury, or Good Henry, Winter Cherries. Bittersweet. Flower Gentle. Bishop’s Weed. Cleaver. Water Arrowhead, Cuckow Point. Herb Gerrard, Barberry 1 6-6 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; BARBERRY-BUSH. Berberis Dumetorum. Description. — THERE are but two forts of Barberries, the one1 with feeds, and the other without; the former grows wild, in hedges and woods, but the latter, which is the moft valuable, is feldom found but in gardens, amongft flowering fhrubs, where they are very orna- mental, not only in the time of their flowering, but likewife in autumns their fcarlet fruit makes a beautiful appearance for a long time, as every boy and girl that has attained to the age of feven years, can tell. The Barberry- tree, or rather Bufh, for it never grows to any great height, has the outward bark of a whitifh or afh colour, and under that another of a deep yellow. The branches are long and brittle, full of fharp thorns at the fetting on the leaves, which are of a roundiln or oval form, neatly notched round the edges, and of a fourifh tafte. The flowers grow among the leaves, in long bunches of fix leaves each, of a pale yellow colour, which are followed by round cylindrical berries, of a red colour, and full of a four pulp, each having two long hard feeds included. Place. — They grow wild in feveral places, and are frequently planted in gardens. Time. — They flower In April an^l May, and the berries are ripe in September. Government and Virtues. — Mars owns this fhrub. The in- ner bark is opening and attenuating, and is accounted a fpeciflc again!! the yellow-jaundice, taken either in an infufion or decodliop. The fruit is very cooling1 and reftringent; good to moiften the mouth, and quench thirft in burning fevers. The conferve is good for all kinds of loofenefs and fluxes; and the feed poflefles the fame virtues. The in- ner rind of the Barberry-tree boiled in white wine, and a quarter of a pint drank each morning, is an excellent remedy to cleanfe the body of choleric humours, and free it from fuch difeafes as choler caufes, fuch as fcabs, itch, tetters, ringworms, yellow-jaundice, boils, &c. It is excellent for hot agues, burnings, fealdings, heat of the blood, heat of the liver, bloody flux; for the berries are as good as the bark, and more pleafing ; they get a man a good ftomach to his victuals, by ftrengthening the attractive faculty which is under Mars, as you may 'fee more at large at the latter end of my Ephemeris for the year 1651: the hair walhed with the lee made of afhes of the tree and wa- ter, will make it turn yellow, viz. of Mars’s own colour. The fruit and rind/ of the lhrub, the flowers of broom and of heath or furz, cleanfe the body of choler by fympathy, as the flowers, leaves, and bark of the- peach-tree do by anripathy, becaufe thefe are under Mars, that under V enus. A decodtion of the bark makes a good wafti for the itch and other diforders of the fkin. littlP K B: fee f , :: prett IliCE.- SlIEr ■titis Itt! Thf Kim v; : fane i,n; Barley. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. BARLEY. Hordeum Vulgarb. Description. — The common Barley differs from other corn, in , living fhorter ftalks and narrower leaves, and an ear compofed of two iws of feed or grain, thick and round in the middle, and lefs and aider at each end, having a long beard growing at the top of each grain, ith a pretty tough fkin or bark flicking clofe to it. , Place. — It is fown; for, like corn, it is a grain of general ufe. Time. — It ripens and is mowed in June, July, or Auguft, accord- g as it is fowcd. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Sa- rn. The Barley ufed in medicine is called French Barley, becaufe jving been formerly brought from France, fkinned, with the ends cut [F, it dill retains that appellation; but it is nothing but common barley, ound in a mill, to take off the points and the fkin ; and when the ill is fet finer, and it is ground fmaller, it is called pearl barley. Bar- • [/-broth, and barley-water, give great nourifhment to perfons troubled th fevers, agues and heats in the ftomach. A poultice made of bar- /-meal or flour boiled in vinegar and honey, and a few dry figs put in- them, aiffolves all hard impoflhumes, and afluages inflammations, ing thereto applied. And being boiled with melilot and camomile- wers, and fome linfeed, fenugreek and rue in powder, and applied trm, it eafes pains in the fide and ftomach, and windinefs of the fpleen. he meal of barley and fleawort boiled in water, and made a poultice th honey and oil of lilies applied warm, euros fwellings under the ears, •oat, neck, and fuch like; and a plaifter made thereof with tar, wax, . d oil, helps the king’s-evil in the throat ; boiled with fharp vinegar i o a poultice, and laid on hot, helps the leprofy; being boiled in red ' ne with pomegranate rinds, and myrtles, ftays the lafk or other flux « the belly ; boiled with vinegar and quince, it eafes the pains of the :ut: barley-flour, white fait, honey, and vinegar mingled together, l :es away the itch fpeedily and certainly. The water diftilled from t : green barley in the end of May, is very good for thofe that have « luxions of humours fallen into their eyes, and eafes the pain being » >pped into them ; or white bread fteeped therein, and bound on the «?s, does the fame, A ftrong infufion of malt in boiling water is a j afant, and frequently efficacious, remedy for worms in children. BARRENWORT. Epidemium. Description. — A Angular and very pretty plant, native of England, 1 : not very common ; it grows in woods, and has beautiful purple and ] low flowers. It is a foot high, the leaves are oval, and fhaped like : eart, deeply indented at the edges, and of a dufky green. The ‘ ftalks 268 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; {talks which produce the flowers are weak, brittle, and generally crook, the flowers ftand in a kind of very loofe fpike ten or a dozen upon t| top : they are fmall, but very Angular and confpicuous ; they are puj pie on the back, with a reddifh edge, and yellow in the middle: t root is fibrous and creeping. Place. — It grows in dark and damp woods, for it fhuns the fu in which light it bears no flower. It is mofily found in the Highland of Scotland. Time. — In gardens where it is not expofed to the fun, it flowers t Augufl. Government and V irtues. — Saturn governs this plant, as : evident by its cold and melancholy effedt. A decoction of it depri the carnal fenfes of the defire of fruition ; in plain Englifh, it allays lu Our northern neighbours give milk in which the roots have been boil to the females of the domeftic animals, when they are running afi the males; and, they fay, it has the certain effedt of flopping the r tural emotions. This difcovery led them to give it to young women robuft habits, fubjedl to violent hyfleric complaints. The decodti of the root made ftrong, and fweetened with honey, immediately difpi inordinate defires ; but if too large a quantity is ufed, it renders the flupid for fome hours, as if drunk ; but no ill confequences need feared. Hill. :s to n> BASIL. OCYMUM VuLGARE MAJUS. f'f Description. — The great, or common Bafil, rife$ ufually wi one upright tender ftalk, to about a foot high. It is bufhy and brancht the ftalks are fquare, and the leaves Hand two at each joint. Th are broad and fhort, and fomewhat indented at the edges. The flowe are fmall and white/ and are fhaped like thofe of the dead nettle; th Hand on the upper parts of the branches in loofe fpikes. The root fmall, fibrous, and perifhing with the firfl frofts. The whole pla has a very fragrant fmell. Place. — It is originally a native of warmer countries;, with us it cultivated in gardens. Time. — It is fown, and flowers in July and Auguft Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Mars, and u der the Scorpion. Bafil is little ufed, but it deferves to be much moi A tea made of the green plant is excellent againft obftruclions of kinds. No Ample is more effectual for gently promoting the menf< f®i and for removing thofe complaints which naturally attend their ftoppag T- he dried leaves are a principal ingredient in herb-tobacco and fnuft. Dzscr Place, Time,. itrend ■J Govei tertlie tmthel very hi r,: Ftenomc Sl^Al OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 169 SMALL BASIL. Ocymum Minimum. e: a •* , _ Description. — This has a fmall fibrous root, with a ftalk about a palm high; the branches are a little woody, on which there are leaves like thole of marjoram* that have a purplifn caft. The flowers arc fmall, and grow along the branches ; they refemble the former, and the capfulcs contain fmall blackifh feeds. There are two or three other forts of Bafil, but they have not equal virtues. Place. — Grows in gardens, and flowers in July, and the feed fuc- ceeds foon pfter. | Government and Virtues. — The leaves and feeds of this are ; cephalic, cordial, and pe&oral. It forms alfo a principal ingredient in • the cephalic fnufF and herb tobacco. It may be drank in infufion as 1 well as the other for the hcad-ach, and for defluxions on the lungs. Hill. BAY-TREE. Laurus. til*# Description. — The Bay is a native of Spain and Italy, where it jj grows to a large tree ; with us it only grows in gardens, and it feldom ! rifes to more than the fize and figure of a fhrub here. The wood is j! not ftrong but fpungy and friable ; the leaves remain green all the win- I'l ter ; the bark of the large branches is of a dufky brown, that of the twigs reddifh ; the leaves arc long and fomewhat broad, pointed at the ends, and very fragrant. The flowers are very fmall and inconfiderable, and whitifh. The berries are large and black, confifting of two parts j within the fame flein. J Place. — It is found in the mod curious gardens. Time. — The flowers appear in May, and the berries are ripe in the latter end of that month. Government and Virtues; — This is a tree of the Sun, and f\ under the celeftial fign Leo, therefore it refills the influence of Saturn I upon the human body. Galen fays, that the leaves or bark dry and LI heal very much, and the berries more than the leaves; the bark of the i| root is lefs fharp and hot, but more bitter, and has fome aftri&ion withal, whereby it is effe&ual to break the ftone, and .good to open ob- ftrudtions of the liver, fpleen, and other inward parts, which bring the jaundice, dropfy, &c. The berries are very effectual againft all poifon of venomous creatures, and the fting of wafps and bees; as alfo againft the peftilence, or other infe&ious difeafes, and therefore put into fun- dry treacles for that purpofe: they likewile procure womens’ courfes; and feven of them given to a woman in fore travel of child-birth, caufe a fpeedy delivery, and expel the after-birth, and therefore not . to be taken by fuch as have not gone out their time, left they procure Vol. I. " Y abortion THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 170 abortion, or cahfe labour too foon. They wonderfully help all cold andj rheumatic diftillations from the brain to the eyes, lungs, or other parte;: and being made into an eledtuary with honey, help the confumption;l old coughs, fhortnefs of breath, and thin rheums; as alfo the megrim. They mightily expel the wind, and provoke urine ; help die mother, and kill the worms. The leaves alfo work the like effedts. A bath of the decoction of the leaves and berries, is fingularly good for women to fit in, that are troubled with the mother, or the {toppings of their courfes, or for the difeafes of the bladder, pains in the bowels by wind and flopping of urine. A decodtion likewife of equal parts of bay-: berries; cummin-feed, hyffop, origanum, and euphorbium, with fome honey, and the head bathed therewith, does wonderfully help diftilla- tions and rheums, and fettles the palate of the mouth into its place. The oil made of the beiries is very comfortable in all cold difeafes of the joints, nerves, arteries, ftomach, belly, or womb ; and helps palfies,! convulfions, cramp, aches, tremblings and numbnefs in any part ; Wear i nets alfo, and pains that come by fore travelling ; all complaints proceeding from wind, either in the head, ftomach, back, belly, or womb, by anointing the parts affedted therewith: and pains in the ears; are alfo cured by dropping in fome of the oil, or by receiving into the ears the fume of the decodtion of the berries through a funnel. The oil takes away the marks of the {kin and flefh by bruftes, falls, &c. and diffolves the congealed blood in them: it helps alfo the itch, fcabs,. and weals in the {kin. BALM, or GARDEN BAWM. Melissa. Description. — This ufeful plant rifes from roots which are long, {lender, and creeping; {hooting out in the fpring many fquare ftalks two or three feet high, having at every joint two roundifh leaves, broader at the ftem than at the end, indented about the edges, and covered with {hort fmail hairs, of an aromatic fcent, fomewhat like lemons. The flowers are but few, which grow at the joints with the leaves, feveral fet together on each fide the ftalks, fmail and white, with large rough tops, which remain after they are fallen. By the fide of each clufter of flowers, grows two very fmail green leaves. Place. — It grows only in gardens; the root creeps and fpreads abundantly. Time. — It flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Jupiter, and un- der the dominion of Cancer, and {Lengthens nature much. Frefh Balm is much better than dry, for it lofes its fragrancy, and much of its virtues in drying. The beft way of taking it is in the manner of tea. In this form it is infallible in the diforders of the head and ftomach. A fyrup made of the juice of it, will anfwer every pur- pofe. The young {hoots of the plant boiled, with a great deal of fugar, is lilfli H ■its If 1 1 & A W ki 1 OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 171 is a good drink in flow, intermittent, and nervous fevers. The leaves fteeped in wine, and the wine drank, and the leaves externally applied, is a good remedy againft the flinging of venomous beafts. A decodlion of this herb, is the bed thing for women to bathe in, or fit over, to procure their courfcs; it is good to wafh aching teeth therewith, and profitable for thole that have the bloody-flux. The leaves alfo with a little nitre taken in drink, are good againfl the furfeit of mufhrooms, helps the griping pains of the belly ; and being made into an eledluary, it is good for them that cannot fetch their breath: ufed with fait, it takes away wens, kernels, or hard fwellings in the flefh or throat ; it cleanfes foul fores, and cafes pains of the gout. It is good for the liver and fpleen. A tanfy or caudle made with eggs, and juice thereof while it is young, putting to it fome fugar and rofe-water, is good for a wo- man in child-bed, when the after-birth is not thoroughly voided, and for their faintings upon or in their fore travel The herb bruifed and boiled in a little wine and oil, and laid warm on a boil, will ripen it, and break it, THE BEAN. Faba. Description. — The common Bean is fufficiently known; it grows :o a yard high, its flalks are angular, and the leaves, which are of the vinged kind, Hand one at each joint; the flowers are fpotted with flack, and are finely feented. The pods ancf their feeds are too well cnovvn to need any defeription, Place. — Grows in fields and gardens. Time. — They blow according to the order of their fowing. Government and Virtues. — They are under the government f Venus. With regard to their nature and qu.ulity, they are windy nd hard of digeftion ; neither do they afford lb much nouriffiment as )me perfons imagine. The diftilled water of the flower of garden eans is good to clean the face and fkin from fpots and wrinkles, and le meal or flour of them, or the fmall beans does the fame. The wa- :r diftilled from the green hufks, is held to be very effedlual againft the one, and to provoke urine. Bean flour is ufed in poultices to afiuage iflammations rifing upon wounds, and the fwelling of women’s breads, uifed by the curdling of their milk, and repreffes their milk: flour of eans and fenugreek mixed with honey, and applied to felons, boils, uifes, or blue marks by blows, or the impofthumes in the kernels of e ears, helps them all ; and with rofe leaves, frankinfcence, and the hite of an egg, being applied to the eyes, helps them that are fwollen watery, or have received any blow upon them, if ufed with wine, a bean be parted in two, the fkin being taken away, and laid on the ice where the leech has been fet that bleeds too much, ftays the bleed- $ Bean flour boiled to a poultice with wine and vinegar, and fome put thereto, eafes both pains and fwellings of the tefticles. The: Y 2 hulks xyi THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; hufks boiled in water to the confumption of a third part thereof, ftays lafk; and the allies of the hufks, made up with old hog’s greafe, help the old pains, contufions, and wounds of the finews, the lciatica am gout. The held beans have all the aforementioned virtues as the gaii den beans. And horfe beans are in all refpecls like the former ; thej flower and ripen fomewhat later, and are moftly employed in food fc horfes. FRENCH BEANS. Faba Galica. Description. — This French or Kidney Bean arifes at fir ft b with one ftalk, which afterwards divides itfelf into many arms j branches, but all fo weak, that if they be not fuftained with fticks h poles, they will be fruitlefs upon the ground. At feveral places of thej branches grow foot ftalks, each with three broad, round, and point green leaves at the end of them; towards the top, come forth divel flowers made like unto peafe blcfioms, of the fame colour for the mi! part that the fruit will be of ; that is to fay, white, yellow7, red, blacki: ; or of a deeper purple, but white is the moft ufual ; after which, con long and flender flat cods, fome crooked, fome ftraight, with a ftri j running down the back thereof, wherein is flattiih round fruit made li : a kidney; the root long, fpreads with many firings annexed to it, ai; perifhes every year. There is another fort of French Beans commonly growing with , which is called the fcarlet flowered bean. This arifes with fundry branches, as the other, but runs higher, to ; length of hop-poles, about which they grow twining, but turning cijJ trary to the Sun, having foot-ftalks with three leaves on each, as on B other ; die flowers alfo are like the other, and of a moft orient fcajt colour. The beans are larger than the ordinary kind, of- a dead pui* colour, turning black when ripe and dry : the root perifhes in wink- Government and Virtues. — Thefe alfo belong to Dame nus, and being dried and beat to powder, are as great ftrengthcners >£ the kidneys as any are ; neither is there a better remedy than it ; a di a at a time taken in white wine, to prevent the ftone, or to cleanfe ft kidneys of gravel or ftoppage. Tiie ordinary French beans are of n eafy digeftian ; they move the belly, provoke urine, enlarge the br it that is ftraitened with fhortnefs of breath, engender fperm, and incit Q venery. And the fcarlet coloured beans, in regard of the gloriji beauty of their colour, being fet near a quickfet hedge, will bra f adorn the fame by climbing up thereon, fo that they may be difcerm a great way, not without admiration of the beholders at a diftance. ifc they will go near to kill the quickfets by cloatliing them in fear) I Gove k in ra tom tin, dlci bin iron pcclc I’Otii', feahaif inhev Ktwo pk llicll, 2u' pninga Kiireoui i given Descri. |psto a Ip from Pjimieiii pin a i p tall l p plant, p creeps N id] of cl MW p’oierc] Tan.,, Govesxj rWCinio; OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. *73 BEAR-BERRY. Ura Ursi, Description. — It is a low woody plant, fcarcely exceeding ten inches in height, but fpreading in an entangled way, about th ; ground. The Italics are of a ruddy brown ; the leaves are ct a glofl'y green ; die flowers are greenilli, with a biufia of red towards the top, and the berries are black. Place.— It is cultivated in gardens, but grows wild in Scodand. T i me. — Flowers in June, July, and Augutt. {) Government and Virtues. — The whole plant contains more virtue than the feparate parts. It is under the influence of Venus. The {eaves have a bitterilh aftringent talte, and given in powder, in white I wine, in die quantity of half a dram two or three times , a day, have been found of much fervice in the ltone and gravel ; keeping oft the pain, alleviating the fymptems, and procuring intervals of eafe, when other means have been found ineffectual. The bell method of admi- niftering the virtues of this plant is, by burning the dried plant to aflie^ in an iron pan, which alhes mud be boiled in a large quantity of water : when cold, and the water poured off, the remaining fetdement, after it i is got dry, is die fait of the plant. To make a ley with this, put a pound and a half of this fait, and a pound of frelh quick-lime, fprinkling water over the whole till it is diffolved, and the whole quantity of water ifed is, two pints and a half. Mix and ftir the whole for a week, after which, adminifter a fmall tea-fpoon full, in half a pint of veal-broth, , morning and evening, Perfevprance in this remedy, will remove the [ calcareous matter in the bladder, and if it does not totally deftroy it, q will give much eafe. Hill. BEARS-BREECH. Acanthus. Description. — A very beautiful plant, of the thiftle kind. It grows to a yard high ; the llalk is diick, round, and flelhy ; the leaves grow from die root, and are a foot long, four inches broad, very beauti- fully indented at the edg -s, and of a dark gloffy green. The flowers , grow in a kind of thick Ihort fpike at the top of die ftalk, intermixed with fmall leaves ; thefc flowers are large, white, and gaping. The whole plant, when in flower, makes a very beautiful appearance. The root creeps long and fpreading; bjackifh without, and whitifh within, and full of clammy fap. Place. — They grow very wrell in gardens, though they are natives of warner climates. Time. — Flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues.— It is an excellent plant, and under j tl*e dominion of the Moon. The leaves being boiled, and ufed in clif- tersj 174 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; ters, are excellent to mollify the belly, and make the paffage ilinpery. The decoction drank inwardly, is a good remedy for the bloody- fiux. The leaves being bruited, or rather boiled and applied like a poultice, are excellent to unite broken bones, and ffrengthen joints that have been put out. The decoftion of either leaves or roots being drank, and the leaves applied to the place, greatly helps the king’s evil, when broken and running ; for by the influence of the Moon, it revives the ends of the veins which are relaxed : there is fcarce a better remedy to be applied to fuch places as are burnt with fire than this is, for it fetches cut the fire, 2nd heals it without a fear. This is an ex- cellent remedy for fuch as are burden, being either taken inwardly, or applied to the place. In like manner ufad, it helps the cramp and the gout. It is alfo good in hectic fevers, and reftores radical rnoifiure to fuch as are in confumptions. BEARS’-FOOT. Heleborus Niger. Description. — -A low and lingular plant, with large leaves rifing from the root fingly, on a foot-ftalk of fix inches long, and is divided into nine parts like fingers on a hand ; but fometimes the divifions are fewer. The flowers are very large and fine, nearly as big as a common f Ingle rofe ; they are white, reddifh, or greenifh, according to the time of their having been open ; and they {land each on a fingle ftalk, which rifes from the root, and has no leaves on it. Place. — It grows wild in many places, and chiefly affects a fhady fituation, and is likewife an inhabitant of the garden. Time — Jt flowers in the early part of the year, ufually March or April. Government and Virtues. — The root purges brifkly, butfafely, for Jupiter governs it. The leaves dried and powdered, are good to deftroy worms, and have been found effectual in dropfies, the jaundice, and many other difeafes, and even in madnefs. But the ufe of this root i 3 recommended with caution, particularly where it is not cultivated in the garden, for the herb-folks ufually fell that of the green flowered wild, or baffard helebore, in its ftead, which is a rough medicine. The powder of the roots or leaves ftrewed on iffues, greatly increafes the dif- charge. Country people cut the roots into pieces, which they infert into holes, made in the ears, and dewlaps of cattle, and this produces a difeharge, which is often very ferviceable in many diforders. BARPvENWORT. Efjmedium. Description. — The root is flender and creeping, and is hung about with numerous fibres. The firft leaves ftand on long, /lender* and divided footftalks, and there are ufually three on each divifion: they are OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 175 arc fhaped like a heart, deeply cut in at the bafe, and thence fmallcr to the extremity ; and are very lharply ferrated round the edges. The ftalk riles among thele, and is round, firm, upright, not at all branched, and a foot high. Upon this, there ufually Hands a compound leaf, con- h fling of five fingle ones, each on its own leparate footftalk; and thel'e are like thcfe from the root, heart fafliioned, ferrated and pointed, fine flowers Hand at the top of the Hoik, in a kind of fpike, and each has its feparate, llender footftalk; they are of a deep purple, with an edge of yellow. The feeds are oblong, and fmall. Place. — It grows wild in the northern parts of England, and is ufually found in damp forefts. Time. — It flowers in Auguft. Government and V irtues. — In former times they aferibed too many virtues to one plant ; now the contrary is the fafhion. This plant is very l’carce in England, therefore its virtues are not fo well afcer- tairted us feme of more plentiful growth. It is deemed under the influence of the Moon. The exprefted juice of the leaves is ferviceable with burnt linfeed oil to anoint burns 2nd fcslds. A decodtion of the whole plant is ferviceable to wafh foul ulcers and bruifed flefh. WOOD BETONY. Betonica Sylvestris. Description. — The leaves of this Betony are fomewhat broad and round at the end, roundly dented about the edges, Handing upon long foot-ftalks, from among which rife up fmall, fquare, (lender, but up- right hairy ftalks, with fome leaves thereon to a piece at the joints, fmaller than the lower, whereon are fet feveral fpiked heads of flowers like lavender, but thicker and fhorter for the moft part, and of a reddiih or purple colour, fpotted with white fpots, both in the upper and lower part. The feeds being contained within the hulks that hold the flowers, are blackifh, fomewhat long and uneven. The roots are many white thready firings; the ftalk perifhes, but the roots, with fome leaves thereon, abide all the winter. The whole plant .is fomething final!. Place. — It grows frequently in woods, and delights in fhady placss. Time. — And it flowers in July; after which the feed is quickly •ipe, yet in its piime in May. Government and Virtues. — The herb is appropriated to the ilantt Jupiter, and the fign Aries. Antonius Mufa, phyfician to the Smperor Auguftus Caefar, wrote a peculiar book of the qualities of his herb ; and among other virtues, fays of it, that it preftrves the liver ind bodies of men from the danger of epidemical difeafes; it helps thofe hat loath, or cannot digeft their meat, thofe that have weak ftomachs, >rfour belchings,or continual riling in their ftomach, ufing it familiarly ither green or dry ; either the herb or root, or the flowers in broth, irink, or meat, or made into conferve, fyrup, water, electuary, or owder, as every one may beft frame themfelves unto, or as the tjme 'Tit E FAMILY PtlYSICIAN; 176 time or feafon requires; taken any of the aforefaid ways, it helps th< jaundice, falling-ficknefs, the pa! fy, convulfxons, or fhrinking of.th finews, the gout, and thofe that are inclined to the dropfy, thofe tha have continual pains in their heads, although it turn to phrenfy. Th powder mixed with pure honey, is no lefs available for all forts of cough or colas, wheefing, or fhortnefs of breath, diftillations of thin rheifn upon the lungs, which caufes confumptions. The decodiionmade witl mead, and a little penny-royal, is good for thofe that are troubled wit putrid agues, whether quotidian, tertian, or quartan, and to draw dotv; and evacuate the blood and humours, that, by falling into the eye; hinder the fight: the decoefion thereof made in wine, and taken, kill the worms in the belly, opens obftrudfions, both of the fpleen and liver cures Hitches, and pains in the back or Tides, the torments and grip ing pains of the bowels, and the wind colic ; and mixed with honei purges the belly, helps to bring down women’s courfes, and is t fpecial ufe for thofe that are troubled with the falling down of th mother, and pains thereof, and caufes an eafy and fpeedy delivery c women in child-birth. It alfo helps to break and expel the Hone, eithc in the bladder or kidnies. The decodtion with wine gargled in th mouth, eafeth the tooth-ach. It is commended againH the Hinging c biting of venomous ferpents, or mad dogs, being ufed inwardly and ar plied outwardly to the place. A dram of the powder of .Betony, take with a little honey in fome vinegar, does wonderfully refrefh thofe th: are over wearied by travel. It Hops bleeding at the mouth or nofe, an helps thofe who void or fpit blood, and thofe that are burden or have rupture ; and is good for fuch as are bruifea by any fall or otherwrff The green herb bruifed, or the juice applied to any inward hurtpc outward green wound in the head or body, will quickly heal and cloi it up; as alfo any veins or finews that are cut ; and will draw fort any broken bone or fplinter, thorn, or other things got into the flefl It is no lefs profitable for old fores or filthy ulcers ; yea, though they b fiftulous and hollow. But fome advife to put a little fait to this pui pofe; being applied with a little hog’s-lard, it relieves a plague fore, an other boils and eruptions. The fumes of the decoction while it is warn received by a funnel into the cars, eafes the pains of them, deflroys th worms, and cures the running fores in them. The juice dropped in) them does the fame. The root of betony is difpleafing both to the tail and ftomach, whereas the leaves and flowers, by their fweet and fpic tafte, are comfortable both to meat and medicine. It is a precious herb, and worth keeping in the houfe, both in fyru conferve, oil, ointment, and plaifler. The flowers are ufually coi ferved. I Tim ijj jOV :s)C fie;; FT' it t dr ud kedb Re 0, |Desc |il it 1 Pue Time all move pit, Wate |™it OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. J77 WATER BETONY. Betonica Aquatica. Some account this a fort of* figwort. It rifes up with fquare, hard, greenifh flalks j fometimes brown, f'et with broad dark green leaves, dented about the edges, fomething like the leaves of the former article, but much larger, and for the moll part fet at a joint. The flowers are many, fet at top of the {talk, and branches, being round bellied, and opened at the brims, and divided into two parts, the uppermoft refemb- ling a hood, and the lowermolt like a hip hanging down., of a dark red, which pafling, there follows in their places fmall round heads, widi fmall points at the ends, wherein lie fmall brownilh feeds: the root is a thick bufh of ltrings growing from the head. Place. — Grows by ditch Tides, brooks, and other watercourfes. Time. — Flowers about July, and the feed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — Water Betony is an herb of Jupi- ter in Cancer, and is appropriated more to wounds and hurts in the breaft than Wood Betony. Country-folks know its virtues, and find it an excellent remedy for Tick cattle, particularly hogs. The leaves, bruifed and applied, are effectual for cleanfing ulcers, and cfpecially if the juice of the leaves are boiled with a little honey, and dipped therein, and the fores drefled with it ; as alfo for bruifes or hurts, whether inward or outward. The diftilled water of the leaves is ufed for the fame pur- pofe, as alfo to bathe the face and hands fpotted, blemifhed, or difeo- loured by the fun. In fact, both the Betonies are of the fame nature, and where one is r.ot to be had, the other may fupply the place. WHITE BEHEN. Behen Album. Description. — A common wild plant in our corn-fields. It grows to about two feet high j the ftalks are weak, and often crooked; but they arc fomewhat thick, round, and of a whitifh green colour. The leaves are oblong, broad, and of a fine blue green hue, not dented at all at the edges, and they grow two at every joint, which joints are fwelled where they grow, and the leaves have no ftalks. The flowers are white, moderately large, and prickly. They ftand upon a hu/k, which feems blown up with wind. Place. — It is moftly found amongft corn. Time. — Flowers in July; in forward leafons you may look for it fomewhat fooner. Government and Virtues. — It is as mild as the planet that go- verns it, V enus. This is a plant of our own growth, that has more virtue than people imagine. The root, which is long, white, and woody, is to be gathered before the ftalks rife, and dried. An infufion is one of the belt remedies known for nervous complaints ; it will not *oi. I. Z take; 178 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; take place againft a prefent diforder, but is an excellent prefervative, taken cautioufly. BED BEHEN. Limonium Majus. Description. — This grows to a foot in height; the ftalks are naked, and the flowers red ; and in their difpofltion, they fomewhat re- femble lavender, which has occafloned fome to take it for fea-lavender. About the bottoms of the ftalks ftand clufters of large and broad leaves, rounded at the ends, of a deep green colour, and fattifli fubftance ; thefe rife immediately from the root, and the ftalks grow up amongft them* The ftalks are very tough and ftrong; branched, of a pale green ; the root is long and reddifh. / Place.— Grows very common, wild about our fea-coafts. Time. — It flowers in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — The virtues of thefe Behens are fuperior to the white or red behen roots of the old phyfical writers ; their’s was quite another kind, as juft remarked. The people in Eflfex cure themfelves of purgings* and of overflowings of the menfes, with an in- fuflon of this root ; and it is a very great medicine, though but little known. It fhould be gathered as foon as the young leaves appear, cleaned and dried ; it may be taken in powder, half a drachm for a dofe. Thofe who do not gather it themfelves, are never fure they get the right herb. What: is fold for thefe in the fir ops, are the roots of other things cut in round tranfverfe flices ; but of what plant, in that ftate, is diffi- cult to determine. BISKOP’S-WEED. Ammi. Description. — Common Bifhop’s-weed rifes up with round, ftrait, channelled ftalks, about three feet high, on which grow long winged leaves, of a compound kind, of a dark green colour, and formed of many fmalier, which are broad ; fhort and indented at the edges. The flowers are fmall and white, but they ftand in umbels, in fuch large tufts at the tops of the ftalks, that they make a confiderable appearance. Each flower is fucceeded by two feeds, a little bigger than parfley-feed, fmall and ftriated, of a warm aromatic tafte, and not difagreeable. The root is white and ftringy, peri firing yearly, and rifes again the enfuing feafon of its own fowing. Place. — It grows wild in warm countries, but is only found here in the gardens of the curious. Time.' — flowers in June and July, and the feed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — Venus owns this plant. The feeds are good againft the colic, as all other warm feeds are, but thefe O O wc* C+XJ. V'LllV.l VV ClX lii. L/ U. L tuviv are particularly proper in thofe colics arifing from the ftone in the kid- nies nies and ureters ; they alfo promote urine, and the terms of women. : Taken in wine, they.eafe the gripes, are good againft the biting of ve- nomous animals, and mifchiefs arifmg from the inward ufe of can- tharides ; mixed with hone}-, they take away blue and black marks cf the ikin from bruif . Taeir decoction drank like tea, takes 01T too • high a colour of the fac?. The fumes of this liquor, with rofin, cleanfes the womb. BIRCH TREE. Be tula. Description’. — This grows a tall, (trait, handfome tree, with many boughs and (lender branches bending downwards; the old being ■ rovered with a difcoloured cracked bark, and the younger is much i srowner. The young (hoots are reddifh, fmall, and long. When die eaves firffc appear, they are crumpled like, but afterwards grow like, he beach leaves, roundilh, of a bright green, and notched at the edges, t bears fmall catkins, fomewhat like thofe of the hazel-nut tree, which bide on the branches a long time, until growing ripe, they fall on he ground, and their feed with them. Place. — Common in our woods and hedges. • t Time. — Flowers in April. r Government and Virtues. — It is a tree of Venus. The juice f the leaves, while they are young, or the diftilled water of the young loots, is good to wa(h fore mouths. This tree, if tapped in March, , ields a juice which is diuretic and fomewhat aftringent; diftilled, it is f good fervice to perfons afflicted with gravel or (tone in the kidneys ; : removes the ftranguary, and has been obferved (bmetimes even to ftop 'oody urine. A decodtion of the leaves may be advantageoufly em- oyed to bathe cutaneous eruptions with, and is alfo ferviceable in the ropfy. The bark, on account of its reftnous particles, is warm and nollient; the fungus of this tree is aftringent, which, grated and Irewed on the bloody piles, effectually (top; them. - The twigs, which rmerly made the fafees or enfigns of magiftracy, are now become the , oper inftruments of fchool-magiftrates, and ferve to make brooms of. he white fkinny bark, which annually peels off, will bear ink, and dght, in cafe of neceffity, fupply the want of paper. The belt me- iod of procuring the fap of this tree for the making of wine, &c. is to ►re a hole flanting upwards near the top of the trunk, with a moderate bed augur, to a conftderable depth in the wood, and then to infert the *outh of a bottle, or fome other convenient veil'd, into the orifice, by lich method a large quantity of juice may foon be collected ; or if the all boughs of the tree are lopped oft, and their ends inferted into the, ■ cks of feveral bottles, the liquor will diftil into them in great plenty, i the amount of feveral gallons in a day. The beft tirrv; fur perform- h this operation is in February and March, while the fap is in motion, :<1 before the leaves make their appearance ; for when thefe once be- Z 2 gin THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 1 8o g'n to unfold, the juice, which before was thin and limpid, becomes tnick and coloured; nor will it flow during the night, or in cold wea- ther while the north and eaft winds blow, but very faft when the wind is in the fouth or weft, and the fan fhines warm. The liquor which diftils from the branches is better than that which flows from the trunk, it being better filtered and digefted than the other, In order to obtain a fufficient quantity of this liquor, to make wine with, feveral trees fhould be tapped at once, fo that enough may be gathered in the courfe of two or three days; for it will keep but a very fhort time without ma- nifefting a tendency to putrefaction. In order to prevent this, form advife the fetting that which was firft drawn in bottles, or other con flA venient veffels, expofed to the fun till the remaining part is ready, am to throw a hard cruft of toafted-rye bread into if, in order to produce fermentation. But as it is abfolutely necefiary to add either fugar o raiflns to this liquor, that it may have a proper body to undergo a re gular fermentation, without which it is impoflible for it to keep an length of time; fuch a method of proceeding appears likely to do mor harm than good. The beft way to keep the juice from fpoiling whe there is not a fufficient number of trees to yield fap enough in the fpac ©f two or three days, is to put it into very fweet veffels, and place it i a cool cellar, where it will keep perfectly good for a much longer tirr than in any other fituation, particularly if it is covered with oil, or clofe flopped up. The proportion of fugar to be added to the liquor, mu depend on the tafte, and intention of the perfon who makes the win' but the general allowance is a pound to a gallon. The fap and fug fhould be juft allowed to boil, in order that they may be the more ii timately united with each other: but to continue the codtion mui longer, as many advife, fo far from anfwering any good purpofes, mi render the liquor lefs difpofed to ferment kindly, and likewife carry < the greateft part of that peculiar fragrance and flavour which conf tutes its chief excellence. Some people, inftead of fugar, fweeten with honey, which anfwers equally well, if a fufficient quantity is i lowed. In refpeci to the addition of the different fpices which are i commended by various perfons, they muff be left to the choice of t maker. In order to bring this liquor to a due degree of fermentatic it is almoft always found necefiary to put in a little yeaflyor a thin to of unlearened bread; in every other refpedl, it is to be treated the fai : as other made wines in general. in, ai let abol He wit COMMON BU TTER-BURR. Pelasites Ovatus. Description. — This is a perennial fpreading plant, with a th flalk, about eight inches or a foot high, whereon are fet a few fn I leaves, and at the top a long fpiked head of flowers, of a blufh or di » red colour, according to the foil where it grows; and, before the ft ■ Vv ith the flowers has grov/n a month above ground, it generally with OR, medical HERBAL. 181 and the flowers are blown away with the wind, and the leaves then be- gin to fpring, which, when full grown, are very large and broad, thin, and almoft round, of a pale green, with white veins, and often are a foot and a half in diameter. Thefe have thick red foot-ftalks, almoft a foot long, {landing towards the middle of the leaves. The lower part being divided into two round parts, clofe almoft one to another, an 1 are hairy underneath. Many an eye is familiar with thefe vaft leaves, that never knew the ruddy tuft of flowers belong to the fame plant. The root is whitilh, thick, tender, juicy, and fpreads about, under the furface, to a great extent. Place. — They grow in low and wet grounds, by rivers and water Tides. Time. — Their flowers appear early, rifing and decaying in Febru- ary and March ; and their large leaves begin to {hew themfelves in April, Government and Virtues. —It is under the dominion of the Sun, and therefore a great ftrengthener of the heart and vital fpirits. The root, which contains all its virtues, are by long experience found to be very available againft the plague and fevers of the worft kind, by provoking fweat. For this purpofe it ftiould be obtained frelh. Walh off the dirt from the root, feparating it from tiie fibres, and boil two punces of it fliced in a quart of water; pour it off when juft cold, and add to it a quarter of a pint of mountain wine, and a little fine fugar; and let about a quarter of a pint of this be taken every four hours. A gentle fweat will follow, and the worft fymptom will be much abated. If a boil Ihould appear under the arms, or elfewhere, a common poul- ; tice widi Butter-burr root bruifed, but not boiled, and a little fweet oil added, and often renewed, will give as much chance for recovery, as the nature of the cafe admits. The root taken with zedoary and angelica, or without them, cures the rifing of the mother. A decoc- tion of thefe, with honey, is fingularly good for thofe that wheeze much, or are habitually afthmatic. It provokes urine, brings down the wo- [ men’s courfes, and kills worms in the body. The dried powder of the root dries up the moifture of thofe running fores that are difficult and r dangerous to ftop. Oil of the root is good againft agues, and all cold fevers. The ancient Greeks ufed it with the greateft fuccefs; and the Germans to this day call the plant Peftilence-Wort. TALL BUTTER-BURR. Petasites Elatior. 1 Description. — The ftalk of this is as thick as a man’s thumb, of a pale flefh colour, and leaflefs ; only forne thin films hang round about it, as in the preceding. The leaves are of an enormous magnitude, rugged on the furface, and of a pale green colour, with whitilh ribs. The flowers are whitilh, with a faint dafh of flelh colour, and hang down loofe in clufters. Place. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; ITT Place. — This, like the former,. grows in our wet grounds, and ha; all the particularities of its appearance : a perennial that fends up its loofg i flowers in fpring; its leaves long after them. Time. — They blow in March. Government and V irtues. — The root of this has gll the tafte and flavour of the former kind, but with more bitternefs. Its qualities! are juft the fame, and they are ufed indifcriminately. This fpecie is, much more common than the former kind; its efficacy in malignant: , J fevers, and of them the wor ft, the plague itfelf, has been much tried} ®i■' ' Description. — Box feldom grfews to be a tree of any great bignefs in England; with us it grows but to a fraall height. The bark is Whitiih, f HE FAMILY PHYSICIAN? I9O whitilh, the wood yellow, and the heavieft growing here; the leaves fmall, roundifh, fmooth, of a firm texture, of a very dark Alining green colour, and very numerous. The flowers are fmall, of a greenifh yel- low, each compofed of five leaves; and the fruit is fmall, round, and furnirhed with three points or horns on the top. Place. — Though frequently met with in gardens, it is but feldom found in its wild ftate. Time.- — It is perennial, always green* It flowers in February and March. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mars* The wood of the Box-tree in chips or the roots, are an excellent me- dicine in all foulneffes of the blood; it has the fame virtues with the guiacum, but in a greater degree, and therefore is efteemed in the lues venerea. It fhould be given in decodfion, but not made too ftrong, as the tafte is very unpleafant, nor continued a long time. Leprofies, fo frequent in former times, have been cured entirely by the ufe of this medicine only. There is an oil made from it by diftillation, which is good for the tooth-ach. It is to be dropped on cotton, and put into the hollow tooth. ir-ijl j on :k [■ tlct:, , PRICKLY BOX. Buxus Asinina. This is rarer than the former. This thorny Box is feldom feen in this country. It was from a deception of the fmall branches, feeds, and roots of this tree, that the ancient phyncians made their lycium, which they applied outwardly to clean corrupt ulcers, running icabs, and fo- mentations for fores in the fundament; inwardly, it was given to ftop •the inordinate courfe of the menfes. The wood of this name, which is ufed in many articles in England by different artificers, particularly the engravers on v/ood, is the Turkey Box. In the fouthern parts of Europe, it grows to a very confiderable fize. BROOKLIME, or WATER PIMPERNEL. |ati : Mail lam PtAt Tim Gov Becabunga. Description. — The ftalks of Brooklime are thick, round, and fmooth, fhooting out fibrous roots at the lower joints, by which it eafily propagates itfelf. The leaves grow at the joints on veryThort foot-ftalks, one oppofite to another, fat, fucculent, and round, and a |ittle indented at the edges. The flowers come forth at the joints, growing in long fpikes, on fflort foot-ftalks, one over another, fo that they form a kind of loofe fpike of flowers, of a fine blue colour, and are fucceeded by a flattifh feed-.veffel, ftiaped like a heart, full of very fmall feed. Place. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. I9I Place. — It grows about rills and flullow water3, and by running ditches. Time. — It flowers in June and July; and the feed is ripe the month after. It keeps its green leaves all the winter. Government and Virtues. — It is under the government of Mars, a hot and biting martial plant. Brooklime has great virtues, but mull: be ufed frefh gathered, for they are all loft in drying. Brooklime and water-crefies are generally ufed together in diet-drink, with other things ferving to purge the blood. In fpring it is very good againlt the leurvy, but it mult be ufed for fome time; it works gently by urine, but its great virtues are in fweetening the blood. It powerfully expels {tones of the reins and bladder, and brings down the menfes and after-birth: outwardly, it is applied to inflammations and St. Anthony’s fire. Country folks daily experience its excellency, in expeditioufly healing green wounds, if a little fait and cobweb are added to it, and laid on like a poultice, between two very thin cloths. Nothing can be more profitably ufed to eafe the pains of the blind piles, and other ex- crcfcences of the fundament. In a poultice boiled in water or ale, and applied, it cures frightful ulcers of the legs, if laid on evening and morning daily, in fcorbutic bodies. BROOM. Genista. Description. — This is a common naked looking fhrub, that from large thick, woody roots, running deep in the earth, fnoots out very ’ tough, angular, green flalks, two or three feet high. The leaves are few, and they are alfo fmall ; they grow three together, and Hand at diftances on the long and tender flalks. The flowers are numerous, fhaped like a pea-bloffom, and are of a beautiful bright yellow. The pods are fiat and hairy, containing fmall brown kidney-like feed. The leaves foon fall away, and leave the plant bare for a great part of the year. Place. — Grows on wafte grounds, in fields and commons. Time. — Flowers in April and May. Government and Virtues. —Mars owns this plant. It is good in all difeafes of the liver and kidnies; for this purpofe, the twigs, tops, and leaves, infufed in ale or beer for the common drink, are given to facilitate the difeharge of urine in the dropfy and jaundice. It is a common practice to burn them to afhes, and infufe thofe allies in white wine; thus the fixed fait is extracted, and the wine becomes a kind of lee. This alfo works by urine more powerfully than the other; but the former is preferable for removing obftructions, particularly it the water is loofe in the belly. Where Broom cannot be procured, heath, juniper, bean {talk, or vine afhes are as good, and ferns, to old drop- fical, afthmatical, and fcorbutic people. For the forementioned cafe, take tbps of wormwood, camomile, fage, broom, and feurvy-grafs, of tach a handful ; fhocts of garlic, elecampane, and horfe-radilh, of each two 192 THE family physician; two ounces; juniper berries an ounce and a half; prepare and infufe all in white wine, or table beer/ for a diet drink, to be drank thrice a day: ! . dro: or in a confirmed habitual dropfy, take of broom-feed one ounce, alh leaves dried the fame quantity; thefe, with a little oak-bark and muftard- feed, fteep in a pint of the beft white wine for twenty-four hours; then flrain off the liquid, and adminifter to the patient a common wine glafs full twice a day. Moderate exercife is neceffary during the procefs ; and the patient, above all things, muff refrain from bleeding, falivation, tapping, and purging, except taking half an ounce ofglauber falts once a week, if found wanting. On the return of appetite, which a few days will announce, indulge the patient with plenty of young animal food, with frefh foups; a little wine, ale, or porter, will not hurt ; but temperance muff be duly ob- ferved. N. B. The above ingredients boiled on a flow fire, will facilitate the making of the medicine, but the liquid, in that cafe, will prove ra- ther too potent for the patient at the beginning of the procefs of cure. For the ague, if three or four ounces of the diflilled water of the flowers, with as much of the water of the leffer centaury, and a little fugar, is taken juft before the fit comes on, and the patient is laid down to fweat in his bed, it will greatly diminifh the effect of the fit. The Pit "M hi: :r an flowers, before they are grown to any bignefs, when the oil or water is drawn from the end of them, are pickled with fait and vinegar, and £re eaten for fauce, like capers ; and in this form are good for loathings and want of appetite. I for BILB-ERRY-BUSH, or WHORTLE BERESES, Vaccinia Nigra. . Of thefe, there are two forts, the black and the red. Description. — The Black Bilberry-Bufh is a fmall low fhrub, creeping along upon the ground, and fcarce rifing half a yard high, with divers fmall dark green leaves fet in the green branches, not always one againft the other, and a little dented about the edges : at the foot of the leaves come forth fmall, hollow, pale, bluifh coloured flowers, the brims ending in five points, with a reddifh thread in the middle, which pafs into fmall round berries of the bignefs and colour of juniper berries, but of a purple, fweetifh, fharp tafte; the juice of them gives a purplifh colour in their hands and lips that eat and handle them, efpecially if they break them. The root grows aflope under ground, fhooting forth i*co in fundry places as it creeps. This lofes its leaves in winter. lied tee; OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 193 THE RED BILBERRY, or WHORTLE-BUSEL* Vaccinia Rubra. Description. — The Red Bilberry, or Wortle-Bulh, rifes up lik^ the former, having fundry hard leaves, like the box-tree leaves, green and round pointed, Handing on the feveral branches, at the top whereof only, and not from the fides, as in the former, come forth divers round, reddilh, fappy berries, when they are ripe, of a fharp tafte. The root runs in the ground, as in the former, but the leaves of this abide all the winter. Place. — The firft grows in forefls, on the heaths, and fuch like barren places: the red grows in the north parts of this land, as Lanca- fhire, Yorkfhire, Sec. ! Time. — They flower in March and April, and the fruit of the black is ripe in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of Jupiter. It is a pity they are ufed no more in phyfic than they are. 'The Black Bilberries are o-ood in hot a^ucs, and to cool the heat of the liver and ftomach; they fomewhat bind the bellv, and ftay vomitings and loathings : the juice of the berries made into a fyrup, or the pulp made into a conferve with fugar, is good for die purpofes aforefaid, as alfo for an old cough, or an ulcer in the lungs, or other difeafes therein. 'The red worts are more binding, and Hop women’s courfes, lpitting of blood, or any other Rux of blood or humours, being ufed as weli out- wardly as inwardly, BISTORT, or SNAKE-WEED. Bistorta. Description. — A very beautiful wild plant. It rifes from a thick fhort knobbed root, blackifh without, and fomewhat reddifh within, a ittle crooked or turned together, of a hard aftringent tafte, with divers black threads hanging there, from whence fpring up every year divers leaves Handing upon long foot-ftalks, being fomewhat broad and long ike a dock leaf^ and a little pointed at the ends, but that it is of a bluifh green colour on the upper iide, and of an afh-colour grey, and a little purplifh underneath, with divers veins therein, from among which rile up divers fmall and Render ftalks, two feet high, and almoft naked and without leaves, or with a very few, and narrow, bearing a fpikey bufti of pale-coloured flowers; which being paft, there abides fmali feed, likq forrel-feed, but greater. There are other forts of Biftort growing in this land, but fmaller, both in height, root, and ftalks, and efpeciaily in the leaves. The root blackifh without, and fomewhat whitilh within; of an auftere binding tafte, as the former, ' Vol. I, Bb Place, 194 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; top Dt: :r at, rstsi Place, — -They grow in flradowy moift woods, and at the foot of hills, but are chiefly nourilhed up in gardens. The narrow leafed Biftort grows in the north, in Lancalhire, Yorkfhire, and Cumber- land. Time. — They flower about the end of May, and the feed is ripe about the beginning of J uly. Government and Virtues.— It belongs to Saturn, and is in operation cold and dry ; both the leaves and roots have a powerful fa- culty to refill: all poifon. The root in powder taken in drink expels the venom of the plague, the fmall-pox, mealies, purples, or any other infectious difeafe, driving it out by fweating. The root in powder, the de-i codicil thereof in wine being drank, flays all manner of inward bleed- ing, or fpitting of blood, and any fluxes in the body of either man or woman, or vomiting. It is alfo very available againft ruptures, or all bruifes of falls, diflolving the congealed blood, and eafing the pains that happen therefrom; it alfo helps the jaundice. The root of Biftort is one of the fafeft aftringents in the world: not violent, but fure. The time of gathering it is in March, when the leaves begin to ftioot. String feveral of them on a line, and let them dry in the fhade. The water diftilled from both leaves and roots, is a lingular remedy to wafh any place bitten or ftung by any venomous creature ; as alfo for any of the purpofes before fpoken of, and is very good to wafh any running fores or ulcers. The decodion of the root in wine, being drank, hinders abortion or mifcarriage in child-bearing. The leaves alfo kill the worms in children, and is a great help to them who cannot keep their water ; if the juice of plaintain be added thereto, and out- wardly applied, helps the gonorrhoea, or running of the reins. A dram of the powder of the root taken in water thereof, wherein fome red hot iron or fteel has been quenched, is alfo an admirable help thereto, fo as the body be firft prepared and purged from the offenfive humours, The leaves, feed, or roots, are all very good in decodions, drinks, or lotions, for inward or outward wounds, or other fores. And the pow der ftrewed upon any cut or wound in a vein, ftays the immoderate : bleeding. The decodion of the root in water, whereunto fome pomegianate peels and flowers are added, injeded into the matrix, ftayi an unufual flux of the courfes. The root of it, with pellitory oi Spain, and burnt alum, of each a little quantity, beaten fmall and made into pafte, with fome honey, and a little piece thereof put into an hollow tooth, or held between the teeth, if there be no hollownefs in them; ftays the defludion of rheum upon them, which caufes pains, and helps to cleanfe the head, and void much offenfive water. The diftilled wa- ter is very effedual to wafh fores or cankers in the nofe, or any othei part; if the powder of the root be applied thereto afterwards. It is good alfo to fallen the gums, and to take away the heat and inflamma- tions that happen in the jaws, almonds of the throat, or mouth, if the dccodioi j h OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 195 deco&ion of the leaves, roots, or feeds bruifed, or the juice of them be applied; but the roots are moft efteiftual to the purpofes aforefaid. + BUR-REED. Sparoanium. Description. — A common water plant, with leaves like flags, and rough heads of feeds: it grows two or three feet high. The ftalks are round, green, thick, and upright. The leaves are very long and narrow, fharp at the edges, and have a fharp ridge on the back along the mid- dle. They are of a pale green, and look frefh and beautiful. The flowers grow in a kind of circular tufts about the upper parts of the ftalk, and are inconfiderable and yellowifh. Below grow the rough fruits called Burs, from whence the plant takes its name ; they are about the fize of a large nutmeg, green and rough. The root confifts of a quantity of white fibres. Place. — Grows in ponds, by ditch fides, and borders of rivers. Time. — The proper feafon for thefe is the month of July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This fingular plant is under the dominion of the Sun, therefore friendly to life. The unripe fruit is moft ufed; they are aftringent and good againft fluxes of the belly, and bleedings of all kinds. The beft way of giving them is infufed in rough red wine, with a little cinnamon. In fome parts of England they ule them externally for wounds. A ftrong decodlion of them is made to wafti old ulcers, and the juice is applied to frefh hurts, with great fuc- cels. Hill. ONE BLADE. Unicaulis. Description. — This fmall plant never bears more than one leaf, but only when it rifes up with its ftalk, which therepn bears another, and feldom more, which are of a bluifh green colour, broad at the bottom, and pointed with many ribs or veins like plaintain; at the top of the ftalk grow many fmall flowers ftar-fafhion, fmelling fomewhat fvveet; after which comes fmall reddifh berries when they are ripe : the root fmall, of the bignefs of a rufli, lying and creeping under the upper cruft: of the earth, fhooting forth in divers places. Place. — It grows in moift, lhadowy, grafly places of woods, in many places of this kingdom. Time. — It flowers about May, and the berries are ripe in June, and then quickly perifh, until the next year, it fprings from the fame again. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of the Sun, and therefore cordial; half a dram, or a dram at moft, of the roots hereof in powder, taken in wine and vinegar, of each a like quantity, and the B b 2 party THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN* I96 party prefently laid to fweat, is held to be a fovereign remedy for thofe that are infected with the plague, and have a fore upon them, by ex- pelling the poifon, and defending the heart and fpirits from danger. It is alfo accounted a Angular good wound herb, and therefore ufed with other herbs in making fuch balms as are necdlary for curing of wounds, either green or old, and efpecially if the nerves be hurt. BLACKBERRY-BUSH, or BRAMBLE. Rubus Vulgaris. Description. — The Bramble has many long creeping angular tough branches, befet with a multitude of very lharp crooked thorns. The leaves grow on the younger twigs, ufually five to one foot-ftalk In the lower parts, and three in the upper part next the flowers, which grow in duffers at the end of the branches, confiding of five leaves each, in fome plants white, in others of a pale red, with feveral ftamina in the middle. The fruit grows like a mulberry, and almofl: as large, green at firft, then red, and, when ripe, of a black colour, and of a pleafant fweet tafte. sit ... It! Place. — It grows every where in the hedges. Time. — Flowers in June and July, and the fruit is ripe in Sep- tember. Government and Virtues. — This plant grows under Venus in Aries. The ripe fruit opens the body, alid the unripe is apt to gripe and bind. The leaves are accounted reffringent, and are Very good for gargles for fore throats, and the mouth furred by the heat of a fever. The fruit, before it is ripe, is ufeful for all kinds of fluxes and bleed- ings ; for thrulhes and fore mouths. The juice of the ripe fruit is good to allay the heat of urine. Conferved or made into a fyrup, will anfwer all the purpofes of rafp'berries. Either the decodlion or pow- der of the root being taken, is good to break or drive forth gravel and the ftone in the reins and kidnies. The leaves of Brambles, as well green as dry, are excellent good lotions for fores in the mouth, or fecret parts. The decodtion of them, and of the dried branches, do much bind the belly, and are good for too much flowing of women’s courfes; the berries of the flowers are a powerful remedy againft the poifon of the moft venomous ferpents ; as well drank as outwardly ap- plied, helps the fores of the fundament, and the piles: the juice of the berries mixed with the juice of mulberries, do bind more effecftually, and help all fretting and eating fores and ulcers wherefcever. The diflilled water of the branches, leaves, and flowers, or the fruit, is very pleafant in tafte, and very effectual in fevers, and hot diftempers of the body, head, eyes, and other parts, and for the purpofes aforefaid. The leaves boiled in lee, and the head walhed therewith, heals the itch, and the running fores thereof, and makes the hair black. The powder of the leaves ftrewed on cankers and running ulcers, wonderfully helps to heal them. Some ufed to condenfate the juice of the leaves, and fome the ita las ise ;C h M-i bus. Cl: OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. J97 he juice of the berries, to keep for their ufe all die year, for the pur- jofes aforefaid. BEAR-BERRY, or BARBERY. ArbutiIs Uva Uesi. Description. — A pretty little fhrub, about ten feet high, and bearing fmall yellow flowers, which are afterwards fucceeded by berries ;if a beautiful red. The leaves are broad and oblong, of a frefh green, ILvith a tinge of yellowifh, and finely ferrated. The bark fs pale and Whitifh. 1 1 Place. — We have it both wild and in gardens. ‘ Time. — It flowers in April and May, and the berries are ripe in ! September. Government and Virtues.— Mars owns the fhrub, and pre- ents it to the ufe of my countrymen to purge their bodies of c holer. The inner rind of the Barbery-tree boiled in white wine, and a quarter bf a pint drank each morning, is an excellent remedy to cleanfe the bo- dy of choleric humours, and free it from fuch difeafes as choler caufes, uch as fcabs, itch, tetters, ringworms, yellow-jaundice, boils, &c. Jilt is excellent for hot agues, burnings, fcaldings, heat of the blood, Jheatof the liver, bloody-flux, for the berries are as good as the bark ) Imd more pleafmg: they get a man a good ftomach to his victuals, by lengthening the attractive faculty which is' under Mars, as you may - fee more at hrge at the latter end of my Ephemeris for the year 1651 : :he hair wafhed with the lee made of the afhes of the tree and water, will make it turn yellow, viz. of Mars’s own colour. The fruit and find of the fhrub, the flowers of broom and of heath, or furz, cleanfe , the body of choler by fympathy, as the flowers, leaves, and bark of the oeach-tree do by antipathy ; becaufe thefe are under Mars, that under Jn Venus. The conferve of the fruit is ferviceable againft all kinds of oofenefs and fluxes, and likewife of ufe in the jaundice. The feed is ilfo binding and reftringent, though it is but feldom ufed. S.EA BINDWEED, or SEA CABBAGE. SOLDANELLA CONVOLVULUS. . Description. — The root of Soldanella is final!, white, and ftringv, ending forth long, weak, trailing branches, climbing on any thing it ■ays hold on, like the common Bindweed ; the leaves grow alternately bn the (talks, in fhape and bignefs like the lefler celandine, fet on long oot-ftalks. The bell-fafhioned flowers come forth at the joints, with the leaves in fliape like the common Bindweed, of a reddifh purple co- lour. The feed is black and cornered, contained in a round capfula. The root, (talk, and leaves, afford a milky juice. Place. I 198 th£ family physician; Place. — It grows upon the fea-beach, in many parts of the North of England. T ime. — Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — Sea Bindweed is under Mars in oppofitlon to Pifces. Sea-Cabbage evacuates watery humours very powerfully, and is by fome given as a good purge in the dropfy; but it works very ruggedly, and very much diforders the ftomach, and there- fore needs good correctives. It is given likewife in the fcurvy and rheumatic cafes: though it is but feldom ufed. Hill. Hi ; scr BEECH-TREE. Fagus. ici In treating of this tree, you muff ur.derfland that I mean the green Maft-Beech, which is, by way of diftinction from that other final! rough fort, called in Suflex the fmaller Beech, but in ElTex Horn. Bean. I fuppofe it is needlefs to defcribe it, being already too well known to my countrymen. Place. — It grows in woods amongft oaks and other trees, and in parks, forefts, and chafes, to feed deer; and in other places to fatten fwine. Time. — It blooms in the end of April, or beginning of May, for the moll: part, and the fruit is ripe in September. Government and Virtues. — it is a plant of Saturn, and there- fore performs his qualities and proportion in thefe operations. The leaves of the Beech-tree are cooling and binding, and therefore good to be applied to hot fwellings to difculs them; the nuts do much nourilh ill efc lei fuch beads as feed thereon. The water that is found in the hollow places of decaying Beeches will cure both man and beaft of any fcurf, Icafo, or running tetters, if they be walhed therewith ; you may boil the leaves into a poultice, or make an ointment of them when time of year ferves. V a BELL FLOWER. Campanula. i 1. Little Bell Flower; 2. Field Bell Flower;- 3. Rampion Bell Flower; 4. Mountain Bell Flower; 5. Broad-leaved Bell Flower; Throatwort Bell Flower; 6. LefTer Throatwort Bell Flower; Corn Violet Bell Flower. £ I Description. — Variety of foils occaficn all the varieties here de- nominated. The Bell Flowers are of the rampion kind, which virtues they poffefs in an eminent degree. They have a long (lender fibrous root. The leaves are of a fine green, long, narrow, and without foot- ilalks. The flowers are large and blue; they Band at the tops of the Falks, and on deader pedicles rifing from the middle of the upper leaves: they OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 199 hey are hollow, wide open, and divided pretty deeply into five fharp pointed fegments. The feeds, are fmall and numerous. if -Place. — They are equally found in damp fhady ground, and upon lipland hilly paftures ; but more frequently in Devonlhire and Cornwall han in the reft of England. Time. — They flower in May and June. Government and Virtues.— Moft of the fpecies of Bell Flower are efculent plants, particularly the principal of the above-mentioned. They are under the dominion of Mercury, for they are by nature cold aid dry in the fir ft and fecond degrees. The roots of thefe are eaten in bring, in the manner of raddifhes, raw or boiled, and they are kept in ome gardens for that purpofe: they are tender, full of a milky juice, ind well tailed. They are excellent to encreafe milk in the breafts of mrfes; and the country folks ufe their juice in fpring in the cure of he feurvy, mixed with that of cleavers, water-crefs, and brooklime. The root of any thing of the rampion kind, if eaten in due quantity, operate by urine and they are fuppoled to create an appetite. They ire in great efteem in F ranee and Italy ; there they cut them into pieces, Sind eat them widi oil and vinegar. Hill. ■I ‘ BIRD’S TONGUE, or KNOT GRASS. 