ae sf ‘s uw Cae oY ee
i, fewre BOGE”

OM IF
MCT.
HSt#

THE

FAMILY HERBAL,

OR AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THOSE

EN GLISH PLANTS,

WHICH ARE _

; eae: FOR THEIR VIRTUES,
AND OF THE DRUGS

—-Vegetab bles of other Countries ; 4
WITH THEIR

DESCRIPTIONS AND THEIR USES,

as PROEEO BY EXPERIENCE.

INTENDED FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES. :

BY SIR JOHN HILL, M. D.

F.R. A. OF SCIENCES aT BOURDEAUX.

“EMBELLISHED WITH

_ FIFTY-FOUR C COLOURED PL ATES.

| ¥ Sch RinstE a =

PREFACE.

| ANY books have been written upon the same
subject with this, but if one of them had
treated it in the same manner, this would have been
rendered unnecessary, and would never have employ-
ed the attention of ifsauthor. ©
~ It is his opinion, that the true end of science is
use; and in this view, the present work has been
undertaken. 1t appears to him a matter of more
consequence, and a subjeet of more satisfaction,
to have discovered the virtues of one herb unknown
before, than to have disposed into their proper
classes sixteen thousand ; nay, so far will a sense
of utility get the better of the pride of mere
curiosity, that be should suppose this a thing
preferable to be said of him, to the having dis-
covered some unknown species ; to having picked
from the bottom of some pond an undescribed con-
ferva ; or to having fetched, from the most remote
parts of the world, a kind of tree moss, with heads
largerthanthose athome. | 3 aed
It grieves a man of public spirit and humanity,
to see those things which are the means alone of
the advantages of mankind studied, while in theend
that advantage itself is forgotton. And in this
' view he will regard a CunpeppeR as a more
respectable person than a Linnausor a Diute-
NIUS. ee |
- That Botany is an useful study is plain; be-~

)

ig PREFACE.

cause it is in vain that we know betony is good
for head-achs, or self-heal for wounds, unless we
-.¢an distinguish betony and self-heal from one
another, and so it runs through the whole. study.

We are taught by: ‘it to ‘know what plants belong
to what names, and to know that very distinctly ;
_ and we shall be prevented by that knowledge from
giving a purge for an astringent, a poison for a

— 4: ny us therefore. pateains the st ci bi a
$-

owe:
cc seaeibens wa the ernctarticns let. is ore:

stand them as sut the seconds in this scieuce... The
principal are those who know. how pubes their
discoveries to: use; and can say what are the ends
paint be ‘answered by those plants, which they

LV “SO: accurately distinguished. The boy col-
lects,; ann sponte tb oe of. herbs. ails great care,
and, bestows ten years in pasting them upon pa-
per, and: monitinlé their names to them: he does
well.) When he grows a man, he neglects his
useful labours ; and perhaps despises himself for —
the misemployment. of so much. time: but ifshe
has, to the. ovals of their ‘forms, added.af=
teeward the study of their virtues, he will be
far: from. censuring: himself for all the pains he |
took to that end. -

He who wishes ait teceiscuee and. to. man-
kind, must wish this matter understood : and this
is the way to bring a part of knowledge into cre-
dit, whee as it is Souter practised, is nota

wer

PREFACE. , Me

jot above the studies of a raiser of iulips or sladasil
uation fansier, ©

When we consider the study of plants, as. the
sedis of remedies for diseases, we see it in. the
light of one of the most honourable sciences. in
the world; in this view, no pains are too great
to have been bestowed in its acquirement ; and
inthis inteat, the principal regard. ought to be
had to those of our own growth... The. foreign
planis brought into our stoves » with. so. much ex-
pence, and kept there with so. much
fill the-eye with empty: wonder :. but it -would
be more to the honour of the possessor of. them;
to have found out the use of one common-herb
at home, than to have enriched our country with
an hundred of the others. Nay, in the eye of rea-
son, this ostentatious study is rather a reproach.
Why should he, who has not yet informed . himself
thoroughly of the nature of the meanest herb
which grows in the next ditch, ransack the earth
for foreign wonders? Does he not fall under the —
same reproach with the generality of those, who
travel for their improvement, while they are igno=
rant of all they left at home ; and who are ridicu-
lous im their inquiries concerning the laws. and
government of other countries, while they are not
able to give a satisfactory answer to. ony awerne
which regards theirown? =” 4th set

I have said thus much to Shuiate, ‘the censures
of these, to whom an inquiry into the, yirtues of
herlis may seem the province of a woman. Itis
an honour to the sex, that they have put. our
studies to use; but it would be well, if we had
done shnmmeeliiess orif, considering, that they might,
we had made our wre: mage i intelli able: le
them: iz: <a 458 Sli
. The intent of mordge: to ex re

vi- PREFACE,

writings are published that they may Lz: under-
stood ; and inthis branch, [ shall always snppose
he writes best, who is to be understood most uni-
versally. Now so far are we from having had this
point in view in botany, that more new and more
strange words have been introduced into it, than
into ail the sciences together: and so remarkable
is the Swepe hefore mentioned, Linn zus, for this,
_ that a good scholar, nay the best scholar in the
world, shall not be able to understand three fines
together in his best writings, although they are
written in Jatin, a language in which he is ever so
familiar. The author has not been at the pains
to explain his new words himself, but refers his
We see, that the most curious botanists have not
concerned themselves about the virtues of plants at
all; that many of the others who have written.
well on plants, have thought it no part of their
subject ; let us examine the others ; those whe
are of less repute. If we look into the English
Herbals in particular, we find them large upon
that subject ; indeed they are too large by much.
‘They say so many things, that we know not which
of them to credit ; and therefore in the uncertainty,
we credit none of them. There is not the most
trifling herb, which they do not make a remedy for
almost all diseases. We may therefore as well take
one plant for any case as another ; and the whole of
their labours amount to this, that the English herbs
are full of virtues, but that they know not what they
are. i233 = 3; -

-_ When knowledge is perplexed with unintelligi-
ble terms, and the memory of the student con-
founded with a multiplicity of names ; when the
iguorant only, who have written coucerning plants,

=

PREFACE. vii

have given themselves any trouble about their
virtues ; when physic is becoming entirely chymi-
cal, and a thousand lives are thrown away daily
by these medicines, which might be saved by a
better practice ; it appeared a useful undertaking,
to separate the necessary from the frivolous know-
ledge ; and to lay before those who are inclined
to do good to their distressed fellow-creatures, all
that it is necessary for them to know of botany for
that purpose, and that in the most familiar man- |
ner ; and to add to this, what experience has con-_
firmed of the many things written by others con-
cerning their virtues. This is the intent of the fol-
lowing work. |
The plants are arranged according to the Engtish
alphabet, that the English reader may know where
to find them : they are called by one name only in
English, and one in Latin ; and these are their
most familiar names in those languages ; no matter
what Caspar, or Jonn Bavurne, or Linnazvs
call them, they are here set down by those names
by which every one speaks of them in English ;
and the Latin name is added, under which they will
be found in every dictionary. To this is subjoined
a general description of the plant, if it be a com-
mon one, ina line or two; that those who already
_know it, may turn at once to the uses; and for
such as do not, a farther and more particular
account is added. Last come the virtues, as they
__ are confirmed by practice: and all this is delivered —
wike > as are common, and to be understood
all. | $s MEET AS Herc HR
Every thing that is superfludus is omitted, that
the useful part may remain upon the memory :
and to all this is prefixed, in a large introduc-
tion, whatsoever can be necessary to compleat the
good intentions of the charitable in this wa;,

PREFACE, — 7

; vehdadines a gathering and preserving
herbs, arid their several pacts, » directions for ‘making

view to 0 be of serv ce to’

"AND FLO > TOG Aba ttbiecene raticelegoe
OF MAKING SUCH PREPARATIONS FROM THEM, AS
MAY BEST RETAIN THEIR VIRTUES, OR BE MOST

USEFUL To BE KEPT IN FAMILIES.

i. ' INTRODUCTION.

had for gathering, will answer the same pur-
| ~pose.

However, as sid are cases, in which more
help may be had from drugs brought from abroad
than from any thing we can procure at home, an
account of those roots, barks, seeds, gums, and
other vegetable productions, kept by the druggists
and apothecaries, is also added ; and of the several
trees and plants from which they are obtained ;
together with their virtues.

This work, therefore, will tend to instruct those
charitable Jadies who may be desirous of giving
this great relief to the afflicted poor in their
neighbourhood, and to remind apothecaries. of

what ed had before studied « hat: the first men-

greatest Sirk fs paid tc tow siditi
"The plants are— artenee in the Wiguiee ac-
cording to their English names, that they may be
turned to the more’ readily ; and an account is
given, iu two or three lines, of their general as-
and place of growth, that those who in part

ow them already, may understand them at once :
uf they are not perfectly known from this, a more
particular description is added, by observing —
which they cannot be mistaken or euee
with any others ; and after this follow, not on
their virtues, as others are content to set the
down, , but the. part of each plant which cot
ther 0 ‘is named, and t
inehiole iho yciniae best be given _
weenie aren the virtues of i

INTRODUCTION. lik,

_ not what they should believe. This is more cau-
tiously regulated here. The real virtues alone
are set down, as they are assured by experienec :.
and the principal of these are always. set in the
most conspicuous light. Perhaps it may be allow-.
ed the author, to speak with more assurance thaa
others of these things, because he has been accus-
tomed to the practice of physic in that way. | Very
few things are named here that he has not scen tri-
ed ; and if some are set down, which other wri-
ters have not named, and some, of een,
have said Lage vin ec ie d, itis owing ©
talogue in some things; and has found: it too ‘great |
for truth in others.)

Nature has, in -this country, and déabtless ales
in all others, provided, in the herbs of its own
growth, the remedies for the several diseases to
which it is most subject ; and although the addi-
tion of what is brought from abroad, should not
be supposed superfluous, there is no occasion that
it should make the other neglected. This has
been the consequence of the great respect shewn
to the others ; and besides this, the present use of
prs | preparations has almost driven the whole

-galenical medicine out of our minds. — a

Ee “restore this more safe, more gentle, and
often more efficacious part of. medicine to its na- —
tural credit, bas been ove great intent in the-wri-
ting this treatise ; and it. is: pooh
the service. of those, who are ‘ to
be directed in this matter, since

“iy. | INTRODUCTION.

ladies who give medicines to their sick neigh-
~beurs, for a great deal of their business; for out
of little disorders they make great ones. This
may be the case where their shops supply the
- means ; for chemical medicines, and some of the
drugs brought from abroad, are not to be trusted
with those who have not great experience ; but
there wiil be no danger of this kind, when. the
_ fields are the supply. This is the medicine of na-
ture, and as it is more efficacious in most cases,
itis more safe in all. If opium may be. daiger-:
ous in an unexperienced hand, the lady who will
give in its place a syrup of the wild lettuce,
(a plant not known in common practice at this
time, eo ; recommended from eesti e s ae this.

Be es: rahe: will never find any il

_cés from it: and the same might be. said in many
Es Sage hie i) ee Saag |
- < the eactiptions this work, very read
distinguish what are the real plants that. eter ily
used, the great care will temain, in what man-
ner to. gather and preserve, and in what man-
-nér to give them ; it will be useful to add a chap-
_ ter or two ‘on those heads. As to the former, I

would have it. perfectly understood, because a
- great deal recat pen its ; be. latter cannot gente
‘We as mistaken. — if

INTRODUCTION. | ¥.

as if the productof a different climate, though
the use of the fresh plants will in Seneral be
best when they can be had. _

As there are some which will ook retain their.
virtues in a dried state, and can be met with only
during a small part of the year; it will be. pro-
per to add the best methods of preserving these
in some way, according to the apothecaries’ man~
ner; and these chapters, with that which shall
Jay down the method of making the preparations

from Sees for teu serkicta, will be audicient te
7 piven Saws how: to

‘pe a ‘proper - ‘nee of these, pine sao: shane
recourse to any others.

CHAP. 2?

. Dibenee the. ‘methods of collectin 4 el tort
serving ae and parts of th Pio

Sees.

3 of different plants: residing. _
arts of them,
ss es

vi. INTRODUCTION.

the barks ; some the woods ; anal only the excresen-
eesof others: while some ‘vexelables are to he
used entire, whether it be fresh gathered, or dried
and preserved. Of all these, “instaniées will. ‘be
given in great number in the following sheets,
and the matter will be specified under each ariicie,
as the part of the plant to be uséd will always be.
named ; and it will be added whether it be best
fresh, or best or necessarily dried or otherwise
preserved ; ‘but it will be proper in this place to
enter into the full examination of this matter, |
to save unnecessary repetitions under the several
particalar articles.

~The whole of most plants native of our coun-
try, dies off in winter, —— bin 8 toot 5 and in
| many that erishes also, leaving the speci be
planbaliats sie is sel

Idon ‘of pr virtue ; but
bars the root remains many years, and sends up
new shoots in the spring, it commonly has great
_ virtue. This may be a general rule: for there
is Save little to be expected in the roots of annual —
: their seeds, for the most part, contain their .
aaa virtues)" -
In others, the root fivee through the winter, and
there arise from: it large leaves in the spring, he-
fore the stalk appears. These are to be distinguish-
ed from those which afterwards grow onthe stalk, —
for they are more juicy, and for many purp

much better. In the peat er ht some

INTRODUCTION. vii.

they have the full nourishment from the root,
whereas the others are starved by the growth of
the stalk and its branches, and the preparations
made by nature for the flowers and seeds ; which
are, the great purpose of nature, as they are.to

continue the plant, , at ha
For this reason, when the leaves of any plant
_ are said to be the part fittest for use, they are not
to be taken from the stalk, but. these large ones
growing frem the root are to’be chosen; and these.
where there is no. stalk, if that can be; for then

only they are fullest of juice, and have their com-
plete virtue; the stalk running away with the
nourishment from them. This is so much done.in-
some plants, that although the leaves growing
from the root were very vigorous before the

stalk grew. up, they. die and wither as. it

vill, INTRODUCTION.

but when they are ripe, the rest begins to decay,
having done its. duty ; so that the time when the
entire plant isin its most full perfection, is when
itis in the bud ; when the heads are formed for
flowering, but not a single flower has yet dis-
closed itself: this is the exact time.

When herbs are to be used fresh, it is best not
to take them entire, but only to cut off the tops ;
three or four inches long, if for infusion, and if
for other purposes, less : if they are to be beaten -
up with sugar, they should be only an inch, or
less ; just as far as they are fresh and tender.
The tops of the plant thus gathered, are al-
ways —— to the whole a for Gs aac

for teri it is to be as just. decree ait |
the flowers are budding ; and the time of the day
must be when the morning dew is dried away.
This is a very material circumstance, for if they
be cut wet with the dew, herbs will not dry
well, and if they be cut at noon-day, when the
sun has made the leaves flag, they will not have
their full power. —

Cure wiuit:sien Gecdghins to cut them in a dry
day ; for the wet of rain will do as much Rapes 4
: as that of dew. ae Se ,

‘When the herbs are thus gathered, they are- to
be looked over, the decayed leaves picked eff,
se: ie dead ends of the stalks cut: away

@ room, where the windows and doors are to be
kept ‘open in good septate ‘inane are to

be hatf a foot asunder, and they are to han th
{oes ly dry. They are then to be taken: softly
down, ere the buds of -~ flow-

INTRODUCTION. ix.

ers, and laid evenhly inva drawer, pressing them
down, and covering them with paper. They
are thus ready for infusions and decortions, and
are better for distillation than when fresh. |
The flowers of: plants are principally wused
fresh, though several particular kinds retain their
virtue very well dried ; they are on these different
oceasions to be treated differently.
Lavender flowers, and: those of stecha, keep
very well; they are therefore to be preserved dry ;
the lavender flowers are to be stripped off the
stalks, husk and all together, and spread upon
the floor of a room'todry. The stechas flowers
are to be preserved in the whole head; this is to
be cut off from the top of the stalk, and dried in
the same manner: when dry, they are to be kept
as the herbs. .
When rosemary flowers are dried, they are ge-
nerally taken with some of the leaves’ about them,
and thisis very right, fer the leaves retain more
virtue than the flowers. Some dry borage, bu-
gloss, and cowslips, but they retain very little
virtue in that condition, Rose buds are to) be
dried, and to this. purpose, their white heads are —
to be. cut off; and the full blown flowers may be’
preserved in the same manner. The red rose
fs always meant, when we speak of ‘the dried
flowers. Shs & a Biighmae ned
For the rest of thea flowers used in medicine,
they are best fresh ; hut as they remain only “a
small part of the year in that state, the mcthod”
is to preserve them im the form of syrups and?
conserves. Such as the syrup of cloves and pop=
pies, the conserves of cowslips, and the like. “Of
these, a short general account shall be subjoined,
that nothing may be ry ee make this book

x, : INTRODUCTION.

useful for. families, as the nature of such an
one will admit.

Among the fruits of plants, several. are to be
ca fresh, as the hip for conserve, ‘and the
quince, mulberry, and black currant ; from the
juices of which, syrups are made, As to those
which are to be dried, as the juniper berries, the
hay berries, and the like, they are only to be ga-
thered when just ripening, not when quite mel-
low, and spread upon a table or fleor,: often
‘ turning them till they are dry. But of these

we use very few of our own growth ; most ofthe . —

fruits ‘used in medicine are brought from abroad,
3 and must be oem of the gts or Pas ceal

are all to = ‘on dry; ‘but. nature has in a man-
‘ner dried them to our hands: for they are not

to be gathered till perfectly ripe, and then they

“need: very little farther care. They are only to

. ead for three or four. days upon a clean fee
where the air has free passage, but where the sun

pag net come and they are then réady to be

: “The seeds used in medicine ‘may be referred’
to three general kinds. They either a in
Ben ham umbels;: as: em: fennel, P rsley, ant

Seca

INTRODUCTION. xi.

dislodge them. Jn the other case, the fruit must
be cut open, and they must be taken out from
among the wet matter, separated from the mem-
branes that are about them, and spread upona
table, in a dry place, where they must be of-
ten turned and rubbed as they grow dry,
that in the end they may be perfectly dry and
clean.

Among the roots a great many are to be used
fresh, but a greater number are best dried. The
black and white briony, the arum, and ‘some
siege ra all their Pp in’ drying ; an
many: cars some, et lose th ter

ar other mer are sectiend tn
fresh and asia as ‘the marshmallow and some
more.

As to the few which lose their virtue entirely
in drying, it will be best to keep some of them
always in the garden, that they may be taken up
as they are wanted. The others are to be mana-
ged according to their several natures, and they
do a great deal toward the furnishi this rugs

iad sa which should be filled 1 oith ie dicines,
_ the bt of our own cou cs @ re bam

— season for, eri ryin

1e earlier part ae Ps what nature nature
plants when they are just
diddede for roots when the leaves are “just ing
to bud: thejuices are rich, fresh, and full, an
_ the virtue is strongest in them at this season, t
Std etl are to be then taken up. _
. In the end of Pikes iry and

xi. INTRODUCTION.

mallow, and -above all other roots the squill,
and in some degree many others of that kind :
these must be cut into thin. slices cross-wise, and
they will dry best if laid upon a hair cloth stretch-
ed across a frame. They must be frequently turr-
ed ; and be very thoroughly dry, before they are
hea up, else they will become mouldy : but, rei
y prepared, they keep very well,

Yther roots haye juices, that evaporate ruore
easily. "These haye the virtue either throughout
the whole substance, or only in the outer part, and.
they are to be prepared accordingly. When roots
are of one uniform. substance, they generally
have the virtue equal, or nearly so, in all parts.
These should be split open length-wise, first cut-
eee off fhe bes end ; 3.0r if con-

4 wing a neefile threaded with a. small love
hrough their thickest part, and they are then to
be hung up to dry i in the manner of the herbs ; ;
the being stretched across a room, the. doors
and “windows” of which ae: to be kept nici in
“Of d weather. .

_ When roots commer. a. mast k Shick. ae ‘or 7
fleshy : substance within the rind, and a hard sticky
art in the middle, sbi, Paget Thies under

INTRODUCTION. xin,

several kinds of roots here; they follow in their
places : but if the charitable lady would, on first
looking over this book to see what are most use-
ful, order her gardener’ to take out of his ground,

and to seek in the fields, the several roots there
mentioned, and see them dried and preserved ac+
cording to these directions, she would be possess~
ed of a’set of drugs ofa new kind indeed ; but
they would save ee pe Abe of many ‘brought. “from
other = ‘countries; per a = “sed? wate: a

- English Mecca bl host Hy Nevered are best
sh ; but such as will preserve and retain their
virtues dried, are very easily prepared that way:
nothing more is required, than to cut them into
moderate pieces, and string them up in the
same manner as the roots. When they are
dry, they are to be put up as the others; and
they will keep ever so long ; but “in all this
time they are fee Besos ‘most part mete of eee
virtues. cg

pet sb but as these cost ay the ‘fouls 68 ' <=
“preserving them, I would advise,

she

gether, and not depend upon the virtues of any

mis ‘INTRODUCTION.

woods which we use arebest kept in the block,
and shaved off as they are wanted; for being
kept in shavings, they lose their virtue: and in
the same manner as to the foreign woods, it 1s
best to keep a block of sassafras, and of. lignum
vite in the house, © and cut them as they are
wanted,

As to the excrescences, such as galls of the
oak, and the burr upon the wild briar, they are na-
turally so dry, that they only require to be ex-
posed a few days to the air, upon a table, and
then they may be put up with safety, ang will
keep a long time.