4 ( « Polygonum Vulgare. >' I Description. — It has a fibrous root, with numerous ftalks, green, ointed weak and procumbent, and they have many branches. The eaves are oblong, of a pale green, undivided, and obtufe. The flowers land in their bofoms, and are white, with a tinge of red. A little va- riation is obferved in this plant, with refpedl to the fize of it, according to the place of its growth. Place. — It is common by way Tides. • Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — It is aftringent, and deemed un* ler the influence of the Moon. A decodlion of the common Knot Grafs, or Bird’s Tongue, is excellent againft loofeneffes with bloody ftools. Hill, ELITES. Blitum. Description. — Of thefe there are two forts commonly known, viz. white and red. The white, or common Elite, grows to be two feet high, with thick hollow ftalks, cloathed with a great many leaves, fomewhat like beet-leaves, but lefs, growing on long foot-ftalks, and of a thinner texture. The flowers confift of long fpikes, of fmall, molly, mofly, light greenifh flowers in clufters, in which lie fmall, round blacl G'V feed. The root is thready and thick, but perjfhes every year. Place. — They grow in gardens, and wild in many places in thii jk country. ,( 3 fes T i me. — They flower in July, and feed in Auguft and September, iieir Government and Virtues. — The whole plant has an inflpicj |fa difagreeable tafte, and are much of the nature of arrack. They are al fa ef them cooling, drying, anci binding, ferving to reftrain the fluxes o: [mo1 blood in either man or woman, efpecially the red; which alfo ftays the tie overflowing of the women’s reds, as the white Blites Bays the whites ir ifa women : it is an excellent fecret ; you cannot well fail in the ufe. Thej are 2II under the dominion of Venus. There is another fort of wile fa Blites like the other wild kinds, but have long and fpikey heads o: fa greenifh feeds, feeming by the thick fetting together, to be all feed tj, This fort the fifhers are delighted with, and it is a good and ufual bait;1 fa for fifhes will bite faft enough at them, if you have the wit to catch; U them when they bite. A conferve of the frefh roots and tops, is gooc Si againft hyfteric complaints. There are many other kinds, but the} have little virtue, ■ WHITE BRYONY, or WILD VINE. Brionia Alba, Description. — The common White Briony grows ramping upon fj the hedges, fending forth many long, rough, very tender branches at; » the beginning, with many very rough, and broad leaves thereon, cut,j for the molt part, into five partitions, in form very like a vine leaf, but frnaller, rough, and of a whitifh hoary green colour, fpreading very far,, fpreading and twining with his fmall clafpers (that come forth at the joints with the leaves) very far on whatfoever Hands next to it. At the feveral joints alfo (efpecially towards the top of the branches) comes forth a long ftalk bearing many whitifh flowers together on a long tuft, confiffing of five fmall leaves a-piece, laid open like a ftar. after which come the berries feparated one from the other, more than a duffer of grapes, green at the firft, and very red when they are thorough ripe, of no good feent, but of a moft loathfome tafte, provoking vomit, r The root grows to be exceeding great, v/ith many long twines or branches going from it, of a pale whitifh colour on the outfide, and more white within ; and of a fharp, bitter, loathfome tafte. Place. — It grows on banks, or under hedges, through this country. ; Time. — It flowers in July and Auguft, fome earlier, and fome later, than the other. hi Govern- 1 OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 201 Government and Virtues. — They are furious, martial plants. The root ot Briony purges the belly with great violence, troubling the itomach and burning the liver, and therefore not ralhly to be taken: 'Ut being corrected, is very profitable for the difeafes of the head, as alling-ficknefs, giddinefs and fwimmings, by drawing away much ihlegm and rheumatic humours that opprefs the head, as alfo the joints .nd finews ; and is therefore good for palfies, convulJions, cramps, and fitches in the Tides, the droply, and in provoking urine; it cleanfes he reins and kidnies from gravel and drone, by opening the obihrudbions >f the fplebn, and confumes the hardnefs and dwelling thereof. The de~ podbion of the root in wine, drank once a week at going to bed, cleanfes he mother, and helping the riling thereof, expels the dead child; a dram if the root in powder, taken in white-wine, brings down the courfes. Vi eledbuary made of the roots and honey, does mightily cleanfe the theft of rotten phlegm, and wonderfully helps any old lbrong cough, to hofe that are troubled with fhortnefs of breath, and is very good for hofe that are bruifed inwardly, to help to expel the clotted or congealed idood. The leaves, fruit, and root, cleanle old and filthy fores, are . food againft all fretting and running cankers, gangrenes, and tetters, i aid therefore the berries are by foine country people called tetter-ber- ies. The root cleanfes the fkin wonderfully from all black and blue pots, freckles, morphew, leprofy, foul fears, or other deformity what- oever; alfo all running fcabs and manginefs are healed by the powder >f the dried root, or the juice of it, but efpecially by the fine white lardened juice. The di ft died water of the root works the fame effects, )ut more weakly; the root bruifed and applied of ltfelf to any place vhere the bones are broken, helps to draw them forth, as alfo fplinters ind thorns in the flefti ; and being applied with a little wine mixed there- vith, it breaks boils, and helps whitelows on the joints. For all thefe atter, beginning at fores, cancers, &c. apply it outwardly. ! As for the former difeafes, where it muft be taken inwardly, it purges rery violently, and needs an abler hand to correct it than moft country )eople have ; therefore it is a better way for them, in my opinion, to et the fiinple alone, and take the compound water of it, which is far nore fafe, being wifely cor redied, BLACK BRYONY, Brionia Nigra. Description. — The root of the Black Briony is lefs than the ormer, blackifh on the outfide, whitifh within, more folid, but flimy vithal. The branches grow as long as the white, climbing and ramp- ng upon the hedges in its way, but without tendrils or clafpers; they re fmooth as w'ell as the leaves, which are of a dark green colour, and hining, in ftiape of an heart inverfed, but longer pointed. The flowers rrow among the leaves in long clufters, much fmaller than the former, Vol. I, C c of 202 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN* ■ of a greenifh colour, of one leaf cut into fix parts ; after which come red berries, as in the former. Place. — It grows in the fame places as the white. Time. — And flowers about the fame time, Government and Virtues. — The root purges powerfully watery humours both upwards and downwards, wherefore it is of uie in droplies. It promotes the menfes and delivery ; in which intention, there is a very good compound water in the {hops which bears its name, The young fhoots before the leaves open, boiled and eaten, feafoned ■with butter and eggs, or as one eats fparrow-grafs, are excellent; and as they have a moft pleafant tafte, and at the fame time relax the -bowels, they make a very agreeable fpring purge, for perfons who cannot take medicines without great difficulty, efpecially females. They are fit for this purpofe from the latter end of March to the end of April, , : ilka BLUE BOTTLE, Cyanus Major, lore, (Off It is called Syanus, I fuppofe, from the colour of it ; Hurtfickle, be- caufe it turns the edge of the fickles that reap the corn ; Blue- blow, Corn-flower, and Blue-bottle. Description. — I fliall only deferibe that which is commoneft, and in my opinion meft ufeful : its leaves fpread upon the ground, being of a whitifh green colour, fomewhat on the edges like thofe of cornlca- bions, amongft which arifes up a flalk divided into divers branches, be- fet with long leaves of a greenifh colour, either but very little indented, or not at all ; the flowers are of a blue colour, from whence it took its name, confifting of an innumerable company of fmall flowers fet in a fealy-head, not much unlike thofe of knap- weed ; the feed is fmooth, bright and fhining, wrapped up in a woolly mantle : the root perifhes every year. Place. — They grow in corn-fields, amongft all forts of corn (peafe, beans, and tares excepted). If you pleafe to take them up from thence, and tranfplant them in your garden, efpecially towards the full of the Moon, they will grow more double than they are, and many times change colour. T ime. — f 'hey flower from the beginning of May to the end of harveft, Government and Virtues. — As they are naturally cold, dry, and binding, fo they are under the dominion of Saturn. The powder or dried leaves of the Blue-bottle, or Corn-flower, is given with good fuccefs to thofe that are bruifed by a fall, or have broken a vein inward- ly, and did much blood at the mouth ; being taken in the water of plan- tain, horfe-tail, or the greater comfrey, it is a remedy againft the poifon of the fcorpion, and refills all venoms and poifon. The feed or leaves taken in wine, is efficacious in the plague, and all ifdedtious difeafes, and is very good in peftilential fevers, The juice - put; if Hire di Pii jir -r: til' US' OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 203 put into frefh or green wounds, quickly folders up the lips of them together, and is very effectual to heal all ulcers and fores in the mouth. The juice dropped into the eyes, Lakes away the heat and inflammation of them. The diddled water of this herb, hath the fame properties, and may be ufed for the complaints aforefaid. SMALL BLUE-BOTTLE. Cyanus Minor Vulgaris. 1 Cyanus Minor; Small Blue-bottles, Off. — Minor Vulgaris, common Small Blue-bottles, Ger. Park. C. B. Ray’s Synop. 89. Description. — The Small Blue-bottle grows to be two or three foot high, and is much more divided into branches than the former, with many {lender whitifh-cornered ftalks ; the lower leaves are long and narrow, having three or four long laciniae fet on each fide, green above, and whitifh underneath. Thole which grow on the ftalks arc more narrow and grafs-like; and wholly white, without any laciniae ; on the tops of the dalks grow fmaller fcaly heads, more thickly befet with flowers, in fhape like the former, but much fhorter, of a pure azure blue. The feed is fmall, white, and fhining. The root is woody, with many fibres, perifliing yearly. Place. — It grows every where among the corn. Time. — Flowers in June and July. : Government and Virtues. — The leaves and flowers are ufed, being accounted of the fame nature with the greater kind, and ufeful in w'ounds and ulcers. Some ftrongly recommend the diftilled water of the flowers for fore, inflamed, and blood-fliot eyes. The infufion of the flowers, as alfo the powder of the fame, are given by fome as a remedy for the jaundice. BROOAd-RAPE. Orobanche Vulgaris. Description. — The Broom-rape fprings up in many places from the roots of the broom, but more often in fields, as by hedge-fides and on heaths. The ftalk is of the bignefs of a finger or thumb, above two feet high, having a fhew of leaves on them, and many flowers at the top, of a reddifh yellow colour : the ftalks and leaves are of the fame colour. Place. — They grow common in many places of this land, and as commonly fpoil all the land they grow in. Time. — And flower in the fummer months, and give their feed be- fore winter. Government and Virtues. — The juice or decodtion of the young branches, or feed, or the powder of the feed taken in drink, purges downwards, and draws phlegmatic and watery humours from the joints, whereby it helps the dropfy, gout, fciatica, and pains of the C c 2 hips 4'04 THE FAMILY PrfYS^CfAttj hips and joints ; it alfo provokes ftrong vomits, and helps the pains of the fides, and fwelling of the fpleen ; cleanfes alfo the reins or kidnies, and bladder of the hone, provokes urine abundantly, and hinders the growing again of the ftone in the body. The continual ufe of the pow- der of the leaves and feed cures the black jaundice. The diftilled water of the flowers is profitable for all the fame purpofes ; it alfo helps furfeits, and alters the fits of agues, if three or four ounces, with as much of the water of the Idler centaury, andfome fugar put therein, be taken a little before the fit comes, and the party be laid down to fweat in his bed. The oil or water that is drawn from the end of the green flicks heated in the fire, helps the tooth-ach. The juice of young branches made into an ointment of old hogs greafe, and anointed, or the young branches bruifed and heated in oil or hogs greafe, and laid to the fides pained by wind, as in flitches, or the fpleen, eafes them in once or twice ufing it. The fame boiled in oil, is the fafeft and fureft medicine lo kill lice in the head or body, of any ; and is a fpecial remedy for joint-aches, and fwolien-knees, that come by the falling down of hu- mours. The herb muft be frefh gathered for any purpofe, and the whole cut into thin flices ; and having water poured upon it, with a little white wine, and fyrup of marfh-mallows, operates powerfully by urine, and is good as above to remove obftrudtions. The decoftion thereof in wine, is thought to be as effe&ual to void the ftone in the kidnies and bladder, and to provoke urine, as the broom itfelf. The juice of it is a fingular good help to cure as well green wounds, as old and filthy fores, and malignant ulcers. The infolate oil, wherein there have been three or four repetitions of infufion of the top ftalks, with flowers ftrained and cleared, cleanfes the fkin from all manner of fpots, marks, and freckles, that rife either by the heat of the fun, or the malignity of humours. As for the Broom and Broom-rape, Mars owns them, and is exceeding prejudicial to the liver ; I fuppofe by reafon of the antipathy between Jupiter and Mars, therefore if the liver be dilaftedted, minifter none of it. BUCK-THORN. Spina Cervina. MC Kliipl M a [lack ke,wi |®y t) Iff! it t it to I Ian Description. — This is a prickly flirub, with pale green leaves, and black berries. It grows to eight or ten feet high. The bark is dark coloured and glofly, and the twigs are tough. The leaves are oval, of a very regular and pretty figure, and elegantly dented round the edges. The flowers are fmall, and inconfiderable ; they are of a greenifh yellow, and grow in little clufters. The berries, which are ripe in September, are round and glofly, black, as big as the largeft pep- per corns, and contain each three or four cornered feeds. Place,— This is a hedge-tree, or bufh, and is found in our woods, p . 1 ' • a Time. It is De: aid Icon Lie lam stt IPl T OR, MEDICAL herbal, 205 Time. — It flowers in June, and the berries are in perfection before the beginning of October. Government and Virtues, — Itis under the dominion of Mars. The juice of the berries, boiled up with fugar, makes a good purge ; but is apt to gripe, unlefs fome fpice be added to the making Of it up : though a rough purge, it is a very good one, and very ferviceable in the dropfy. Strong conftitutions may fafely fwallow from twenty to thirty of the berries as they grow. The beft fyrup is made of the purified juice, with honey, fugar, cinnamon, and anife. If the ftomach be weak, it may be taken diluted in cinnamon-water. In any form, it is good again!! the gout, jaundice, and feurvy, and very ferviceable againft the itch, and all manner of eruptions on the fkin. The fyrup made of the berries, is a fmart purge, efpecially of watery humours, whence it is ufed in dropfies : the poor people are too apt to give it to their young children, as a common purge, but it is too vio- lent to be fafe. The colour called fap-green, is made thus : to a peck and an half of thefe berries, put one pint of water, and an ounce and a half of alum j let it ferment eight days, then put it into a bladder. BUCKS-HORN. Coronopus Sylvestris. It is called Harts-horn, Herba-ftella, and Herba-ftellaria, Sahguina- ' ria, Herb-eve, Herb-ivy, W ort-trefles, and Swine-crefles. Description. — They have many fmall and weak ftraggling branches trailing here and there upon the ground? the plant has a long, i white, Angle root, which {trikes deep into the earth ; the lower leaves lie on the ground, in a round compafs, and are jagged and cut in, like the leaves of the garden-crefs, fmooth, and not at all hairy ; the {talks are much divided and fpreading, for the molt part lying on the ground, though fometimes they grow ereCt five or fix inches high, cloathed with crefs-like leaves ; among which grow many fmall, white, four- leaved flowers, each fucceeded by a little flat bur or wart, in which is contained one black flat feed. Place. — They grow in dry, barren, fandy grounds. Time. — They flower and feed when the reft of the plantains do. Government and Virtues. — This is alfo under the dominion of Saturn ; the virtues are held to be the fame as Bucks-horn plantain, and therefore, by all authors, it is joined with it. The leaves bruifed and applied to the place, flop bleedings ; the herb bruifed and ap- plied to warts, will make them confume and wafte away in a fhort time. Bugle. &o6 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} BUGLE. Bugula, ■ Befides the name Bugle, it is called Middle Confound and Middle Comfrey, Brown Bugle, and by fome Sicldewort, and Herb-carpenter; though in E-flex we call another herb by that name. Description. — This hath larger leaves than thofe of the Self-heal, but elfe of the fame falhion, or rather longer ; in fome green on the up- per fide, and in others more btownifh, dented about the edges, foine- what hairy ; as the fquare ftallc is alfo, w'hich rifes up to be half a yard high fometimes, with the leaves fet by couples, from the middle almofly whereof upwards Land the flowers, together with many fmaller andi browner leaves than the reft, on the ftalk below fet at diftance, and the ftalk bare between them ; among which flowers are alfo fmall ones, of a bluifh and fometimes of an afh-colour, fafliioned like the flowers of ground-ivy ; after which come fmall, round, blackifh feeds. The root is compefed of many firings, and fpreads upon the ground. i The white-flowered Bugle differs not in form or greatnefs from the former, faving that the leaves and ftalks are always green, and never brown, like the other ; and the flowers thereof are white. Place. — They grow in woods, copfes, and fields, generally through- out England; but the white-flowered Bugle is not fo plentiful as the former. Time. — They flower from May until July, and in the mean time perfect their feed; the roots and leaves next thereunto upon the ground' abiding all the winter. Government and Virtues. — This herb belongs to Venus.! If the virtues of it make you fall in love with it (as they will if you be wife) keep a fyrup of it to take inwardly, and an ointment and plaifter of it to ufe outwardly, always by you. The deception of the leaves and flowers made in wine, and taken, diffblves the congealed blood in thofe j that are bruifed inwardly by a fall, or otherwife, and is very effectual for any inward wounds, thrufts, or ftabs in the body or bowels ; and is an elpecial help in all wound-drinks, and for thofe that are liver- grown, as they call it. It is wonderful in curing all manner of ulcers and fores, whether new and frefli, or old and inveterate ; yea, gangrenes and fiftulas alfo, if the leaves bruifed and applied, or their juice, be ufed to waih aud bathe the place ; and the fame made into a lotion, and fome honey and alum, cures all fores in the mouth and gums, be they ever fo foul, or of long continuance; and works no lefs powerfully and ef- fectually for fuch ulcers and fores as happen in the fecret parts of men and women. Being alfo taken inwardly, or outwardly applied, it helps thofe that have broken any bone, or have any member out of joint. An ointment made with the leaves of Bugle, Scabionsand Sanicle, bruifed and boiled in hogs greafe, until the herbs be dry, and then ftrained forth into a pot, is fo Angularly and remarkably good for all forts of OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 2O7 f hurts in the body, that none who know its ufefulnefs will be with- ut it. The truth is, I have known this herb cure fome difeafes of Saturn, f which I thought good to quote one. Many times fifeh as give them- ■lves to drinking are troubled with Arrange fancier,- Arrange fights in le night time, and fome with voices, as alfo with the difeafe ephialtes, r the mare. I take the rcafon of this to be, according to Fernelius, a melancholy vapour made thin by exceffive drinking Arong liquor, and 0 flies up and difturbs the fancy, and breeds imaginations like itfelf, iz. fearful and troublefome. Thefe I have known cured by taking nly two fpoonfuls of the fyrup of this herb, after fupper two hours, /hen you go to bed. But whether this does it by fympathy or antipathy, k fome doubt in aflrrology. I know there is a great antipathy between .aturn and Venus in matter of procreation; yea, fuch a one, that the arrennefs of Saturn can be removed by none but Venus, nor the luft f Venus be repelled by none but Saturn; but I am not of opinion L* is done this way, and my reafon is, becaufe thefe vapours, though 1 quality melancholy, yet by their flying upward, feem to be fomething ieHal; therefore I rather think it is done by fympathy; Saturn being ixalted in Libra, in the houfe of V enus, BUCK-WHEAT. Fagopyrum. Description. — It rifes up from a Anall, thready, branched root, pith feveral hairy fibres, and many round, hollow, reddifh Araiks, which ;row about two feet high, and fet with leaves, each growing by itfelf. The lower leaves have pedicles two inches in length, but they grow lorter the higher they are placed, till at length they are placed clofe to le Araiks; they are like thofe of ivy, fmooth, of a blackifli green, and ven at the edges. At the top of the Araiks grow the clufiers of fmall vhite flowers, which turn into fmall three-cornered blackifh feed, with ■ white pulp within. There is another fort, called Climbing Buck- vheat, which is found growing wild, but is nevef cultivated. Place. — It is ufually cultivated upon dry barren land for the im- provement of it. 1 Time. — It flowers in May, and is ripe at the latter end of AuguAr. Government and Virtues.-— This grain is attributed to Venus, fhe meal or flower of it, when mixed with wheat flower, makes very light cake ; but, by itfelf, it affords little nourifhment. The Iravv is good fodder for cattle ; and the grain, mixed with oats, given •0 horfes, will make them fat; but it muflr be firft broken in a mill. It vill increafe milk, and loofen the belly; and the frefli juice is good or hyfierical and melancholy perfons. The juice of the green leaves Topped into the eyes, clears the fight. Garden: 208 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; i GARDEN BURNET. PlMPINELLA, SANGUISORBA. 4 il It is called Bipula Solbegrella, &c. The common Garden Burnet is fo well known, that it needs no defcription. There is another fort which is wild, the defcription whereof take as follows : Description. — The great wild Burnet has winged leaves rifing from the roots like Garden Burnet, but not fo many ; yet each of thefe leaves are at the leaf! twice as large as the other, and nicked in the fame manner about the edges, of a greyifh colour on the under-fide; the ftalks are greater, and rife higher, with many fucb-like leaves fet thereon, and greater heads at the top, of a brownifh colour, and out of ft them come fmall dark purple flowers like the former, but greater: the t» root is black and long, like the other, but great aifo : it has aimoft i neither fcent nor tafte therein, like the garden kind. it Peace. — The firft grows frequently in gardens. The wild kind grows in divers counties of this ifland, efpecially in Huntingdon and & Northamptonfhires, in the meadow’s there; as ajfo near London, by ' f- Pancras church, and by a caufey-fide injhe middle of a field by Pad- Tl. dington. J p T ime. — They flower about the end of June, and beginning of July; ts and their feed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This is an herb the Sun challenges ■ n dominion over, and is a moft precious herb, little inferior to betony: Go the continual ufe of it preferves the body in health, and the fpirit in vi- *>< gour; for if the fun be the preferver of life under God, his herbs are: ian the beft in the w'orld to do it by. They are accounted to be both of H one property, but the lefler is more effectual, becaufe quicker and more ivy aromatical: it is a friend to the heart, liver, and other principal parts of a man’s body. T wo or three of the ftalks, with leaves put into a cup of wine, efpecialjy claret, are known to quicken the fpirits, refrefh and clear the heart, and drive away melancholy: it is a fpecial help to defend the heart from noifome vapours, and from infection of the peftilence, the juice thereof being taken in fome drink, and the party laid to fweat there- upon. They have alfo a drying and an aftringent quality, whereby It! they are available in all manner of fluxes of blood or humours, to Hi Launch bleedings inward or outward, lafks, fcoyrirtgs, the bloody-flux, i itk women’s too abundant flux of menfes, the whites, and the choleric i iitJ belchings and callings of the ftomach ; and is a Angularly good herb for ts all forts of wounds, both of the head and body, either inward or out- *( ward; for aft old ulcers, running cancers, ana moft fores, tq he ufed ; ll, cither by the juice or decoftion of the herb, or by the powder of the ! t:i herb or root, or the water of the diftilled herb or ointment by itfelf, or y with other things to be kept. The feed is alfo no lefs effedlual both to, j lit ftop fluxes, and dry up moift fores, being taken in powder inwardly in wine or fteeled water, that is, wherein hot gads of fteel have been quenched: or the powder, or the feed mixed with the ointments. Great i«i t OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 209 5REAT BURNET SAXIFRAGE. Pimpinella Saxifraga. Description. — The root of the great Burnet Saxifrage is thick at lie head, fpreading into feveral branches, which grow deep in the earth, |f a v/hitidi colour, and a hot biting tafte, from which fprino- feveral innated leaves, having three or four pair of pinnae, fet oppofite, witli n odd one at the end; they are fomewhat hard in handling, and are .rger, narrower, and more deeply cut in than thcfe of the common lurnet. The Ralk is about a yard high, Rift^ jointed, and full of . ranches, clothed with narrower leaves, and at their ends grow umbels f fmall white flowers, followed by very final], dark brown, Rriated . peds. |] Place. — It grow's in divers parts of England, particularly in many laces of Kent ; but it is not very common about town, and therefore lur herb-women fell the'roots of the fmaller kind, or the Pimpinella Saxi- ■aga minor, foiiis fmguiforbse. I Time. — The feed of this is ripe in July; which grows frequently 1 gravelly places, and is a much fmaller plant, with lefler and rounder paves next the Raliks; and in the compofition of the fyrupus althete, I ley generally give either the common Burnet, or that, and the mea- bw Saxifrage, in the Read of this. t f Gove nment and Virtues. — It is alfo under the Sun. The lots of Burnet Saxifrage are hot and dry, carminative, expelling wind, id are good for the colic, and weaknefs of the flomach; they are like- rife diuretic, and ufeful againft the Rone and gravel, as alio for the urvy. COMMON MEADOW BURNET. Pimpinella Saxifraga Minor. Description. — This has around, flender root, divided into feveral 'ddifh branches, amcng which are iometimes foui d certain red grains, /hich they call wild cochineal, and which are uled in dying. The Ralks e red, angular, and branched ; and die leaves are oblong or roundifli, entated on the edges, and placed by pairs on the ribs. The flowers ■row on the ends of the Ralks, in round heads, and confiR of a fino-le etal, divided into four parts, in the form of a rofe, of a purple colour; 1 die middle there is a tuft of long Ramina ; the flowers are of two •rts, :he one barren, that are fumiRied with Ramina, and the other fruit- d, that have a piRil. This is fucceeded by a quadrangular fruit enerally pointed at both ends, of an aRk-colour when ripe, containing along, flender, reddifli brown feeds, with an aRringent and fomewhat itter tafle. Vol. I. D d Place. 210 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Place. -"-In its wild ftate it very much refembles faxifrage, for which it is miflaken by many. It is cultivated in gardens. Time. — It flowers about the end of June, and the feed is ripe about Augufl. ✓ Government and Virtues. — Like the former, it is under the dominion of the Sun. The whole plant is of a binding nature; the leaves are fometimes put into wine to give it an agreeable flavour, and the young {hoots are a good ingredient in fallads. Burnet is a cordial and promoter of fweat. The root dried and powdered, flops purgings; ‘ and a flrong decodlion of it, or the juice of the leaves, is good for the fame purpofes. Hill. |(j ::.;d WHS iju r,ii liioat GARDEN BUGLOSS. Buglossum Hortense. It grows to a foot and Description. ~A rough unfightly plant. b half high; the leaves are rough like thofe of borage, but they are Ions: and narrow, of a deep green colour, and rough furface. The {talks are alfo covered with a rough and almofl prickly hairinefs The fame fort of leaves {land on thefe as rife immediately from the root, only fmaller. The flowers {land at the tops of the branches, and are very pretty ; they are fmall, and red when they firft open, but they afterwards become blue. The root is long, thick, and brown, and the lie ml tem, TRE )esc “ing ii feed is rough and angular. LAC Timi Place. — It is kept in gardens for the fake of its virtues; but there is a wild kind of Buglofs growing upon ditch banks, which poflefles the fame virtues, though in an inferior degree. Time. — It flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — It grows under the dominion of Jupiter in Leo; and, like borage, is accounted cordial, and ferviceable to raife the fpirits, and are therefore good in hypochondriac, hyflerical, and all diforders arifing from lownefs of fpirits. The flowers are ranked among the cordial flowers. The leaves and roots are to very good pur- pofe ufed in putrid and peflilential fevers, to defend the heart, and help to refill and expel the poifon, or the venom of other creatures ; the feed is of the like effects : and the feed and leaves are good to increafe milk in women’s breafls; the leaves, flowers, and feed, all, or any of them, are good to expel penfivenefs and melancholy; it helps to clarify the , ! I Z' n O n /I z, v" t, r~% z, ^ l ■'Tfzwz' fl «... z. X . . .. . . Govf a itmbr lie to be tut, wi wit cut piled to blood, and mitigate heat in fevers. The juice made into a fyrup, pre- vails much to all the purpofes aforefaid., and is put with other cooling, opening, and cleaning herbs, to open obflrudtions, and help the yel- Desci low-jaundice; and, mixed with fumitory, to cool, cleanfe, and temper the blood thereby ; it helps the itch, ringworms, and tetters, or other l l fpreading fcabs or fores. The flowers candied or made into a conferve,|PBes> ‘ are helpful in the former cafes, but are chiefly ufed as a cordial, and " r are good for thofe that are weak in long ficknefs, and to comfort the : ^ ' heart and fpirits of thofe that are in a confumption, of troubled with often OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 21 1 often fwoonings, or paffions of the heart : the diftiiled water is no lefs effectual to all the purpofes aforefaid, and helps the rednefs and inflam- mations of the eyes, being wafhed therewith ; the dried herb is never ufed, but the green; yet the allies thereof, boiled in mead, or honied water, is available againft the inflammations and ulcers in the mouth or throat to gargle it therewith: the roots of Buglofsare effectual, being made into a licking eleefuary for the cough, and to condenfate thick phlegm, and the rheumatic diftiliations upon the lungs. I . TREFOIL BUCKBEAN. Menyanthes Trifoliata. Description. — It is alfo known by the common name of Marfh Trefoil. It has fmooth round Italics, three or four inches long, on which grow three longifh round leaves, l'omewhat refembling the leaves ''of beans; among thele rife ftalks about two feet high, bare of leaves, and bearing at the top a lpike of whitifh purple flowers, of one leaf divided into fegments, whofe infide is covered with a curled down, ; having five whitifh chives in the middle, all fet in five-cornered calyces. If The feed isfmall and brown, growing in roundifh feed veffels; the root is whitifh, long, and thick. ! Place. — It grows in marfhy boggy grounds. Time. — And flowers in May and June. Government and Virtues. — This herb, better known by the common people, than among the apothecaries, has great virtues. It is under the government of Venus in Aries. The leaves of Buckbean are to be gathered before the ftalks appear for flowering, and are to be dried: the powder of them will cure agues, but their great ufe is againft the rheumatifm; for this purpofe they are to be given for a continuance f of time in a ftrong infufion, or in the manner of tea. It is likewile a good ftomachic, made ui’e of againft intermitting fevers; and, in the gout, with great fuccefs. The feed is good againft the moift afthma, for it cuts the grofs phlegm that obftrudls the lungs. This plant is re- ported to be in fuch high reputation in Germany, that they give it in almoft all diforders. WATER LILY BUCKBEAN. Menyanthes Nymphoides. Description.- — Has fmooth round ftalks, three or four inches long, on which grow three longifh round leaves, fomewhat refembling the leaves of beans ; among thele arife ftalks about twTo feet high, bare of leaves, and bearing on the top a fpike of whitifh purple, and fometimes yellow flowers, of one leaf divided into five fegments, whofe infide is covered with a curled downinefs, having five whitifh chives in the middle, all fet in five-cornered calyces. The feed is finall and brown, D d 2 growing 212 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; growing-in roundifh Led-vefiels ; the root is long and jointed with: many whitifh fibres at each joint. Place. — It grows in marihy, boggy grounds, and in fhallow waters' about Brentford. Time. — It flowers in May and June. Government and Virtues. — Water Lily Buclcbean is reckon*: ed a great antifcorbutic, and very ferviceable for the gout, rheumatifm, and dropfy; and is much ufed in diet-drinks for thofe diftempers. It is likewife a good ftomachic, made ufe of againft intermitting fevers. The country people give it aifo in overflowings of the menfes with wine.i We fee by this that it partakes of the qualities of the yeliow water-lily,: and is by no means to be confounded with Buckbean, whofe virtues it but remotely refembles. As an antifcorbutic, it fhould be placed under Jupiter, friendly to life. The other kinds of water-lily are all deemed inferior to this, which is found to poflfefs the molt virtue. I I BUTCHER’S BROOM. Ruscus. Description. — There are two forts of this plant diftinguifhable* but the latter poffeffes the mofl medicinal virtues. .Narrow-leaved But* cher’s Broom, or Alexandrian Laurel, with the fruit growing on the leaves, has a long, white, hard, knotty, fibrous root, that fends up ftalkstwo feet high, which are fmall, flexible, green, round, and fur- nifhed with pretty thick, broad, nervous, bending leaves, of a beautiful green colour, and refembling thofe of the common bay-tree. T he flowers proceed from the large nerves of the leaves, and are fhaped like little bells, but without pedicles; they are fmall, and of a greenifh or pale yellow, and bear in the middle a foft roundifh fruit or berry, that is red when ry e, and contains two feeds as hard as horn. The fecond fort, the common knee-holly, has a thick, crooked, warty, hard creep- ing white root, furnifhed with thick, long fibres, and fends up fPalks two feet high, that are tough and hard to break; they are furrowed, and divided into feveral branches. The leaves referable thofe of the myrtle, but more ftifF and rough, pointed, prickly, nervous, and without pe- dicles; they are always green, and have a bitter aftringent tafte. The flowers grew in a Angular manner upon the backs of the leaves; they are fmall and purplifh : thefe are fucceeded each by a Angle berry, which is red, round, and as big as a pea. Place. — In copies, and upon heaths and wafte grounds, and often- times under or near the hoily-bufhes. s Time. — They fhoot forth their young buds in the fpring, and the berries are ripe about September; the branches of the leaves abiding green all the winter. Government and Vip^tues. — They are plants of Mars, being of a cleanfing and opening quality. The decobtion of the root made with wine, opens obftructions, provokes urine, helps to expel gravel and OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 213 and the {lone, the ftranguary, and women’s courfes; alfo the yellow- jaundice and the head-acn: and with fome honey or fugar put thereto, cleanfes the breaft of phlegm, and the chart of fuch clammy humours gathered therein. The decotrtion of the root drank, and a poultice made of the berries and leaves being-applied, are effectual in kniting ana confolidating broken bones or parts out of joint. The common way of ufing it is, to boil the root of it, and parfley and fennel, and rtnallage in white wine, and drink the deco&ion, adding tiie like quantity of grab: -root to them: the more of the root you boii, the ftronger will the decoirtion be ; it works no ill effects, yet I hope you have wit enough to wive the ftrongeft decosrtion to the ftrongeft bodies. GREAT BURDOCK. Bardana Major. , Description*. — The root of the Great Burdock runs down deep into the earth, pretty large and thick, of a blackifh colour on the out- iide, and white within, from which fpring many large leaves covered with a hoary whitenefs underneath, and green above; of a roundifh ihapc, yet pointed at the end, and hollowed in, next the foot-ftalk, in- dented about the edges, and many times fo large as to cover the head and face from the fun. The ftalks are l arge and thick, full of a whitirti pith, fomewhat downy, and often of a purplifh colour ; they are divided into many branches, on which grow fmaller leaves, and on their tops a 'great number of fcaly-heads or burs, the end of every fcale terminating in a hooked point, by which it fticks very tenacioufly to the garments ■ of palfers-by : from the middle of theft heads arife hollow nit ular flowers of a purple colour, and they are fucceeded by oblong, flattifti, and an- gular brown feed. 1 Place. — They grow plentifully by ditches and water-fides, and by X :he highways almoft every where through this country. Time. — Flowers in June and July. The roots, leaves, and feeds | are ufed. | Government and Virtues. — Venus challenges this herb for her own, and by its leaf or feed you may draw the womb which way you oleafe, either upwards by applying it to the crown of the head, in caft : ft falls out; or downwards in fits of the mother, by applying it to the foies of the feet: or if you would ftay it in its place, apply it to the navel, uid that is one good way to ftay the child in it. The Burdock leaves ■ire cooling, moderately drying, and dilcuffing withal, whereby it is yjod for an old ulcers and fores. A dram of the roots taken with pine- cernels, helps them that fpit foul, mattery, and bloody phlegm. The ■eaves applied to the places troubled with the fhrinking of the finews or •rteries, give much eafe. The juice of the leaves, or rather the roots :hemfelves, given to drink with old wine, does wonderfully help the siting of any ferpents : and the root beaten with a little fait, and laid m the place, fuddenly eafss the pain thereof, and helps theft that are bit 214 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; I by a mad dog. The juice of the leaves being drank with honey, pro voices urine, and remedies the pain of the bladder. The feed bein drank in wine forty days together, does wonderfully help the fciatic; The leaves bruifed with the white of an egg, and applied to any plac burnt with fire, takes out the fire, gives Hidden eale, and heals it u afterwards. The decoction of them fomented on any fretting fore c canker, flays the corroding quality, which mail be afterwards anointe with an ointment made of the fame liquor, hog’s greafe, nitre an vinegar boiled together. The roots may be preferved with fugaa and taken fading, or at other times, for the fame purpofes, and fc confuinptions, the done, and the lafk. The feed is much commende to break the done, and caufe it to be expelled by urine, and is ofte' uied with other feeds and things for that purpofe. SMALL BURDOCK. Bardana Minor. Description. — This is- a much fmaller and lower plant than tl former, having ufually but one dalk, and that not very much branched growing fomewhat more than a foot high, a little downy, round, an full of black fpecks; having its leaves growing on long foot-dalk: which are in fhape like thofe of marfli- mallows, but broader, and nc fo long, waved about the edges, of a yellow-green colour, fomewh; rough on both fides. The flowers grow towards the top, of a greenif. colour, and daminous. The feeds do not fucceed the flowers, bu come forth among the leaves ; being long and roundifh, full of larg hooked fpines, divided into two parts, each holding one long feed. Th root is fmall, fibrous, and perifhing, after it has ripened the feed. Place. — It grows but in few places in England, and that only in rich and fat foil ; particularly, it is found on the fmall common nea Dulwich. Time. — And gives its ripe feed in September. Description. — It is under Venus alfo. It is but very feldom th; this plant is ufed, though forne commend it againd fcrophulous tu mourS, the juice taken inwardly, and the leaves applied to the fwelling! Mathiolus extols it much, as an herb of great fervice againd the leprofj BUTTER-WORT. Pinguicula. Description. — Has a fibrous root, that fends forth fix or feve leaves, and fometimes more, lying upon the ground, which are of yellowifh green colour, and are fomewhat thick and Ihining, as it but ter had been rubbed over them ; they are two inches long, about on broad, fomewhat blunt at the extremities, but even at the edges. I the middle a pedicle rifes, as high as one’s hand, at the top of which i a purple violet, or white flower, like that of a violet ; but it confids c a fingl OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 215 a Tingle petal, divided into two lips, and again divided into feveral parts ; and at the bottom it terminates in a fpur. It is fucceeded by a fruit or {hell, which, when open, dilcovers a button, containing feveral fmall roundilh feeds. Place. — It grows abundantly in meadows, and other moift and marfhy places. Time. — It is in flower in fpring. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mars, and is a very good wound-herb, and heals green wounds very foon ; and the juice makes an excellent liniment for the chaps of the nipples. A confcrve of it is alfo recommended by fome again!! hypochondriac complaints ; and an ointment made of it with lard, again!! hard fchirrous tumours. Hill, REFERENCES. Bugloss, Spanish Vid. Bruisewort — Bearfoot — Baldmony • — Brimstone-wort — Bird’s Nest — Barba-aron — Balsam Herb — Bullsfoot — Brakes — Alkanet. Sofewort. Black Helebore. Gentian and Felwort. Fennel. Wild Carrot. Cuckow Point. Costmary. Coltsfoot. Fern. Carduus Benedictus, Burnet. Water Agrimony. Herb Christopher. Blessed Thistle Bipennula Bastard Agrimony Bane-berries Cabbages 1 2x6 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} CABBAGES AND COLEWORTS. Erassica. THE I SHALL fpare labour in writing a defcription of thefe, fince almoft every one that can but write at all, may defcribe them from his own knowledge, they being generally fo well known, that descriptions are altogether needlefs. Place. — They are generally planted in gardens. Time. — Their flower time is towards the middle or end of July, and the feed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — They are under the Moon. The Cabbages or Coleworts boiled gently in broth, and eaten, opens the body; but the fecond decodTipn does bind the body. The juice there- of, drank in wine, helps thofe that are bitten by an adder; and the de- codlion of the flowers brings down women’s courfes: being taken with honey, it recovers hoarfenefs, or lofs of the voice. The often eating of them well boiled, helps thofe that are entering into a confumption. The pulp of the middle ribs of Coleworts boiled in almond-milk, and made up into an eleftuary with honey, being taken often, is very pro- fitable for thofe that are purfy and fhort-winded. Being boiled twice, with an old cock in the broth, and drank, it helps the pains and the obftru£Tibns of the liver and fpleen, and the ftone in the kidnies. The juice boiled with honey, and dropped into the corner of the eyes, clears the fight, by confuming any film or cloud beginning to dim it; it alfo confumes the canker growing therein. They are much commended, being eaten before meat, to keep one from furfeiting; as alfo from being drunk with too much wine, or make a man fober again that is drunk before. For, as they fay, there fuch an antipathy or enmity between the Vine and the Coleworts, that the one will die where the other grows. The decodlion of Coleworts takes away the pain and ach, and allays the fweliings of fores and gouty legs and knees, wherein many grofs and watery humours are fallen, tfie place being bathed therewith, warm. It helps alfo old and filthy fores, being bathed therewith, and heals all fmall fcabs, pufhes, and wheals, that break out in the fkin. The alhes of Colewort {Talks mixed with old hogs greafe, are very effectual to anoint the fides of thofe that have had long pains therein, or any other place pained with melancholy and windy humours. This was furely Chryfippus’s God, and therefore he wrote a whole volume of them and their virtues, and he appropriates them to every part of the body, and to every difeafe in every part; and honefl old Cato, they fay, ufed no other phyfic. I know not what metal their bodies were made ot; this I am fure, Cabbages are extremely windy, whether you take them as meat or as medicine; yea, as windy meat as can be eat, unlefs you eat bag-pipes or bellows, and they are but feldom eat in our days. Colewort-flowers are fomething more tolerable, and the wholefomer foed of the two. 7'he Moon challenges the dominion of the herb. The 3tnp.il tick v ea r, froi more, thane : iitili; ter. 'wa- fers flME.- lOVER ilefealli igethe tl: the Iescr •is: t soft up UCE Time Gove feck ' f:; OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 217 THE SEA COLEWORTS. Erassica Marina. Description. — This has divers fomewhat long and broad, large, and thick wrinkled leaves, fomewhat crumpled about die edges, and growing each upon a thick foot-ftalk, very brittle, of a greyith green colour, from among which rifes up a (Irong thick (talk, two feet high and more, with fome leaves thereon to die top, where it branches forth much ; and on every branch (lands a large bufii of pale whitifh flowers, ' confiding of four leaves a-piece; the root is fomewhat great, (hoots forth many branches under ground, keeping the leaves gre.n all the winter. Place. — They grow in many places upon the fea-coafl, as well on the Kentilh as Efl’ex (bores; as at Lid in Kent, Colchefter in Eflex, and divers other places, and in feveral counties. T 1 me. — They flower and feed about the time that other kinds do. Government and Virtues. — The Moon claims the dominion of thefe alfo. The broth, or flrft dccodtion of the Sea Colewort, does by the (harp, nitrous, and bitter qualities therein, open the belly, and purge the body: it cleanfes and digefls more powerfully than the other kind: the feed hereof bruifed and drank, kills worms. The leaves, or the juice of them, applied to (ores or ulcers, cleanfes and heals them, diflolves fwellings, and takes away inflammations. CALAMINT, or MOUNTAIN-MINT. Calamentha V ulgaris Montana. ■ Description. — This is a fmall herb, feldom rifmg above a foot .high, with fquare, hairy, and woody (talks, and two fmall hoary leaves et at a joint, about the bignefs of marjoram, or not much bigger, a little iented about the edges, and of a very fierce or quick feent, as the whole terb is: the flowers (land at feveral fpaces of the (talks, from the middle llmoft upwards, which are fmall and gaping like to thofe of Mints, and )f a pale bluifii colour: after which follow fmall, round, blackilh feed. The root is fmall and woody, with divers fmall (trings fpreading within the ground, and -dies not for many years. Place. — It grows on heaths, uplands, and dry grounds, in many pla- :es of this countr y. T ime. — They flower in July, and their feed is ripe quickly after. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Mercury, and a trong one too, therefore excellently good in all afflictions of the brain} he decodtion of the herb beina: drank, brings down women’s courfes, md provokes urine. It is profitable for thofe that are burden, or xoubled with convulfions or cramps, with (hortnefs of breath, or cho- V ol. I. E e leric 2l8 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAtf; leric torments and pains in their bellies or ftomach; it alfo helps the yellow-jaundice, and flays vomiting, being taken in wine: taken with fait and honey, it kills all manner of worms in the body. It helps fuch as have the leprofy, either taken inwardly, drinking whey after it, or the green herb outwardly applied. It hinders conception in women ; but either burned or ftrewed in the chamber, it drives away venomous ferpents. It takes away black and blue marks in the face, and makes black fears become well coloured, if the green herb (not the dry) be boiled in wine, and laid to the place, or the place waffled therewith. Being applied to the huckle-bone, by continuance of time, it fpends the humours, which caufe the pain of the fciatica. The juice being dropped into the ears, kills the worms in them. The leaves boiled in wine, and drank, provoke fweat, and open obftrudtions of the liver and fpleen. It helps them that have a tertian ague (the body being firft purged) by taking away the cold fits. The decodtion hereof, with fome fugar put thereto afterwards, is very profitable for thofe that are troubled with the overflowing of the gall, and that have an old cough, and that are fcarce able to breathe by fhortnefs of their wind; that have any cold diftemper in their bowels, and are troubled with the hardnefs of the fpleen, for all which purpofes, both the powder called Diacalu- minthes, and the compound fyrup of Calamint (which are to be had at the apothecaries) are the moft effectual. Let not women be too bufy with it, for it works very violent upon the feminine part. COMMON CALAMINT. Calamentha Officinalis. Description. — This Calamint fomewhat refembles the former, but the difference between them is, that the branches of this fort incline more to the ground; the leaves are fmaller, and not fo broad, but more triangular : the flowers are much alike, and the fmell comes pretty neat that of penny-royal. Place. — It grows in the like places with the former. Time. — But flowers rather later. Government and Virtues. — This agrees with the former in it; virtues, efpecially as to the opening deobftruent qualities; and they are ufed promifeuoufly : but this fpecies being to be had in greater plenty than the mountain fort, the apothecaries Ihops are moftly fupplied with it. WATER CALAMINT. Calamentha Aquatic a. Description. — This Calamint, or rather Water-mint, grows tc be about a foot high, or more; with fquare, and fomewhat hairy, ftalks, on which, at every joint, are fet two leaves oppofite, on fhort foot- ftalks. roundifh, (harp-pointed, larger and longer titan the commor Polsimint OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 219 Calamint, indented about the edges. The flowers grow in very thick whorles with the leaves on the upper part of the (lalks; they arelabiated and galeated, being fm all, and purple. The roots are fmall, (lender, and creeping; the whole plant has a ftrong fmell like Water-mint, or the latter Calamint. Place. — It grows in moifl: places, and where water has (lagnated in winter. Time. — And flowers in June. ' Government and Virtues. — As the feent of this plant comes near penny-royal, or the fecond Calamint; fo it is concluded to par- take of their qualities. This is very rarely ufed. WATER-CALTROPS. Nuces Aquatic A. , They are called alfo Tribulus Aquaticus, Tribulus Lacuforis, Tri- buius Marinus, Caltrops, Saligos, Water Nuts, and Water Chef- nuts. 1 Description. — As for the greater fort of Water-Caltrop, it is not found here, or very rarely. Two other forts there are which I fhall here deferibe. The firft has a long creeping and jointed root, fending i forth tufts at each joint, from which joints arife long, flat, (lender, knotted (talks, even to the top of the water, divided towards the top in- to many branches* each carrying two leaves on both fides, being about two inches long, and half an inch broad, thin and ahnoft tranfparent : they look as though they were torn; ttie flowers are long, thick, and whitilh, fet together almoft like a bunch of grapes, which being gone, there fucceeds for the mod part (harp pointed grains altogether, con- taining a fmall white kernel in them. The fecond differs not much from this, fave that it delights in more clear water; its (talks are not flat, but round ; its leaves are not fo long, but more pointed : as for the place, we need not determine, for their name (hews they grow in the water. Place. — They grow in (landing pools and lakes in Cumberland and Weftmoreland. Time. — They are ripe in autumn. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of the Moon, and being made into a poultice, are excellent for hot in- flammations, fwellings, cankers, fore mouths and throats, being wafhed with the decodlion; it cleanfes and (Lengthens the neck and throat, and helps thofe fwellings which, when people have, they fay the almonds of their ears are fallen down;' it is excellent good for the ranknefs of the gums, a fafe and pleafant remedy for the king’s-evil; they are very good for the (tone and gravel, efpecially the nuts being dried ; they alfo refill poifo», and biting of venomous beads. E « z Camomile, 220 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; i -jb CAMOMILE. Anthemis Nobilis. Description. — Sweet fcented Camomile is a perennial plant, fcarce rifing five or fix inches from the ground; the leaves are of a deep green, fragrant, and cut into very fine divifions, three times divided, and the diyifions are narrow. The flowers are large and white. Place. — This fweet plant grows wild with us, on damp heaths, and by waters. Nature presents them to us Angle, and in that ftate they have the greateft virtue, becaufe thofe yellow threads which fill their centre, poflefs it highly; but it is the unluck^ cuftoin to ufe them cul- tivated from the gardens. Time.— -They blow in July and Auguflr, and their feed is ripe foon after. Government and Virtues. — All parts of this excellent plant are full of virtue. The leaves given in infufion like ftrong tea, cures the colic that attends the gravel, and removes pains and flitches in the fide. When given to {Lengthen the ftomach, a tea made ffrong of the finale flowers of the wild Camomile is beff. For the ague, the fame kind of flowers fliould be dried and powdered, -and a fcruple taken once in four hours, and this repeated for four days. An oil diftilled from thefe flowers is excellent in colics; and, what is very Angular, it is blue. In rheumatifm, if the parts affedled are anointed with this oil, and after- wards laid to fweat in bed, it will give eafe. The bathing with a de- codlion of Camomile takes away wearinefs, eafes pains, to what part of the body foever they be applied. It comforts the finews that are over- flrained; mollifies all fwellings: it moderately comforts all parts that have need of warmth, digefls and diffolves whatfoever has need thereof, by a wonderful fpeedy property. It eafes all the pains of the colic and ft one, and all pains and torments of the belly, and gently provokes urine. The flowers boiled in poffet-drink provoke f'weaS, and help to expel all colds, aches and pains whatfoever, and is an excellent help to bring down women’s couries. Syrup made of the juice of Camomile, with the flowers in white wine, is a remedy againft the jaundice and dropfy. The flowers boiled in lee, are good to wafli the head, and comfort both it and the brain. The oil made of the flowers of Camo- mile, is much ufed againft all hard fwellings, pains or aches, fhrinking of die finews, or cramps, or pains in the joints, or any other part of the body. Being ufed in glyfters, it helps to diffolve the wind and pains in the belly; anointed alio, it helps flitches and pains in the Ades. Nicheffor fays, the Egyptians dedicated it to the Sun, becauft it cured agues; and they were like enough to do it, for they were the ar-> ranteft apes in their religion that I ever read of. Bachinus, Bena, and Lobel, commend the fyrup made of the juice of it and fugar, taken in- wardly, to be excellent for the fpleen. Alfo this is certain, that it moft Wonderfully breaks the ftone: fome take it in fyrup or decodlion, others OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 221 injeft the juice of it into the bladder with a fyringe. My opinion is, that the fait of it taken half a dram in the morning in a little white or rhenifh wine, is better than either; that it is excellent for the Hone, appears in this which I have fecn tried, viz. that a done that has been taken out of the body of a man, being placed in Camomile, will in time diflolve, and in a little time too. SEA CAMOMILE. Anthemis Maritima. Description. — The leaves are of a frefh bluifh green, dotted thick, and the cups are downy. The dalk is crimfon, branchy, and fix inches long; but it fcarce rifes from the ground, and the flowers are fmall and white, with a vellowidi difk. Place. — This herb is an inhabitant of our damp grounds, towards the fea; a very pretty creeping plant. Time. — The flower blows in June. Government and Virtues.— Thofe who live about the fea- fcoafts where it is common, ufe an infufion of the flowers for agues, (but their virtues are very inferior to the fweet lcented Camomile, which is far better. i i CAMPION WILD. Lychnis Sylvestris. Description. — The wild white Campion has many long and fome- what broad dark green leaves lying upon the ground, and divers ribs therein, rather like plant;. in, but fomewhat hairy, broader, and not fo long : the hairy flaiks rife up in the middle of them three or four feet high, and fometimes more, with divers great white joints at feverai places thereon, and two fuch like leaves thereat up to the top, fending forth branches at feverai joints alfo; all which bear on feverai foot-dalks white flowers at the tops of them, confiding of five broad pointed leaves, every one cut in on the end unto the middle, making them feem to be two a piece, fmelling fomewhat fweet, and eich of them Handing in a large green driped hairy hufk, large and round below next to the dalk: the feed is fmall and greyifh in the hard heads that come up afterwards. The root is white and long, fpreading divers fangs in the ground. ■ The red wild Campion grows in the fame manner as the white, but his leaves are not fo plainly ribbed, fomewhat fhorter, rounder, and more woolly in handling. The flowers are of the fame form and big— nefs ; but in fome of a pale, in others of a bright red colour, cut in at the ends more finely, which makes the leaves look more in number than the other. The feed and the roots are alike ; the roots of both forts abiding many years. There are forty-five kinds of Campion more, thofe of them which are of a phyfical ufe, having the like virtues with thofe above defcribed, which I take to be the two chiefeft kinds. Place. 222 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; SCI Place. —They grow commonly through this country by fields anc hedge-fides, and ditches. Time. — They flower in fummer, but not all at one time, and fomc abide longer than others. Government and Virtues. — -They belong to Saturn; and it i; found by experience, that the decodlion of the herb, either in white 01 red wine being drank, does flay inward bleedings, and applied outwardly, it does the like; and being drank, helps to expel urine being flopped, and gravel and flone in the reins or kidnies. T wo drams of the feed drank in wine, purges the body of choleric humours, and helps thofc that are flung by fcorpions, or other venomous beafls, and may be as effectual for the plague. It is of very good ufe in old fores, ulcers, cankers, fiflulas, and the like, to cleanfe and heat them, by confirming the moifl humours falling into them, and correcting the putrefaction of ; humours offending them. Parkinfon fays, that the white flowers of the firfl have been ufed with fuccefs againft the fluor albus, and that the red flowers have had the fame effect againft the excels of the catamenia, and are both good to ftop inward and outward bleeding. Diofcorides commepds the feed againft tire bites of all kinds of venomous creatures. that i Time Gove figni Cemol Bps the CAPERS, or CAPER-BUSH. Gapparis. Description. — It has a large woody root, from whence proceed various fhoots, armed with ftiort hooked prickles, and on which the leaves are alternately difpofed, which are almoft round, half an inch broad, and very bitter. The flowers proceed from the hollows where the leaves join to the flalk, confifting of four reddifh leaves, which is afterwards fucceeded by a fmall fruit fhaped like a pear; this grows to the fize of an olive, and contains many fmalb whitifh feeds, almoft in the fhape of a kidney. What we call capers, are the buds of the flowers before they are opened, which are pickled for the ufe of the kitchen. Place. — It is very difficult to preferve thefe plants in England; the capers which are fold in the fhops pickled, are gathered in the fouthern parts of France, and in Italy, where they grow in fandy and ftony places. Government and Virtues. — This is a plant of Mars, hot and dry, and fomewhat aftringent. The bark of the root is aperient, and diffolvent; it opens obftrudtions of the liver and fpleen, is good in hypo- chondrical cafes, and helps the rickets. It fhould be taken in powder, orinfufion; in which form it is recommended in indigeftions. It pro- motes urine, brings down women’s courfes, improves the appetite, and fortifies the ftomach. Disc bes, 1 h Carduus OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 223 CARDUUS BENEDICTUS. Carduus. Df.script ion. — It is called Carduus Benedi<51us,or Blefled Thiftle, or Holy Thiffcle j I fuppoi’e the name was put upon it by fome that haa j little hoiineis in themfelves. I fhalt l'pare labour in writing a description of ibis, as almoft every one that can but write at all, may defcribe them from his own know- |j ledge. i | T ime. — They flower in Auguft, and feed not long after. 1 1 Government and V irtues. — It is an herb of Mars, and under the lign ArLs. Now, in handling this herb, I ihall give you a rational 1 pattern of all the reft : and if you pleafe to view them throughout the book, you ihall, to your content, find it true. It helps fwi minings and Igiddinefs of the head, or the difeafe called vertigo, becaufe Aries is in tii houlc of Mars. It is an excellent remedy againft the yellow jaun- dice, and other infirmities of the gall, becaufe Mars governs choler. It (ftrengthens the attractive faculty in man, and clarifies the blood, becaufe the one is ruled by Mars. The continual drinking the decoction of it, helps red faces, tetters, and ring-worms, becaufe Mars caufes them. It helps the plague, fores, boils, and itch, the bitings of mad dogs and ve- nomous beaus, all which infirmities are under Mars; thus you fee what it does by iympathy. By antipathy to other planets, it cures the venereal. By antipathy to Venus, who governs it, it ftrengthens the memory; and cures deafriefs, by antipathy to Saturn, who has his fall in Aries, which rules the head. It cures quartan agues, and other difeafes of melancholy, and aduft choler, by fympathy to Saturn, Mars being exalted in Capricorn. Alfo it provokes urine, the flopping of which is ufually caufed by Mars or the Moon. CARRAWAY. Carum Vulgare. Description. — It bears divers ftalks of fine cut leaves, lying upon the ground, fomewhat like to the leaves of carrots, but not bulliing fo thick, of a little quick tafte in them, from among which rifes up a fquare ftalk, not fo high as the carrot, at whofe joints are fet the like leaves, but fmaller and fitter, and at the top, finall open tufts, or um- bels of white flowers, which turn into l'mall blackifh feed, fmaller than the annifeed, and of a quicker and better tafte. The root is whitilh, fmall, and long, fomewhat like unto a parfnip, but with more wrinkled bark, and much lefs, of a little hot and quick tafte, ftronger than the parfnip, and abides after feed-time. Place. — It is ufually Town with us in gardens, though it is often found wild. Time. 224 TflE FAMILY PHYSICIAN* Timb. — They flower in June and July, and feed quickly after. Government and Virtues. — This is alfo a mercurial plant Carraway-feed hath a moderate fliarp quality, whereby it breaks wind and provokes urine, which alfo the herb doth. The root is better fooc than the parfnips; it is pleafant and comfortable to the ftomach, anc helps digeftion. The feed is conducing to all cold complaints of the heac and ftomach, bowels, or mother, as alfo the wind in them, and helps t( fharpen the eye-fight. The powder of the feed put into a poultice takes away all black and blue foots of blows and bruifes. The herb itfelf or v/ith fome of the feed bruifed and fried, laid hot in a b2g, 01 double cloth, to the lower parts of the belly, eafes the pains of the wind' colic. The roots of Carraways eaten as men eat parfnips, ftrengthen the ftomachs of ancient people exceedingly, and they need not to .make whole meal of them neither; and are fit to be planted in every garden. Carraway confects once only dipped in fugar, and half a fpoonful oi them eaten in the morning fafting, and as many after each meal, is a moft admirable, remedy for thofe that are troubled with wind. CARROTS. Daucus. Garden-Carrots are fo well known, that they need no defeription;! but becaufe they are of lefs phyfical ufe than the wild kind (as indeed almoft in all herbs the wild are moft effectual in phyiic, as being more powerful in operation than the garden kinds), I fhall therefore briefly , deferibe the Wild-carrot. Description. — It grows in a manner altogether like the tame, I fiiut that the leaves and ftalks are fomewhat whiter and rougher. The ; llalks bear large tufts of white flowers, v/ith a deep purple fpot in the middle, which are contracted together when the feed begins to ripen, that the middle part being hollow and low, and the outward ftalk rifing i high, makes the v/hole umbel fhew like a bird’s neft. The roots I are fmall, long, hard, and unfit for meat, being fomewhat fharp and ftrong. Place. — The wild kind grows in divers parts of this land plenti- fully by the field-fides, and untilled places. Time. — They flower and feed in the end of fummer. Government and Virtues. — Wild Carrots belong to Mercury, and therefore break wind, and remove ftitches in the fides, provoke urine and women’s courfes, and help to break and expel the ftone; the feed alfo of the fame, works the like effedf, and is good for the dropfy, and thofe whofe bellies are fwollen with v/ind ; helps the colic, the ftone in the kidnies, and rifing of the mother ; being taken in wine, or boiled in wine, and taken, it helps conception. The leaves being applied with honey to Tunning fores or ulcers, cleanles them. The The feed infufed in ale, is accounted an excellent diuretic, and good to prevent the ftone, and to render its fits lefs violent; it brings away gravel, and provokes urine, as it does alfo the menfes ; and is ufeful in jterine and hyfteric diforders. CATMINT. Nepeta Mentha Cattaria. Description. — Catmint has tall, fquare, hoary ftalks, pretty much 1 [branched, having at the joints two pretty large foftifh leaves, in ihape ike thofe of dead-nettle, whitifh and hoary underneath, and green above, et on long footftalks. The flowers grow on the tops of the branches, n long handfome whorled fpikes of white flowers, galeated and labiated; he galea is cut into two, and the labella into three fedlions ; they are et in open five-cornered calyces, in which grow the feed. The root is A'hite and woody, and fpreads much. It has a ftrong feent between faint and penny-royal. It is called Catmint, becaufe the cats are very ond of it, efpecially when a little flaccid and withered, for then they fall roll themfelves on it, and chew it in their mouths with great jileafure. Place. — It grows in lanes and hedges. Time. — Flowers in the fummer-months. Government and Virtues. —It is a martial herb, and confifts of warming and attenuating parts, fomewhat like penny-royal ; and like :hat, is of great fervice in opening ob ft ructions of the womb, and help- ng the green-ficknefs, as alfo the fuffocation of the womb and va- )ours. It promotes the birth and cleanfing ; and by fome authors is .'ecommended againft barrennefs. IB i COMMON SMALLAGE. Apium Graveolens. Description. — The roots of Smallage are about a finger thick, wrinkled, and finking deep in the earth, of a white colour, from which fpring many winged leaves, fomewhat relembling parfley, but are larger, of a yellower colour, each fingle leaf being fomewhat three fquare; the ftalks grow to be two or three feet high, fmooth channelled, rather angular, and very much branched ; at the divifion of the branches, come forth umbels of fmall yellowifh flowers, followed by feed lels than pari- ley-feed, paler and hotter. The whole plant is of a ftrong ungrateful favour. Place. — It grows in marfhy, watery places. Time. — Flowers and ripens feed in the fummer months. Government and Virtues. -»-Like carrots and carraway, it is under Mercury. The roots are diuretic, very good for the ftop- page of urine, and the ftone and gravel ; they open obftruebions of the liver and fpleen ; help the dropfy and jaundice ; and remove female ob- Vol. I. • ‘ F f ftruiftions. 226 the family physician; fcrudfions. The leaves are of the fame nature, and are one of the herb which are eaten in the fpring, to fweeten and purify the blood, and hel the fcurvy: the feed is hot and carminative, and is one of the four lefle hot feeds, as the root is one of the five opening roots. The rooti leaves, and feed, are ufed, k The only officinal preparation taking its name from Smallage, is tbi Unguentum ex apio. WILD PARSNEP. Pastinacha Sylvestris. Description. — The Wild is much lefs than the Garden Parfne; both as to the thicknefs of its roots, and the tallnefs of its {talks, whic are not fo much branched as that ; tire leaves are fmaller, hairy, and i a fironger fmell. The flowers are fmall and yellow, grov/ing not on. on the top, but coming forth from the fides of the {talks, at the fettin. on of the leaves, and are fucceeded by the like feed. Place. — It grows frequently by hedges and way-fides. Time. — Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — They are under Mercury; a good to open obft ructions of the liver and fpleen, to expel wind, and he. the colic, to provoke urine and the menfes ; and are ufeful againft tl bitings of venomous creatures. Vide Common Parfnep, Water Parfricp , and Cow Parfnep, Jin \1 GREAT CELANDINE. Chelidonium Majus. Description. — This has divers tender, round, whitifh green ftalk with greater joints than ordinary in other herbs as it were knees, vei brittle and eafy to break, from whence grow branches with large ter der broad leaves, divided into many parts, each of them cut in on tl! edges, let at the joint on both fides of the branches, of a dark bluii green colour, on the upper fide like columbines, and of a more pa bluifh green underneath, full of yellow fap; when any part is broken, < a bitter tafle, and ftrong fcent. At the flowers, of four leaves a-piecc til] h k after which come fmall long pods, with blackifti feed therein. Tl root is fomewhat great at the head, {hooting forth divers long roots ar fmall firings, reddilh on the outfide, and yellow within, full of yellow fa Place,- They grow in many places by old walls, hedge, and wa] fides, in untilled places ; and being once planted in a garden, efpecial fome fliady places, it will remain there. Time. — They flower all the fummer long, and the feed ripens i the mean time. Government and Virtues, — This is an herb of the Sun, ar: under the celeftiaJLion : it is one of the befl cures for the eyes; fo all that know any thing in aftrology, know that the eyes are fubjedt ' " tl OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 227 the luminaries: let it then be gathered when the Sun is in Leo, and the Moon in Aries, applying to this time ; let Leo arife, then may you make it into an od or ointment, which you pleafe, to anoint your fore eyes with: I can prove it docs both by my own experience, and the ex- perience of thofe to whom I have taught it, that moft defperate fore eyes have been cured by this only medicine; and then I pray, is not this far better than endangering the eyes by the art of the needle? For if this does not abfolutely take away the film, it will facilitate the work, that it may be done wuthout danger. The herb or root boiled in white . wine, and drank, a few annifeeds being boiled therewith, opens ob- ' druftions of the liver and gall, helps the yellow jaundice; and often iufing it, helps the dropfy and the itch, and thofe that have old fores in their legs, or other parts of the body. The juice thereof taken fading, is held to be of fingular good ufe againft the peftilence. The di {filled water, widi a little fugar and a little good treacle mixed therewith (the party upon the taking being laid down to fweat a little) has the fame effedf. The juice dropped in the eyes, cleanfes them from films and cloudinefs which darken the fight ; but it is bed to allay the fharpnefs ot the juice with a little bread-milk. It is good in old filthy, corroding creeping ulcers wherefoever, to day their malignity of fretting and running, and to caufe them to heal more fpeedily: the juice often ap- plied to tetters, ring-worms, or other fuch like fpreading cankers, will .quickly heal them ; and, rubbed often upon warts, will take them away. jThe herb, with the roots bruifed and bathed with oil of camomile, and applied to the navel, takes away the griping pains in the belly and bowels, and all the pains of the mother; and, applied to women’s breads, days the overmuch flowing of the courfes. The juice or decoction of the ' herb gargled between the teeth that ach, eales the pain; and the powder of the dried root laid upon any aching, hollow'', or loofe tooth, will icaufe it to fall out. The juice, mixed with fome powder of brimdone, is not only good againd die itch, but takes away all difcolourings of the {kin whatfoever; and if it chance diat in a tender body it caufes any itchings or inflammations, by badiing the place with a little vinegar, it [is helped. Another ill-favoured trick have fome phyficians got to ufe to the eye, and that is worfe than the needle ; which is to take away films by cor- roding or gnawing medicines. This I abfolutely proted againd. I I. Becaufe the tunicles of the eyes are very thin, and therefore foon eaten afunder. 2. The callus or film that they would eat away, is feldom of an equal thicknefs in every place, and then the tunicle may be eaten afun- der in one place, before the film be confumed in another ; and fo be a readier w'ay to extinguifh the fight, dian to redore it. It is called CheTidonium, from the Greek word Chelidon, which fignifies a Swallow, becaufe they fay, that if you put out the eyes of youpg fwallows when they are in the ned, the old ones will recover their eyes again with this herb. This I am confident, for I have tried F f 2 it, 228 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; it, that if we marr the very apple of their eyes with a needle, fhe will recover them again; but whether with this herb, I know not. Alfo I have read (and it feems to oe fomewhat probable) that the herb being gathered as I fhewed before, ana the elements drawn apart from it by art of the alchymift, and after they are drawn apart rectified, the earthy quality, flill in rectifying them, added to the Terra damnata (as alchymifts call it) or Terra facratiffima (as fome philofophers call it) the elements io rectified are fufficient for the cure of all difeafes, the humours offending being known, and the contrary element given: it is an experiment worth the trying, and can do no harm. LESSER CELANDINE. Chelidonium Minor. Description. — This Celandine, or more properly Pilewort or Fogwort, fpreads many round pale green leaves, fet on weak and trail- ing branches, which lie upon the ground, and are flat, fmooth, and fomewhat Aiming, and in fome places, though feldom, marked with black fpots, each ftanding on a long foot-ftalk, among which rife fmall yellow flowers, confifting of nine or ten fmall narrow leaves, upon, flender foot-ftalks, very like unto crowsfoot, whereunto the feed alfo is not diflimilar, being many fmall kernels like a grain of corn, fometimes twice as long as others, of a whitifh colour, with fome fibres at the1 min end of them. Place. — It grows for the moft part in moift corners of fields, and places that are near water-fides ; yet will abide in drier ground if they be but a little fiiady. Time. — It flowers betimes about March or April, is quite gone by May, fo that it cannot be found till it fpring again. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mars; i loody. and behold here another verification of the learning of the ancients, viz. that the virtue of an herb may be known by its fignature, as plainly ap- pears in this ; for if you dig up the root of it, you fliail perceive the exadt image of the difeafe which they commonly call the Piles. It is cer- tain by good experience, that the decodtion of the leaves and roots does uu wonderfully help piles and haemorrhoids, alfo kernels by the ears and ^ throat, called the king’s-evil, or any other hard wens or tumours. Here is another fecret for my countrymen and women, a couple of them together; Pilewort made into an oil, ointment, or plaifter, rea- dily cures both the piles, or haemorrhoids, and the king’s-evil: the very ] herb borne about one’s body next the fkin, helps in fuch difeafes, though it never touch the place grieved: let poor people make much of it for thofe ufes; with this I cured my own daughter of the king’s-evil, broke the fore, drew out a quarter of a pint of corruption, and healed without L, any fear at all in one week’s time. ;:V-K ' ':E Pt4( Yellow OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 229 YELLOW HORNED POPPY. Chelidonium Glaucum. Description.' — This is but another fpecie of the Celandine, of which we have already treated, and given the reprefentation with this. The root is long and thick at the head, divided into branches which fix themfelves pretty deep in the earth ; from which fpring bluifh-green winged leaves divided generally into five parts, fomewhat like colum- bines, but longer, the fe&ion at the end being the largeft. The ftalks grow to be a foot or more high, full of thick joints or knees, having two fmaller leaves at each joints the flowers growfeveral together upon a foot-ftalk three or four inches long, each having a fhorter of its own; they coniift of four fmall yellow leaves, included in calyces of two hol- low parts ; and after they are fallen, which they foon do, they are fol- lowed by pretty long narrow pods, full of fmall, round, fhining black feed. Every part of the plant, when broken, emits a yellow, bitter, acrid juice. Place. — It grows among wade grounds and rubbilh, upon walls and buildings. T 1 me. — And flowers in May. Government and Virtues. — Like its fpecies, it is under the Sun in Leo; and is apperitive and cleanfing, opening obftrudtions of the fpleen and liver, and of great ufe in curing the jaundice and feurvy: fome reckon it cordial, and a good antidote againft the plague. Some quantity of it is put into aqua mirabilis. Outwardly it is ufed for fore eyes,1 to dry up the rheum, and take away fpecks and films, as alfo againft tetters and ring-worms, and feurfy breakings-out. The root dried and powdered, is a balfamic and fub-aftringent. It is given againft bloody-fluxes, and in other haemorrhages, half a dram for a dofe. Hill. GREAT CENTAURY. Centaurium Majus. I 1 Description. — The Great Centaury has a large root, of a reddifh colour on the outfide, running deep into the ground: from which arife many large long leaves, green above, whitilh and hoary underneath, deeplv cut into feveral feftions, which are ferrated about the edges; though fometimes they are whole, and not cut in at all, but only ferrated : the ftalks grow to be five or fix feet high, thick, and divided into fe- veral branches, on which grow fmaller and more divided leaves; at the' end of them come forth large round fcaly heads, out of which arife a clufter of fiftular purplifh flowers, which afterwards turn into down, in- clofing fliining longilh feed. Place.— It generally grows upon high and dry grounds, but is fel- dom found wild, only in the gardens of the curious. Time. — Flowers in July. Govern- THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 23O Government and Virtues. — It is under the Sun. The root, which is the only part ufed, is drying and binding, and good for ail kinds of fluxes ; flops bleeding either at nofe or mouth, or any other part; and is of great ufe to heal wounds, taking its name, fays Pliny, from the Centaur Chiron, who cured himfelf of a wound he received by one of the arrows of Plercules, by the ufe of this plant. It is very rarely ufed ; the next article being better adapted for phyflcal purpofes, we have given an engraved reprefentation of it. TPIE ORDINARY SMALL CENTAURY. Centaurium Minum, Description. — This grows up mod ufually but with one round and fomewhat crufted {talk, about a foot high or better, branching forth at the top into many fprigs, and feme alfo from the joints of the Italics be- low; the flowers thus {land at the tops as it were in one umble or tuft, are of a pale red, tending to carnation colour, confiding of five, fome- times fix fmall leaves, very like thofe of St. John’s-wort, opening t’nem- felves in the day time, and clofing at night; after which come feeds in little fhort hulks, in form like unto wheat corn. The leaves are fmall and fomewhat round; the root fmall and hard, perilhing every year. The whole plant is of an exceeding bitter tade. There is another fort in all things like the former, fave only it bears white flowers. Place. — They grow ordinarily in fields, padures, and woods; but that with the white flowers not fo frequently as the other. Time. — They flower in July or thereabouts, and feed within a month - after. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of the Sun, as appears in that their flowers open and fliut as the fun either fhews or hides his face. This herb, boiled and drank, purges choleric and grofs humours, and helps the fciatica; it opens obfl.udtions of the liver, gall, and fpleen, helps the jaundice, and eafes the pains in the fides, and nardnefs of the fpleen, ufed outwardly ; and is given with very good effedt in agues. It helps thofe that have the dropfy, or the green-ficknefs, being much ufed by the Italians in powder for that pur- pofe. It kills the worms in the belly, as is found by experience. The decoction thereof, viz. the tops of the ftalks, with the leaves and flowers, is good againft the colic, and to bring down women’s courfes; helps to void the dead birth, eafes pains of the mother, and is very effectual in all old pains of the joints, as the gout, cramps, or convulfions. A dram of the powder thereof taken in wine, is a wonderful good help againft the biting and poifon of an adder. The juice of the herb with a little honey put to it, is good to clear the eyes from dimnefs, mills and clouds, that offend or hinder fight. It is fingularly good both for green and frefh wounds, as alfo for old ulcers and fores, to clofe up the one, Plac s are; scorn OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 231 one, and cleanfe the other, and perfectly to cure them both, although they are hollow or Aftulous; the green herb efpecially being bruifed and laid thereto. The decoction, alfo, dropped into the ears, cleanfes them from worms, clears the foul ulcers and fpreading fcabs of the head, and takes away all freckles, fpots, and marks in the fkin, being walhed with it ; the herb is fo fafe you cannot fail in the ufing of it, only giving it inwardly for inward difeafes. It is very wholefome, but not very pleafant. There is, befides thefe, another ftnall Centaury, which bears a yel- low flower; in all other refpedts it is like the former, fave that the leaves are bigger, and of a darker green, and the ftalk pafl'es through the midlt of them, as it does the herb thorowan. They are all of them, as I told you, under the government of the Sun: yet this, if you i : obferve it, you lhall find an excellent truth ; in difeafes of the blood, ufe the red Centaury; if of choler, ufe the yellow; but if phlegm or water, ; you will find the white beft. , BLACK CHERRY-TREE. Cerasus Nigra. Description. — This grows to be a pretty tall tree, whofe branches are covered with roundifh marp pointed leaves, ferrated about the edges. i The bloifoms or flowers precede the leaves, growing feveral together upon long foot-ftalks, of Angle white leaves, cut into five parts, with feveral ftamina in the middle let upon the rudiments of the fruit, which grows to be roundifh, lefs than the red Cherry, having a hard ftone in the middle, covered with a pleafant pulp, yielding a purple juice. Place. — This trfee grows wild in feveral parts of England, and is likewife planted in gardens for the fruit. Time.— It flowers in April ; the fruit being ripe in July. 3 Government and Virtues.— It is under Venus. Black Cher- ries are accounted cordial and cephalic, and uferul in all difeafes of the head and nerves, as cpilepfy, convulfions, palfies,- and the like. They are commended by fome for the ftone, gravel, and ftoppage of urine. Officinal preparations are only the diftilled water, which is of more ufe in modern practice than any other fimple water whatever. The gum, which is found on the trunk and branches, is of the fame nature with gum arabic, and may be ufed for the fame purpofes, as in the ftrangury, heat of urine, See. A garrifon confiding of more than a hundred men were kept alive during a fiege of two months, without any other food than this gum, a little of which they frequently took in their mouths, and fuffered it to difiolve gradually. The kernels were formerly fuppofed to poflefs very great and Angular efficacy in apoplexies, palfies, and nervous diforders in general; and a water diftilled from them was long made ufe of as a remedy for thofe fits which young children are frequently troubled with. But Ance.the poifonous 232 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; poifonous qualities of laurel water (another fpecies of cherry) have been difcovered, it has been found that the water drawn from the kernels of Black Cherries, when made ftrong, is little lefs noxious, and there is every reafon to believe that many hundreds of children have loft their lives by this unfufpecfted medicine. RED CHERRIES. Cerasus Rubra. Description. — This tree grows hardly fo high as the former, fpreading its branches more abroad: the flowers and leaves are much alike; but the fruit is much larger, of a red colour, and a fharper tafte. Place. — Common in every orchard. T ime. — The fruit is ripe in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is a tree of Venus. Cherries, as they are of different taftes, fo they are of different qualities. The fweet pals through the ftomach and the belly more fpeedily, but are of little nourifhment; the tart or four are more pleafing to an hot fto- mach, procure appetite to meat, and help to cut tough phlegm, and grofs humours; but when thefe are dried, they are more binding to the belly than when they are frefh, being cooling in hot difeafes, and wel- come to the ftomach, and provoke urine. The gum of the Cherry- tree, diffolved in wine, is good for a cold, cough, and hoarfenefs of the throat; mends the colour in the face, fharpens the eye-fight, pro- vokes appetite, and helps to break and expel the ftone; the Black Cher- ries bruifed with the ftones, and diffolved, the water thereof is much ufed to break the ftone, and to expel gravel and wind. I in th 1 I ’ :> I I lore I In: ft I I ] IK I r,. I The t 1 blit tB WINTER-CHERRIES, or BLADDER SOLANUM. Alkekengi. Description. — The Winter Cherry has a running or creeping root in the ground, of the bignefs many times of one’s little finger, (hooting forth at feveral joints in feveral places, whereby it quickly fpreads a great compafs of ground. The ftalk rifes not above a yard high, whereon are fet many broad and long green leaves, fomewhat like nightfhade, but larger ; at the joints whereof come forth whitifh flowers made of five leaves a piece, which afterwards turn into green berries inclofed with thin fkins, which change to be reddifh when they grow ripe, the berry likewife being reddifh, and as large as a Cherry; wherfein are contained many flat and yellowifh feeds lying within the pulp, which being gathered and ftrung up, are kept all the year to be ufed upon occafion. Place. — They grow not naturally in this country, but are cherifhed in gardens for their virtues. ! Du; pare : r-iVii 1% Ifrfl pud ( pres pi v,T pr tii ;i ; I I B< Pay [ Pin: Time. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 233 Time. — They flower not until the middle or latter end of July; and the fruit is ripe about Auguft, or the beginning of September. Government and Virtues.— This alfo is a plant of Venus. They arc of great ufe in phyfic: the leaves being cooling, may be ufed in inflammations, but not opening as the berries and fruit are; which, by drawing down the urine, provoke it to be avoided plentifully, when it is flopped or grown hot, fharp, and painful in the paffage; it is «ood alfo to expel the ftone and gravel out of the reins, kidnies, and bladder, helping to did >jve the ftone, and voiding it by grit or gravel fent forth in the urine; it alfo helps much to cleanfe inward impofthumes or ulcers in the reins or bladder, or in thofe that void a bloody or foul urine. The diftillcd water of the fruit, or the leaves together with them, or the berries, green or dry, diftillcd with a little milk, and drank morn- ing and evening with a little iugar, is effectual to all the purpofes be- fore fpecified, and efpecially againft the heat and fharpnefs of the urine. I Ihall only mention one way, amongft many others, which might be tiled for ordering the berries, to be helpful for the urine and the ftone; which is this: take three or four good handfuls of the berries, either green or frefh, or dried, and having bruifed them, put them into fo many gallons of beer or ale when it is new tunned up: this drink, taken daily, has been found to do much good to many, both to eale the pains and expel urine and the ftone, and to caufe tire ftone not to engender. The decodlion of. the berries in wine and water is the nroft ulual way; but the powder of them taken in drink is more effectual. 1. COMMON CLEAVERS. 2. NORTHERN CLEAVERS. 3. LITTLE CLEAVERS, or GOOSE-GRASS. Aparine. Description. — The Common Cleavers have divers very rough fquare ftalks, not fo big as the top of a point, but rifing up to be two or three yards high fometimes, if it meet with any tall bullies or trees whereon it may climb, yet without any clafpers, or^elfe much lower, i and lying on the ground full of joints, and at every one of them Ihoots f forth a branch, befides the leaves thereat, which are ufually fix, fetin a { round compafs like a flat, or the rowel of a fpur: from between the leaves or the joints towards the tops of the branches, come forth very fmall white flowers, at every end, upon fmall thready foot-ftalks, which, after they have fallen, {hew two fmall round and rough feeds joined 1 together, like two tefticles; which, when they are ripe, grow hard and v/hitilh, having a little hole on the fide, fomething like unto a na~ 1 vel. Both ftalks, leaves, and feeds are fo rough, that they will cleave to any thing that may touch them. The root is’ fmall and thready, fpreading much to the ground, but dies every year, i V01A • ■ Gg Place. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 234 Place.— It grows by the hedge and ditch Tides in many places of this country ; and is To troubleibme an inhabitant in gardens, that it ramps upon, and is ready to choalc, whatever grows near it. Time. — It flowers in June or July, and the feed is ripe and falls ao-ain in the end of July or Auguft, from whence it fprings up again, and not from the old roots. Government and Virtues.— It is under the dominion of the Moon. The juice of the herb and the feed together, taken in wine, helps thofe bitten with an adder, by preferving the heart from the ve- nom. It is familiarly taken in broth to keep thofe lean and lank, that are apt to grow fat. The diftilled water drank twice a-day helps the yellow-jaundice; and the decoftion of the herb, by experience, is found to do the fame, and flays lafks and bloody- fluxes. The juice of the leaves, or the leaves, a little bruifed and applied to any bleeding wounds, flays the bleeding. The juice alfo is very good to clofe up the lips of green wounds, and the powder of the dried herb ftrewed thereupon docs the fame, and likewife helps old ulcers. Being boiled in hogs greafe, it helps all forts of hard fwellings or kernels in the throat, being anointed therewith. The juice dropped into the ears takes away the pain of them. It is a good remedy in the fpring, eaten (being firft chopped fmall, and boiled well) in water-gruel, to cleanfe the blood, and ftrengthen the liver, thereby to keep the body in health, and fitting it for the coming change of feafon. CINQUEFOIL. Potentilla Fruticosa. Description. — Cinquefoil, fometimes called Five-leaved Grafs, and in fome counties Five-fingered Grafs, fpreads and creeps far upon the ground, with long flender firings like ftrawberries, which take root again, and fhoot forth many leaves made of five parts, and fometimes of feven, dented about the edges, and fomewhat hard. The ftalks are {lender, leaning downwards, and bear many fmall yellow flowers there- on, with fome ydlow threads in the middle, Handing about a fmooth green head, which, when it is ripe, is a little rough, and contains fmall brownifli feed. The root is of a blackifh brown colour, as big as one’s little finger, but growing long, with fome threads thereat ; and by the fmall firings it quickly fpreads over the ground. Place. — It grows by wood-fides, hedge-fides, the path-way in fields, and in the borders and corners of them, almoft through all this land. Time. — It flowers in fummer, fome fooner, fome later. Government and Virtues. — This is an herb of Jupiter, and therefore {Lengthens the part of the body it rules; let Jupiter be angular and ftrong when it is gathered; and if you give a fcruple (which is but twenty grains) of it at a time, either in white wine, or in white-wine vinegar, you fhall very feldom mifs the cure of an ague, be it what ague foever, OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 235 foever, in three fits, as I have often proved, to the admiration both of myi'elt and others; let no man defpife it becaufe it is plain and eafy, the ways of God are all luch. It is an efpecial herb ufed in all inflamma- tions and fevers, whether infectious or peftilential; or among other herbs to cool and temper the blood and humours in the body. As alfo for all lotions, gargles, infections, and the like, for fore mouths, ulcers, cancers, fiflulas, and other corrupt, foul, or running fores. The juice hereof drank, about four ounces at a time, for certain days together, cures the quinfey and yellow-jaundice; and, taken for thirty days to- gether, cures the falling-ficknels. The roots boiled in milk, and drank, is a molt effectual remedy for all fluxes in man or woman, whether the white or red, as all’o the bloody-flux. The roots boiled in vinegar, and the deception thereof held in the mouth, eafes the pain of the tooth-ach. The juice or decoCtion taken with a little honey, helps the hoarfenefs of the throat, and is very good for the cough of the lungs. The diftilled water of both roots and leaves is alfo effectual to all the purpofes afore- faid; and if the hands be often wafhed therein, and differed at every time to dry in of itfelf without wiping, it will in a fhort time help the palfy, or fhaking in them. The root boiled in vinegar, helps all knots, kernels, hard 1'wellings, and lumps growing in any part of the fielh, being thereto applied; as alfo inflammations, and St. Anthony’s fire, all impofthumes, and painful fores with heat and putrefaCton; the fhingles alfo, and all other forts of running and foul fcabs, fores, and itch. The fame alfo boiled in wine, and applied to any joint full of pain, ach, or the gout in the hands or feet, or the hip gout, called the lciatica; and the decoction thereof drank the while, cures them, and cafes much pain in the bowels. The roots are likewil'e effectual to help ruptures or burltings, being ufed with other things available to that purpofe, taken either inwardly or outwardly, or both; as alfo bruiles or hurts by blows, falls, or the like, and t6 Itay the bleeding of wounds in any parts inward or outward. CHICKPEASE, or CICERS. Cicer Album, Rubrum et Nigrum. Description. — This is a kind of pulfe which grows to be about a foot and halfi or two feet high, with round hairy italks, on which are fet, in an alternate Order, long, hairy, pinnated leaves, confiding of feven or nine fmall, oblong, round-pointed pinnae, ferrated about the edges with an odd one at the end; but thefe pinnae do not always Hand direCUy oppofite. From the bofom of the leaves arifes a fingle flower, and fometimes two, which are Imall and white, lefs than pea-blolfoms, on long foot-ftalks, and are fucceedcd by Ihort thick hairy pods, each containing one or two ciches, of a colour, bigger than peas, but round like them, only fomewhat fharp-pointed at one fide. "I he cicer nigrum G g 2 et THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 236 et rubrum differ in nothing from the white, but in the colour of the flower, which is purplifh, and the feed of a reddifh brown. Place and Time. — They are fown in gardens, or fields, as peafe, being fown later than peafe, and gathered at the fame time with them, or prefently after. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of Venus. They are lefs windy than beans, but nourifh more ; they pro- voke urine, and are thought to increafe fperm; they have a cleanfing faculty, whereby they break the ftone in the kidnies. To drink the cream, being boiled in water, is the beft way. It moves the belly downwards, provokes women’s courfes and urine, increafes both milk and feed. One ounce of Cicers, two ounces of French barley, and a fmall handful of marfh-mallow roots, clean waflied and cut, being boiled in the broth of a chicken, and four ounces taken in the morning, and faffing two hours after, is a good medicine for a pain in the Tides. The white Cicers are ufed more for meat than medicine, yet have the fame eft e£f, and are thought more powerful to increafe milk and feed. The wild Cicers are fo much more powerful than the garden kinds, by how much they exceed them in heat and drynefs ; whereby they do more open obftruciions, break the ftone, and have all the properties of cut- ting, opening, digefting, and difl'olving; and this more fpeedily and certainly than the former. CHESNUT-TREE. Castanea. Description. — The Chefnut is a handfome beautiful tree, -and frequently planted in parks for its agreeable fhade. It is thick-fet, with long, fomewhat narrow, and fharp-pointed leaves, deeply ferrated about the edges. 1 he catkins are long, thin, and flender; and the fruit in- clofed in a round echinated prickly hulk or cover, two or three together; having a thin brittle frnooth bark or coat of that brown colour, which gives name to the Chefnut colour; and under it a tender fine fkin im- mediately covering the white fruit, which is of a plealant fweet tafte, efpecialiy when roafted. Place. — It is ufually planted as an ornament in parks and other places. i ime.- — The fruit is ripe at the end of fummer. r Government and V irtues. — Chefnuts are more ufed for food, efpeciaily in the warmer countries, than medicine, though they are but a windy Huffing diet. They are accounted reftringent and binding, efpeciaily the inward fkin, which fome pretend to be good for all kinds of fluxes, either of blood or humours. The tree is abundantly under the dominion of Jupiter, and therefore the fruit rauft needs breed good blood, and yield commendable nourilhment to the body; yet, if eaten over-much, they make the blood thick, procure head-ach, and bind the body: tne inner fkin, that covers the nut, is of fo binding a quality, that OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. -37 Si fcruple of it being taken by a man, or ten grains by a child, foon any flux what fo ever: the whole nut being dried and beaten into oiler, and a dram taken at a time, is a good remedy to flop the terms fipmen. If you dry Chefnuts, (only the kernels I mean) both the ar being taken away, beat them into powder, and make the powder pito an electuary with honey, lb have you an admirable remedy for jlljugh and fpitting of blood. lis very doubtful whether the wild Chefnut-tree, commonly called Iforfe Chefnut, is an indigenous plant in any part of England, iOi i» very commonly obferved in parks. The reddiih fkin, which is § nmediate covering of the kernel, as well of this as the cultivated at, is very aftringent and fit to flop all manner of fluxes where cfmedicines are fafe. The poor people in Italy make bread of the rei Chefnut, which, when new, is pleafant tailed enough, but very wj; it grows foon dry, and very hard, and then they are forced to ea it to pieces with a mallet, and foak it in water before they can ■ This kind of food is what thofe poor wretches are forced to live Ol who are tenants to ecclefiaftics ! EilTII CHESNUTS, or PIG-NUTS. Bulbocastanum. pt ly are called Earth-nuts, Earth-chefnuts, Ground-nuts, Ciper- ftjrnd in SulTex Pig-nuts. D cription. — This plant has a root as big as a large nutmeg, i nd tuberous, of a whitifh colour, (hooting out fibres from the ■ji and fides ; the lower leaves are winged, cut into feveral divi- ns|)f leaves, finer and ftnaller than thofe of meadow faxifrage ; the lk rows to be more than a foot high, having one leaf about tire mid- ivich isas fine and (lender as fennel, having the like leaves ateverv ■In of the branches; on the tops of which grow thin umbels of dl ’hite flowers, each of which is fucceeded by two lmooth long riCE. — It grows in fandy gravelly places. T iE.— And flowers in May. '3 ernment and V irtues. — They are femething hot and dry fluity, under the dominion of Venus ; they provoke luft exceed- jly, nd (lir up to thofe fports (he is miflrefs of: the feed is excellently '3 ■ provoke urine; and fo alfo is the root, but it does not perform lo i cibly as the feed does. The root being dried and beaten into •vd, and the powder made into an electuary, is as Angular a re- •Jyor fpitting and voiding of blood, as the former Chefnut W2S for Clary, 238 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 1 CLARY, or GARDEN CLEAR-EYE. Horminum Hortense. Description. — Our ordinary garden Clary has four fquare { fa with broad, rough, wrinkled, whitifh or hoary green leaves, :ng what evenly cut in on the edges, and of a ftrong fweet fcent, grcH fome near the ground, and fome by couples upon Italics. The fl.-eJl grow at certain diftances, with two finall leaves at the joints jl them, not unlike the flowers of fage, but fmaller, and of a wtl blue colour. The feed is brownifh, and fomewhat flat, or not fo ■ as the wild. The roots are blackifh, they fpread not far, and dt after the feed time. It is ufually fown, for it feldom rifes of it fowing. Place. — This grows in gardens. Time. — It flowers in June and July, fome a little later thanr and their feed is ripe in Augufl, or thereabouts. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion - Moon. The feed put into the eyes, clears them from motes an like things gotten within the lids to offend them, and alfo clean from white and red fpots on them. The mucilage of the feed with water, and applied to tumours or fweilings, difperfes and them away; as alfo draws forth fplinters, thorns, or other things into the flefh. The leaves ufed with vinegar, either by itfelf, o a little honey, helps boils, felons, and the hot inflammations th i gathered by their pains, if applied before it be grown too great, powder of the dried root put into the nofe, provokes fneezinj i thereby purges the head and brain of much rheum and corn The feed or leaves taken in wine, provokes to vcnery. It is of ufe both for men and women that have weak backs, and he ftrengthen the reins, ufed either by itfelf, or with other herbs cond to the fame effedt, and in tanfies often. The frefh leaves dippn batter of flour, eggs, and a little milk, and fried in butter, and ‘V to the table, is not unpleafant to any, but exceedingly profitable fo® that are troubled with weak backs, and the effedls thereof. Th of the herb put into ale or beer, and drank, brings down w courfes, and expels the after-birth. It is an ufual courfe with many men, when they have got i « running of the reins, or women the whites, to run to the M ' Clary; Maid, bring hither the frying-pan, fetch me fome butter qi kb then for eating fried Clary, juff as hogs eat acorns; and this the hu will cure their difeafe, forfooth; whereas, when they have devo :d much Clary as will grow upon an acre of ground, their back: re much the better, as though they had made water in their lhoes; n; Pc haps much worfe,. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL 239 1'e will grant that Clary {Lengthens the back ; but this we deny, ia he caule of the running of die reins in men, or the wnites in wo- ic lies in the back (though the back may fometunes be weakened by hei) and therefore the medicine is as p:oper, as for me, when my toe ; le, to lay a plaifter on my nofe. WILD CLARY. Horminum Sylvestris. . jescription. — The root of the Wild Clary is thick and woody, Oiyi, ig every year as the garden kind does. The lower leaves grow Ej, pretty long foot-fialks, being about three inches long, and about i'.ch broad, cut into feveral parts, and ferratcd about the edges, ttwhat rugged and wrinkled: the ftalks are fcjuare and a little a< , ufuaily leaning toward the ground, not fo tall as the former, roader and ihorter leaves, let two oppofite at a joint without x italks, ferrated about the edges. The flowers grow in loole ver- £-, ufually fix in a whorle; they are much Ids than the former, having ; all galea appearing but little above the calyx, of a deep blue co- ll: the whorles ftand at fome dillance, having each two very fmall Hes fct under it. 'I’he calyx is pretty large, and cut into two parts, slower being flit in the middle, and the upper divided into two ca- ts by a partition in the middle, and contains four pretty large oval ^oth black feeds. I'he whole plant has a pretty ftrong and not un- Ifant fmell. ‘lace.— It grows commonly in this country in barren places; you y find it plentifully if you look in the fields near Gray’s-Inn,’and f fields near Chelfea. Time. — They flower from the beginning of June till the latter end Auguft. jOVERNment and Virtues. — It is fomethins; hotter and drier h the garden Clary is, yet, neverthelefs, under the dominion of the jon, as well as that; the feeds of it being beaten to powder, and nk with wine, is an admirable help to provoke luff. A decodlion of 1 leaves being drank, warms the ltomach ; and it is a wonder if it fhould , the ftomach being under Cancer, the houfe of the Moon. Alfo tclps digeffion, and fcatters congealed blood in any part of the body, le diftilled water of it cleanfes the eyes of rednefs, waterifhnefs and it: it is a gallant remedy for dimnefs of fight, to take one of the feeds it, and put into the eyes, and there let it remain till it drops out of •If, the pain will be nothing to fpeak of; it will cleanfe the eyes of filthy and putrified matter, and in often repeating it, will take off a n which covers the fight; a handfomer, fafer, and eafier remedy by ;reat deal, than to tear it off with a needle. Common 24-0 COMMON CHERVIL. Ch^erophyllum Sylvestr It is called Cerefolium, Mirrhis, and Mirrha, Chervel, Sweet C ;r- vil, and Sweet Cicely. Description. — The garden Chervil does at firft fomewhare- -iCE'" femble parlley, but after it is better grown, the leaves are much ctBr~ and jagged, refembling hemlock, being a little hairy and of a whij green colour, fometimes turning reddifh in the fummer, with the fli alfo; it rifes a little above half afoot high, bearing white flowe| fpiked tufts, which turn into long and round feeds pointed at the c and blackifh when they are ripe; of a fweettafte, but no fmell, the the herb itfelf fmells reafonably well. The root is fmall and long perifhes every year, and muft be fown a-new in fpring, for feed July or autumn fails. The wild Chervil grows two or three feet high, with yellow ft and joints, fet with broader and more hairy leaves, divided into fui parts, nicked about the edges, and of a dark green colour, which 1 wife grow reddifh with the ftalks; at the tops whereof ftand fmall w tufts of flowers, afterwards fmaller and longer feed. The roo white, hard, and enduring long. This has little or no feent. Place. — The firft is fown in gardens for a fallad herb; the fee grows wild in many of the meadows of this country, by the hedgefu and on heaths. T ime.— They flower and feed early, and thereupon are fown ag in the end of fummer. Government and Virtues. — The garden Chervil being eal i, does moderately warm the ftomach, and is a certain remedy, fays T gus, to diflblve congealed or clotted blood in the body, or that wh is clotted by bruifes, falls, &c. The juice or diftilled water ther being drank, and the bruifed leaves laid to the place, being taken eiti in meat or drink, is good help to provoke urine, or expel the ft( in the kidnies, to fend down women’s courfes, and to help the pleui and pricking of the Tides. The wild Chervil bruifed and applied, diflolves fwellings in any pr or the marks of congealed blood by bruifes or blows, in a little fpace. |OY£RN Nfji It! i with col 4c pi pis a; expels T SPOTTED CHERVIL. Cherophyllum Temulum. Description. — This plant, which is alfo called Little Wild Che vil, or Sweet Chervil, grows very like the hemlock, having large fpre leaves cut into divers parts, but of a frefher green colour than the her lock, tailing as fweet as the annifeed. The ftalks rife up a yard hig or better, being crefled or hollow, having leaves at th? joints, butlefle and at the tops of the branched ftalks, umbels or tufts of white flower aft< OR, MEDICAL^ HERBAL. o.\i ifter which comes large and long ere fled black finning feed, pointed at both ends, tailing quick, yet fweet and pleafant. The root is great and white, growing deep in the ground, and lpreading fun dry long branches therein, in tafte and fmell Wronger than the leaves or feeds, and continuing many years. Place. — This grows in gardens, as well as wild about hedges, i Time.— Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — Thefe are alf three of them of the nature of Jupiter, and under his dominion. This whole plant, befides ts pleafantnefs in fallads, has its phyfical virtue. The root boiled, and eaten with oil and vinegar, or without oil, do much pleafe and warm old and cold ftomachs oppreffed with wind or phlegm, or thofe that lave the phthific or confumption of the lungs. The fame drank with >vine is a prefervation from the plague. It provokes women’s courfes, md expels the after-birth, procures an appetite to meat, and expels A'ind. The juice is good to heal the ulcers of the head and face; the :andied roots hereof are held as effectual as angelica, to preferve from nfedtion in the time of a plague, and to warm and comfort a cold weak toniach. It is fo harmlefs, you cannot ufe it amifs. CHICKWEED. Alsine. Description. — Chickweed is a fmall tender plant rifing above lalf a foot high, having its weak brittle ffalks growing thick together, vhich are round, and have two fmall, roundiih, fharp-pointed, green eaves, growing at each joint oppofite one to the other; on the top of ■ach ftalk, it bears many fmall, liar-like white flowers, of five narrow eaves a-piece, with a green calyx cut into as many parts under them : he feed-veffel is long and round, containing many fmall, round, browniih 'beds. The root is fmall and fibrous, perilhing after feed-time: Place. —It is ufually found in moiit and watery places, by wood- lides, and ellewhere. Time. — They flower about June, and their feed is ripe in July. Government and Virtues. — It is a fine foft plealing herb, un- der the dominion of the Moon. It is found to be effectual as purflain o all the purpofes whereunto it ferves, except for meat only. The lerb bruifed, or the juice applied (with cloths or fponges dipped there- to) to the region of tne liver, and as they dry, to have it frefn applied, ioes wonderfully temperate the heat of the liver, and is effectual tor all mpofthumes and fweiiings whatfoever, for all rednefs in the face, wheals, >ufhes, itch, fcabs; the juice either Amply uled, or boiled with hogs ;reafe and applied, helps cramps, convulsions, and pally. The juice, >r diftillcd water, is of much good ufe for all heats and rednefs in the yes, to drop fome thereof into them ; as alfo into the ears, to eafe pains herein; and is of good effect to eafe pains from the heat and (harpnefs ’1 the blood in the piles, and generally all pains in the body that arife Vol. I. Hh of- 242 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; ce: of heiat. It is ufed alfo in hot and virulent ulcers and fores in the priv parts of men or women, or on the legs, or elfewhere. The leavi boiled with marfh-mallows, and made into a poultice with fenugree and linfeed, applied to fwellings or impofthumes, ripen and break then or afluage the fwellings, and eafe the pains. It helps the finews whe they are fhrunk by cramps, or otherwife ; and to extend and make thei 1 pliable again by this medicine, boil a handful of Chickweed, and handful of red rofe leaves dried, in a quart of mafeadine, until a fourl part be confumed ; then put to them a pint of oil of trotters or fheep feet: let them boil a go^d while, ftill ftirring them well; which beir ftrained, anoint the grieved place therewith, warm againft the fir rubbing it well with one hand; and bind alfo fome of the herb, if yc will, to the place, and, with God’s blefling, it will help it in three tim' dreffing. ii i! of a] tn: CALVE’S SNOUT. Antirrhinum Linaria. ili i ofti ,not tc tis; ft i:V( Des Called alfo Snap Dragon, and Toad Flax. Description. — It is a perennial, and has a long, (lender, creepir root, that runs a great way beneath the furface of the ground, of a hardii confidence, and white. The Idem is firm, upright, and two or thre feet high. It is fometimes quite fimple, but more commonly divide into feveral branches. The leaves are very numerous, fcattered, Ion; narrow, entire on the edges, without any leaf-ftalks, of a pale-gree colour : the flowers are large, numerous, and very beautiful ; they tei minate the ftem and branches in very long fpikes. Their colour is fine pale yellow, with a fhade of deep orange in fome of the parts. Th feeds are numerous, almoft flat, and circular. Place. — It is very common in barren paftures, hedges, and cult vated places. Time. — And is in bloffom from July till tire latter end of Sep :r- tember. Government and Virtues. — It is a plant of Sol in Leo, wari and diuretic, ufeful againft the ftone, gravel, anddiforders of the reir and bladder, and help the dropfy and jaundice. It encreafes milk i nurfes, if eaten as peas ; but they are more windy than thofe. A c: taplafm made with the farina is good for the hardnefs of the parot: ’ glands, and for inflammations of thekidnies. An infufion of the leavi is both diuretic and purgative ; and an ointment prepared from thei gives relief in the piles. A decoftion of the whole plant in ale purgi brifkly, and likewife operates by urine; and is frequently found fervici able in the jaundice, and beginning of dropfies. The juice of tl leaves is good for inflammations of the eyes, and cleanfes old ulceroi fores. LACi ilM! jOVI Centaur ? OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 243 CENTAURY CYANUS. Centaurea Cyanus. Description. — A fpecie of the blue-bottle. It has a fibrous root of a whitilh colour; the Italic is upright, flender, firm, ribbed, of a pale green, and covered more or lefs with a whitilh, downy fubftance. The leaves are long and narrow; thole on the lower part are deeply divided in a fomewhat pinnated manner. The others are entire : they are of a pale-green, and ot a firm fubftance. The flowers terminate the tops of the branches ; they are large, of a very fine blue, and have the fmell of Centaury, which gives them this diftm&ion from the common blue-bottle. Place. —It is common in corn-fields and other cultivated places. Time. — And is in flower from June till Auguft. Government and Virtues. — A water diftilled from the flowers is good for inflammations and weaknefs of the eyes ; and the leaves which grow on the Items, frefh gathered and bruifed, will flop the bleeding of a wound, even if a large veil'd be cut : their ufe in fuch cafes is but little known, but they furpafs all other things of the kind, and may often be the inftrument of faving life, where a furgeon’s a Alliance is not to be procured in time. — It is under the Sun. Hill. It is good for wounds or bruifes of the bread, fpitting of blood, etc. The juice dropped into old ulcers, cleanfes, and difpofes them to heal. I have known it made ule of by country people for the jaundice; and infufed or boiled in white wine, it is an exceeding good diuretic. CELLERY. Afium Vulgare. Description. — It rifes from a long thick white root, fometimes Ample, fometimes divided, and of a pleafant tafte. The leaves are large, and confift of three or four pair of fmall leaves, with an odd one at the end of the middle rib ; each of thefe is deeply divided into three parts, which are notched on the edges, and of a fine lively green colour. The ftalk is thick, floated, branched, and two feet high. The flowers are fmall and white; and they Hand in thick umbels at the divifions of the branches. The feeds are brown ; they are connected together, or an oblong figure, fcored on one fide, but plain on the other. Place. — It grows belt in low damp grounds. Time. — It flowers in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — it is under the dominion of tjie Sun, as well as the former. The root, in its wild ftate, is of an acrid, noxious nature, but culture takes away thofe properties, and refiders the plant mild and efculent. The lower part of the ftem and Jeaf-ftalks blanched, by being covered up with earth, are eaten eitberYaw, ftewed or boiled in foups, and are excellent antifeorbutics. The root operates H h 2 by 244 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; by urine ; and is good in fits of the (tone or gravel,' and in obftruclioris of the vifcera. A ftrong decodtion of them is the moft effectual prepa- ration. The feeds are of a warm carminative nature; they difperfe wind in the ftomach and bowels, and operate more powerfully by urine than any other part of the plant. As this plant abounds in a pungent nitrous fait, it is therefore deterfive and diuretic, and may with fuccefs be adminiftered in deccdfions with water, infufed in wine or malt liquors; and if infufed in ale, which is frequently done, it not only helps to fine it, but corredfs its fogginefs, and enriches it with its falutary qualities. By its deterfive virtue, it opens all forts of obftruftions ; and, as a diu- retic, it makes no bad ingredient in compofitions for the dropfy. It is a moft excellent pedtoral, and is fuitable to all conftitutions, for it is cooling as well as opening ; but it fhould not be ufed in the form of a fyrup, being, on account of its fait, apt to ferment and grow four. The beft way therefore is, either to make a very ftrong infufion of it, and fweeten it moderately with fugar, or elfe to keep the extract of it, which may be taken diflblved in any convenient peftoral decodtion, or even infufion of this herb itfelf. In fhort, it highly deferves thofe encomiums which Schroder and others adorn lefs fignificant plants with, fince the virtues of this herb chiefly confift in its eftential fait; it may be kept dry without fear it fhould loofe any of its goodnefs ; and the gill-ale, which is made of the dry plant, is both ftronger and pleafanter than that which is made of the green, becaufe the vegetable water gives it a difagreeable tafte. CLOVE JULY FLOWER, or CARNATION. Dianthus Caryophillus. Description. — This beautiful plant has numerous ftems, and thofe which fupport the flowers are round, upright, firm, but jointed and divided into many branches, and grow two or three feet high. 50! 02 aticn, osF $ [ten The leaves are very numerous, very long and narrow, (harp pointed, fmooth on the edges, and furface of a pale green. Thofe which rife from the flower ftems, are placed in pairs, and are broader and fhorter than others. . The flowers ftand fingly at the extremities of the branches and their divifions. They are large, of a fine deep purple colour, and a moft delightful fragrant fmell, relembling that of the clove fpice. The feeds are very numerous; they are comprefied, and of a roundilh figure. Place.— For its beauty, it is admitted into the gardens of the curious. Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. —This plant belongs to Venus iii Aries, ft he beauties of this plant in its wild ftate were too confpi- guous to efcape the notice of the florifts, who, by their unwearied at- * v~ tentioa OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 245 [tention to its culture, have raifed from it all that vaft and beautiful va- irietv of carnations which they juftly efteemed the pride of their gardens. (The flowers are the part to be made ufe of in phyfic. A ftrong de~ coiftion of them is an excellent medicine in malignant fevers; it power- fully promotes perfpiration and the urinary difcharge, without the leall irritation, and at the fame time raifes the fpirits, and quenches thirft. 'Simon Pauli. They are cordial, and of confiderable efficacy in dejedtion of fpirits, faintings, head-achs, and other nervous complaints. There is a fyrup of them kept in the (hops, but it is too much loaded with fugar to be 'of any great ufe. Perhaps the beft preparation of them is a ftrong [tindiure in brandy. Hill. Coltsfoot having been deferibed before, we fhall only obferve. here, *chat the leaves are the chief ingredient in the Britifti herb tobacco; they were formerly much ufed in colds, coughs, and confumptive cafes, and perhaps not without fuccefs. A ftrong decodtiqn of the dried leaves has fucceeded in fcrophulous cafes, when all other means com- monly made ufe of have been put in practice without effedt. Cullen. COCK’S HEAD, RED PITCHING, or MEDICK FETCH. Onobrychis. Description. — This has divers weak but rough ftalks, half a yard ong, leaning downwards, but fet with winged leaves, longer and more jointed than thofe of lintels, and whitifh underneath; from the tops of hefe ftalks arife up other {lender ftalks, naked without leaves unto the :ops, where there grow many fmall flowers in manner of a fpike, of a pale reddifh colour, with fome bluenefs among them ; after .vhich rife up in their places, round, rough, and fomewhat flat heads. The root is tough, and fomewhat woody, yet lives and {hoots a-new every year. 1 Place. — It grows under hedges, and fometimes in the open fields, n divers places of this kingdom. Time. — They flower all the months of July and Auguft, and the bed ripens in the mean vrhile. | Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Ve- aus. It has power to r.irify and digeft; and therefore the green leaves Jruifed and laid as a plaifter, difperfe knots, nodes, or kernels in the flefti; and if, when dry, it be taken in wine, it helps the ftrangury; and jeing anointed with oil, it provokes fweat. It is a Angular food for cattle, to caufe them to give ftore of milk ; and why then may it not do the like, being boiled in ordinary drink, for nurfes ? 1 CoLUM-* THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} COLUMBINES. Aquilegia C^erulje. 0, Description. — The root of this plant is pretty thick, at the head fending forth many long and large fibres, which run pretty deep into the earth. The leaves grow upon long foot-ftalks, compofed of a three- fold divifion of as many roundifh fegments, cut in, and indented about the edges, of a bluifh green colour; the ftalks rife to be a foot and half, or two feet high, fomewhat hairy, flender, and of a purplifh co- lour, pretty much branched, and having feveral fmalier leaves fet on, without foot-ftalks, at each divifion of the branches. The flowers are pendulous, of a fine blue colour, each confifting of five plain, and five horned and hooded petala or leaves placed alternately, the ends of the horned ones being crooked. When the flowers are fallen, they are fucceeded each by four or five longifh taper horns or pods fet round about the ftalk, containing black fhining feed. Place. — Columbines grow wild in feveral parts of England, but are not very common. Time. — Flower in May and June. * Government and Virtues. — It is alfo an herb of Venus. The leaves of Columbines are commonly ufed in lotions, with good fuccefs, for fore mouths and throats. T ragus fays, that a dram of the feed taken in wine with a little faffron, opens obftructions of the liver, and is good for the yellow-jaundfce, if the party, after taking thereof, be laid to fweat well in bed. The feed alfo taken in wine, caufes a fpeedy deli- very of women in child-birth; if one draught fuflice not, let her drink the fecond, and it will be effectual. The Spaniards eat a piece of the root thereof in a morning faffing, many days together, to help them when troubled with the ftone in the reins or kidnies. The feeds are alfo accounted good to open internal obftructions of almoft every de- fcription. CLOWN’S WOUND -WORT, or ALL-HEAL. Panax Coloni. Description. — The roots of this Wound-wort creep 'and fpread much in the earth, having tuberous knots growing here and there upon them. The ftalks arife to be two or three feet high, fquare and rough, almoft to pricklinels, and are but little branched. The leaves grow upon the joints, which are at fome diftance, on Abort foot-ftalks; they are long, narrow, hairy, and (harp pointed, indented about the edges, of a pretty ftrong fmell. The flowers grow whorle-falhion towards the top of the ftalks ; and are pretty large, of A deep red colour, with a hollow OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 247 hollow galea, and the labella fpotted with white, each fet in a rough ca- lyx, ending in live points, and containing four black feeds. Place. — It grows in ditches and watery places. Time. — And flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues.- — Under Saturn; is very healing in all green wounds ; the juice, decodtion, or fyrup, taken inwardly, heals the bloody-flux, cancer, ruptures, fpitting or voiding of blood, efpe- pecially if ft me comfrey be added. Beaten up into a cataplafm with hogs-lard, and plantain leaves, and applied to the wounded part, it helps it wonderfully to heal. 7'ne country-folks fcarcely ufe any thing elfe for accidental cuts. Inwardly taken, it is the moft profitable in the form of a fyrup. CORIANDER. Coriandrum. Description. — The lower leaves of Coriander are a little like parfley leaves, roundifh and crenated about the edges ; the ftalks are fmooth, round, and ftriated, befet with longer, narrower, and finer leaves, than thofe below, rifing to be two or three feet high, bearing at the top umbels of fmall white five-leaved flowers, which falling away, there follow in their places round, perfectly fpherical, ftriated fe°d: the whole plant, whilft green, has a naufeous, ungrateful fmell, like bugs; but the feed, when dry, is of a pleafant, agreeable feent. Place. — it is generally fown for the benefit of the feed, though it is found wild in divers places'. Time. — Flowers in June; and the feed, which is the only parfcufed, is ripe in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This is a martial plant, very grateful and llrengthening to the ftomach ; the feed helps digeftion, ex- pels wind, and is frequently ufed as a corrector of ftrong purging medi- cines; lbme commend them as good againft the kings-evil. CORAL-WORT. Dentaria. Description. — Of the many forts of this herb, two of them may be found growing in this nation ; the firft of .which (hoots forth one or two winged leaves, upon long brownifh foot-ftalks, which are doubled down at their firft coming out of the ground ; when they are fully opened, they confift of feven leaves, moft commonly of a fad green colour, dented about the edges, fet on both fides the middle rib one againft ano- ther, as the leaves of the afh tree : the ftalk bears no leaves on the lower half of it ; the upper half bears fometimes three or four, each confiding of five leaves, fometimes of three ; on the top ftand four or five flowers upon fhort foot-ftalks, with long hulks : the flowers are very like thofe of ftock gilliflowers, of a pale purplifh colour, confiding of four leaves a-piece. 248 a-piece, after which come fmall cods, which contain the feed': the ro THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; is very fmooth, white, and (hining ; it does not grow downwards, but creeps along under the upper cruft cf the ground, and confifts of divers fmall round knobs fee together ; towards the top of the ftalk there grow fome Angle leaves, by each of which comes a fmall cloven bulb, which, when it is ripe, if it be fet in the ground, will grow to be a root. As for the other Coral-wort, which grows in this nation, it is more fcarce than this, being a very fmall plant, much like crowfoot, there- fore fome think it to be one of the forts of crowfoot ; I know not where to direct you to it, therefore I fhall forbear the defeription. Place. — It is ufuaily found in woods. Time. — They flower from the latter end of April to the middle of May; and before the middle of July they are 'gone, and not to be found. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of the Moon. It cleanfes the bladder, provokes urine, expels gravel, and the (lone ; it eafes pains in. the fides and bowels ; is. excellent for inward wounds, efpecially fuch as are made in the bread or lungs, by taking a dram of the powder of the root every morning in wine : the fame is ex- cellent for ruptures, as alfo to flop fluxes. An ointment of it is good for wounds and ulcers, for it foon dries up the watery humours which hinder the cure. Description. — This is a fmall low plant, of a fomewhat ftony con*. fiftence, feldom growing above two or three inches high; much branched, full of fhort fmall jointed round (talks, of a white colour for the molt part, though it is fometimes found purplifh and greenifti : it is of a faltifh tafte, and of a pretty ftrong fmell. Place. — It is found grov/ing every where, upon the rocks of the iea, and frequently on oyfters, and other (hells. Time. — It is found all the year round. Government and Virtues.— Coralline is a mercurial herb, but is only ufed to deftroy worms in the (tomach and bowels, being given from half a dram to a dram, in coarfe powder, in any convenient vehicle. Description. — This tree is ufuaily of the bignefs of an ordinary cherry-tree, with leaves fomewhat alike, but broader, fmoother, and not ferrated about the edges. The flowers grow in clufters, being fmall and yellow. The fruit is longifn, of a cylindrical (hape, about as big as a CORALLINE. Corallina Anglica. CORNEL TREE, or DOG BERRY. Cornus. luke OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 249 ike olive, of a black colour when ripe, including a long hard ftone. It , of a fweet, but fomewhat aftringent tafte. Place.— It grows in gardens Time.— Flowers in March and April; but the fruit is not ripe un- .1 September. Government and Virtues. — This tree is under Venus. The uit is cooling, drying, binding, and {Lengthening to the ftomach, and ood in hyfteric fits. The beft v/ay of giving it, is in fyrup or con- :rve, or the exprefled juice with honey or mum. iOSTMARY, ALCOST, or BALSAM HERB. Costus. Description. — The roots of Coftmary are hard, long and ftringy, reeping in the ground ; the lower leaves are about as big as garden lint, of a paleilh or yellow green colour, Handing on long fooi-ftalks, ery neatly ferrated about the edges : the italics rife to be more than a lot high, having feveral the like but fmaller leaves growing on them ; ley are divided into branches toward to the top, each of which is ter- minated by a thin corymbus or umbel of naked deep yellow flowers, aving no petala furrounding them, but fet in fcaly calyces, being lefler lan die flowers of tanfey. The whole plant has a foft pleafant frnell. Place. — It is planted in gardens. Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Ju- iter. The ordinary Coftmary, as well as maudlin, provokes urine bundantly, and moiftens the hardnefs of the mother ; it gently purges holer and phlegm, extenuating that which is grcfs, and cutting that /hich is tough and glutinous, cleanfes that which is foul, and hinders utrefa&ion and corruption; it diflolves without attraction, opens ob- ruCtions, and helps their evil effeCts ; and it is a wonderful help to all >rts of dry agues. It is aftringent to the ftomach, and ftrengthens the ver, and all other inward parts ; and, taken in whey, works more ffeCtually. Taken falling in the morning, it is very profitable for ains in the head that are continual, and to ftay, dry up, and confume il thin rheums or diftillations from the head into the ftomach, and helps luch to digeft raw humours that are gathered therein. It is very pro- table for thofe that are fallen into a continual evil difpofition of the 'hole body, called cachexia, but efpecially in the beginning of the dif- ife. It is an efpecial friend and help to evil, weak and cold livers, 'he feed is familiarly given to children for the worms, and fo is the in- tfion of the flowers in white wine given them to the quantity of two unces at a time ; it makes an excellent falve to cleanfe and heal old ul- ers, being boiled with oil of olive, and adders tongue with it; and after is ftrained, put a little wax, rofin, and turpentine, to bring it to a con- mient body. Von alter, be permitted to fcatter, the plants v/iij come up in the iring with greater certainty than if fown, and they will thrive better dthout culture. Government and \ irtues. — This herb acquires its name from s property of reftoring the ruminating faculty to animals that have |)lt it. — It is under Venus. UPRIGHT CUDWEED. Gnaphalium Sylvaticum. Description. — The ftalk of this is Ample, without any branches, nd grows to a foot high, whitiih, dry, and brittle. The leaves are white, and cottony, fofc to the touch, and tough; and the flowers are f a dufky brown, bright, and glolly, and grow near the leaves in fhort pikes. Place. —This is a biennial ; a little plant, upright, Ample in its fpecl, and yet very pretty: it rifes among the fallen leaves in our dry voods, and gives a fweet variety of afpedt. Time. — They blow in July and Auguft; and laft a long time: in- leed it is die quality of ail the Cudweeds to keep their beauty long. Government and Virtues. — Thefe are all herbs of Venus; its afte is Angular ; it is in fome degree auftere and aftringent, yet there s in it a mucilaginous quality, which is beft preferved in a conferve, >cat up, the finer the better, and with a great deal of fugar; and the >ignefs of a pea taken at a lime. The tops of the plant, before it has cached its full growth, have the virtue, and are given in the form be- ore-mentioned with fuccefs, for that almoft incurable difeafe the :hin-cough. CORN, or FRENCH CUDWEED. Gnaphalium Gallicum. Description, — The leaves of this fmall plant are grafty; and the flowers grow in their bofoms. The ftalk is five or fix inches high, and divided in a forked manner, with a few {haggling branches. The flowers are fmall, of a glofi'y brown, and grow in the bottom of the leaf, which, when well grown, is long, narrow, white, and flabby. Place. — This is an annual weed, common among the corn, trampled upon, unfeen, and wholly unregarded. Time. — They blow in Ju qe. Sea i'* I-' ' \ SEA CUDWEED. Gnaphalium Maritimum. ■I m II Description. — This fort grows upon a ftalk five or fix inche; ! high, thick, white, and covered with down ; and the leaves are fo co- ve'red' with downy matter, that it is difficult to diftinguifh their outline, !i The flowers are of a chefnut brown ; upon which there plays in the fun, a tinge of golden yellow, which, fet off by the whitenefs of the leaves, give it a fingular and pleafing appearance. Place. — This is a pretty and fragrant plant, but not common ir all parts of England. It generally borders the yellow fand of our fea- coafts in fome places for miles together, rifing in tufts upon the ground. Time. — This is an annual, blows in June, and lafts till the feve-.i rity of the winter deftroys it. Government and Virtues. — In Suffex, where this herb is com- mon, the farmers give it with fuccefs to their horfes troubled with worms. — It is under Venus. ■ j ■' WHITE EVERLASTING CUDWEED, Gnaphalium Margaritaceum. _ Description. — This fort grows upon a ftalk, from twelve to eighteen Inches high, white, firm, thick, and branched. The leaves are long, tough, and of a dead white. The flowers are perfectly white, and gloffy; they fhine like pearls. , ■ j Place. — This is a perennial; a hardy, fingular, and very pretty, plant, that gives a filvery whitenefs to the pafture grounds in Wales, and fome parts of England: but is not common wild, though very fre- quent in the gardens. Time. — They blow in July ; and as they laft in beauty for ever, they go by the name of White Everlafting. Government and Virtues. — The leaves boiled to foftnefs in water, are excellent, applied outwardly to bruifes; this carries off the blacknefs quickly and fafely. — It is under V enus. JERSEY CUDWEED, or YELLOW EVERLASTING CUDWEED. Gnaphalium Luteo-Aleum. Description. — Grows upon a ftalk afoot high, white, tough, and has but few branches. The leaves are of a whitifh green above, and white OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 265 White underneath; fword-lhaped, and half furround the ftalk at their bafe. The flowers are of a bright lemon colour, fine and glofi'y. Place.— This is an annual; a beautiful wild plant, in the iflands of Guernfey and Jerfey; and fometimes found in our phyfic gardens. Time. — The flowers blow in Auguit, and hold their beauty for ever. Government and Virtues. — In Jerfey, quinfies are frequent; and they cure them with this herb. About two ounces of the leaves and tops are put into a quart of boiling water, the liquor is Itrained clear, and a cup of it drank every two hours; and the leaves wet and warm from the liquor, are applied outwardly. This, with bleeding in the arm, feldom fails of good fuccefs. CATSFOOT CUDWEED. Gnaphalium Dioiceum. Description. — The (talks of this fort are fimple, and ftraggle upon the ground to fix or eight inches in length, andfome rife to four inches high' for flowering; they are white and downy. The leaves are woolly, of a greyifh green, and very pretty. The flowers form a large head; an inch often in breadth, and of great beauty: they are clofe fet, and are naturally of a glowing, though not Itrong crimfon; fometimes .hey are found white, and fometimes of a light violet colour: however, in whatever Hate, they are everlalting; and having no juices, never lofe their colour, or their luftre. Place. — This very Angular and extremely beautiful little plant is frequently found upon the Welch mountains; about Newmarket, and on other high grounds in England: it grows in tufts and clumps, co- vering the dry foil with an elegance unknown from any other plant, and in any other place. Time. — They blow in July. Government and Virtues. — The aftringent virtues of the Chdweeds have made every fpecie of the kind be noticed. The Ame- rican and German Cudweed are only variations arifing from foil or cul- ture, but the virtues are all alike. It is a known remedy for cattle when they have bloody Itools ; and it has been tried with fuccefs upon men of robult habits, but fubjedt to bloody Itools. For.this purpofe, it fhould be dried (the whole plant) in an oven, and powdered, lifting )ut the finer parts, and throwing away the firings. The frelh plant, tut to pieces, four handfuls to two quarts of water, makes a good de- motion to take the above powder in, as much of which as will lay upon t fixpence, taken in a gill glafs warm, is a temporary, and in the end in effectual remedy for the flux of the belly. This having been tried iiccefsfuliy, it is therefore worth the attention of thofe who can intro- luce it univerfally. Hill. Vol. I. LI CuRRAff 266 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} , CURPvAN-TREE. Ribes Vulgaris. Description. — The Curran-tree is well known to be a fomewhat taller tree than the goofe-berry, with larger leaves, and without thorns. The fruit grows in fmall bunches, of a red colour, and of a {harp fvveetifii tafte. Place.— It is ufually planted in gardens, but is faid to grow wild in the north of England. Time. — It flowers in April, and the fruit is ripe in June.' Government and Virtues. — Under Jupiter. They are cool- ing to the ftomach, quench thirft, and are fomewhat reftringent; a jelly made with the juice and fugar, is cooling and grateful in levers. Cur- rans are very rarely ufed in the {hops. CYPRESS-TREE. Cupressus. Description. — This grows to be a large, tall, high tree, covered all over, almoft from the ground, with flender branches growing clofe together, making the tree have a pyramidal fhape, with fmall, fhort, {harp, and as it were fcaly leaves, which cover over all the young twigs. The flowers are fmall and ftaminous, fucceeded by cones or nuts, as they are called, which are round, near as big as a walnut, when ripe opening with feveral clefts, in which lie brown flattifh cor- nered feeds. , Place. — It is planted in gardens for its pleafant verdure, being a perennial or evergreen, holding its leaves all winter, and {hooting out frefti in the fpring. We have two fpecies growing in our gardens, whereof the femina, or that whofe branches grow clofer together, is the rnofc common, having fdmewhat longer nuts than the mas, whofe branches are more expanded, and cones or nuts rounder. Government and Virtues. — This tree is under the govern- ment of Saturn. The cones or nuts are moftly ufed, the leaves but feldom; they are accounted very drying and binding, good to ftop fluxes of all kinds, as fpittmg of blood, diarrhea, dyfentery, the immo- derate -flux of the menfes, involuntary miction; they prevent the bleed- ing of the gums,. and fallen loofe teeth: outwardly, they are ufed in ftyptic reftringent fomentations and cataplafms. WILD CUCUMBER. Cucumis Agrestis- Description. — This plant has feveral rough ftalks which creep upon the ground, whofe leaves are fet on long hairy foot-ftalks;‘they are pretty large, greeniih above, and hoary underneath, fomewhat triangu- lar • R, MEDICAL HERBAL. 267 lar and indented about the edges, rough and hairy. The flowers grow on the rudiments of the fruit, being much fmaller than the flowers of the garden Cucumbers, of one Angle pale yellow leaf cut into five parts. The fruit is as big as a large olive, covered all over with harmlefs prickles, and full of a pulpy juice, containing feveral brown oval feeds, which, when ripe, upon handling, or gently prefling, will fquirt forth at the end with great violence. Place. — It is fown in gardens. T ime. — Flowers in July; and the fruit is ripe in September. Government and Virtues. — '1 his is a very ftrong purging plant ; the fcecula of whofe exprefied j nice is the elaterium of the fhops, and is one of the ftrong eft cathartics we have, carrying off ferous wa- tery humours, both upwards and downwards, with great violence; whereby it is of Angular ufe in the dropfy, when the bowels are riot de- cayed. It likewife forcibly brings down the catamenia, and even de- ftroys the foetus in the womb, and is therefore only At to be adtniniftered by a fkilful hand. GARDEN CUCUMBER. Cucumis Sativus. Description. — The Cucumber is a fruit univerfally known; it grows upon a creeping rrpgh ftalk, or vine, as the gardeners call it, which has feveral tendrils or clafpers. The leaves are rough, and almoft prickly, in ftiape l’omewhat refembling a vine-leaf. The flowers are of a yellowifli white, beil-fafhioned, of one leaf, divided into Ave Aug- ments. 'Fhe beft fruit is that which is longifh, of a deep green colour, and befet with fmall, blackifh, prickly tubercles. Place. — They are raifed every year of feed. T ime. — They flower and bear fruit a great part of the fummer. Government and Virtues. — There is no difpute to be made, but that they are under the dominion of the Moon, though they are fo much cried out againft for their coldnefs, and if they were but one de- gree colder they would be poifon. The beft of Galenifts hold them to be cold and moift in the fecond degree, and then not fo hot as either lettuces or purflain : they are excellent good for a hot ftomach, and hot liver; the unmeafurable ufe of them Alls the body full of raw humours, and, indeed, the unmeafureable ufe of any thing elfe does harm. The face being wafhed with their juice, cleanfes the fkin, and is excellent good for hot rheums in the eyes; the feed is very good to provoke urine, and cleanfes the paftages thereof when they are ftopped; there is not a better remedy for ulcers in the bladder growing, than Cucumbers are. The ufual courfe is, to ufe the feeds in emulAons, as they make almond milk: but a far better way, in my opinion, is this; when the feafon of the year is, take the Cucumbers and bruife them v/ell ; diftil the water from them, and let fuch as are troubled with ulcers in the bladder, drink no other drink. The face being wafhed with the 268 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; fame water, cures the reddift face that is; it is alfo excellently good for fun-burning, freckles, and morphew. Cucumbers are more eaten as food and fallad, than ufed medicinally ; and are cooling to the ftomach^ quenching thirft, and provoking urine. The feed only is ufed in phyfic, being one of the greater cold feeds ; is accounted cooling and diuretic, and is frequently put into emulfions againft the ftone, ftrangury, anlafm, are likewife applied to the wrifts in the fame diftempers. Par- :infon commends a decoction of the leaves and roots in wine or broth or a confumption, or any ill habit of body. It is much of the fame [ualitv as the wild fuccory, which is more powerful for phyfical pur- lofes than the garden fuccory, called endive, and therefore a great al- erative or fweetener of the blood, being a good deterfive: the root as veil as the herb, boiled in wine, water, or broth, is an efficacious re- medy in putrid fevers and ill habits of the body. It warms and ftrengthens he ftomach. It makes a good ingredient in fomentations and lotions. Hie young herb makes a wholefome fpring fallad, eaten raw with oil nd vinegar, and is peculiarly of fervice to perfons whole bowels are oo much relaxed. COMMON DAFFODILL. Narcissus. Description. — The common wild DafFodill grows about' a foot >gh. The leaves are long, narrow1', grafly, and of a deep green; and they re nearly as long as the ftalk, which is rounclifii, but lomewhat flattifii id edged. The flower is large, yellow, and Angle; it Hands at the top f the ftalk, and by its weight preffes it down a little. The root is lund and white. Place. — Common in the gardens in its own natural form, and in a reat variety of fhapes and colours that culture has given it. Time. — Daffodills flower in March and April. Government and Virtues. —They are governed by Venus, he frelh roots are to be ufed, and it is very eafy to have it alwrays in •adinefsin a garden; and very ufeful, for it has. great virtues. Given internally, in a fmall quantity, either in decocflion or pow'der, it adls as ' vomit, and afterwards purges a little; and is excellent againft all ob- ruftions. The bcft way of giving it is in form of the juice, prefled at with fome whire-wine; but its principal ufes are externally. The efh roots bruifed, and boiled wdth parched barley-meal, very fuddenly ;al freih wounds; mixed with honey, it ftrengthens fprains, and is aod to apply to cuts and to old aches in the joints. With darnel-meal id honey, it breaks impofthumes, and helps to draw out fplinters am the flefh. The juice of the bruifed root will allay fvvellings and flammations of the breafts. RED DARNEL. Lolium Rubrum. Description. — This has, all the winter long, fundry long, flat, and ugh leaves, which, when the ftalk rifes, which is Ilender and jointed, 272 THE FAMUV' PHYSICIAN; are narrower, but rough ftill; on the top grows a long fpike, compof of many heads let one above another, containing two or three hull with fharp but fhort beards of awns at the end; the feed is eafily fhak out of the ear, the hulk itfclf being fomewhat rough. Place. — The country hufbandmen know this too well to grc among their corn, or in the borders and path-ways of the other lie! that are fallow. Time. — Flowers all the fummer. Government and Virtues. — It is a malicious part of full Saturn. As it is not without fome vices, fo has it alfo many virtu The meal of Darnel is very good-' to flay gangrenes, and other fu like fretting. and eating cankers, and putrid fores: it alfo cleanfes t fkin of all ieprofies, morphews, ringworms, and the like, if it be u( with fait and redaifh roots. And being ufed with quick brimftone a vinegar, it diffolves knots and kernels, and breaks thofe that are hr t6 be diffolved, being boiled in wine with pigeons-dung and linfeed: deception thereof made v/ith water and honey, and the places bath therewith, is profitable for the fciatica. Darnel-meal applied in a poi tice, draws forth fplinters and broken bones in the flefh: the Red D; nel, boiled in red wine and taken, ftays the lafk and all- other flux and women’s bloody i flues; and refrains urine that pafles away t fuddenly. There is another kind of Darnel, diftihguifhed by the name of wh Darnel, more commonly found in corn-fields than the above deferibt but the red is reputed to poflefs the greateft powers. The roots of t white fort are beft ufed dry, and given in powder. They are a ve excellent aftringent, good againft purgings, overflowings of the menf and all other fluxes and bleedings; but the laft operation is flow, a it muff be continued. It is a medicine therefore fitter for habiti complaints of this kind, than fudden iilnefs. Mi MM : Jj: DEVIL’S-BIT. Morsus Diaboli. x Description. — This rifes up with a round, green, fmooth fta:j about two feet high, fet with divers long and fomewhat narrow, fmool dark green leaves, fomewhat nipped about the edges, for the mod pa being elfe all whole, and not divided at all, or but very feldom, even the tops of the branches, which yet are fmaller than thofe below, wi one rib only in the middle. At the end of each branch Hands arou head of many flowers fet together in tire fame manner, or more neai than feabiens, and of a more bluifh purple colour, which being pa there follows feed that falls away. The root is fomewhat thick, b fhort and blackifti, with many firings, abiding after feed-time ma years. This root was longer, until the Devil, as the Friars fay, 1| away the rell of it from fpite, envying its ufefulnefs to mankind; fj fure he was not troubled vyith any difeafe for which it is proper. The *1 Here are two forts hereof, in nothing unlike the former, fave that the one bears white, and the other blufh-coloured flowers. Place. — I he firft grows as well in dry meadows and fields as moifl, in many places of this country ; but the other two are more rare, and hard to be met with, yet they are both found growing wild about Ap- plcdore, near Rye, in Kent. Time. — They flower not ufually until Augufl. Government and Virtues. — The plant is venereal, pleafing, and harmlefs. The herb, or the root (all that the devil has left of it), being boiled in wine, and drank, is very powerful againft the plague, and all peftilential dileafes or fevers, poifons, and the bitings of ve- nomous beafls : it helps alfo thole' that are inwardly bruifed by any ca- fualty, or outwardly by falls or blows, difl'olving the clotted blood ; and the herb or root beaten and outwardly applied, takes away the black and blue marks that remain in the fkin. The decodlion of the herb, with honey of rofes put therein, is very effectual to help the inveterate tu- mours and lvvellings of the almonds and throat, by often gargling the mouth therewith. It helps alfo to procure women’s courfes, and eafes all pains of the mother, and to break and difcufs wind therein, and in the bowels. The powder of the root taken in drink, drives forth worms in the body. The juice or diftilled water of the herb, is effectual for green wounds, or old fores, and cleanfes the body inwardly, and the feed outwardly from fores, fcurf, itch, pimples, freckles, morphew, or other deformities thereof, efpccially if a little vitriol be difiolved therein. DILL. Anethum. Description. — Common Garden Dill is an umbelliferous plant, that refembles both in root, {talk and leaf, our common fennel. I-t grows up with feldom more than one {talk, neither fo high, nor fo great ufually as fennel, being round and fewer joints thereon, whofe leaves are fadder, and fomewhat long, and fo like fennel, that it deceives many, but harder in handling, and fomewhat thicker, and of a {Longer unplea- fant fcent : the tops of the {talks have four branches, and fmaller um- bels of yellow flowers, which turn into fmall feed, fomewhat flatter and thinner than fennel feed. The root is fomewhat fmall and woody, and perifhes every year, after it hath borne feed ; and is alfo unprofitable, being never put to any ufe. . Place. — It is moft ufually fown in gardens and grounds for the pur- pofe ; and is alfo found wild in many places. Time. — Flowers and feeds in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — Mercury has the dominion of this plant, and therefore, to be fure, it {Lengthens the brain. The Dill being boiled and drank, is good to eafe fwellings and pains ; it alfo flays the belly and ftomach from calling. The decodtion thereof helps wq- V ol. I, Mm men 274 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; men that are troubled with the pains and wihdinefs of the mother, if they fit therein. It is hot and dry, carminative and expelling wind, efpecially the feed, which is accounted a fpecific in the fingultus or hiccough, and in vo- i miting. It is ufually put among pickled cucumbers, to corredl their windinefs ; outv/ardly it is ufed in warming and fuppurating ointments and cataplafms. It flays the hiccough, being boiled in wine, and but fmelled unto, being tied in a cloth. The feed is of more ufe than the leaves, and more effe£lual to digefl raw and vifeous humours, and is ufed in medicines that ferve to expel wind, and the pains proceeding f therefrom. The feed, being roafted or fried, and ufed in oils or plaiflers, > I dilfolves impofthumes in the fundament, and dries up all moift ulcers, | ; efpecially in that part : an oil made of Dill, is effectual to warm, or 1 1 diffolve humours and impofthumes, to eafe pains and procure reft. The , ! decodion of Dill, be it herb or feed (only, if you boil the feed, you j muft bruife it), in white wine, being drank, is a gallant expeller of i j Wind, and proVoker of the terms. Officinal preparations from Dill are only the oleum anethinum, made i by infuftoh and gentle codion of the leaves and tops in oil. DITTANY OF CRETE. Dictamus Creticus. * II Description. — Avery pretty plant, that grows to fix or eight'! inches high; the flalks are fquare, Header, hard, woody, and branched. : t, The leaves are fhort, broad, and roundifh ; they ftand two at every : i j joint, and are covered with a white downy matter. The flowers are 1 fmail and purple : they grow in oblong and flender fcaly heads, in the | manner of thofe of origanum ; and thefe heads are themfelves very pretty, I being elegantly variegated with green and purple. It refembles penny- j! royal much, only the leaves are larger. Place — It originally came from the Iflc of Candia, but grows with 1 us in gardens. 