Lastly, . “the funguses, such as. Jew’s ears im
the like, are to. be gathered when they are full
Gram peal gia - upon a line, that they may

bs rely, for: els sogitk i they must be

virtues.

Thus may a atabpies alias of a new kind
be filled, and it will consist of as many articles
as those which receive their furniture from abroad ;
and there will be this advantage in having every
thing ready; that when custom. bas made the vir--
tues of the several things familiar, the lady may

do from her judgment as the physician in his pre-

iption, mix severa] things of like virtue to-

gly, when the case ‘Tequires ome
as handsome and as. afficacib us. boluses and.
8, as ath a by: the apothecary,

gh xf oabhghe Y

“cH AP. ‘TIL.

Cobeatntest the wdartous methods of ane
simples for present use. |

HERE is no form of medicines sent rs

the apothecary, which may not be prepared
from the herbs of our own growth in the same
manner as from foreign drugs. Electuaries may
be made with the powders of these barks, roots,
and seeds, with conserves of flowers, and of the |
tops of fresh herbs ; ‘and syrups, made from their
juices and - infusions ; the manner of making
which is very simple, ‘and shall be eigolacdate to
this chapter, that all may be understood be-
fore we enter on the book itself: and inthe same
' taanner their boluses may be made, which are only
some of these powders mixed up with syrup: and
their draughts and juleps, which are made from
the distilled waters of these herbs, with spirit, or
without these syrups being added ; and the tinc-
tures of the roots and barks ; ‘the method» of:
ae which = be also spawtyel ina wGloliss |

ere: net Silent auch

ready, and these are generally efficacious,
I shall arrange these under three kinds, juices, in-
fusions, and decoctions, These are” ‘ricer’
giving vamadtake duty wate ly me en
in the course ofthe: work, and ther Jess trouble:

dood contrived for: ee pa id ‘they: amwer
the purpdse of the apothecary, for his profits
would be small pen thage'; but when the xa.

XVI. INTRODUCTION.

is only to do good, they are the most to be chosen
of any.

Juices are to he expressed from leaves or roots ;
and in order to this, they are to be. first beaten
ina mortar. There is no form whateyer in which
herbs have so much effect, and yet this is in
a manner unknown in the common praxsicey a

hysie. ..

. ‘These are to be obtained in some plaail’ from
the entire herb, as in water cresses, brook-lime,
and others that have juicy stalks ; in others the
leaves are to be used, as in nettles; and the -like,
where the stalk is dry, and yields nothing ; but
is troublesome. in the preparation. When. the
juice of a root is to -be had, it must be fresh
taken up, and thoroughly beaten. . A marble
mortar and wooden pes le ‘serve best for this pur-

pose, for any thing of metal is improper > many~
plauts would take a tincture from it, and the
juice would be so impregnated with it, as to
becomea different medicine, and probably very
improper in the case in which it was abort to be
giver.

_ As these j pe ale soindishes an “ill taste; and
as some of them are apt to he cold upon the
stomach, or otherwise to disagree with it, there —
are methods to be used, to make them sit hetter up-
on. Libs 3 and in ‘some, icases theserd ancrnbse: their vir~

jhien an thick j juice, fresh raw, j is too coarse |

st dean 5 grow clear: alittle. sugar may be “4 |
d also.in beating the herb, and in many cases,

im those juices given for ee scurvy, the juice ©

fk poe — oe a w ich aha :

INTRODUCTION. Revi,

Yo the roots it is often proper to add a little
white wine in the bruising, and they will operate
the better for it. .Thus, for instance, the juice
of the flower-de-luce root will not stay upon
many stomachs alone ; but with a little, white wine
added in the bruising, all becomes easy, and
its effects are not the less: for the addition. “The
same addition may be made to some of the cold-
er. herbs ; andifa little sugar, and, upon occa-
sion, a few grains of powdered ginger be added,
there wil be searce ony, fear. of the mediciue dis-—

Tnfusions. & are y iniirally" to be ineatdined after
the juices, for they are in many cases used to sup-
ply their place.. Juices can only be obtained from
fresh plants, and there are times of the year when
the plants are not to be had in that state. Re-—
course. is then to be had to the shop, instead of —
ihe field; the plant whose juice cannot be had, —
is there to be found: dried and preserved ; and if
that has been done according to the preceding —
directions, it retains a great part of its virtues;
case it is to be cut to pieces, and hot fa

in t
ter bems ne ‘it, eeirann 80° )Siaueh 2 :
Often, i

plants they a the panies how te Shae? ee Peat 3 :
then some others Jose co much in dry’ that 5

KViii. INTRODUCTION.

_ Infusions are the fittest forms for those herlis
whose qualities are light, and whose virtue is
easily extracted : in this case, hot water poured
upon them takes up enough of their virtue, and
nove is lost.in the operation ; others require to be
boiled in the water. From ‘these are thus made
what we call decoctions : and as these last wou!d
not give their virtues in infusion, so the others
would lose it all in the boiling. It would go
off with the vapour. We know very well, that
the distilled water of any herb is only the vapour
of the boiled herb caught by proper vessels, and
‘condensed to water: therefore, whether it

caught or let to fly away, all that virtue must”

Jost in boiling. ti is from this, that some ep
are fit for decocti Pdistiied, give infusions.

~ which will Berets ‘all thee ales. as Distort, and
tormentill roots, and the like. On the contra-

“Ty, an infusion of mint, or peonyroyal, is of a
strong taste, and excellent virtue ; whereas, a

: decoction of these herbs i is disagreeable or ead for
Z There are herbs ‘lial whieh: have so lite juice, :
= that it would be impossible to get it out ; and
— others | whose virtue lies in the husks and. rads,
an | this v would be lost in the operation, An in-

INTRODUCTION. OF

This last method is the best, but people will not
be prevailed upon to do it, unless the taste of the
herb be agreeable ; for the flavour is much strong-
er hot, than it is edi.

Infusions in the manner of tea, are to be made
just as tea, and drank with a little sugar: the
others are to be made in this manner :

A stone jar isto be fitted with a close cover ;
the herb, whether fresh or dried, is to be cut to
pieces ; and when the jar has been scalded out
with hot water, it is to be put i in: boiling water
is thea to be poured upon it ; and. the top is to be
fixed on: it is thus to. stand. four, five, er six
hours, or a whole night, according to the nature
of the ingredient, and then to be poured of
clear.

It is impossible to direct the quantity in general
for these infusions, because much more of some
plants is required than of others : for the most
part, three quarters of an ounce of a dried plant,
or two ounces of the fresh gathered. The best
rule is to suit it to the patient’s strength :; and palate.
It is intended not to be disagreeable, and to have as
much virtue of the herb as is necessary : this is
only to be known in each kind by trial ; and the
Virtue 1 y be peightepe.. as well as the flavour

d, by s Of these sugar
and a little white wine are the most familiar, but
lemon juice is often very serviceable, as we find

in sage tea; and a few drops of oil of vitriol
give colour and Pep 2 tincture. at: ‘roses.
“Salt of tartar x infusions stronger

gets cates 3 go ins hi is, t erefol
_ for such as areto be ta oat at one dra I

Am ong the herbs that yield Se cai

EX: INTRODUCTION,

commodiously by infusion, may be - accounted
many of those which are pectoral, and good in
eoughs, as eolis-foot, ground-ivy, and the like ;
the light and aromatic, good im neryous dchnpddaas
as mother cof thyme, balm, and the lke; the
bitters. are also exccllent in infusion, but, very
disagreeable .in decoction ; thus boiling water
poured upon Roman’ wormwood, gentian root,
and) orange peel, makes a very. excellent bitter.
It need only stand till the liquor is saves! au gues
be then poured off for use. |
© Itus often: proper to add some purging ingre-
Pent to. this. bitter infusion ; and a little fresh
polypody root excellently answers that purpose,
without spoiling the taste ef the medicine.
Pri Piles of ihe purging. plants also do very well
3 7 ng flax, and the like; 3 and
of. y alone is a very
one: a little ti ice ae to the last Saore
infusion does no aan ; and it takes off what is
disagreeable in the taste, in the same manner as
Seas from an infusion of sena, _
_» "Thus we see what a great number of purposes
may be answered, by infusions, and they are the
_ most familiar of all preparations... Nothing isre-
_ qiired, but pouring some: boiling water upon
the plants fresh or dried, as already directed, aod :
pouring it off again when-cold.
~. Decoctions are contrived to. answer the purpose
Of aafntions,. “upon pl lants. rebiabs age 0 of. 80 firma _

ahe weten as in ‘the. tteen — boiling .
as to be ‘poured over: them. In general,

INTRODUCTION. _ xxi

best vessel for preparing these ; for many of those
medicines which are little suspected of it, will
take a tincture from the metal ; and it would be as
improper to boil them in a copper pan, (as itis
too common a custom, ) as to beat the herbs and
roots in a metal mortar. é

‘Fresh ‘roots are used in decoction, as well as
those which are dried; and the barks and other
ingredients in like manner. When the fresh are
used, the roots are to be cut into thin slices, and
the barks and. woot — be aie Sow 3 as

the 1 cboEe: ae cone are best: poeoted’ to pieces,
and as to the herbs and flowers, little is to be
dove to them, and in general, they are best added
toward the end of the decoction.

[t is always best to let the ingredients of a de-
coction stand in the water cold for twelve hours, -
before it is set on the fire, and then it should be heat-
ed gradually, and afterwards kept boiling gently
as long as is necessary: and: ‘this is to be propor-
ae to haere cage ore tients, * General iy

XKii- INTRODUCTION.

CHAP. Iv.

Concerning distilicd water s, and other prepara-
tions +9 aut on in the mah

L SHALL bales the charitable lad y farther i in this
matter than perhaps she was aware at the
first setting out ; but it will be with little expence,
and little iP She will find, that I new in-
tend she should keep a sort of chemist’s or at
least an apothecary’s shop, as well as a druggist’s
but it will be founded upon the same materials,
No drugs brought from abroad, or to be purchased
at agreat price, will have pints iu it; they are
all patiscs. Fic own be aah

“That s 8 pirit is Detk! t whieh j is. ; eillea: sadtemece spi:
rit; it is, aioe bought at a small price at the dis-
tillers ; aud as to the sugar, the most ordinary
loaf kind will do for most purposes ; where other
is necessary, it will be particularly named. ~
_ Few families are without an alembie or “still,
and that will be of material service. With that
zs instrument the simple waters are to be made,
2 with n no spine’ oars’ we: fire ; aod it will be

INTRODUCTION. XAiid

half a pound of angelica leaves are to be put
into the still with five gallons of water, and
three gallons are to be distilled off. Common
mint water is good in sicknesses of the stomach,
pepper-mint water in colics, and pennyroyal to
promote the menses. Milk water is good in fe-
vers, and tomake juleps. It used to be made
with milk, but that answers no purpose. Only
one simple water more need be kept, and that fr
colics: it is best made of Jamaica pepper :
. pone 26 Jamaica pepper is to be. put into: ‘the
ver night, with three gallons of water;
he Seated ; morning “two: “gallons: of water distit-
We off:> Ae aes:

It has beea aieelley to Seep x a” kent many
simple waters, but these are all that are necessary
or proper. The other herbs are better to be given
in infusion and decoction.

As for cordial waters, they are made as’ the
others, only with the addition of spirit. It may be
proper to Keep the apes A ; and no more are. ne-

ely Ciariamon water; ahiaicas tong W ay
into Pris still a pound of cinnamon, a gallon of -
‘spir a gallon of water, and the next day
a m, eee 2g Seg ee

a . bis e

*.

: as TRODE CTION.

ey -

ad alt of dry” pone @ a gallon of spi-
Tit, and six quarts of water, drawing off a
: we 3

*. Anniseed poe

, “of tlaveuder Wate ae Tavcider™ r
gary water, which are preparations of t
a tah very easy, :

tee dietitlioe
irit oF layen- _

INTRODUCTION. XN,

in the course of this work, for a tincture will
coutain more or less of the virtue of every one of
these, and be often convenient, where the powder
or decoction could not be given. It is needless to
_ enumerate these, and one rule of making, serves for
them all: two ounces of the ingredient is tobe
cut to thin slices, or bruised in a mortar, and
put into a quart of spirit ; it is to stand a fort-
night in aplace a little warm, and be often shook ;
at the end of this time, it is to be taken out, strain-
ed off, and made to pass. through a funnel, lined
with whitish brown ene and put up with the
name of the i i

To these tinctures of the Eng lish roots, barks,
and seeds, it would be well to add a few made of
foreign ingredients. As,

1. The bitter tincture for the stomach, is made
of two ounces of gentian, an ounce of dried
orange peel, and half an ounce of cardamom
seeds, and a quart of spirit: or it may be made
in white wine, allowing two quarts.

__%, Tincture of castor, good in hysterie com-
plaints, and made with two ounces of castor and
@ quart of spirit.

8. Tincture of bark, which will cure shete: who
will not take the powder, made of four ounces |
of bark, and a quart of spirit:

4. Tineture of soot for fits, made with two
ounces of wood-soot, one ounce of assafortida,
and a quart of spirit.

5. Tincture of steel, fos. the ‘stoppage of. the
menses, made of flowers of i iron four ounces, and

= spirit a quart. —

6: "Tinctare of myrrh,, made "3 theee ounces
of myrrh, and a quart. f spirit, ee hs, 7
the scurvy in the gums. —
an’ $3 Wineture of: thubarb, made of two ounces
d-

xvi: INTRODUCTION.

of rhubarb, half an ounce of cardamom seeds,
and a quarter of an ounce of saffron, with a
ener of spirit.

8. Elixir salutis, made of a pound of stoned
raisins, a pound of scna, an ounce and _ half of
carraway seeds, and half an ounce of fandeminms,
in a gallon ef spirit.

9. Elixir of vitriol, made of six anats of cin-
namon, three drams of cardamoms, two drams
of long pepper, and the same of ginger; and
@ quart of spirit: toa pint of this tineture strain-
ed clear off, is to be added four ounces of oil of
vitriol: this is an excellent stomachic. Lastly,
to these it may be well to add the famous frier’s
balsam, which: is. made. of three ounces of ben-
Jam. = ee ‘ ou girs 2-5 <a 01 <3 ate ae one aaece
a ‘quart. af ae: ae wine, eae | babel. aden
lamps. This spirit may be made by putting
a gallon of molosses “airy into the still, and draw-
ing off two quarts, and this will be useful for
spirit of wine and camphire, which is made
by dissolving an ounce of camphire in a_ quart of
the spirit. Lastly, weare to add what is called
the asthmatic elixir, made with flower of henja-_
min and opium, of each a dram, camphire twe —
scruples, oil of aniseed forty drops, liquorice
root -half an ounce, honey .one ounce, and a

uartof spirit. This is a, gentle opiate, and i ‘is
much een in —— than: = ee Tat

wine end aff ney a , quarter: of 2 a. pour ,
of iron, and- half an ounce: of m
same quant ; i

INTRODUCTION. Xxvil.

of aloes, two ounces of winter’s bark, and five
quarts of white wine. The first is a restorative
cordial and strengthener ; the latter is sufficiently
known as a purge. Laudanum is made of two
ounces of opium, a dram of cloves, and a dram
of cinnamon, and a pint of wine. Viper wine
is made of two ounces of dried vipers, and two
- quarts of white wine; and the tincture of ipeca-
cuanha for a yomit, of two ounces of that root,
half an ounce of dry o 1, and a = re
ot sack. Lastly, what is eae lai prop
éxich! an ounce, eur ‘armoniac six idedths ‘end? salt
of tartar eight ounces, in a aaeriey of mnoanthitt
wine.

These are all the tinctures and wines ‘that
rieed be kept ina family, whose charity is design-
ed to be very extensive ; the _expence of the whole
is a trifle, not worth naming, and the treuble
_ scarce any thing. Books are full of directions
i particular for every tincture, as if every one
were to be made a different way ; but the best
method is to give a good deal of time, and fre-
bso shaking, and that will ‘stand’ in the place

of pent ciaca things of this kind: nevert heless,
Vise that they should stand in a room
where a fire is kept “while they are making ; ~
those whic require heat, that is, those that
take a Conene most slowly, are to be placed nearest
to it.
~ Easy as shige: they are by fat: the imost dik ;
ficult: ‘ier of the task, the re: as it were
nothing. Conserves, syrups, and
be wanting ; but in the same manner one direc-
tion will serve for the making the whole assort~
ment of each, | edients will =
indi “As to” plasters in genera re

ointments will

‘icin: INTRODUCTION.

harm than good. . Surgeons at this time make
very little use of them ; and in the course of this
work, many herbs will be named, the bruised
leaves of which are better than all the plaisters
in the world. i Fee sa “4
Conserves should be made of rue, mint, scurvy-
grass,'! wood-sorrel, and Roman wormwood. As
to the four first, the leaves are to be picked
off from the stalks, and beaten up with three
times. the weight of sugar. The tops of the
young shoots of the latter are to be cut off, and
they are to be beat up in the same manner. In
the. course of this work, many plants will be
named, the green tops of which contain their
virtue, these may all be made into conserves in

a >. io SO
ea Di Mees i i

o-

INTRODUCTION. XXix.

a dish being put underneath ; they are to be
broke with the hand or a wooden pestle, and rub-
hed about till all the soft matter is forced through
the hair-cloth, the sceds and skins only remaining. -
This soft matter is to be weighed, and to be beat
up in a mortar with twice its weight of loaf »
sugar, first powdered.

Sloes are to be gathered when they are inode-
rately ripe, and they are to be set over the fire
in water, till they swell and are softened, but
not till fhe, skin Dares 5 ‘ a thay, are then to bs
tirouphe ? a Fes or “case, ‘and three times
the pam ie ars is to be mixed with this,
! pes it may make a conserye by beating Ree
wee”

Syrups are to be made of many ingredients :
they may be made indeed of any infusion, with
sugar added to it in a due quantity ; and the
way to add this so that the syrups shall keep
and not candy, is to proportion the sugar ‘to the
liquor very exactly. One rule will serve for all
this matter, and save a great deal of repetition.
The liquor of which a syrup is to be no
ps be the juice of some herb or fruit, or a a

ction, or an infusion ; which ever it _be, tee
till quite clear ; then to every wine pint
of it, ‘add a pound and three quarters of loaf
ar, first beat. to powder ; put the sugar and
the liquor ee, into an earthen pan_ that
will go intoa large saucepan ; put water in the
saucepan, and set it over the. fire. Let the
stand in it till t > sugar is perfectly melted,
ming it all the time; then as. soon as ge
it may be put up for wees: | and will Bais the
year round without danger. me
teed bein set down as ihe general male ‘

KXX, INTRODUCTION.

making: the liquor into a syrup, the rest of the
descriptions of them will be easy. They are to
be made in this-manner. For syrup of cloves,
weigh three pounds of clove July flowers picked
from the husks, and with the white heels cut off :

pour upon them five pints of boiling water. Lect
them stand all night, and in the morning pour
off the clear liquor, and make it ‘into a svrup
as directed above : in the same ‘Manner are a8

of the poppies may be adted thie anes are to
be made the syrups of damask roses, peach blos-
soms, cowslip flowers, and mapy others which
will be recommended for that purpose. m this

Syrtt 3 t made ; by Ce

Pip ay to half its quantity, with a little
_ eirmamon; ginger, and nutmeg, and then adding:
the Suan
The syrups of lemon-juice, mulberries, and
the like, are to be made with a pound and half
of sugar to every pint of the clear juice,
which is to be melted as in the former man-
ner.

‘Syrup of ‘garlic, leeks, orange-peel, lemon-
peel, mint, and many other ee are to be made
of strong infusions of those ing:

fore directed, witb the fir “men

INTRODUCTION. XXXI.

Syrup of balsam is made by boiling a quarter
of a pound ¢ of balsam.of Tolu, in a pint and half
of water in a. close vessel, and then making the
water into a syrup, with the usual quantity of
sugar; and thus mead be made syrups of any: of
the balsams,

Syrup of saffron is made of a strong tinctire
of saffron in wine. An ounce of saffron being
put to a pint of mountain, and this, when strain-
ed.off, is to be made into a A IEND: mised the pan
quantity. of sugar. ae Big es HEE IRE

ak des Ege tant teked Ab ety al Gua
of syrups of a particular kind under the name of
honeys. They were made with honey instead of
sugar, and some of them, which had vinegar in
the composition, were called oxymels. A few
of the first kind, and very few, are croc 1 keep-
ing, and two or three. of the latter, for they
have. very. particular virtues. The way of mak-
ing them. is much the same with — of making
syrups ; but to be exact, it ~My proper: just
to give some. instance of it.