'I' i me. — Flowers at the latter end of July, and beginning of Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Venus, andpof-’ fefles the virtues of penny-royal, but in a fuperior degree. It is an ex- cellent wound herb, and in much reputation among the ancients, for . which Virgil may be quoted. It is good in decodlion with wine, to procure fpeedy and eafy deliverance, or with vervain, hyfop, and penny- :i royal j and boiled in ale, is more effectual for the fame purpofe. Diftaity; and milk are good for fpitting of blood. Bruiled with polipody, and mixed with hogs-lard, it draws fplinters out of the flelh, and heals. The rocts are cordial and cephalic, refill putrefaction and poifon, and arc ufeful in malignant and peftilential diftempers. The whole herb is good tor dileafes of the head, and to open all manner of obftruCtions. It is a confiderable ingredient in the Venice treacle, mithridate, and diafeordium. White t ■' 1 OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 275 WHITE DITTANY. Dictamus Fraxinella. Description. — Phis fpcciepf Dittany refembles in its leaves thofe of the afh-tree, only fmaller, and from whence it derives its name. It grows about three feet high, very much branched, and very beautiful. 1 he {talks are round, thick, firm, and of a green and purple Colour, ac- cording to its ftate of forwardnefs. The leaves (land irregularly, the flowers are large and elegant ; they are of a pale red, white, or ftriped, and fometimes light-blue, and they Hand in a kind of fpikes at the top of the branches. In the fummer months, the whole plant is covered with a kind of inflammable fubftance, which is glutinous to the touch, and of very fragrant fmell ; but if it takes fire, it goes off with a flafh all over the plant. This does it no harm, and may be repeated after three or four days, a new in that time. Place. — It only grows here in gardens, not being hardy enough to bear the feverity of our climate abroad. I ime. — It flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — They are both under the domi- nion of Venus. The roots of this kind are the only part ufed ; they are cordial, cephalic, refill poil'on and putrefaction, and are ufeful in malig- nant and peflilential diflempers ; in fevers, and hyfteric cafes : how- ever, an infufion of the tops of the plant, are a plealant and efficacious medicine in the gravel ; it works powerfully by urine, and gives eafe in thofe colicky pains which frequently attend upon that diforder. The root is a fure remedy for epilepfies, and other difeafes of the head, open- ing obftrudtions of the womb, and procuring the difeharges of the •terms. DITTANDER, or PEPPERWORT. PlPERITIS SERA LEPIDIUM VuLGARE. Description. — The Common Dittander has a fmall, white, {lender, creeping root, hard to be got out of a garden where it has been once planted. The lower leaves grow on long foot-ftalks, are fmooth, ob- long, fharp-pointed, and ferrated, four or five inches long. The {talks grow to be half a yard high, lmooth, and having Idler and narrower leaves growing alternately, fometimes indented about the edges, and lometimes not. The flowers that grow on the top of the iralks are fmall, white, and four leaved, and the leed-vefiels fmall and round. Place. — It grows inmoift places, and near rivers. Time. — Flowers in June and July. The whole plant has a hot and biting talle, like pepper. quantity of the inflammable matter ^being produced Mm2 Govern THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 276 Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Venus. The leaves of Dittander bruifed and mixed with hogs-lard, and applied as a cataplafm to the hip, help the fciatica •, chewed in the mouth, they caufe a great flux of rheum to run out of it, and by that means are faid to help fcrophulous tumours in the throat. The women in Suffolk give them boiled in ale to haften the birth. DEER.S BALLS. Boletus Cervinum. Description. — This is a tuberofe fungus, without the appearance of a root, and is of a dufky yellow colour, with a hard thick and granu- lated rind, but the infide is of a purplifh white colour. It is of the fize of a walnut, though fometimes of that of a hazel-nut, or lefs ; and it is divided into cells that were foft and downy, and in which are ex- ceeding fmall feeds, lying together in a mafs, and connected w'ith fila- ments ; when this fubftance has loft its feeds, it is then contracted into a fmall round ball. The fmell and tafte, when frefh, are rank, but when dry, and laid up for fome time, they become almoft taftelefs. Place. — They are found attached to old elms, oaks, and hornbeam. Time. — The latter end of the year is the moft proper time to feek them. Government and Virtues. — They are of little ufe, for they are never eaten ; por have they any remarkable qualities to recommend them for phyfical purpofes, whatever writers have written in their praife. They are of a windy nature, and fhould he avoided in flatulent com- plaints. Hili- COMMON DOCK. CURLED DOCK. FIDDLE DOCK. BLOODY DOCK. Rumex Obtusifolius, Rumex Crispus. Rumex Pulcher. Rumex Sanguineus. GOLDEN DOCK. Rumex Aureasive Maritima. _ GREAT WATER DOCK. Rumex Britanicus. The root of the Common Dock is pretty large and thick, running down deep into the earth, brown on the outfide, and having a thick deep yellow, and fometimes a little reddifh bark, with a thick tough hard pith in the middle, of a paler colour. The leaves are pretty large, in fome plants long and (harp-pointed, in others broad and round, growing on .iong foot-fblks. It grows to be a -yard or more in height, much branched, having the flowers, which are fmall and ftaminous, fet about the branches in whorles, with here and there a few fmaller leaves grow- ing among them : the feed is of a bright reddifh brown colour, and a tri- angular fhape. .v : -v ' _ . . * Place. Place. — It grows every wherein moift places, and among ruins id rubbifh. 1 ne root and feed are ufed. Gjv-ernmen i and Virtues.— The roots of this Dock are aperi- I re and cooling, and much ufed ta clear.fe and purify the blocj, to ;e it from its (alt iharp humours; and they are good for the fcurvy; leumatifm, and all manner of itchy fcabby eruptions; for which pur- ofe thev are frequently put in diet-drinks and apozems, and ufed out- rjic. in ointments. The iced is drying and binding, good to flop ( litiir. _ of blood, and haemorrhages of all kinds. * Betides the fpecies reprefented and enumerated above, there are nine lore variations obfcrved, not including the forrels, which may eafily ! e diilins'-tifhed by their peculiar manner of growing. In all thele kinds, the flowers, feeds, and manner of growth, are :e lhme, their principal difference confilling in the form of their leaves, nave therefore laid tnem before the reader in one view, without the iiterrupticn of divifions; and fhall only delcribe further the Great 1’ater Dock, which is the moft celebrated againft the fcurvy. Dt cription. — The root of this Dock is thick and large at the ad, dit idcd into branches toward the bottom, from which fpring fe- ral very large leaves two feet long, and not above four fingers broad, ■ring bruadeft in the middle, and narrower at both ends, green above, id fbmewhat white underneath. The ftalks are large and thick, owing to be four or five feet high, having a fewfmailer leaves among e flowers, which are much larger than the former, of a yellow co- ur, and let in thick whorles about the branches. I he feed likewife Larger, and of a darker colour, but triangular like that. Place. — It grows in large ponds and ditches. Time. — f lowers in fummer. Government and Virtues. — All Docks are under Jupiter, of inch the Red Dock, which is commonly called Blood-wort, cleanfes e blood, and ffrengthens the liver; but the yellow Dock root is belt be t-tccn when cither the blood or liver is affected by chcler. All them have a kind of cooling (but not all alike) drying quality, the tel being moft cold, and the blocd-worts moft drying. Of the bur- ck I have fpeken already by itfelf. The feed of moft of the ocher ids, whether the gardens or fields, flays lafks and fluxes of all forts, - barbing of the ftomach through choier; and is helpful for thofe that I t blood. The roots boiled in vinegar, help the itch, fcabs, and • raking cut of the fkin, if it be bathed therewith. The diftilled wa- I of the herb and roots have the lame virtue, and cleanfes the fkin •Ti freckles, morphews, and all other fpots, and difcolourings therein. All Docks being boiled with meat, make it boil the iboner: befides, *wd-wort is exceeding ftrengthening to the liver, and procures good lod, being as whole-feme a pot herb as any grows in a garden; yet la :s the nicety of our times, that women will not put it into a pet, *aufe it makes the pottage black; pride 2nd ignorance (a couple o £ 5 brers in the creation; preferring nicety before health. 278 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN j DODDER OF THYME. Epithymum. Description. — This firft frcm feed gives roots in the groun which ffioot forth threads or firings, grofler or finer, as the proper of the plant wherein it grows, and the climate, does fuflfer, creeping ai fpreading on that plant whereon it fallens, be it high or low. T ! . 11 :tr firings have no leaves at. all upon thefn, but wind and interlace ther felves fo thick upon a fmall plant, that it takes away all comfort of t fun from it; and is ready to choak or flrangle it. After thefe flrin are rifen up to a height, that they may draw nourifliment from that plai they feem to be broken off from the ground, either by the ftreng of their rifing, or withered by the heat of the fun. Upon thefe flrin are found cluflers of fmall heads or hulks, out of which fhoot for whitifh flowers, which afterwards give fmall pale-coloured feed, forr what flat, and twice as big as a poppy-feed. It generally participa of the nature of the plant which it climbs upon ; but the Dodder Thyme is accounted the bell, and is the only true Epithymum. Government and Virtues.— All the different fpecies of Dc ders are under Saturn. Tell not me of phyficians crying up EpitI mum, or that Dodder which grows upon Thyme, (moil of which con from Hemetius in Greece, or Hybla in Sicily, becaufc thofe mounta: abound with thyme) he is a phyfician indeed, that has wit enough chufe his Dodder, according to the nature of the difeafe and humc peccant. We confefs, thyme is thehotteft herb it ufually grows upc and therefore that which grows upon thyme, is hotter than that wh. grows upon colder herbs; for it draws nourifhment from what itgro upon, as well as from the earth where its root is ; and thus you fee Saturn is wife enough to have two firings to his bow. This is ; counted the mofl effectual for melancholy difeafes, and to purge bla or burnt choler, which is the caufe of many difeafes of the head brain, as alfo for the trembling of the heart, faintings and fwoonin -,r_ It is helpful in all difeafes and griefs of the fpleen, and melancholy, t arife from the windinefs of the hypochondria. It purges alfo the re or kidnies by urine; it opens obllrudlions of the gall, whereby it p fits thofe who have the jaundice ; as alfo the leaves the fpleen, purg the veins of the choleric and phlegmatic humours; and helps childrer agues, a little wormfeed being put thereto. W The other Dodders do, as I laid before, participate of the nature ;f thofe plants whereon they grow: as that which has been found gre - ing upon nettles in the well-country, has, by experience, beenfcH very effedlual to procure plenty of urine, where it has been floppec r hindered. And fo of the reft. Sympathy and antipathy are two hinges upon .which the whole r - del of phvfic turns; and that phyfician which minds them not, islilp IBE (iJVE door off from the hooks, more like to do a man mifehief, than to - ion cure him. Then all the difeafes Saturn caufes, this helps by fytnpa ’> OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 279 jd {Lengthens all the parts of the body he rules; fuch as are caufed by al, it lv . by antipathy. What thole difeafes are, fee my Judgment r : Difeales by Aftrology. DOG’S MERCURY. Cynocrambe. Description. — This is a rank poifonous plant, that grows about foot high, and has but few leaves, but they are large; the ftalk is fiuiid, thick, whitifh, pointed, and a little hairy: tire leaves ftand rincipally towards the top, four; five, or fix, feldom more ; they are >ng, and confiderably broad, lharp-pointed, notched about the edges, 1 id a little hairy. The flowers are inconfiderable; they ftand in a kind f fpikes at the top of the ftalks, and the feeds are on feparate plants; ley are double, and roundifh. Place.— Moft commonly found under hedges. ' Time. — In the early part of the year, it makes a very pretty ap- ■tearance. f>‘ Government and Danger. — This fpecie of Mercury has been 1 onfounded with others of the fame name, with which it has been thought a agree in nature. But there is not a more fatal plant, native of our ‘ountry, than this. The common herbals, as Gerard’s and Parkinfon’s, aftead of cautioning their readers againft the ufe of this plant, after pine trifling, idle oblervations, upon the qualities of Mercuries in ge- uTal, difmifs the article without noticing its baneful effects. Other writers, more accurate, have done this; but they have written in Latin, . language not very likely to inform thofe who ftand moft in need of his caution. This is one of the reafons for compiling of this work; nd, among many others, evinces the neceffity of placing the Latin lame oppofite to the Englilh one, to prevent that confufion which fimi- arity of Engliih might unfortunately create. DOG’S GRASS, or COUCH GRASS. Gramen Caninub*. I Description. — Couch, or Dog’s Grafs, has many long {lender ireeping roots, white, and jointed, fpreading much in the earth, with mall fibres at every joint, from which arife leveral fmall ftalks, not fo hick as the ftalk of wheat, having two or three joints, and as many ong and fomewhat broad leaves, one at each knot or joint. On the top of each ftalk grows one long fpiked head, ftiaped like an ear of wheat, but fomewhat flatter, confiding of two rows of chaffy leaves. Place. — It grows in hedges and borders of fields, and is too trou- blefome in gardens, whence it is hard to extirpate. Time. — Flowers in May, and the feed is ripe in July. Government and Virtues. — The Dog’s Grafs is under the dominion of Jupiter, and is the moft medicinal of all die quick grafles. The THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 280 The roots of it aft powerfully by urine ; they fhould be dried and pow- dered, for the decoction by water is too ftrong for tender ftomachs therefore fhould be fparingly ufed when given that way to chiidref to deftroy the worms. The way of ufe is to bruife the roots, am having well boiled them in white wine, drink the decofticn; it is open inn, not purging, very fafe; it is a remedy againft all difeafes comin< of flopping, and fuch are half thofe that are incident to the body 0 man ; and although a gardener be of another opinion, yet a phyfieiai holds half an acre of them to be worth five acres of carrots twice toll over. DOG ROSE, or WILD ROSE. Rosa Canina Cynobastos Description. — The Wild Briar, or Rofe, that grows in th hedges, has winged leaves like garden Rofes, but fmoother and greener the flowers are Angle, of five white, and fometimes pale red leaves, am •when they are fallen, there fucceed roundifh red leed-veffels, full c pulp, enclofing v hite cornered feed, covered with fhort ftift hairs. 0; the ftalks of this plant grow a green fpongy excrefcence, made by fma1 flies. Place. — Grows commonly in the hedges about Cambridge. Time. — Flowers in May and June*, and the feed is ripe at the be ginning of September. Government and Virtues.— It is under the dominion of Sa The flowers of the Wild Briar are accounted rather more re turn. ftringent than the Garden Rofes, and by fome are reckoned as a fpecifi for tire excefs of the catamenia. The pulp of the hips has a pleafan grateful acidity, ftrengthens the ftomach, cools the heat of fevers, i -pectoral, good for coughs and fpitting of blood, and the feurvy, Th feed has been known to do great things againft the ftone and gravel and the fame virtues are attributed to the fpongy excrefcence whici wows upon the ftalk. The beft way of preferring its virtues is, b keeping it conferved. DOG TOOTH. Dens Caninus. Description. — A very pretty plant, fmall, with two broad leaves and a large drooping flower: it grows five or fix inches high. Th F m ftalk is round, fender, weak, and greenifii towards the top, and often white at the bottom. The leaves ftand a little height above ground they are oblong, fomewhat broad, of a beautiful green, not at all dentei at the edges, and blunt at the end. 7'hey inclofe the ftalk at the bafe The flower is large and white, but with a tinge of reddifh; it hang down, is long, hollow, and very elegant. The root is roundifh, am ha.s fome fibres growing from its bottom; it is foil of aflimy pulp. Black ■ OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 28l Place. — It grows frequently in gardens, but mud not be fought for Wild. Time. — It flowers in June, and is in perfection till the fall of the leaf. Government and Virtues. — This ufeful plant is governed by the Moon. The frefh gathered roots are the beft to be ufed, for the) dry very ill, and generally lofe their virtues entirely. They are good again!! worms in children, and fpeedily eafe the pains of the belly which 2re produced thereby. The beft wav of giving it is, in the exprefled juice; or if children will not take that, they may be boiled in milk, to which they give very little tafte. It fliould be remembered it is a very powerful remedy, and a fmall dofe will take effedt, efpecially of the juice, ib that it is beft to begin with very little ; and as that is well borne, to encreafe the quantity. DOVES-FOOT. Pes Columbinus. Description. — This has divers fmall, round, pale green leaves, cut in about the edges, much like mallows, ftanding upon long, reddifh, hairy ftalks, lying in a round compafs upon the ground; among which rife up two, three, or more reddiih jointed, flender, weak, hairy ftalks, with fuch like leaves thereon, but fmaller, and more cut in up to the tops, where grow manywery fmall bright red flowers of five leaves a-piece; after which follow fmall heads, with fmall Ihort beaks pointed forth, as all other forts of thofe herbs do. Place. — It grows in pafture grounds, and by the path-fides in many places, and will alfo be in gardens. Time. — It flowers in June, July, and Auguft, fome earlier and fome later; and the feed is ripe quickly after. Government and Virtues. — It is a very gentle, though mar- tial plant. It is found by experience to be Angularly good for the Vvind colic, as alfo to expel the ftone and gravel in the kidnies. The de- codtion thereof in wine, is an excellent good cure for thofe that have inward wounds, hurts, or bruifes, both to ftay the bleeding, to diffolve and expel the congealed blood, and to heal the parts, as alfo to cleanfe and heal outward fores, ulcers, and fiftulas ; and for green wounds, many do only bruife the herb, and apply it to the place, and it heals them quickly. The fame decodtion in wine, fomented, to any place pained with the gout, or to joint-achs, or pain of the fmews, gives much eafe. The powder or decodtion of the herb taken for fome time together, is found by experience to be Angularly good for ruptures and burftings in people, either young or old. DOWN, or COTTON-THISTLE. Carduus Albis. Description. — This has large leaves lying on the ground, fome- what cut in, and as it were crumpled on the edges, of a green colour Vol. I. N n on TH fi FAMILY physician; on the upper fide, but covered with long hairy wool, or cotton down, fet with moil fharp and cruel pricks, from the middle of whofe heads of flowers, thruft forth many purplifh crimfon threads, and fometimes, although very feldom, white ones. The feed that follows in the heads, lying in a great deal of white down, is fomewhat large, long, and round, like the feed of ladies thiftle, but fomewhat paler. The root is great and thick, fpreading much, yet it ufualiy dies after feed-time. Place. — It grows in divers ditches, banks, and in corn-fields and highways, generally every where throughout the' country. T Ime.~ It flowers and bears feed about the end of fummer, when other thirties flower and feed. Government and Virtues. — Mars owns the plant, and ma- nifefts to the world, that though it may hurt your finger, it will help Siurbody; for I fancy it much for the enfuing virtues. Pliny and iofeorides write, that the leaves and roots thereof taken in drink, help thofe that have a crick in their neck, whereby they cannot turn their neck, but their whole body muft turn alfo, (fure they do not mean thofe that have got a crick in their neck by being under the hangman’s hand) ! Galen fays, that the root and leaves hereof are of a heating quality, and good for fuch perfons as have their bodies drawn together by fome fpafm or convulfions, as it is with children that have the rickets, or rather, as the College of Phyficians will have it, the rachites; for which name of the difeafe, they have, in a particular treatife, learnedly difputed and put forth to public view, that the world may fee they have taken much pains to little purpofe. COMMON, or GREAT DRAGONS. Dracontium. Description. — This plant has a pretty thick whitifh ftalk, made up of feveral coats wrapt over one another, having the outfide fpotted with reddifti and purple ftreaks and fpots; it rifes to a foot and half, or two feet high, bearing on the top two or three fmooth, Ihining, green winged leaves, cut each into feveral fedtions ; among which comes forth a large hood, green on the outfide, and of a deep fhining velvet pur- ple within, covering a large purple piftillum, in Ihape like that of arum, but much larger, being fucceeded by feveral large red berries. The root is large, round, and knobbed, with feveral fibres at the bottom. The herb with tire ftalks are ufed. Place. — It is cultivated in gardens only. Time. — Flowers in Augurt. Government and Virtues. — The plant is under the dominion of Mars, and therefore it would be a wonder if it fhould want fome ob- noxious quality or other j in all herbs of that quality, the fafeft way is either to diftil the herb in an alembic, in what vehicle you pleafe, or to prefs out the juice, and diftil that in a glafs-ftill in fand. It fcours and cieanfes the internal parts of the body mightily, and it cleats the exter- ... awL OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 283 nal parts alfo, being externally applied, from freckles, morphew, and fun-burning: your beft way to ufe it externally, is to mix it with vine- gar. An ointment of it is held to be good in wounds and ulcers; it con- futnes cankers, and that flefh growing in the noftrils, which they call polypus: alfo the diddled water being dropped into the eyes, takes away i'pots there, or the pin and web, and mends the dimnefs of fight; it is excellent good againft peftilence and poifon. Dragons are accounted a good alexipharmic, and ufeful in malignant contagious diltempers, and peflilential fevers, and, as the vulgar phrafe it, to drive any thing from the heart; wherefore it is given in medicines to drive out tire fmall-pox and mealies, and caufe lweat. COMMON WATER DROPWORT, HEMLOCK DROP- WORT. Oenanthe Fistulosa, Oenanthe Crocata. Description. — The roots of Drcpwort conlift of a great number of oval glandules fattened together by {lender firings, from which fpring feveral long, narrow, and as it were pinnated leaves, whofc pinnae are ferrated, and not much unlike the fmaller burnet faxifrage leaves: the (talks grow to be about a foot high, having but few leaves thereon, but on their tops a pretty many flowers in form of an umbel, which are white within, and reddifh on the outlide, made of fix leaves, with a great number of yellowifh {lamina in the middle; which are fucceeded by feveral flattilh feeds growing in a head together. Place. — It grows in chalky grounds. Time. — Flowers in June and July; the root being chiefly ufed. Government and Virtues. — Pimpinel Dropwort, which fome have delcribed as a lefter fpecies of the filipendula, differs in nothing, according to their own account, from this, but in fize, and is evidently a variety. They are accounted under V enus. Dropwort, efpecially the root, is counted diuretic, and good for the Hone, gravel, and lloppage of urine. The powder is commended to flop violent floodings and the whites, though Parkinfon fays, in his time it was ufed to expel the fe- cundines. Prevotius likewife commends it from his own experience againft: the bloody-flux. In this form it is beft, given fifteen grains to a dofe. It is one of thofe remedies of which our fore-fathers were very fond, and which is now very unreafonably neglected. DUCK’S-MEAT. Lens Palustris. Description. — This is a fmall plant which frequently covers the whole fuperficies of ponds and ditches, confilting only of fmall round green leaves, having neither flower nor feed perceivable, only from the middle of the under fide of each leaf, there run down into the water (mall white tnready roots. N n 2 Place. 284 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} Place. — This is fo well known to fwim on the top of Handing wa- ters, as ponds, pools, and ditches, that it is needlefs further to defcribe it. Government and Virtues. — Cancer claims the herb, and the Moon will be lady of it. Duck’s-Meat is of a cooling, mollifying na- ture, good to be applied to inflammations, St. Anthony’s fire, or the fhingles, as likewife for the gout, either applied by itfelf, or mixed with barley-meal. Six ounces of a ftrong infufion made in white-wine, taken for nine days together, is commended as a cure for the jaundice. The diftilled water by fome is highly efteemed againft all inward in- flammations and peftilent fevers; as alfo to help the rednefs of the eyes, fwellings of the tefticles, and of the breads before they be grown too much. The frefh herb applied to the forehead, eafes the pains of the head-ach coming of heat. ■A : E R E N C E S. Garden Patience Dyer's Weed Dog’s Stones Dewberry Bush Dropwort D entaria Dragon-Wort Dog’s Arrach Vid. Monks Rhubarb. Wold, or Weld. Orchis. Gooseberry Bush. Filipendula. Coral-Wort. Bistort., Arrach Wild. nat it ■ fl r. ■ : JC; u.; n ' hi ’ Earth OR, MEDICAL HERBAL 285 ENDIVE. Endivia. Description. — Garden Endive has pretty larg% long, finooth, yellowiih green leaves, broad and round hh at the end, and laciniated about the edges, full of a bitterilh milk. The ftal.c rifes to be two or three feet high, befet with f nailer and narrower leaves. The flowers are blue, and like thofc of fuccory, but f nailer, growing on the tops of the ftalks ; arid the fe. d of it is pretty much like the feed of fuccory. The root is long an 1 flender, fpreading but little. Place. — It grows in gardens. Time. —Flowers in June; the root periihes after the feed is ripe. Government and Virtues. — This is under Mercury. A fine cooling, cleanfing, plant. The decodtion of the leaves, or the juice, or the diflrilled water of Endive, ferves well to cool the excefiive neat of the liver and ftomach, and in the hot fits of agues, and all other inflam- mations in any part of the body; it cools the heat and Iharpnefs of the urine, and excoriations in the urinary parts. The feeds are of the fame property, or rather more powerful ; and, befides, are available for fainting, fwoonings, and paffions of the heart. Outwardly applied, they ferve to temper the fharp humours of fretting ulcers, hot tumo irs, fwellings, and peftilential fores; and wonderfully help not only the red- nefs and inflammations of the eyes, but the dimnefs of the fight alfo; they are alfo ufed to allay the pains of the gout. You cannot ufe it amifs; a fyrup of it is a fine cooling medicine for fevers. ELDER. Sametjcus. Description. — The Elder-Tree is a common hedge-tree, whole fpreading branches have a fpongy pith in the middle ; the outfide bark is of an alh-colour, under which is another that is green. The leaves are pinnated, of two or three pair of pinnae, with an odd one at the end, which is larger than the reft ; they are oval, {harp-pointed, and ferrated about the edges. The flowers grow in large flat umbels ; they are fmall, of one leaf, cut into five lections, witti as many fmall ftamina ; and are fucceeded by fmall round deep purple berries, full of a purple juice. Place. — The Elder-tree grows frequently in hedges. Time. — Flowers in May, and the berries are ripe in September. The bark, leaves, flowers, and berries are ufed. Government and Virtues. — Both Elder and Dwarf Tree are under the dominion of Venus. The firft (hoots of the Common El- der boiled like afparagus, and the young leaves and ftalks boiled in fat broth, does mightily carry forth phlegm and choier. The middle or in- ward bark boiled in water, and given in drink, works much more vio- lently ; and the berries, either green or dry, expel the fame humour, and are are often given with good fucccfs to help the dropfy; the bark of the 286 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN'; root boiled in wine, or the juice thereof drank, works the fame effects,] but more powerfully than either the leaves or fruit. The juice of the! fa root taken, mightily procures vomitings, and purges the watery hu-.l mours of the dropfy. The decoction of the root taken, cures the bite* of an adder, and bites of mad-dogs. It mollifies the hardnefs of the mo-jl ther, if women fit thereon, and opens their veins, and brings down their*,, courfes : the berries boiled in wine, performs the fame effedt: and the* hair of the head waftied therewith, is made black. The juice of the*' green leaves applied to the hot inflammations of the eyes affuages them;*;' the juice of the leaves fnuffed up into the noftrils, purges the tunicles ofK'j the brain ; the juice of the berries boiled with honey, and dropped intouf the ears, helps the pains of them ; the deception of the berries in wine* being drank, provokes urine ; the diftilled water of the flowers is of J much ufe to clean the fkin from fun-burning, freckles, morphew, or the 1 like ; and takes away the head-ach, coming of .a cold caufe, the head be- * ing bathed therewith. The leaves or flowers diftilled in the month of* May, and the legs often waftied with the faid diftilled water, takes* away th° ulcers and fores of them. The eyes waftied therewith, it* takes d'./ay the rednefs and blood-fnot ; and the hands waftied morning * and evening therewith, helps the palfy, and fhaking of them. MOUNTAIN ELDER. Sambucus Montana. Description. — This Elder differs not a great deal from the com- * mon, in branches or leaves ; thefe are pinnated, and rather narrower than 1 thofe of the former, having five ferrated pinnae on a ftalk. The chief 9 difference is in the flowers, which are yellower, and grow in thicker 9 clufters, and in the berries, which are not fo deep, but of a reddifh co- 1 lour. Place. — This Elder is feldom to be met with in England; but \t grows plentifully in Germany. Time. — Flowers in May. Government and Virtues. — It is not much ufed inwardly, be- ^ ing accounted fomewhat narcotic. It is an ingredient in the Unguent, ji Populeon; but being rarely to be had, the Common Elder is ufed in its \ i ftead. Description. — This is a pretty looking low plant, fending up va- rious fpreading ftalks, which fall down every year, and rifing again in the fpring ; on the top of thefe grow umbels of white flowers, having j frequently a dafti of purple, each of one fmall leaf, -divided into five feg- ments ; which are fucceeded by round berries, when ripe, of a deep pur- ple, or black colour, and full of a purplilh juice. The root is thick, and creeping on the furface of the earth. DWARF ELDER. Sambucus Humilis. Place. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 287 Place. — .The Dwarf Elder grows wild in many places of England, where being once gotten into a ground, it is not ealdy gotten forth again. Time. — Mod of the Elder trees flower in June, and their fruit is ipe for the moll part in Auguft. But the Dwarf Elder, or Wallwort, lowers fomewhat later, and his fruit is not ripe unt 1 September. Government and Virtues. — The DwarfElder is morepower- ul than the Common Elder in opening and purging choler, phlegm, and vater ; in helping the gout, piles, and women’s difeafes, colours the hair "lack, helps the inflammations of the eyes, and pains in the ears, the bite >f ferpents, or mad-dogs, burnings and fealdings, the wind colic, colic nd ftone, the difficulty of urine, the curew of old fores, and fiffu- pus ulcers. Of the Dwarf Elder, the bark and feeds are in moft repute, for the mndice and dropfy ; in the fame intention a decodtion of the root and ;eds is commended, but finould be joined with proper corrector: ,, they eing very violent in their operation without. The exprefl'ed oil of the ed is by fome outwardly ufed to afiiiage the pain of the gout. In lort, this has the fame qualities as the Common Elder, which, an tcellent detergent and diuretic, is of great efficacy in all obftrudtions, pecially of the liver and kidnies, opening the paflages of the one for the se fecrction of the bile, whilft it fcours the channels of the other, and omotes a copious difeharge of urine, whence in hydropic cafes it ■es great fervice. The inner bark of the Common Elder decoded, operates both by ■mit and ftool. The fame effedl is obferved but in a milder degree, the young buds, if in the fpring, eaten as young fallad, and thefe in pot- ge gently relax the bowels. The inner bark outwardly applied, is mmended in burns. JThe flowers are ludorific and anodyne; infufed in fharp vinegar, with : addition of fome fpices, they make a more reviving liquor to fmell and to rub the temples with in faintings of women in labour, and • er delivery, than all the volatile falts put together. Take of Elder flowers, half a pound, the flowers of red-rofes, rofe- 1 ry, and lavender, each four ounces, of nutmeg and cloves each two t ms, of cinnamon three drams, pour upon them five pints of the fharpeft ' ite wine vinegar, let all infufe a month or fix weeks, and after having f fled it out well, and the liquor is fettled, put it into bottles, and keep ‘ veil Hopped for ufe. i The berries are likewife fudorific, and of admirable ufe in recent cdsand beginning'feverifh heats, in which cafes nothing is fo proper a:he juice, without any addition, boiled over a very gentle fire to the c liftence of an extract; ffiis is commonly called the Rob of Elder, but Rarely made by a; other ries, though vaftly fuperior to the fyrup which lsonftantly kept in the fhops. To make this Rob Hill more ufeful in d abovementioned diforders, I would recommend to the patient to . fc; half a dram of fine levigated crabs eyes, mixed up with half a fpoon- ful 288 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; ful of fair water, and immediately after fix drams or an ounce of the faid Rob, and to lie down and cover himfelf well. This will excite a gentle fermentation in the ftomach, throw the perfon into a beneficial fweat. and produce a wonderful amendment. The truth of this has been fc generally experienced by the Germans, that one fhall hardly trave1 through a town or village where the inhabitants are unprovided of this Rob. The juice of the Elder berries mixed with one third part in weigh of the genuine powder of liquorice, with a few drops of oil of annifeedsi and boiled to a proper confidence, is a far better remedy on account cj its acidity, for cutting the phlegm, and taking off the irritation to cough than the juice of our liquorice, or the Spanilh juice alone. A win made of the juice of thefe berries is very wholefome. ELM-TREE. Ulmus. Description. — The Elm is one of the commoneft trees we hav of camomile, fet about a yellow thrum. The root is thick at the head having many fibres under it; the whole plant has a very ftrong, and, t( j moft, an unpleafant fmell. Place. — They grow in hedges and lanes. Time. — blowers in June and July. Tfie leaver and flowers an ufed. Government and Virtues. — The virtues of Feverfew are ver) great; it is an herb particularly appropriated to the female fex, being o: great fervice in all cold flatulent diforders of the womb, and hyftery: affections ■ 299 OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. affections ; procuring the catamenia, and expelling the birth and fecun- dines. The juice to the quantity of two ounces, given an hour before the fit, is good for all kinds of ague£. It likewife deftroys worms, provokes urine, and is good for the dropfy and jaundice. Corn and Sea Feverfew are variations that foil and fituation naturally produce. The latter is molt frequent in the neighbourhood of Chichefter. Hill. FIG-TREE. Ficus, The Fig-tree feldom grows to be a tree of any great bignefs in our parts, being cloathed with large leaves bigger than vine-leaves, full of high veins, and divided for the molt: part into five blunt-pointed feg- ments, yielding a thin milky juice when broken. It bears no villble flowers. Place. — They profper very well in our Englirh gardens, yet are fitter for medicine than for any other profit that is gotten by the fruit kf them. * Government and Virtues. — The tree is under the dominion of Jupiter. The milk that iliues out from the leaves or branches where they are broken ofr*, being dropped upon warts, takes them away. The 'decoction of the leaves is excellent good to wafn fore heads, with ; and there is fcarcely a better remedy for the leprofy than it is. It clears the face alfo of morphew, and the body of white feu rf, fcabs, and running lores. If it be dropped into old fretting ulcers, it cieanfes out the moillure, and brings up the flefh; becaufe you cannot have the leaves green all the year, you may make an ointment of them whilft you can. A decoction of the leaves being drank inwardly, or rather a fyrup made of them, diflolves congealed blood caufed by bruifes or falls, and helps the bloody-flux. The allies of the wood made into an ointment with hogs greafe, helps kibes and chilblains. The juice being put into an' hollow tooth, eafes pain ; as alfo deafnefs and pain and noile in the ears, being dropped into them. An ointment made of the juice and hogs greafe, is as excellent a remedy for the biting cf mad dogs, or other venomous beafts, as moll are ; a fyrup made of the leaves, or green fruit, is excellent for coughs, hoarfenefs, or Ihortnefs of breath, and all difeafes of the breaft and lungs : it is very good for the dropfy and falling-fickncfs. ° i COMMON FIR-TREE. Abies. Description. — There are two forts of Fir; one called the Silver or Yew-leaved, which is reckoned an exotic, coming originally from Germany, and only planted in gardens; but the common pitch-tree, or picea, which is a native with us, differs from it only in that the leaves are fmaller and flenderer, Iharp and prickly at the ends, Handing thicker P p 2 together, 300 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; together, and encornpaffing the ftalk without any order. The cones are longer than thofe of the Yew-leaved, and hang downwards. Place. — It grows wild in the northern parts of England, but the Scotch Fir is another diftinct fpecie from both thefe: it is the wild pine, i The leaves are long and blueifh. Government and Virtues. — Jupiter owns this tree. The P” leaves and tops of both forts are ufed in diet-drinks for the fcurvy, for I which they are highly commended by the inhabitants of the northern 6 countries. It is faid a good quantity of them are put into Brunfwick mum. From this tree, of which there grow great numbers in feveral parts of Germany, is gotten the Strafburg turpentine, which is clearer, of a pale colour, and of a thinner confiltence than Venice turpentine, of abitterifh talle, and of a pleafant fmell, a little like lemon-peel. It is of a mollifying, healing, and cleanfmg nature ; and, befides its ufes outwardly in wounds and ulcers, is a good diuretic, and of great ufe in a gonorrhoea and the duor albus; given in glyfters, mixt with the yolk ot an egg, it is very ferviceable againft the ftone and gravel. It is like- wife a good pedtoral, and often given in afihdhions of the breaft and lungs. Tar is ltkewife the product of thefe trees, which are cut into pieces, and piled up in a heap; and being fet on fire at the top, the refinous liquor is driven out by the heat of the fire, and, running down, is re- 1 ceived into trenches made for it, and fo put into the cafks; and by boiling is hardened into pitch. Tar is by fome accounted a good pectoral medicine, and ufed for obftruftions of the lungs, and fhortnefs of breath. From the young branches of this tree is produced the famous fpruce beer; and the juice which runs from the trunk, upon its being tapped, is what is fold in the fhops here under the name of the Balm of Gilead. The young tops of this tree make an excellent antifcorbutic either in- fufed or boiled in beer or wine ; experience has fufficiently confirmed their efficacy in tfiat diftemper in our American plantations, where the inhabitants ufed to be feverely afflifted with it, who fince they have taken to brewing a kind of liquor of malofies, in which they boil the young Fir-tops in the room of hops, they are very little troubled with the fcurvy; and many of our failors whofe diet on board of fhips makes them lubj eel to it, have had reafon to commend that liquor. This tree yields two refinous fubftances ; a thin liquid fort, which comes forth from the young Firs, and is known in the fhops by the name of Straf- burg turpentine ; and a dry fubffance refembling frankincenfe, to which it is not unlike in quality. YELLOW WATER FLAG, or FLOWER DE LUCE. Calamus. Description.— This plant is diftinguifhed from all others, in that among its leaves, which are much longer and narrower than the iris, o, Flows) OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. jK ’ 1 ) : | ! 30 1 t Flower de Luce, there arifes one or two like the reft, only fomewha narrower, thicker and rounder toward the top, near to which come forth fingle juli, rarely two, in fhape like the catkin of the hazel, or like long pepper, but ending more taper, and ftanding up obliquely from the leaf. The root is thick, full of joints, and fpreads itfelf on the upper part of the earth, tranfverfely, and not linking deep in it, being full of large white fibres, encreafing much, and foon taking a great deal of ground. It has a ftrong fmell, not fo pleafant while green, but growing more grateful and aromatic as it dries. Place. — It grows in feveral rivulets and watery places in England, as about Norwic.i, and in Chelhire and Surry, according to Mr. Ray; but what is ufed in the fhops, is moftly imported from abroad. Time. — It produces its catkins in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues.— Flags are under Lunar dominion. The roots, which only are ufed, are hot and dry, opening and attenu- ating, and good for the obftructions of the liver and fpleen ; provoke urine and the menfes, help the colic, refill putrefaction, are ufeful againft peftilential contagions and corrupt noxious air ; are an ingredient in the theriaca and mithridate, and are outwardly ufed in fweet bags and perfumes. BASTARD WATER FLAG. Acorus Adulterinus. Description. — This iris, that grows fo common in ditches, and 1 watery places, bears leaves like the common flower de luce, only fome- what longer and narrower j the ftalk rifes higher, on the top of which ! grow three or four flowers, one above another, flowering gradually in 1 lhape like an ordinary flower de luce, only that they want the upright ; leaves, inftead of which they have only ftnall pieces of leaves in their places. The flowers are fucceeded by large triangular feed-vefiels, containing three rows of flat feed. The root is long and flender, and does not run deep in the earth. Place. — It ufually grows in ditches, ponds, lakes, and moor-fides, which are always overflowed with water. 11 Time. — It flowers in fummer. t Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of the : Moon. The fpicy bitternefs of the root of this plant befpeaks it a ji ftrengthener of the ftomach and head, and therefore may fitly be put into any compofition of that intention. The root preferved may with good fuccefs be ufed by itfelf, and both the Germans and Turks are [very fond of it, and reckon it a great prefer vat ive againft infectious air, which makes them commonly eat a piece of the preferved root failing. The leaves having a very grateful flavour, are, by fame nice cooks, put into fuuce for nfh. FLAX-WEED, or TOAD-FLAX. Linaria. 1 Description. — Our common Flax-weed has divers ftalks full fraught with long and narrow afh-coloured leaves, and from the middle of them almoft upward, ftored with a number of pale yellow flowers, of a ftrong unpleafant fcent, with deeper yellow mouths, and blaekifh flat feed in round heads. The root is fomewhat woody and White, ef- pecially the main downright one, with many fibres, abiding many years, fliooting forth roots every way round about, and new branches every year. Place. — This grows throughout this country, both by the way- fides and in meadows, as alfo by hedge-fides, and upon the Tides of banks, and borders of fields. Time. — It flowers in fummer, and the feed is ripe ufually before the end of Auguft. Government and Virtues. — Mars owns the herb. In Suflex we call it gallwcrt, and lay it in our chickens water to cure them of the gall; it relieves them when they are drooping. This is frequently ufed to fpend the abundance of thofe watery humours by urine, which caufe the dropfy. The decodlion of the herb, both leaves and flowers, in wine taken and drank, does fomewhat move the belly downwards, opens obftrucftions of the liver, and helps the yellow-jaundice; expels poifon, provokes women’s courfes, drives forth the dead-child, and after-birth. The diftilled water of the herb and flowers is effectual for all the fame purpofes; being drank with a dram of the powder of the feeds of bark or the roots of w'all-wort, and a little cinnamon, for certain days toge- ther, it is held a Angular remedy for the dropfy. The juice of the herb, or the diftilled water, dropped into the eyes, is a certain remedy for all heat, inflammation, and rednefs in them. The juice or water put into foul ulcers, whether they be cancerous or fiftulous, with tents roiled therein, or the parts wafhed and injected therewith, cleanfes them tho- roughly from the bottom, and heals them up fafely. The fame juice or water alfo cleanfes the fkin wonderfully of all forts of deformity, as leprofy, morphew, fcurf, wheals, pimples, or fpots, applied of itfelf, or ufed with fome powder of lupines. 1 l V i : i »■: » •fl FLAX. Linum. Description. — Flax has round Tender unbranched ftalks, a yard or more high, cioathed with many long, narrow, fharp-pointed, glau- cous leaves ; on the tops of the ftalks grow a pretty many fmall five- leaved blue flowers, foon falling off; and are followed by round heads, or feed-veflels, each divided into about ten partitions, containing as many oblong, flattilh, fhining, brown feed. The root is fir.all and OS, MEDICAL HERBAL, 3°3 \voody, and dies as foon as the feed is ripe. Of the bark of the dalks of this plant, which is tough, and made up of a great many {lender filaments, is made linen cloth. Place. — It is fown in fields. Time.— Flowers in June. The feed only is ufed. Government and Virtues.— Mercury owns this ufeful plant. The feed, wnich is ufually called linfeed, is emollient, digeding, and [ ripening; of great ufe againfi inflammations, tumours, and impodhumes, | and is frequently put into fomentations and cataplafms, for thofe pur- f poles. Cold-drawn linfeed-oil is of great lervice in all difeafes of the 9 bread and lungs, as pleurifies and peripneumonia, coughs, afthma and 1 confumption. It likewife helps the colic and done, both taken at the « mouth, and given in glyders. The oil, by expredion, is the onlv li pfficinal preparation. FLEA-WORT. Psyllium. Description. — Ordinary Flea-wort rifes up with a dalk two feet high or more, full of joints and branches on every fide up to the top, | and at every joint two fmall, long, and narrow whitidi green leaves I fomcwhat hairy: at the top of every branch dand divers fmall, fhort, . fcaly, or chaffy heads, out of which come forth fmall whitilh yellow j threads, like to thofe of the plantain herbs, which are the bloomings of flowers. The feed inclofed in thefe heads is fmall and fhining while it 1 is frelh, very like unto fleas both for colour and bignefs, but turning * black when it grows old. The root is not long, but white, hard, and 1 woody, per idling every year, and rifing again of its own feed for divers in years, if it be differed to died: the whole plant is fomewhat whitilh and hairy, duelling like rofin. There is another fort hereof, differing not from the former in the manner of growing, but only that this dalk and branches being fome- what greater, do a little more bow down to the ground: the leaves are fomewhat greater, the heads fomewhat leffer, the feed alike; and the J root and leaves abide all winter, and perifh not as the former. . Place. — The fird grows only in gardens, the fecond plentifully in fields that are near the lea. Time. — They flower in July, or thereabouts. Government and Virtues. — The herb is cold, dry, and Sa- turnine. I fuppofe it obtained the name of Flea- wort, becaufe the feeds are fo like fleas. The feed fried, and taken, days the flux or lafk of the belly, and the corrofions that come Ipy reafon of hot choleric, or Iharp and malignant humours, or by too much purging of any violent medicine, as fcammony, or the like. The mucilage of the feed made with rofe- water, and a little fugar-candy put thereto, is very good in all not agues and burning fevers, and other inflammations, to cool the third, and lenifv the drynefs and roughnefs of the tongue and throat. It helps 3°4 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; helps alfo hoarfenefs of the voice, and difeafes of the breaft and lungs, caufed by heat, or fharp fait humours, and the- pleurify alfo. The mu- cilage of the feed made with plantain- vVater, wh reur)to the yolk of an egg or two, and a little popuieon are put, is a moft fafe and fure re- medy to eafe the fharpnefs, pricking, and pains of the haemorrhoids or piles, if it be laid on a cloth and bound thereto. It helps all inflamma- tions in any part of the body, and the pains that come thereby, as the head- ach and vapours, and all hot impofthumfes, fwellings, and break- ing out of the fkin, as blains, wheals, pufhes, purples, and the like; a; alfo the joints of thofe that are out of joint, the pains of the gout and fciatica, the burfting of young children, and the fwelling of the navel, applied with oil of roles and vinegar. It is alfo good to heal the nipples and fore breafts of women, being often applied thereunto. The juice of the herb with a little honey put into the ears, helps the running 6 them, and the worms breeding in them: the fame alfo mixed with hog: greafe, and applied to corrupt and filthy ulcers, cleanfes and heals them. MARSH FLEABANE, BIRD’S TONGUE, or MARSH GROUNDSEL. Othonna Palustris. Description. — 7'his is a handfome perennial plant, of upright re gular growth. The ftalk is brown, firm, near a yard high, and has t few branches. Tne leaves are beautifully ferrated, long, narrow, oft' bright light-green above, and downy underneath. The flowers are o a very fine bright yellow. Place. — This is found upon rotten boggy ground, and aim oft ir water. It is common in the Ifle of Ely. Government and Virtues. — The leaves contain the virtues An ointment made of them is good for the fciatica. For this purpofl they muft be boiled in hogs lard till they are crifp, when the lard is tt be prefled off, and put by for ufe. MOUNTAIN RAGWORT, or MOUNTAIN FLEABANE Othonna Integrifolia. Description. — This is a weed of our high pafture grounds, bu not common; its height never exceeds afoot; it is always found t< grow upright, and has no branches. The leaves are pale, thick, am downy, and the flowers are of a light yellow ; they grow in a clufte at the top of the -fballp, and have a circle of narrow leaves under them Time.— 1 hey blow in June and, July; and the feed is ripe b I Auguft. Govern O It, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3°S Government and Virtues. — Befide the virtues which are known in plants, it will be ufeful to give cautions againft their dan- gerous qualities. Careful farmers fay, this hurts their (beep; their wool grows loofe on eating it. Taken inwardly, it is an acrid and a dangerous purge; but its juice applied outwardly, is of good effect, as the next fpecie, which does not very materially differ in virtue, ma- nifefts. We have in this, and the fucceeding plant, a ftriking inftance of the utility of Latin names. Othonia, or Cineria, belongs to both thefe ; and each has, under either of them, a juft diftin&ion by its fecond name, Integrifolia, and Paluftris. The name Othonna belongs to no Britifb plant befide; and will be underftood, not only here, but in all nations ; whereas the name Seggrom, which is diftinCtly and truly the name of thefe plants, is in our language applied alfo to the Common Ragwort, an herb of our paftures, and to Groundfel, a weed of our gardens; and, to encreafe the confufion, fometimes to neither of thefe; for euftom calls one Ragwort, and the other Flcabane. Many words are necef- fary to be ufed to explain thefe equivocal expreffions, if ufed in direct- ing thefe plants for medicine; and, perhaps, then it would be but im- perfectly done: but the Latin name removes all difficulties at once; it belongs to nothing elfe, and it is univerfally known by all perfons un- der this denomination. ! COMMON RAGWORT, or MARSH FLEABANE. Othonna Palustris. Called alfo St. James’s- wort, Stagger -wort, Hammer- wort, and iSeggrom. Description. — This has many large and long leaves, of a frefti green, very fmooth and delicate, lying on the ground ; the leaves are deeply cut at the edges, from which rife up fometimes but one, and fometimes two or three fquare or crefted blackifh or brownilh ftalks, three or four feet high, fometimes branched, bearing divers fuch-like leaves upon ^hem, at feveral diftances unto the top, where it branches forth into many ftalks bearing yellow flowers, confifting of divers leaves, fet as a pale or border, with a dark yellow thrum in the middle, which abides a great while, but at laft are turned into down, and, with the fmall blackilh grey feed, are carried away with the wind. The root is made of many fibres, whereby it is firmly faftened into the ground, and abides many years. Place. — They grow both of them wild in paftures, and untilled grounds in many places, and oftentimes both in one field. Time. — They flower in June and July, and the feed is ripe in Auguft. V ql; I; Q^q Govern- 1 306 the family physician; Government and Virtues. — Fleabane or Ragweed is under r tfie command of Dame Venus; and cleanfes, digefls, and difcufles. j 'Fhe decoction of the herb is good to wafh the mouth or throat that has j ulcers or fores therein ; and for fwellings, hardnefs, or impoflhuma- I tions, for it thoroughly cleanfes and heals them ; as alfo the quinfy, and j the kings-evil. It helps to flay catarrhs, thin rheums, and defludtions 1 from the head into the eyes, nofe, or lungs. The juice is found by experience to be iingularly good to heal green wounds, and to cleanfe and heal all old filthy ulcers in the privities, and in other parts of the body, as alfo inward wounds and ulcers; flays the malignity of fretting i and running cankers, and hollow fiftulas, not frittering them to fpread j farther. It is alfo much commended to help aches and pains either in the flefhy part, or in the nerves and ftnews ; as alfo the fciatica, or pain of the hips or huckle-bone, to bathe the places with the decodticn of the herb, or to anoint them with an ointment made of the herb, bruifed and boiled in hogs-fuet, with fome maftick and olibanum in powder added to it after it is ftrained forth. . MIDDLE FLEABANE. Inula Dysenterica. Description. — This is an ugly, and ill-looking, annual weed, fre- i quently found on wafte grounds, and by the way-fide. It grows about a foot high, with a few branches ; the leaves are pale, whitifh, and flick to the fingers on touching them. The flowers are of a light yellow. , Place. — They grow in waftes, and by way-fides. Ti me. — And blow in Auguft, fhedding their feed round the old, flalk, w’hich perifhes with the cold in winter. Observations. — One would fearcely think that any thing re- fembling elecampane in fmell, could be fo difguftful : but this, though with the real flavour of it, is highly fo; and in its tafte it is acrid and forbidding. SMAl^L FLEABANE. Inula Pulicaria, Description. — This is another ill-looking annual weed, frequen1 t in our wafte places. The rays of the flower are very fhort and waved ' / it grows to eight inches high, but commonly lies in part upon the ground ; ; The flalk is of a ruddy brown ; the leaves are fhort, fmall, and of a dul dead green ; the flowers are fmall, very poor, and of a dirty yellow. Time. — They blow in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — The fmell of this and the forme .< is fuppofed delightful to infedts, and the iuice deftrudtive to them, fo they never leave it till the feafon of their deaths. CANADA : OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. '3°7 CANADA FLEABANE, or SIMSON. Erigeron Canadense. I Description. — The ftalk is of a dufky green, tinged with brown, and the lower leaves are br>rd, and rudely dented; the upper narrow 1 and undivided, and all of a dead green. The flowers are white, hut of I! no beauty. Place. — This is an annual, that grows on our dry banks, and B anioiw rubbifh: fometimes it is found not fix inches high, lbmetimes i two feet or more. | | Time. — They blow in Augufc and September. Observations. — The juice of this, as well as the fweet Flea- bane, or erigeron acre, is an excellent pc floral ; but being unplea- i fant, is not often ufed ; however, if the deception or infufion be fweet- entd with capilary or fyrup of maiden hair, it may be ufed with fuccefs : in confumptive calbs. FLEXWEED, or FLUXWEED. Sisymbrium Sophia. I Description. — Fluxweed has a white hard woody root full of fmall fibres at the bottom, perifhing after having ripened feed ; the {talks rife t to be about two feet high, more or lefs, befet with many long, winged, i and very finely and neatly divided green leaves, pretty much refembling [ thofe of the true Roman wormwood, befet with very fhort fine hairs. I The flowers grow at the end of the branches, being fmall, yellow, and four-leaved, and are fucceeded by very {lender feed-vefiels, about an i inch or thereabout in length, full of very fmall reddiih feed. | * Place. — It grows frequently in fandy ground, and among rubbifli, T ime. — ^Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — This herb is Saturnine alfo. Both the herb and feed of Fluxweed is of excellent ufe to fray the flux and lafk of the belly, being drank in water wherein gads of fteel heated have been often quenched; and is no lefs effectual for the fame purpofe than plantain and comfrey, and to reftrain any other flux of blood in t man or woman; as alfo to confolidate bones broken or out of joint. |r The juice thereof drank in wine, or the decoction of the herb drank, ■ does kill the worms in the ftomach or belly, or the worms that grow in putrid and filthy ulcers; and made into a falve does quickly heal all old lores, how foul and malignant foever they be. The diftilled water of the herb works the fame efffedls, although fomewhat weaker; yet it is a fair medicine, and more acceptable to be taken. It is called Fluxweed becaufe it cures the flux; and for its uniting broken bones, &c. Para- celfus extols it to the fkies. It is fitting that fyrup, ointment, and plaifters of it, were kept in your houfes. CLqa There THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN* 308 There is another fort, differing in nothing, fave only it has fome- tvhat broader leaves ; they have a ftrong evii favour, being fmelled unto * and are of a drying tafte. WHITLOW FAVEREL. Draba Vernei. WOOLLY FAVEREL. Draba Incana. WALL FAVEREL. Draba Muralis. Description. — The root is compofed of many long and thick fibres, and the leaves grow in tufts at the bottom of the ftalk ; they are of a deep green, oblong pointed, and yery rough and harfh to the touch. The ftalk is upright, flender, and green; there are no leaves on it, but towards the top grow fmajl ftar-like pale green flowers, with yellow threads in the centre. The feed-veffel is fmall, and the feeds are nu- merous and brown. Woolly Faverel differs in that the (talk is fur- nifhed with numerous notched leaves, of a pale green, and the flowers, green iflr like the former. The Wall Faverel is largeft, and much the fcarceft plant. The ftalk is reddifh brown, furnifhed with rough hair, and the leaves are more pinnated, and only come out at the joints; but the flowers are light-green, and the feed is the fame. Place. — It is common in Yorkfhire and Weftmoreland, and other northern counties. Time. — They are fometimes in flower as early as April, and, ac- cording to their fituation, may not come out till June. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion o( the Moon. The leaves and roots are commended by the ancients againft the fciatica, being beaten into a cataplafm with hogs-lard, and applied to the part affedled, and kept on four hours to a man, and twoj to a woman, and the place afterwards wafhed with wine and oil. T here, are other varieties, but they are only accidental ones, which will rife from the fame feeds with the other, according to fituation and foil. ■ 1 ie RUSHY GLONDE. Subularia Aquatica. Description. — This grows from a root compofed of many long and thick fibres. The leaves are long, flender, and fharp-pointed ; they ftand upright, and are of a deep green, and very rough and harfh to the touch : they are rounded on the back, and flat on the upper fide, biggeft at bottom, and fmaheft at the extremity. The ftalk is flender and green: there are no leaves on it, but at diftancys Angle flowers ap- pear, which are four-leaved, of a greenifh white, and feldom quite open. Place. — It is found at the lot toms of fifh-ponds in the northern parts of England and Wales. V Time. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL., 3°9 , Time. — Flowers in Auguft. Government and V irtues. — This is aLunar plantalfo. The flowers are feldom ul'ed, but the leaves arc put in cooling ointments, being accounted good for burns, inflammations, and hot fwellings; and are an ingredient in the Unguentum Populeon. CORN FEVERFEW. Matricaria Chamomilla. Description. — This is an hateful weed to farmers; but yet it pof- . fefles virtues that may recompence all the damage it can do among the corn. It fometimes grows to a foot and a half high, with a pale, (len- der, branchy ftalk: the leaves are of a pale green, and they have no fmell. The flowers arc large and white, with a high yellow difk in the middle, and the leaves are cut into many parts as hue as threads. Place. — They are found commonly in corn-fields. Time. — Blow in July. * Government and Virtues. — Thefe have the virtues of the flowers of camomile, but with more cordial warmth. For thofe who have cold and weak, ftomachs, fcarcely any thing equals them. They are beft taken by the way of infufion like tea. Hill. t » \ SEA FEVERFEW. 'Matricaria Maritima. Description.— This grows about eight inches high, upright, and aranchy. The ftalk is thick and ruddy ; and the leaves are of a dull *reen, thick, fwelled up, hollow underneath, and compofed of many iarts, which are again cut down to the rib. The flowers are white, with a low yellowifh difk. Place. — This is a fea-fide perennial plant, frequently found in Cornwall. Time. — They blow in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This is a weed of our wafts narlhes, where it grows in its greateft perfection. Some curious phy- ic gardeners have produced it, but it is not then fo full of virtue as when found wild. The virtues of Feverfew are very great. It is an excellent deobftruent. It is, as obferved before, a great promoter of die menfes, and cures thole hyfteric complaints which rife from their ibftruftion. It alfo deftroys worms. In fhort, the virtues of any forts at Feverfew are beyond all praile, and above all value. SPIRY CRESS. Sisymbrium Irco. Description. — This rifes from a fmali fibrous root, with around, arm, upright ftalk branched and a foot high. The leaves are of a faint 310 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN: faint green, of a tender fubftance, and deeply divided in the pinnate manner; and the flowers are final] and white, and grow in tufts at th tops of the branches. The feed is fmall and brown, and grows in ion narrowr pods. Place. — It is common by road-fides in EiTex and other part; Time. — It flowers in May, and fome times not till Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is governed by the Moor The whole plant has a ftrong acrid tafle; however, it is good again fcorbutic complaints, and operates by thofe medicines, the Mr. Stephens, for ths .D f> urine. It is an ingredient receipts of which, Government pure haled cure of the flone. Hill. FLOWER DE LUCE. Iris. Description. — The roots of Common Flower de Luce fprer themfelves pretty much on the 1'urface of the earth, being of a reddif brown colour on the outfkle, and whitifh within; round, an inch an more in thicknefs, with fcveral tranfverfe rings or circles, andfhootin out long fibres. The leaves are nervous, broad arid flat, thickeft 1 the middle, with thin edges like a fvvord : they grow in thick clumj' together; the flowers are made of nine leaves like the former, of a put plifh blue colour, and have the like feed-veiTels, which are full of an gular feed. Place. — It grows with us only in gardens. Time. — Flowers -in May and June. Government and Virtues. — This herb is Lunar. Th juice of the root, which is the only part ufed, is a ftrong errhine; bein fnuffed up the noftrils, it purges the head, and clears the brain of thi lerous phlegmatic humours. The fame likewife, or a ftrong decc&io of the root, given inwardly, is a ftrong vomit, and accounted good ft the dropfy, jaundice and agues; but by reafon it very much vellicatc and offends the ftomach, it is rarely ufed without honey and fpikenan rl he lame being drank, does eafe the pains and torments of the belly an fidcs, the fhaking of agues, the dileafes of the liver and fplecn, th worms of the belly, the ftone in the reins, convulfions and cramps thi come of old humours; it alfo helps thofe w’hole feed pafs from.thei unawares : it is a remedy againft the bitings and hangings of venomoi ‘PAL npirirr Vimlprl in onri vihPO-cir anrl rlrcinL'-* hrulprl 1 creatures, being boiled in water and vinegar, and drank: boiled i water, and drank, it provokes urine, helps the colic, brings down wc men's courfes; and made up into a peftary with honey, and put up int the body, draws forth the dead-child. It is much commended again: the cough, to expectorate tough phlegm; it much eafes pains in tb head, and procures llecp ; being put into the noftrils it procures fneez ing, and thereby purges the head of phlegm: the juice of the root ap plied to the piles or haemorrhoids, gives much eafe. The decoftion c the roots gargled in the mouth, eafes the tooth-ach, and helps a ftink 4n ,1 OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3rl lino breath. Oil called oleum irinum, if it be rightly made of the great l .iroad flag Flower de Luce (and not of the great bulbus blue Flower do Luce, as is ufed by fome apothecaries) and roots of the fame of the [jlag ■ y kinds, is very effectual to warm and comfort all cold joints and 'mews ; as alfo the gout and feiatica ; and mollifies, diffolves and con- i umes, tumours and iwellings in any part of the body, as alfo of the ma- l.rix ; it helps the cramp, or convulfions of the fine ws: tiie head and (temples anointed therewith, helps the catarrh of thin rheum diiliiled , Tom thence ; and ufed upon the bread; or ftomach, helps to extenuate the cold tough phlegm; it helps alfo the pains and noife in the cars, and the flench of the noflrils. The root itfelf, either green or in powder. Si helps to cleanfe, heal, and incarnate wounds, and to cover the naked Phones with flefh again, that ulcers have made bare; and is alfo very [good to cleanfe and heal up fiitulas and cankers that are hard to be |cured. I FRENCH LAVENDER, or CASSIDONY. St^echas. 1 Description1. — This beautiful flirub grows three or four feet high, I cloathed with long hoary leaves, Ids than thofe of common Lavende-, ■two at a joint, with fmaller coming forth among them: the Italics are !Slfquare, bare of leaves to the tops, on which grow thick, round, fcaly ifpikes, or heads of purple galeated flowers, fet in hairy calyces. On the top of the fpikes grow two or three {lender purple leaves. The feed is fmall and round, four fuccceding each flower; the root is thick and woody, and much branched ; the leaves and flowers have a ftrong aromatic feent. It took its name, according to Diofcorides, from the Staechades, iflands in the Mediterranean Sea, not far from IMarfeilles. Place. — It grows wild there. It is planted with us in gardens, where it is eafily encreafed, and bears our fevereft winters with mode- rate flielter ; and pity it is that it is not more propagated, the frefh heads i being certainly of greater virtue and efficacy, than thofe which come from abroad; there not being frefh importations in many years. R Time. — It flowers in June, and its heads ought to be gathered when they are firm and hard, which is about the latter end of July. The flowers are only ufed. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of |»t Jupiter. They are cordial and cephalic, {Lengthening the genus ner- vol'um ; and are uleful for apoplexies, palfies, and all kinds of convul- fions; they are opening and attenuating, promote the catamenia, refill poifons, and the bites of venomous creatures. They are an ingredient in the theiiaca and mithridate. French THE family physician; 311 FRENCH MERCURY. Mercurialis Gallium, Description. — French Mercury, male and female, grows about t\ foot high, full of fmooth angular ftalks, befet with narrow leaves, about; an inch and half long, broadeft in the middle, and fharper at both ends, indented about the edges, of a pale yellow green colour. The flowers! are fmall and ftaminous, of a greenifh colour, growing in fpikes, which rife from the bofom of the leaves. Thofe of the female fall off without! any feed. The male has a couple of tefticulated feed at the end of the fpike. The root is fibrous, and perifhes after it has flowered and given! feed. Place. — It grows frequently in gardens, in wafte places, and among rubbifh. T ime. — Flowers in June. Government and V irtues. — This plant is under the dominion) of and cures by antipathy to the Moon in earthly figns. The leaves anc | ftalks are ufed, and are aperitive and mollifying; the decodtion thereof purges choleric and ferous humours: it is moftly ufed in glyfters. Ma-j thiolus commends a decoction of the feeds with wormwood, for the; yellow-jaundice. The juice takes away warts. FLUELLIN, or LLUELLIN. Elatine, Description.- — It fhoots forth many long branches, partly lying j upon the ground, and partly ftanding upright, fet with almoft red leaves, yet a little pointed, and fometimes more long than round, without or- der thereon, fomewhat hairy, and of an evil greenilh white colour; at j the joints all along the ftalks, and with the leaves, come forth fmall) flowers, one at a place, upon a very fmall fhort foot-ftalk, gaping fomewhat like fnap-dragons, or rather like toad-flax, with the upper, jaw of a yellow colour, and the lower of a purplilh, with a fmall heel) or fpur behind; after which come forth fmall round heads, containing fmall black feed. The root is fmall and thready, dying every year, and raifes itfelf again of its own fowing. There is another fort of Lluellin which has longer branches wholly trailing upon the ground, two or three feet long, and fomewhat more , thin, fet with leaves thereon, upon fmall foot-ftalks. The leaves are a ; little larger, fomewhat round, and cornered fometimes in fome places on the edges; but the lower part of them being the broadeft, has on 1 each fide a lfnall point, making it feem as if they were ears, fometimes hairy, but not hoary, and of a better green colour than the former, j The flowers come forth like the former, but the colours therein are more white than yellow, and the purple not fo far: it is a large flower, OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3 T 3 and fo are the feed and feed-vefiels. The root is like the other, and pe- rilhes every year^ Place. — They grow in divers corn-fields, and in borders about them, and abundantly in other fertile grounds about Southfleet in Kent* at Buchrite, Hamerton, and Richmanworth in Huntingdonlhire, and in divers other places. Time. — They are in flower about June and July, and the whole plant is dry and withered before Auguft be done. Government and Virtues.— It is a Lunar herb. The leaves bruifcd and applied with barley-meal to watering eyes, that are hot and inflamed by defludtions from the head, very much helps them; as alfo the fluxes of blood or humours, as the lafk, bloody-flux, women’s courfes, and Hays all manner of bleeding at nofe, mouth, or any other place, or that comes by any bruife or hurt, or burfting a vein: it won- derfully helps all thofe inward parts that need confolidating or firength- Iening ; and is no lefs effectual both to heal and clofe green wounds, than to cleanfe and heal all foul or old ulcers, fretting or fpreading cankers or the like. Fluellin is a vulnerary plant, and accounted good for fluxes and haemorrhages of all forts. FOX-GLOVES. Digitalis. Description. — It has many long and broad leaves, lying upon the ! ground, dented upon the edges, a little foft or woolly, and of a hoary green colour, among which riles up fometimes fundry Italics, but one very often, bearing fuch leaves thereon from the bottom to the middle, from whence to the top it is Itored with large and long hollow . reddilh purple flowers, a little more long at the lower edge, with rome white fpots within them, one above another, with fmall green eaves at every one, but all of them turning their heads one way, and langing downwards, having fome threads alfo in the middle, from whence ife round heads, pointed lharp at the ends, wherein fmall brown feed ies. The roots are fo many fmall fibres, and fome greater firings unong them; the flow'ers have no feent, but the leaves have a bitter lot talte. Place. — It grows on dry fandy ground for the moft part, and as veil on the higher as the lower places under hedge-fides in almoft every , ounty of England. | T ime. — It feldom flowers before July, and the feed is ripe in Augufi. Government and Virtues. — The plant is under the dominion f Venus, being of a gentle cleaniing quality, and withal very friendly a nature. The herb is familiarly and frequently ufed by the Italians 3 heal any frelh or green wound, the leaves being but bruifed and ound thereon ; and the juice thereof is alfo ufed in old fores, to cleanfe, ry, and heal them. The decodtion hereof made up with fome fugar Vol. I. R r or 3r+ THU FAMILY PHYSICIAN; or honey, is available to cleanfe and purge the body both upwards art downwards, foinetimes of tough phlegm and clammy humours, and ti open obftrudtions of the liver and fpleen. It has been found by expe rience to be available for the kings-evil, the herb bruifed and appliec or an ointment made with the juice thereof, andfo ufed; and a decoc tion of two handfuls thereof, with four ounces of polypody in ale, ha been found by late experience to cure divers of the falling-ficknefs, tha have been troubled with it above twenty years. I am confident that a. .j- ointment of it is one of the beft remedies for a fcabby head that is. rJI FUMITORY. Fumaria. \ Description. — Our Common Fumitory is a tender fappy herb ; i fends forth from one fquare — a {lender weak flalk, and leaning down wards on all Tides — many branches two or three feet long, with finel cut and jagged leaves of whitifh, or rather blueifh, fea-green colour:* a the tops of the branches ftand many fmall flowers, as it were, in a Ion;! fpike one above another, made like little birds, of a reddifh purple co lour, with -whitifh bellies; after which come fmall round hulks, contain1 ing fmall black feeds. The root is yellow, fmall, and not very long, ful of juice while it is green, but quickly perifhes with the ripe feed. Ii the corn-fields in Cornwall, it bears white flowers. Place. — It grows in corn-fields almofl every where, as well as in gardens. Time. — It flowers in May, for the moll part; and the feed ripen I fhortly after. Government and Virtues.— Saturn owns the herb, and pre fents it to the world as a cure for his own difeafe, and flrengthener o ! the parts of the body he rules. If, by my Aflrological Judgment o Difeafes, from the decumbiture, you find Saturn author of the difeafe or if by direction from a nativity you feaj a Saturnine difeafe approach ing, you may by this herb prevent it in the one, and cure it in the other and therefore it is fit you keep a fyrup of it always by you. The juic< or fyrup made thereof, or the decodtion made in whey by itfelf, witl fome other purging or opening herbs and roots to caufe it to work th* better (itfelf being but w«ak) is very effectual for the liver and fpleen opening the obftrucfionsthereof,and clarifying the blood from faltifh,cho leric, and aduft humours, which caufe leproly, fcabs, tetters, and itches and fuch like breakings-out of the {kin; and, after the purgings; ftrengthens all the inward parts. It is alfo good againft the yellow- jaundice, eradicating it by urine, which it procures in abundance. Thi powder of the dried herb, given for fome time together, cures melan- choly, but the feed is flrongeft in operation for all the former difeafes . I he diftiiied water of the herb is alio of good effedl in the former dif eafes, and conduces much againfi the pi igue and peftilence, being taker with good treacle. The dillillel water alfo, with a little water anc hone). D ra Ifi lo ame Pi T G ota all Ice; pus OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 315 honey of rofes, helps all the fores of the mouth or throat, being' gargled often therewith. The juice dropped into the eyes, clears the light, and takes away rednefs and other defedts in them, although it procures fome pain for the prefent, and caufes tears. Diofcorides lays, it hinders any frefh fpringing of hairs on the eye-lids (after they are pulled away) if the eye-lids be anointed with the juice hereof with gum arabic diflolved therein. The juice of the Fumitory and docks mingled with vinegar, and the places gently wafhed or \v£t therewith, cures all forts of fcabs, pimples, blotches, wheals, and pufhes which rife on the face or hands, or any other parts of the body. FURZ BUSH. Genista Spinoza. Description. — A common fhrub, four or five feet high, and very fpreading. The leaves are very fmall, oblong, of a blueilh green, and fall foon after their appearance in fpring. The branches are all the year cloathed with innumerable green thorns, and the flowers are large and yellow. The lefl'er and the needle Furze are two other fpecies of the fame genus. Place. — They are known to grow on dry barren heaths, and other wade, gravelly, or fandy grounds, in all counties of England. Time. — They alfo flower in the fummer months. Government and Virtues. — Mars owns the herb. They are hot and dry, and open obftrudfions of the liver and fpleen. A decodbion made with the flowers thereof has been found efFedtual againft the jaun- dice; as alfo to provoke urine, and cleanfe the kidnies from gravel or (tone engendered in them. Mars does this alfo by fympathy. REFERENCES. Felwort Vid . Fillipendula — Feaberry — Figwort — Gentian. Dropwort. Gooseberry. Lesser Cellandine. Rr 2 Gali^- 3*6 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; GALINGALE. Cyperus. Description.- — THE Englifh Galinga^ has a great many narrow;lKi graffy leaves, rough and hard in handling, among which rifes a trian- gular ftalk about two feet high, on the top of which grows a tuft, or panniclc, confiding of fmall brown Italy fpikes, with a fewfhort leaves fet on at their bottom. The root is long and llender, of a dark brown colour on the outiide, and lighter within, of a pleafant fcent, and a little hot and bitter in tafte. Place. — It grows in fome parts of England, in the marlhes; but we have it generally brought from Italy. T i me. — it flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — This is a martial plant, being heating and drying, expelling wind, and (Lengthening the bowels; they help the colic, provoke urine, and the terms, and prevent the dropfy : they are cephalic, and good for the fwimming of the head and giddi- nefs; and are fometimes ufed in abfterftve gargarifms for ulcers in the mou'aii and gums. . It arts. rim- Siii) RO Di teo’ GARLIC. Allium Hortense. fe in Description. — The root confifts of feveral cloves, or fmall bulbs of a reddilh white colour, fet together in a round compafs, and en- clofed in one common fkinny coat or cover, having feveral fmall fibres at the bottom ; the leaves are broad and long, like thofe of leeks; on the pm aid i top of the ftalk, which grows two or three feet high, Hands an umbel of fmall white five-leaved flowers. The whole plant, efpecially the root, is of a very ftrong and offenfive fmell. Place.— It is a native of the Eaft, but for its ufe is cultivated every where in gardens. Time. — Flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — Mars owps this herb. This was anciently accounted the poor man’s treacle, it being a remedy for all difeafes and hurts (except thofe which itfelf breeds.) It provokes urine and women’s courfes, helps the biting of mad dogs, and other veno- mous creatures; kills the worms in children, cuts and voids tough phlegm, purges the head, helps the lethargy, is a good prefervative againft, and a remedy for, any plague, fore, or foul ulcer; takes away fpots and blemilhes in the fkin, eafes pains in the ears, ripens and breaks impofthumes, or other fwellings : and for all thofe difeafes the onions are as eftedlual. But the Garlic has fome more peculiar virtues befides the former, viz. it has a fpecial quality to difcufs inconveniencies coming by corrupt agues or mineral vapours, or by drinking corrupt or {link- ing waters; as alfo by taking wolf-bane, hen-bane, hemlock, or other poifonous OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 317 * poifonous and dangerous herbs. It is alfo held good in hydropic dif- eafes, the jaundice, falling-ficknefs, cramps, convulfions, the piles or h emorrhoids, or other cold difeafes. Authors quote many other difeafes thE is good for; but conceal its vices. Its heat is very vehement; and all vehement hot things fend up but ill-favoured vapours to the brain. In choleric men it will add fuel to the fire ; in men opprefled by me- lancholy, it will attenuate the humour, and fend up ftrong fancies, and : as many ftrange vilions to the head; therefore let it be taken inwardly with great moderation ; outwardly you may make more bold with it. It is not uled near fo much in England as it is in lbme foreign ; parts. It is accounted a ftrengthener of the llomach and bowels, an expeller of wind, and very good for the colic; in afthmas and difficulty of breathing, it is a very good medicine, the root being either prelerved with fugar, or a ftrong decodtion of it, made into a lyrup. BROAD-LF ‘ YED WILD GARLIC. Allium Sylvestre. Description. — The root of this is round and whitifh ; the leaves are oblong, very broad, and of a fine deep green. The ftalk is of a pale green, three fquare, and ten inches high, whereon grow fmall white flowers. Place. — It is common in damp grounds in the weftern counties. Time. — It flowers in April. Government and Virtues. — It is under Mars as well as the former. The root is only known in phyfic: it is a powerful opener, and on account of its fubde parts, in which it abounds, difeuffive: it fel- dom agrees with dry conftitutions, but it performs almoft miracles in phlegmatic habits of body. It wonderfully opens the lungs, and gives relief in afthmas; nor is it without its merit in wind colics; and is a good diuretic, which appears by the fmell it communicates to the urine. It is very ufeful in obftructions of the kidnies, and dropfies, efpecially in that which is called anafarca. It may be taken in a morning falling, or rffe the conferve of Garlic which is kept in the {hops may be ufed. GENTIAN, FELWORT, or BALDMONY. Gentiana. It is confefled that Gentian, which is moft ufed amongft us, is Drought over from beyond fea, yet we have feveral forts of it growing requently in this country, which, befides the reafons fo frequently al- eged, why Englifli herbs Ihould be fitteft for Englifh bodies, has been iroved, by the experience of divers phyficians, to be not a whit inferior n virtue to that which comes from beyond fea; therefore be pleafed to ake the defeription of them as follows — Description. — The greater of them has many frnall long roots hruft down deep into the ground, and abides all the winter. The ftalks THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 318 (talks are fometimes more, fometimes fewer, of a brownifh green co- lour, and frequently two feet high, if the ground be fruitful, hav- ing many long, narrow, dark green leaves, let by couples up to the top : the flowers are long and hollow, of a purple colour, ending in fine corners. The fmaller fort, which is to be found in this country, grows up with fundry ./talks, not a foot high, parted into feveral fmall branches, whereon grow divers fmall leaves together, very like thofeof the lefler centaury, of a whiti/h green colour ; on the tops of thefe /talks grow divers perfect blue flowers, /tanding in long hulks, but not fo big as the other : the root is very fmall, and full of threads. Autum- nal Gentian, with large bell-lhaped blue flowers; Perfoliate Gentian, and Centaury Gentian, with fmall blue flowers, con/titute all the fpe- natives of Britain; and their difference has occafioned fome to I. cies divide them into feveral imaginary forts ; but their virtues are alike, and their flowers declare them of the fame genus. Place. — They are common on hilly paftures, but are kept in bota- gardens. Bui ii'i i m Time. — They flower in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — They are under the dominion of Mars, and one of the moft principal herbs he is ruler of. They refill putrefactions and poifon ; a more fure remedy cannot be found to pre- vent the pellilence than it is: it ftrengthens the ftomach exceedingly, helps dige/lion, comforts the heart, and preferves it again/I faintings and fwoonings : the powder of the dry root helps the biting of mad dogs and venomous beafts ; opens obftrudlions of the liver, and reftores an appetite to their meat to luch as have loft it. The herb fteeped in and the wine drank, refrelhes fuch as be over- weary with travel, Hill! Hal j; .I1V.1 wine. time D to 1 tint and grown lame in their joints, either by cold or bad lodging : it helps flitches, and griping pains in the fides; is an excellent remedy for fuch as are bruifed by falls. It provokes urine, and the terms exceedingly, therefore let it not be given to women with child: the fame is very pro- fitable for fuch as are troubled with cramps and convulfions, to drink the decoCtion: alfo they fay it breaks the /lone, and helps ruptures moll certainly. It is excellent in all cold difeafes, and fuch as are troubled with tough phlegm, fcabs, itch, or any fretting fores and ulcers; it is u an admirable remedy to kill the worms, by taking half a dram of the L ! powder in a morning in any convenient liquor: the fame is excellently l! good to be taken inwardly for the kings-evil. It helps agues of all forts, and the yellow-jaundice; as alfo the bots in cattle: when kine are bitten ; on the udder by any venomous beaft, ftroke the place with the decoc- ;i tion of any of thefe, and it will inftantly heal it. GERMANDER. Chjemedrys* Description. — Germander has a fpreading, creeping root, which fends forth feveral fquare hairy branches, fcarce a foot high, having two /mail : ■ OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3J9 i finall leaves at every joint, on Ihort foot-ftalks, about an inch long, and, half an inch broad, cut in with feveral lections, fomething refembling in fhape the leaves of an oak, fomewhat hard and crumpled, o-reen above, and hoary jvhite underneath. The flowers grow towards the tops of the branches among the leaves, whorle-falhion, of a purplifh red colour; they are labiated, the lip turning upward; but they want the galea, having in its place feveral (lamina (landing erect. The feeds grow four together in the hairy five-pointed calyces. Place. — It grows with us only in gardens. Time. — Flowers in June and July. The leaves and tops are ufed. | Government and Virtues. — Germander is an herb of warm thin parts, under Mercury, opening obftrudtions of the liver, fpleen, and kidnies; and of ufe in the jaundice, dropfy, and (loppage of urine. It is a good emenagogue; and is commended by fome as a i'pecific for the gout, rheumatifm, and pains in the limbs. It is undoubtedly a good vulnerary, both deterfive and healing; and is a proper ingredient in pec- toral decoctions. Some extol it for a great antifcorbutic, but the brook- limes exceed it in this particular, which abound in fubtle pungent parts, and therefore are better fuited to cut thofe vifeidities which are the caufe of fcorbutic blotches. The juice is very juftly recommended among the reft of the antifcorbutic juices to be taken in the fpring for fome time, efpecially by perfons who drink much ale, and are of a grofs r habit of body. WATER GERMANDER. Scordium. Description. — This has afmall ftringy creeping root, from which j fpring a great many fquare hairy (talks, about a foot high, belet with two oblong, round-pointed, fomewhat wrinkled and hairy leaves at a joint, without foot-ftalks, having roundilh indentures about the edges. The flowers come forth among the leaves in thin whorles, of a reddilh colour ; they are fet in hairy five-pointed calyces, at the bottom of ; which grow four fmall feeds. The whole plant has a ftrong aromatic (cent, but with fomewhat of the garlic. Place. — It grows in marlhy, fenny places, as in the i£Ie of Ely, in great plenty. . T ime. — Flowers in July. 7'he leaves are ufed. Government and Virtues. — Like the former it is under Mars, and is ludorific and alexipharmic, of ufe both as a prefervative, and a remedy againft all peftilential difeafes, and putrid fevers ; it refills pu- trefaction, deftroys worms, and is good againft the bites of all veno- mous animal*-’, it is an excellent elexipharmic, and of great ufe in all malignant fevers, where it exerts both its cordial and diaphoretic power. It is one of the principal ingredients in that medicine which is called diafeordium : there is li'oewife a compound water of great efficacy, which derives its name from this plant. The fmell of this herb, which is none of 320 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; of the moll grateful, participating of that of garlic, with an aromatic | mixture, betokens it to be a proper ingredient in medicines defigned for , hyfteric cafes. It may be taken in decodtion, infufion, and even in powder, either by itfelf, or made up into a bolus ; in which laft form, . it {hews itfelf likewife a deftroyer of worms of the intelliftes. Out- wardly, it is a good cleanfer of ulcers. GLADWIN. Spatula Foetida. Description. — This is one of the kinds of flower-de-luce, having i divers leaves riling from the roots, very like a flower-de-luce, but that they are {harp-edged on both Tides, and thicker in the middle, of a deeper green colour, narrower and {harper pointed, and a ftrong ill (cent, if they be bruifed between the fingers. In the middle rifes up a reafonable ftrong {talk, a yard high at the leaft, bearing three or four , flowers at the top, made fomewhat like the flowers of the flower-de- j] luce, with three upright leaves, of a dead purplifn afh-colour, with Tome | veins difcoloured in them : the other three do not fall down, nor are the \ three other fmall ones fo arched, nor cover the lower leaves as the, a flower-de-luce does, but ftand loofe or afimder from them. After they j are paid, there come up three fquare hard hulks, opening wide into three j parts when they are ripe, wherein lie reddiih feed, turning back when ' it has abiden long. The root is like that of the flower-de-luce, but reddiih on the outfide, and whitifh within, very fharp and hot in the : tafte, of as evil fcent as the leaves. Place. — This grows as well in upland grounds as in moifl places, woods, and fhadowy fpots by the fea-fide in many places of this coun- , try, and is ufually nurfed up in gardens. Time. — It flowers not until July, and the feed is ripe in Auguft or September ; yet the hufks, after they are ripe, opening themfelves, will hold their feed with them for twro or three months, and not fhed them. Government and Virtues. — It is fuppoied to be under the dominion of Saturn. It is ufed by many country-people to purge cor- rupt phlegm and choler, which they do, by drinking the decodtion of the roots; and fome, to make it more gentle, do but infufe the fliced roots in ale, and fome take the leaves, which ferye well for the weaker flomachs : the juice hereof put up, or fluffed up the nofe, caufes freez- ing, and draws from the head much corruption; and the powder there- of does the fame. The powder of it drank in wine, helps thofe that , are troubled with cramps and convulfions, or with the gout and fciatica; gives eafe to the moll tormenting griping pains in the body and belly, and helps thofe that have the ftranguary. It is given with much profit to fuch as have had long fluxes by the fharp and evil quality of humours, which it flays, having firft cleanled and purged them by the drying and binding property therein. The root boiled in wine, and drank, does effectually procure women’s courfes ; and, ufed as a peflfary, works the OR, MEDICAL HERBAL, 321 the fame efFeft, but caufes abortion in women with child. Half a dram of the feed beaten to powder, and taken in wine, fpeedily relieves thofe troubled with a ftoppage of urine. The fame taken in vinegar, diflblves the hardnefs and fwellings of the fpleen. The root ufed with a little verdigris and honey, and the great centaury root, is very effectual in ill wounds, efpecially of the head; as alfo to draw forth any fplinters or :horns, or any other thing flicking in the flefh, without caufing pain. The fame boiled in vinegar, and laid upon any tumour or fwelling, /ery effectually diflblves and confmnes them; yea, even the fwellings of he throat, called kings-evil. The juice of the leaves or roots, heals he itch, and all running or fpreading fcabs, fores, bleinifhes, or fears n the fkin, wherefoever they be. YELLOW GOAT’S-BEARD. Tragopogon Pratense. Description. — Grows upon a firm, upright {talk, of a light plea- int green, and a foot high. The leaves are flat, grafl'y, and of a pretty •lucifh green; tender and milky when broken. The flowers are yel- )w, large, and beautiful; they clofe in the mid-day, and our countr)- eople therefore call it, Go to bed at Noon. Place. — This is a biennal; frequent in our paftures, a very hand- >me plant, and very plenty in the North of England. | Time. — Blows in July. Government and Virtues. — This herb is under the dominion jf Jupiter. It is fo innocent, it may be eaten; and fo pleafant, that it lvites the appetite: yet it is pofl'efted of virtues very worthy 'notice; id there is no way fo good of giving medicines, as when it can be done Y the way of food. Our nourilhment we fwallow by pounds; but me- cines find their way into the body by drams and fcruples ; what we it pafles through the whole frame with cur food; the phyfic reaches ten but a fmall part of it; and powerful medicines are fometimes anted, when violent ones cannot be admitted. A large double handT 1 of the entire plant, roots, flowers, and all bruifed and boiled, and en ftrained, with a little fweet oil, is an excellent clyfter in the moft fperate cafe of the ftranguary or fupprefiion of urine, from whatever ufe. A decoction of the roots is good for the heart-burn, loft appe- e, diforders of the breaft and liver; expels fand and gravel, flime, and en fmall ftones. The roots drefied like parfnips, and eaten warm th butter, are good for cold watery ftomachs. Boiled or cold, or ten raw as a fallad, they are grateful to the ftomach ; flrengthen and urifli the thin, lean, and confumptive, or the weak after long fick- fs. The diftilled water gives wonderful relief in inward impoft- 1 mes, pleurify, ftitches, or pains of the Aides, This herb is not ' own in phyfic, but very well deferves a place in a kitchen garden : |i young plant in April, and the beginning of May, taken and boiled, iby no means lhort in flavour to afparagus; and the roots, which are VoL, I, S s THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 322 milky boiled, fomewhat refemble the tafte of artichoke bottoms, and are of excellent good nouiifhment, and not fo windy as moil other roots are. PURPLE GOx\T’S-BEARD. Tragopogon Porrifolium. Description. — Purple Goat’s-Beard grows upon a firm, uprighi ftalk, and near a yard high. The leaves are large, long, of a fine frcft green, fomewhat like the leaves of leeks. The flower-ftalk grows thick at its top ; the flowers are purple, and their long green cups behin< add greatly to their beauty. Place. — This is a biennial; a wild plant in our paftures, very ftateh and beautiful; and it thrives belt where there is fome moifture. Time. — They blow in June and July, and fhut up at noon as th other. There is a beautiful variety of this, with the centre of the flowe yellow, the reft purple ; it rifes from the mixture of the feeds. Government and Virtues. — The virtues of this are the fam as thofe of the other, only lefs pleafant, therefore more bitter, aftrin gent, deterfive, and medicinal. This, however, may be eaten in grea quantities; and, that way, will be very ufeful in long and obftinat complaints. The roots are particularly fpecific againft obftruclions c the gall, and the jaundice; the beft way to eat them, is ftewed lik chardoons. GOAT’S RUE. Galega. ' • I P Description. — Goat’s-Rue has many tall, hollow, ftriated branche a yard or more in height, with long pinnated leaves growing alternatel on the joints, confifting of fix or eight pair of long oval pinnae, (moot and not indented about the edges, which are apt to be folded togethe ; .The flowers grow in long fpikes, hanging downwards in the ftiape < j peas blofloms, but lefs, of a pale whitifh blue colour: the feed grows long eredi pods : the root is thick, fpreading in the earth, and abidir ■long. ’ll1 Place. — It grows in feveral parts of Italy by river-fides, but wi us only in gardens. ; Time. — Flowers in June and July. j&J Government and Virtues. — Goat’s-Rue is under Mercury Leo, and is accounted cordial, fudorific, and alexipharmic, and goi againft peftilential diftempers, expelling the venom through the por of the fkin ; and is of ufe in all kinds of fevers, the fmall-pox and meafle it likewile kills worms, and cures the bites of all kinds of venomo creatures, , it j» Lo# t; OR, MEDICAL HERBAL* 323 H LONG-ROOTED GOSEMORE, or HAWKWEED. Hypochaeris Radicata. Description. — This rifes from a moderately thick and long brown | root, with leaves in a duller at bottom; they are oblong, moderately broad, and of a deep green, widely notched at the edges, and rather , rough to the touch. The ftalks arife among thefe, and are (lender, 1 tough, branched, a foot and a half high, and of a pale green; and they have rarely any leaf upon them. The flowers grow at the tops of the branches, and are of a fine gold colour. Place. — It is common on paftures, and hilly fituations. Time. — Flowers in June. I ■ Government and Virtues. — This Gofmore, or Hawkweed, as well as the following, is an herb of Venus, and very ufeful to the . ladies. They are good for the ftone and ftonpage of urine, and pro- mote the menflrual flux, and to that end are frequently mixt with I chalibeats; they are likewife good for the gout and fciatica: outwardly they are ufed for the itch, either the juice or powder mixt with a pro- per ointment. | SMOOTH GOSMORE. Hypocha:ris Glabra. f Description. — The ftalk of this fpecie is hard, leaflefs, and of a pale green. The leaves are of a bright fhining green; the flowers are a pale yellow; and their long cups give them a pretcy appearance. Place. — This is a biennial; a little plant of our high grounds, but not common. It is moftiy found in Warwickfhire, about Briftol and Denham. Time. — Blows in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It has the tafte of the two former, but faint and unpromifing; is feldom ufed; however, it is warming, aperient, and ufeful in diforders of the kidnies, as ftone and ftranguary, provoking urine; as alfo the catamenia: it expedites the birth, and brings away the after-birth. It is likewife accounted alexipharmic, and good againil the bites and ftings of -venomous creatures. SPOTTED GOSMORE. Hypocheeris Maculata. < Description. — The ftalk of this is greyifh, and naked like the former; has flight films, and a fingle branch: the leaves are oblong or oval, undivided, of a pale green, and fpotted with black. The flowers are of a fine light yellow, Li S S 2 Place the family physician; 3*4 Place. — This is a biennial, native of our heaths; a fmall, but fin- gular plant: it grows upon Newmarket heath, but is not common. Time. — Blows in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This plant is very ufeful to the ladies, and ought to be found upon their toilets. Its decodtion will take oft the freckles which are brought on by the heat of the fun. It is fo innocent, that no harm need be feared from this application. COMMON GOLDEN ROD. Solidago Virco Aurea. Description. — This rifes to two feet high, a yery handfome plant, with a fmall reddifh brown upright ftalk, turned and bent a little from the joints, and terminated by a long and beautiful (pike of flowers. The leaves are of a deep, but not very fine green, and they feel a little harfh. The flowers are of a gold yellow, and numerous though fmall, and all turned one way; when they are ripe, they change into down, and are carried away by the wind. The root conftfts of many fmall fibre?, which grow near the furface of the ground, but furvives the winter, and in the fpring (hoots out new branches. Place. — This is a perennial, that grows by woed-fides, in copfcs, j in moifl as well as dry grounds, and on heaths and among thickets. Ti me. — It flowers about the month of July, and lafts till Auguft. Government and Virtues.— Venus rules this herb. It is a balfamic vulnerary herb, long famous againft inward hurts and bruifes, for which it is moft effectual in a diftilled water, and in which (liape it is an excellent and fafe diuretic: few things exceed it in the gravel, done in the reins and kidnies, ftranguary, and where there are fmall (tones fo fituated, as to caufe heat and forenefs, which are too often followed with bloody or pprulent urine ; then its balfamic healing vir- tues co-operate with its diuretic quality, and the parts are at the fame time cleanfed and healed. It is a fovereign wound herb, inferior to none, both for inward and outward ufe. It is good to ftay the immo- derate flux of women’s courles, the bloody-flux, ruptures, ulcers in the mouth or throat, and in lotions to wafti the privy parts in venereal cafes. No preparation is better than a tea of the herb for this fervice; and the young leaves, green or dry, have the moft virtue. NARROW-LEAVED GOLDEN ROD. Solidago Angustifolia. Description. — This is another fpecies of the fame plant. It grows to a foot and a- half high, and has few or no branches. The ft. :1k is very weak, tender, and of a dead green, tinged with a ruddy brown. The leaves are of a bright glofly green, fmooth, and prettily dented at- the f OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 325 the edges: the flowers are of a pale yellow, and Hand in a loofe fpike. Place. — This is a perennial, native of Ireland, and feldom found with us: there it adorns their rocky hills. Time. — The flowers blow in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It refembles the preceding in vir- tues as in form. V enus claims the herb, and therefore to be fure it refpects beauty loft. Arnoldus de Villa Nova commends it much n againft the ftone in the reins and kidnies, and to provoke urine in I abundance, whereby alfo the gravel and ftone may be voided. The k, decodtion of the herb, green or dry, or the diftilled water thereof, is I I very effectual for inward bruifes; as alfo to be outwardly applied, it flays bleeding in any part of the body, and of wounds; alio the fluxes 1 of humours, the bloodv flux, and women’s courfes; and is no lefs preva- lent in all ruptures and burftings, being drank inwardly, and outwardly C , applied. It is a fovereign wound herb, inferior to none, both for in- k ij ward and outward hurts; green wounds, old fores and ulcers, are quickly cured therewith. It alfo is of efpccial ufe in all lotions for fores j or ulcers in the mouth, throat, or privy parts of man or woman. T he : decoction alfo helps to fallen the teeth that are loofe in the gums. WELCH GOLDEN ROD. Solidago Cambrica. Description. — This grows upon a Ample upright brown ftalk, fix or feven inches high. The leaves are oblong, narrow, pale, and a little downy: the flowers are numerous, and cf a gold yellow. Place. — This is an humble, but a pretty plant, a perennial, native of the Welch mountains, and a favourite food for the goats. Time.— The flowers blow in Auguft, and laft till September. i> Government and Virtues. — The tafte declare it to poflefs vir- tues the fame with thole of the firft kind, though in an inferior de- gree. The leaves and tops are ufed: this being accounted one of our beft vulnerary plants, and much ufed inwardly in traumatic apozems, and wound-drinks; and outwardly in cataplaims and fomentations. It is fomewhat reftringent, and ufeful againft fpitting of blood and other haemorrhages ; and is of great fervice againft the ftone. GOLDEN SAMPIRE. Inula Crithmoides. \ Description. — This beautiful perennial plant is the ornament of our fea marfhes, and grows to a yard high, with many branches. The leaves are three-pointed, of a blue green, thick and juicy, and the flowers of a fine gold colour. Place. — Grows on the margin of our fait marfhes. Time. — They blow in June and July. Govern- THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 326 Government and Virtues.— -The leaves of the flowers of this Sampire make an excellent and agreeable antifcorbutic. An infufion of the whole plant, fweetened with lugar, is good after a drunken furfeit; and at any time for all fuch perfons as habitually make themfelves the pipes of conveyance from the victualler to the wall. It is under the dominion of Jupiter in Libra, which fhews it to be a corrector of in- equalities. The flowers are cooling, moiftening, and laxative, good in affections of the bread: and lungs, helping coughs and pleuritic pains. The fyrup is given to children to open and cool their bodies. The leaves are cooling and opening, and frequently put into glyfters, as well as into ointments againft inflammations. The feed is reckoned good for the flone and gravel. GOOSEBERRY-BUSH. Grossularia. Description. — The Goofeberry-Bufli is fo well known to every body, that I need only fay'that the branches are thick fet with prickles, the leaves little and jagged, the flowers fmall and green, and the berries round or oval, including feveral feeds in a juicy pulp, fourifh when green, but when ripe of a fweet pleafant tafte. Place. — They grow in gardens. Time. — Flowers early, the berries being ripe in June. Government and Virtues. — Thefe berries, which are the only part ufed, are cooling and reftringent, creating an appetite and quench-, ing third: 5 but being more ufed at the table, .and eaten for pleai'ure. than applied to any medicinal ufes. However, they are under the do- minion of Venus. The berries, while they are unripe, being fcalded, or baked, are good to ftir up a fainting or decayed appetite, efpecially fuch whofe ftomachs are afflicted by choleric humours': they are ex- cellent good to flay longings of women with child. You may keep them preferved with lugar all the year long. The decoction of the leaves of the tree cools hot fwellings and inflammations; as alfo St, Anthony’s fire. The ripe Goofeberries being eaten, are an excellent remedy to allay the violent heat both of the Itomach and liver. The young and tender leaves break the done, and expel gravel both from the kidnies and bladder. All the evils they do to the body of man is; they are fuppofed to breed crudities, and, by crudities, worms. ril a fa A rf le li :t WINTER GREEN. Pyrola. Description. — An extremely pretty plant. The ftalk is round thick, upright, and ten inches high. The leaves fomewhat refembk tiole of the pear-tree, but are hardly fo large; they all grow from the root, for the dalk is naked. The flowers are fmall, and of a ver) bright white ; they Hand in a kind of loofe fpike on the tops of the • ftalk Ifl WPPPPPPi******®®! OR, MEDICAL HEREAL. 327 Iftalk, and are compofed of five leaves, which are fucceeded by cornered feed-veil'cls, full of very fmall feed. The root is fmall, Header, and £b rous. Place. — It grows wild in fome parts of England, but no where , common. Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues.. — Winter Green is under the do- minion of Satin n, and is a Angular good wound herb, and an efpeciai ! remedy to heal green wounds fpeediiy, the green leaves being bruifed ! and applied, or the juice of them. A falve made of the grten herb damped, or the juice boiled with hogs-lard, or with fallad oil and wax, and fome turpentine added to it, is a fovereign lalve, and highly ex- ; tolled by the Germans, who ufe it to heal all manner of wounds and fores. The herb boiled in wine and water, and given to drink to them that have any inward ulcers in their kidnies, or neck of the bladder, does wonderfully help them. It days all fluxes, as the lafk, bloody f fluxes, women’s courfes, and bleeding of wounds, and takes away any inflammations riling upon pa. ns of the heart; it is no lefs helpful for ! foul ulcers hard to be cured; as alfo for cankers or flftulas. The diddled water of the herb does effectually perform the fame things. GOUTWEED, GOUTWORT, or HERB GERRARD, CEgOPODIUM PODAGRARIUM. Description. — It is a low herb, feldom rifing half a yard high, having lundi y leaves danding on browmilh green dalks by three, fnipped about, and of a drong unpleafant favour: the umbels of the flowers are white, and the feed blackifh, die root runs in die ground, quickly faking a great deal of room. Place. — It grows by hedge and wall-fides, and often in the borders ■ and corners of fields ; and in gardens alfo. Time. — it flowers and feeds about the end of July. Government and Virtues.— Saturn rules it. Neither is it to be fuppofed Goutwort has its name for nothing, but upon experiment !to heal the gout and fciatica; as alio joint-achs, and other cold pains. The very bearing of it about one, eales the pains of the gout, and defends him that bears it from the difeafe. COMMON GROUND PINE. Cham^petis Vulgaris. . Description. — The root is long, fiender, and divided. The ftalks are numerous, weak, and three inches high; they are of a greyifh co- lour, very much branched, and covered thick with leaves. Thefe ftand in pairs at flnajl diffances ; and they have numerous young ones in their bofoms: THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} 328 bofoms : they are of a pale yellow! fh green, oblong, narrow, and at the end divided into three points. The flowers rife from the bofoms of the leaves, and are fmall and yellow: but the upper lip is fpotted with pur- ple on the infide. Place. — It grows in fallow fields and chalky grounds, particularly in Kent, in great plenty. T ime. — Flowex-s in June and July. Government and Virtues. — Ground Pine is a martial plant, , hot and dry, warming and ftrengthening the nerves; helps the palfy, gout, fciatica and rheumatifm, the fcurvy, and all pains of the limbs. It is a firrong diuretic, opens obftructions of the womb, and powerfully promotes the menfes, and that fo ftrongly, that it is forbid to women with child for fear of abortion. 1 ' COMMON GROUNDSEL. Senecio Vulgaris. Description. — Our Common Groundfel has a round green, and fomewhat brownifh ftalk, fpreading towards the top into branches, f. I HEMLOCK. Cicuta sive Coni-um Maculatum. Description. — The common great Hemlock grows up with a green ftalk, four or five feet high, or more, full of red fpots fometimes, and at the joints very large winged leaves fet at them, which are divided into many other winged leaves one fet againft the other, dented about the edges, of a fad green colour, branched towards the tap, where it is full of umbels of white flowers, and afterwards with wji.tifh flat feed : OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 345 the root is long, white, and fometimes crooked, and hollow within. The whole plant, and every part, has a ftrong, heady, and ill-favoured fcent, much offending the i'enfcs. Whatever noxious and poifonous qualities the Hemlock of the an- cients was endued with, being that with which the Athenians ufed to put their criminals to death ; it is certain, that the Hemlock which grows in our regions (though it feem to agree well enough to the de- icription that Diofcorides gives of theirs), is of a lefs venomous and ma- lignant nature, feveral perfons having been known to have eat lome quantity of the root and ftalk. I Place. — it grows in all counties of this -country, by walls and hedge-fides, in wafte grounds and unthled places. Time. —It flowers and feeds in July, ©r thereabouts. Government and Virtues. — Saturn claims dominion over this herb. Hemlock is exceedingly c Id, and very dangerous, efpecially to be taken inwardly. It may lately be applied to inflammations, tumours, and fwellings in any part of the body (fave the private parts), as alfo to St. Anthony’s fire, wheals, pnihes, and creeping ulcers that arife of hot Iharp humours, by cooling and repelling tne heat : the leaves bruifed and laid to the brow or forehead, aie good for red and fwollen eyes ; as alfo to take away a pin . nd web growing there this Is a tried medicine : take a linall handful of this herb, and half fo much bay-falt, beat together, and applied to the contrary wrilt of the hand, for twenty-four hours, does remove It in thrice dreffing. If the root thereof be roaffed under the embers, wrapped in double wet paper, un- til it be foft and tender, and then applied to the gout in the hands or fingers, it will quickly help this evil. If any through miltake eat the herb Hemlock inffead of parfley, or the roots inftead of a parihip (both of which it is very like), whereby happens a kind of frenzy, or pertur- bation of the fenfes, as if they were itupid and drunk, the remedy is (as Pliny fays) to drink of the bell and ftrongeff pure wine, before it ftrikes to the heart, or gentian put in wine, or a draught of vinegar, wherewith Tragus affirms, that he cured a woman that had eaten the root. Poifonous Water Hemlock, Cicuta Virofa, and Thick Water Hem- lock, the Phellandrium aquaticum of the ancients, are but accidental variations which fituation and foil naturally produce. They are all un- deritood to be highly poifonous; but there does not appear any thing certain on that head. Many authors of credit affirm that they are in- nocent. Tne country folks cail thefe latter Edgeweed. COMMON SPIGNEL, or BALDMONY. Meum Athamanta. Description. — The root is long and thick, fibrous, of an aromatic tafte, and the bottom leaves are of a blackifh green colour. The up- per leaves are fmall, and as llender as any plant we have ; of a dull dark Vol.I. Xx green THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 346 green colour. The ftalk grows to be a foot or more high, not much branched, with a few fmall leaves growing thereon, bearing on the top umbels of fmall white five-leaved flowers. The feed id longer and larger than fennel, two growing together, which are ftriated on the back. Place. — It is found jn our ^yeflern counties, in rich damp foils, but not common. T ime. — It flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — It is under the government of Mercury in Cancer, and is an excellent plant in diforders of the ftomach from phlegm, raw crude humours, wind and relaxations, pains, want of appetite and digeftion, belchings, rudtations, loathings, colic, gripes, re- tention of urine, and all obftrudtions. It is a good pedforal and fto- machic carpninative wanner. The root expels wind, urine, and the menfes; is good in hyfterics, green-ficknefs, catarrhs, grives, and facili- tates generation. The root powdered and given with loaf fugar, and a glafs of its infufion in white wine or beer, or water taken evening and morning for fome days, moftly brings down the menfes and lochia, faci- litates the expulfion of birth and after-birth, and eafes a windy colic after many more pompous and promifing things have failed. The roots fbould be gathered when the leaves begin to put forth in the fpring. The feed is rather ftronger, and anfwers the fame ufe as the root. The leaf is ufed outwardly in baths, poultices, and fomentations with fuccefs, where the /kill of the phyfician has done no good. See Gentian. HEMP. Cannabi§. Description. — The ftalks of Hemp grow to be five or fix feel high, angular, and covered with a ftrong tough bark ; and cloathec with many digitated or fingered leaves, each leaf compofeti of five; fix or feven parts, long and narrow, fharp-pointed, and ferrated about the edges, the mjddlemoft being longefi, fet together upon one long foot ftalk ; they are green above, hoary underneath, and rough in hand' ling. The flowers grow toward the tops of the ftalks, in that they cal the male, in fmall and ftaminous bunches, which perifti without bring ing any feed ; that being produced by the female only, without any pre vious flowers. Place. — It is cultivated in many counties. Time. — It is fown in the end of March, or beginning of April j an is ripe in Auguft or September. Government and Virtues. — It is a plant of Saturn, and goo for fomethlng elfe, you fee, than to make halters of. The feed c hemp confumes wind, and by too much ufe thereof difperfes it io mud that it dries up the natural feed for procreation ; yet being boiled i < milk, and taken, helps fuch as have a hot dry cough. The Dutc make an emulficn out of the feed, and give it with good fuccefs to thoi DR, MEDICAL HERBAL.' 347 that have the jaundice, efpecially in the beginning of the difeafe, if there be no ague accompanying it, for it opens obllrudlions of the gall, and caufes digeltion of coler. The emulfion or decodlion of the feed flays lafks and continual fluxes, eafes the colic, and allays the troublefome humours in the bowels, and flays bleeding at the mouth, nofe, or other places, fome of the leaves being fried with the blood of them that bleed, and fo given them to eat. It is held very good to kill the worms in men or beafls; andthejuice dropped into the ears kills worms in them; and draws forth earwigs, or other living creatures got into them. The decodlion of the root allays inflammations of the head, or any other parts ; the herb itfelf, or the diflilled water thereof, does the like. The decodlion of the roots eafes the pains of the gout, the hard hu- mours of knots in the joints, the pains and fhrinking of the finews, and the pains of the hips. The frefh juice mixed with a little oil and but- ter, is good for any place that has been burnt with fire, being there- to applied. The feed of Hemp, which is the only part ufed in phyfic, being boiled in milk till it cracks, is accounted good for old coughs, and a fpecific to cure the jaundice. It has been formerly believed to render perfons un- adlive in venereal affairs ; but this not at all likely, for it not only caufes hens to lay eggs in plenty, if given moderately, but the famous Bangue, fo much ufed by the Perfians and Indians to promote venery, is a fpecies of hemp. COMMON HENBANE. Hyocyamus Niger. Description. — Our Common Henbane has very large, thick, foft, woolly leaves, lying on the ground, much cut in, or torn on the edges, of a dark, ill greyilh green colour ; among which arife up divers thick and fhort flalks, two or three feet high, fpread into divers fmall branches, with lefl'er ieaves on them, and many hollow flowers, fcarce appearing above the hulk, and ulually torn on one fide, ending in five round points, growing one above another, of a deadilh yellowilh colour, fome- 1 what paler towards the edges, with many purplilh veins therein, and of a dark yellowilh purple in the bottom of the flower, with a fmall point of the lame colour in the middle, each of them Handing in a hard clofe hullc, which, after the flowers is pall, grows very like the hulk of Afara- bacca, and fomewhat fharp at the top points, wherein is contained much fmall feed, very like poppy feed, but of a dufky greyilh colour. The root is great, white, and thick, branching forth divers ways under ground, fo like parfnip root (but that it is notrfo white), that it has de- ceived others. The whole plant, more than the root, has a very heavy, ill, foporiferous fmell, fomevrhat ofFcnfive. Place. — It commonly grows by the way-fides, and under hedge- fides and walls. X x 2 Time- 348 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Time.— It flowers in July, and fprings again yearly of its own feed; I doubt my authors miftook July for June, if not for May. Government and Virtues. — I wonder how Aftrologers eould take on them to make this an herb of Jupiter; and yet Mezaldus, a man of a penetrating brain, was of that opinion, as well as the reft : the herb is indeed under the dominion of Saturn, and I prove it by this ar- . gument : all the herbs which delight nioft to grow in Saturnine places, are Saturnine herbs. But Henbane delights moft to grow in Saturnine places, and whole cart-loads of it may be found near the places where ■ they empty the common jacks, and fcarce a ditch is to be found without its growing by it. Ergo, it is an herb of Saturn. The leaves of Hen- bane cool all hot inflammations in the eyes, or any part of the body ; and are good to afluage all manner of fwellingsof the tefticles, or women’s breafts, or elfewhere, if they be boiled in wine, and either applied them- felves, or the fomentation warm ; it alfo afluages the pzin of the gout, the fciatica, and other pains in the joints which arife from a hot caufe : and applied with vinegar to the forehead and temples, helps the head- ach, and want of fleep in hot fevers. The juice of the herb or feed, j or the oil drawn from the feed, does tire like. The oil of the feed is j good for deafnefs, node, and worms in the ears, being dropped therein ; the juice of the heib or root does the fame. The decodtion of the herb ■ or feed, or both, kills lice in man or beaft. The fume of the dried herb, {talks and feeds, burned, quickly heals fwellings, chilblains or kibes in the hands or feet, by holding them in the fume thereof. The remedy to help thofe that have taken Henbane, is to drink goats-milk, honey-water, or pine kernels, with fweet wine ; or, in the abfence of thefe, fennel feed, nettle-feed, the feed of crefles, muftard, or radifh ; as alfo onions or garlic taken in wine, do all help to free them from danger, and reftore them to their due temper again. Take notice, that this herb muft never be taken inwardly ; outward- ly, an oil, ointment, or plaifter of it, is moft admirable for the gout, to cool the venereal heat of the reins in the French-pox ; to flop the tooth- ach, being applied to the aching fide ; to allay all inflammations, and to help the difeafes before premifed. GOOD HENRY, or ENGLISH MERCURY. Bonus Henricus. Description. — This Mercury has a thick, yellowifti, perennial root, with feveral. fibres ; the leaves grow upon long foot-ftalks of a triangular fhape, like fpinach, of a yellow green colour, feeling greafy or unftuous in handling.’ ' The ftalks grow to be about a foot high, with feveral of jfte like leaves* growing on them ; and, on their tops, | fpikes of lr.xad herbaceous flower's,- *riclo£n> little round black {hilling 1 Iced. Place.— It grows in wafte places, and among rubbifli. s , V Time, i © R) MEDICAL HERBAL, 349 Time. — Flowers infpring. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mer- curv. This herb is deterfive and diuretic, and therefore deferves a place in vulnerary decoctions and fomentations. In this country it is de- fervedly preferred to fpinaeh, to which it is much fuperior in firmnefs and flavour, as goofe-foot is inferior to it. The young (hoots, thefuc- ceeding leaves, and at Jail the flowery tops, are ht for kitchen purpofe, which has gained it tire name of Good Henry. It is cooling, foluble, and good for the fcurvy, and provokes urine ; outwardly it is much ufed in glyfters, and a cataplafm of the leaves helps pains of the gout. The only officinal preparation is tire Mel Mertriale. HERB CHRISTOPHER. Act^: a Spicata. 1 Description. — This is a fpecie of the Bane-berry. The root is | long and thick, black on the outfide, yellow within, and of a difagreea- ble tafte. The firft leaves are large, and divided into a great many parts three together ; fo that they refemble at the firft fight thofe of Ii fome of the umbeliferous plants: they are of a dufky green, and of a * glofl'y furface. The ftalk is round, green, upright, branched, and a J yard high. The upper leaves relemble thofe of the root: they are r large, and their feparate parts are broad, ferrated, and have alfo a kind of trifid divifion. The flowers are fmall and white : tney ftand in cluf- ters upon Uender foot-ftalks, forming a kind of fpike ; and the berries t are large, of a roundifh, but fomewhat of an oblong, figure, and black, h Place. — It is found in the woods of our northern counties. i ; Time. — It flowers in July, and the berries are ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Sa- .. turn. The berries have been fatal to children, who have been tempted to tafte them. But outwardly the leaves may be ufed inflammations, Hand mayfupply the want of the common nightfhade. They may alfo be applied with good fuccefs to hard tumours or fwellings on the breaft. Hill. HERB TRUE-LOVE, or ONE-BERRY. Paris Quadrifolia. < i Description. — Ordinary Herb True-love has a fmall creeping root running under the uppermoft cruft of the ground, fomewhat like couch- graft root, but not fo white, {hooting forth ftalks with leaves, fome whereof carry no berries, the others do ; every ftalk fmooth without joints, and blackifh green, rifing about half a foot high,, if it bear ber- ries, otherwise feldom fo high ; bearing at the top four leaves fet direct- ly one againft another, in manner of a crofs or ribband tied (as it is cal- led), in a true love’s-knot, which are each of them apart fomewhat like a night- I T H fe FAMILV PHYSICIAN; 3$b a nightffiade leaf, but fomewhat broader, having fometimes three leaves, fometimes five, fometimes fix, and thofe fometimes greater than in others;, in the middle of the four leaves rifes up one fmall {lender ftalk, about aa inch high; bearing at the tops thereof one flower fpread open like a ftar, confifting of four fmall and long narrow pointed leaves of a yel- lowifh green colour, and four others lying between them lefs than they ; in the middle whereof ftands a round dark purplifh button or head, com- pafled about with eight fmall yellow mealy threads with three Colours, making it the more confpiCuous and lovely to behold. This button, or head in the middle, when the other leaves are wither- ed, becomes a blackifh purple berry, full of juice, of the bignefs of a reafonable grape, having within it many white feeds. The whole plant is wi thout any manifeft tafle. Place. — It grows in woods and copfes, and fometimes in the corners or borders of fields and wafte grounds, in many places of this country, and abundantly in the woods, copfes, and other places about Chiflehtlrft and Maidftone, in Kent. Time. — Theyfpring up in the middle of April or May, and are iii flower foon after : the berries are ripe in the end of May, and in fome places in June. Government and Virtues.— Venus owns it: the leaves or berries hereof are effeflual to expel poifon of all forts, efpecially that of the aconites; as alfo the plague, and other peftilential diforders. The roots in powder taken in wine, eafe the pains of the colic fpeedily : the leaves are very effectual, as well for green wounds, as to cleanfe and heal up filthy old fores and ulcers ; and is very powerful to difcufs all tu- mours and fwellings in the privy parts, the groin, or in any part of the body, and fpeedily to allay all inflammations. T,he juice of the leaves app.ied to felons, or thofe nails of the hands or toes that have impoft- humes or fores gathered together at the roots of them, heals them in a lhort time. This plant has the fame properties as other narcotics, and though it has been cried up for an excellent remedy againft the plague, and other infectious diflempers ; yet folid experience Hill denies it that character. It mult therefore be content to be ufed in ointments, for old ulcers, hot fwellings, whitlows, &c. HERB ROBERT. Geranium Robertianum. Description. — It rifes up with areddifh ftalk two feet high, hav- ing divers leaves thereon, upon very long and reddifh foot-ftalks, di- vided at the ends into three or five divifions, each of them cut in on the edges, fome deeper than others, and all dented likewife about the edges, which fometimes turn reddifh. At the tops of the ftalks come Forth divers flowers made of five leaves, much larger than the doves-foot, and of a more reddifh colour ; after which come black heads, as in others : ft root Knoll 1 * Pm ■itch ta I Tim ptly | Gov t I E)d,i ise ( 'uadi su: cor All Robert com;: p!d wii Des climb port; I laves, if the i'dlou' '■ Pla ihewl Tu Go- This, fpleen, pel, The works .nereal > the hoe [hew,, jcpshf led in womei Rtu ildter OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 35* the root is finall and thready, and fmells as the whole plant, very flrong, almoft flanking. Place. — This grows frequently every where by the way-fifles, upon ditch banks, and wade grounds, wherel'oever one goes. Time. — It flowers in June and July chiefly, and the feed is ripe Shortly after. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Ve- nus. Herb Robert is commended not only againft the flone, but to Ha y blood, where or howfoever flowing; it l'peedily heals all green wounds, and is effedtual in old ulcers in the privy parts, or ellewhere. You may Iperfuade yourfelf this is true, and alfo conceive a good reafon for it, do but confider it an herb of Venus, for all it has a man's name. All the geraniums are vulneraries, but the doves-foot, and Herb it Robert more particularly fo: the firft is very aftringent, and therefore commended in ruptures, if the powder of the root and herb be taken in I old wine, (this is an experiment ot Gerhard); Herb Robert is more j deterfive and diuretic, which quality is difeovered by its Prong foapy ► fmell, it anfwers very well both inwardly and outwardly applied. A Idecodtion of it has often been of great fervice in obftructions of the kidnies and in gravel. HOPS. Lupulus. Description. — The Hop is a plant which runs to a great height, climbing up, and twilling round, the poles which are piaced for its fup- port; the branches are rough and hairy, bearing large, rough, vine-like I leaves, divided into three parts, ferrated about the edges. On the tops f of the ftaiks, grow cluilers of large, loofe, fcaly heads, of a pale greenifh yellow colour when ripe, and of a pretty ltrong fmell. Place.— The manured itops are cultivated in particular gardens ; the wild are found frequently in the hedges. Time. — They are ripe in September. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mars. This, in phyiical operation^, is to open obftrudtions of the liver and jpleen, to cleanfe the blood, to loofen the belly, to deanfe the reins from gravel, and provoke urine. The decodltion of the tops of hops, as well of the tame as the wild, works the fame effects. In cleanfing the blood, they help to cure the ve- nereal difeafe, and all manner of fcabs, itch, and other breakings-out of the body; as alfo all tetters, ringworms, and fpreading lores ; the mor- phew, and all difcolouring of the Ikin. The decodtion of the flowers and tops help to expel poifon that any one has drank. Half a dram of the feed in powder, taken in drink, kills worms in die body, brings down women’s courfes, and expels urine. A fyrup made of the juice and fu- gar, cures the yellow-jaundice, eafes the head-ach that comes of heat, and tempers the heat of the liver and ftomach. and is profitably given in 35* the family physician; Jong and hot agues that rife in choler and blood. Both the wild and the manured are of one property, and alike effectual in all the aforefaid dif- eafes. By all thefe teftimonies, beer appears to be better than ale. Everybody is convinced of its ufe in preferving malt-liqcurs. I cannot give it the fame commendation as a diuretic and diffolver of the {tone; nor on account of its bitternefs, as a ftomachic. It has in it a very hot, pungent oil, like that of wormwood, which has the fame vicious quality, and difagrees with many people; but the young hop fprouts, which appear in March and April, are a great deal milder ; which if boiled and ferved up like afparagus, are a very wholefome as well as pleafant tailed fpring food. They purify the blood ,and keep the body gently open. litli til a SEA-HOLLY. EryNgium Mar^timum. T» Goi the Description. — The firff leaves of our ordinary Sea-Holly are byno means fo hard and prickly as when they grow old, being almoft round, and deeply dented about the edges, hard and (harp pointed, and a little crumpled, of a blueilh green colour, every one upon a long foot-ffalk ; but thofe that grow up higher with the ftalk, do as it werecompafs it about. The (talk itfelf is round and ftrong, yet fomewhat crefted with joints, and leaves fet thereat, but more divided, fharp and prickly; and branches rifing from thence, which have likewife other fmall branches, each of them having feveral blueifh round prickly heads, with many fmall, jagged, prickly leaves under them, Handing like a liar, and fome- times found greenilh or whitilh : the root grows wonderfully long, even to eight or ten feet in length, fet with rings and circles toward the upper part, cut fmooth, and without joints down lower, brownifh on the out- ride, and very white within, with a pith in the middle, of a pleafant tafte, but much more, being artificially preferved, and candied with fugar. Place. — It is found about the fea-coaft, in almoft every county of this country, which borders upon the fea. T imf. — It flowers in the end of fummer, and gives ripe feed within a month after. Government and Virtues. — Sea-Holly is deemed under the JVIoon : the roots are hepatic and diuretic, opening obftrutftions of the liver, helping the jaundice and dropfy, provoking urine, and eafing the ftranguary. Candied with fugar, they are accounted very reftorative, good for confumptiye perfons, and thofe wafted with long illnefs and too much venery, they being reckoned ftrengtheners to the parts of ge- neration : they are commended by fome for the lues venerea and go- norrhea, as taking off the acrimony and heat of urine, ufually attending thofe diftempers, by their balfaipic foftening qualities. Ml, lOWUj ideal idbr; Pla aits ( lertK or iiu ting o [fin wfen 10 pro, am: lie, H( fel Tft] Garden OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 353 GARDEN HOLLYOCKS. Malva Hortense. Description. — This is a large tall plant, fix or feven feet high, with thick rough round flalks, and very large hairy round leaves, a great deal bigger than mallows, but much of theyr ihape; the flowers grow upon the {talk, coming forth with the leaves, being very large, of . one leaf cut into five fegments, of a pale red colour, having a fpiked I umbo in the middle, full of dufty apices. The roots are white, large, [ i and branched. Place. — It grows only in gardens. Time. — Flowers in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This fpecies of mallows is much l of the nature of the common marfh-mallows, but lei's mollifying: it is > moftly ufed in gargles for the fwelling of the tonfils, and the relaxation ;of the uvula; but it is not often met with in prefcriptions. All the ’l parts of the plant have a rough and aultere tafte, but more efpecially the root, which is of a very binding nature, and maybe ufed to advan- tage both externally and inwardly wherever aftringency is required, as » for incontinence of urine, immoderate menfes, bleeding wounds, fpit- Eting of blood, the bloody-flux, and other fluxes of the belly. Itisalfo [ of lingular efficacy in a foft fpungy {late of the gums, attended with I loofenefs of the teeth, and forenefs in the mouth. Dried and reduced t to powder, or boiled in wine, and taken pretty freely, it prevents mif- I carriage, helps ruptures, diil'olves coagulated blood, from falls, blows, . &c. and kills worms in children. Hill. HONEY SUCKLE, or WOODBIND. Caprifolium. Description. — The trunk or body of this tree or bufh is feldom much thicker than the wrift, lhooting out long, twining, {lender {talks, which twifl about any thing they meet with ; the leaves grow two to- gether, at a joint, of a long round form, pointed at the end; of a blueifh green colour : the flowers are made up of feveral long {lender tubes fet together, open at top, with broad lips, turned back with feveral {lamina in the middle, of a pale red colour, and of a molt pleafant grateful fcent, fucceeded by fmall round red berries. Place. — It grows every where in the hedges, Time. — Flowers good part of the fummer. Government and Virtues. — This is a hot martial plant in the celeltial fign Cancer. The leaves, which are the only part ufed, are fometimes put into gargarifms for fore throats; though others affirm, they are not fo proper for that purpofe, by reafon of their great heat. Some commend a decodtion of them for a cough, and the phthific; and to open obftrudtions of the liver and lpleen. The oil made by infuflon V ol. I, Y y of 354 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; of the flowers, is accounted healing and warming, and good for the cramp and convulfions of the nerves. DWARF HONEY SUCKLE. CoRNUS HeRBACEA SIVE ChAMJEPERICLYMENUM. ms. :h sietl Hits, Description. — The root is long and (lender, and fpreading. It runs under the furface, and is furnhhed with many fibres. The (talk is round, (lender, upright, and about five inches high. The leaves k era PPJ ! cle; lejtl are placed in pairs: they are large, oblong, broad pointed at the ends, l®1' ver a' litwar K I ntar,- not at all divided at the edges, and marked with high ribs : they have no foot-ftalks, and their colour is a blueifh green. The flowei is large and white, and (lands at' the top of the (talk; but there ufual^j rife two little (hoots from the fame point; each of which has two 01 four leaves on it like the others. The fruit confifts of feveral litth berries joined together, and are of a fine red. The whole plant, as i decays, often becomes reddifh. Place. — We have it on the hills in the northern parts of the king dom. Time. — It flowers in May. Government and Virtues. — Like the former, this is a ho martial herb. The root is auftere and bitterilh to the tafte, the leave; mildly acid ; which laft quality the berries pofiefs in fo remarkable a de- gree, that the birds refufe to feed upon them. Boiled up with fin< fugar, they make a very agreeable jelly, which is of great ufe in ho bilious fevers, and putrid diforders. A decoftion of the bark is a gooi lotion for the itch, and other cutaneous eruptions. l-rup ! «i c - HOREHOUND. Marruptum. '■Hit Description. — Common Horehound grows up with fquare hair (talks, half a yard or two feet high, fet at the joints with two rouro crumpled rough leaves of a fuilen hoary green colour, of a reafonabl good feent, but a very bitter tafte. The flowers are fmall, white, an gaping, fet in a rough, hard prickly hu(k round about the joints, wit. the leaves from the middle of the ftalk upward, wherein afterward i found fmall round blackilh feed. The root is blackilh, hard and wood) with many firings ; and abides many years ichas Des raicin :.7ct. feii leleat :it,e rawrft Pm Tim ■S no Jr »f Place. — It is found in many parts of this country, in dry ground, and wafte green places. Ti me. — It flowers in July, and the feed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Mercury. A de codlion of the dried herb, with the feed, or the juice of the green her' fcftj0l taken with honey, is a remedy for thofe that are (hort- winded, have' cougl a Die TJinei H’e; OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 355 cough, or are fallen into a confumption, either through long ficknefs, or thin diftillations of rheum upon the lungs. It helps to expectorate I tough phlegm from the cheft, being taken from the roots of iris or orris. It is given to women to bring down their courfes, to expel their after-birth, and to them that have lore and long travails ; as alfo to J thofe that have taken poifon, or are flung or bitten by venomous fer- t pents. The leaves ufed with honey, purge foul ulcers, flay running i or creeping fores, and the growing of the flefh over the nails. It all’o 4 helps pains of the Tides. The juice thereof with wine and honey, helps I1! to clear the eye-fight; and fluffed up into the noftrils, purges a v/ay the yellow-jaundice; and, with a little oil of rofes dropped into the ears, leafes the pains of them. Galen fays, it opens obftruCtions both of the | liver and l'pleen, and purges the breaft and lungs of phlegm; and ufed I outwardly it both cleanfes and digefts. A decoCtion of Horehound, I' fays Matthiolus, is available for thofe that have hard livers, and for I' fuch as have itches and running tetters. The powder hereof taken, or if the decoCtion, kills worms. The green leaves bruifed, and boiled in old hogs-greafe unto an ointment, heals the biting of dogs, abates the « fwellings and pains that come by any pricking of thorns, or fuch like means; and ufed with vinegar, cleanfes and heals tetters. There is a f fyrup made of Horehound to be had at the apothecaries, very good for I1 old coughs* to rid the tough phlegm ; as alfo to void cold rheums from i the lungs of old folks, and for thofe tHht are afthmatic or fhort-winded. BLACK HOREHOUND. Marrubium Nigrum. I Description. — The Black Horehound grows taller, and more |j branched than the white, having fquare hairy 1 talks, and larger darker leaves, which more refemble thofe of dead nettle, but are fomewhat i fofter in handling, of a ftrong earthy fmell. The flowers grow among the leaves, in two clufters on each fide the (talk, towards the fore-part of it, each duffer on a common foot-ftalk, and every flower in a wide- I mouthed five-cornered large calyx, of a red colour, being galeated and labiated, appearing but little above the calyx ; in the bottom of which grow four fmall oblong feeds. The root is long, ffringy, and fpread- ing much. Place. — It grows by path-ways, and in hedges. Time. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — Tfiis'isallo under Mercury, but it is not fo full of virtues as the preceding. The leaves and tops are only ufed, and but feldom. Diofcorides lays, that the leaves beaten with fait, and applied to the wound, cure the bite of mad dogs; and that the juice mixed with honey, is good to cleanfe foul ulcers. It is commended as a lingular remedy againft hyfteric and hypochondriac affections. It is an intenfe bitter, which befpeaks it a good ffrengthener •fa weak ftomach; it is endowed with all the properties of a balfamic, Y y 2 and 356 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Tii and therefore is a powerful alterative, and capable of opening obft'ruc- tions of any kind; it is a promoter of the menfes: feme praife it very much as a pecloral in coughs and fhortnefs of breath; but here it is neceflary to obferve fome caution, viz. that it ought only to be admi- niftered to grofs phlegmatic people, and not to thin and lean plethoric perfons, where it would caufe too great a rarefaction of the fluids, and irritate rather than allay a cough. The herb powdered, as a bitter, is nrr! good to kill worms. HORSE TONGUE. Hippoglossum sive Bislingua. Description. — The root of this plant has a thick head, from which fpring feveral hard white ftringy fibres. The ftalks are about fix or eight inches high, tough and flexible, having long and fomewhat broad nervous leaves, (harp pointed at the ends, thick and full of hard veins, growing fometimes alternately, and fometimes two oppofite; on the middle of the upper-part of each leaf, contrary to all other plants, comes forth a much fmaller leaf, but in fliape or make like the former; at the fetting on of this grow one or two fmall molly flowers, which are fucceeded by round red berries. Place. — It grows in divers .mountainous parts of the Continent, but with us it is planted in botinic gardens. Time. — It flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — This plant is under Mars in Libra. Horfe Tongue is heating and drying, and ferviceable in dif- orders and fuffocations of the womb, and hyfteric fits, as likewife to haften the birth, expel the after-birth, and procure the catamenia ; but it- is very rarely ufed. There is a lefier fpecie, more common than the above, but it does not appear to poffefc more virtues. They are both very drying and reftringent, good for all forts of fluxes, haemorr- hages and bleedings, both inward and outward ; they are likewife ap- plied, w'th good fuccefs, for ruptures and ftrains, and to {Lengthen the joints. rater, m sr raich an 11J pi HOUND’S TONGUE. Cynoglossum. Description. — The root of the common Hound’s Tongue is thick and long, of a dark brown colour on the outfide, and whitilh within ; the lower leaves are near a foot long, and two or three inches broad, pointed at the ends, being foft and woolly in handling ; the ftaik grows to be two or three feet high, befet with fmaller and narrower leaves, and having, on their top, feveral flowers growing together, of a fullen red colour, in fhape like buglofs, but much lefs, appearing but little above the green calyces they Hand in: each flower is followed by I four flat rough feeds, Handing about the jpifliilum, appearing, as they are Go letp ener tii ecau fen OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 357 arc all joined together, like a fhicld or buckler. The whole plant has a foetid fmell, like the urine or dung of mice. Place.