_ Honey. of réwes,-is;shidimost arefal; and. it is
to be inn of. an infusion of the flowers. and
honey i in this manner. Cut the white heels from
some red: rose buds,. and Jay them to dry in a
place where there is a draught of air; when —
they are dried, put. half a pound of them into
a stone jar, and pour on them three pints of
boiling water ; stir them. well, | oand- let them —
stand twelve hours; then press off the liquor,
and when: it has sett ; add t ve pounds
of honey, boil it: well, and when’ it is a cae
consistence of a eet tup put.
It is good against. ;
other occasions. Ih the ren ges e:

made Ae satis seo flower ; or with the

cod

Xxxii. (INTRODUCTION.

juice of any plant thus mixed with honey and
boiled down, may be made what is called the
honey of that plant. As to the oxymels, they
are also made in a very uniform manner. The
foliowing are so useful, that it will be proper
piweys to keep them in readiness.

For oxymel of garlic, put half a pint of vi-
negar into an earthen pipkin, boil in it a quarter
of ‘an ounce of caraway seeds, and the same quan-
tity of sweet fennel seeds, at last add an ounce
and half of fresh garlic root sliced thin; let it
boil a minute or two longer, then cover it up to
stand till cold, then press out the liquor, and
add ten ounces of ace and boil it to a con-
siatence.2: bese. Lagi 2k
For vinegar of quills, ‘put’ ‘inte. a pint of vi-
negar three ounces o dried squills ; let it stand two
pices in 2 gentle heat, then press out the vinegar,
and when it has stood to settle, add a pound and a
half ef honey, and boil itto a consistence. Both
these are excellent in asthmas. -

To these also should be added, the common sin-
_ ple oxymel, which is made of a piut of yinegar, and
two pounds of honey boiled together to” the’ con-
_ sistence of a syrup.

_. Finally, as to ointments, nothirig ean be so easy
as the making them of the common herbs, and

_ the expence is only so much hog’s-lard.. _ The lard
sete: be melted, and the saat r

et. be green, as wilt rd ito bern SE
Dd, and. must be called ointment of such an
Bs these J L ee take the eppor

INTRODUCTION. XXXUDE

are very useful, and cur charitable shop should
not be without them. 3
|. The white ointment, called unguentum ; this
is made by melting together four ounces ‘of white
wax, and three ounces of spermaceti; in a pint of
sallad oil, and adding, if it be desired,: three
ounces of ceness, and a dram and half of camphire:
: — it is better for all commen parganenty het

2. "Yellow bunilienn; sbhig hoa is mide by inelting
together yellow wax, resin, and burgundy pitch,
of each half a pound, in-a pint of oil | aw
and adding three ounces of turpentine.

3. Black basilicon, whichis made by
together in a pint of olive oil, yellow Neel resi
and pitch, of each nine ounces.

4. The mercurial ointment, which is thus made?
rub together in an iron mortar, a pound of quick-
silver, and an ounce of turpentine ; when they are
well mixed, add four pounds of hog’s-lard melted;
and mix all thoroughly ee The boon! t
of tutty is prepared with levigated t as
dice bvepet” fat as will make i into ssott elon
these are only to be mixed together upon a marble
by working them with a thin knife. This is

for disorders of the eyes, the foregoing for the
"itch, and many other complaints, but it must be

used cautiously. And those which were “a
named for old sores,

Of the same nature with the ointments, ate, ‘in
‘some degree, the oils made b infusion of herbs
‘and flowers in common oil. These are also very
‘easily prepared, and an instanee: or two will serve
to explain the making of them all. The most
tegarded among these is the oil of St. John’s-

vort. and that is thus ¢ cae clean a ¢ ia.

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

wort, pour upon them a quart of olive oil, snd
let them stand together till the oil is of a reddish
colour. Oil of elder is made of a pound of eider
flowers, which are to be put into a quart of olive
oil, and boiled till they are crisp, avd the oil is to
be then strained off. Hie: 3 =
3. What is called the green oil, is thus made,
bruise in a marble mortar three ounces of grecu
chamomile, with the same quantity of bay leaves,
sea-wormwood, rue, aid sweet marjoram ; then
boil them in a quart of oil of olives, till they are
a little crisp. The oil is then to be poured off,
aud when cold putup for use. |
These oils are used to rub the limbs when there
is pain and swellings; their virtues will be found
et large, under the several herbs which are the
principal ingredients: and after one or other of
these methods, may be made the oil by infusion, or
by boiling of any plant, or of any number of plants
_ of like virtue. sag
“ Lastly, though herbs are now left out of the
composition of plaisters, even the melelot being now
amade without the herb from which it. was first

INTRODUCTION. nie

- 2. For a strengthning plaister, melt two pounds
of the common plaister, and add to it half a asad
of frankincense, and three ounces of dragon’s
blood.

* 3. For a drawing plaister, melt together. yellow
wax and yellow resin, of each three pounds, and
a pound .of mutton suct. This is used instead of
the old melilot plaister to dress blisters ; and the
blister plaister itself is made of it, only b adding ~ -
half a pint of vinegar, and a pound of Spanish
flies in powder, to “two. pounds of it, just as it -
begins to cool from melting. The quicksilver
plaister is thus made; rub three ounces of quick-
silver, with a dram of balsam of sulphur, till it
no longer appear in globules, then pour in a pound
of the common plaister melted, and mix them well
together. |

To close this chapter, I shall add a few wa-
ters made without distillation, which are very :
cheap and very serviceable, and the family inp
will then be quite compleat. oe

1. Lime water. This is made by pouri Ao
dually six quarts of water gee a joc ing gre
lime; when it has stood to be clear, it must be
poured off. df a pound of lignun vite wood, an
ounce of liquorice root, and half ayounce of sas-
peor aati bes added to three quarts of lime wa-

ter, it is ¢alled compound lime water ; and is ex-
cellent in foulnesses of the blood.

_2. The blue eye water. This is. made by put-

: a dram of ‘sal ammoniac intoa pint of lime
| rekon; rt caer, agen inane vent, sulhS
3 is of a sky blue colour.

3. Alum water is: smsdeiliy hailing half an gunce
of” white vitriol, andthe same quantity of “alum
in a quart of water, till they are dissolved.

. Phus have we described all the drugs an

XXxvi. INTRODUCTION,

positions that need he kept in the charitable shop
of the family, which intends to relieve a neigh-
bourhood of poor in their greatest of all distress-
es, that of sickness. The diseases for which
these remedies are to be used will. be found enu-
merated at large under the several beads of the
principal ingredients, as described in the succeed~
ing pages. It only remains to say a few words
about the manner of putting these things most con-
veniently together, and we then shall. have REE”

— for all that follows. . a =

Concerning the best mcthods of putting medicines
FF: ‘ascett wioas present taking.

rc the first place, although these several forms
of syrups, conserves, and the like, have been
ed, as what will be sometimes necessary. The
great practice in the country will lic in the in-
fusions and decoctions of the. fresh plapts and
ert

_~8Phe: strength of these infusions and decoctions
is to be proportioned to the taste : for as t
made to be swallowed,in quantities, if they. be
pow 5 Reged as to be very disagreeable, that
id will be defeated : ‘they may be rendered more
by sweetening them with sugar, acpgoaee ap .
which is to be allowed to a quart; and
| a little white wine, or a small _—
of the cordial waters may be added

dose Petes wid decoction or infu- —

etait except

INTRODUCTION. xxxvil.

where they are intended to purge or vomit; there
they must he more carefully and exactly propor-
tioned to ‘the strength, than can be told in this
general manner. 4 NiO OI a1
Of the simple waters, about a quarter of a
pint is a dose, and of the cordial waters, less than
half that quantity. These may be occasionally
given alone ;“ but they are mostly intended for
mixing’ with otheringredients. ©
‘The tinctures are to be given in drops, from
ten to an hundred, according to their strength —
and nature: but to name a general dose, it is
about five and twenty drops. These, however, will
be also more serviceable in mixtures, than sing-
ly. Of the purging tinctures in wine, and the
as salutis, three, four, of more spoonfuls is the
ose. |
It would be well te keep tinctures of many of
the roots recommended in nervous cases, as cor-
dials, astringents, and of many other kinds; and
also to keep powders of these roots in readiness: _
and thus the common forms of medicines, assent —
from apothecaries, will be veryeasy.
* For a’ julep, six ounces of one of the simple
waters, two ounces of one of the compound wa-
ters, or those made with spirit, two drams of a

syrup, and fifty drops of a tincture, make a very
agreeable one. Thus for an hysterie julep, let
the simple water be pennyroyal, the sirong water
the strong petinyroyal, the syrup that of saffron,
and the tincture of castor, and it is # very pleasant
julep; and so of ‘all the rest, If a pearl cordial
be desired, it is only mixing the simple and strong _
waters without syrup ortincture, and adding two
drams of sugar, and half a dram of levigated
oyster-shells, The apothecaries will not be plea

with this disclosing the mysteries of their pro-

XXXVI. “INTRODUCTION.

fession, but the public good is of more consequence
than their pleasure.

.. Draughts are only little juleps, with more pow-
erful ingredicnts added to them. An ounce and
half of a simple water, three drams of a strong |
water, one dram of a syrup, and forty drops of
a tincture, make a draught; but to! these may be
added. a simple of some power to increase the -
virtue. What waters, tinctures, syrups, or pow-
ders: shall be used will he determined from the
case itself,

Boluses are made with ‘oie: powders in a cer-
tain dose. A scruple or half a.dram, is made
into a sort of paste with syrup. The custom is
to cover it with a little. leaf-gold, but. this is
better let alone: some. use leaf-bras: which is
abominable., : a

Electuaries are to be made of: powders, ‘con-
“serves, and syrups, they differ from boluses in this,

as well as in the size, that the dose is smaller, | al-
though the picce taken he as large ; which is ow-
- ing to the conserve, that having in general little
virtue in comparison of the other ingredients.
Thisis the form most convenient for medicines
that are to be taken for a continuance of time, and
the dose of. which needs not be so very punetually:
regarded,

. Thus for an electuary against an habitual loose~
ness, when it exceeds the proper bounds; mix
together an ounce of conserve of red roses, , and

six drams of syrup of cloves, add to these two.
Fa of powdered bistort root, one dram of
bonded tormentill, and half a dram of toasted
hubarb, This makes an electuary, a piece of

ch, of the bigness of anutmeg, taken once in
two days, will check the abundance of sesle. with-. 3

out stopping ihe; customary. Ac

INTRODUCTION. _—_ xxaix.

will also be a pleasant medicine. If a draught of
tincture of roses, which will be described in the
following part of this work, under the article
red rose, be taken after this, it will increase the
power. — :

In this manner the charitable lady may supply
the place of the apothecary, to. those who could
not afford such assistance: and experience is so
good a guide, that she will be able in most cases
to save the expence of the doctor also: and there
will be this satisfaction in her own mind, that
while she deals principally with those innocent
sort of medicines which the fields afford her, she
will be in very little danger of doing harm. The
galenical physic perhaps will be found effectual
in many more cases, by those who stick to it sole-
ly, than they are aware who do not use it; as to
the mischief of medicine, that is almost entirely
chemical. It would be idle to say that chemical.
medicines do not do great good ; but they require
to be in skilful hands : when the ignorant employ
them, death is more likely to be the consequence,
than the relief from the disorder any other
way. ;

One useful observation may serve well to close
this introduction. Opiates, and medicines of that
kind, to compose persons to rest, and to take off
pain, will be often necessary ; but as they are the
most powerful medicines the charitable practi-
tioner will have to do withal, they are the most ca-
pable of doing harm: the great care will therefore’
lie in the right use of these. wore ee

As there are three different preparations de-
scribed in this book for answering this purpose,
beside the opium, and that solution of it in wine,

which is called laudanum, I would advise that —

these two latter be used very seldom. A syrup

PY ad - INTRODUCTION.

made of the juice of the-wild lettuce, is anex--
‘cellent medicine ; the syrup of diacodium, which
is made of a strong decoction of poppy heads,
fs a little stronger than this; and if something
more powerful than these is required, there is the
‘asthmatic elixir. Oue-or other of these may al-
most on every occasion serve the purpose ; and it
‘is almost impossible that the use of them shoulda
‘be attended with danger. I would therefore ad-
“vise, that opium or laudanum be very rarely used:
perhaps it might be well to. say, not used at all,
for the others will be able in almost all eases, if
“not universally, to auswer the purpose.

FAMILY HERBAL.

ae >

Acacia Tree. Acacia vera sive spina A gyptiaca,

HE acacia is a large but not tall tree, with
prickly branches: the leaves are winged, or
composed of several small ones set on each side-a
middle rib; and the flowers are yellow. The
trunk is thick, and the top spreading. __ “a
The leaves are of a bluish green ; and the flowers
resemble in shape pea blossoms; many of them
stand together. These are succeeded by long:
and flatted pods. The seeds contained in each
are from four to seven; and the pod between
them is rig A small and ‘harrow : the breadth is
The tree is frequent i in Egypt, and there are
a great many other kinds of it. No part of the
acacia tree is — in the shops; but we have
from it two dru
1. The acacia juice, and 2. The gumarabic.
The; acacia juice, or succus acaciz, is like liquor-
rice juice, hard and black. They bruise the un-
ripe pods and seeds, and press out the juice which
they evaporate to this consistence. The gum
arabic oozes out of the bark of the trunk ‘ae
B ; cs

—— FAMILY HERBAL.

benacaae as the plum-tree and cherry- vite gum
do with us.

The acacia juice is.an astringent but litle
used. The gum arabic is good in stranguries,
and in coughs from a thin sharp rheum ; it is
to be given in solution, an ounce boiled in a
quart of barley-waier, or in powder in electuaries’
or other wise.

What is called the German acacia is the juice
of unripe sloes evaporated in the same manner,

Aconstg. -Anthora sive aconitum salutiferum.

THERE are many poisonous aconites, not used 3
but there is one medicinal and kept in the shops: —
the is.called the wholesome aconite and antithora.

It is a small plant, a foot high, with pale
green divided leaves ‘and— yellow - owers. — It
grows erect, and the stalk is firm, angular, ‘and
hairy ; the leaves do not stand in pairs. The
flowers are large and hooded, and of a pleasant
smel! ; the seed-vessels are membranatcous, and the.
seeds black ; the roct is tuberous, it sometimes
consists of one. lump or knob, sometimes of. more.
It is a native of Germany, but we have it in gar- -
dens. The root is the only part used ; it is sup-
posed to‘be a remedy against poisons, but at ia
not much regarded at this time,

-

_ApDER’s-ToNGus. Ophioglossum. —

_ADDER’S tongue isa little plant com 7
“ee. It consists of a single leaf, with
a little spike of seeds rising from its bottom,
Bsc. is supposed: to resemble the topgue. of a

i eae is of. an sal Lange and of a 08, :

FAMILY HERBAL. 3

bright green colour ! it is thick and fleshy, and
has no ribs or veins, Thestalk on which it stands
rises from a root. composed of small fibres, and
is four inches or more high. The spike rises to
about the same height above it ; and the tongue
or séed-vessel is notched on each side. The whole
plant is buried among the grass, and must be
sought in April and May, for it dies off soon after ;
and nothing is seen of it till the next season.
It is a fine cooling herb, and an excellent
ointment is made from it. The leaves are to be
chopped to pieces,. and four pounds of them are
to be put into three pounds of suet and one pint
of oil melted together. ‘The whole is to be boiled
till the herb is a little crisp, and then the ointment —
is to be strained off: it will be of a beautiful green,
Some give the juice of the plant, or the powder
of the dried leaves, inwardly i in wounds ; ; but this
is trifling.

AGrimony. Agrimonia.

A COMMON English plart : It flowers in the
midst of summer. It grows to a foot or more
in height ; the leaves are winged, and the flow-
ers are yellow. The root is perennial ; the leaves
are hairy, of a pale green, and notched at the
edges; the stalk is single, firm, and round ;
the flowers stand in a long spike ; they are small
and numerous, and the seed-vessels which suc-
ceed them are rough like burs. The plant i is com-
mon about hedges.

The leaves are used feaut or dtied:; they have
been recommended in the jaundice ; “but they are
found by experience to be good in the diabetes
and incontinence of urine. : plant is also one

4& - FAMILY HERBAL.

of the famous vulnerary herbs, and an ingredi-
ent in the right arquebusade water. |

Brack anper. Alnus nigre. Frangula.

THE black alder is a little shrub : The shoots
are brittle, slender, aud covered with a brown
bark ; the leaves areroundish, of a bright green,
and* veined ; they terminate. in a point. The
berries are large and black, they are ripe ia
autumn; the flowers which precede these are
small and inconsiderable, they are whitish and stand
on short stalks. ©

The sbrub is frequent in moist woods, and
the berries are sometimes mixt among those of the
buckthorn by such as gather them for sale, but this
shonid be prevetied. Soe 2 ce:

No part of the black alder is used in medicine
except the inner rind; this is yellow; and isa
good purge ; the best way to give itis-in a de-
coction. Boilan ounce of it in a quart of water,
and throw in at least two drachms of ginger and
some caraway-seeds ; let the patient proportion
the quantity to his strength: it is excellent. in the
jaundice. In Yorkshire they bruise the bark with
vinegar, and use it outwardly for the itch, which
it cures very safely. |

ALEHOOF OR GROUND-LV¥. Hedera terrestris.

A LOW plant that creeps about hedges, and.
flowers in spring. The’ stalks are hollow and
square, a fooi or more in length; the leaves
are roundish and notched at the edges: in spring
they are usually of a purplish colour, and the
flowers are blue; the leaves stand two at each

FAMILY HERBAL. _ %

joint, and the roots are fibrous. The whole
plant has a peculiar and strong smell,. it sncuid
be gathered when in flower.

It is an excellent vulnerary, outwardly OF in~
wardly used ; a conserve may be made of it in
spring: and it may bs given by way of tea.
It is excellent in ali disorders of the breast and

_ Jungs, .and in those of the omg ot — ares
bloody and foul urine.

wee OR CROWN’S ALLHEAL. — Panaz Cotoni.

AG OMMON farti in our wet sprdands with long :
hairy leaves and little red flowers. It grows.
to a foot and a half high, but the stalk is weak,
square, and hairy: the leaves stand two at a
joint, and are of a pale green, notched at the

~ edges, and of a strong smell; the flowers stand
in clusters round the stalk at the joints. They |
are like those of the dead nettle kind, but smaller ;
the root is perennial and creeps.

It is an excellent wound herb, but must be
used fresh. The leaves are to be bruised and
laid upon a new-made wound, without any ad-
dition ; ase stop the bleeding, and cure,

ALmonD TREE. -Amygdalus,

BITTER and sweet almonds are very aif. :
ferent in taste, but the tree which produces
them is the same; it is distinguishable at 92
only by the taste of thealmond, — i
- “Tis a moderately large tree,’ with Heer nar-
row leaves, of a beautiful green, and notched
at, the edges ; the blossoms are large, of a pale.
red colour, and very beautiful. T he fruit is a

r

6 FAMILY HERBAL.

posed of. three parts, a tough matter on thé
outside, .a stone within that, and in this shell
the almond, by way of kernel. They cultivate —
almond trees in France and Italy. :
Sweet almonds are excellent in emulsions, for
stranguries and all disorders of the kidneys and
bladder ; they ought to be blanched and beat up
with barley-water into a liquor like milk; this
is also good, in smaller quantities, for people in
consumptions and hectics. ;
Bitter almonds are used for their oil; this
tastes sweet, and what is called oil of sweet
_almonds is commonly made of them. But the
cakes left after pressing afford by distillation a
water that is poisonous, in the same manner as
laurel-water. ni SNES hae cig : Seq 4

: : — : = : 2g: - Tur ‘ALOE : PLANT. ea Aloe. - r 18s 5

_-THERE are a great many kinds of the aloe
preserved in our green-houses and stoves. They
are all natives of warmer. climates; but of these
there are only two that need be mentioned here, _
as the aloe kept by apothecaries, though of three _
kinds, is the produce of only two species. - These
two are the socotrine aloe-plant and the com-
mon aloe. Sorel
The socotrine aloe isa very beautiful plant ;
the leaves are like those of the pine-apple,
eighteen or twenty inchés long, prickly at the
“sides, and’ armed with a large thom at the _
end. ‘The stalk is half a -yard high or more,
- naked at the bottom, but ornamented at top with —
a long spike of flowers ; these are ofa long shape
and hollow, and of a beautifulred colour.
“ - Phe socotrine or finest aloes is produced from this

&

FAMILY HERBAL. 7

plant ; the leaves are pressed gently, and the juice
received in earthen vessels : it is set to settle aud then
dried in the sun.