— It grows by hedges and road-fides. Time. — Flowers in June and July. The root only is ufed. 1 Government and Virtues. — This plant is governed by Mer- cury. The root of it is c :id, drying, and binding; it is ufeful in catarrhous defluxions upon the lungs, and to temper the fharpnefs of the blood ; and, by conil-quer.ee, good for all kind of fluxes, and he- morrhages, as well as for a gonorrhoea. It is likewife reckoned among the vulneraries, and helpful againit fcrophulous tumours, both taken inwardly, and applied outwardly as a cataplafm. The leaves boiled in wine, fays Diofcorides — but others rather appoint it to be made with water, and to add thereto oil and fait — mollify or open the belly downwards. It alfo helps to cure the biting of a mad dog, fome of-the 'leaves being applied to the wound: the leaves bruifed, or the juice of them boiled in hogs-lard, and applied, helps falling away of the hair, 1 which comes of hot and {harp humours; as alfo for any place that is .fcaided or burnt; the leaves bruifed or laid to any green wound, heals it up quickly : the root baked under the embers, wrapped in pafte or 1 wet paper, or in a wet double cloth, and thereof a fuppofitory made, and put into or applied to the fundament, does very effectually help the painful piles or haemorrhoids. The (^filled water of the herbs and hoots is very good to all the purpofes aforefaid, to be ufed as well in- 1 wardly to drink, as outwardly to wafh any fore place, for it heals all manner of wounds and punctures, and thofe foul ulcers that arife by die venereal difeafe. Mezaldus adds, that the leaves laid under the feet, will keep the dogs from barking at you. It is called Hound’s Tongue, becaufe it tics the tongues of hounds; whether true or not, I never tried; yet I cured the biting of a mad dog with this only medicine. HORSETAIL. Cauda Equina stve Equisetum. Of this diere are many kinds, but I fhall not trouble you nor myfelf with any large deferipiion of them, which to do, were but as the pro- verb is, to find a knot in a rufh, all the kinds diereof being nothing elfe but knotted rulhes, fome with leaves, and fome without. Take die defeription of the moft eminent fort, as follows — • . Description. — The great Horfetail at the firff fpringinghas heads fomewhat like thofe of afparagus, and afrer grow to be hard, rough, hollow (talks, jointed at fundry places up to the top, a foot high, fo made as if the lower parts were put into the upper, where grow on each fide a bufli of fmall long rufli-like hard leaves, each part refem- bling a horfe tail, from whence it is cailed. At the tops of the (talks come forth fmall catkins, like thofe of trees. The root creeps under ground, having joints at fundry places. Place. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} 353 Place. — This (as do moil of the other forts hereof) grows in wet grounds. Time. — They fpring up in April, and their blooming catkins in July, feeding for the molt part in Auguft, and then perilh down to the ground, rifing afrefh in the fpring. Government and Virtues. — The herb belongs to Saturn, yet is very harmlefs, and excellent good for the things following : Horfe- tail, the finoother rather than the rough, and the leaved rather than the bare, is molt phyiical. It is very powerful to Itanch bleeding either inward or outward, the juice or the decodtion thereof being drank, or the juice, decodtion, or diltilled water applied outwardly, it alfo {fays all forts of lalks and fluxes in man or woman, and the pilling of blood ; and heals alfo not only the inward ulcers, and the excoriation of the entrails, bladder, See. but all other forts of foul, moift and running ul- cers, and foon folders together the tops cf green wounds. It cures all ruptures in children. The decoction thereof in wine, being drank, provokes urine, and helps the Hone and ftranguary; and the diftilied water thereof drank two or three times in a day, and a fmall quantity at a time, alfo eafes the entrails or guts, and is effedtual againil a cough that comes by diftillation from the head. The juice or diftilied water being warmed, and hot inflammations, puftules or red wheals, and other breakings-out in the Ikin, being bathed therewith, does help them ; and no lefs eafes the fwelling heamand inflammation of the fundament, or privy parts, in men and women. SJI a: lie: Cl lie iea KS :u.' tier ill t tilt: D cf a ted they lave are! eel. HOUSELEEK, or SENGREN. Sedum Vulgare. Description. — Houfeleekhas a great many thick fucculent leaves, fet together in a round form, convex on the outftde, and flattifh within, Iharp-pointed, and with fomewhat hairy edges. The ftalk grows to be about a foot high, reddifli, and having a fucculent bark, covering a tough, white firing or pith ; the leaves, which grow on it, are thinner and longer than thofe below; on the top of the ftalks grow reflected fpikes of Harry flowers made up of feveral narrow, fharp-pointed, red- dilh petala, fet about a greenilh hollow crown, which is afterwards en- larged into feveral fmall, hollow, horned pods or feed-vellels, which inclofe very fmall feed. The root is long, woody, and full of fibres. Place. — It grows frequently on the tops of houfes, all over England. Time. — It flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Jupiter; and it is reported by JVIezaldus, to preferve what it grows upon from fire and lightning. Our ordinary Houfeleek is good for all inward heats as well as outward, and in the eyes or other parts of the body : a poflet made with the juice of Houfeleek, is Angularly good in all hot agues, for it cools and tempers the blood and fpirits, and quenches the thirft ; and is alfo good to Hay all hot deductions or lharp and fait rheums in the eyes, the bemj cure 'ini tilt OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3*9 the juice being dropped into them, or into the ears, helps them. It ; hJps alfo other fluxes of humours in the bowels, and the immoderate [ courfes of women. It cools and reftrains all violent inflammations, | St. Anthony’s fire, fealdings and burnings, the fhingles, fretting ulcers, 1 cankers, tetters, ringworms, and the like; and much eafes }he pain of I the gout proceeding from an hot caufe. The juice alfo takes away [ warts and corns in the hands or feet, being often bathed therewith, and the fkin and leaves being laid on them afterwards. It eafes alfo the head-ach, and diftempered heat of the brain in phrenzies, or through I want of fleep, being applied to the temples and forehead. The leaves bruifed and laid upon the crown or feam of the head, flays bleeding at the nofe very quickly. The diftilled water of the herb is profitable for all the purpofes aforefaid. The leaves being gently rubbed on any place flung with nettles or bees, quickly takes away the pain. SMALL HOUSELEEK. Sedum Minus. Description. — The flalks of this fedum, before they flower, are f of a blueifh green colour, befet, efpecially towards the tops, with fat, thick, fucculent, blunt-pointed, round leaves; when they rife to flower, they have a few of the like leaves growing alternately on them ; thev have on their tops fmall umbels, of white five-leaved flowers, which are fuccceded by as many little horned feed-veflels, full of very fmall feed. The root is fibrous. Place. — It grows upon old flone-walls and buildings. Time. — Flowers in fummer. Government and Virtues.— The leaves and flalks are ufed, being much of the nature of the great fedum, and, like that, coding, and good for all kinds of inflammations. This is the fedum minus, that ought to be put in the unguentum populeon; but if not to be pro- ' cured, the next may fupply its place. It is alfo under Jupiter. HOUSELEEK, or STONE CROP. Sedum Minus H^ematodes. Description. — This fedum, in manner of growing, is much like the lafl; the chief difference is, that the leaves are flenderer, fharp- pointed, flattifh in the infide, and feeming only fluck on the flalks, the lower parts of them turning up a little. The flowers grow in um- bels, being yellow, of fix fharp-pointed leaves, with as many ftamina ■ and apices in the middle. The feed grows in horned pods, as the other, and the root much alike ; it grows upon old walls, and on the tops of houfes, and is much more frequent than the lafl, flowering at the fame time, and may very well fupply its place, being as cooling, and in all refpefls as ferviceable, Govern- THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 360 Government and Virtues. — The Houfeleek is cooling and redringent, and though not often given inwardly, is recommended by ■fnmp o-nnrl fr> mienrh Cri i r T in fevers, mixed with nnfTef-dn’nlr 1 fome as good to quench third- in fevers, mixed with poflet-drink ; a' alfo for heat and diarpnefs of urine. Prevotius, in his Medicina Pau- perum, commends an equal quantity, viz. three ounces of the juic oi this and perficaria maculata, boiled to the confidence of a julep, tc allay the heat of inflammation. k:i mth :ii HOUSELEEK WALL PEPPER. Sedum Vermicularis. Description. — Wall-pepper, or Small Stone-crop, has its ftalks four or five inches long, wholly covered with thick, fat, triangular bluni leaves, and on their tops a few ftar-iitce, five-leaved, yellow flowers, with feveral damina in the middle. The root is fmall and fibrous. Place. — It grows upon wails, and the tops of low houfes. Time. — Flowers in May and June. It has a very hot and biting tade, and therefor ; is called Wail-pepper, and Pepper-wort. Government and Virtues. —This is too frequently ufedin the {hops for the fedum minus, and is fold for it by the herb-folks ; but ii having qualities di refill y oppoiite co the other fedums, and more ape tc raife than to cure inflammations, it ought not to be put into the un- guent populeon, nor into any other medicine for it. This Stone- crop ha been found by experience to be good for the feurvy, both taken inwardly in decoctions, and the limbs bathed with it in fomen- tations ; and it is likewife commended againft the kings-eyil. HYSSOP. Hyssopus. i i MIS' : ■ SI] at aid ii.tr Me T, nr.fh ittlii be !0 till tlllCI :;rb anti Description.— Our Common Hyflop grows to be about a foot “ high or more, with many dalles which are fquare at fird, but grow tc v be round as they come to flower. The leaves are long, narrow, ark fharp-pointed, fet two at a joint: the flowers grow in long fpikes, made of thin whorles, of pretty large blue flowers difpofed all on one fide the I (talk. They have a galea cut in two, and the labella divided into four iegments; the feed is fmall and black, growing four together in the ca- lyx. The root is thick, woody, and much divided : the whole plant is pf a pretty dreng aromatic fmell. Place. - It is Town in gardens. Time. — Flowers in July. The whole plant is ufed. Government and Virtues.— The herb is Jupiter’s, and the fign Cancer. It (Lengthens all the parts of the body under Cancel and Jupiter ; which what they may be, is found amply difeufied in mj Adrological Judgment of Difeafes. Diofcorides fays, that Hyflbf, boiled with rue and honey, and drank, helps thofe that are troubled with coughs, diortnefs of breath, wheezing and rheumatic didillations upon ., the : OR, MEPICAL HER BAX-. 3$i the lungs; taken alfo with oxymel, it purges grofs humours by ftool; with honey kills worms in the belly; and with frefh and new figs bruifed, helps to loofen the belly, and more forcibly if the root of flower-de-luce and creifes be added thereto. It amends and cherifhes the native colour of the body, fpoiled by the yellow-jaundice ; and being taken with figs and nitre, helps the dropfy and fpleen : being boiled with wine, it is good to wafh inflammations, and takes away the black and blue fpots and marks that come by Strokes, bruifes, or falls, being applied with warm water. It is an excellent medicine for the quinfy, or levelling in the throat to wafh and gargle it, being boiled in figs; it helps the tooth-ach, being boiled in vinegar, and gargled therewith. The hot vapours of the dccoCtion taken by a funnel in at the ears, eafes the inflammations and Tinging noife of them. Being bruited, and fait, honey, and cummin feed put to it, helps thofe that are flung by fer- pents. The oil thereof (the head being anointed) kills lice, and takes away itching of the head. It helps thofe that have the falling ficknefs, which way l'oever it be applied. It helps to expectorate tough phlegm; and is effectual in all cold griefs or difeafes of the chefts or lungs, being taken in fyrup or licking medicine. The green herb bruifed, and a little fugar put thereto, does quickly heal any cut or green wounds, being properly applied. The herb hyffop is recommended to difl'olve the effeCts of bruifes, mafhed, and applied to the part wounded. It removes the blacknefs fettling under the eyes from blows, wonderfully, by a cataplafm of its leaves, or a little bundle of them fewed up in a linen rag and applied to the place hurt. Ray gives an account from Boyle, of a violent con- tufion of the thigh from the kick of a horfe, very happily cured by this herb boiled for a yataplafm. He fays, the violent pain was almofl in- stantly removed, and the very mark or blacknefs taken off in a few hours. Hares are fond of parfley ; the way to decoy them is, to fow a fpot of ground on purpofe, which will certainly attract them to the place from all around. T 1 ' ’ Vol. I. Z ? Refer- 362 THE family physician; REFERENCES. Heliotropium Vid. Turnsole. Hook-heal 1 — Self-Heal. Horse Raddish — Rhaddish. Herb Two-pence — Money-Wort. Horse Strange — Hog’s Fennel. Horse Strong — Ditto. Horse-hoof . — Coltsfoot. Holy Thistle — - Cardus Benedictus. Hartshorn Herba-Stella Herb-Eye ■ — Buckthorn Herb-Ivy Heartsickle Blue-Bottle. Herb William — Bishop’s Weed. Herb Bennet — Avens. Horse Parsley __ Alexanders. Hay-Maids — Alehoof. Hepatorium — Agrimony. d :k M Ilf Jessamini OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 363 JESSAMINE. Jasminum. Description. — THIS is a tree or flirub, (hooting out long, (lender, | green twigs or branches which muft be fupported, or elfe they will I hang down ; they are cloathed with long pinnated leaves, made of fe- veral fharp-pointed pinnae, let oppofite to each other with an odd one i at the end, larger than the reff. The flowers come forth among the leaves, feveral together on a common foot-ffalk ; but each Handing on a (lender, (hort one of its own, being longifh tubes, fpreading out at the top into five broad fegments, Handing in very fhort calyces, fo that they , eafily fall off, when full blown : they are of a white colour, and of a plea- : fant agreeable fmell : each flower is fucceeded by a berry, divided into two parts, but feldorn coming to perfection here. Place. — Jeffamine is ufually planted in gardens. Time. — Flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — Jeffamine is a warm cordial plant, governed by Jupiter in the fign Cancer. The flowers only are ufed, and that but feldorn, in our drops, though Schroder commends them as good to warm and relax the womb, to heal any fchirrthi therein, and to facilitate the birth ; as well as to be uleful for a cough, difficulty of breathing, &c. The oil made by infufion of the flowers, is ufed much in perfumes. It difperfes the crude hu- mours, and is good for cold and catarrhous conffitutions, but not for the hot, if its fmell caufe not a head-ach, and bleeding at the nofe. This oil is good for hard and contracted limbs ; it opens, warms, and foftens the nerves and tendons, if ufed either in a liniment to the parts, or taken in drink, or clyflers. It removes difeafes of the uterus, and is of much fervice in old pituitous colics. A poultice of the leaves, boiled in wine till foft, diffoives cold fwellings and hard tumours. ST. JOHN’S WORT. Hypericum. Description. — Common St. John’s Wort fhoots forth brownilh, upright, hard, round ffalks, two feet high, fpreading many branches from the fides up to the tops of them, with two fmall leaves fet one againft another at every place, which are of a deep green colour, fomewhat like the leaves of the lefier centaury, but narrow, and full of fmall holes in every leaf, which cannot be fo well perceived, as when they are held up to the light; at the tops of the ffalks and branches Hand yellow flowers of five leaves apiece, with many yellow threads in the middle, which being bruifed do yield a reddilh juice like blood; after which come fmall round heads, wherein is contained fmall blackifh feed fuelling .like rofin. The root is hard and woody, with divers firings and fibres the family physician; 364 at it, of a brownifh colour, which abides in the ground many years, {hooting anew every fpring. Place. — This grows in woods and copfes, as well thofe that are fhady, as open to the Sun. Time. — They flower about Midfummer and July, and their feed is ripe in the latter end of July or Auguft. Government and V irtues. — It is under the celeftial fign Leo, and the dominion of the Sun. St. John’s Wort is aperitive, deterfive and diuretic, helpful againft tertian and quartan agues, is alexipharmic, and deftroys worms ; and is an excellent vulnerary plant. A tindfure of the flowers in fpirit of wine, is commended againft melancholy and madnefs. Outwardly, it is of great fervice in bruifes, contufions, and wounds, efpecially in the nervous parts : Gerhard, in his Herbal, gives a very good receipt of a compound oil, of great fervice in the following accidents : It is a Angular wound herb ; boiled in wine and drank, it heals inward hurts or bruifes ; made into an ointment, in opens obftruc- tions, diflolves fwellings, and clofes up the lips of wounds. The de- codlion of the herb and flowers, efpecially of the feed, being drank in wine, with the juice of knot-grafs, helps all manner of vomiting and fpitting of blood, is good for thofe that are bitten or ftung by any veno- mous creature, and for thofe that cannot make water. Two drams of the feed of St. John’s Wort made irito powder, and drank in a little broth, does gently expel choler or congealed blood in the ftomach. The decodtion of the leaves and feeds drank fomewhat warm before the fits of agues, whether they be tertians or quartans, alters the fits, and by often ufing, doth take them quite away. The feed is much commended, being drank for forty days together, to help the fciatica, the falling fick- nefs, and the palfy. It is very juftly in thefirft rank among vulneraries ; it is abfterfive, and confequently openers of obftrudtions and fcourers of the urinary paf- fages. In thefe intentions an infufion in wine, or decodlion with water, may be taken with fuccefs. Nor does it make an improper ingredient in infufions and decodtions for agues. Angelus Sala praifes a tindfure made ot the flowers of St. John’s Wort, as a powerful remedy in mad- nefs, which Dr. Needham confirms by his own experience, and fays it is likewife of ufe in melancholy. Outwardly there is hardly a difcutient fomentation prelcribed, where this herb is not a principal ingredient; and the oil made »of the flowers has gained among furgeons a very dif- tinguifhing charadter, for its difcutient and cleaniing virtue. STOCK JULY FLOWER, or WILD PINK. Leucoium Album. lias l' tie f K Jill long h T G [pi: ispn zrtk! kill 'M D are r fafte. wher with grou thel ofth then on, leave wher . Pl ,W00( amft T Chri G f ^ 1 Description,' — This is a plant that grows almoft in every garden and therefore is fo well known, that it needs little to be faid about it. It hat ]b pi \ 1 0R, MEDICAL HERBAL. 365 has long, narrow, hoary, or whitifh leaves, fct alternately on the {talks: the flowers are large, of four leaves a-piece, fometimes white, red, and | . frequently ftriped, ef a pleafant loft, fweet fcent. The feed is flat and round, growing in long hoary pods, divided in two in the middle by a 1 j long partition. Place. — It grows only in gardens. ; T 1 me. — Flowers about Midfummer. Government and Virtues. — They are under Jupiter; all the t fpecies of Wild Pinks have the fame medicinal virtues, and their quality is principally in the flowers. Thole of the purple kind, as in the former 1 article, pollels them in the greateft degree: they are cordial and cephalic; l good in faintings, head-achs, and other nervous diforders. Perhaps the j heft method of exhibiting thefe virtues would be to give the tindture of I the flowers in Itrong brandy. IVY-TREE. Hedera Arborea. Description. — The leaves of Ivy, while they run upon the ground, are more angular and cornered ; but when the Italics rife up, and are fattened to a wall or tree, they become rounder, ending in one point, 1) whence mod of the old botanic writers have made two fpecies; that I with. the cornered leaves, becaufe it bore no fruit while it lay on the I ground, they called Helix, or barren Ivy ; and the other, Corymbofa : 1 the leaves of both are of a firm texture, and a dark green colour ; thofe t of the firft frequently full of fmall white veins : the branches infinuate i themfelves by lhortcirrhi into a wall, or the body of a tree that it climbs on. The flowers grow in corymbi or umbels, confiding of fmall fix- leaved yellowitti flowers, followed by round umbillicated berries, black I when ripe, including feveral angular feed. Place. — It is well known, to every child almott:, to grow in I woods upon the trees, and upon the ftone walls of churches, houfes, &c. and fometimes to grow alone of itfelf, though but feldom. Time. — It flowers not until July; and the berries are not ripe till j Chriftmas, when they have felt winter frofts. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Sa- turn. A pugil of the flowers, which may be about a dram, fays Diof- 1 [ corides, drank twice a-day in red wine, helps the lafk and bloody-flux. it is an enemy to the nerves and finews, being much taken inwardly, but very helpful unto them being outwardly applied. Pliny lays, the yel- 1 low berries are good againft the jaundice; and taken before one be fet to drink hard, preferves from drunkennefs, and helps thole that fpit blood; and that the white berries being taken inwardly, or applied out- wardly, kills the worms in the belly. The berries are a Angular remedy to prevent the plague, as alfo to free them from it that have got it, by drinking them, made into a powder, for two or three days together: being taken in wine, they certainly help to break the -ttxme, provoke THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 366 provoke urine and women’s courfes : and the frefti leaves boiled m vinegar, and applied warm to the fides of thofe that are troubled with the fpleen, ach, or ftitch in the Tides, do give much cafe : the fame ap- plied with tome rofe-water, and oil of roles, to the temples and fore- head, eafes the head-ach, though it be of long continuance. The freflr leaves boiled in wine, and old filthy ulcers hard to be cured wathed therewith, do wonderfully help to cleanfe them. It alfo quickly heals green wounds, and is effectual to cure all burnings and fcaldings, and all kinds of exulcerations coming thereby, or by fait phlegm or humours in other parts of the body : the juice of the berries or leaves fluffed up into the nole, purges the head and brain of thin rheum, that makes de- fluxions into the eyes and nofe, and curing the ulcers and ftench there- in ; the fame dropped into the ears, helps the old and running fores of them ; thofe that are troubled with the fpleen, fhall find much eafe by continual drinking out of a cup made of Ivy, fo as the drink may ftand fome fmall time therein before it be drank. Cato fays, that wine put into fuch a cup, will foak through it, by reafon of the antipathy that is between them. There feems to be a very great antipathy between wine and Ivy; for if one has got a furfeit by drinking of wine, the fpeediefl: cure is to drink a draught of the fame wine wherein a handful of Ivy leaves, being firft hruifed, have been boiled. JUNIPER-TREE. Juniperus. Description. — This feldom grows with us to be bigger than a bufh or fhrub, though in fome foreign countries, particularly in Nor- way, it grows to be a pretty large tree; the branches are thick fet, with narrow {tiff leaves, of a blueifii green colour, fharp and prickly at the ends ; the flowers are fmall, molly, and ffaminous : the berries are round, green for the firft year, and afterwards of a dark purple or black colour, each containing-three cornered feeds. Place.— It grows upon heaths, in feverai counties in England. Time. — The berries are not ripe the firft year, but continue green two fummers and one winter before they are ripe ; at which time they are all of a black colour, and therefore you (hall always find upon the iufli green berries ; the berries are ripe about the tall of the leaf. Government and Virtues. — This admirable folar fhrub is fcarcely to be paralleled for its virtues: the berries are hot in the third degree, and dry but in the firft, being a moft admirable counter-poifon, and as great a refifter of the peftilence as any grows; they are excellent againft the bitings of venomous beafts, they provoke urine exceedingly, and therefore are very available in dyfuries and ftranguaries. It is fo powerful a remedy againft the dropfy, that the very lie made of the aft.*s of the herb, and drank, cures the difeafe. It provokes the terms, helps the fit? of the mothei, ftrengthens the ftomach exceedingly, and expels OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3&7 the wind. Indeed there is fcarcely a better remedy for wind in any part iof the body, or the colic, than the chymical oil drawn from the berries. Such country people as know not how to draw the chymical oil, may content themfelves by eating ten or a dozen of the ripe berries every morning falling. 1'hey are admirably good for a cough, Ciortnefs of breath, and confun iption, pains in the belly, ruptures, cramps, and con- | vulfions: they give fafe and fpeedy delivery to women with child; they ftrengthen the brain exceedingly, help the memory, and fortify the fight, by {Lengthening the optic nerves ; are good in all forts of agues; help ! the gout and fciatica ; and ftrengthen all the limbs of the body : the I afhes of the wood is a fpeedy remedy to fuch as have the feurvy, to rub their gums with: the berries flay all fluxes, help the hannorrhoids or piles, and kill worms in children : a lye made of the afhes of die wood, ] and the body bathed with it, cures the itch, fcabs, and leprofy : the i berries break the done, procure appetite when it is loft ; and are good for all pallies, and falling-ficknefs. JEWS-EAR. Auricula Judje, or Fungus Sambucinus. Description. — A membranacoeus fungus which grows in the fbape , of an ear, from whence it has its name ; it is ufually afh-coloured be- neath, and blackifh on the top, and the tafte is earthly and flat, but it has no fmell. It is always found with little or no pedicle, and fticks clofe to the body of the tree. Place. — This light fpungv fubftance grows at the bottom of old i alder and elder trees in fhady fituadons. Time. — Mild damp weather is the moft favourable. Government and Virtues. — This is under Saturn in the fign Virgo. It is aftringent and drying, but is feldom taken inwardly, as the moft judicious medical writers have declared its internal ufe dan- . gerous. However, they are accounted good for the fwelling and in- flammation of the tonfils, fore throats and quinfeys. t REFERENCES. Vid. Garlick Hedge-weed. — Ragwort. — Darnel. — Cuckow Point. — Spotted Lungwort. Jack by the Hedge St. James Wort Juray Jarus Jerusalem Sage Common 36S the family physician; COMMON KNAPWEED. Jacea Nigra, ages: th imber o hich arc ihich col Description. — THE common fort hereof has many long and fomewhat broad dark green leaves, rifing from the root, dented about the edges, and fometimes a little rent or torn on both fides in two or three places, and fomewhat hairy withal ; among!! which arifes a long round ftalk, four or five feet high, divided into many branches, at the tops whereof hand great fcaly green heads, and from the middle of them thruft forth a number of dark purplifh red thrumbs or threads, which, after they are withered and paft, there are found divers black feeds, lyrng in a great deal of down, fomewhat like unto thiftle-feed, but finalier : tire root is white, hard and woody, and divers fibres annexed thereunto, which periihes not, but abides with leaves thereon all the winter, {hooting out frefh every fpring. Place. — It grows in moft fields and meadows, and about their bor- ders and hedges, and in many wafte grounds alfo every where. Time. — It ufually flowers in June and July; and the feed is ripe fhortly after. Government and Virtues. — Saturn challenges the herb for his own. This Knapweed helps to flay fluxes, both of blood at the mouth or nofe, or other outward parts, and thofe veins that are in- wardly broken, or inward wounds ; as alfo the fluxes of the belly; it flays diftillation of thin and iharp humours from the head upon the fto- mach and lungs ; it is good for thofe that are bruifed by any fall, blows, or otherwife, and is profitable for thofe that are burften, and have rup- tures, by drinking the decodlion of the heib and roots in wine, and applying the fame outwardly to the place. It is fingularly good in all running fores, cancerous and fiftulous, drying up the moifture, and healing them up gently, without fharpnefs ; it does the like to running for .s or fcabs of the head or other parts. It is of fpecial ufe for the forenefs of the throat, fwelling of the uvula and jaws, and excellently good to flay bleeding, and heal up all green wounds. tat, and tewn c Placi it efpec ipOH tOt oldtrt Time ipens qu iie leave: leaves fpi EE libra, mach, a outward mj on , 1,0 oidal \ . 'lit, tli helps til; he Jpon tiie :.»l tic: KIDNEY W ORT, WALL PENNYROYAL, or WALL, PENNYWORT. Cotyledon. Description. — It has many thick, flat, and round leaves growing from the root, every one having a long foot-ftalk, fafltened underneath, about the middle of it, and a little unevenly weaved fometimes about the edges, of a pale green colour, and fomewhat yellow on the upper fide like alaucer ; from among which rife one or more tender, fmooth, hollow ftalks half a foot high, with two or three fmall leaves thereon, ulually not round as thofe below, but fomewhat long and divided at the edges; OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 369 cages: the tops are fomewhat divided into long branches, bearing a number of flowers, fet round about a long fpike one above another, which are hollow and like a little bell, of a whntifh green colour, after (which come fmall heads containing very fmall brownifh feed, which, falling on the ground, will plentifully fpring up before winter, if it have ■ moifture. The root is round, and molt ufually fmooth, greyiHi with- out, and white within, having fina l fibres at the head of the root, and bottom of the {talk. Place. — It grows very plentifully in many places of this country, 1 ! but efpecially in all the weft parts thereof, upon ftone and mud walls, | upoii rocks alfo, and in ftony places upon the ground, at the bottom of old trees, and fometimes on the bodies of them that are decayed and rotten. Time. — Tt ufually flowers in the beginning of May, and the feed ripens quickly after, lhedding itfelf; fo that about the end of May, ufually the leaves and {talks are withered, and gone until September, that the leaves fpring up again, and fo abide all winter. Government and Virtues. — Venus challenges the herb under Libra, The juice or the diftilled water being drank, is very effectual for all inflammations and unnatural heats, to cool a fainting hot fto- mach, a hot liver, or the bowels; the herb, juice, or diitilled water thereof, outwardly applied, heals pimples, St. Anthony’s fire, and other I outward heats. The faid juice or water helps to heal fore kidnies, torn lor fretted by the ftone, or exulcerated within; it alfb provokes urine, is available for the dropfy, and helps to break the ftone. Being ufed as I a bath, or made into an ointment, it cools the painful piles or hemorr- hoidal veins. It is no lefs effectual to give eafe to pains of the hot gout, the fciatica, and the inflammations and fwellings in the tefticles ; it helps the kernels or knots in the neck or throat, called the kings- evil; healing kibes and chilblains if they be bathed with the juice, or anointed with ointment made thereof and fome of the fkin of the leaf upon them ; it is alfo ufed in green wounds to ftay the blood, and tq heal them quickly. KING’S-SPEAR. Asphodelus Luteus. Description. — This is a little low plant, not much branched ; the leaves are long, hollow, and fiftular, fomewhat triangular, the flowers grow in fpikes of a fine yellow colour, and the root is compofed of dogs or glandules, of a yellow colour. Place. — This is a native of Italy and Sicily; and is planted here in gardens. Time. — Flowers in May and June. Government and Virtues. — It is under Venus. The roots were in high eftimation by the ancients as diuretic. They are ufeful in malignant and peftilential diftempers; they are likewife cephalic, good Vol, I. 3 A for I ■ > THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 37° for epilepfies and other difeafes of the head, opening ob ft ructions of the womb, and procuring the menfes. KNOT-GRASS. Polygonum. De'Ck frith ' Mr Description. — The {talks of this plant recline pretty much to the earth, being fmooth and finely channelled, {lender, and branched, full of knots or joints, at which grow long oval fiiarp-pointed leaves, fet alternately on Ihort foot-ftalks. In fome plants thefe will be broader and more oval, in others longer and (harper, whence authors have made - two forts. At the joints, with the leaves, grow feveral fmall fiaminous, ^ blinking flowers; lbmetimes of a white, and fometimes of a reddiflr co- lour ; in each of which grows a fmall black triangular feed. The root is long and large, and ftrikes deep in the earth. Place. — It grows in every county of England, by the highway- fides, and by foot-paths in fields; as alfo by the fides of old walls. Time. — It fprings up late in the fpring, and abides until the winter, when all the branches perifh. Government and Virtues. — Saturn feems to me to own the herb, and yet fome hold the Sun; out of doubt it is Saturn. The juice of the common Knot-grafs is moft effedbual to flay bleeding of the [V, a ted by inclining fee, r proader d and are \ which sr pit $ to PlAC! mouth, being drank in Heeled or red wine; and the bleeding at the nofe, to be applied to the forehead or temples, or to be fquirted up into the noftrils. it is no lei’s effectual to cool and temper the heat of the blood and ftomach, and to day any flux of the blood and humours, as lalks, bloody-flux, women’s courfes, and running of the reins. It is Angularly good to provoke urine, help the ftranguary, and allay the heat that comes thereby; .and it is powerful by urine to expel the gra- vel or Hone in the kidnies and bladder, a dram of the powder of the herb being taken in wine for many days together: being boiled in wine, and drank, it is profitable to thofe that are flung or bitten by venomous creatures, and very effectual to Hay all deductions of rheumatic hu- moufs upon the ftomach, and kills worms in the belly or ftomach, quiets inward pains that rife from the heat, (harpnefs and corruption of blood and choler. The diftilled water hereof taken by itfelf, or with the powder of the herb or feed, is very effectual to ail the purpofes aforefaid, and is accounted one of the moft fovereign remedies to cool all manner of inflammations, breaking out through heat, hot dwellings and impofthumes, gangrene and fiftulous cankers, or foul filthy ulcers, being applied or put into them ; but efpecially for all forts of ulcers and fores happening in the privy parts of men and women. It helps all frefti and green wounds, and fpeedily heals them. The juice dropped into the ears, cleanfes them being foul, and having running matter in them. It is very prevalent for the premifes: as alfo for broken joints and ruptures. Kidney i jin and An; Gove fonnany of nfe, free fron KN Dw Knaovn Sowers ben Fla Ta OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 371 KIDNEY VETCH, or LADIES FINGER. V ULNERARIA RuSTICA. Description. — This plant has a Tingle, long, ftrait, blackifh root, with ftalks that rife to the height of a foot, which are flender, round, downy, a little reddifli, and lie upon the ground. The leaves are placed by pairs along one fide, and are terminated with a Tingle leaf like to ole of goat’s rue, but a little fofter; they are hairy underneath, inclining to white, but of a yellowiih green above, with a fvveetifh acrid talle. I'iiofe which fullain the dowers cn the tops of the branches, are broader than the reft. The flowers grow on the tops of the branches, and are tv How, papilionaceous, and have each a calyx like a tube, which are fucceeded by lhort pods filled with rourdifh feeds, that are contrived in a membranous bladder, and was before the cup of the flower. Place. —It grows in mountainous, dry, Tandy places, or on chalky grounds in divers parts of England. Time. —It flowers in May, and June; and the feed is ripe in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. —This has been accounted good for many internal diforders, but is now almoft out of ufe. Mercury has dominion over it. It purges ferous humours from all parts of the bod}’, and helps the dropfy, jaundice, and rheumatifm, working with a great deal of gentlenefs, and without griping, and therefore it is fit for weakly tender conflitutions ; but by re a ion a larger quantity muft be given, than mod people are willing to take, it is grown very much out of ufe. The leaves may be applied to ifl'ues, to keep them cool and free from inflammations, as all'o to fcabs and fores, and feald heads. KNAPWORT HARSHWEED. Sagmen Jaceoides. Description. — This is a plant very much refcmbling the common Knaoweed already deferibed, only it is much larger. The root is com- pofed of innumerable thick, long, and brown fibres. The flraik is ro- buft, brown, two feet and a half in height, and varioufly and irregu- larly branched. The leaves are large, and fome of them are entire; others divid’d to the rib into many parts, of a deep green, and the flowers ftaud at the tops of the branches ; they grow out of rough green heads; they are large, and of a lively purple. The feeds are large and brown. Place. —It is common in hilly paftures. Time.— Flowers in July. 3 A 2 Govern- THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; %1* Government and Virtues, — This is under Saturn alfo. It is an excellent aftringent, and is beft given in decocftion; but, as the quantity to be taken mull be large to have any fenfible effe£t, it is but feldom ufed. It is healing, opening, and attenuating, good to cleanfe the lungs of tartareous humours, and helpful againft coughs, afthmas, difficulty cf breathing, and cold diftempers of the lungs ; it is likewife reckoned a cephalic, and good for difcafes of the head and nerves. The bruifed herb applied outwardly, is famous for taking away black and blue marks out of the fkin. COMMON SAWWORT. Serratula Tinctoria. Description. — This grows with a white fibrous root. The firft leaves are ufually undivided, oblong, and broad, and of a beautiful green : fometimes they are deeply cut in a pinnated form ; and they, in the fame manner, vary upon the flalks, being in fome plants undivided, and in others very deeply jagged, while the fpecies is the fame. In both forms they are very regularly and beautifully notched at the edges: whence the plant had its name. The ftalk is round, upright, Render, and two feet or more in height. The flowers are collected in fmall heads, and are of a fine purple; but the poverty of fome foils produce them quite white. The feeds are oblong and large. Place. — It is common about woods. T i me. — Flowers in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This plant is under the govern- ment of Saturn. It is accounted vulnerary and aftringent, but is not fo much ufed as it deferves to be. It has a ftiptic, and a little fourifh tafte. It is very drying and binding, being ufeful for a diarrhea and dyfentery, the fluxus hepaticus, the excefs of the catamenia and fluor albus; and likewife againft vomiting and fpitting of blood. Hill. DiTTANDER KARSE. Lepidium Latifolium. Description. — This is the largeft fpecie of Karfe. The root is fibrous, and the firft leaves are very large, and of a deep greeh: they ftand on long Render foot-ftalks ; they are oblong, broad, and ferrated at the edges: they are largeft n;ar the bafe, and fharp-pointed. The ftalk is round, firm, upright, confiderably branched, and three feet high. The leaves grow at the joints, with long Render foot-ftalks, like thofe from the roots, and they refemble them in fliape, but they are fmaller and paler. I he Rowers ftand in great numbers at the tops of the numerous branches into which the ftalk divides; and they are fmall and white. The feed is very fmall and brown. Place. — It is common in our northern counties, and in Eflex, on damp plains. Tjme. ©R, MEDICAL HERBAL. 373 Time. — It flowers in July. • Government and Virtues. — The tafte of thefe Karfes are vio- lently acrid, whence the common people call them pepper-wort. Pliny and raulus TEgineta lay, that this is very fuccefsful for the fciatica, or any other gout or pain in the joints, or any other inveterate grief : the leaves hereof to be bruifed, and miked with old hogs-greafe, and applied to the place, and to continue thereon four hours in men, and two hours in women, the place being afterwards bathed with wine and oil mixed together, and then wrapt up with wool or fkins, after they have fweat a little. It alfo amends the deformities or difcolourings of the /kin, and helps to take away marks, fears, and fcabs, or the foul marks of burning with fire or iron. The juice hereof is by fome ufed to be given in ale to ) women with child, to procure them a fpeedy delivery in travail. PETTY KARSE. Lepidium Petrieum. Description. — A fmall pretty plant, with fmooth oval leaves, of a light green. The branches are naked, and the flowers are fmall and white. In fome counties, as in Lancafhire, the people call it Spring Creffe. Place. — It is a fcarce plant, but is frequently found near Briftob Time. — Flowers in April. OSYRIAN KARSE. Lepidium Ruderaile. Description. — This is a taller plant, and nearer approaching the creile kind, of which it partakes much of the virtues. The root is fibrous, and the firft leaves are long and narrow, the lower ones broader and divided, of a blueifh green, but not at all indented at the edges. The ltalk is round, upright, firm, fcarce at all branched, and two feet and a half high. The flowers are fmall and white like the former. The feed-veffel is fmall and brown, and the feeds are numerous and minute. Place. — This plant is not frequent in England wild, but is found in the gardens of the curious. It is fometimes found in the marfhes by the fea-fide in Eflex and Kent. R E N C E S. Vid. Glasswort. — Melilot. — Crabs Claws. — Butcher’s Broom. Time. — It flowers in June. R E F E Kali King’s Clover Knight’s Poundwort Knee-Holm J Knee-Holly !• Knee-Hulver J Ladies- 374 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} LADIES-MANTLE. Alchimilla. Description. — IT has many leaves riling from the root, Handing upon long hairy foot-ftalks, being almoft round, and a little cut on the edges, into eight or ten parts, making it feem like a ftar, with fo many corners and points, and dented round about, of a light green co'cnr, fomewhat hard in handling, and as it were folded or plaited at hrft, and then crumpled in divers places, and a little hairy, as the ftalk. is alfo, which rifes up among them to the height of two or three feet; and being weak, is not able to Hand upright, but bends to the ground, divided at the top into two or three final! branches, with fmail yeliowilh green heads, and flowers of a whitilh colour breaking out of them; which being pall, there comes a fmail yeliowilh feed like a poppy-feed : the root is fomewhat long and black, with many firings and fibres thereat. Place. — It grows naturally in many paflures and wood-fides in Hertfordfhire, Wiltfhire, and Kent, and other places of this country. Time. — It flowers in May and June, and abides after feed-time green ail the winter. Government and Virtues. — Venus claims the herb as her own. Ladies Mantle is very proper for thofe wounds that have inflammations, and is very effedlual to flay bleeding, vomitings, and fluxes of all forts, bruifes by falls or otherwife, and helps ruptures ; and fuch women or maids as have over great flagging breafts, caufing them to grow lefs and hard, being both drank and outwardly applied: the diftilled water drank for twenty days together helps conception, and to retain the birth, if the woman do fometimes alfo fit in a bath made of the deception of the herb. It is one of the meft Angular wound herbs that is, and therefore highly prized and praifed by the Germans, who ufe it in all Wounds inward and outward: to drink a decodlion thereof, and wafli the wounds therewith, or dip tents therein, and put them into the wounds, moft wonderfully dries up all humidity of the fores, and abates inflam- mations therein. It quickly heals all green wounds, not fullering any corruption to remain behind; and cures all old fores, though fiflulous and hollow. k, of jiai! lx Plac Time tune y. Gon liie ilk ton!; I) bill) lloring !( Descj rife a: very rrur to be a uvinj o' of he I Alien, t: con:. Place Time. Govei rri • ■ 1ms is i laid to be The (eel lomadi i urine ana lersofth lb, Tn toned co: com; OtSCR LADIES-SMOCK, or CUCKGW-FLOWERS. Cardamine. Description. — The root is compefed of many fmail white threads, from whence fpring up divers long ftalks of winged leaves, confifting of round, tender, dark green leaves, fet one againft ano- ther upon a middle rib, the greateft being at the end, ainongfl which rife up divers tender, weak round, green ftalks, fomewhat ftreaked, with longer and fmaller leaves upon them; on the tops of which Hand flowers, almoft like the flock gilliflowers, but rounder, and not fo long. ft and end; tom ft V: In V pks nfe '“P into k OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. , 375 Iona;, of a blufhing white colour: the feed is reddifh, and grows to final! bunches, being of a fharp biting taile, and fo has the herb. 1 ' Place. -They grow in rnoift places, and near to brook-iidas. Time. — They flower in April and May, and the lower leaves con- tinuc green all the winter. Government and V irtues. — They are under the dominion of I the Moon, and very little inferior to water-crefles in all their opera- I tions; hey are excellently good for the leurvy ; they provoke urine, I' break the ft one, and effectually warm a cold and weak ftomach, ce- ll ftoring loft appetite, and helping digeftton, LARKSPUR. Delphinium. Description. — The root of Larkfpur confifts of many fibres, pe- 1 rifhing after feed-time: the leaves are roundoff in compafs, divided into I very many fine deep fedtions, of a dark green colour; the ftalk grows | to be a yard high, much divided, and cloathed with the like leaves, I having on tneir tops long fpikes of flowers, of an irregular fliape, made i of five leaves with a l'pur or heel on the back part; when thefe are jj fallen, there come long round ifh ftiarp-pointed horns, or feed-veffels, :! containing black rugged angular feed. I Place. — It is fown every year in gardens. Time. - Flowers moft part of the fummer. Government and Virtues. —It is under Venus in Scorpio. I. This is reckoned among the vulnerary and confolidating plants, and is faid to be of a healing nature; but is feldom or never ufed in England. I The feeds are of a drying warming nature, good to expel wind from the 1! ftomach and guts, and prevent the colic : they are diuretic, provoke \ urine and the courfes. The juice of the flowers is good againft difor- d rs of the eyes, and the whole plant, mane into an infulion, againft co- lics. There is a wild kind which is very ferviceable in the aforemen- tioned complaints. Hill. COMMON SEA LAVENDER. Limonium Vulgaris. Description. — The root of Sea-Lavender is pretty thick and long, and runs deep into the earth, moftly tingle, with feveral fibres at B the end; of a browniflt colour on the outlide, and reddilh within; from Rich rife many large, firm, thick, green leaves, growing on I long, broadifh foot-ftalks; roundifti at the end, and fomething re- M, fembiing the leaves of the lemon-tree, whence it takes its name: the Talks rile to be about a foot high, bare of leaves, divided towards the top into feveral branches, on which grow long fpikes of fmall, purpliflr, red flowers, of five leaves each, growing fomewhat like lavender, in greenilh hulks, each including one iong feed. Place. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 376 Place. — It grows every where in the falt-marlhes, as below Greert- hithe, and about Gravefend, in great plenty. Time.— Flowers in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This is alfo a Mercurial plant. The roots are powerfully aftringent;_they may be taken in decodlion or in powder, and they flop loofeneiies. The feeds are good in the diabetes. Hill. NET-WORKED SEA LAVENDER. Limonium Reticulatum. LAVENDER. Lavendula. Iceped it Mid ' lecoction farads iiling-lic nouth wi pipits, lie body Description. —This has oblong roundifh dark green leaves at the bafe, and grows up with a very weak {talk. The joints of the branches form angles, upon which fometimes there appears a little pale flefhy purple flower, and alfo fuch grow at the ends or tops of the branches. Place. — It is common on our fait marfhes. Time. — Flowers in Auguft, and fometimes fooner. Virtues. — It has fome of the virtues of the former, but in an in- ferior degree. It is outwardly ufed in warming and {Lengthening fomentations. Hill. Description. — The common Lavender is a fhrubby plant, abiding many years, having a great many woody branches, thick-fet with long hoary narrow leaves, two at a joint, which are round-pointed and broadeft at the end; from among thefe fpring feveral fquare ftalks, hav- ing but few leaves upon them, and thofe narrower than the lower, bearing at the tops long verticillated fpikes, of blue galeated and la- biated flowers, fet in hoary calyces. Place. — It grows wild in the fouthern parts of France, and ip Spain ; but is cultivated with us only in gardens. T ime. — Flowers in July. This is the Lavender which grows every where in our gardens, and is commonly ufed; the broad-leaved being rarely to be met wit, and that only in fome gardens of the curious ; though Gerhard, Parkiitfon, and even Mr. Ray, took the broad-leaved to be our common Lavender. Government and Virtues. — Mercury owns the herb, and it carries his effedts very potently. Lavender 'is of a fpecial good ufe for all the pains of the head and brain that proceed of a cold caufe, as the apoplexy, falling-ficknefs, the dropfy, or fluggifh malady, cramps, con- vulsions, palftes, and often faintings. It {Lengthens the ftornach, and frees the liver and fpleen from obftrudlions, provokes women’s courfes, and expels the dead-child and after-birth. The flowers of Lavender fteepe4 lave loll uality, [ BROAI Desc; Mot i ini thelj Puce It ism LA Discr wit mewhat lOUgh1' E brar.ct yo 'rde 1) Ion fever; Puce, :ed Mm, Time, Govej *s>a *■ tl ancii 'oil, fteeped in wine, helps them to make water that are flopped, or are troubled with the wind or colic, it" the place be bathed therewith. A 1 1 decoction made with the flowers of lavender, horehcund, fennel, and . j afparagus root, and a little cinnamon, is very profitably ufed to help the I' falling-ficknefs, and the giddinefs or turning of the brain; to gargle the mouth with the decoction thereof, is good againft the tooth-ach. Two fpoonfools of the diflilled water of the flowers taken, helps them that k have loft their voice, as alfo the tremblings and paffions of the hear", l and faintings and fwooningsj not only being drank, but applied to the ; temples, or noltrils to be fmelt unto; but it is not fafe to ufe it where i the body is replete with blood and humours, becaufe of the hot and fubtle fpirits wherewith it is pofTeflfed. The chymical oil drawn from Lavender, ufually called Oil of Spike, is of fo fierce and piercing a quality, that it is cautioufly to be ufed, fome few drops being lufficient, to be given with other things, either for inward or outward maladies. BROAD-LEAVED LAVENDER. Lavendula Latifolia. Description. — This has broader leaves than the common Laven- der, not quite fo white. or hoary; the flowers grow upon taller ftalks, and the fpikes are rather larger; but each particular flower is lefs. Place. -It is planted in gardens, but is feldom met with in England. It is much of the nature of the common Lavender, but is never pre- fcribed in the fhops. LAVENDER COTTON. Lavendula Taemina. ! Description. — This is a fhrubby plant, with a roundifh leaf, hold- ing its leaves all the winter. It has many woody, brittle, hoary ftalks, be fet with longifh, w’hite, and hoary leaves, that appear four-fquare, and fomewhat refemble the leaves of our common heath; of a Very ftrong though not unpleafant fcent, and a hot and bitter tafte. On the tops of the branches Hand long ftalks, each bearing a Angle naked flower, made up only of a thrum of fmall yellow filtular five-cornered flofculi, without any border of petala ; Handing together in a fcaly calyx. I he feed is fmall, longifh, and ftriated; the root firm, hard, and durable, divided into feveral fibrous branches. Place. — It grows naturally in Italy, and the warmer countries; but is planted with us in gardens, where it frequently ferves for borders and I edgings. Time. — It flowers in July and Auguft. , Government and Virtues. — The leaves, and fometimes the flowers, are ufed ; and are reputed to have great fuccefs in deftroying; worms, the leaves and flowers being boiled in milk, and taken faffing. The ancients commend it as good againft all forts of poifons, and the 1 T _ _ T ~ T> Kif-PC / 37» THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; bites and flings of venomous creatures, as likewife againfl obflruCtionfe of the liver, the jaundice, and to promote the menfes. A dram of the powder of the dried leaves taken every morning falling, flops the run- ning of the reins in men, and whites in women. The feed beaten into powder, and taken as worm-feed, kills the worms, not only in children, but alfo in people of riper years: the like does the herb itfelf, being fle.ped in milk, and the milk drank; the body bathed with the decoc- [ tion of it, helps fcabs and itch. It is under the dominion of Mercury. GREAT WILD LETTUCE. Lactuca Virosa. . * Description. — This plant grows *b five or fix feet high. The flalk is thick, round, very upright, branched, and of a reddilh yellow, or rather brown. The leaves at the bottom are very large, a foot long, and five inches broad, of a frefli fine green ; thofe higher up the flalks are fmaller; they are deeply indented at the edges; and the innumerable little flowers, with which its top and branches are crowned, are per- fectly like thofe of the common Lettuce of the gardens, and are of a light yellow. From wherever the plant is wounded, there flows out a milky juice, which has the fmell of opium, and its hot bitter tafle. Place. — A common plant in our hedges and ditch banks., which rifes annually from the fcattered feeds of the lafl year. Time. — The young plants are in their greatefl vigour in the month of April. Government and Virtues.— It is under the government of Mars. The fmell and tafle of this plant is fo much like opium, that it has induced thofe who have examined it, to fufpeCt it has alfo its virtues, and which it pofieffes in a high degree, without any deleterious quality whatever. A fyrup made from a flrong infufion of it, is an excellent anodyne; it eafes the mod violent pains of the colic, and other difor- ders, and gently difpofes the patient to fleep, for it has none of the vio- lent effeCts of other opiates. The befl way of giving it is, to dry the juice which runs from the roots by incifion; this diffolves freely in moun- tain wine, and if one ounce of it be put to a gallon of wine, and dif- fered to fland till it is diffolved, there is produced an excellent quieting medicine : a dofe of which is a tea-fpoonful in a glafs of water. T his takes off fpafms, convulfive contractions, and flays fluxes of all kinds proceeding from irritation. LESSER WILD LETTUCE. Lactuca Saligna. Description. — This has a long thin root, a very flender flalk tough and purplifh, with long, narrow, and deeply divided leaves, of ; graffy green, and prickly underneath: the whole plant is full of an il Rente OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 379 feented juice. The flowers are fmall, of a pale yellow, and grow out , of long (lender cups. Place. — It is common on clay banks of ditches. Time. — Flowers in Auguft. Government and Virtues.— Under Mars. This, like the for- • mer, is one of thofc Englifh plants which deferve to be more known in j medicine. It has been deemed poifonous, and men have been fright- ij ened from its ufe: but it is a very gentle and fafe opiate, and greatly J exceeds the common diofeordium. It may be given to tender confti- j tutions with more fafety than any other opiate. Hill. j COMMON GARDEN LETTUCE. Lactuca Hortense, (Government and Virtues. — The Moon owns it, and that is the reafon it cools and moiftens what heat and drynefs Mars caufes, be- caufc Mars has his fall in Cancer; and it cools the heat becaufe the Sun rules it, between whom and the Moon is a reception in the gene- ration of men. The juice of Lettuce mixed or boiled with oil of rofes, applied to the forehead and temples, procures deep, and eafes the head- ach proceeding of an hot caufe : being eaten boiled, it helps to Lofen the belly. It helps digeftion, quenches third, increafes milk in nurfes, eafes griping pains in the ftomach or bowels, that come of choler. It . abates bodily lull, reprefl'es venerous dreams, being outwardly applied to the tefticles with a little camphire. Applied in the fame manner to the region of the heart, liver or reins, or by bathing the faid place with the juice of diftilled water, wherein fome white fanders, or red rofes are put; alfo it not only reprclles the heat and inflammations 1 therein, hut comforts and {Lengthens thole parts; and alfo tempers the heat of urine. Galen advifes old men to ufe it with fpice; and, where fpices are wanting, to add mints, roches, and fuch like hot herbs, or elfe citron, lemon or orange feeds, to abate the cold of one, and heat of the other. The feed and diftilled water of the Lettuce, work the fame effects in all things; but the ufe of Lettuce is chiefly forbidden to thofe that are fhort-winded, or have any imperfection in the lungs, or r fpit blood. ■ JOINTED CHARLOCK. Raphanus Raphanistrum. Description. — This is a fpecie of wild radifh, or rather a weed very troublefome to the farmers. The root is fmall, white, and fibrous. The firft leaves are oblong, pointed and pinnated, but not deep; the ftalks arc {lender, weak, and not more than five or fix inches high-; the leaves are but few, fo that they appear for the greater part naked; thefe ftand irregularly, and are like thofe from the root, but not fo large. The leaves are fmall and yellow, and they {land in tufts at the tops of 3 B 2 the 'So THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; the {talks. The feed-veflel is long and jointed, and the feeds are fmall and brown. Place. — It is an annual, and ufual in fields and meadows, and in hedges. Time. — It flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — The feed operates powerfully by urine. They are hot, and the whole plant is under the dominion of Mars. There is a fort which grows with white flowers, which has the fame qualities. They are faid to be fweeteners of the blood, and good againft the fcurvy ; but they are acrid, and will agree with few fto- machs. Hill. - DAISY LADY-SMOCK. Cardamine Ballidifolia. Description. — The root is long, {lender, and fibrous. The firft leaves rife in a fmall tuft, and are of a form altogether different from thofe of the fpecies : they are fimple, undivided, and not fo much as notched at the edges : their fhape is oblong ; they have no foot-ftalks ; they are of a dufky green, and fomewhat hairy. It grows upright, about three or four inches high, and is of a pale green, with here and there a leaf; and the flowers grow at the top of the ftalks, white, and perfectly refemble thofe of other Lady-Smocks. The feed-veflels are long and pointed, and the feeds are numerous, round, fmall, and brown. Place. — They are common on the mountains in Wales, whence the winds feem to have blown fome of the feeds to Briftol; the plant fome years back, being very frequent on the St. Vincent’s rock. Time. — Flower in April. MOUNTAIN LADY-SMOCK. Cardamine Petrjea. Description. — This differs in the general appearance from the other in the following refpedl: That it is more rough, branched, the leaves are ferrated at the edges, of a deeper green, and the flowers are larger; but the feed is the fame. Gerhard calls it Rock Crefs, but its common Englifh name is Bitter Water Crefs ; the tafte being bitter and purgent. Its place of growth, and time of flowering, is the fame as the foregoing. COMMON LADY-SMOCK. Cardamine Pratensis. Description. — This has a white fibrous root, penetrating deep into the ground. The leaves are fmooth, oblong, of a deep green co- lour, often browniffi, and of a firm fubftance. The ftalk is round, upright, not much branched, and a foot high. The flowers grow at the Ijie top in a li I perfect « tie aid Place-; ’ Time— F Govern.' operates pov. : complaint' d jcorbutic tt The iforiers >■ fo, The ii are likewih children. 1 B1TT Descrh plant, dccL The leave; more bnne bitterilh am 1MPATI Descri and fibruti: Haider, up Sigti. In ! final! and v not only c the feeds 5 name of L Place. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL, 3gi the top in a little tuft: they are large and white, fometimes of a pure and perfect white; but at others rather, purplifh. The feeds are little and roundifh, and grow in long {lender pods. Place. — It is common in meadows. Time. — Flowers in April and May. Government and Virtues. — 'The exprefled juice of the leaves operates powerfully by urine, and is good in the jaundice, and all other complaints that arife from obltruftions of any of the vifeera, and in fcorbutic diforders. A wine glals is a fufficient quantity to take at a time. The flowers, carefully dried, are very efficacious in nervous diforders, fuch as convu'fions, the falling-ficknefs, palfy, and hyfleric I fits. The dofe is from a fcruple to half a dram twice a day. They 1 are lilcewife found to deftrov worms in the flomach and inteftines of i children. They are under Venus. BITTER LADY-SMOCK. Cardamine Amara. Description.-— The flowers and the generic character of this I plant, declare it to be only a variation from the foil it grows upon. .1 The leaves are larger and more nervous, and the ftaik is firmer and .1 more branched. The whole plant is of a dufky green, and the tafte is bitterifh and watery, but fomewhat Iharp. Hill. ! IMPATIENT LADY-SMOCK. Cardamine Impatiens. Description. — The root of this is like the foregoing, {lender l! and fibrous ; but the leaves are beautifully ferrated. The ftalk is round, flender, upright, fomewhat branched, of a whitifh colour, and afoot Ij high. The flowers ftand at the top of the ftalks; and thefe are very |i fmall and white. When it is ripe, the feed veflel burfts with violence, not only on the lead touch, but on the flighted motion of the air, and p , the feeds fly out with violence : from this circumdance it obtained the t name of Impatient Lady-Smock. Place. — It is found in Ireland, and cn the mountains in the north f ! of England. Thofe who have miftaken the ferrated water-crefs for this r ' plant, have mentioned many other places, but in thefe it really is frequent. Time. — This flowers in May. LITTLE-FLOWERED LADY-SMOCK. Cardamine Parviflora. Description. — This is a taller plant than the foregoing, and more branchy. The leaves on it are more numerous, and the flowers grow at THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 382 at the tops of the (talks ; they are white, but fometimes with a tinge of purple. The whole plant is of a fair green, and the feeds are nu- merous and fmall. Place. — It is frequent on boggy grounds in many parts of the kingdom, and by the Tides of brooks and rivulets. Time. — It flowers in April. HAIRY LADY-SMOCK. Card amine Hirsuta. Description. — This is a fmall plant of about three or four inches high; the ftalk is weak, and fcarce upright; it is of a pale green, ftriated, and very much branched. The leaves are of a dufky green, irregularly indented, and fomewhat hairy. The flowers are fmall and white, and they grow at the top of the llalks and branches. The/feed-veflels are long and (lender; and they burfl: with violence on the leaf! touch when ripe: the feeds are fmall, round, and of a pale brown. Place. — It is common in watery places. Time. — Flowers in April and May. Government and V irtues. — There has not been much written of the virtues of thefe Lady-Smocks, nor are they much regard d in the prefent practice. The country-people in the north bruife the whole plant in fpring, and take the juice, a wine glafs at a time, again!! the fcurvy, in the jaundice, and in all obftrudtions. It operates powerfully by urine; and they record many confiaerable cures performed by it. Hill. LANG DE BAEUF ,or OX-TONGUE. Picris Echioides. Yi De!Ci 1 an! whiti the in" : ; like iKti< a p! 0: 1 let on vc I point'd I ltalifcv '? flat pc. < | WOWS II' I Plac Time I Gove I Botanic ] net mar tic, ope< j feed pan it is goo I The to Then I Succorr, I Halts ar I and by 1 The I mend th Description. — A fpecie of the Buglof^ and Borage. But by many writers kept diftindt. It rifes from a thick brown root, and fends forth large, rough, hairy leaves, lefs prickly than borage, half a foot long, nairow and fharp-pointed. The (balks rife to the height of two or three feet, full of fliort ftiff hairs, on which grow long narrow leaves fet on without foot-ftalks : the flowers grow feveral together at the top of the branches, in long rough calyces, of a Angle leaf cut into five round partitions, of a purple colour at their firl! appearing, and turning to a bright blue as they Hand, and are fucceeded by four-cornered rough feed. Place. — It fometimes grows in gardens, but more frequently wild. Time. — Flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues.— It is under Jupiter : the virtues of Ox-tongue are beft preferved in a conferve of the flowers. A decoc- tion of the whole plant is highly deobftruent, and good to purge me- lancholy, and for that purpofe the tops are frequently put into wine and cool tankards: they are likewife alexipharmic, and good in malignant fevers ; but they are not now much ufed in medicine. Yellow Desc taiche ters twe of a pen | the mou Govi 1 tree, cut cording H formed; j thicker i tow uni tiler pro ] uncerui OR, MEDICAL HERBAL, 383 YELLOW SUCCORY. Picris Hieracioides. Description. — This has a thick taper root, brown on the outfide, anJ white within, full of bitter milk. It grows deep in the ground ; the lower leaves refemble thofe of dandelion in their ft ape, and tooth like fedtions ; but they are mucii larger and hairy : the ftalk rifes to be a yard or more in height, ftriated, hairy, and angular, having the leaves let on without foot-ftalks, almoft encompaffing the ftalk, being ftarp- pointed at the end. Among thefe grow the flowers, fet on clofe to the ftalk feveral together, of a fine gold yellow, compofed of feveral rows of flat pct.da indented at the ends : the feed is brown and longift, and grows not in down like the feed of dandelion. Place. It is planted in gardens. Time. — Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — It is under Jupiter: the ancient Botanical writers generally affirm, that Succory is cold, but its bitter- nefs manifeftly fhews it to be hot. However, it is aperitive and diure- tic, opening obltruclions of the liver, and is good for the jaundice : the feed partakes of the fame virtues, but in a lower degree ; befides which, it is good to deftroy worms. The root, leaves, flowers, andfeed,are afed. The feed is one of the four fmallei cold feeds. There is another kind which grows with blue flowers called Wild Succory, Picris Agrefte Svlvcftre. It does not grow fo tall, and the ftalks are more ftubbed and twifted. It grow very common in lanes and by hedge-fides ; and flowers rather later than the former. The . irtues of this are much the fame with the other ; fome com- mend the diftilled water of the flowers to cool inflammations of the eyes. Description. — This is a tree as large as the pine, having its branches growing in a regular order like the fir, with its leaves in clut- ters twenty or thirty together in a round knot, appearing like the bruft of a pencil, and falling oft' every year; the cones are oval, about as big as a pigeon’s egg, with broad and fmooth feales. Place. — This tree grows in great plenty in the Stirian Alps, and the mountains of Tirol and Carinthia. Government and Virtues. — Mars owns the tree.: from this tree, cut into the very heart towards the lower part of the trunk, ac- cording to Mathiolus, is gotten the Venice turpentine, which w^s formerly of great ufe in the ftops, being of a browner colour, and thicker than the Strafburg, and of a more refinous fmell; but what goes now under that name, is generally brought from New England. Whe- ther produced from the fir, pine, or fpruce-trees, or from them all, is uncertain; the fined: fort comes very near the Venice turpentine, both LARCH TREE. Larix. m THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 384 in colour and confiftence, as the more ordinary is like what is gotten from the pine. Turpentine is heating, mollifying, and cleanfing, good to flop a go- norrhoea and the fluor albus ; it provokes urine, and cleanfes the lungs; and is of general ufe outwardly in ointments and plaifters. Officinal preparations are the oleum et ballamum terebinthi. SPURGE LAUREL, or EVES.-GR.EEN LAUREL, Laureola. Description.— This is a low flirub, feldom growing above two or three feet high, with a woody Item about a linger thick, covered with an afh-coloured bark ; it is divided towards the top into feyeral branches cloathed with long, thick, fmooth, and Alining green leaves, which are fet round the tops of the branches. The flowers grow among thefe, they are fmall confidered fingly, of a fad yeiiowifli green colour, and rather an unpleal'ant fmell. The feed is roundifli, and of a flefliy ffibftance. Place. — It is found in woods and hedges, in various parts of the kingdom. Time. — The flowers appear in March, and the fruit is ripe in July and Auguft. Government and Virtues.— Very happy effedts have been produced by the ufe of this plant in rheumatic fevers. It is a rough purgative, and is an efficacious medicine in worm cafes ; but it requires fome caution in the adminiftration, and might, in unflcilful hands, be productive of dangerous confequences. The whole plant has the fame qualities, but the bark of the root appears to be the ftrongeft, and Ihould never be given in a dofe of more than ten grains. An infufion of the leaves is a good medicine for thofe of robuft con- ftitutions, who are fubjedt to dropfical complaints, It operates by vo- mit and llool, but fo roughly that few conftitutions can bear it. Dried and reduced to powder, they are ufeful in the venereal difeafe. Hill, LAUREL TREE. Lauro Cerasus. Description. - This has a woody fpreading root; the Item is fhrubby, and covered with a fmooth greyifli bark ; it is ramified into a vail number of branches, and rifes to the height of fixteen or eighteen feet. The leaves are numerous, evergreen, large and very beautiful ; they are of an oval fhape, about four inches long, and two wide, of a fine dark filming green colour. The flowers grow in clufters from the Aides ofjthe young flioots; they are not large, nor numerous, and their colour is white. The feed is a roundifli compreiled nut, or ftone. Place. — It is a native of the warmeft parts of Europe, but bears the cold of our climate tolerable well, Tim?, Time.- GoVEK! die Laurel. Laurel lea', o whici it taped wiii fonous nan Vour, u in a kw r than an he by much leaves, or with the ii Theafti with a If terious iq Cherry Descr fibres 1 green, ;.n terns rile much bra Colour, pi femble th tnd, bur lofe the lbrar.cn, »s,dv.: spar co fid grow Place f the cm Time Gove ting to large o Be for | cofit Desci !;wb| k * OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 385 , Time.- — Blofloms with us in May. Government and Virtues. — Mercury claims dominion over the Laurel. Many country people make a practice of boiling a few Laurel leaves in milk, of which they make their cuftards, puddings, See. to whica it communicates an agreeable flavour. But this practice it is hoped will be laid afide, when it is known that they are of a very poi- fonous nature. A diftilled water ftrongly impregnated with their fla- vour, given in the quantity of four ounces to a very large maftifF-dog, in a few minutes brought on the molt terrible convuliions, and in lefs than an hour put an end to his life. Dogs have likewife been killed by much fmaller quantities of the diftilled water, an infufion of the r leaves, or their juice; and there are fome inftances of liquors flavoured |T with the leaves of this tree, proving fatal to human fubjedts. The affair of Captain Donnellan poifoning Sir Theodore Boughton I with a diftilled liquor of Laurel, is too recent to be forgot. A dele- f terious liquor is alfo obtained from cherry-ftones by diftiilation. Vide 1 Cherry Tree, LEAD-WORT. Plumbago. Description. — The root is long, large, and furniftied with many I fibre'. The firft leaves rife in a thick, l'mall tuft, and are of a deep ft green, and broad, fomewhat oval in lhape, and without foot-ftalks. The t Items rife in die centre of the tuft, and are round, firm, upright, very t much branched, and two feet high ; thev are ulually of a deep purplifh k colour, often blackifh. The leaves ftand irregularly on them, and re- | femble thc-fe at the root: they are oblong, bro^d, and oval towards the , end, but with a narrow and long bafe : they have no foot ftalks, but en- I clofe the main' {talk at the bottom. From the bofom of every leaf rifes a branch, and on the tops of thefe ftand the flowers; they are nume- . rous, moderately large, and purple; diey are paler at firft, and grow of a | deeper colour as they open, and decline into a red as they fade. The I feed grows fingle, of the fize of a corn of wheat. Place. — It is a native of Italy, but is not unfrequent in the gardens ; of the curious. Time.— It flowers with us in July. Government and Virtues. — The dried root is very hot and biting to the tafte, and being held in the mouth excites a plentiful dis- charge of humours, and is frequently found an almoft inftantaneous cure for the head-ach. It likewifes eafes the tooth-ach by applying a little of it to the afFedted tooth. Mars owns this ftirub. LEEKS.- Porum, Description. — Leeks are well known, even to the vulgar, to have bug white round roots, with feveral white fibres Ihooting from the Vol. I. 3 C bottom ; THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 386 bottom ; the leaves are long and broad, encompaffing the ftalk, which grows two or three feet high, fmooth and round, having at the top a large round head, compofed of a great number of fmali greenilh pur- ple fix-leaved flowers. Place. — It is fown in gardens. Time.— Flowers in June and July. They have a ftrong onion-like fcent. Government and Virtues. — They are under Mars. Leeks are more ufed in the kitchen, as fauce, and put among foups and broths, than in medicine; they are warming and attenuating, and good to cleanfe the lungs from tough phlegm, and to help fhortnefs of breath, and ftop- page of the flomach; they are likewife reckoned good againft the bites of venomous creatures. The juice of them is ufed to dillolve the gums in the pilulae foetidte. LENTILS. Lens. Description. — This is a fmali pulfe, lefs than a tare or vetch, having many long winged leaves, confining of many narrow fmali oval pinnae, fet oppofite with clafpers at the end of the leaf. The flowers are fmali and white, lefs than thofe of tares, but like them in fhape, Handing for the moft part fingly on a long foot-ftalk, and are fucceeded by fhort flattifh pods, containing two round feeds lefs than tares, and flatter. Place. — It is fown in fome parts of England in the fields. Time. — Flowers in May, and the feed is ripe in July. Government and Virtues. — Lentils are under Venus. The French and Germans boil and make pottage of them, as we do peafe; they have a good tafte, but are apt to create wind, for which reafon they are corrected with pepper. Eaten too often, or to excefs, they are very dangerous. T he flower or meal of them is good in emollient cataplafms, and alfo Hops fluxes. The antients affirm, that Lentils, eaten with their fkins on, do bind the body, and flop a loofenefs, and yet, at the fame time, the liquor they are boiled in loofens the belly; they are but rarely ufed in phyhc, though the flower of them may be ufed out- wardly in cataplafms for the fame purpofes as bean-flower. LEOPARD’S BANE. Anthora Agreste. Description. — The root of this plant confifts of feveral round tuberous glandules, with fmali fibres fpringing from their bottom, of a whitifh colour, and bitterilh tafte. The ftalks grow to be a foot or more high, the leaves are round in circumference, but cut into many divi(ions,or laciniae, like thofe of lark-fpur. The flowers grow on t e tops of the branches in fpikes, of a pale yellow colour, in fhape like a hood tood or< Time. GoVE! hitfeliloii tgainft th to be of' ilempei Though ding it Descr in; a roii 0 narrow ti with live Place Time. Govef but chief! and anod\ and to bn Moon, at in peffiJei die deco; the body : To eaten ft ment mad, lily Descri creeping t( « the If OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 3 87 hood or cowl, or the flowers of monkfhood, but fomewhat lefs, each fucceeded by four or five horn -like pointed pods, including black an- gular feed. Place. — It grows wild in the Alps, and with us is planted in gardens. Time.— Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — The root only is ufed, and that but feldom, though it is accounted by fome authors a good antidote againft the poilonous effects of the napellus, and other aconites ; as alfo to be of fervice againft the plague, and all contagious and peftilential diftempers, and againft the ftings and bites of venomous creatures. Though this is faid by writers of credit, much caution is required in Description. — This is a flower that grows in every garden, hav- ing a round fcaly root, and a ftalk three or four feet high, with long, narrow thick leaves, and on the top feveral large, fweet, white flowers, with feveral yellow apices in the middle. Place. — It grows in gardens. Time. — Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — The flowers and roots are ufed, but chiefly in external applications: they are emollient, fuppling and anodyne, good to diilolve and ripen hard tumours and fwellings, and to break iinpofthumations. They are under the dominion of the Moon, and by antipathy to Mars expel poifon; they are excellent good in peftilential fevers, the roots being bruited and boiled in wine, and the decobbon drank; for it expels the venom to the exterior parts of the body: the juice of it being tempered with barley-meal, baked, and fo eaten for ordinary bread, is an excellent cure for thedropfy : an oint- ment made of the root and hogs-greafe, is excellent good for fcald heads, unites the finews when they are cut, and cleanfes ulcers. The root boiled in any convenient decoftion, gives fpeedy delivery to women in travail, and expels the after-birth. The root roafted, and mixed with a little hogs-greafe, makes a gallant poultice to ripen and break plague fores. The ointment is excellently good for fwellings in the privities, and will cure burnings and fealdings without a fear, and trimly deck a blank place with hair. Officinal preparations are only the oleum liliorum. LILY OF THE VALLEY. Lilium Convallium. Description. — The Lily of the Valley, or May Lily, has a flender creeping root that runs upon the furface of the earth, fhooting out two or throe leaves, oblong, round, and full of nerves, five or fix inches ufing it. WHITE LILY. Lilium Album. long. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 38a long, from the middle of which rifes a (talk about a fpan, high, angular and {lender, bearing fix or feven flowers in a fpike, one above another, and looking all one way; they are fmall, hollow, and round, of one leaf cut into five parts, of a pleafant grateful fcent, which are fucceeded by fmall round red berries, like thofe of afparagus. Place. — It grows wild plentifully upon heaths and other open fitua- tions. Time. — They flower in May, and the feed is ripe in September. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mer- cury, and therefore it {Lengthens the brain, recruits a weak memory, and makes it ftrong again: the diftilled water dropped into the eyes, helps inflammations there ; as alfo that infirmity which they call a pin and web. The fpirit of the flowers diftilled in wine, reftores loft fpeech, helps the palfy, is exceeding good in the apoplexy, and comforts the heart and vital fpirits. Gerhard fays, that the flowers being clofe flopped up in a glafs, put into an ant-hill, and taken away again a month after, ye fhall find a liquor in the glafs, which, being outwardly applied, helps the gout. Lilies of the Valley are of great fervice in all disorders of the head and nerves, as apoplexy, epilepfy, palfy, convul- fions of all kinds, vertigo, fwimming in the head; and are frequently made ufe of in errhines and cephalic fluff: a large quantity of them are put in the aqua paeoniae, and fpirit. lavendulae. - / WATER LILY. Lillium Aquatica. Of thefe there are two principally noted kinds, viz. the White and the Yellow’.. Description. — The white Lily has very large and thick dark green leaves lying on the water, fuftained by long and thick foot-ftalks, that •rife from a great, thick, round, and long tuberous black root, fpongy or locfe, with many knobs thereon, like eyes, and whitifh within ; from, amidft which rife other the like thick green ftalks, fuftaining one large great flower thereon, green on the outfide, but as white as fnow with-, in, confifting of divers rows of long and fomewhat thick and narrow leaves, fmaller and thinner the more inward they be, encompafling 3 head, with many yellow threads or thrums in the middle; where, after they are paft, ftand round poppy-like heads, full of broad, oily, and bitter feed. ’The yellow kind is little different from the former, fave only that it has fewer leaves on the flowers, greater and more fhining feed, and a. whitifh root, both within and without. The root of both is fomewhat fweet in tafte. Place. — They are found growing in great .pools, and Landing wa- ter, and fometimes in flow running rivers and lelfer ditches of water, in fundry places of this country. Time. — They flower moft commonly about, tire end of May, and; their feed is ripe in Auguft. Govern- OR, MEDICAL KEREAL. 3%. Government and Virtues. — The herb is under the dominion of the Moon, and therefore cools and moiftens like the former. The leaves and flowers of tnc W ater Liliqs are cold and moift, but the roots and feeds are cold and dry : the leaves do cool all inflammations, both outward and inward heat of agues ; and fo does the flowers all'o, either by the fyiup or conferva: the fyrup helps much to procure reft, and to fettle the brain of frantic perfons, by cooling the hot diftemperature of the head. The feed as well as the root is effectual to ftuy fluxes of ■blood or humours, either of wounds or of the belly; but the roots are nioft uf d, and more effedfual to cool, bind, and reftrain all fluxes in bnan or woman; alfo running of the reins, and paffing away of the feed ■when one is afleep; but the frequent ufe hereof extinguishes venereous Jacfions. Tlie root is likewife very good for thofe whole urine is hot Iand (harp, to be boiled in wine and water, and the decodlion drank. The diftiiled water of the flowers is very effectual for all the difeafefc aforefaid, both inwardly taken, and outwardly applied ; and is much nficommended to take away freckles, fpots, funburn, and morph ew from the face, or other parts of the body. The oil made of the flowers, as ioil of rofes is made, is profitably ufed to cool hot tumours, and to eafe ithe pains, and help the fores. LIQUORICE. LiquiRiTiA. Description. — Our Englifh Liquorice rifes up with divers woody (talks, whereon are fet, at feveral diftances, many narrow, long, green |l|[eaves, fet together on both fides of the ftalk, and an odd one at the lend, very well refembling a young alh tree, fprung up from the feed, fc This by many years continuance in a place without removing, and not -i alfe, will bring forth flowers, many ftanding together l'pike fafhion, one • above another upon the ftalk, of the form of peale blofloms, but of a very ! pale blue colour, which turn into long, femewhat flat andfmooth cods* wherein is contained a fmall, round, hard feed: the roots run down ex- i ceedingly deep into the ground, with divers other fmall roots and fibres growing with them, and {hoot out fuckers from the main roots aft. ; about, whereby it is much increafed, of a browniih colour oil the out- . ide, and yellow within. Place. — It is planted in fields and gardens, in divers places of this, t eountry, and thereof good profit is made. T ime. — It flowers in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Mer- 1:ury. Liquorice boiled in fair water, with fome maiden-hair and figs, makes a good drink for thofe that have a dry cough or hoarfenefs, wheezing or fhortnefs of breath, and for all the pains of the breafts and iungs, phthific or confumptions caufed by the diftillation of fait humo_urs on them. It is alfo good in all pains of the reins, the ftranguary, ar$ beat of urine: the fine powder of Liquorice blown through. a quill into die rate. thin the eyes that have a pin and web, as they call it, or rheumatic didilla- tions in them, does cleanfe and help them : the j*uce of Liquorice is as effectual in all the difeafes of the breaft and lungs, the reins and the bladder, as the decoction. The juice diddled in rofe- water, with fome gum tragacanth, is a fine medicine for hoarfenefs, wheezing, &c. The root of this plant is defervedly in great elteem, and can hardly be laid to be an improper ingredient in any compofition of what inten- tion foever. It is a great fweetener of the blood, deterfive, and at the fame time foftening and emollient, and therefore balfamic. It al- lays third, whence it is good for dropfical perfons, who are always thirfty. It is an excellent pedtoral; and in this intention the juice of our own, evaporated to a proper confidence without burning it, is the bed form, and exceeds the Spanifh; in default of that the powder is a good fuccedaneum, but it mud be genuine, for what is commonly fold is half boxwood, an ingredient the traders adulterate both this and powdered ginger with. A pretty drong deco&ion of the root given to children, gently relaxes their bowels, and takes off thofe feverifh heats which attend codivenefs. It is likewife a corrector of cathartics. The juice, or extract of Liquorice, is made by gently boiling the frefh roots in water, draining the decoction, and when the impurities have fubfided, evaporating it over a gentle heat till it will no longer dick to the fin- gers. It is better before boiling the roots, to cut them into fmall pieces, that they may the more readily give out their virtues, for if the boiling is long continued, the rich fweet tade, for which this preparation is fo judly edeemed, will be greatly injured. For the fame reafcn the quan- tity of water ought to be no larger than what is abfolutely neceffary to extract the virtues of the root. A quart, or at mod three pints, will be found a fufficient quantity for a pound of Liquorice. It would be of confiderable advantage to the preparation, and probably lefs expenfivc to the preparers, to ufe the juice of the roots, which might be obtained by preffing them between iron rollers, in the manner pradlifed abroad for obtaining the juice of the fugar-cane, indead of the above decodtion. Large quantities of extract of Liquorice have been annually brought from Spain, and other foreign countries ; but it is very feldom that we meet with any that is pure in the diops, the makers, both at home and abroad, being either very fiovenly in the preparation, or elfe they defignedly mix it with fand and other impurities. When made with, due care, it is exceedingly fweet, of a much mere agreeable tade than the root itlelf, and has an agreeable fmell. Put into boiling water, it totally did'olves without depofiting any fediment. . • ' ' • • > • - ] LIME TREE, or LINDEN TREE. Tilia. Description. — This is a tree very well known, having a hand- fome body with a fmooth bark, fpreading its branches round in a regu- lar manner ; the leaves are broad and roundifh, w.:th a fharp point, fer- rated 0M1 one liicc P c We lie a P^P the i D P Jar, a thi joint chive fmall conli: joint The Fi Ti G< iipiti dryba: Go conk i OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 39* rated about the edges •, at the foot of thefe, in the fummer, fpring out thin leafy ligul.is, of a yellow colour, from the middle of the back ribs of whic i ariie ft.Jks about an inch long, divided into four or five ihorter ones, each bearing a yellow, five-leaved, fweet flower, full of framing fucceeded by a f nail round hoary fruit about as big as a pea. Place. — Limes grow every where about gentlemen’s feats, and in parks. T ime. — Flowers in July. Government and Virtues. — Jupiter governs the Lime-tree. We feldoin ufe any thing but tfip flowers, which are accounted cepha- lic and nervine, and to be good for the apoplexy, epilepfy, vertigo, and palp. ration of the heart. They arc put in the aqua paeon, comp, and the Ipirit. lavendulae. The aqua floium tiliae takes its name from them. NOBLE LIVERWORT. Hepatica Nobilis. Description. — The flowers of this Liverwort arife out of the ground early in the fpring, before the leaves : they grow on long, Hea- der, and fomewh.it hairy footftalks, four or five inches long, inclofed in a three-leaved green calyx: they are made up of fix blue roundifh- pointed leaves, let about a fmall green head, with feveral whitifli blue chives in the middle; the green head afterwards is enlarged into feveral fmall naked feeds. The leaves come up when the flowers are paft, confiding each of a leaf of three equal lobes, round, and fomewhat pointed at the end, of a dull green colour, growing on long footftalks. The root is fmall and ftripgy. Place. — It is ufually planted in gardens. Time. — Flowers in March. Government and Virtues. — Liverworts are accounted under Jupiter. The leaves are ufed, though very rarely here in England; but they are commended by fome foreign authors as a good vulnerary, and ufeful in diftempers of the liver. Outwardly applied, they flop bleeding. ASH-COLOURED GROUND LIVERWORT. Lichen Terrestris. Description. — This is a plant confiding only of thick crumpled hollow leaves, of an afh-colour on the upper fide; but underneath, where it is faftened to the earth by imall fibres, it is fomewhat whiter. Place. — It bears no flowers nor perfect feed ; but is found upon dry barren places all the year long. Government and Virtues. — This is a plant that is but lately come into requeft, being accounted a fpecific again!! the bitings of mad dogs, THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 392 dogs, and other enraged animals. For which reafon the college have now given a powder, in which that is the chief ingredient, under the title of Pulvis Antilyffus. The whole of this plant is ufed, and is the principal ingredient in the late famous Dr. Mead’s medicine for the bite of mad animals ; who, after a long experience of its good effedte, declares, that he never knew it fail inafingle inftance, when ufed with the abidance of cold bathing, before the hydrophobia, or dread of liquids, had feized the patient. The medicine was compofed of equal parts of the herb and black pepper, and he directs it to be taken to the amount«of a dram and a half, in half a pint of warm milk, four mornings together; but before taking them, the pa- tient is directed to iole nine or ten ounces of blood; and after them, to be plunged in cold water every morning, faffing, for the fpace of a month, and then twice a week for a fortnight longer, by which time the danger will be over. It is likewife pofiefl'ed of a warm diuretic quality, and may be ad- vantageoufly ufed in dropfies, and other complaints arifing from obftruc-, tions of the vifcera. Firft, (norning Take pepper, equal p; two or time, tf mat quantit liken i: remedy treated COMMON LIVERWORT, Hep'atica Vulgaris, Description. — Common Liverwort grows clofe, and fpreads much upon the ground in moift and fliady places, with many fmali green leaves, or rather, as it were, flicking flat to one another, very unevenly cut in on the edges, and crumpled; from among which arife final! {lender (talks, an inch or two high at moft, bearing fmali (far -like flowers at the top. The roots are very fine and fmali. Place. — Plentifully in Nottingham-Park, and on Nottingham ancj Radford Lings, and in moff dry barren places. T i me.— It is in its prime in October and November. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Jupi- ter, and under the fign Cancer. It is a fingular good herb for all dif- eafes of the liver, both to cool and cleanfe it, and helps the inflamma- tions in any part, and the yellow jaundice likewife: being bruifed and boiled in (mall-beer, and drank, it cools the heat of the liver and kid- neys, and helps the running of the reins in men, and the whites in women: it is a fingular remedy to flay the fpreading of tetters, ring- worms, and other fretting and running fores and fcabs ; and is an excel- lent remedy for fuch whofe livers are corrupted by furfeits, which caufe their bodies to break out; for it fortifies the liver exceedingly, and makes it impregnable. It has been long recommended as a fpecific remedy againft the bite of a mad dog; and Dr. Mead, after a confiderable long experience, has acquainted the public with his method of ufing it; and as medicines of this kind can never be made too much known, I have thought fit to give it a place here. Firft , Dp twfa two le min ter: tote into fi ion in twi fteeps Pip Ti: Go ofblee and tr it ftaj Wounc tote ml)' ; 6t ti; fits a; larfti It. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 393 Fir ft, let nine or ten ounces of blood be taken away; then for four mornings lucceftively, let a fourth part of the following powder be given to the patient in warm cow’s milk, viz. — Take of afh-coloured Ground Liverwort, half an ounce, of black pepper, two drams, both finely powdered, mixed, and divided into four equal parts. , Having firft taken the four dofes, let the perfon, for one month, bathe two or three times a day in the fea, and the longer he ftays in each time, the better; but if the accident happens at a diftance from the fea, the fhorteft way to prevent ill confequences is, to cut out the bite, if in a flelhy part, and apply a cupping-glafs in order to draw off a good quantity of blood; or to fcarifythe bitten fpot, if in a fkinny part,, and likcvvife to apply a cupping glafstothe fame end, after which the inward remedy may be applied with greater certainty cf fuccefs, and the wound treated as any other common wound. LOOSE-STRIFE, or YELLOW WILLOW HERB. Lysimachia Lutea. Description. — This Loofe-Strife has feveral brown hairy ftalks, two feet high or more, having fometimes three or four, but oftener only two leaves at a joint, which are of a yellowifti green colour, hairy underneath, and darker, about three inches long, and an inch bread in the middle, growing narrower at both ends. The flowers Hand feveral together on the tops of the branches, confiding of a fingle leaf divided into five parts, with feveral {lamina in the middle, of a yellow colour, fomewhat like St. John’s Wort. The feed-veflels are round, and parted in two, containing very fmall feed; the root is long and {lender, and creeps upon the furface of the earth. Place. — It grows in watery-places, and by river-fides. Time.— It flowers from June to Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This herb is good for all manner ofbleeding at the mouth or nofe ; for wounds, and all fluxes of tire belly, and the bloody-flux, given either to drink, or elfe taken by clyfter: it ftays alfo the abundance of women’s courfes; it is a Angular good wound herb for green wounds, to ftay the bleeding, and quickly clofes together the lips of the wound, if the herb be bruifed, and tire juice only applied. It is often ufed in gargles for fore mouths, as alfo for the lecret parts. The fnroke hereof being burned, drives away flies and gnats, which in the night time moleft people inhabiting near marfhes, and in the fenny countries. Vol. I. 3D Purple 394 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; PURPLE LOOSE-STRIFE, with SPIKED HEADS. i Lysimachia Purpura Spicata. Description. — The purple Loofe-Strife has a long creeping root, white, and thicker than the former; the dalks are large and tall, fquare, and fomewhat hairy, having two long willow-like leaves a,t every joint, without footdalks. The flowers grow in long fpikes, fet on whorle- fafhion about the dalks, confiding of fix reddilh purple leaves, which fpring not out at the bottom of the calyces, as in mod other plants, but dand on the tops or borders of them: the feed is very fmall, growing in long bicapfular feed-veflels. , Place.— It grows in ditches and rills of water. Time. — Flowers good part of the dimmer. Government and V irtues.— -This Loofe-Strife is but feldom ufed, no more than the yellow; though Parkinfon highly commends a water diddled frdm it for wounds, or hurts of the eyes. It is an herb of the Moon, and under the dgn Cancer; and I do not know a better preferver of the fight when it is well, nor a better cure of fore eyes than eyebright, taken inwardly, and this outwardly. It is cold in quality. This herb is no whit inferior to the former, it having not only all the virtues which the former hath, but fome peculiar vir- tues of ds own, found out by experience; as namely, the diddled water is a prefent remedy for hurts and blows on the eyes, and for blindnefs, fo as the crydalline humour be notperiflied or hurt; and this has been diffidently proved true by the experience of a man of judgment, who kept it long to himfelf as a great fecret. It clears the eyes of dud, or any thing got into them, and preferves the fight. It is alfo very available againd wounds and thruds, being made into an ointment in this manner: To every ounce of the water, add two drams of May butter without fait, and of fugar and wax, of each as much alfo; let them boil gently together : let tents dipped into the liquor that remains after it is cold, be put into the wounds, and the place covered with a linen cloth doubled, and anointed with the ointment; and this is alfo an approved medicine. It likewife cleanfes and heals all foul ulcers and lores whatfoever; and days their inflammations by walhing them with the water, and laying on them a green leaf or two in theTummer, on dry leaves in the winter. This water gargled warm in the mouth, and fometimes drank alfo, cures the quinly, or king’s evil ih the throat. The faid water applied warm, takes away all fpots, marks, and fcabs in the fkin ; and a little of it drank, quenches third when it is extra- ordinary. The root dried, and given in powder, is good againd the whites, immoderate mendrual difeharges, the bloody-flux, and purgings. Loyage. Ik P fit an l'oi ar if fn S1 tl h I v n h e a I It, e a OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 395 LOVAGE. Description. — It has many long and great ftalks, of large winged leaves, divided into many parts, like finailage, but much larger and greater, every leaf being cut about the edges, broadeft forward, and iinalleft at the ftalk, of a fad green colour, fmooth, and fhining ; from among which rife up fundry ftrong, hollow green ftalks, five or fix, l'ometimes feven or eight feet highf full of joints, but Idler leaves fet on them than grow below ; and with them towards the tops come forth large branches, bearing at their tops large umbels of yellow flowers, and after them flat brownifh feed. The root grows thick, great and deep, fpreading much, and enduring long, of a brownifh colour on the out- fide, and whitiflh within. 'The whole plant and every part of it fmells ftrong, and aromatically ; and is of a hot, fharp, biting tafte. Place. — It is ufually planted in gardens, where, if it be fuffered, it grows large. Time. — It flowers in the end of July, and feeds in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of the Sun, under the fign Taurus. If Saturn offend the throat (as he always does if he occafions the maladv, and in Taurus is the beginning) this is your cure. It opens, cures, and digefts humours, and mightily pro- vokes women’s courl'es and urine. Half a dram at a time of the dried root in powder taken in wine, does wonderfully warm a cold ftomach, helps digeftion, andconfumes all raw and fuperfluous moifture therein; eafes all inwrard gripings and pains, diflolves wind, and refills poifon and infection. It is a known and much praifed remedy to drink the deco&ion of the herb for any fort of ague, and to help the pains and torments of the body and bowels coming of cold. The feed is effectual' to all the purpofes aiorefaid, except the laft, and works more powerfully. Tfffe diftilled water of the herb helps the quinfy in the throat, if the the mouth and throat be gargled and wafhed therewith; and helps the pleurify, being drank three or four times. Being dropped into the eyes, it takes awray the rednefs or dimnefs of them ; it likewife takes away fpots or freckles in the face. The leaves bruifed, and fried with a little hogs-lard, and laid hot to any blotch or boil, will quickly break it. SPOTTED LUNGWORT. Pulmonaria Maculosa. Description. — The lower leaves of this plant are large and oval, five or fix inches long, growing on broad foot-ftalks, thick fet with fine hairs, of a deep green above, and fpotted with white fpots ; but of a paler green, and unfpotted underneath. The ftalks rife to be near a foot high, having feveral finaller leaves on them, and on their tops grow 3 D 2 feveral r THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 39<> feveral flowers together, each in along hairy calyx, having their brims appearing but a little above it, of a reddifh colour, being Angle and cup-fafhion, cut at the end into five round fegments, and are each fuc- ceeded by four rough feeds growing in the bottom of the calyx. The root is fmall and fibrous. Place. — It is planted in gardens. Time. — Flowers in May. The leaves are ufed. Government and Virtues. — This is under Jupiter, andisac-' counted a. pedtoral balfamic plant, and good for coughs, confumptions, fpitting of blood, and the like diforders of the lungs : it is likewife put into wound-drinks and traumatic deco&ions, being agglutinating, and good to heal wounds, ulcers, and old fores. TREE LUNGWORT. Muscvs Pulmonaria. Description. — This is a kind of mofs that grows on fundry forts of trees, efpecially oaks and beeches, with broad, greyiflh, tough leaves diverfely folded, crumpled, and gafhed in on the edges, and fome fpotted alfo with many fmall fpots on thg upper fide. It was never feen to bear any {talk or flower at any time. Government and Virtues. — Jupiter feems to own this herb. It is of great ufe to phyficians to help the difeafes of the lungs, and for coughs,, wheezings, and fhortnefs of breath, which it cures both in man and be?ft. It is very profitable to put into lotions that are taken to flay the moift humours that flow to ulcers, and hinder their healing, as alfo to wafli all other ulcers in the privy parts of man or woman. It is an excellent remedy boiled. in beer foi broken-winded horfes. It is accounted drying and binding, good to flop inward bleeding, and the too great flux of the menfes. The common people make great ufe of this Lungwort, efteeming it to be good for the lungs, to help coughs, confumptions, and other diforders of the breaft, boiling it in pectoral drinks, and making fyrups of it. It is commended in the German Ephemerides, as an extraordinary remedy againfl: the yellow-jaundice. ( GOLDEN LUNGWORT. Hieracium Murorum. Description.— This Lungwort has a perennial root, compofed of fmall brown fibres. The ftem is Angle, round, {lender, very hairy, fometimes a little branched at the top, but oftentimes Ample, and about a foot or eighteen inches high. The leaves which proceed immediately from the root are pretty numerous ; they {land on long leaf-ftalks, and are of an oblong form, {lightly notched on the edges, and hairy. There is, in general, only a Jingle one of nearly the fame ftrueture on the Rem, but fometimes there are three or four. The flowers terminate the ©R, MEDICAL HERBAL. 397 ,| the ftem in a bunch ; they are but few; their colour is a bright yellow, and they are of the compound kind. Place. — It is found in woods, corn-fields, and on old ruinous wall'. ! Time. — The blofloms appear in July. Government and Virtues. — This Lungwort is under Venus. SThc young leaves, which rife immediately from the root, are to be ufed; they are of the fame nature with thofe of colts-foot, but they poflefs i their virtues in a much higher degree. A ftrong infufion of them is a conftantly ufed in many places, for difeafes of the lungs, fuch as coughs, I afthmas, and the firft ftages of confumptions; and with much greater •i l'uccefs than could be expected from lb fimple a remedy. Hill. Description. — The white Lupine has a round hairy ftalk, on which I grow many digitated leaves, fet in a round compafs, upon long foot- ftalks, ufually confiding of nine parts, narrow next the ftalk, and ending ■ in an obtufe point, foft and hairy, efpecially underneath. The flowers ; grow in verticillated fpikes on the top of the branches, in fhape of i peas-blofloms, of a white colour, and are fucceeded by upright flat hairy large pods, including three or four flat white feed. Place. — They are fown every year in gardens. Time. — Flower in June; and the feed is ripe in July, which is the only part in ufe. Government and Virtues. — They are governed by Mars in Aries. Lupines are fomewhat bitter in tafte, opening and cleanfing, good to deftroy worms, to bring down the menfes, and expel the birth and fecundines. Outwardly they are ufed againft deformities of the (kin, fcabby ulcers, fcald heads, and other cutaneous diftempers. WHITE LUPINE. Lupinus Albus. REFERENCES. Water Lentils Vid. Love Apples —• Lousew4>rt . — Love in Idleness — Locker’s Goulons — Loppa Major — Ladies Seal — * Ducksmeat. Apples. Staves Acre. Heart’s Ease, Crowfoot. Burdock. Briony. Madder. 39s THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; MADDER. Rubja Tinctorum. Description. — THE roots of Madder are about as thick as a large goofe-quill, round and much branched, of a reddifh colour, clear and i fomewhat, tranfparent, having a fmall flender hard tough firing in the middle, of a fweetifh tafle, with a little bitternefs; from thefe fpring many fquare rough weak ftalks, full of joints, about which are fet five or fix long fharp-pointed leaves, that are broadeff in the middle, and narrow at both ends, rough almoft to pricklinefs. The flowers grow in long fpikes, coming forth at the joints with the leaves, fmall and yellow, of one leaf cut into four fegments, each fucceeded by two fmall moift blackifh berries, containing two round umbillicated feeds. Place. — It is cultivated in many parts of England for the ufe of the dyers, to whom it is Angularly ufeful. Time. — The flowers appear in July. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Mars. The roots are the only parts applicable to medical purpofes ; and they have a weak, bitterifh, and fomewhat aftringent tafle. A flrong decoclion of it is a good diuretic, and is frequently ufed, with happy effects, in obftruc- tions of the vifeera. It difperfes coagulated blood, occafioned by- blows or falls; cures the jaundice, and is ufeful in the beginning of dropfies. Taken for a confiderable time, it cleanfes the kidnies and urinary organs from gravel, and other fabulous concretions. It tinges' the urine of a red colour; and it has been obferved, that the bones of fowl, &c. that have had it mixed in their food, foon become red, and much more brittle thanufual; nor will boiling them in water, or fteep- Ing them in fpirits of wine, reflore them to their natural colour. It is available for the palfy and faiatica, and effectual for bruifes inward and outward, and is therefore much ufed in vulnerary drinks. The root for all thofe aforefaid purpofes, is to be boiled in wine or water, as the cafe requires, and fome honey and fugar put thereunto afterwards. The feed hereof taken in vinegar and honey, helps the fwelling and hardnefs of the fpleen. The decodlion of the leaves and branches is a good fomentation for women to At over that have not their courfes. The leaves and roots beaten and applied to any part that is difcoloured with freckles, morphew, the white feurf, or any fuch deformity of the fkin, cleanfes thoroughly, and takes them away. COMMON MAIDEN-HAIR. Adianthum Vulgaris, Description. — Our Common Maiden-Hair, from a number of hard black Abres, fend forth a number of blackifh fhining brittle ftalks, hardly a fpan long, in many not half fo long : they are fet on each fide very OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 399 ; very thick, with finall round dark green leaves, and fpotted on the back of them like a fern. Pl> ce. — It grows in great plenty about rock-holes, and upon old I ftone walls in the weftern parts, and in Kent. It is alfo found on the borders of fprings and wells ; in moiit and Ihady places ; and is always green. Time. — The feed Of this, and all other plants of the fern kind, ap- pear in Auguft and September, except a very few about Midfummer. Government and Virtues. — All the Maiden-Hairs are under Mercury. This is reckoned a good remedy in coughs, afthmas, pieu- rifies, &c. and on account of its being a gentle diuretic, alfo, in the jaundice, gravel, and other impurities of the kidnies. Thefe virtues are aferibed to all the Maiden- Hairs, but they fhould be ul'ed green; and though thefe qualities cannot be denied them, yet are they too weak of themfelves effedtually to remove any of thefe diforders, but may be joined in compofitidn with other ingredients. WHITE MAIDEN-HAIR, or WALL RUE. Adianthum Album. Description. — This is a finall low plant, growing feldom above two or three inches high, its flender ftalks being of a whitifh colour, !j whereon grow a few finall roundifh ft iff leaves, refembling thofe cf i rue, crenated a little about the edges, of a whitifh green colour above, I covered underneath, when come to its full growth, with brown dully | feed. Place. — It growrs on old ftone walls and buildings, its little fibrous root abiding feveral years. Virtues. — This is one of the five capillary herbs mentioned in the I Dilpenfatory, and has the fame virtues with the reft of the Maiden- Hairs; and is fometimes ufed in pectoral decoctions, and diuretic a no- il zems. The decoction of this Maiden- Hair being drank, helps thofe that are troubled with the cough, fhortnefs of breath, the yellow- ; o mi- I dice, difeafesof the fpleen, flopping of the urine, and helps exceedingly I to break the ftone in the kidnies, (in all which dil'eafes the Wall Rue is \ alfo very effectual.) It provokes women’s courfes, and ftays both bleedings and fluxes of the ftomach and belly, efpecially when the herb * is dry; for being green it loolens the belly, and voids choler and phlegm’ from the ftomach and liver; it cleanfss the lungs, and by rectifying the blood, caufes a good colour to the whole body. The herb boiled in oil of camomile, diflolves knots, allays fwellings, and dries up mcift: ulcers. The lye made thereof is Angularly good to cleanfe the head from icurf, and from dry and running fores; ftays the falling or fin- ding of the hair, and caufes it to grow thick, fair, and well colour 400 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; for which purpofe fome boil it in wine, putting fome fmallage-feed thereto, and afterwards fome oil. J •> ■'*> • BLACK MAIDEN HAIR. Adianthum Nigrum. Description. — This Maiden-Hair grows about a fpan high, its {lender ftalks being fmooth and black, divided into many fegments, of fmall firm Ibining green leaves, notched pretty deep, and fharp pointed, growing on little branches, fometimes two oppoiite together, and fome- times alternately, to the number of twelve or fourteen pair, the top ending like a fern. The back of the leaves have the margin covered with a brown dufty feed. The root is pretty large and fibrous. Place. — It grows in fhady lanes, and at the roots of trees. Virtues. — This alfo is one of the five capillary herbs, and its vir- tues the fame with common maiden-hair; and is accordingly ufed for coughs, and all affections of the lungs, and difeafes of the kidnies : fome commend it for the jaundice, but it is not recommended in pre- ference to that, only where that cannot be obtained, this may fupply its place; but for the common ufe in coughs and hoarfeneffes, it is the icaft efteemed of all. GOLDEN MAIDEN-HAIR. Adianthum Aureum. Description. — This is a large kind of mofs, with a ftalk three or four inches high, whofe lower part is wholly covered with fmall, fhort, hard, and fluff brown leaves ; the upper part is quite bare to the top, on which grows a long roundi Hi head, or feed-vefiel, covered with a woolly lharp-pointed reddifh yellow cap, which falls off as the head grows ripe. The root is fmall and ftringy. Place. — It grows on heathy barren and boggy ground, and fre- quently on old ant-hills. Virtues. — This is one of the five capillary herbs, though it is but rarely ufed : fome authors attribute as much virtue to this, as to the former Maiden-Hairs; befides which, it is faid to be very good to pre- vent the falling off of the hair, and to make it grow thick, being boiled in water or lye, and the head walhed with it. ENGLISH MAIDEN-HAIR. Trichomanes. Description.— The root of this Maiden-Hair is compofed of fmall firings, or fibres, from w'hich fpring feveral leaves about a fpan long, having a {lender fnining black ftalk, fet on both fides with fmall roundilh leaves, fometimes a little crenated about the edges, and fometimes not ; whofe OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 4OI 1 1 whofe under part is covered, at the latter end of the year, with fmall dully particles, which is the feed. ! ' Place. — It grows in hollow lhady lanes, and on old Hone buildings, [being to be gathered in September or October. Virtues. — This is what is commonly made ufe of in the fhops for L| the true Capillus Veneris, or Maiden-Hair, there being but little of that to be had. It is reckoned to be much of the nature with the true, 1 1 and to be pectoral, and good for » mghs and confumptions, to help the |! Hone, gravel, and floppage of urine, and to be in all cafes a fit fucce- 1 daneum for the true Capillus Veneris. COMMON MALLOW. Malva Sylvestris. • •• Description. — The Common Mallow grows three or four feet high. The ftalk is round, thick, and ftrong. The leaves are roundifh, but indented and divided at the edges; and the flowers are numerous, large, and red. The feeds, as they lie together, are flattifh and round, refembling a chcefe. The root is long and white, of a firm texture, and has no difagreeable tafle. Place. — It grows every where by the way-fides; and is one among the innumerable inflances of God’s protecting providence, in making the mofl ufeful plant, the moft common. Time. — Flowers in May and June. Government and Virtues. — All the Mallows are under Venus. The whole plant is ufed, but the root has moft virtues. The leavej dried, or frefh, are put in decoCtions for glyflers; and the root may be dried, for it retains a great deal of virtue, but it is belt frefh, and fhould be chofen when there are only leaves growing from it, not a ftalk. It is to be boiled in water ; and the decoction ever fo ftrong, i may be drank in any quantity, for there is nothing difagreeable in the fafte. It will promote urine, and take off the ftranguary. It is good 1 alfo in the fame manner, againft lharp humours in the bowels, and for the gravel. Sweetened with fyrup of violets, it cures the dyfury or pain of making water with heat; for which a conferve of Mallow ; flowers is good; or a fyrup of their juice; or a decocliop of turnips; or willow, or lime-tree afhes; or the fyrup of ground-ivy, There is another fmajler kind of Mallow, that has whitifh flowers, and lies flat upon the ground. This is of a more pleafant tafle than the foregoing, and pofleffes the very fame virtues. A tea made of the roots and tops of this, is very agreeable to the tafle, and is excellent for promoting the dilcharges by urine. COMMON MARSH-MALLOWS. Malva Aquatica, Description. — Our common Marfhmallows have divers foft hairy white flalks, rifing to be three or four feet high, fpreading forth many Vol. I. 3 E branches, 402 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; branches, the leaves whereof are foft and hairy, fomewhat lefTer than the other mallow leaves, but longer pointed, cut, for the moft part, into fome few divifions, but deep. The flowers are many, but fmaller alfo than the other Mallows, and white, or tending to a blueifh colour. After which come fuch long, round cafes and feeds, as in the other Mallows. The roots are many and long, fnooting from one head, of the bignefs of a thumb or finger, very pliant, tough, and being like liquorice, of a whitifh yellow colou? on the outfide, and more white within, full of a flimy juice, which being laid in water will thicken, as if it were a jelly. Place. — The common Mallows grow in every county of this land. The common Marfhmaljows in moft of the fait marlhes, from Wool- wich down to the fea, both on the Kentifh and Efiex fhores, and in divers other places. Time. — They flower all the fummer months, even until the winter pulls them down. Government and Virtues. — Venus owns them both. The leaves of either of the fqrts before fpecified, and the roots alfo boiled in wine or water, or in broth, with parfley or fennel roots, do help to open the body, and are very convenient in hot agues, or other diftempers of the body, to apply the leaves fo boiled warm to the belly. It not only voids hot choleric, and ether ofFenfive humours, but eafes the pains and torments of the belly coming thereby; and are therefore ufed in all clyfters conducing to thofe purpofes. The fame ufed by nurfes, pro- cures them ftore of milk. The decodtion of the feed of any of. the common Mallows, made in milk or wipe, doth marvelloufly help ex- coriations, the phthific, pleurify, and other difeafes of the cheft and j lungs, that proceed from hot caufes, if it be continued taking for fome ; time together. The leaves and roots work the fame efFedts. They help much alfo in the excoriations of the guts and bowels, andhardnefs , of the mother, and in all hot and (harp difeafes thereof. The juice, drank in wine, or the decodfion cf them therein, doth help women to a fpeedy and eafy delivery. Pliny fays, that whofoever {hall take 3 1 ipoonful of any of the Mallows, fhall that day be free from all difeafes that may come unto him. It is alfo good for the falling ficknefs. The fyrup alfo, and conferye made of the flowers, are very effectual ' for the fame difeafes, and to open the body, being coftive. The leaves j: bruifed, and L id to the eyes with a little honey, take away the impofthumations of them. The leaves bruifed or rubbed upon an) : place flung with bees, wafps, or the like, prefently takp away the pains ; rednefs, and fwelling that rife thereupon. And Diofcorides fays, th< decodfion of the roots and leaves helps all forts of poifon, fb as th< poifon be prefently voided by vomit. A poultice made of the leave boiled ancl bruifed, witn fome bean or barley flower, and oil of rofe added, is an efpecial remedy againft all hard tymours'and inflammations t f impoftitumes, or fwellings of the tefticles, and other parts, and eafej! the pains of them; as alfo againft the hardnefs of the liver or fpleer j . in ] Jr ii: A of pc to If aa if tio ds P tin de: fa of dr; ivi the eai the fm co/ the .roc H11 As by any any vim teii OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 403 being applied to the places. The juice of Mallows boiled in old oil, pf -and applied, takes away all roughnefs of the fkin, as alfo the fcurf, [dandriff, or dry fcabs in the head, or other parts, if they be anointed therewith, or waflicd with the deco&ion, and preferves the hair from falling off. It is alfo effedtual againft fcaldings and burnings, St, Anthony’s fire, and all other hot, red, and painful fwellings in any part of the body. The flowers boiled in oil or water, as every one is dif- f pofed, whereunto a little honey and alum is put, is an excellent gargle v| to wa(h, cleanfe, or heal any fore mouth or throat in a fhort fpace. If the feet be bathed or walhed with the decoction of the leaves, roots, and flowers, it helps much the defludtions of rheum from the head; if the head be walhed therewith, it flays the falling and fhedding of the hair. The green leaves, fays Pliny, beaten with nitre, and applied, draw out thorns or prickles in the flefh. The Marfhmallows are more effectual in all the difeafes before men- tioned: the leaves are likewife ufed to loofen the belly gently, and in decoctions for clyfters to eal'e all pains of the body, opening the ftrait pafiages, and making them fiippery, whereby the flone may defeend the more cafily, and without pain, out of the reins, kidifies, and blad- der, and to cafe the torturing pains thereof. But the roots are of more ipecial ufe for thofe purpofes, as well for coughs, hoarfknefs, fhor'mefs of breath, and wheezings, being boiled in wine or honeyed water, and drank. l'he roots and feeds hereof being boiled in wine or water, are with good fuccefs ufed by them that have excoriations in the guts, or the bloody flux, by qualifying the violence of fharp fretting humours, eafing the pains, and healing the forenefs. It is profitably taken by I them that are troubled with ruptures, cramps, or convulfions of the finews, and boiled in white wine, for the impofthumes of the throat, commonly called the king’s evil, and of thofe kernels that rife behind the ears, and inflammations or lweliings in women’s breafts. The dried B roots boiled in milk, and drank, is fpecial good for the chin-cough. Hippocrates ufed to give the decodlion of the roots, or juice thereof, to drink to thofe that are wounded, and ready to faint through lofs of blood, and applied the fame, mixed with honey and rofin, to the wounds. As alfo, die roots boiled in wane, to thofe that have received any hurt by bruifes, falls, or blows, or had any bone or member out of joint, or [ any fwelling pain, or ach in the mufcles, finews, or arteries. 1 he ! mucilage of the roots, and of linfeed and fenugreek put together, i$ much ufed in poultices, ointments, and plaifters, to mollify and digelt all hard fwellings, and the inflammation of them, and to eafe pains in any part of the body. The feed either green or dry, mixed with vinegar, cleanfes the fkin of morphew, and all other difcoulouring?, being boiled therewith in the Sun. 3 E 2 Vervain. VERVAIN MALLOW. Alcea. Description. — This is a fpecies of the Mallows, and differs from the common, in having its ftalks more hairy, growing more erect; the lower leaves are fmaller, and roundilh, ffightly divided at the edges, growing on long footftalks; and the higher they grow, the fhorter are always found the footftalks. The flowers are of a very bright red, and are three times as large as thofe of the common Mallow, and very beautiful. T he feeds are difpol'ed in the fame circular manner as in the common Mallow. The root is white, hard and woody, and fpreading in the ground. Place. — Common in paffures, and is fometimes found in hedges: it is worthy of being cherilhed in our gardens. T ime. — Flowers in May and June, and through the greateft part of the furnmer. Virtues.— ’Vervain Mallow is but feldom ufed, though it is flip- pofed to have the fame virtues with the common Mallow, and hence, in want of it, may fupply its place. The roots are the part ufed-, their decodtion, with red wine, is good for thofe who are burften, or have the bloody-flux. The leaves are good for the fame, and are very pleafant taken in tea. tin I ^ I [r,: I o;' I foi ' loi 1 a' at of C( ft iL ti u ti fi MUSK MALLOW. Bamia Moscata. | n Description. — The lower leaves of this Mallows, are whole and > roundilh like common Mallows; befet, as is all the plant, with rough f Ihort hairs; but thofe which grow upon the ftalks are more cornered, [ and cut into five fegments : the ftalks grow to be about two feet high, i having flcwers coming out from the bofom of the leaves, in fhape like 1 thofe of Mallows, of one leaf divided into five fegments, laid open like a ftar, of a yellow colour, with deeper ftamina. The feed grows in 1 long roundilh feed-veflels, which, when ripe, open into five parts from ( v the top downwards, (hewing the fmall kidney-like afh-coloured feed, of i a fragrant, mufky fmell, and fomewhat bitterilh tafte. i Place. — It grows naturally in Egypt, and with us it is carefully nurfed up in gardens. ’ 1: "Time. — Flowers in July and Auguft, but feldom brings ripe feed. Virtues. — The virtues of this plant is beft extracted from the feed, when it can be procured. In the eaft it is famous for the gravel and fuppreflion of urine; but the plant is not fo mucilaginous as our common ipceie, fo that it has probably lefs virtues. i Mandrake. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL, 4 OS MANDRAKE. Mandragora. Description. — The Mandrake has a large brownifh root, fome- times fingle, and Comet; mes divided into three parts, growing deep in the earth, from which lpring feveral large dark green leaves, a foot and | more in length, and four or five inches broad, fliarp-pointed at the ends, of a foetid fmell ; from among thefe fpring the flowers, each on a feparate footftalk, about the heig’nt and bignefs et | col | TO 1 a- I alii J co^ I ¥ I ion I or fall pai I ifi j hoi | the j dre I pro for I P“ | vol I dra I to: I t0 P lea- the ffll SWEE i MARJORAM. Origanum Dulcis. Sweet Marjoram is fo well known, being an inhabitant in every garden, that it is needlefs to write any defeription thereof, neither of -the Winter Sweet Marjoram, or Pot Marjoram. Place. — They grow commonly in gardens ; fome forts there are that grow wild in the borders of corn-fields and paftures, in fundry places of the tip- life Jit, blai and foil i of this land ; but it is not my purpofe to infift upon them, the gar-» i den kinds being mod uled and ufeful. | ‘ Time. — They flower in the end of fummer. Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Mercury, and i under Aries, and therefore is an excellent remedy for the brain and i other parts of the body and mind, under the dominion of the fame pla- ij net. Our common Sweet Marjoram is warming and comfortable in I cold difeafes of the head, ftomach, finews, and other parts, taken in- I wardly or outwardly applied. The deco&ion thereof being drank, helps j a 1 difeafes of the cheft which hinder the freenefs of breathing; and is Ialfo profitable for the obftrudions of the liver and fpleen. It helps the cold griefs of the womb, and the windinefs thereof, and the lofs of fpeech, by refolution of the tongue. The decodlion thereof made with | fome pellitory of Spain, and long pepper, or with a few acorns I or origanum, be’ ng drank, is good for thofe that are beginning to fall into a dropfy, for thofe that cannot make water, and againft pains and torments in the belly. It provokes women’s courfes, if it be put up as a peffary. Being made into powder, and mixed with honey, it takes away the black marks of blows, and bruifes, being thereunto applied; it is good for the inflammations and watering of the eyes, being mixed with fine flour, and laid unto them. The juice dropped into the ears, eafes the pains and finging noife them. It is profitably put into thofe ointments and falves that are warm, and com- fort the outward parts, as the joints and finews ; for fwellings alfo, and places out of joint. The powder thereof bluffed up into the nofe pro- vokes fneezing, and thereby purges the brain; and chewed in the mouth, draws forth much phlegm. The oil made thereof, is very warm and comfortable to the joints that are {lift, and the finews that are hard, to mollify and fupple them. Marjoram is much ufed in all odoriferous Waters, powders, &c. that arc for ornament or delight. MASTERWORT. Imperatoria Ostruthium. Description. — Common Mafterwort has divers ftalks of winged leaves divided into fundry parts, three for the molt part {landing toge- ther at a fmall root-ftalk on both fides of the greater, 2nd three like- wife at the end of the {talk, fome what broad, and cut in on the edges into three or more divifions, all of them dented about the brims, of a dark green colour, fomewhat refembling the leaves of angelica, but that thefe grow lower to the ground, and on Idler ftalks ; among which rife up two or three fhort ftalks about two feet high, and {lender, with fuch like leaves at the joints which grow below, but with Idler and fewer divifions, bearing umbels of white flowers, and after them, thin, flat blackifh feeds, bigger than diil-feeds. The root is fomewhat greater and growing rather fide-ways than down deep in the ground, fhooting forth fundry heads, which tafte fharp, biting on die tongue, and is the hotteft THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 408 hotteft and (harpeft part of the plant, and the feed next unto it being, fomewhat blackilh on the outfide, and fmelling well. Place. — It is ufually kept in gardens with us in England. Time. — It flowers and feeds abo’.it the end of Au»uft. £25 Government and V irtues. — It is an herb of Mars. The root of Mafterwort is hotter than pepper, and very available in colds and dif- eafes both af the ftomach and body, diffolving very powerfully upwards and downwards. The root is of a cordial fudorific nature, and (lands high in the opinion of many as a remedy of great efficacy in malignant and peftilential fevers. It is likewife ferviceable in diforders of the head, ftomach, and bowels. It is moft efficacious when newly'- taken out of the ground, and the bed manner of giving it is in a light infufion. It is alfo ufed in a decotPcion with wine againft all cold rheums, diftillation upon tlie lungs, orfhortnefs of breath, to be taken morning and even- ing. It alfo provokes urine, and helps to break the ftone, and expel the gravel from the kidnies; provokes women’s courfes, and expels the dead-birth: is Angularly good for ftrangling of the mother, and other fuch like feminine dileales. It is effectual alfo againft the dropfy, cramps, and falling-llcknefs ; for the decodtion in wine being gargled in tire mouth, draws down much water and phlegm from the brain, purging and eafing it of what oppreffed it. It is of a rare quality againft ■ all forts of cold poifon, to be taken as there is caufe; it provokes fweat. But left the tafte hereof, or of the feed (which works to the like efledt, though not fo powerfully) fhould be too offenfive, the beft way is to take the water diftilled both from the herb and root. The juice hereof dropped, or tents dipped therein, and applied either to green wounds or filthy rotten ulcers, and thofe that come by envenomed weapons, does foon cleanfe and heal them. The fame is alfo very good to help the goiit coming of a cold caufe. MAPPLE. Acer. The greater Mapple is frequently called the Sycamore. There are great varieties in this tree, according to the place of its growth, and the tafte of the planter; but the principal is, the Greater and the Lefs; Greater ftriped-leaved Mapple j Smaller or Common Mapple; another with red feed; Virginian Afh-leaved Mapple; Norway Mapple, widi plane-tree leav es; Striped Norway Mapple; Virginian Scarlet-flower- ing Mapple; Sir Charles Wager’s Mapple; American Sugar Mapple; Penfylvanian Mountain Mapple; Italian Mapple, orOrpalus; Mont- pelier Mapple; Cretan Ivy-leaved Mapple ; Tartarian Mapple. Description. — It is fo well known, that little need be laid here about it. Place. — This tree is fometimes found common in hedges, but gentlemen’s feats and church-yards produce the beft; for it is not a native of England, therefore requires a degree of cultivation.- T IME. Time. — They blofTom in March, and hold till the latter end of 1, May. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Ju- ki pitcr. The deco&ion, either of the leaves or bark, ftrengthens the liver I very much. It is all'o excellent good to open obftruefions both of the v liver and fpleen, and cafes the pains of the fides which proceed from <| thence. The larger Mapple, if tapped, yields a confiderable quantity \ of liquor, of a fweet and pleafant tafte; which, made into wine, falls I not much fhort of birch. The juice of it clarified and boiled after the I manner of the fugar-cane, leaves a fait hardly to be diftinguiftied from I lugar. The wood of both the Mapples, is very fit for the lathe, and will bear turning even to tranfparency. MASTIC HERB, or SUMMER SAVORY. Marum. Description. — T his is a fhrubby plant, full of round flender brown ftaiks, a foot high or more, having two fmall leaves at a joint, i fomewhat bigger than thyme, but elfe pretty much like them. The flowers grow on the tops of the ftaiks, in foft, downy, verticillated U fpikes, by which alone it may be known from all other plants of t his [’ kind ; they are fmall, white, and galeated. The whole plant has a i pleafant grateful fmell. Place. — It is planted in gardens, continuing feveral years, if not I deftroyed by the feverity of our winter, for it is a native of France. Time. — It flowers in June and July. Government and. Virtues. — This is a mild but martial plant. The tops when in flower, gathered and dried, are good in diforders of i the head and nerves, and againft ftoppages in the vifeera, being of a warm aromatic nature. The refinous concrete fubftance, commonly known by the name of gum-maftic, is the produce of a foreign tree, • and is obtained from incifions made in the trunks, from which it flows, | and hardens in the fun, after which it is carefully collected for ufe. This maftic is recommended in dofes of from half a fcruple to half a i dram, as a mild corroborant, and reftringent medicine in old coughs, fpitting of blood, loofenefs, weaknefs of the flomach, &c. MAUDLIN. Ageratum. Description. — This plant, from a woody branchy root, abiding long in the ground, fends forth many round ftaiks, little or nothing branched, about a. foot high, on which grow a great number of fmall, long, narrow, round-pointed leaves, deeply ferrated about the edges ; on the tops of the branches ftand umbels of numerous fmall gold yellow naked flowers in fcaly cups or calices, containing very fmall feed. The whole plant has a ftrong and not unpleafant feent. Vol I. 3 F Place. 4io THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; Place.— It grows with us only in gardens, it being a native of Italy and the warmer countries. T ime. — It blofloms in June and July. Government and Virtues.— It is under the dominion of Mars in Leo, though fome attribute it to Jupiter. Maudlin is of a bitter tafte, being warming and drying, and helping the diforders of the fto- mach and liver, of ufe again!! the jaundice, and obftrudtions of the menfes, provokes urine, and kills worms. It is not much ufed at prefent. LACINATED MAITHEN, or MAY-WEED. Crepis Biennis. STINKING MAITHEN. . Crepis Foetida. WALL MAITHEN. Crepis Tectorum. Description. — Thefe plants differ from camomile, in that they grow more eredt ; the leaves are finer. The flowers grow thicker to- gether upon the top of the ftalks : befides, it has an annual root, and has an unpleafant, ftrong, flunking fmell. Place. — It grows frequently among corn, and in wafte places. Time. — Flowers in May and June. Government and Virtues. — Mercury owns this herb. It is a plant but rarely ufed, though fome authors commend it as good again!! vapours and hyfteric fits. Mr. Ray fays, it was fometimes made ufe of in fcrophulous cafes; and Tournefort, that about Paris they ufe it in fomentations for pains and fwellings of the haemorrhoides. An infufion of the leaves is good in hyfteric diforders, and promotes the menfes. The herb boiled till it becomes foft, and then applied in manner of a poultice, is an excellent thing for the piles. It frequently blifters the hands of reapers, and others, who have oc- eafion to handle it much. ft op tk an P» he tk of m fa an an T, an fa mi W( MARUM, or CAT’S THYME. Teucrium. an Description. — This has a long perennial root like mafterwort, and hung with numerous fibres. The ftems are many, upright, but flender, fquare, pretty much branched, and about a foot high. The leaves grow in pairs, without leaf-ftock; their form is oblong, mode- rately broad, pointed, entire at the edges, of a fine lively green colour, a warm acrid tafte, and an aromatic fmell. The flowers grow at the top of the branches in flhort woolly heads of a whitifli colour, and the feeds are four; they are roundifh and brown. Place. — Spain is its native place; and with us it requires the !hel- ter of a green-houfe in fevere feafons. Time, #■ 1 I Ire OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 411 T ime. — The flowers appear in May and June. I , Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of the Sun. It is of a warm aromatic nature, and good in moft nervous diforders. The Shark of the old roots is confiderably aftringent, and is of great efficacy in overflowings of the menfes and other haemorrhages. The leaves dried and reduced to powder, may be taken either alone or mixed with other ingredients of a like nature, as fnuff; and they are, when fo ufed, good in all diforders of the head. MEADOW-SWEET. Ulmaria. V Description. — Meadow-fweet has a long reddifli nbrous root, from which fpring feveral pinnated leaves, having two or three pair of oppofite, large, ferrated pinnae, with an odd one at the end, cut into three parts; they are hoar)' underneath, and green above, wrinkled, Iand full of veins, and having feveral yery fmall pieces between the pinnae: the ftalk is red and ausgular, growing two or three feet high, befet in an alternate order with the like leaves. The flowers grow upon the top of the ftalks, umbel-fafhion, being fmall, five-leaved, and full of apices, of a white colour, and are followed by little round heads, made fcrew-faQiion, of feveral feeds fet together. Place. — It grows in moift meadows and by river-fides. T ime. — Flowers in June. The leaves and tops are ufed. Government and Virtues. — Jupiter is regent of Meadow- fweet. The flowers are alexipharmic and fudorific, and good in fevers, and all malignant diftempers ; they are litcewife reftringent, binding, and ufeful in fluxes of all forts: they are lncewifeput into aqua ladtis. The only officinal preparation is the aqua ilinarize. An infufion of the frefh -gathered tops of this plant promotes fweating, and has a fmall degree of aftringency. It is an excellent medicine in fevers attended with purgings, and may be given to the quantity of a moderate bafon full, once in two or three hours. It is likewife a good wound-herb, whether taken inwardly, or externally applied. The flowers infufed in any kind of liquors impart a pleafant tafle thereto, and mixed with mead, receives the flavour of the Greek wines. A water diftilled from them is good for inflammations of the eyes, m '■ H- f* . BgAup MEDLAR. Mespilus, Description. — The tree grows near the bignefs of the quince ■ tree, fpreading branches reafonably large, with longer and narrower leaves than either the apple or quince, and not dented about the edges. At the end of the lprigs ftand the flowers, made of five white, great broad pointed leaves, nicked ir> the middle with fome white threads alfo; after which come the fruit, of a brownifh green colour, being- ripe, 3 F 2 bearing. 412 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; bearing a crown as it were on the top, which were the five green leaves ; and being rubbed off, or fallen away, the head of the fruit is feen to be fomewhat hollow. The fruit is very harfh before it is mellowed, and hath ufually five hard kernels within it. There is another kind hereof nothing differing from the former, but that it hath fome thorns on it in feveral places, which the other hath not ; and ufually the fruit is {mall, and not fo pleafant. Place. — It is a native of Germany, and other parts of Europe; and is cultivated in our gardens and orchards for the fake of its fruit, of which many are very fond; but it is hardly eatable before it begins to decay. Time. — The bloffoms appear in April and May; and the fruit ripens in September and Odlober. Government and Virtues. — The fruit is old Saturn’s; and fure a better medicine he hardly has to ftrengthen the retentive faculty ; therefore it ftays women’s longings: the good old man cannot endure women’s minds fhould run a gadding. Alfo a plaifter made of the fruit dried before they are rotten, and other convenient things, and applied to the reins of the back, flops mifearriages in women with child. T hey are very powerful to if ay fluxes of blood or humours in men or women; the leaves alfo have this quality. The fruit eaten by women with child, flays their longing after unulual meats, and is very effectual for them that are apt to mifearry, and be delivered before their time, to help that malady, and make them joyful mothers. The decodtion of them is good to gargle and waffi the mouth, throat, and teeth, when there is any defluxions of blood to flay it, or of humours, which caufes the pains and fwellings. It is a good bath for women to fit over, whofe courfes flow too abundant; or for the piles, when they bleed too much. If a poultice or plaifter be made with dried medlars, beaten and mixed with the juice of red rofes, whereunto a few cloves and nut- megs may be added, and a little red coral alfo, and applied to the fromach that is given to calling or loathing of meat, it effectually helps. The dried leaves in powder flrewed on frefli bleeding wounds, reflrains the blood, and heals up the wound quickly. The Mcdlar-flones made into powder, and drank in wine, wherein fome parfley roots have lain infufedall night, ora little boiled, do break the flone in the kidnies,and help to expei it. MELLILOT, or KING’S-CLOVER. Melilotus. Description. — The ordinary Melilot has a large, woody, fpread- ing white root, from which fpring many flender channelled fmooth flalks, two or three feet high, having at every joint three oblong, round-pointed green leaves, fet together upon one footflalk, ferrated about the edges, and frequently gnawn by infects. The flowers grow on long fpikes, being yellow, in fhape; of tare, or pea-bloffoms, but much lefs; to OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 413 each of which fucceeds a fmaJl rough round pod. The whole plant, but efpecially the flowers, lias a ftrong pleafant fmell. Place. — It grows frequently among the corn, and in hedges. Time. — I1 -lowers in June and July. The leaves and flowers are ufed. Government and Virtues. — Mellilot, boiled in wine, and ap- < plied, mollifies all hard tumours and inflammations that happen in the •j eyes, or other parts of the body, as the fundament or privy parts of 1 men or women; and fometimes the yolk of a roafted egg, or fine flour, or poppy feed, or endive, is added unto it. It helps the fpreading ulcers in the head, it being walhed with a lee made thereof. It helps 1 the pains of the ftomach, being carefully applied frelh or boiled with ; any of the aforenamed things: alfo, the pains of the ears, being dropped I into them; and fteeped in vinegar or role-water, it mitigates the head- ach. The flowers of Mellilot or Camomile, are much ufed to be put I together in clyfters to expel wind, and eafe pains; and alfo in poultices !for the fame purpofe, and to afluage fwelling tumours in the fpleen or other parts; and help inflammations in any part of the body. The juice dropped into the eyes, is a lingular good medicine to take away the film or fkin that clouds or dims the fight. The head often walhed with Bthe diitilled water of the herb and flower, or a lee made therewith, is effectual for thofe that fuddenly lofe their fenfes; as alfo to ftrengrhen the memory, to comfort the head and brain, and to preferve them from pain, and the apoplexy. The Mclilot plaifter made of this herb boiled in mutton fuet, rofin 2nd wax, is drawing, and good for green wounds; but is at prefent reje<5led from that compofition, notbecaule it was fuppofed ufelefs, but !to put a ftop to the fraudulent practice of thofe who made the plaifter ; it being found, that verdigris was frequently employed by them to give it that colour, which could not be obtained from the plant, without a great deal more trouble and expence. °The frefh plant makes an excellent poultice for hard fwellings and inflammatory tumours, at once ripening them, and taking away the pain. | / MEZEREON SPURGE, OLIVE SPURGE, FLAX, or DWARF BAY. Daphne Mezereum. Description. — It has a woody root, tough and fpreading, and the Item is Ihrubbv, full of branches, covered with a roughifh grey bark, and o-rows five or fix feet high. The leaves grow in clufters from cer- tain^fmall protuberances in the bark; they are oblong, fmooth on the furface, entire at the edges, and of a dark green colour. The flowers are fo numerous as to make the branches appear almoft the whole length* of a beautiful red colour; fometimes, however they are white. The- feed "rows Angle, nearly round, and of a flelhy fubftance. Place and Time. — It is found wild in feveral parts of England, and 414 the family physician; and is kept in mod: gardens for the beautiful appearance it makes iq January, February, and March, the months in which it flowers. Government and Virtues. — It is Saturnine. The whole c plant has an exceeding acrid biting tafte, and is very jrorrofive. A ! ti woman gave only twelve of the berries to her daughter, who laboured i I under a quartan ague, and die, after vomiting a great deal of blood, : f expired immediately. An ointment prepared from the bark, or the berries, has been found a ferviceable application to foul ill-conditioned r ulcers. A decodhon made of a drachm of the bark of the root in I three pints of water, till one pint is waded, and this quantity taken in | the courfe of a day, for a confiderable time together, has been found i very efficacious in refolving and djfperfing yenereal dwellings and excrefcences. i The great and long continued heat and irritation which it occafions I in the throat, when chewed, made me fird think of prefcribing it in a I cafe of difficulty of fwallowing, which was apparently the effect of a paralytic diforder. The patient was directed to chew a thin flice of the root, as often as die could bear to do it, and in about two months die recovered her power of fwallowing. This woman bore the pain and irritation, and the ulcerations it occadoned in her mouth, with amazing fortitude, but die was reduced almod to a fkeleton, and had for three years before differed very much from hunger, without being able to jfatisfy her appetite, for die (wallowed liquids with veyy great difficulty^ and folids not at all. The complaint came on after lying-in. The bark of the root, or the inner bark of the branches, is to be ufed, but it requires caution in the aflminiftration, and rauft only be given to people of robufl: conditutions, and very fparingly even tp thofe; for if given in too large a dofe, or to a weakly perfon, it will caufe vomiting and bloody ftools; but to a robufl perfon it only adts as a brilk purge, and is excellent in dropfies, and other ftubborn dis- orders. A light infuflon is the fafeft and moft efficacious mode of giving it. - GARDEN MINT, or SPEAR MINT. Mentha Sativa. Description.