The common aloe is-a very ‘fine plant ; the
leaves are above two feet long and an inch thick,
they are dented at the edges and prickly, and
have avery sharp thorn at the point. The
stalk, when it flowers, is five or six feet high,
and divided. into several branches; the flowers are
yellow streaked with green.

From the juice of. the leaves of this plant
are made the hepatic and the caballine aloes
the hepatic is made from the clearer and finer ~
part of the juice, the caballine from the coarse.
sediment. :

The socotrine aloes is the only kind that
should be given. inwardly; this may be known. —
from the others, by not having their offensive
smell. It isa most excellent purge, but it must
not be given to women with child, nor to those —
who spit blood, for it may be fatal. The best.
way of giving itis in the tincture of hiera
picra.

- Axoxs Woon. Lignum aloes.

IT ney be necessary to mention this tok fash, s
is sometimes used in medicine, although we
are not acquainted with the tree which affords it
Weare told that the Jeaves are small, the flow-
ers moderately large, and the fruit as big as
-a pigeon’s ege and woolly ; and we read. also that
the juice of the tree, while fresh, will raise blisters

onthe skin, and even cause blindpes : but these _

accounts are very imperfect. _ :
We see three kinds of the. wood in the shops, .
re they are Stings by. three differ ent nae

i : FAMILY HERBAL.

calambac, common lignum aloes, and éalémboury
ofthese the calambac is the finest andthe most —
resinous, the calambour is almost a mere chip, the
other is of a middle value “between them. They are
all of the same virtue, but in different degrees, ‘They
are said to be cordial and strengthening to the
stomach, but we use them very mee:

Face AMomum. Amomum vERany racemosim.

AMOMUM is another of thoi: dviige we re-
ceive from abroad, and do not know the plants
which produce them. The fruit itself, which is
called amomum, is like the lesser cardamom, but
that it is round; it consists of a skinny husk
and seeds withia, and is whitish and of the big- ]
riess of a horse-bean. Several of these sometimes —
ees found gtowing together to one stalk i in ‘a -elosé

“pay

"Phe old physicians used it as a cordial and
carminative, but at ‘Present it is much neglected:

Common Amomum. Amomum vulgare:

- THOUGH the amomum before mention- —
ed be not used in prescription, it is an ingre- a
dient in some old coli positions ; and, being of-
téi not to be met with, it has been found neces "
sary to substitute another carmiinative seed in ite.
place ; this grows offen English plant, thence called
also amomuin.
The common -amomum, otherwise ‘called bas-
tae stone parsley, is frequent about our hedges ;
“it grows to three feet in height, but the stalk —
is slender, and divided into a great marty branches.
. Phe leaves are of a bright green and winged, —
or Comrie: of ——— rows bed smaller, ious ‘aa 3

FAMILY HERBAL. ie

odd one at the end. . There grow some large
and very beautiful ones from the root ; those on
the stalks are smaller. The flowers grow in
little umbels or clusters, at the extremities of
all the branches. They are small and white.
Two seeds follow each flower, and these are
striated, small, and of a spicy taste: the plant
is distinguished at sight from all the others of its
kind, of which there are many, by the slender-
ness of its stalks and branches, and the smallness
of the umbels; and move than all by the pecu-
liar taste of the seeds, which have a flavour of
mace. | f

It is proper to be particular, because the plant
is worth knowing. Its root is good for all dis-
eases of the urinary passages, and the seeds are
good in disorders of the stomach and bowels,
and also operate by urine. The quantity of
a scruple given in cholics often proves an im-
mediate cure, and they are a good ivgredient in
bitters. 7

ALKANET. Anchusa.

ALKANET is a rough plant, of no great beauty,
cultivated in France and Germany for the sake
of its root. It grows toa foot and half high:
the leaves are large, and of a rough irregular
surface, and bluish green colour; the flowers
are small and purplish; the root is long and
of a deep purple. It is kept dried in the
shops. It has the credit of an astringent and
_vulnerary, but it is little used. The best way
of giving of it, is to add half an ounce to a
quart of hartshorn drink ; it gives a good colour,
an increases the virtue. ae

a c

2.8: FAMILY HERBAL.
ANGELICA. Angelica.

A LARGE and beautiful plant kept in our

ardens, and found wild in some parts of the
Bator. It grows to eight feet in height, and
the stalks robust, and divided into branches.
The, leaves are large, and composed each of
many smaller, set upon a divided pedicle ; they
are notched at the edges, and of a bright green.
The flowers are small, but they stand in yast
clusters, of a globose form: two seeds follow each
flower. 2

Every part of the plant is fragrant when bruised,
and every part of it is used in medicine. The
root is long and large: we use that of our own
growth fresh, but the fine fragrant dried roots
are brought from Spain. The whole plant pos-
sesses the same Virtues, and is cordial and supo-
rific ; it has been always famous against pestilen-
tial and contagious diseases. The ront, the stalks
candied, the seeds bruised, or the water distilled
from the leaves, may be used, but the seeds are

the mos* powerful. ‘It is also an ingredient in many
compositions. |

AnNiszE. Anisum.

THE aniseed used in the shops is produced
by a small plant cultivated in fields for that
purpose in the island of Malta and elsewhere:
It grows to half a yard high, the stalks are firm,
striated, and branched ; the leaves which grow near
the ground, are rounded and divided only into three
parts ; those on the stalks are cut into slender divi-
sions: The flowers are small, but they grow iu large”
umbels at the top of the branches, and two seeds
follow each ; these are the aniseed.

FAMILY HERBAL. 9

As much bruised aniseed as will lie on a
sixpence, is exccllent in cholic. ’Tis also
good in indigestions, and other complaints ofthe

stomach. :

Arries or Love. Poma Amoris.
»

THESE are large juicy fruits, but they are
produced not on a tree, but ona small and low
plant. The stalks are weak, and divided into many
branches; the leaves are large, but they are com- -
posed of many small ones set on a divided stalk,
and they are of a faint yellowish green colour. The
flowers are small and yellow, the fruit is large, and
when ripe of a red colour ; it contains a soft juicy
pulp and the seeds.

The plant is a kind of nightshade, we cul-
tivate it in gardens. The Italians eat the fruit
as we do cucumbers. The juice is cooling, and
is good externally used in eruptions on_ the skin,
and in diseases of the eyes, where a sharp humour
is troublesome. .

ARCHANGEL. Lamium Album, —

A COMMON wild plant, more vulgarly called
’ the dead-nettle. It grows about our hedges,
it is a foot high, and has leaves shaped like
those of the nettle, but they do not sting. The
stalk is square and the leaves are hairy; the
flowers are large and white, they stand at the joints
where the leaves are set on, and are very pretty.
The leaves stand in pairs, and the root creeps under

.

the surface.
The flowers are the only part used, they are

to be gathered in May; and made into conserve.
A pound of them is to be beat up with two pounds

je FAMILY HERBAL.

avda half ofsugar. They mayalsobe dried, They
are excellent in the whites, and all other weak-
nesses. zi
There is a little plant with red flowers called
also the red archangel, or red*dead-netile. It
is common under the hedges, and in gardens ;
the stalks are square and weak, the leaves are
short and notched at the edges, and the flowers
small and red ; the plant 1s not above four or five
inches high, and these flowers grow near the tops
among the leaves. They are in shape like those of the
white archangel, but small. .
The herb is used fresh or dried, and the flowers.
The decoction is good for floodings, bleedings at
the-nose, spitting cf blood, or any kind of hemor-
rhage. It also stops blood, bruised and applied
outwardly. — = nae

Arnracu, on Srinxinc Arnacu. Atriplex olida.

A SMALL wild plant that grows about farm- ~
yards, and in waste grounds. The stalks are
a foot long, but weak ; they seldom stand up-
right, they are striated; and of a pale green.
The leaves are small, short, and rounded, of a
- bluish green colour, and of -the breadth. of a
shilling or jess. The flowers are inconsiderable,
and the seeds small, but they stand in clusters at
the tops of the branches, and have a greevish —
white appearance. The whole plantis covered
with a sort of moist dust in large particles, and
has a most unpleasant smell. [+ is to be used
fresh gathered, for it loses its virtue in ec
A syrup may be made of a pint of ifs juice
and two pounds of sugar, and will keep all the
year: The leaves also may be beat into a con-

_ serve, with three times their weight of sugar. In

¢

FAMILY HERBAL. - 13

any of these forms it is an excellent. medicine in
all hysteric complaints. It cures fits, and pro-
motes the menses, and the “necessary evacuations
_ after delivery.

There is another kind of arrach also sacgoanl
by medical writers, and cailed garden arrach;
it is an annusi raised from seed, for the use of
the kitchen. It grows to a yard high, and the
leaves are broad: those which grow from the
root have a little leaf aslo on each side of the base.
They are covered with a wet dust like the’other
kind. ‘These leaves are cooling and softening ;
they are good inclysters, but they are less used,
and less valuable than the other.

2 Aron, Arun.

A VERY common plant under our hedges, and
more vulgarly called cuckowpini, and, by the
children, lord and lady. The root is of the
bigness and shape of a walnut, brown on the
outside and white within, and this, as well as
- the whole plant, is of a sharp and~ acrid taste.
This root lies deep. The leaves are large. and
shaped like the ended head of an arrow, of
_a strong green colour, and sometimes ‘ spotted. .
In April and May rise among these thick stalks,
supporting a very singular kind of flower, the
pointal of which is long, thick, fleshy, and of a
red or white colour, and the whole surrounded
with a green membranaceous case. Afierwards
this case and the pointal fall off, and there re-
mains only the stem supporting a quantity ‘of
berries, which are ripe in es aud are then of
a fine red colour. - i

The root is the part neal It is an excellent
medicine in palsies. Half one bof the roois, fing

14 FAMILY HERBAL.

gathered and bruised, will sometimes restore the
speech at once ; and a continued use of them goes
a great way toward a cure. It is also good in
scorbutic cases, and in all inward. obstructions.

Some dry and powder it, but it then loses almost all :
tts virtue.

Arsmart on WarerR-peprer. Fersicaria Urens.

A COMMON wild herb, neglected, but of great
Virtues. It grows every where about ditches,
and in watery places. Itisa foot anda half high;
the stalks are weak, green or reddish, and jointed.
The leaves are long and narrow, like those of the
peach tree, of a bright green, not spotted, and —
eyen at the edges. The flowers stand at the
tops of the stalks in slender spikes, of a greenish .
white. As there are several other kinds of ars-
mart, and most of them different from this in their
nature and qualities, great care is to be taken
to gather the right. It must have no spot upon
the middle of the leaf. There is another common
kind of arsmart with such a spot, and with thicker
stalks, and thick spikes of reddish flowers, which °
has none of its virtue.

_ The right arsmart is an excellent medicine in
_ obstructions of urine, in the gravel and stone : and
in the jaundice and beginning of dropsies it has done

great cures. The juice of the fresh gathered
plant is the best way of giving it. Outwardly it
is good to cleanse old ulcers. =

ArTicHoKke. Cinara.
THE root of the common artichoke, or har-

tichoke, cultivated for our tables, is an ex-
cellent medicine. The plant itself is of the thistle-

FAMILY HERBAL. 15

kind, and its head, which we see at table, owes
much of its bigness and fleshiness to-culture. The
leaves are large, and divided into many parts, and
often they are prickly. The stem is robust and
striated, and the head ts formed of large scales ; the
flowers are of the thistle-kind, and the seeds are, as
in the thistles, winged with down.

The root fresh gathered, sliced and boiled in wa-
‘ter, six ounces toa quart of the water, makes a de-
coction, which works by urine, and I have known if
alone cure a jaundice,

“ASARABACCA. Asarum.

A VERY little and low plant found wild in many
arts of Europe, and common in our gardens.
he roots creep about the surface of the ground,

the leaves grow singly from them, and there is ne
stem or stalk. Each leaf has its separate foot-
stalk three or four inches long, and the leaf itself
is roundish, of a dark green and fleshy ; the flowers
smail and of a dusky colour, and they stand near the —
ground, ‘eniat ;

The roots are the most valuable part; the

- Juice of them may be given in small doses, or
they may be dry and givenin powder vr infusion.
It works very powerfully by urine, and is good in
obstructions of the menses, and in jaundices and
dropsies. —

Tur Asu. Frasinus. »

A COMMON tree in our hedges and woods.
The bark of the branches is grey, and the
leaves are winged ; the small ones of which they
are composed are oblong and dented: The flowers
are of a whitish green, and come before the leaves »

6 FAMILY HERBAL.

the seeds are what they call ash-keys, these ripenin.

September.

The bark. of the young branches is good in

cbstructions of the liver ‘and spleen, and there-
fore is of great service in dropsies, jaundice,
and other complaints of that origin :_ it works by

urine. Theseeds have the same virtuc, but ina less

degree.
The Manna Asu. Fraxinus minore folio.

THIS isa lower tree than the common ash,
andis not a native of our kingdom, ‘but is fre-
quent in Italy, where the manna is gathered from
its leaves and branches.

The bark of this tree is paler. than. that of our
common ash, and the leaves. are composed of
smaller and narrower parts, | but thé flower and
fret: differ very little.

Fhey have “also im Calabria spother low ash-.

tree, which has the backs of the leaves small-
ec than ours, and flatter and more rounded, and

iT ae Na Na tg a Sai ae “Sinead % iar aya

from this also they collect manna for the use of © Z

the apothecaries. The manna is a sweet -or hone

juice that naturally sweats out of the bark and
leaves in hot weather. ‘The finest manna ofall
is that which oozes out of the leaves, this is in
small pieces. It flows out of the sibs. of the
leaves in August, in the heat of the day, and soon,

hardens into this form. They get the greatest
quantities of all, by cutting the bark.of the trunk
and branches, and this is, often large and flaky,
but it is yellowish, That:which is flaky, white,
and hollow, has issued vut of itself and is much
better.
Manna isa most excellent purge, very gentle,
and without any after —_—— There is &

FAMILY HERBAL. . 17

kind of manna used in France, called the Briancon |
manna ; this is produced by the larch-tree : and
there is another kind more rare, called Persian
manna ; this is produced by the shrub called
alhagi, a’kind of broom, or nearly mae to it,
But these are scarce with us.

Asparacus. Asparag us sativus.

“THE asparagus plant is one whose root is
useful in medicine, although a different part
of it be eaten at the table. © Its virtues are
not unlike those of the artichoke root but
greater,

The asparagus is a wild plant in many parts
of England about the sea-coasts ; and its root, in
this wild state, is better than that of the cultivated
plants, but its shoots have not that fine fleshy
fulness. The plant, when full grown, is three
feet high, and very much branched, and the
leaves are fine and of a pale green; the flowers
are small and greenish, but the berries which. ‘suc-
ceed them, are as big as pease andred. = = :
_, The root is a powerful diuretic, and is good
“in all obstructions of the viscera. It has_
known singly “to perform cures ‘in jaundice and
— ‘It is best given in Seeation: =

“Aspuoper, Asphodelus verus ramosus albus.

‘ AN elegant garden flower, a native of Atl and -
“preserved with us':more for its beaut) than its

use, though sometimes taken’ asa met
grows to three feet in height, on the stalk di-
vides into three or four branches towards the
top. The flowers are white, and they. stand in

T's 38 On ae bod of “— divisions. T _— are

18 _ AMILY HERBAL.

streaked with purple on the top, and have'yelé
low threads in the middle. ‘The leaves:are long
and narrow; hollowed and. sharp-pointed ; the root .
is composed of several oblong Jumps, The roos
is the part used in. medicine, and it‘is said to
be good against all obstrietions, particularly a
gainst those of the menses.

There is another kind of asphodel. with yellow
flowers, the root of which is said to possess the
same virtues, but it is more rarely used than the

other.
The Asaratipa Purant.. Asafatida ‘herba.

THIS is a Persian’ plant, “and is a yery tall
and robust one. It. grows to nine feet high,
paras rane ig pe *k as a child’s leg;
they are hollow and divided toward the tops into

be ‘branches, The leaves are very large,
’ and composed of many smaller set upon a divided

vib. . They resemble in some degree the leaves

of the piony. The large ones rise immediately
. from the root, and smaller of the same form
stand at distances upon the stalks, one at each
joint. The flowers are singly very. small, buf
they stand in vast clusters or umbels at the tops
of the stalks ; and the seeds follow two after each
flower ; they are large, broad, and striated, and
haye the same smell with the gum, but not so
strong, The root is very long and thick ; it. is
black on the outside and “white within, and is
fall of a thick juice of a strong smell, which,
when hardened, is asafetidasuch as wesee.
part of the plant is’ used but only this
or hardened juice of-. the root... They:
the top of the root and let the juice
from the wound dry. It becomes.

oe =

FAMILY; HERBAL. 19

reddish on the: outside and. white within, and.is
the acafctida: of the shops: . An excellent me-
dicine in all nervous disorders ; it may be given
alone rolled Spaints pale no way better; laily oni

Vo ry ee he i

ett Avens. “Carryophytlaca.

rail ‘COMMON wild plant. neniattel, but walks
of our notice. » It» grows about. hedges, and
rises to fourteen. inches high; the stalk is firm
and slender, and is divided into several branches,
‘Phe leaves are large: andcrough; the stalk ‘also
is hairy. The leaves that grow from the root are
winged ; they consist of three pair of small ones,
and one much larger, dt; the end... Those !6 ‘the
stalk are smaller,:and consist of fewer parts; but
' otherwise they are like. .The flowers are small
and yellow; they are succeeded by rough heads,
as big asa horse beau, composed. of many sects
with «hooked filaments... The root is’ longish
and large, of a firm: substance, reddish ¢olour,, and
very fragtant spicy» smell ; it is better than: jog |
drugs kept in the shops.
At) fis. abcordial and -sudorific: It is: good in
‘nervous: Coniplaints, and) 1 have koown it alone
cure. intermittent | ‘sige where athe bark bas been
panaaientens 2 at 2 dais
RB.
- Baum. Melissa.

A PLANT common in our =e lt grows to —
se feet. in. height, and the stalks are phe :
square, and hairy. The: Jeaves are oblong, broad, _
pointed at the end, and dentated about the edges,
and they stand two ata joint ; the flowers are smal}

20 FAMILY HERBAL.

and white, but they have large rough tops, which
remain after they are fallen. They stand in citreus
lar clusters round the stalk at the upper joints ;
the whole plant is of a:fragrant smell, The root —
creeps and spreads abundantly, the plant i is in flower
in July.

Fresh balm is much better than dry, for it loses
its fragrancy in drying. The best way of taking
itis intea; itis good for disorders of. the hcad and
‘stomach.

Tue Bao or Giteap Survuz. Balsamum aye
acum rule folio.

THIS isan eastern shrub; ° it: grows des liner
six feet high, and the: branches are very tou, ‘a
and, when broken, have a fragrant smell.
leaves are like those of rue, only: larger =
' of a deeper green; the flowers are moderately
large and like pea-blossoms ; they are of a pale .
purplish hue! mixed with white. The seeds are
_ yellow and very fragrant, Ahoy. are contained: 5 ina
kind of pods...

——7e Ne sant of the shrub is: sind but: only ihe
Junta» which is obtained from it; the finest kind
runs from the tree, of itself: there is a second sort
obtained by boiling the twigs and young. shoots ;
and a third, coarser, which rises to the top of
the water, after the purer sort has been taken
off, This last is almost the only kind we see, and
even this is very frequently adulterated. _

It isa very fine balsamic and detergent ; it is

good in the whites, “and all weaknesses; and’ it is

cordial at the tame time that it: ae aaiae lems
it is Eaeeme Rane HOD ANNE: tack Smee

FAMILY ‘HERBAIK — 2

Tue Batsam or Caprvi-Tree, Arbor balsamifera
fructu. monosperzao,

THIS is a large tree. The wood is of a red
eolour, and fine grain; the bark is brown;
the leaves are broad, short, and pointed at

e tree is frequent inthe Brasils. We use no
part of it, but only the balsam which runs out at
wounds they make in the trunk in summer 5 it is
thin like oil. It has the same virtues with tur-
pentine, but is more powerful; it is excellent in
the whites, and it is good in all complaints of
the urinary passages. It may be taken alone on

sugar. O48

The Barsaw or Peru-Tree. Arbor balsamifera
te Peruviana. parts Sarah

THIS is a shrub of eight feet high, with
slender and tough branches. The leaves are
very long and narrow; the flowers are yellow
and large, and the fruit is crooked. The whole
plant has a fragrant smell, especially the young
shoots and the buds. 7

The balsam of Peru is procured from the fra-
grant tops of this shrub, by boiling them in
water; the blackish liquor rises like oil to the
top, and, when cold, it is the balsam of Peru.
There isa white balsam of Peru, very fragrant and
fine, but it is scarce. This is the produce of —

td

22 FAMILY HERBAL.

the same tree, but it oozes naturally from the
eracks in the bark. ;
The black balsam of Peru is a cordial as well
as a balsam; it is- excellent in disorders” of ‘the
breast, and in-all obstructions of the viscera;
ten drops at a) time given»on sugar, and) com+
tinued daily, have cured asthmas and os
consumptions. It also promotes the menses, a
is excellent in suppressions of urine. | Cutwardly,
applied it heals fresh!wounds. . - yet

The Batsam OF °T oto Tank. Arbor balsamifera
E $2 ; Rik! Taletdneas: psi) 2 8 :
“THIS is a Kini, of pine ted, It. does not
ocd y great. height, -buty: spreads. ‘into @

ee 3 y 0 ; “fe 5842 ‘he 5 Je: ves are
vand. very ‘slender. aia ‘a deep | sreen.; the

rk is of a reddish white,- and. the fruit is a
small cone, brown and hard. —

No part of the tree is used but the balan
only which comes from it. ‘They. wound - the
ea in hot seasons, and: this liquid resin flows
out, which they put up into shells for expor-
tation: at! is thick; brown, .atd very fraprant.
It is excellent if consumptions, anditiven, disordefs.
of the breast, and may be. given in, pills| The
balsamic syrup of the apothecaries is. made. from
it, and possesses a great deal nla its Wirtuese.,

f ENE 6
ti ittizn HSU

The : Banseny-Busn., | Bevberis: sAT

HIS is a. wat hush, ‘in: iantoe: parts, < ie
ra but it is common every where in. . Bardens 5
‘grows to eight or ten»: feet: high in: an it- .

ar Manner, and much branched. . The bark

i

FAMILY HERBAL. 23

is whitish, and there are abundante of prickles
about the branches: The leaves are of an ovat
figure, and strong green colowr!; and are in
dented about the:edges. ‘The flowers are small
and of a pale yellowish colour; the fruit is suf-
ficiently known ; the berries:are oblong, red, and
of a sour taste. The branches are brittle, and,
under the pale outer rind, there is another yellow
and thicker. This is the part used in medicine ;
it is excellent in the jaundice, and has often cured
it singly. It is also good in’ all. obstructions,
The best way to give it is infused in boiling water. —

?

the brewer and distiller in their several capa-
cities. | It is known at sight from wheat, when
growing; for it is not so tall, andthe leaves are
smaller and narrower. A long beard: grows from ~
- each grain in the ear and the car is composed of
We usethis grain in two forms, the one call- ~
ed French barley, and the other pearl barley.
The French barley is skinned, and has the ends
ground off ; the pearl barley is reduced by alonger —
grinding to a little round white lump. . The pearl
barley makes the finer and more elegant harley-
water, but the French barley makes the best. it
is excellent in heat of urine, and in all gravelly
cases, and is a good drink in most acute diseases, .
_ where diluting is required : it is also in some degree
nourishing. — =e dgilgine: rh 2

* . Barren wort. Epidemium, —

. ss

+

' A SINGULAR and very pretty plant, native - ;

94 PAMILY HERBAL.

England, but not common. It grows in woods,
and has beauitiful. purple and yellow flowers.
It is a foot high, The leaves are oval and
heart-fashioned, deeply indented’ at the edges,
and of a dusky green. The stalks which pro-
duce the flowers, are weak, brittle, and gene-
rally crooked; the flowers stand in a kind. of very
loose spike, tenor a dozen upon the top ; they
are’ small, but very smgular and conspicuous ;
they are purple on the back with a red. edge, and
yellow in the middle. The root is fibrous and
creeping, :

It was an opinion with the old writers, that
this plant produced no flowers; but the occa-
-slonis easily known. When it stands exposed to
siva, it seldom does flower : we sce that in gardens
where it is planted in such situations, for it will
stand» many years without flowering ; but our
woods favour it, being dark and damp: the old
people saw itin warmer climates, and under an
unfavourable exposure. They called it from this
circunistance, as well as from its virtues, by a
name, whichy expressed being barren and fruit-
less. :

The people in the north give milk in. which
the roots have been boiled, to the females of the
domestic animals when they are running after
the males, and they say it has the certain effect
of stopping the natural emotions. Plain sense
leads these sort of people to many things. They
have from this been tanght to give it to young wo-
men of robust habits, subject to violent. hysteric
omplaints, and [am assured with great success ;
hey give the decoction of the root made strong
‘and sweetened. ”*T'was a coarse allusion that led
them to the practice, but it succeeds in cases that
foil all the parade of common practice. It is said
_ that, ifthey take it in too large quantity, it rea-

FAMILY HERBAL, 25

ders them stupid fersome hours, but ne ill con-
“a setentiet this.

Tne Bay Petia. - Baurus.

THE bay isa native of Spain and Ttaly, where
it grows to a Jarge tree: we keep it in gar-
dens, but it seldom rises to more than the figure
and height of a shrub with us. The wood is
not strong but spongy and friable ; the leaves. re-
main green all winter ; the bark of the large |
branches is of a dusky “brown, that of the twigs
reddish ; the leaves are long and somewhat broad,
pointed ‘at the end and very fragrant: the flow-
ers are very small and inconsiderable ; their colour -
is whitish, they appear in May, but are not re-
garded : the berries are ripe in the latter end ofau-
tumn, and are large and black, consisting of two
puns within the same skin.
__. ‘The berries are dried, and are the part of the

thea mostly used ; but the leaves also have ‘great
virtue, © The berries are given in powder of. in-
fusion; they are good in obstructions, and in

a cholics. - They promote urine, and ihe. evacu-

ations after delivery. The leaves “ee and —
good. in all neryous complaints. Para ytic people —
would find. great benefit from small doses of
them often repeated; and four or five doses have
sometimes cured agues. They are to be put fresh
into an oven, and, when they are ce Jena to

powder.

Basru,; -Ocumum vulgare majus. . see

BASIL is a ‘oral herb, native of warmer

cotgniting: but not uncommon in our gardens; |

itis. pues and — the stalks are. — -

7 FAMILY HERBAL.

and the leaves stand two at each joit.. The
are broad and short, and somewhat indented
at the edges. The flowers are smali and white,
and are of theshape of those of the dead nettle ;
they stand on the upper parts of the branches
in loose spikes. The whole plant has a yery fra-
grant smell. | 7 '

Basil is little used, but it deserves to be much
more. <A tea made of the green plant is excellent
against all obstructions. No simple is more ef-
fectual for gently promoting the menses, and for
removing those complaints which naturally attend
their stoppage.

There are two ‘or three other kinds of basil, but

_ly large, bushy, and full of branches with -prickles
upon them, and with oblong and broad leaves
deeply indented at the edges, so. that they re- |
semble oak-leaves ; and that, when the young shoots
are broken, they yield a milky juice. But even
‘this dyes not come upon certainty, that is,
we are not assured that this tree produces the
very gum we see. This is of ared brown colour,

nd bitterish taste. a

_ it is a good medicine in obstructions of the —
liver and spleen, but it is not much used. |

>

FAMILY HERBAL. 27

The Bean. ‘Fabs,

THE common gsihchtneti is sufficiently
known; it grows to a yard» high, its stalks
are angular, and the leaves, which are of the
winged kind, stand one at each joint ; the flowers
are white spotted with black, and are finely
scented. The pods and their od need not be
described. ;

It has been customary to distil a water from
_ bean-flowers, and use*it to soften the skin, but
common distilled water does as well. It is other- |
wise with the water of the bean-pods. These |
are to be bruised, when the beans are half ripe in
them, and distilled with water in a common
alembic. The water is a very gentle carminative, |
without any heat or acridness ; this is =n for
children’ : Sripes.

The et tide Bean-TRee. Anacardium Ice
gaa Baas

THIS isa large tree, native of saber aod
the Philippine islands ; it grows to- the height
and t ness of our tallest elms, and has much of
their manner of growth, as to the ranches. The ©
leaves are vastly large, of an oblong figure,
and obtuse ; the flowers are small and white, they
grow in bunches, and have somewhat of the smell
ofthe syringa flower but fainter. The fruit is

of the bigness of a peat, and much of the some —

shape; itis of a deep red, when Tipe, and of a
pleasant taste; the kernel is not within this,
as is commonly the case in fruits, but it hangs ~

out loose at the end. ‘This kernel or seed is of
the shape of an heart ; it is as big as ap olive, a

28 FAMILY HERBAL.

and has a dusky red coat or shell, but it is
white within. This is the part used in medi-.
eine, for the whole fruit is not regarded. The
anacardium, or kernel, is said to be a cordial,

and a strengthener of the nerves, but we do not
much use it. There is a very sharp liquor be-.

“tween the outer and inner rinds of the shell,

which will take away freckles from the skin,
but it is so sharp that the nae ‘must be cau-
tious how they use it.

The West-Inpia- Bean, or CasHEw Noz-Tree,
Arbor ace vulgo cajou.

TT appears by the deseription of the anacar- .
dium how very. impr At is called a nut,
for it is. the kernel. larg e fr , tho

rowing In @ singular manner. "The case is just.
fhe same with respect to the Caikew. nut, tor it
is neither a nut nor a bean, any more than the
other : : “put it is necessary to keep to the common —
_ names, and it is proper they. = be mentioned

aa
‘Phe tree which pebduten it is large and aes
ing ; the bark is of a pale colour, rough and .
cracked, nd. the wood. is: brittle. The leaves ae
are half a foot long, and two or three ipches
broad, blunt at the end, and of a fine gr
colour. The flowers are small, but they grow
in tufts together. The fruit is of the bigness _
and shape of a pear, and of an orange and pur=
ple e our mixt together; the Cashew nut or
pean, as it is called, hangs naked from the
bottom of this fruit. It is of the bigness of a

pees , and indented in the manner of a
: kidney ; itis of a greyish colour, and consists of |
oo shelly coverin

in = = a fine white e fleshy’ sub-

5

a>

FAMILY HERBAL. 29

stance within, as sweet asan almond. Between
the two coats of this shell, as between those of
the anacardium, there is a sharp and caustic oil,
which serves in the same manner as the other
to take off freckles, but it must be used with
great caution. It actually burns the skin, so that
it must be suffered to lie on only a few moments ;
and even when used ever so cautiously, it some-
times causes mischief,

‘The Bencat Bean-treg. Faba. Bengalensis.-

A LARGE tree, native of the East, and not
unlike our plum-tree. It is thirty or forty feet
high ; the leaves are roundishy but sharp-pointed,
and of a deep green ; they arc finely indented, and
of a firm texture. The flowers are large and
white ; they resemble, in all respects, the blossoms
of our plum-trees. The fruit is a kind of plum,
of a long shape, with a small quantity of fleshy
matter, and a very large stone. It is a kind -of
—myrobolan, but is not’ exactly the same with any
that we use. . ‘ ‘ai
The -Bengal bean, as it is called, is ani
production of this tree: it is very ill-named

| uly a gall like those of the oak;
ot rise like them from the wood or
from the fruit of this particular plum.
It is as broad as a walnut, but flatted, and
hollowed in the center; its original is this >
_ There is a little black fly frequent in that coun~—
try, which lodges its eggs in the unripe fruit of
this particular plum, as we have insects in Eng-
land, which always choose a particular plant, |
and a particular part for that purpose. The fly
always strikes the fruit while itis green, and has
but the rudiments of the stene. It grows dis~ —

~

30. FAMILY HERBAL. -

tempered from the wound, and the stone never
‘ripensin it, but it takes this singular form.

It is an excellent astringent. It is of the na-
ture of the galls of the oak, but less violently
binding. It is good in all purgings and bloody
fluxes, and against the peciioe 0§ of the menses.

Be AR’ eeBexcee Acanthus.

A VERY beautiful plant, native of. Italy,
and some other warm parts of Europe, and kept —
in out gardens. It grows a yard high; the —
stalk *% thick, sigiziid: < and fleshy ; the leaves
grow from the root, and are a foot -long, four
inches broad, very beautifully notched at the
a and k glossy green. The flowers —
‘ind thick ‘short spike at the top
termixed with small leayes ;
= ‘ge, white, and gaping. The |
it when m ‘flower, makes a very beautiful |
appearance: -'The root creeps.

This plant is not so much known in medicine
as it deserves. The root being cut in slices and —
boiled in water, makes an excellent diuretic. de-
coction. It was a great medicine with an eminent
apothecary of Peterborough, and he gave more>

relief with it in the gravel and st eo, me any
other medicine would afford. : al

He:

Bear’ S-FOOT. “Helleborus 1 niger. evs

_ A LOW and eiagala plant, bat et orithout ;
| ite beauty ; it is a native of many parts of
Enrope, but we have it only in gardens ; the
aves are large; each rises from the root singly, 3
on a fvot-stalk of six inches long, and is di-
vided into, nine ae like fingers on a hand:

FAMILY HERBAL. — 3i

sometimes the divisions: are fewer. The flowers -
are very large and beautiful, they are as big as
a common single rose, or nearly so; they are
white, .reddish, or greenish, according to the time
of their having been open; and they stand each
on a single stall; which rises from the root, and
has no leaves on it. It flowersin January.

The root is an excellent purge, it works briskly
but safely; it destroys worms, and is good in
dropsies, jaundice, and many other diseases, and
even in madness. But it is very necessary to keep
it in one’s own garden, for, if the root be bought, —
they commonly sell that of the green flowered

wild or bastard hellebore in its place, which is a
rough medicine. we | |

Lavies’ Bepstraw. Gallium luteum.

APRETTY wild plant, frequent about hedges
in June and the succeeding months. The stalk
is weak and two feet high; the leaves are of a
blackish green, and small; and the flowers are
yellow. The stalk is angular and whitish, very .
brittle, and seldom straight ; the leaves stand a great

conspicuous appearance,
very small. =

This herb is little regarded, but it has very
great virtue ; it should be gathered, when the
flowers are not quite blown, and dried in the
shade. - An infusion of it will cure the most violent
_ bleedings at the nose, and almost all other evacua-
tieni of Blaod. “ade saetee :

-

Seems blown up with wind. <a a

32 FAMILY HERBAL:
Beer. Beta alba.

ah COMMON garden shart eaten ne our ta-
bles, but these often afford medicines as well as
food. The white beet, which is the medicinal
_ kind, grows three or four feet high. The stalk
is robust and strong, the leaves are broad and —
undulated, the flowers are inconsiderable, they |
_ are of a greenish white colour ; the root is large i
and long.

The juice of fresh beet-rodt is an excellent
remedy for the head-ach, and tooth-ach when
the- whole jaw is affected; it is to be snuffed up
the nose to promote sneezing.

The red beet-root is, good for the same pur-

pose, . but it is nok-s0. eens as the white.

Aa “Ware } Bruen, Behen album.

ge

ae COMMON wild plant’ in- our corn fields. It
: is two ae high ; the stalls are weak and often

large, and prickly. ‘They stand. wpm ahs which

This is one of thase plants of our own gr
that have more virtue than people imagine.
t, which is long, white, and ee a is to be
athered before the stalks rise, and dried. An
sion is one of the best remedies known for
vous couiplaints : it wills not hon ene sguert

ce

FAMILY HERBAL. 33

& violent present disorder ; but is an excellent pre-
ehrative, taken cautiously. ae ;

Rep. Bene, Limonium | majus.

A COMMON sed stant about our sea-coasts,
and. a very pretty one. It .grows to a foot
in height; ‘the: stalks ace naked, and the flow-
ersred; and, in their disposition, they somewhat.
resemble lavender, whence-the plant.is also called.
by some sea lavender. About the ‘bottoms o
the. stalks stand clusters of large and. broad
leaves, rounded at the ends, of a deep “green
eolour and fattish substance; these rise. imme-
diately from the root, and the stalks grow up
among them. The stalks are very tough and strong,

aad branched, and ofa palergreen; the root islong ~

and reddish.
The people in Essex cure themselves of purg-
and of overflowings of the menses,. with an
ie haiee of this root ; and itis a very great me-
dicine, though little known, It is to be gathered,
as soon as the you leaves apt eat, ate oe and
dried ; it may be taken in alf a Pure:
for a dose. eat are not the |

34 = ~--« FAMILY HERBAL.

the tree makes ‘a very singtlar appearance. The
fruit is a pod, long, but slender, and containing twe
seeds: these are what we call the ben-nuts. They
are of an oblong figure, and irregularly rigid ; the
shell is hard, but the kernel fat, soft, and oily, and
of a bitter taste. =

The kernel operates by voittié tle stool violently, —
and is seldom used. It affords an oil which has nei-
ther smell nor taste, atid which will keep a long time
without growing rancid.

-The BENJAMIN Tree. Arbor benzionifera.

A BEAUTIFUL tree frequent in the East, and

there alfordit ; grant resin of its name:

ery thépiaidersbie. Tlie, fruit i as big ag
utmeg, and consists of a ‘fleshy substance on

e outside, and a kernel inclosed in a thin and brit
tle shelt within, The tree is properly of the bay-
tree kind.

They cut the branches of the betifathin trees,
and the juice which flows out hardens: by” de-
grees into that reddish and white fragrant
we see. Ttis aa ee medicine in in'disorders of

FAMILY HERBAL. = |

tue. It is frequent.inour woods and among bushes.
and flowers in June. The stalks are almost naked
and a foot high, and the flowers are purple.
There grow many leaves from the root; they
have long stalks, and are broad, above an inch
long, of a blackish green colour, and hairy, blunt
at the point, and indented about the edges.
The stalks are square, of a dark colour, hairy,
and not very strong. The leaves of them are
very few, and very distant ; but they stand two
at a joint, and are like the others. 1e flowers
stand at the tops in form of a kind of thick short
spike ; they are small and purple, and of the shape
of the flowers of mint. |
Betony is to be gathered .when pon) geing to
- flower. It isexcellent fer disorders of the head,
and for all nervous complaints. . The habitual
use of it will cure the most inveterate head-aches. —
it may be taken as tea or dried and powdered.
Some mix it with tebacco.and smoke it, but this
is a more uncertain. method. __
_ ‘There is a tall plant with ana purple flowers
growing by waters, thence. and from the anaes.
e leaves called water betony, but it has no
irtues of this plant ; ; itis a kind of fig-wort,
; the apes aa that asi de in an

A COM] zt IN wild Poa which. Gimbs. ‘int
our hedges, and bears very large white flowers.
The yee weak and gee we y tough,
six or eight fcet twist z any
Ghat con support then. The levee are
and of the shape of a
the any snd sharp. Pee :

ney ave in’pairs, and are of a pale green cos
The flowers are of the breadth of a crown-
ative at the mouth, and narrower to the base, bell-
fashioved, and perfectly white. The root is long
‘and slender.

In Northamptonshire the poor phobic use the root
of this plant fresh gathered and boiled in ale as a
“purge; they save theexpence of the apothecary,

‘and answer the purpose better than any one thing
‘would do forthem. It would nauseate a delicate
stomach, but, for people oftheir strong CORSET SEAN,
‘there is not a better purge.

The Biuueerry Bust Vaccinia nigra.

i The owls are. alae bat. nao alee aed
‘is a faint red, and they are hollowlike a cup.
“The berries are’ as large as the biggest pea, they
: “are ofa blackish colour, and of a pleasant taste.
A’syrup made of the juice of billberries, | | when
“Hot over ripe, is cooling® aud binding ; it isa plea-
‘sant and gentle medicine for women whose menses
i are ah to Pepe. cadamdent, pe

FAMILY ‘HERBAL. ot

fad notched about the edges. ‘The flowers are
inconsiderable ; the fruit is a little scaly. globule, —
preceding the leaves i inspring, =

The juice of the birch-tree, procured by poring
a hole in it | in spring, is diuretic, and good against
the scurvy.~.The leaves, fresh gathered, and boil-
ed in water, aiford a decoction, “which acts in the
same manner, and is goed in dropsies: and in all
cutaneous disorders, aries an noes 0 peat at Age:

Rovxp-noorzn ‘Buitewear: Aristo och oo -
i St itedae AAR Rs Sat

A WILD sldat in Tiss. and the ‘south of -
France; but with us found only in the gardens" of ~
the curious. It has no great beauty, or even sin-

‘gularity in its appearance, till examined. ‘The
stalks are a foot and a half long, but weak ;
they are square, and of a dusky green colour. The
Jeaves are short, broad, and rouidish, of a dusky
green ; also the flowers are long, hollow, and of
an odd form, not resembling the — of other
pee they are. of a’ dusky gr T olo'
the outside, and purple within: the f
i smal] walnut. The ro

38 FAMILY HERBAL,

round, but in a less degree, and are therefore Paes:
eerees

BisHorswkEepD. Ammi.

A WILD plant in Priigce and Italy, but kept
only in our gardens ; “in its external figure, some-
what resembling parsley when in flower. The
stalk is round, firm, and striated; it grows two
feet high. The leaves are of the compound ‘kind,
and formed of many smaller, which are broad,
short, and indented at the edges. The flowers
are, small “and white, but they stand in such
large tufts at the tops of the stalks that they
make a considerable” appearance. Each flower

; | | peal and

vedicine ; they good against the colic
1 the other tavedtial ve vacate are > eae yo
are also diuretic, so that they are ‘particular y
proper ‘in those colics which arise from the stone
in” e kidneys and ureters ; ‘they also promote the
raenses. ;
There is another” ‘dort of bitheps-Heed called
Cretick | ammi, the seeds of which are used in’

FAMILY HERBAL. 39

high ; the leaves are broad and beautiful, and
the flowers grow in athick spike or ear, at the
top of the stalks, and are of a bright red colour.