— Spear-mint has many fquare ftalks, which, in good ground, will grow to be two or three feet high, having two long fliarp- pointed leaves, fet oppofite at a joint, without foot-ftalks, high-veined underneath, thinly ferrated about the edges.. The flowers grow in long fpikes on the tops of the ftalks, fet on verticillatim, being fmall and purplifb, having a galea and labefla fo fmall, that they are hardly perceivable, a white, long pointel Handing out of their mouths. The root creeps and fpreads much in the earth, being long and flender. The leaves, ftalks, and flowers, have a pleafant and agreeable fmell. Place. — It is planted in gardens, Time, • • ; - OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. " 415 T ime. — It flowers in July. I ’ Government and Virtues. — It is an herb of Venus. Diof- corides fays, it has a heating, binding, and drying quality, and there- Ifore the juice taken in vinegar, flays bleeding: it flirs up venery, or bodily lull; two or three branches thereof taken in the juice of four pomegranates, flays the hiccough, vomiting, and allays the choler. It ililiolves impofthumes, being laid to with barley-meal. It is good to reprels the milk in women’s breads. Applied with fait, it helps the biting of a mad dog; with mead and honeyed water, it eafes the pains of the ears, and takes away tiie roughnefs of the tongue, being rubbed thereupon. It fufters not milk to curdle in the ftomach, if the leaves thereof be ffeeped or boiled in it before you drink it: briefly, it is very profitable to the ftomach. The often ufe hereof is a very power- ful medicine to flay women’s courfes and the whites. Applied to the I forehead and temples, it eafes the pains in the head, and is good to walh the heads of young children therewith, againlt all manner of breakings-out, fores or fcabs therein, and heals the chops of the funda- ment. It is alfo profitable againft the poifon of venomous creatures. The diftilled water of mint is available to all the purpofes aforefaid, yet more weakly. But if a fpirit thereof be rightly and chymically drawn, it is much more powerful than the herb. Simeon Sethi fays, it helps a cold liver, ftrengthens the belly, caufes digeftion, flays vomits, and the hiccough; it is good againlt the gnawing of the heart, provokes appetite, takes away obftrudtions of the liver, and flirs up bodily lull; but therefore too much muff: not be taken, becaufe it makes the blood thin and wheyifh, and turns it into choler, and therefore choleric perfons muft abftain from it. It is a fafe medicine for the biting of a mad dog, being bruiled with fait, and laid thereon. The powder of it being dried, and taken after meat, helps digeftion, and thole that are fplenetic. Taken with wine, it helps women in their fore travail .in child bearing. It is good againft the gravel and ftone in the kidnies, and the ftrangury. Being fmelled unto, it is comfortable for the head and memory. The decoction hereof gargled in the mouth, cures the gums and mouth that is fore, and mends an ill-favoured breath ; as alfo the rue and coriander, caufe the palate of the mouth to turn to its place, the decodlion being gargled and held in the mouth. Mint is an herb of great ufe in all diforders of the ftomach, asweak- nefs, fqueamiftinefs, lofs of appetite, pain, hiccough, and vomiting: it is likewife accounted good to flop a gonorrhea, the fluor albus, and the immoderate flux of the menfes; acataplafm of the green leaves ap- plied to the ftomach, flays vomiting, and to women’s breaks, prevents" the hardnefs and curdling of the milk. Parkinfon commends a decoc- tion of Mint to walh the hands of children, who are broken out with fcabs and blotches. Officinal preparations of Mint are, a Ample water and fpirit, a compound fyrup, and a diftilled oil. The flavour of this fpecies being more agreeable than any other, it THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 416 it is generally preferred both for the ufe of the kitchen, and for medical purpofes. WATER MINT. Mentha Aquatica. Description. — This Mint has fquare, hairy, brown ftalks, about a foot high, or more, with two pretty large leaves at a joint, fet on fhort footftalks, broad at the bafis, and narrower toward the end, ferrated about the edges ; of a very ftrong fmell, fomewhat like penny-royal. The flowers grow on the tops of the ftalks, in round fpikes, with one or two of the fame a little lower on the ftalks, at the fetting on of the upper leaves. They are fomewhat larger than common Mint, of a pale purple colour. The root is ftringy and fibrous. Place. — It grows in damp watery places, wild, and is cultivated in moil gardens for its medicinal qualities. Time. —The flowers appear in Auguft. Virtues. — The diftilled water of this plant is well known as a carminative and antifpafmodic ; it relieves the colic, and other diforders of the ftomach and bowels almoft inftantaneoufly ; and is good in the a valuable medicine in flatulent colics, hyfteric depreflions, and other complaints of a fimilar nature; exerting its falutary eftefits as foon as it arrives in the ftomach, and difFufing a glowing warmth throughout the whole body, and yet without heating the conftitution near fo much as might be expended from the great warmth and pun- gency of its tafte, which is very confiderable while the liquor is held in the mouth, but foon after fwallowing it the mouth feels cold, with little or no tafte of the Mint, but as if it was glazed over with oil. Water Mint is rather hotter than the garden Mint, being carmina- tive, expelling wind out of the ftomach, and helping the colic, open- ing obft ructions of the womb, and procuring the catamenia. The juice dropped into the ears, is good to eafe their pain, and help deafnefs ; but it is not much ufed. PEPPER-MINT. Mentha Piperis. Description. — The leaves of this Mint are broader, and fome- what fhorter than fpear-mint, growing on foot-ftalks, half an inch long, fharply ferrated about the edges. The ftalks are fquare, about two feet high. The flowers are numerous, and grow in loofe oblong fpikes on the tops of the branches; they are bigger than thofe of fpear-mint, but of the fame colour, and more thickly fet. Both leaves and flowers have a pleafant fcent, and an hot biting tafte, like pepper. The root is flender and creeping. Place. gravel. It is Place. — It grows infeveral places, both on the banks of rivers, and v is an inhabitant of almod every garden. Time. — It blofToms in July and Auguft. Virtues. — This herb has adrong, agreeable, aromatic fmell, and a moderately wann bitterifh tade; it is in general ufed in complaints and wcaknelles of the ftomach, iuch as wind, vomiting, &r. for which there arc, perhaps, few remedies of greater efficacy. Some think that ! it prevents the coagulation of milk, and from thence conclude it to be of great efficacy in poultices and fomentations to refolve and difperfe curdled milk in the breads, and alfo to be ufed with milk diets. All the Mints are fomewhat aftringent, and of warm fubtle parts; great drengtheners of the domach. The fragrancy of the fmell be- tokens them cephalics; they effectually take off naufeoufnefs and reach- ing*: to vomit; they alfo are of ufe. in loofeneffes. The fimple water given to little children, removes the gripes in them; but thefe virtues may more particularly be expeCted from the Spear and Pepper-Mint. The College Difpenfatory directs, befides the diddled water, a fpirit and fyrup to be prepared, which lad is a compound. All three are in frequent ufe. WILD MINT, or HORSE-MINT. Mentha Sylvestris. Description.— This Wild-Mint grows not fo tall as the Garden Mint, nor fo much branched, having i’quare, hoary dalks, writh two long, fharp-pointed leaves, hoary likewife, efpeciajly underneath, and ferrated about the edges, without any foot-dalks. The flowers grow at the ends of the dalks, in long narrow fpikes, being (mail and purple. The whole plant has a drong but not unpleafant fmell. Virtues. — Horfe-Mint is much of the nature of fifymbrium be- fore-mentioned, and is good for the wind and colic in the domach, to procure the menfes, and expel the birth and fecundines, being an ingre- dient in the trochifci de myrrha, much ufed in thofe cafes. The juice dropped into the ears eafes the pains of them, and dedroys the worms that breed therein. They are good againd the venomous biting of fer- pents. The juice laid on warm, helps the kings-evil, or kernels in the throat. The decoClion or diddled water helps a dinking breath, proceeding from corruption of the teeth; and fnuffed up the nofe, purges the head. Pliny fays, that eating of the leaves has been found by ex- perience to cure the leprofy, applying fome of them to the fa.ee, and to help the feurf or dandriff of the head ufed with vinegar. They are ex-* treme bad for wounded people ; and they fay a wounded man that eats Mint, his wound will never be cured) and that is a long day. Cat-Mint, Vide Nep. 3Q VOL.I. Garden THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 4-lS GARDEN MUSHROOM. Fungi. Description. — This is much better than that produced by chance in the field, which is often of an unwholefome and pernicious kind, and has proved fatal to thoufands. It is- a fungus plant, without the leaft appearance of leaves, flowers, or feed, or any genital' organs that arc vifible, either of flow£.ror feed, fo that it belongs to the clafs of imper- fect vegetables ; and this renders their fpontaneous appearance of a fuf- picious nature. However, the field Mufhroom rifes from the ground in its perfect form, with a ftraight ftem, of about an inch or more high, covered with a round, high, thick, foft white head; underneath it is of a reddifh flefh-colour, and when the plant has arrived at its full growth, the head is expanded almoft flat, forming a large flap, and if not garnered, falls to the ground, fhedding what is fuppofed to be the feed. This fpecies of the field Mufhroom is diftinguifhable from all others, by its imparting an agreeable fmell. As it increafes in fize, the flefhy colour underneath turns redder, and the edges of its numerous folds become a blackifh red, but without lofing or changing its flefhy colour within. Place. — The myfterious progrefs of nature in the production of this plant, makes it uncertain whether it really has any feed or not. In the field it generally owes its origin to the putrefaction of earth or dung. From this beginning, they firft difeover themfelves under the form of a white, mouldy, fibrous fubftance, called fpawn, which pro- duces numerous fmall white knots, or embryo plants, gradually en- creafing to the perfect Mufhroom. Time. — This is of very fhort growth and duration, and but at par- ticular times found in the fields; but, in the garden, it is found all the year round, and is propagated by fpawn, obtained in abundance in par- cels of decayed dung, compofed of good rotten horfe liable dung, and mcift litter together, when it has remained fome months undifturbed, till its fermentation and heat are decreafed, and a ftate of putrefaction brought on. Government and Virtues. — Mufhrooms are under Mercury in Aries. Curious cooks ufe them to heighten the flavour of their fauces, although they have always been reputed more or lefs poifonous. Roafted and applied in a poultice, or boiled with white lily roots, and linfeed, in milk, they are one of the beft ripeners of boijs and abfeefles we have. Their poultices are of fome fervice in quinfies, and in inflam- matory fwellings. Inwardly, the beft of them are unwholefome, for they are hard of concodtion, corrupt the humours, and yield the body but a phlegmatic, earthy, windy nourifhment, or rather detriment; wherefore they are convenient for no feafon, age, or conftitution. Hill. Mullet fown Pt T Gi Milk ! %il wine. feldoi D I fiend ,1 color I alter ! com 1 five P Oma 1 ( Thi lot) fpiti alii .fCj ing OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 419 MILLET. Milium. Description. — Millet has large, broad, grafs-like, fomewhat hairy “ leaves, encompafling the (talk, which grows to be three or four feet high, bearing on the top a large pannicle, hanging downthe head, com- pofed of a great number of flender (talks, having many fmall glumes growing on them, including fmall, white, hard, (hining grain ; it is fown more in foreign parts than here in England, and is there ufed for food. Place. — It is fown in April. Time. — Is ripe in Auguft and September. Government and Virtues. — This grain is under Saturn, r Millet is cooling, drying, and binding, fomewhat windy, and not eafily digefted ; a ftrong decoCtion of it with figs and raifins, mixed with wine, and drank warm in bed, is a very good fudorific, though it is feldom ufed. MIRTLE TREE. Myrtus. Description. — This is a little tree or bu(b, (hooting forth many flender tough branches, fometimes brown, and fometimes of a reddith l colour, on which grow fmall, oblong, (harp-pointed, green leaves, fet : alternately on the (talks, of a verypleafant aromatic fm ell; among thefe i come forth the flowers, each fingly on a (hort foot-ftalk, confiding of five white round leaves, full of a great many white ftamina, which being fallen, the calyx becomes a fmall, round, black berry, with a 1 fmall crown on the top, as big as a juniper-berry, full of fmall white feed. Place.— It grows wild in the fouth of Europe; but with us is an 1 • Ornament of our gardens. Time. — It flowers in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — This tree is under Mercury. The leaves fometimes, but- .chiefly the berries, are ufed. They are both of them drying and binding, good for a diarrhaea or dylentery, 1 fpitting of blood, and catarrhous deductions upon the bread, the fluor • alb us, the falling down of the womb or fundament, both tajcen inward- [ ly, and ufed outwardly, in powders and injections. The only officinal preparation is the fyrupus myrtinus. I «• MISSELTOE. Viscum QuePvCInus. Description. — This is a plant, that inftead of rooting and grow- ing in the earth like other plants, fixes itfelf and takes root on the 3 G 2 branches THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 42© branches of trees. Itfpreads out into pretty large buihes, having many ' woody branches, covered with a yellow green bark, of different big- l’: nefs, from the thicknefs of a finger to much fmaller fixes, being full of W. joints that eafily part afunder, having at each two thick firm leaves, :: narrowed at bottom, and broader and round at the ends. It bears fc- j * veral fmall yellow four-leaved flowers, to which fucceed round, white, ^ alrnoft pellucid berries, as big as white currans, full of a tough vifcid f juice, in the middle of which lies one flat heart-fafhioned feed. It grows Cl upon feveral trees, as the apple, the crab, the hazel, the afh, the ma- ple, the lime, the willow, the whitethorn, and the oak; this laft is ac- counted beft of all; which opinion, as Mr. Ray well obferves, may be owing to the fuperftitious honour the ancient Druids of this ifland gave to this Mifleltoe, to whom nothing was more facred. Government and Virtues. — This is under the dominion of the Sun, I do not queftion; and can alfo take for granted, that that which grows upon oaks, participates fomething of the nature of Jupiter, becaufe ti an oak is one of his trees; as alfo that which grows upon pear trees, ard j apple trees, participates fomething of his nature, becaufe he rules thfc t tree it grows upon, having no root of its own. Both the leaves and i berries of Mifleltoe do heat and dry, and are of fubtle parts; the bird- lime docs mollify, hard knots, tumours, and impofthumes; ripens and ( difcufles them, and draws forth thick as well as thin humours from the ( remote parts of the body, digefting and feparating them. And being t mixed with equal parts of rofin and wax, does mollify the hardnefs of i the fpleen, and helps old ulcers and fores. Being mixed with fandarick and orpiment, it helps to draw off' foul nails ; and if quick-lime and ( ‘ wine lees be added thereunto, it works the ftronger. The Mifleltoe j itfelf of the gak (as the. beft) made into powder, and given in drink to thofe that have the falling- ficknefs, does afluredly heal them, as Matthi- j ] olus fays; but it is fit to ufe it for forty days together. Some have fo highly efteemed it for the virtues thereof, that they have called it Lig- i num Sancfae Crucis, Wood of the Holy Crofs, not only to be inwardly ] taken, but to be hung at the neck. Tragus fays, that the frefh wood of any Mifleltoe bruifed, and the juice drawn forth and dropped in the i ears that have impofthumes in them, helps and eafes them within a few days. Mifleltoe is accounted a cephalic and nervine medicine, particularly ufeful for all kinds of convulfion-fits, for the apoplexy, palfy, and ver- tigo ; for which purpofes fome prefer the Mifleltoe of the hazel to that of the oak ; they who have a mind to know all the virtues of this plant, tnay confult Sir John Colbatch’s difeourfe of Mifleltoe. Of the berry of this plant was formerly made the vifeus aucupum, or bird-lime, by boil- ing the berries in water till they burff, when they were well beaten in a j mortar, and afterwards wafhed in water till all the branny hufk was cleared away ; but with us in England, bird-lime is made of the bark of the holly-tree, which they ftrip off about Midfummer, boiling a good quantity of it in water for about twelve hours, till the whitifh outwwd bark OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 421 bark is feparatcd from the green. This they lay in a cold vault or cel- lar, covering it with fern, or filch like matter, letting it lie for a fort- night, by wnich time the bark will be turned into a jelly, which they (afterwards beat in a (lone-mortar till it becomes a tough pafte; this tney waih well in running water, till all the fordes are cleared away, and then put it into earthen vefiels. Bird-lime is a powerful attractive, and good to ripen hard tumours and fwellings. It is an ingredient in the cmplaftrurn diachilon magnum. » ! f MONEYWORT, or HERB TWOPENCE. Lysimachia Nummularja. Description. — The common Moneywort fends forth from a fmall thready root divers long, weak, and (lender branches, lying and run- ning upon the ground two or three feet long or more, fet with leaves two at a joint one againft another at equal diftances, which are almoft: round, but pointed at the ends, fmooth, and of a good green colour. At the joints with the leaves from the middle forward come forth at every point fometimes one yellow flower, and fometimes two, (landing each on a fmall foot-flalk, and made of five leaves, narrow-pointed at the end, with fome yellow threads in the middle, which being paft, there (land in their places fmall round heads of feed. Place. — It grows plentifully in almoft all places of this country, commonly in moift grounds by hedge-fides, and in the middle of grafty fields. T ime. — They flower in June and July, and their feed is ripe quick- ly after. Government and Virtues. — Venus owns it. Moneywort is Angularly good to (lay all fluxes in man or woman, whether they be lafks, bloody-fluxes, the flowering of women’s courfes; bleeding in- wardly or outwardly ; and the weaknefs of the ftomach that is given to calling. It is very good alfo for the ulcers or excoriations of the lungs, or other inward parts. It is exceeding good for all wounds, either fre(h or green, to heal them fpeediiy, and for all old ulcers that are of lpreading natures. For all which purpofes the juice of the herb, or the powder drank in water wherein hot fteel has been often quenched; or the decoition of the green herb in wine or water, drank, or ufed to the outward place, to wa(h or bathe them, or to have tents dipped therein and put into them, are effectual. The juice of it is a well known re- medy among country people for overflowings of the menfes, and the roots dried and powdered, are good in purgings. Moon- 422 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; MOON WORT. Osmund a Lunar i a. Description. — It rifes up ufually but with one dark, green, thick and flat leaf, {landing upon a (hort foot-ftalk, not above two fingers breadth; but when it flowers it maybe faid to bear a fmall (lender ftalk about four or fi ve inches high, having but one leaf in the middle there- of, which is much divided on both fides into fometimes five or feven parts on a fide, fometimes more ; each of which parts is fmall like the middle rib, but broad forwards, pointed and round, refembling therein a half-moon, from whence it took the name; the uppermoft parts or divifions being bigger than the lowed. The ftalks rife above this leaf two or three inches, bearing many branches of fmall long tongues, every one like the fpiky head of the adder’s tongue, of a brownilh colour, (which whether I (hall call them flowers, or the feed, I well know not) which, after they have continued a while, refolve into a mealy dull. The root is fmall and fibrous. This has fometimes divers fuch like leaves as are before defcribed, with fo many branches or tops arifing from one ftalk, each divided from the other. Place. — It grows on hills and heaths., yet where there is much grafs, for therein it delights to grow. T ime. — It is to be found only in April and May ; for in June, when any hot weather comes, for the moft part it is withered and gone. Government and Virtues. — The Moon owns the herb. Moon- wort is cold, and drying more than adder’s tongue, and is therefore held to be more available for all wounds both inward and outward. The leaves boiled in red wine, and drank, ftay the immoderate flux of women’s courfes, and the whites. It alfo ftays bleeding, vomiting, and other fluxes. It helps all blows and bruifes, and to consolidate all frac- tures and diflocations. It is good for ruptures, but it is chiefly ufed by moft with other herbs to make oils or balfams to heal freflh or green wounds (as I faid before) either inward or outward, for which it is ex- cellently good. GROUND MOSS. Lychen Terrestris. C: v .. - •• • Description.' — frhis Mofs grows every where in barren ground, and in woods and hedges, at the roots of trees. It fpreads upon the ground, with numerous (lender flagellae, having fmall triangular leaves fet clofe to the ftalks ; among thele fpring reddifh ftalks about an inch long, almcft as fine as hairs, bearing on the tops little hollow dufty cups, of a whitifli colour. Place. — The Ground Mofs grows in our moift woods, and in the bottom of hills, in boggy grounds, and in (hadowy ditches, and many other fuch like places. The tree Mofs grows-only on trees. Govern- OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 423 Government and Virtues. — ThisMofs is under Saturn. Tht- f Ground Mofs is held to be fingularly good to break the done, and to expel and drive it forth by urine, being boiled in wine, and drank. Trie herb, bruiled and boiled in water, and applied, cafes all inflam- mations and pains coming from an hot caufe; and is therefore ufed to cafe the pains of the gout. The tree Modes are cooling and binding, and partake of a digelting and mollifying quality withal, as Galen fays. But eacVMofs does partake of the nature of the tree from whenae it is taken ; therefore that of the oak is more binding, and is of good efFedb to ibay fluxes in man or woman ; as alfo vomiting or bleeding, the powder thereof being taken in wine. The decodtion of it in wine is very good for women to be bathed, or to fit in, that are troubled with the overflowing of their courfes. The fame being drank, days the fto- iru.ch that is troubled with cading, or the hiccough; and, as Avicenna fays, it comforts the heart. The powder thereof taken in drink for fome time together, is thought available for the dropfy. The oil that ha; had freih Mofs deeped therein for a time, and afterwards boiled and applied to the temples and forehead, does marvelloufly eafe the head- ach coming of a hot caufe; as alfo the didillations of hot rheums or hu- mours m the eyes, or other parts. The ancients much ufed it in their i ointments and other medicines againd laflitude, and to drengthen and comfort the finews : for which, if it was good then, I know no reafon but it may be found fo dill. MOSS HAIRY TREE. Lichen Plicatus. Description. — This is a very lingular plant of the Mofs kind; it grows to the branches of old oaks, and other trees, and hangs down from them in tufts, compofed of long drings, which are frequently a foot or more in length, and the whole of them together two or three inches thick ; each cluder coniids of a great number of dems and branches, the larged of which do not exceed a l'mall packthread in thicknefs; they are of a greyilh colour, and confid of loft bark, and a firm white fibre within ; the bark often appears crooked, and the branches exhibit an appearance of being jointed; on the longed of thefe branches grow, at certain fealons, little hollow brown bodies, which contain the feeds, but are too minute to be feparately deferibed. The whole plant, as it grows, appears faplefs, and is deditute of leaves, or any other ap- pearance of vegetation. Place.— It is found in fome of our large forefts, but is fcarcely to be met with any where elfe. Government and Virtues. — All forts of Modes partaking of the qualities of the trees on which they grow, are to be confidered as under the dominion of thofe planets ruling thofe trees. The' powder of this Mofs is an excellent aftringent; it Ihould be dried in an oven. and 424 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; and after being beaten in a mortar, paded through a fieve; the white fibres will remain after the other parts have gone through the fieve, and are of no manner of ufe, the other parts poffeffing all the virtues. It is good againft the whites, immoderate menftrual difcharges, bloody fluxes, and fpitting of blood, and delerves to be much more regarded than it is at prelent. The dofe is half a dram, or two fcruples. Hill. ' %* CUP MOSS. Lychen Pyxidatus. Description. — This little plant is common on ditch-banks, by the Tides of woods, or heaths, and in moft other dry barren places; it con- fifts of a thin leafy fubftance, which fpreads on the furface of the ground, and a kind of little cup, refembling wine glaffes, rifing from it. The leafy part is dry, and without juice, divided into feveral fegrnents ®r portions, which are irregularly notched, grey or greenilh on the upper fide, and vvhitifh underneath. The cups are in general about half an inch high, and are each of them fupported on thick clumfy Items; they are open at the mouth, of a grey colour, with a mixture of green, and other colours, fprinkled over with a fine mealy fubftance on the furface; fometimes they grow one from the edge of another, three or four ftages high, and we frequently lee many other accidental varieties. Virtues. —This Mofs is reckoned a fpecific againft the hooping or chin-cough in children, being given them in a decodtion fweetened with fugar, or fome pectoral fyrup. LOW GERMAN MADWORT. Asperugo Procumbens, DESCRiPTioN.-^The root is annual, long, thick, and furnifhed with numerous fibres; and the ftem is trailing, angular, and branched; the angles are befet with ftrong hooked prickles, which bend backwards. The leaves are oblong, but fharply pointed; they ftand alternately to- wards the bottom of the ftem, but towards the top two or three, *and fometimes more, rife together: they are hairy, and of a bright green colour. The flowers are fmall ; they rife from the bofoms of the upper leaves, and are of a deep blue colour. Place. — It is found on dry ground, in our weftern counties not un- frequently; and in fome other places, T ime. — It flowers in July, and the feeds ripen in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — Mercury owns the fhrub. It is faid to be good againft diforders of the nerves^ but it$ virtues arc not eftablifbed upon any good authority. Hill. |vIother-j OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 4 25 MOTHERWORT. Cardiaca. Description. — I his has a hard, fquare, brownilh, rough, ftrorg ftalk, riflng three or four feet high at leaft, fpreading into many branches, whereon grow leaves on each fide, with long footftalks, two at every joint, which are fomewhat broad and long, as if it were rough or coupled, with many great veins therein of a fad green colour, and deeply dented about the edges, and almoft divided. From the middle of the branches up to the tops of themr which are long and fmall, grow the flowers round them at diftances, in fharp pointed, rough, hard hulks, of a more red or purple colour than balm or horehound, but in the fame manner or form as the horehounds, after which come fmall, round, blackifh feeds in great plenty. The root fends forth a nurpber of long ftrings and fmall fibres, taking ftrong hold in the ground, of a dark yellowifh or brownifh colour, and abides as the horehound does: the fmell of this differs not much from that. Place. — It grows only in gardens with us in England. Time. — It flowers about the latter end of July, or beginning of A u mi ft. Government and Virtues. —Venus owns the herb, and it is under Leo. Ttiere is no better herb to take melancholy vapours from the heart, to ftrengthen it, and make a merry, cheerful, blithe foul, than this herb. It may be kept in a fyrup or conferve, therefore the Latins called it Cardiaca; befides, it makes women joyful mothers of children, and fettles their wombs as they fhould be, therefore we call it Motherwort. It is held to be of much ufe for the trembling of the heart, fainting and fwooning, from whence it took the name of Cardiaca. The powder thereof to the quantity of a fpoonful, drank in while, is a wonderful help to women in their fore travail, as alfo for the fuffocating or rifing of the mother, and for thefe effe&s, moft likely, it took the name of Motherwort with us. It alfo provokes urine and women’s courfes, cleanfes the cheft of cold phlegm oppreffing it, kills worms in the belly. It is of good ufe to warm and dry up the cold humours, to digeft and difperfe them that are fettled in the veins, joints, and linews of the body, and to help cramps and convulfions. MOTHER OF THYME, or WILD THYME. Perpyllum, Descr iption. — This plant has a fmall, ftringy, creeping root, from which fpring a great number of very flender, leaning, woody ftalks, having two fmall, roundifh, green leaves, fet at a joint, on Ihort foot- ftalks. The flowers grew on the tops of the ftalks among the leaves, in fmall loofe fpikes of a reddilh purplecolour. The leaves and flowers have a ftrong pleafant fmell, Vol. I. 3 H We THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 426 We have another fort which bears flowers as large again as the common, which- is the only difference; and another, whole leaves and branches are very hairy: they are fouhd in leveral places with the com- mon, and are of the fame nature. Place. — It is frequent on hilly heaths, in dry paftures, and by road fides. Ti me. — The flowers appear in July. Government and Virtues. — The whole plant is fragrant, and yields an efl'ential oil that is very heating. An infufion of the leaves removes the head-ach, occafioned by the debauch of the preceding night. Mother of Thyme is under Venus. It fs excellent in nervous dlf- orders. A ftrong infufion of it, drank in the manner of tea, -is plea-v fant, and a very effectual remedy for heaa-achs, giddinefs, and other diforders of that kind ; and it is a certain remedy for that troublefome, complaint, the night-mare. A gentleman afflicted for a long fpace of time' with this complaint in a terrible manner? and having in vain fought for relief from the' ufual means employed for that purpofe, was advifed to make trial of the infufion of this plant, which foon removed it, and he continued free for feveral years, after which the diforder fometimes returned, but always gave way to the fame remedy. * . > m6uSE-EAR. HieracUm Pilosella. Description. — Moufe-ear is a low herb, creeping upon the ground by frriair firings, lik the ftrawberry plant, whereby it fhoots forth fmall roots, whereat grow upon the ground many finall and fome- what fliort leaves, fet in round form together, and very hairy, which being broken do give a whitifh milk: from among thefe leaves fpring up two or three fmall hoary ftalks about a fpan high, with a few fmaller leaves thereon; at the tops whereof fland ufually but one flower, con- fifting of many pale yellow leaves, broad at the .point, and a little dented, in, fet >n three or four rows, the greater uppermofl, very like a dandelion flower,, and a' little reddifh underneath about the edges, efpecially if it grow in a dry ground; which, after they have flood long in flower, do turn into down, which, with the feed, is carried away with the wind. Place. — It grows on ditch banks, and fometimes in ditches, if they be dry, and in fandy grounds. Time. — It flowers about June of July, and abides green all the winter. Government and Virtues. — The Moon owns this herb; and though authors cry out upon alchymifts, for attempting to fix quick- filver by this herb and moonwort, a Roman would not have judged a thing by thefuccefs; if it be to be fixed at all, it is by lunar influence. The juice thereof taken in wine, or the decodtion thereof drank, does help tlie jaundice, although , of long continuance, to drink thereof - ' ' ’ morning OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. * 427 morning and evening, and abftain from other drink two or three hours after. It is a Ipccia! remedy againft the (tone, and the tormenting pains thereof ; as alfo other tortures, and griping pains of the bowels. The decoction thereof, with fuccory and centaury, is held very effectual to help the dropl'y, and thofe that are inclining thereunto, and the dif- t’afcs of the fpleen. It ftays the fluxes of the blood, either at the mouth or nofe, and inward bleeding alfo, for it is a Angular wound herb for wounds both inward and outward: it helps the bloody-flux, and ftays the abundance of women’s courfes. There is a fyrup made of the juice hereof, and fugar, by the apothecaries of Italy, and other places, which is of much account with them, to be given to thofe who are troubled with the cough or phthific. The fame alfo is Angularly good for ruptures or burftings. The green herb bruifed, and prefently bound to any cut or wound, does quickly folder the lips thereof. And the juice, decoiftion, or powder of the dried herb, is mod Angular to ftay the malignity of fpreading and fretting cancers and ulcers whatfo- cver, yea in tlw mouth and fecret parts. The diftilled water of the plant is available in all the difeafes aforefaid, and to wafh outward wounds and fores, and apply tents of cloth wet therein. MULBERRY-TREE. , Morus. Description.— I know but two forts of Mulberries, the common black, and the white, whole fruit is not of fo much value, as the leaves are for feeding Alk-wcrms. The black is moft commonly planted in gardens, and bears a moft pleafant fruit for deferts. The Mulberry-tree grows to be a large tall tree, with a brown rugged bark, (hooting out its leaves very late in the fpring, vs hen the winter’s frofts are paft, which are large, and fomewhat rough or fcabrous, broad at the bafe, and growing narrower towards the end, ferrated about the edges, and fet on ftiort footftalks. The Aowers ftick dole to the branches, each compofed of four fmall leaves, grow- ing in clufters. The fruit is oblong, conflftingor a great number of acini, fet together in a round form, of a deep purple, almoft black when ripe, full of a fweet, pleafant, purple juice. Place. — It grows in gardens. Time. — The fruit is ripe in Auguft and September. The bark of the root, and the fruit, are ufed. Government and Virtues.— Mercury rules the tree, there- fore are its efFetfts variable as his are. ft he Mulberry is of different parts; the ripe berries, by reafon of their fweetnefs and flippery moifture, opening the body, and the unripe binding it, efpecially when they are dried, and then they are good to ftay fluxes, lafks, and the abundance of women’s courfes. The bark of the root kills the broad worms in the body. The juice, or fyrup made of the juice of the berries, helps all inflammations or foj'es in the mouth or throat, and palate of the mouth 3 H 2 when THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 428 When it is fallen down. The juice ofjfthe leaves is a remedy againft the biting of ferpents', and for thofe that have taken aconite. The leaves beaten with vinegar, are good to lay on any part that is burnt with fire. A decoction made of the bark and leaves, is good to wa(h the mouth and teeth when they ach. If the root be a little flit or cut, and a fmall hole made in the ground next thereunto, in the harveft time, it will give out a certain juice, which being hardened the next day, is of good ufe to help the tooth-ach, to diflolve knots, and purge the belly. The leaves of Mulberries are laid to ftay bleeding at the mouth or nofe, or the bleeding of the piles, or of a wound, being bound unto the places. ENGLISH MYRRH. Cicutaria Odorata. Description.— The leaves of Englilh Myrrh are large and winged, with feveral long pinnae on each fide ; fo that they pretty much refemble the leaves of fern, of a pleafant aromatic fmell ; the ftalks are fomewhat hairy and channelled, befet with the like leaves, but fmaller, bearing on their tops umbels of white five-leaved flowers, which ar« fucceeded by pretty large long feed, deeply furrowed, and having fire Iharp ridges. The root is thick and fpreading, with many fibres. Place. — It is fown in gardens. Time. — Flowers in May and June. The leaves and feed are ufed. Government and Virtues. — This plant is of a hot nature, being very like parfley and chevil. The whole plant is of fine aromlti* parts, and under Jupiter in his hour. A large fpoonful of the unbruifed feeds taken every morning, is excellent againft rheumatic complaints, and the falling ficknefs. They operate by urine, and moderately promote the menftrual difcharge; and while they are producing thefe good effects, they ftrengthen the ftomach, difperfe wind, and create an appetite. Eaten as afullad, it is an excellent antilcorbutic. WHITE MULLEIN. Verbascum Thapsus. Description. — Common White Mullein hath many fair, large, woolly, white leaves, lying next the ground, fomewhat larger than broad, pointed at the end, and as it were dented about the edges. The ftalk rifes up to be four or five feet high, covered over with fuch like leaves, but leffer, fo that no ftalk can be feen for the multitude of leaves thefeon up to the flowers, which come forth on all fides of the ftalk, without any branches for the moft part, and are many fet together in a long fpike, in fome of a yellow colour, in others more pale, confifting of five round pointed leaves, which afterwards have fmall round heads, wherein OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 42$ Wherein is final! brownifh feed contained. The root is long, white, and woody, perilling after it hath borne feed. Place. — It grows by way-fides and lanes, in many places in the Weft of England. Time. — Jt flowers in Tidy, or thereabouts. Government and Virtues. — It is under the dominion of Saturn, A (mall quantity ot the roo: given in wine is commended by Diolcorides, n?;.iinft Lilts and fluxes of the belly. The decoction hereof drank, is profitable for thole that are burften, and for cramps and convulfions, and for thole that are troubled with an old couifti. 'I ‘he decoction thereof gargled, eaies the pains of the tooth-ach. And the oil made by the often infufion of the flowers, is of very good effect for the piles. The decoftion of the root in red wine or water, if there be an ague, wherein red-hot fteel has been often quenched, does ftay the bloody-flux. The fame alio opens obftrudtions of the bladder and reins when one cannot make water. A decodtion of the leaves hereof, and ot fage, marjoram, and camomile flowers, and the places bathed therewith, that have finews ftiff with cold or cramps, does bring them much eafe and comfort. Three ounces of the diftilled water of the flowers drank morning and evening for fome days together, is f id to be the molt excellent remedy for the gout. The juice of the leaves and flowers being laid upon rough warts, as alfo the powder of the dried roots rubbed on, does eafily take them away, but does no good to fmooth warts. The powder of the dried flowers is an efpecial remedy for thofe that are troubled with the belly-ach, or the pains of the colic. The ■ika.'ecHou of the root, and lb likewife of the leaves, is of great effect to dillolve the tumours, fwellings, or inflammations of the throat. The feed and leaves boiled in wine, and applied, draw forth l'peediiy thorns or fp] inters got into the flelh, eafe the pains, and heal them alfo. The leaves bruiibd, and wrapped in double papers, and covered with hot allies and embers to bake awhile, and then taken forth, and laid, warm, on any blotch or boil happening in the groin or fnare, does diffolve and heal them. The feed bruifed and boiled in wine, and laid on any mem- ber that has been out of joint, and newly let again, takes away all fwelling and pain thereof. , hoary Mullein, verbascum Lychnitis. Description. — A fmall variation in the growth of this plant, has given it, in authors, a diftinction, which the virtues it pofleiles in com- mon with the fpecie, does not Lem to require. It is not lb high, nor fo bufliy as the former, and the leaves are covered with a fine hoar, feft and white; the flowers are fmalier, of a fine yellow, and are produced in long fpikes at the top ol the ftalks. Place. — It is common on dry ditch banks in fandy lituations. Time. — Ic flowers in the middle of fummer. Virtues. ^ ' ,■ - 43O THE FAMILY PHYSlCIAN'J Virtues. — Externally ufed, it is of an emollient nature. A decoc- tion of it made in the proportion of two ounces to a quart, and the fame taken in the lpace of a day, is a good medicine in purgings. It eafes pain in the bowels, and is given in clyfters with advantage, where there is a defire of going to ftool without being able, and is often applied externally to the piles. It is faid to intoxicate fifh, fo that they may#be taken with the hand. In Norway they give it to cows that are confumptive. BLACK. MULLEIN. Verbascum Nigrum. De scription. — The ftalk of black Mullein is round and hoary, arifing ufually fingle, about as tall as a man. The lower leaves are large, about a foot long, and three or four inches broad, fhjrp pointed at the end, flightly indented about the edges, covered with a hoary down or woolinefs. Thofe which grow upon the ftalk, have their middle ribs affixed to it for half their length, which make the ftalk appear winged. The flowers grow in a long fpike, fet thick and clsfe to- gether, each confifting of one leaf cut into five fegments, of a yellow colour, with as many woolly ftamina, having purple apices. The feed- velTels are oblong and pointed, opening in two when ripe, and fhewing the fmall brownifh feed. The root is generally fingle, with many fibres, but not very large, for the tallnefs and bignefs of iucha plant. Place. — It grows in highways, and by hedge-fides. Time. — Flowers in July. The leaves are ufed. Virtues. — They are accounted pectoral, and good for coughs, fpitting of blood, and other affections of the bread; they are likewife good for griping and colic pains, arifing from fharp humours : out- wardly ufed in fomentations or fumigations, they are reckoned a fpecific againft the pains and fwelling of the haemorrhoids, or piles. MOTH MULLEIN. Verbascum Blataria. Description. — The difference between this and the former, in the form 6f growth, is principally confpicuous in the fhape of the leaf, which is here fharply ferrated, and of a more fliining green than -either of the others. The flowers are very large and beautiful ; they are of a gold yellow, and have purple buttons to the numerous threads in their center. Place, — It grows wild with us, but not common; however, it is found in Buckinghamfhire. Time. — It flowers in Auguft. Virtues. — Theroot of the Moth Mullein is a powerful reftringent; but in an inferior degree to that of the common white Mullein. The Germans account them among the number of vulnerary plants, and where OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 43 * v\ here one fort cannot be obtained, another maybe admitted; but thecom-* mon white kind hrft deferibed, pofiefies the virtue in a greater degree than any ot the other forts. I he root dried and powdered, is good in the bloody-fiux, after the bowels have been emptied ot their acrid contents, By means ot a gentle dofe or two of rhubarb. I he dofe is fifteen grains or a icruple. 1 he juice ot the leaves boiled into a fyrup with honey, is excellent in coughs, and all diforders of the lungs. The juice of the root, exprefled with red wine, checks immoderate flowings of the menfes, and is alone a moft excellent medicine for (pitting of blood; and a poultice made of the tops and young leaves, is a good application to the piles, or any other painful (welling. The leaves have a faltifh ftyptic tafte, and fmell like elder. A decodtion of them is good for the colic and piles. The water diftilled from them cures burns, St. Anthony’s fire, the gout, and a!! diforders of the fkin. BLACK MUSTARD. Sinapis Nigra. Description. — Common Muftard has the lower leaves large, rough, pretty much refembling turnep leaves; the ftalk grows to b4 three or four feet high, fmooth, much branched, and .having feveral fmaller leave', than thofe below, thick, fmodth, and lefs cut in, but yet a little finuated about the edges, and hanging downwards on long foot- flaiks. The flowers are fmall and yellow, of four leaves a piece, fet many together, and flowering by degrees; before they have dona1 . flowering, the fpike of the feed-vefl'el is extended to a great length; they are fquarifh, clapping clofe to the ftalks, and {harp-pointed at Che end, full of round, dark, bi;own feed, of a hot biting tafte. The root is whitifh, branchec, and full of fibres, but perifhes after it has ripened the feed. I Place. — It grows frequently in wafte places, and among rubbifh; and is frequently (own in gardens. Time.— Flowers in June. Government and Virtues. — It is an excellent fauce for fuch whofe blood wants clarifying, and for weak ftomachs, being an herb of Mars, but nought for choleric people, though as good for fuch as are aged, or troubled with cold difeafes. Aries claims fomething to do with it, therefore it (Lengthens the heart, and refifts poifon. Let fuch ^ whofe ftomachs are fo weak they cannot digeft their meat, or appetite it, take of Muftard-feed a dram, cinnamon as much, and having beaten them to powder, and half as much maftick in powder, and with gum- arabic diftolved in rofe-water, make it up into troches, of which they may take one of about half a dram weight an hour or two before meals; let old men and women make much of this medicine, and they will either give me thanks, or {hew manifeft ingratitude. Muftard-feed has the virtqe of heat, dilcuffing, ratifying, and drawing out fplinters of , bone^, 43* THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; bones, and other things of the flefh. It is of good effedt to bring down women’s courfes, for the falling-ficknefs or lethargy, to rife it both in- wardly and outwardly, to rub the noitrils, forehead, and temples, to warm and quicken the fpirits ; for by the fierce fharpnefs it purges the brain by freezing, and drawing down rheum and other vifcotis humours, which, by their diftillations upon the lungs and cheft, procure cough- ing, and therefore, with home honey added thereto, does much good therein. The decodiion of the feed made in wine, and drank, provokes urine, refills the force of poifon, the malignity of mufr rooms, and ve- nom of fcorpions, or other venomdus creatures, if it be taken in time ; and taken before the cold fits of agues, alters, leffens, and cures them. The feed taken either by itfelf, or with other things, either in an elec- tuary or drink, does mightily ftir up bodily lull, and helps die fpleen and pains in the fides, and gnawings in the bowels; and ufed as a gurgle draws up the palate of the mouth, being fallen down; and alfo it dif- folves the fwellings about the throat, if it be outwardly applied. Being chewed in the mouth, it oftentimes helps the tooth-ach. The outward application hereof upon the pained place of diefciatica, difeufi'es the hu- mours, and eafes the pain; as alfo the gout, and other joint-achs ; and is much and often ufed to eafe pains in the fides or loins, the fhoulders, or other parts of the body, upon the plying thereof to raife blifters, and cures the difeafe by drawing it to the outward parts of the body. It is alfo ufed to help the falling off the hair. The feed bruifed, mixed with honev, and applied, or made up with wax, takes away the marks and black and blue fpots or bruifes, or the like, the roughnefs or fcabbinels of the fkin ; as alfo the leprofy, and loufy evil. It helps alfo the crick, in the neck. The diftilled water of the herb, when it is in the flower, is much ufed to drink inwardly to help in any of the difeafes aforefaid, or to wafh the meu T when the palate is down, and for the difeafes of the throat to gargle ; but outwardly alfo fof fcabs, itch, or other the like infirmities, and cleanfes the face from fpots, freckles, and Archangel. Nut — Hazel. # / Oak OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 447 OAK TREE. Quercus Vulgaris. Description. — THIS is a tree that grows to a vaft height and big- nefs, fpreading into innumerable and irregular branches. The leaves are oblong, obtufe, deeply finuated, and of a dark green. The flowers are both barren and fertile on the fame tree; the former of thefe are j colleded into loofe catkins ; the latter are feated in the buds, and both forts are fmall and inconflderable. The feed is oval formed, of a lea- ther-like coat, which appears as if rafped at the bafe, and is fixed to a fhort cup. • Place. — It is too common to require a particular fpecification of the place of its growth. T ime. — The flowers appear in April, and the acorns are ripe in October and November. Government and Virtues. — Jupiter owns the tree. The leaves and bark of the Oak, and the acorn cups, do bind and dry very much. The inner bark of the tree, and the thin fkin that covers the acorn, are moftly ufed to flay the {pitting of blood, and the bloody-flux. The de- I codtion of that bark, and the powder of the cups, flay vomiting, {pit- ting of blood, bleeding at the mouth, or other flux of blood in men or women; lafks alfo, and the involuntary flux of natural feed. The i acorn in powder taken in wine, provokes urine, and refills the poifon ! of venomous creatures. The decodlion of acorns and the bark made in milk, and taken, refills the force of poifonous herbs and medicines; as alfo the virulency of cantharides, when one, by eating them, has his I bladder exulcerated, and voids bloody urine. Hippocrates fays, he ufed II the fumes of Oak leaves to women that were troubled with the fir ang- ling of the mother; and Galen applied them, being bruifed, to cure green wounds. The diftilled water of the Oaken bud, before they I break out into leaves, is good to be ufed either inwardly or outwardly, to afluage inflammations, and to flop all manner of fluxes in man or woman. The fame is Angularly good in peftilential and hot burning \ fevers; for it refills the force of the infection, and allays the heat: it . cools the heat of the liver, breaks the flone in the kidnies, and flays women’s courfes. The decodlion of the leaves works the fame effedts. | The water that is found in the hollow places of old Oaks, is very : effectual againfl any foul or fpreading fcabs. The diftilled water (or concodlioa, which is better) of the leaves, is one of the belt remedies that I know of for the whites in women. OLIVE TREE. Olea. Description. — The Olive-tree grows to a great bignefs in its na- tive climate, being full of branches, whofe twigs are of a grey or afh- colour, THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; 448 colour, having two leaves fet oppofite at a joint, of a hard firm tex- ture, of a long oval fhape, whitifh underneath, and of a fad green above; among thefe grow bunches of fmall, yellow monopetalous flowers, cut into four fedtions, and after them come oval fruit of dif- ferent magnitude, fome being as big as a largfe plum, as the Spanifh and feveral others; and fome as the Lucca Olive, a great deal lefs; they are green at firft, and black when ripe, having a hard Hone in the rrfiddle, which is fharp-pointed at both ends : when ripe, they are hot and burning in the mouth. Place. — It is a native of feveral parts of Europe, but will not bear the cold of our winters without the {belter of a green-houfe. Time. — While it is under the cover of a green-houfe, it is needlefs to point the time of its flowering, as that is the effect of nature forced. Government and Virtues. — This is a tree of the Sun. The fruit of this tree has a bitter, auftere, difagreeable tafte ; but when pickled, as they come from abroad, they are lefs ungrateful, and pro- mote appetite and digeftion; italfo cut and attenuates tough phlegm in the ftomach and nr if paffages. The Lucca Olives are fmaller than the others, and have the weakeft tafte; and the Spanifh, or larger, the « ftrongeft : thofe brought from Provence, which are of a middling fize, are moft efteemed. But the principal confumption of this fruit is in making the common fallad oil, which is obtained by grinding and prefling them when ripe ; the finer, and moft pure oil, iffues firft on their being gently prefled, and the inferior forts on heating the mafs, and prefling it more ftrongly. This oil, in its virtues, does not differ ma- terially from the other taftelefs exprefled oils, but it is preferred to all of them for efculent purpofes ; and is chiefly ufed in the preparation of plaifters, ointments, &c. Oil is moderately healing and mollifying, rendering the body lax and foluble; it is good for diforders of the breaft. and lungs, tempering the fharp choleric humours in the bowels. What is drawn from the unripe Olives is called omphacinum, and is accounted drying and reftringent, and fitter for fome external remedies ; what is prefftd out of the ripe fruit is called Oil of Olives, being what is gene- rally eaten, and made ufe of in medicines; the different finenefs being from the different care and management in the making it: the fweeteft, and what we efteem moft, comes from Florence. ONIONS. Cepa. Description. — This plant is well known to have a large bulbous root, hung with a clufter of thick white fibres at the bafe. The leaves are long, hollow, round, and fharp-pointed, of a dark greeri colour. The ftem is round, firm, upright, not branched, and two feet high, " j The flowers are produced in a large round tuft or umbel, at the top of them ; they are fmall, and of a greenifh white colour. The feeds are fmall and round. Place. OR, MEDICAL HERBAL 449 Place. — It is not a native of England, but is much cultivated with us for the fake of its root, which is applicable to a variety of efculent purpofes. Time. — The flowers appear early in the fummer. Government and Virtues. — Mars owns them; and they have gotten this quality, to draw any corruption to them, for if you peel one, and lay it upon a dunghill, you (hall find him rotten in half a day, by drawing putrefaction to it; then being bruited and applied to a plague fore, it is very probable it will do the like. Onions are flatulent, or windy; yet they do fomewhat provoke appetite, increafe third, eal'e the belly and bowels, provoke women’s courfes, help the biting of a mad dog, and of other venomous creatures, ufed with honey and rue; increafe fperm, efpecially the feed of them: they alfo kill worms in children, if they drink the water fading wherein they have been (teeped all night. Being roaded under the embers, and eaten with ho- ney, or fugar and oil, they much conduce to help an inveterate cough, and expectorate the tough phlegm. The juice being fnuffed up in the nodrils, purges the head, and helps the lethargy, yet the often eating them is laid to procure pains in the head. It has been held by divers country people a great prefervative againd infection, to eat Onions fading with bread and fait; as alfo to make a great Onion hollow, fill- ing the place with good treacle, and after to road it well under the em- bers, which, after taking away the outermod fkin thereof, being beaten together, is a fovereign falve for either plague or fores, or any other putrified ulcer. The juice of onions is good for either fealding or burning by fire, water, or gunpowder; ufed with vinegar, takes away all blemiflies, fpots and marks in the fkin; and dropped in the ears, eafes the pains and noife of them. Applied alfo with figs beaten toge- ther, helps to ripen and break impodhumes, and other fores. Leeks are as like them in quality, as the pome-water is like an apple: they are a remedy againd a furfeit of mufhrooms, being baked under the embers and taken ; and being boiled and applied very warm, help the piles. In other things they have the fame property as the Onions, though not fo effectual. A fyrup made of the juice of Onions and honey, is an excellent me- dicine inadhmatic complaints. All the parts of this plant have a drong, and to many a very difagreeable, fmell, and a (harp biting tade. They are excellent to be taken by thofe who abound in cold watery humours, but very injurious to thofe of a bilious habit, affecting the head, eyes, and domach. Onions, when plentifully eaten, procure deep, help digedion, cure acid belchings, remove obdruCtions of the vifeera, en- creafe the urinary fecretions, and promote infenfible perfpiration. Steeped all night in fpring water, and the infufion given children to drink in the morning fading, kill worms. Onions bruifed, with the addition of a little Lit, and laid on frefh burns, draw out the fire, and prevent the ;mrt from blidering. Their ufe is fitted for cold weather, and for aged, phlegmatic people, whofe lungs are duffed, and their breath (hort. Vol. I. 3 L Oats, 4 SQ THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN; OATS. Avena. Description. — The root is fibrous, the ftalk is hollow, jointed ^ yard high ; the leaves are long, narrow, and of a pale green. The flowers are coiledted in a loofe panicle, and terminate the Italic. Place. — It grows wild from fcattered feed, but is cultivated. Time. —It ft reaped early in harveft. Government and Virtues. — Oats fried with bay fait, and ap- plied to the fides, take away the pains of Hitches and wind in the fide , of the belly. A poultice made of meal of Oats, and fome oil of bays put thereunto, helps the itch and leprofy; as alfo the fiftulasof the fun- dament, and diffolves hard impofthurnes. The meal of Oats boiled with vinegar, and applied, takes away freckles and fpots in the face, and other parts of the body. ORACH, Alba Hortense. Description. — Under the article Arrach, Atriplex , is defGribed a fpecies of this herb. This grows to four feet high; the ftalks are whitifh, the leaves are of a faint green, and the flowers of a light grdenifij white. The feeds which follow thefe are olive coloured. Place. — It grows in many places wild uponwafte ground, but cul- tivation has improved it, and the feeds of the manured kind are the beft for ufe. Time. — Flowers in July; and the feed is ripe foon after. Government and Virtues. — It is under the government of Venus. It is an herb fo innocent, that it may be eaten in the leaf in fallad; but the great virtues of it lie in the feeds. Thefe are to be ga^ thered when juft ripe; for, if buffered to Hand longer, they lofe part of their virtue. A pound of thefe bruifed, and put into three quarts of fpirit of a middle ftrength, between brandy and rectified fpirit of wine, after fcanding fix weeks, afford a light and not unpleafant tinifture; a table fpoonful of which, taken in a cup of water-gruel, has the fame effeft as a dofe of ipecacuanha, only that its operation is milder, and it does not bind the bowels afterwards. After the operation, the patient fhouid gp to bed, and a gentle fweat will follow, carrying off whatever offending matter the motions had diflodged; and thus preventing many a long difeafe. It cures the head-achs, wandering pains, and the firft attacks of the rheumatifm. As fome ftomachs are harder to move than others, if the firft does not perform its office, a fecond table-fpoonfuj may be taken without fear, STINKING MAYWEED. Anthemis Cotula Foetida. '• • Description. — It grows to a foot high, branched and fpreading; the ftalk is ruddy, and the leaves are of a deep and blackilh green, and of OR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 45* 6f an ill fmell. The flower is white, with a high yellow di(k, pointed at top, and the divifions of the leaves fwell in the middle. Place. — This offenfive plant is common in ploughed lands; an an- nual weed, that, by its abundance, often robs the crops of their be ft nouriftiment. Time. — It flowers in May and June. \ irtues. — 1 he flowers have, but in a very inferior degree, fome of the virtues of camomile, and are far more difagreeable in tafte. The leaves operate by urine, and in fome conftitutions by ftool; but both ways roughly, and fbould be very cautioufly tampered with. CORN CAMOMILE. Anthemis Arvenis,* % Description. — Another fpecie of the fame genus and charaflerj grows to a foot and half high, wild and fpreading. The ftalk is red and brittle; and the leaves are of a dead pale green. The flowers are large and white, the center of them rifes, and the leaves are as thin as hairs. Place. — This is the commoneft weed on our ditch banks. Time. — Flowers blow in June, and laft till winter kills the plant. Virtues. — The virtues are thofe of the fweet camomile in a very flight degree; but as they grow common about, it is neceffary to cau- tion again!! the fubftitution of thefe for the bef! fort. OX-EYE CAMOMILE. Anthemis Tinctoria, Description. — This is a perennial, native only of our northern countries; but there it is a very common weed. The ftalk is ruddy, two feet high, and branchy. The leaves are glofly, of a frefh .pale green, a little downy underneath, deep cut, and their parts are dented. ’File flowers are of a gold yellow, large, and very handfome. Time. — They blow in June. Virtues. — The flowers contain the virtue of the plant. They promote urine, and have often effected the cure of the jaundice. For this purpofe they fhould be dried, and carefully powdered : a dram twice a day in white wine is fufficient. The leaves alfo afford a fine yellow for the dyers. OX-EYE DAISY. BuphaLmum Vulgare* Description. — Ox-Eye is 5i plant that has a great many fhrubby branches, whereon grow fine winged leaves, like yarrow, but fhorter, ftiffer, and fomewhat white and hoary; each ftalk is terminated by one pretty large corvmbiferous flower, of a deep yellow colour, like a ma- rygold, but that the middle thrum is larger in proportion, and the pe- tals much fhorter and firmer. The root is fmall and fibrous. 3 L % Place, 452 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN J Place. — It grows wild in Tome parts of the north of England. Time. — Flowers in June and July. Government and Virtues. — This is an herb of Venus. It is commended by Diofcorides and Galen to open obflru&ions of the kid- nies and the womb, to provoke urine and the menfes, and as helpful in long and hard labour. It is likewife accounted a good vulnerary plant, and uferul to dry up old ulcers and fores; but it is rarely ufed in our days. POLYPODY. Polypodium. Description. — This is one of the fern tribe, a perennial herb, which is diflinguifhable from the others by the feeds being in roundifh fpots, diflributed on the under furface of the leaf. The root is fhagged with hairs, and of the thicknefs of one’s little finger, and, when broken, is found to be green within; and to the tafle at once auflere and fweet. The root lives long : in fpring new leaves Pife up ; and thofe of the preceding year decay. There is no other part; for every leaf is itfelf a perfeCl plant, bearing its feeds upon its back; no other flalk arifing. Place. — It is very common among molly Hones, upon the joints of ’old walls which are in the fhade, and upon the flumps of old trees ; but the beft fort grows upon the decayed parts of old oak trees. Time. — As its virtues depend upon the condition of its juices, it may be ufed as gathered at any time of the year; but it is in its greateft perfection in OClober and November, when the full grown leaves, having done their office, and perfected the feeds for a new fucceflion, draw little more juices; then the body of the root fwells, and acquires twice its former thicknefs: it then grows tender, and its juice, when broke, is facharine, thick, and gummous. Government and Virtues. — It is under Jupiter in Leo. With laxatives it gently carries off the contents of the bowels without irrita- tion. By itfelf it is a very mild ufeful purge; but being very flow, it is generally mixed by infufion or decoCtion with other purging ingre- dients, or in broths with beets, parfley, mallow, cummin, ginger, fen- nel and anife. With mucilaginous herbs, as white beet and mallow, it is excellent in colics. The powder taken to half a dram daily, and failing three hours after, is good for the fpleen, jaundice, and dropfy, for it is as fine an alterative as can be procured, and will penetrate far- ther than mofl other things yet known. Some ufe its difiilled water in a cough, aflhma, difeafes of the lungs, pleurifies, obflruClions of the myfentery, and in whatever cafes acrimony is to be fubdued. The befl form to take it for any complaint of the inteflines, is as follows : — To an ounce of frefh polypody root bruifed, add an ounce and a half of the frefh roots of white beets, and a handful of wild mallow ; pour upon thefe a pint and a quarter of water, boiling hot, and let,it Hand till next day, then flrain it off. A quarter A quarter of a pint of this liquor contains the infufion of two drams of the root. It fhould be fweetened with fugar-candy, or honey, which is much better. i i ONIX, or ONE-LEAF. Lillium Convalium. Description. — This is a very fingular little plant, and is fome- times found in authors defcribed under the title of Lily of the Valley. It never bears more than one leaf, but only when it rifes up with its ftalk, which thereon b«ars another, and feldom more, which are of a blueifh green colour, pointed, with many ribs or veins therein, like plantain. At the top of the ftalk grow many fmall white flowers, ftar- fafhion, fmelling fomewhat fweet ; after which come fmall red berries, when they are ripe. The root is fmall, of the bignefs of a rufli, lying and creeping under the upper cruft of the earth, {hooting forth in divers places. Place. — It grows in moift, fhadowy, and grafly places of woods, in many parts of this country. Time. — It flowers about May, and the berries are” ripe in June; and then quickly periflies, until the next year it lprings from the fame root again. Government and V irtues. — It is a precious herb of the Sun. Haifa dram, or a dram at moft, in powder of the roots hereof taken in wine and vinegar, of each equal parts, and the party laid prefently to fweat thereupon, is held to be a fovereign remedy for thofe that are in- fedted with the plague, and have a fore upon them, by expelling the poil'on and infection, and defending the heart and fpirits from danger. It is a fingular good wound herb, and is thereupon ufed with others of the like effedls in many compound balms for curing of wounds, be they frefli and green, or old and malignant, and cfpecially if the finews be burnt. MALE ORCHIS. Satyrium Mas. It has gotten almoft as many feveral names attributed to the feveral forts of it, as would fill a fheet of paper ; as Dog-ftones, Goat- ftones, Fool-ftones, Fox-ftones, Satirion, Cullians, together with many others too tedious to rehearfe. Description. — To defcribe all the feveral forts of it were an end- lefs piece of work ; therefore I {hall only defcribe the roots, becaufe they are to be ufed with fome difcretion. They have each of them a double root within, fome of them are round, in others like a hand; thefe roots alter every year by courfe, when the one rifes and waxes full, the other waxes lank, and periflies: now, that which is full is to be ufed in medicines, the other being cither of no ufe at all, W 454 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} or elfe, according to the humour of fome, it deftroys and difannuls thd virtue of the other, quite undoing what that does. Place.— It grows in meadows. Time. — One or other of them may be found in flower from the be- ginning of April to the latter end of Auguft. Government and Virtues. — They are hdt and rndift in ope- ration, under the dominion of dame Venus, and provoke luft exceed- ingly, which, they fay, the dried and withered roots do reftrain. They are held to kill worms in children; as alfo, being bruifed and applied to the place, to heal the kings-evil. There is, befides the above defcribed, another fort called the F emale Orchis. This is a lower, and fomewhat Idler plant than the former, having no fpots on the leaves ; the fpike of flowers is lefs and not fo beautiful, of a purplilh colour; it grows in the like places with the for- mer, and flowers fomewhat later. The root is much alike, and is fup- pofed to have the fame virtues. Though thele plants are ufed in the fhops for the Satyrion, yet they are not the Satyrion of Diofcorides, and the ancients; that being (as is plainly proved by Parkinfon, and other fkilful botanifts) our common tulip, which much better anfwers the defcription of Diofcorides, than any of the Orchifes. They are ac- counted a provocative and a ftimulus to venery, a ftrengthener of the genital parts, help conception, and for thofe purpofes are' a chief ingre- dient in the elecfuarium diafatyrium: outwardly applied in form of a cataplafm, they diflolve hard tumours and fwellings. Salep is a preparation of the roots of this plant, of which there are many fpecies according to the foil they grow in. It is the moft valuable plant perhaps in the whole creation. This plant feems defigned by Providence to grow every where for the fupport of the human race. It is alfo the fpontaneous growth of our country, where it is produced equal, if not fuperior in quality to what is imported from the Levant, where it forms a confiderable part of the diet of the inhabitants of T ur- key, Perfia, and Syria. The beft way to ufe it is, firft, to wafli the new root in water ; and the fine brown fkin, which covers it, is to be feparated by means of a fmall brulh, or by dipping the root in hot water, and rubbing it with a coarfe linen cloth. When a fufficient number of roots have been thus cleaned, they are to be fpread on a tin-plate, and placed in an oven heated to the ufual degree, where they are to remain fix or ten minutes,, in which time they will have loft their milky whitenefs, and acquired a tranfparency like horn, without any diminution of bulk. When arrived at this ftate, they are to be removed in order to be dried and hardened in the air, which will require feveral days to effect; or by ufing a gentle heat, they may be finilhed in a few hours. Salep dius prepared, may be afforded here, where labour bears a high value, at about eight-pence or ten-pence per pound. And it might be ftill cheaper, if the Orchis were to be cured without feparating the brown fkin which covers it ; a troublefome part of the procefs, and which does CR, MEDICAL HERBAL. 455 does not contribute to render the root either more palatable or falutarv; whereas foreign Salep is now fold at five or fix {hillings per pound. The culture of the Orchis, therefore, is an objedl highly deferving of encouragement from all the lovers of agriculture ; and the root, if in- troduced into common ufe, would furnifh a cheap, wholefome, and mod nutritious article of diet, the growth of which would be fufficiently profitable to the farmer. This Salep is faid to contain the greatcfl quantity of vegetable nou- rifhment, in the fmalleft bulk. Hence a judicious writer, to prevent the dreadful effedl of famine at fea, once propofed that the powdered root fiiould be a part of the fhip’s provifion; accordingly, a {hip which foiled to Carolina, had an allowance of Salep powder, an ounce of which was delivered per man a day, inftead of bread, which, being boiled in two quarts of water, was found a fufficicnt fubfiftence, for banyan days. The Georgical ElTays record a good method of making broth with Sa- lep, and the effential part of animal food. Hill. ORPINE. Sedum Telephium. Description. — Common Orpine rifes up with divers round brittle {talks, thick-fet with flat and flefhy leaves, without any order, and little or nothing dented about the edges, of a green colour. The flowers arc white, or whitifh, growing in tufts, after which come fmall chaffy hufks, with feeds like dull in them. The roots are divers thick, round, white tuberous clogs and the plant grows not fo big in fome places as in others where it is found. Place. — It is frequent in almoft every county of this land, and is cherifhed in gardens with us, where it grows greater than that which is wild ; and grows in fhadowy fides of fields and woods. T ime. — It flowers about July, and the fe'ed is ripe in Auguft. Government and Virtues. — The Moon owns the herb, and he that knows but her exaltation, knows what I fay is true. Orpine is feldom ufed in inward medicines with us, although Tragus fays, from experience in Germany, that the diflilled water thereof is profitable for gnawings or excoriations in the ftomach or bowels, or for ulcers in the lungs, liver, or other inward parts; as alfo in the matrix, and helps all thofe difeafes, being drank for certain days together. It flays the fharp- nefs of humours in the bloody-flux, and other fluxes in the body or in wounck. The root thereof alfo performs the like effedl. It is ufed outwardly to cool any heat or inflammation upon any hurt or wound, and cafes the pains of them; as alfo, to heal fealdings or burnings, the juice thereof being beaten with fome green fallad-oil, and anointed. The leaf bruifed, and laid to any green wound in the hands or legs, docs heal them quickly; and being bound to the throat, much helps the quinfey; it helps alfo ruptures and burftennefs. It is of a ftvptic aflrin- gent nature, and the roots contain the principal virtues. They are ex- Y cellent 456 THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN} cellent in thofe fluxes and loofenefles which erode the bowels, for which purpofes they are beft given in powder, a fcruple or fomewhat more of which is a fufficient dofe. Bruifed and applied externally, they are fer- viceable to wounds, burns, and bruifes. The leaves boiled in milk, and the decoftion taken to the amount of a large tea-cupful, three or four times a-day, powerfully promotes the urinary difcharge, and has been found ferviceable for the piles and other haemorrhages. REFERENCES, One Berry Ox Tongue One Bell Yid. Herb Bennet. Lang de Boeuf, Bugloss. / END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.