There rise immediately from the root a uumber
ef large and beautiful leaves, long, broad, and
of a fine green colour.. The stalks on which they
stand, have also a rim of the leaf running down
them; the stalks ate tound, firm, and erect, of
a pale green, and have two or three leaves, like
the « ‘others, but. smaller, on ‘them, placed at dis-
tances. Th € spike of the flowers is. as long,
and as sich as a man’s thumb : ‘theostdot: fe tke |
and contorted, blackish on the outside, and red
within. —_.

If we minded our own herbs, we should need
fewer medicines from abroad. The root of bis-
tort is one of the best astfingents in the world :
not violent, but sure. The time of gathering it
is in March, when the leaves begin. to slroot.
String several of them op a line, and let them
dry i the shade. The powder or decoction of
them, will stop all fluxes of the belly, « and is ore |
oie the safest remedies known for overflowings of

40

but. sharp- ceca and have onde two. little dneg
mear the base ; they are of a dusky green and:
indented, and they grow. singly on_the’;stalke,-
The flowers are small, and of a fine purplish -blue,
with yellow threads in the middle. The. berries
are oblong. This is little rari in praticin’s
but it deserves to. be. Mes, known

the night-shade i 7 Li}
are so ; aus. this has” no harm in it.

the Peet are a safe and excellent purge. , hae
known a Gropsy.. taken eal cured by this stip
megicie.

iB ,00D-worr.. Lapathum sanguineum,

are in dite deg es stain
blood red ;
_ther

FAMILY HERBAL. Al
spitting of blow of blood, |
tis’

eae the cog

the overflowings of the men*
-againsi owielent: purgings and

“Baers "Rabie nae

ep inost ‘domihon bush in our ies The
stalks ate ‘woody, angulated, and of a pur-
plish colour; and they are armed with crooked
Site the leaves are rough, indented, ‘and stand
either five or three ona stalk. The flowers are
white, with a very faint’ tinge of ‘purplish, and
the fruit is _ composed of a number of.
grains.©
The - dao! Pinot things have their use,

The buds of the bramble-leaves boiled in spring
water, and the decoction sweetened with honey, .
are excellent fora sore throat. A ‘syrup made
of the juice of the unripefruit, with very fine
sugar, is Cooling dnd ‘astringent. It is good
immoderate fluxes of the menses, and even
purging '. Phe berriés are to be gathered ened
: , whe bay Hed red.

42 | FAMILY HERBAL.

topsof the branches, and they grow out of scaly
heads. The seeds are beautiful, hard, white, and
shinin

The. leaves which grow on the stalks of the
blue-bottle, fresh gathered and bruised, will stop
the bleeding of: a fresh wound, even if a large
vessel be cut. They aré not sufficiently known
for this purpose, eee ‘they exceed all. other things:
and may save a life where a surgeon is not to be -
had in time for such an accident. A distilled
water of the flowers used to be kept in the shops,
but it was of no value. An infusion of them
works gently by urine.
' ‘There isa large kind of this pleut in gardens,
which is called a Lo saavon or wound herb. But at

rommon in its wild state. — With + us “+4
‘Grant hep insome other parts. S&P Barts:

it is a tolerably large shrub. The bark is ahitiehe
the wood yellow; the leaves small, roundish,
smooth, ‘of a. ory ‘@ark green colour, and very

i¢ flowers are small ‘and greenish
is littke, round, and furnished

FAMILY HERBAL. 43

distillation, which is good for the tooth-ach, It
‘s oes Si os on. tes and to mhepet into the
00

3 Sous. Borage.

A ROUGH plant common in our Pee ie aia
great leaves, and beautiful blue flowers. It grows
two feet high; the stalks are thick, round, fleshy,
and juicy ; and covered with a kind of hairiness
sosturdy that it almost amounts to the nature of
prickles, ‘The leaves are oblong, broad, very rough,

-and wrinkled ; and they have the same sort of
hairiness, but less stiff than that of the stalk ; the
largest grow from the root, but those on the ‘talks
are nearly of the same shape. The flowers are
placed toward the tops of the branches ; they are
divided into five parts, of a most beautiful blue, and
have a black eye as it were in the middle.

Borage has the credit of being a great cordial ;
but if it possess any such virtues, they are to be ob-
tained only by a light cold infusion ; so that the

way of throwing it into. cold. wine is better than

all the seseeneh ons rations, cae om i

our hedges i in many mt "The le: ave 3 ar : some-
: those of | ithe Mine: paid flowe ~ r ‘in

and divided deeply at the edge, and ling are hairy,

‘The flowers are of 2 greenish white and small, but
_the berries are moderately large and full of seeds.-’

- The root is the only part used in. medicine ; ihe
- Juice of it operates very. strongly by vomit and stvol,

and that inasmall dose. All constitutions cannot
bear it, but, for-those that can, it is excellent in
many severe diseases ; dropsies have been cured by
it. It is also good against hysteric complaints, but
for this purpose it is tobe given in very small bine
and Aronendiy repeated.

» Baace Busou. Brionia nigra.

a

“THERE i is ait any instance alain: more “eon
our neglect.of | of our own growth,

angaulat are broad, ‘
ied: of a licatistike shape, and are pacity smooth —
and shining, and of a — and very deep blacki
The flowe a7 all and of a greet
5 Dhe root is. blac
<8

FAMILY. ‘HERBAL. 4555

waters, witha thick stalk, roundish leaves, and
spikes of little brig’ t blue flowers, Brooklime
grows to a foot high. The stalk “is round, fleshy
and large, yet it « 3 wot gtom: ‘very upright: it
strikes root at the lower joints. ‘The leaves are
broad, oblong, blunt at the end, and a little
indented on the edges. The flowers: stand singly
on short foot-stalks one over another, so that they —
form a kind of loose spike ; the roots are fibrous. —
- Brooklime has great virtues, but mus’ be used
fresh gathered, for they are all lost in drying. The
juice in spring is very good against the ‘SCURVY 5
but it must be taken for some time. It works
tly by urine, but its ae 7 wiotue ees
the blood.

Bree

Broom. olitai:

A COMMON abel dabibee shrub that grows
-on waste grounds, and bears yellow flowers in
May. Itis two or three feet high. The stalks

are very tough, angular, and g een. The leaves”
are few: and th ley are alsa’s mall; they grow three

a 2)

‘tt oneal wild. with Pane in m: marshy test and is
of so. very ‘singular appearance, that’ it mu

SILY HERBAL.

Borcnens-Broom. —

sie LITT LE shrubby plant febcitetit on our Poviesti
grounds and heaths, with small prickly leaves
and bushy tops. The plant grows a foct anda
half high, — The stalks are roundish, striated, thick,
and very tough. “They are naked- towards the
bottom, and divide into some branches towards the
top: they are there covered with leaves. ° These
leaves are short, broad, oval, and pointed, the point
running out in a prickle ; they are of a bluish green,
and very thick and fleshy. The flowers are seldom
regarded ; they grow in a singular manner upon the
backs of the leaves ; they are very small and pur-
arcs ee are sueceeded each by a single berry,

, but of pera el

FAMILY HERBAL. AT

together in a kind of thick: short spike, so that in

the cluster they make a conspicuous appearance ;
they are white with a very faint tinge of purple,
and are, hairy within 5 the s00b a: whitish, long,
and thick.

The leaves of cok hank are te: are ‘eetherod
before the stalks appear for flowering, and are
to be dried ; the powder of them will cure agues,
but their great use is against the rheumatism =
for this purpose. they are to be given fora con-
tinpaneeid of. me in lt or in. the manner of

“ Beoxrsonx. “Spina e cerns.

. "PRICKLY ahh, common in our. hedganp
with pale green leaves, and black berries. It
grows to eight or ten feet high. The bark is
dark coloured and glossy, and the twigs are tough.
The leaves are oval, of a very regular and pretty
figure, and elegantly. dented round the ag :
The flowers are little, and. inconsiderable ;
are of a greenish yellow, and grow ates clus
Soa Be> Boras: ; tale are espe in Septen .

48 FAMILY HERBAL.

from the root ; and in the heads like other plan-
tains, although so very unlike them in its: leaves.
The root is long and slender; the leaves:-which
lie thus. flat upon the ground, are narrow and
long, very beautifully notched, and divided so as
to resemble a buck’s horn, whence the name, and
of a pale whitish green, and a little hairy. The
stalks are slender, six inches long, but. seldom
quite erect: they are round, hairy, and whitish,
and have at the top a spikeof flowers of -an inch
or two in length, altogether like that of the other
plantains, only more slender.

This plant has obtained the name of star of
the earth, from the way of the leaves spreading
themselves. These leaves bruised, and applied
to a fresh wound, stop the. bleeding and. effect
acure. It is said also-to be a a remedy against
the bite of a mad dog, bu pitts stained round:

betas (eiageis 2 2 Rs i a

Buers.: "Buguta

| A COMMON. wilat pee eat a wary pretty
one, with glossy leaves, creeping stalks, and blue
flowers ; it is frequent in damp woods. « ‘The
stalks, ween they rise up to bear the flowers, ‘are
eight or ten inches high, square, of a pale green
colour, oftera little purplish ; and have two leaves
atevery jomt, the joints bemg somewhat ‘distant.
These leaves are of the same form withethose
which rise immediately from the root ; obldng,
broad, blunt at the point, and of a deep green
colour, sometimes also a little purplish, and are ©
slightly indented round the edges. The flowers

> small and of a beautiful blue, i in shape Jike
ose of betony ; they grow in a sort of circles
id the upper ‘part of the stalks; forming a kind

FAMILY HERBAL: _ 49

' ef loose spikes. The cups remain when the flowers
are gone, and hold the seeds,

The juice of this plant is esteemed good for in-
ward bruises; itis a very good diuretic,

Buctoss. Buglossum hortense. —

A ROUGH and unsightly plant kept in our
gardens for the sake of its virtues, but very rare-
ly used. It grows to a foot and a half high ;
the leaves are rough like those of borage, but
they are long and narrow, of a deep green colour,
and rough surface. The stalks are also covered
with a rough and almost prickly hairiness. The —
same sort of leaves stand on these as rise imme--
diately from the root, only smaller. ‘Fhe flow-
ers stand at the tops of the branches, and are very
pretty, though not very large ; they are red when
they first open, but they afterwards become blue.
the root is long and brown. It flowers in June
and July. i

Bugloss shares with borage the credit of being _
a cordial; but perhaps neither of them have any
great title to the character ; it is used like borage,
in cool tankards ; for there is no way of mee
any regular preparation of it, that is possessed of |
ONY VILtWER carat cee
_ There is a wild kind of bugloss upon ditch-
banks, very like the garden kind, and of the same
virtues. = ge er ae

Burvocx. Bardand.

__IF the Jast-mentioned plant has more credit for

medicinal virtues than it deserves, ‘this is not so
much regarded as it ought. Providence has made —

some of the most useful plants the most common 5
H oe ae

50 FAMILY HERBAL,
but, betause they are so; we’ foolishly neglect
them.

It is hardly necessary to describe the common bur-
dock. It may be enough to say, that it grows a yard
high, and has vast leaves, of a figure approach-
ing to triangular, and of a whitish green colour.
The stalks are round, striated, and very tough:
The flowers are small and red, and they grow
aiiong the hooked prickles of those heads which
we call burs, and which stick to our clothes.
Eyen this seems a provision of nature in kindness
tous, In pulling off these we scatter the seeds of
which they are composed, and give rise to a most
useful plant in a new place. The root of the
burdock is long and thick ; brown on the outside,
and whitish within; this is the part used in mee
dicine, and -it is of very great virtues. It is to
be boiled, or infused in water, the virtue is diu-
retic, and it is very powerfully so. It has cured
dropsies alone. The seeds have the same virtue,
but in a less degree. The root is said to be
sudorifie and good in fevers ; but its virtue in ope-
tating by urine is its great value.

Burner. Pimpinella sanguisorba.

A COMMON wild plant. It grows by way-
aides, and in dry places, and flowers in July. The
leaves which rise immediately from the root are
very beautiful; they are of the winged kind, being
composed ofa great number of smaller, growing |
on each side a middle rib, with an odd one at the
end. They are broad, short, roundish, and elegant-

Pe eeiiied round the edges. ‘The stalks are a
foot igh, round, striated, purplish or green, and.

almost naked ; the few. leaves they have are like

FADULW HERBAL. 5]

stand the flowers ; they are disposed in little round

_ clusters, and aresmall, and of a pale reddish co-
lour, and have a number of threads in the middle.

Burnet is called a cordial, and a sudorific, and is

recommended in fevers. They put it also into cool

tankards, like borage. The root is a good astrin-

gent; dried and powdered, it stops fluxes, and
overflowings of the menses, : ; z

Borner Saxirrace. Pimpinella sazifraga,

A PRETTY plant, wild in our dry pastures,
and under hedges, but not very common in all
parts of the kingdom; it grows two feet high,
and has the flowers in umbels. The stalk is
firm, striated, and branched; the leaves rising
from the root are pinnated, and the lesser leaves
of which they are composed, are hard,- of a deep
preen, narrow, and indented. ‘The leaves upon
the stalks are smaller and narrower ; the flowers
are little and white, but they stand in so large
clusters, that they make a figure: the root is
white, and of a hot burning taste; the seeds are
striated. . . ee

The root is the only part used; it should be
taken up in spring before the stalks shoot up, and
dried ; it isvery good in colics, and disorders of the
stomach, and it works by urine. :

Butrer-Bur. Petasites.

A VERY singular and very conspicuous plant,
not unfrequent with us in. wet places. The flow-
ers appear before the leaves, and they would
hardly be supposed to.belong to the same plant.
whitish colour, and haye afew films by way of

52 FAMILY HERBAL.

‘eaves upon them. On the top of each stands
‘aspike of flowers, of a pale reddish eolour;
the whole does not rise to more than eight mches
in height. These appear in March. When they
are dead, the leaves grow up ; these are roundish,
green on the upper side, and whitish underneath,
of a vast bigness, and stand singly upon hollowed
foot-stalks, of a purplish, whitish, or greenish co-~
lour; they are often two feet broad. The root*
is white and long, it creeps under the surface of the
ground.

The root-is the part used; it is praised very
highly, as a remedy in pestilential fevers ; but,
whether it deserves that praise or not, it is a goo
diuretic, and excellent in the gravel. —

| BuR-REED. Sparganium. —

A COMMON water plant, with leayes lke
flags, and rough heads of seeds: It is two or three
feet high. ‘he stalks are round, green; thick,

_ and upright. The leaves are very long and nat-

row, sharp at the edges, and with a sharp ridge

onthe back along the middle; they are of a pale
green, and look fresh and beautiful. The flowers:
are in¢onsiderable and yellowish: they stand in @
kind of circular tufts about the upper parts of the
stalk : lower down stand the rough fruits called
burs, from whence the plant obtained its name ;

_ they are of the bigness of a large nut meg, green and
rough. The root is composed of a quantity of

white fibres. say tan FS

The unripe fruit is used: they are astringent,

and good against fluxes of the belly, and bleed-

Ings of all kinds: the best way of giving them

1s infused in a rough red wine, witha little cin- \

namon. - They use them in some parts of England

‘FAMILY HERBAL. 53

extercally for wounds. A strong decoction of
them is made to wash old ulcers, and the juice is
applied to fresh hurts, and they say with great
success, |

c.
The Cuocozrats Nout-rrer. Cacao.

"THIS is an American tree, very beautiful, as
on as very valuable for its fruit. The trunk.
of the thickness of a man’s leg, and the
height of fifteen feet; bot in this it differs
greatly according to the soil ; and the size of the
ruit also will differ from the same cause, whence
some have talked of four different kinds of the
chocolate nut. The tree grows very regularly. —
The surface is uneven, for the bark rises inte
tubercles ; the leaves are half a foot long, three
inches broad, of a fine strong green, and pointed
at the ends. The flowers are small and yel-
lowish, and they grow in clusters from the
branches, and even from the trunk of the tree ;
but each has its separate stalk. The fruit is of
the shape of a cucumber, half a foot long.
and thicker than a man’s wrist; this is ridged,
and, when ripe, of a purplish colour, with some
tinct of yellow. The cacao nuts, as they are
ealled, are lodged witbin this fruit; every fruit
contains between twenty and thirty of them. They
are of the bigness of a large olive, but not so
thick : and are composed of a woody shell, and a
large. kernel, which affords the chocolate.

‘The common way of taking this in chocolate
is not the only one in which it may be given;
the nut itself may be put into electuaries. It is

: very nourishing and restorative. aka

b4 FAMILY HERBAL.
Caramint. Calamintha.

A COMMON wild plant of great virtues, but
too much neglected. It is frequent by our
‘hedges, and in dry places, and is a very robust

herb. It is eight or ten inches high, and has
roundish dark yreen leaves, and white flowers.
The stalks are square, and very much branched :
the leaves are of the bigness of a man’s thumb-
nail, somewhat hairy, and slightly indented about
the edges. The flowers stand in little clusters
surrounding the stalks, aud are of a whitish co-
Jour, a little tinged with purplish. The root is
composed of a few fibres. Calamint should be gar
thered when just coming into flower, and careful-
ly dried ; itis afterwards to be given in the man-
ner of tea, and it will do great service in weak~-
nesses of the stomach, and in habitual colics.
J have knowneffectual and lasting cures performed
by it. : 7 3

Penny-royaL Canamint. Calamintha odore
pulegh.

A LITTLE plant of the same kind with the
other, and found in the same places, but more com-
mon. It is a foot high: the stalks are robust
and firm; the leaves are small, and of a whitish
green colour, and more hairy than in the other:
‘the flowers are smalland white, with a tinge of
purple ; the plant grows more erect and is less

branched than the other ; and it has a very strong
and not a very agreeable smell ; the other isstrong~
seented and pleasant. ee ES
“This is to be preserved dry as the other, and
taken inthe same manner. It isexcellent against
will bring them to'a regular course. ee

.FAMILY HERBAL, 55
Catves’ Snout or Snappracon. Antirrhinum.

A COMMON wild plant in many parts of
Europe, and is very frequent in onr gardens, and
upon the walls of gardens: Its natural situation
is on hills among barren rocks, and nothing
comes so near that, as the top of an old wall
with us: the seeds are light and are easily car-
ried thither by the wind, and they never fail to
strike, and the plant flourishes. It is two feet
high, the stalks are round, thick, firm, and to-
lerably upright, but generally a little bent. towards
the bottom; the leaves are very numerous;
they are oblong, narrow, not indented at the edges,
blunt at the ends, and of a bluish green colour.
The flowers are large and red, they stand in a kind
of loose spikes upon the tops of the stalks ; the root
is white and oblong.

The fresh tops are used; an infusion of them
‘works by urine, and has been recommended by .
some in the jaundice, and in other diseases arising
from obstructions of the viscera ; but we have
so many English plants that excel in this particn-
lar, and the taste of the infusion is so far from
agreeable, that it is not worth while to have recourse
to it. = | e

- Camen’s way. Schenanthus.

A SORT of grass of a fragrant smell, frequent
in many parts of the East, and brought over
tous dried for the use of medicine. It grows to
a foot high, and in all respects resembles some of
our common kinds of grass, particularly the dar-
nel. The Ieaves are long and narrow: the
stalks are round and jointed, and have grassy leaves

also on them, and the flowers stand on the tops of —

56 FAMILY HERBAL,

the stalks ina double series: they are not unlike

those of our grasses, chaffy and ornamented with
a few filaments. 6

. It was at one time in great esteem as a, medi-
cine ; theycalled it a cordial, and a-promoter of

the menses, but it is now very little regarded.

Cuamomite. Chamoemelum.

A COMMON low wild plant, of ‘a beautiful
green, a fragrant smell, and with flowers not un-
like daisies. It is frequent on damp heaths, andgets
no good by being brought into gardens. -It grows
larger there, but has less efficacy. Ivits wild state.
. it spreads its branches upon the ground, taking root
at the joints. ‘The stalks are round, green, and
thick ; the leaves are very finely divided, andof a
dark blackish green colour. The flowers grow
upon long foot-stalks, and are white at the edge —

and yellow in the middle: the flowers are most
used. Those which are raised for sale are double,

and they have'very little virtue in comparison of

the single ones. They are to be taken in tea, which
is a p'easant bitter ; or in powder they are excellent
tor disorders of the stomach, and have sometimes
eured agues, as many other bitters will. The tea
made of them is also good against the colic, and
works by urine, >: | 7

- The Campuire-Tree. Arbor camphorifera.

-. THIS is a kind of bay-tree of the East Indies,

_ but it grows to the height of our tallest trees. The
bark is brown and uneven on the trunk, but it is
“smooth and green on the young branches. The

~ Yeaves are like those of the common hay-tree, only

a little longer ; and they are curled at the edges.

_ FAMILY HERBAL. SF

The flowers are small and white, and the fruit is
aberry, altogether like our bay-berries, and of the
bigness of a large pea. The wood of the tree is
white or a little reddish, and veined with black
and smells of the camphire. . The leaves also, when
they are bruised, smell of camphire ; and the fruit
most of all. ; : t

The only product of this tree, used in medicine,
is the resin called camphire ; and this is not a natu-
ral, but a sort of chemical preparation. They cut
the wood to pieces and put it into a sort of subli-
ming vessel with an earthen head fullof straw. -
They make fire underneath, and the camphire rises
in form of a white meal, and is found among the -
straw. This is refined afterwards, and becomes
_ the camphire we use.

‘It is sudorific and works by urine ; it also pro-
motes the menses, and is good in disorders of the
bladder.

- Warte Campion. Lychnis flore albo.
A COMMON wild plant in our hedges and dry

pastures, with hairy leaves, and white flowers. It
grows toa foot anda half high : the stalks are round
an? hairy; the leaves are of an oval form, and also
hairy; and they grow two at every jomt: they are
of a dusky green, and are not indented about the
édges. ‘The flowers are modetately large, and
white; they grow ina kind of small clusters on
the tops of the branches, and each has its separate
foot-stalk. sag vate 3

This is a plant not much regarded for its virtues,
but if deserves notice ; the country people gather
the flowers in some places, and give them in the .

whites and other weaknesses with success.

58 FAMILY HERBAL.

Tue Caner Bark-Tree, cALLED THE WINTER'S
Barx-Tree. Canellaalba,

_A VERY beautiful American tree. It grows
fifty feet high, and is commonly much _ branched.
The bark is of a greyish brown: the leaves are
very like those of the bay-tree, and the flowers are
purple; they are singly very small, but theystand
ina kind of umbels, and make a very pretty figure:
the fruit is a berry which stands in the cup of the
flower : It is of the bigness of a pea, and of a deep
blackish purple when ripe. It is frequent in
Jamaica in wet places.

_ The inner rind of this tree is the part used in
medicine ; it is brought to us rolled up in quills, in
the manner of cimamon, and is of a spicy taste,
and of a whitish colour. —Its proper name is canella
alba, white canel ; but the druggists have aceustom-
- ed themselves to call it cortex winteranus, winter’s-
bark. It has the same virtues with that, but ina
much less degree; and they are easily known
asunder, that being the whole bark of the tree,
and composed of two coats; this being only the
inner bark, and therefore composed only of one.
Itis good in weaknesses of the stomach, and in
habitual colics. Some recommend it greatly in
palsies and all nervous complaints, but its virtues
of this kind aré not so well ‘established.

_Canrersury Betts. Trachelium majus.

A VERY beautiful wild plant with leaves like
eee nettle, and large and very elegant blue
flowers. It grows by road-sides, and in dry
pastures, and is two or three feet high. The stalks
are square, thick, upright, strong, and hairy.
The leaves grow irregularly, they are of a dusky

é

FAMILY HERBAL. 59

green, and stand upon long foot-stalks; they are
broad at the base, and sharp at the point, and all
the way indented very sharply at the edges. They
are hairy and rough to the touch. The flowers
grow ten ora dozen together at the top of every
branch ; they are very large and of a beautiful
blue colour, hollow and divided into several parts
at the extremity. If the soil be poor, the flowers
will vary in their colour to a pale blue, reddish, or
white, but the plant is still the same.
The fresh tops, with the buds of the flowers
upon them, contain most virtue, but the dried
leaves may be used. An infusion of them sharp-
ened with a few drops of spirit of vitriol, and
sweetened with honey, is an excellent medicine
for sore throats, used by way of a gargle. The
plant is so famous*for this virtue, that one of its
common English names is throat-wort: if the
medicine be swallowed, there is no harm in it ; but,
inthe use of every thing in this way, it is best to
spit the liquor out together with the foulnesses
which it may haye washed from the affected parts.

The Caper Surus. Capparis.

A COMMON shrub in France and Italy, and
kept in our gardens. The pickles which we know
under the name of capers, are made of the buds of
the flowers, but the part to be used in medicine is
the bark of the roots. —

‘The shrub grows to no great height; the
branches are weak, and ill able to support them-
selves, they are tough and prickly : the leaves stand
irregularly, and are of an oval or roundish figure ;
the thorns are hooked like those of the bramble ;_
the flowers, when full opened, are purplish and
very pretty : the fruit is roundish. =

60 FAMILY HERBAL.

The hark ofthe root is io be taken in powder,
or infusina ; it is good against obstructions of the
liver and spleen, in the jaundice, and hypochondriae
compiaints : it is also commended in indigestions,

The Carnanna TREE. Caranna arbor,

A TALL East Tndine tree, and a very. beautiful
one: the trunk is thick, and the bark upon it is
brown and rough ; that on the young branches is
smooth and yellowish. The leaves are long and
narrow, like those of some of our willow-trees,
The flower is small and of a pale colour, and the
fruit is of the bigness of an apple.

Theresincalled gum carauna, is a product of.
this tree ; it is procured by cutting the branches ;
they send it in rolls covered with leaxen of rushes ;
it is , blackish on the outside, and brown within.

It is suposed a goal nervous medicine, but it is
rarely used. on

Be LESSER Car DAMOM eR Cardamomum
: MINUS. ,

AN East Indian plant, in many respects resem-
bling our reeds. It grows to ten or twelve fect
high. » The stalk is an inch thick, round, smooth,
green, and hollow, but with a pith within. The
deaves are half a yard long, and as broad as a man’s
hand : besides these stalks, there arise from the same
root others which are weak, tender, and about
eight inches high; these produce the flowers which
are small and greenish, and after eyery flower one
of the fruits, called the lesser cardamoms, which
area light d:y hollow fruit, of a whitish colour,
and some what triangular shape ; of the bigness of
an horse-bean and of adry substance on the out-

FAMILY HERBAL. 6]

side, but with several seeds within, which are red-
dish and very acrid, but pleasant to the taste.
These fruits are the lesser cardamoms, or, as
they are generally called, the cardamem seeds of
the shops. They are excellent to strengthen the
stomach, and assist digestion. They are also good
for disorders of the head, and they are equal to
~ any thing against colics; they are best taken by
chewing them singly in the mouth, and their iaste is
not at all Cisagreeable, _ pee TS
. The two other kinds are the middle cardamom,
along fruit very rarely met with, and the great
cardamom, otherwise called the grain of paradise, ©
much hetter than the cardamoms.

The Caranna Tree. Caragna.

A TALL and spreading tree of the West Indies,
the branches are numerous, and irregular; the
trunk is covered with a brown bark, the branches
with a paler, they are brittle ; the leaves are long
and narrow, of a pale green, and sharp pointed ; the
flowers are small, the fruit is roundish and of the
bigness of an apple. This is the best account we.
naye of it, but this is far from perfect or satisfac-
tory mm every respect. jad

All that we use of it is a resin which oozes
out of the bark, in the great heats ; this is brown, .
somewhat soft, and we have it in oblong pieces,
rolled up in rushes ; we put it only externally ; a
plaister made of it is good for disorders of the head, -
and some say will cure the sciatica without internal
mediciues, but this is not probable. :

Caruine Tuistie. Carlina.

I HAVE observed ‘that many plants are vot —

G2 _ FAMILY HERBAL.

so much regarded for their virtues as they ought
io be; there are on the contrary some which are
celebrated more than they deserve: the carline
thistle is of this last number. It is not wholly
without virtues, but it has not all that are ascribed
— to it. .

This is a plant without any stalk. The leaves
are long, narrow, of a dark green colour, divided
and prickly at the edges ; and they lie spread upop
the ground in manner of a star. ‘The flower
appears in the midst of these without a stalk, rising
immediately from the root, with several small
leaves round about it. It is the head of a thistle,
and the flowery part is white on the edge, and yel-
low in the middle. The root is long, and of a brown
colour on the outside, and reddish within ; it is of a
warm aromatic taste. 7

This is the only part of the plant used in medi-
cine. They say it is a remedy for the plague: but
however that may be, it is good in nervous com-
plaints, and in stoppages of the menses,

The Caraway Prant. Carum.

A WILD plant of the umbelliferous kind, fre-
quent in most parts of Europe, but cultivated in
Germany for the sakeoftheseed. I have met with
it yery common in Lincolnshire.

it grows to a yard high; the sialks are striated
and firm; the leaves are finely divided, and the —
- flowers are white and small, they grow in tufts, or
umbels, on the tops of the branches ; the seeds that
_ follow them are very well known. |
_ The seeds are excellent in the colic, and in disor-

$

ders of the stomach, they are best chewed. .

FAMILY HERBAL. 63
Witp Carror. Daucus sylvestus.

A COMMON plant about the hedges, and in
dry pastures. It grows near a yard high, and
has small flowers, and after them rough seeds dis-
posed in umbels, at the tops of the branches, these
are hollow, and thence called by the children birds?
nests.

The stalks are striated and firm, the leaves
are divided into fine and numerous partitions, and
are of a pale green and hairy; the flowers are
white.

The seed is the part used in medicine, and it
is a very good diuretic ; it is excellent in all dis-
orders of the gravel and stone, and all obstruc-
tions of urine ; it is also good in stoppages of the

menses.

Canpy Carots. Daucus Cretensis.

A PLANT frequent in the east, and cultivated
in some places for the seed. It grows near a yard
high ; the stalk is firm, upright, striated, and
brauched: the leaves are like those of fennel,.
only more finely divided, and of a whitish colour;
the flowers are white, and the seeds are oblong, ©
thick in the middle, and downy.

These seeds are the only part used: They are
good in colics, and they work by urine, but
those of our own wild plant are more strongly di-

tretic.
The Cascaritia Tree. Cascarilla.

A TREE of SouthAmerica, of the fruits and
flowers of which we have but very imperfect

6¢ FAMILY HERBAL.

accounts, though we are very well acquainted
with the hark of its young branches. What we
have been told of it is, that the branches are nu-
merous, and spread irregularly; that the leaves
are oblong, green on the upper side, and whi-
tish underneath ; and the flowers small, fragrant,
and placed ina sort of clusters. F

The bark which our druggists sell, is greyish on
the outside, brown within, and is of an agree-
able smell: -when burnt they call it Eleutherian
bark, and bastard jesuit’s bark : itis cordial and
astringent. It is very properly given in fevers
attended with purging. And many have a cus-
tom of smoking it among tobacco, as a remedy.
for head-achs, and disorders of the nerves : it also
does good in pleurisies and peripneumonies : some
have recommended it as a sovereign remedy in those —
cases, but that goes toofar. 8

= — ‘The Cassra Fisruta Tree. Cassia jistula,

THIS isa large tree,native ofthe East, and
a very beautiful one when in flower. It grows
twenty or thirty feet high, and is very much
branched. The leaves are large, and of adeep |
green, and each is composed of three or four

airs of smaller, with an odd one at the end.

he flowers are of a greenish yellow, but they
are very bright, and very numerous, so that they

make a fine appearance, when the tree is full of

them: the pods follow these, they are two feet
long, black, and woody, having within a black,
soft, pulpy matter andtheseeds,,

This pulpy matter is the only part used in
medicine. itis a gentle and excellent putge, the
lenitive electuary owes its virtues to it. It never

FAMILY HERBAT. 65

binds Gherdieis and therefore is an excellent medi-
cine for those who are of costiye habits ; a small
dose of it being taken frequently, '

‘The Cassia Bark TREE. Cassia lignea. |
THIS is a ‘large spreading tree, freqisiie? in

the East Indies, and very much resembling the
cinnamon tree in- ‘its ppearance. eee sat :

ches are — covered ~a- Drow

leaves. are oblong ate 30

ae deep green colo and f t smell.
flowers are small, aad the fruit resem)!

_ cinnamon tree, >. senate cs we ee

The bark 6 the branches of aia wes tree ’
only part used in medicine ; it is of a wsdl ag
colour like cinnamon, and resembles it in smell
and taste, orly it is fainter in the smell, and Tess
acrid to the taste ; and it leaves a glutinous or
mucilaginous inattes in the mouth. It is» often

mixed among cinnamen, and it possesses the same _
virtues, but ma lessdegree. However in purgings
itis better than cinnamon, because of its mucila~

jus nature. It is an excellent remedy |

ese cases, and is hot so much t sé

: ‘The Cassia Ciercee RTE; OR . Crove: Bar
. — - Cassia pete weir =,

bruised, Jes Sark a very hapa Seal: the flow- :

~

$9 FAMILY HERBAL:

érs are small and blue, and have a white eye in the
middle.

‘The only part of this tree used in medicine,
is the inner bark of the branches. This is brown,
thin, and rolled up like cinnamon; it is hard ia
colour, of a spicy smell,.and in taste it has a mixed
flavour of cinnamon and cloves, and is very hot and
pungent.

It-is good in disorders of the stomach, ‘and in
colics,: but it is not so much used as it de-
serves,

Cassipony, on Arasian Sracnas.. Stechas
Arabica.

A VERY fragrant and pretty shrub, native
of Spain, and many other warm parts of Europe.
It grows much in the manner of lavender, to a yard
or, more in height, — is not uncommon in our
urdens. The branches are firm and woody: the
young shoots are pliable and‘ square, and are
naked to the top. The leaves stand upon the
branches two ateach joint, they are long, narrow, ~
2nd white. The flowers stand in little clusters or .
heads, like those of lavender; and there are two or
three large and beautiful deep blue leaves upon the.
tops of aa heads, which give them a yery elegant

Phe flov flowers are the’ only. part used : they are
of the nature of those of lavender, but more
aromatic in the smell: they are very serviceable
n all nervous. complaints, and help to promote.
menses. jens are. best taken d 10"

*

FAMILY HERBAL.’ 67
"The Cassemunar Pranr. -Cassumunar,

"A COMMON plant of the East Indies, but of
which we do not seem to have yet so perfect a des-
cription ‘as might be wished. Its leaves are’ large,
long, and like those of our flags, and they involve one
another in a singular manner about their bases.
The flowers are small, and they are in shape’ some-
what like those of certain of our orchises. They
are mottled with’ purple and yellow: the seed is
little and brown, the root creeps under the surface
of the ground, and is of a yellow colour, and
fragrant smell, and of a warmtaste., 2

The root is used: we have it at the druggists,
It is of the same nature with zedoary, and has
by some been called the yellow zedoary. It isa
very gnod medicine in nervous and hysteric com
plaints. dt is warm and strengthening to the sto~
mach: it is remarkably good against the head-’
ach and in fevers. It operates quick by urine and —

© Canmnwr Nepetas os

A COMMON wild ‘plant about our hedges,
but of very great virtues; it grows a yard high,
and has broad whitish leaves, and white flowers
like mint. The stalks are square, whitish, hairy,
and erect : the leaves stand two at a joint: they
are broadest at the base, and terminate in an ob-
tuse end ; they are a little indented at the edges,
and of a whitish green on the upper side, and very
white underneath. The flowers are small and
white ; and they grow ina kind of spiked clusters,
surrounding the stalks at certain distances.. The
whole plant has a very strong and not very agree.

68 FAMILY HERBAL.

Citrine: should be gathered just-when the
flowers are opening, and dried. ' It is an excelient
- woman’s medicine ; an infusion of it is good against
_ hysterie complaints, vapours, and fits, and it mode-
_ rately promotes the menses : it is alse good to: pro-
mote the evacuations pe delivery.

Grear Cotanpixz. ~ Chelidonium majus.

A COMMON wild plant with large leaves, re
yellow flowers: which, when broken in any part,
stalk, or leaves, emits a yellow juice. It grows
three feet high, but the stalks are not very robust,
they are round, green, and naked, with thick joints.
The leaves stand two at each joint ; they are large,
long, and. deeply divided at the edges, and are of
-ayellowish green. The flowers ‘are small, but of
a beautiful yellow, and— they’ stand on Tong, fpet-

‘4 Edlacdine eal he tised fresh, ae it looses ‘the
greatest part of its virtue in drying. The juice
is the best way of giving it ; and this is an excel-
Tent: medicine in_ the jaundice : it is also good
against all obstructious of the viscera, and if con-
tinued a time, will do, great service against the
scurvy. ~ The juice also is used successfully | DF,
sore eyes. ;

© Larrir CELANDINE. Chelidonium minus,

THE great and the little. ‘celandine lants
50 perfectly different, that it is hard to conceiy
_ what could induce the old writers t
. by the same name. They hardly a
ny thing, except it be that they have bot oW
“= “The. great celandine | app aches to the
nature ¢ of the PONY 3 3 the | pci I celandine to that

FAMILY HERBAL. 69

of the crow-foot ; nor are they. per. mnke alike ia
virtues than in form:

‘Little celandine is: a low. psa Sehich is: seen
almost every where in damp places in spring, with
bread deep green leaves, and glossy yellow flowers.
It does not grow to any height. The leaves are an
inch long, and nearly as broad ; they somewhat
resemble those of the garden hepaticas, and. are of
a dark green and frequently: spotted ; they rise
singly from the root on long, slender,. and naked:
stalks. The flowers rise also singly from the root
on long, slender, and- naked «stalks ; they are as
broad as a shilling, of a fine shining yellow colour,
and composed of a number of leaves. The root is
fibrous, and has small white tuberous: nnd

nected tothe strings. 7

The roots are commended very ata against
the piles, the juice of them is to be taken in-
wardly ; and some are very fond of an ointment
made of the leaves, they chop them in pieces, and
boil them in lard till they are crisp ; then strain off
the lard, which is converted into a fine green
‘cooling ointment. The operation of the roots is $4

_ ‘urine, but not ‘violently:

hei aes!

Lrrur Cexraver. Contaurium minus. poi

A PRETTY wild plant ehil flowersi in ie
in our dry places. It is eight or ten inches high ;
_ the leaves are oblong, broad, and blunt at the oint ; :

the stalks are stiff, firm, and erect ; and the : owers
areof a fine pale red. There grows a cluster of
- Jeaves an inch long or more from the root; the
stalks divided toward the top into several
branches, and the prtqieon are ses daa conned: and

stand ina cluster,
- “'Phis is an exeuitedt? vtomistie. its taste i “e

"0 | FAMILY HERBAL.

pleasant bitter, and given in infusion; it strength-
ens the stomach, creates an appetite, and is good
also against obstructions of the liver and spleen:
It is on this last account greatly recommended in
jaundices; and the comity ponies cure agues with
at dried end powdered.
As there are a greater and lower celandine, there
isalsoa great as well as this little centaury ; but
the large kindis not a native of our country, nor
used by us in medicine.

CHASTE TREE. Agnus castrus.

A LITTLE shrub, native of Italy, and Seoqibail:
imour gardens. It is five or. six feet high; the
trunk is rough, the branches are smooth, grey,
tough, and long; the leaves are fingered or spread
like the fingers of one’s hand .when opened: five,
six, orseven, of these divisions stand on each stalk,
they are of a deep green above, and whitish under-_
neath ; the flowers are small and of a pale reddish
hue ; they stand in long loose spikes ; the fruit is
as big as a pepper-corn.

"The seeds of this shrub were once supposed
to allay venery, but no body regards that now. A
decoction of the leaves and tops is good against
obstiuctions of the liver.

The Biack Currry TREE. Corasus Fructu nigto. ;

_ THIS i is a well known tall opty and selkauaped, |
“he leaves are broad, roundish, sharp at the point,
and indented | round the edges, The flowers are
white, the fruitis well enough known. The medicinal.
of thi ay the kernel within the. stone... cons has —

FAMILY HERBAL: a1

it was, for this reason, in constant use as a remed:
for children’s fits. Buta better practice has now
obtained : it is highly probable that this water oc-
sasioned the disorders it was given to remove.
Laurel water, when made of a great strength, we
know tobe a sudden poison: when weak, it tastes
like black-cherry-water, and is not mortal; in the
same manner black-cherry-water, which used to
be given to children when weak drawn, has been
found to be poisonous when of great strength. There .
is therefore the greatest reason imaginable to sup-
pose that in any degree of strength, it may do inis~
chief. Very probably thousands of children have
died by this unsuspected medicine

- The gum which hangs upon the branches of
cherry-irees, is of the same nature withthe gum
arabic, and may be used for the same purposes, as
in heat of urine, dissolved in barley-water,

Winter Cuerry. Alkekengi. 2

A VERY singular and pretty plant kept in our
gardens ; it grows two feet high, not very ereet,
nor much branched; the stalk is thick, strong,
and angulated : the leaves are large, broad, and
sharp.pointed ; the flowers are moderately large
and white, but with yeltow threads in the middle ;
the fruit isa round red berry, of the bigness of a
common red cherry, contained in a green hollow
husk, round, and as big asa walnut. ee

The berries are the only partused, they are to
be separated from the husks and dried ; and may be
then given in powder or decoction. They are very
good in stranguries, heat of urine, or the gravel :
they are also given in jaundices, and dropsies :

they will do good in these eases, but are not to’ be

ed upon alone.- —

i

72 FAMILY HERBAL.

o~ Cuervin. Cheerefolium.

2% SALLAD herb. cultivated: in ints; eon
not without its medicinal virtue. It is like pars-
Jey in its manner of growth, but the leaves are
_ more divided, and of a paler colour. The stalks
‘are round, striated, hollow, and of a pale green; -

they divide into several branches, and are about
_ two feet high : the leaves on them are like those
from the root, but smaller. ‘The flowers are bitter
and white, they stand im large tufts at the tops ot
the branches. The seeds are large and smooth.

The roots of chervil work by urine, but mode~

raey ; they should be given in decoction,

F nooth — grey: ‘the. Scere Jong and

. aetely besed deep, and beautifully indented
round the edges, and of a fine strong green. The
flowers are a kind of catkins, like those of willows,

long and slender, and'of a yellowish colour ; the

fruits are eoyered with a rough prickly shell, and,

‘under that, each particular chesnut has its firm
brown coat; avd a thin skin, of an austere taste,

over the kernel.

This thin skin is the part used in : medicine ; it

is to be separated from the-chesnut, not too wipes
and dried : it is a very fine astringent: ; it stopa
Pargings and oe of the menses. ss |

Eannu-Cusswur, on . hanee ee
. Bulbocastanumn. :

FAMILY HERBAL. "3

roundish, brown on the outside, and white within,
and of sweet taste. The plant grows to a foot
high ; the leaves are divided into fine and nume-
rous partitions ; the stalk is firm, upright, round,
striated and green; the flowers are white and
little, but they grow in great tafts on the tops of
the branches. » +
‘The root is the part used ; it is to be roasted ia
the manner of a chesnut and eaten. It is said ts
have great virtues as a provocative to venery, but

this is not well confirmed.

~ Cwiex-werp. Alsine media.

THE commonest of. all weeds, but not without
its virtue. The right sort to use in medicine (for
there are several) is that which grows so common
in our garden-beds: itis low and branched. The
stalks are round, green, weak, and divided ; they
commonly lean on the ground. The leaves are
short and broad, of a pleasant green, not dented
at the edges, and pointed at the end: these grow
at every joint. The flowers arc white and small. —
“The whole plant, cut to pieces and boiled in
lard till it is crisp, converts the lard into a fine
‘green cooling ointment. The juice taken inward-
ly, is good against the scurvy. pig

The Cuina-roor Prant. Smilax cujus radiz
China officiorum.

_ A NAILING ; ent in st Ind
‘It grows to ten or twelve feet in length, but the
: ellis ave weak and unable to stand erect ; they
are ridged, of a browncolour, and set with hook- —
ed yellow prickles. ‘The leaves are oblong and
broad, largest at the stalk, and blunt at the points, —

k Tae

*

plant frequent in the Kast Indies.

2

wh _ FAMILY HERBAL:

of a shining green colour, and glossy surface; the
flowers are small and yellowish ; the fruit is around
yellowish berry. The root is large, irregular, and
knotty; brown on the outside, and reddish within.
This is the part used, they send it over to our
druggists: it is a sweetener Of the blood, and is
used in diet-drinks for the vencreal disease and the
scurvy. Itis also said to be very good against the
gout, taken for a Jong time together.

There is another kind of this root. brought from
America, paler on the outside, and much of the
same colour with the other within ; some have sup-
posed it of more virtue than the other, but most
’ suppose it inferior, perhaps neither has much.

BOR, CHEER Or
a LUTTLE, plant of the ea kin : a ee

beanched ; aeeciites tr: round ; and ‘wenkit and of a
yale green, The leaves are like those of the pea,
yut each little leaf is narrower, and of a paler green, -
and hairy like the stalk: the flowers are small and
white, and resemble the pea blossom. The. pods
are short, thick, and hairy, and seldom contain
more than two, ‘often. but. one seed or chich .
each.

They are eaten in some rise and nd they sregent

Pearetics..

_Crxquzron. "Pentaphyliun. ae

ACI EEPING wie plang: common bor eae
sides, and in pastures. The stalks are round and
ooth,. and ae, of Bae Fee ashes te

MILY HERBAL. a)

they are above an inch long, narrow, of a deep

_ dusky green, and indented at the edges, the flowers
also stand on long. foot-stalks, they are yellow

and of the breadth of a shilling, very bright, and
beautiful. The root is ee Minds ne: sari is
; covered with a brown rind. | 25

"The root is the part used ; it shoyld jodigeen
April, and the outer sahkenwt. and dried, ¢ tle
rest is useless ; i this bark is to be given in powder
ps all sorts of fluxes ; it stops purgings, andthe

rflowines of the menses ; parece —
power. jes |

The Gian ‘Sieeocs Gieechaals: =e

© A LARGE tree frequent in the East, and notun-
fikethe bay-tree in its flowers, fruit, leaves, or
manner of growth; only larger. The bark is
rough on the trunk, and smooth on the branches ;
it has little taste while fresh, but becomes aromatic
and sharp, in that degree we perceive, by drying.
The leaves are of the shape of bay leaves, but twice
as big; the flowers are small and whitish ; the
besshenceive iite; aeite aa a bluish colour,

The root tof the cinnamon tree smells strongly i)
camphire, and a very fine kind of camphire is ‘made
from it in the East ; cen peeanic os eee
The leaves are fragrant.

ae pact sited and this is an ex-
cellent astri tin the bowels; itis” cordial ere
~ good to prom te appetite : it also | om0

menses, though it» ratte aptiae : astringent
PR i

Toh ewe.

The Wasree’ 8 Bars Tare. : Conter winteranus,

: x BARK called by. iy y winters ’s bak, pe beon :

16 FAMILY HERBAL.

alemady described under its true name canella, alba 3
in this place we are to inquire into the true winter’s-
bark, called by many writers cinnamon. T
which affords it is a tree of twenty feet - high, very
spreading, and full of branches, the bark is grey
on the enictk and brown within. The leaves are
two inches long, and an inch broad, small at the
stalk, and obtuse at the énd, and divided a little,
The flowers are white and Mnetaechies the fruit
is a small berry.

The bark is the part used, they send over the irs
rinds together: it is very fragrant and of a hot
aromatic taste. It is a sudorific, and a cordial, and
itis excellent against the scurvy.

The Cistus Survus, from which labdanum is
U sieteeeduad Cistus ie deta 3 fon:

AVERY pretty. shrub, frequent in flee: Greek
adi and in other warm climates. It is two or
three feet high, very much branched, and has broad

leaves, and beautiful large flowers. The trunk is
rough ; the twigs are reddish ; the leaves are ai-
most of the shape of those of sage ; they stand twe
at every joint, and are of a dark green colour.
The flowers are of the breadth of half a crown,
and of a pale red colour. The gum labdanum
is procured from this shrub, and is its only produce
used in medicine. This isan exudation di
from the leaves in the manner of manna, ‘more
than of any thing else. They get it off by draw-:
ing a parcel of leather» thongs over the ghtiehe;
2 ‘At is not much used, but it is a good cephalic,

> pee Wa x

|The Crraow ‘Tare. Citria sive aa medica.

ers, snap fruit “the

i ALL treo with ps
Deautiful _in its denies: |

FAMILY HERBAL. = 1%

trunk is grey and rough; the twigs are green.
‘The leaves are six inches long, and of a kind of
oval figure, and of a most beautiful. green colour.
The flowers are white like those of the lemon tree.
and the fruit resembles a lemon; but it is larger,
and often full of protuberances. The outer rind
is ofa pale yellow, and very fragrant ; the inner
rind is exceedingly thick, and white ; there is very
little pulp, though the fruit be so large. The
juice is like that of the lemon; but the yellow
outer rind is the only part used in medicine : this
is an excellent stomachic, and of a very pleasant
flavour. The Barbadoes water owes its taste to
the peel of this fruit ; and there isa way of making
a water very nearly equal to it in Taylan by the
_addition of spice to the fresh peels of good lemons ;
the method is as follows: anita;
Put into a small still a gallon of fine molasses
spirit, put to it six of the peels of very fine lemons,
and half an ounce of nutmegs, and one dram of
cinnamon bruised, let them stand all night, then
add two quarts of water, and fasten on the head ;
distil five pints and a half, and add to-this a quart
and half a pint of water, with five ounces of the
finest sugar dissolved in it. This will be very
nearly equal to the finest Barbadoes water.

see he Gonnanc: Scr asd:encton cs

A CREEPING plant of the melon kind; -cul-
angular, fleshy, and hairy: they. tre upon the
ground unless supported. The leaves are large,
and stand singly on long foot-stalks; they are di-
vided deeply into five parts, and are hairy also, and

i

78 3 FAMILY HERBAL,

yellow ; sand very like those of our cucumbers?
the fruitis also like the melon and cucumber kinds,
rounilish, often flatted, and composed of a fleshy
part’ under a thick: Tid, with seeds ‘and juice
within, ©

> Theseeds arethe aly pale wed? ‘our druggists
keep. thenr ;) they are cooling, and ‘they: work by
urme gently ; ‘they ate best given in form of an
emulsion,’ beat up w ith barley- water.

Crarye Horminum.

“CDARY 5 is a common plant in our gardens, not
very beautifal, ‘but kept for its virtues. if grows
two feet and a halfhigh ; the leaves are ruugh, and
the flowers of a whitish blue. The stalks are thick,
fleshy, and upright ; they are clammy to’ the
prec The leaves are large, wrinkled, and

‘a dusky green, broad at the bees SR to
» poin which is obtuse the flowers ‘stand in
@ loose spikes ; they are disposed i in circles round

e upper parts of the stalks, and are gaping dud
pene the cups in which they stand are robust and
in some degree prickly.

“Phe whole herb. is used | realy or dee It is”
cordial, and in some degree astringent. It strength-
ens the stomach, is good against headachs, and stops
the whites, but for this last purpose, itis necessary
to take it a long t time ; and there are many remeslies
more powerful. — oe eae
There ge kind of wild clary on our ditch 1 nks,
id in dry grounds, which is suppos $
the same virtues with the garden kind.

of this are put into the eyes to take c

fallen: into. hen

AMILY HERBAL: 79

it meets with in theeye. » Dr. Parsons has esac
explained this i in his book z apenses Ah tk

Limekene | Aparine:

2. WILD herb common in all our heehee and
| Stenrd by sticking to people’s clothes.as they touch
it. The stalks are square and :yery. rough, two
feet long, but weak and unable - support them-
selves s ; they climb among bush The leaves are

>and narrow, and of a pa Cons, they grow
severnl atevery joint, encompassing the stall in the
manner of the rowel of aspur ; they are rough
inthe same manner with the stallc,” ‘and stick to.
every thing they touch. The flowers are small.
and white ; the seeds grow two together, and are
roundish and rough like the rest of the plant ; ‘the,
root is fibrous.

The juice of the fresh herb i is used ; it cools the
body, and operates by urine ; it is good ags Inst the |
scurvy, and all other outward disorders. - Sor

ewe it will cure the evil, but that is not, tru

The Crove Bans-Taee. aaa caryophyla

ae TALL ad beautiful tree, native of a. West He

Indies. The trunk is covered: with athick brown |

park, that of the branches is: paler and_ thinner.
The. arms a abroad, me are ‘not ‘rod, and sharp ;

abo: oye aes ny a pe

flowers are small a: d blu th
streaks.of orange colour, an:

sme all ; Abe fruit is rour ish

but that fom the sale isbest. Itis ie a i .

80 FAMILY HERBAL,

smell, and of a mixed taste of cinnamon and cloves ;
the cinnamon flavour is first perceived, but after
that the taste of clovesis predominant, and is so
very strong, that it seems to burnthe mouth. It is
excellent against the colic; and it warms and
strengthens the stomach, and assists digestion : it
isalso.a cordial, and in small doses joined with
other medicines promotes sweat. It is not much
used fairly in practice, but many tricks are played
with it by the chymists, to imitate or adulterate
the several productions of cloves and cinnamon, for
it is cheaper than either,

The Crove Jury Frower. Caryophyllus ruber.

A COMMON and very beautiful flower in
- our gardens; it has its name from the aroma-
tic smell, which resembles the clove ‘Spice, and
fromthe time of its flowering which is in July.
_ Jt is a carnation only of one colour, a deep and
_ fine purple. The plant grows two feet high ;
the leaves are grassy; the stalks are round "and
jointed; the flower grows at the tops of the
branches, and the whole plant besides is of a bluish
ecn.
ane flowers are used; they are Poe —
for disorders of the head ; they ma
crik takai Se-ppewigdhia Menecad hens
but the best form is the syrup. This is made
by pouring five pints of boiling water upon three
pounds of the flowers picked from th e tee
and with the white heels cut off: after they
have stood twelve hours, straining off the clear
— iiqu pptliont tet na and ‘Gavleys yin it two

FAMILY HERBAL. 81

’ The Crove Spice Tree. Caryophyllus arome-

A BEAUTIFUL tree, native of the warm
countries; it grows twenty or thirty feet high,
and very much branched. The bark is greyish ;
the leaves are like those of the bay-tree, but twice
as large; they are of a bright shining green, and
stand upon long foot-stalks; the flowers are
uot very large, but of a beautiful blue colow
and the cups that containthem are oblong an
firm ; these are the cloves of the shops. They
gather them soon after the flowers are fallen’;
when they suffer them to remain longer on the
tree, they grow large, and swell into a fruitas big
as an olive. :

The cloves are excellent against disorders of
the head, and of the stomach; they are warm,
cordial, and strengthening ; they expel wind,
and are a good remedy for the colic. The oil of
cloves is made from these by chemists; it cures the
tooth ach ; a bit of lint beihg wetted, with it, and
laid to the tooth. ae

~ - €ocxre. Pseudomelanthum.

A TALL, upright, and beautiful plant, wild in

82 ‘FAMILY: HERBAL,

The seed vessel is roundish, and the seeds “are
black. They are apt to be mixed among grain,
_ and give the flour an ill taste.

The seeds are used ; they work by urine, and
open all obstructions; they promote the menses,
and are good in the dropsy and jaundice ; the
best way of giving them is powdered, and put
into an electuary to be taken for a continuance
of time : for these medicines, ‘whose virtues are
against chronic diseases, do not take effect at once.
Many have discontinued them for that reason: and
the world in general is, from the same cause, become
fond of. chymical medicines, but these are safer, and
they are more to be depended upon ; and if the two
practices were fairly tried, date medicines
would loose their credit. |

The Coew WU Ivor Te Arbor ¢ gels
Pea cos. “ferens. 5.

ot ‘MODERATELY eet tree, native of the
warmer parts of the world. It is irregular in

-_ its growth, and full of branches; the leaves are

short, broad, and of a heart-like shape; they
are thick, fleshy, small, and of a dusky green ; the
flowers are small, and stand in clusters ;_ the fruits
follow*these, they are of the bigness of a large
roundish, but with a dent ov one sideg
wrinkled, friable, and brown in colour, and of
an ill smell. ee
— The powder of these streved upon childr , :
that have vermin destroys them, people also
xicate fish by it. Make a pound of paste, with
it rand water, and add a littie red led to. “chins
Be dd to it two ounces of the coculus' indi pow-
re : a.) roach. and Bg Peg i ake

ces, they eit

FAMILY HERBAT.. 88

greedily, and they will be intoxicated. They will
swim upon the surface with their belly upward,
and may be taken out with the Tends, tices are
not the worse for eating. =

The Copaca Survs. CHnnES pall. :
A LITTLE shrub frequent in the East Indies,

and ver beautiful, ‘as well as useful. It grows —
ten is igh ; _the | estes fe: =

ey or nerium, of which ‘some— a .
Each flower is succeeded by two iar ede ‘which

are joined at the ends, and twist one about the —
other ; they are fullof a cottony matter about the
seeds. The whole plant is full of a milky juice,
which it yields plentifully when broken.

_ The bark is the only part used ; it is but-newly
introduced into medicine, but may be had of the
druggists ; it is an excellent remedy for purgines.
It ia to be given in powder for three or four days,
and a vomit or a before the use of it, as as may x
be found n a ae pec

~The Chreit ie Arbor caffe forens. ans

__A BEAUTIFUL shrub of the eastern pit of
the world, which we keep in manyof our Stoves,
and which flowers and bears its fru t with us. It
grows eight or ten feet high: the branches are
slender and weak ; the leave § are large, oblong,
_ and broad, somewhat like those of the bay-tree,

but bigger, and thin. The flowers are white, mo- -
oem large, and like jasmine ; the fruits is: a

St FAMILY HERBAL:

large berry, black when it is ripe, and in it era twe
seeds, which are what we call coffee; they are
whitish, and of a disagreeable taste when raw. .
Coffee helps digestion, and dispels wind: and it
works gently by urine. The best way of taking it
is as we commonly drisk it, and there are constitu-
tions for which it is very proper. -

Sea Coteworrt, oR Sea Binpweep. Soldanelia.

A PRETTY wild plant that we have on the
sea coasts, in many places; and that deserves to be
‘Much -more known than it is as a medicine, The
stalks are a foot long, but weak and unable to sup-
port themselves upright. They are round and
green or purplish: the leaves are roundish, but
shaped a little heart fashioned at the bottom ; they
stand upon long foot-stalks, and are of a shining

een. ‘The flowers are large and red, they are of
the shape of a bell ; the roots are white and small,

‘amilky juice flows from the plant when any part of

it is broken ; especially fromthe root, _
The whole plant is to be gathered fresh when
about flowering, and boiled in ale with some nut-
meg and a clove or two, and taken in quantities
proportioned to the person’s strength ; it isa strong
purge, and it sometimes operates also by urine, but
there is no harm in that. It is fittest for country.
people of robust constitutions, but it will cure
dropsies and rheumatism. Nay [have known a
clap cured on a country fellow, by only two
doses of it. The juice which oozes from the
‘stalk and roots may be saved, it hardens into
Substance like scammony, and is an excellent

FAMILY HERBAL 85
Coxtsroot, Tussilago. — ,

A COMMON wild herb, of excellent virtues,
but so different in the spring and summer, as that
it is scarce to be known for the same. The flow-
ers. appear in spring without the leaves; they
grow on stalks six or eight inches high, round,
‘thick, fleshy, and of a reddish colour, on which
there stand a kind of films instead of leaves. The
flowers grow one at the top of each stalk; they are
yéllow, and as large as those of the dandelian, and
icp ee ae ee

The leaves come up afier these are decayed,
they are as broad as ones hand, roundish, and sup-
ported each on a thick hollow stalk, they are green
on the upper side, and white and downy underneath.
The flowers are not minded, these leaves only are

used.

CoLuMBINE. Agquilegia.

A COMMON garden flawer, but a native also
of our country. It grows two feet high ; the
leaves are divided into many parts, generally ina
threefold order ; the stalks are round, firm, up-
right, and a little hairy ; the flowers are blue and |
large ; the seeds are contained in a kind of horned
capsules. The leaves and the seeds are used ; a
decoction of the leaves is said to be good against
sore throats. The seeds open obstructions, and
are excellent in the jaundice, and other complaints
from like causes, BT Ee oes |

Comrrey. Symphytum. —

A COMMON wild plant, of great virtue; it is
frequent by ditch sides; it grows a foot and half

FAMILY HERBAL.

high : the leaves are large, long, not very broad,
‘Tough tothe touch, and of a deep disagreeable green :
the stalks are green, thick, angu ‘lated, and up-
right. The flowers grow along Fie tops of the
branches, and are white, sometimes reddish, not
very large, and hang often downwards. The root
is thick, black, and irregular’; whea broken it is
found to be white within, and full of a slimy juice.
This root is the part used, and it is best fresh, but
it may be beat up into a conserve, with three times
its weight of “sugar. It is a remedy for that terri-
hle disease the whites. It is also good against
spitting of blood, bloody fluxes, and purgings, and
for inward bruises..

The ConTRAYERVA Prat. Sn eel |

, =e VERY singular pleat, native = Aitinecs,
nd not yet got into our gardens. It consists only
of leaves rising from the root, uponsingle foot-
stalks, and flowers of a singular kind, standing also
on single and separate foot-stalks, with no leaves
upon them. The leaves are large, oblong, very:
broad, and deeply divided on each : side ; their co-
lour is a dusky green ; and the foot-stalks om’
which they stand are small and whitish, and often
bend under the weight of the leaf. . The stalks
which support the flowers, are shorter and-weaker
thanthese ; and the: flowers are of a very pecu-
liar kind; they are disposed together ina kind of
«flat form, and are very small and inc ables
The bed on which they are situated is of an oval
re, and is called the Placenta se wad sca A
\ of a palecolourandthin. ~~
told of another plant of thes same kind ; :
ive ° Sagoced are Tess hewn and the’ pla-
square, but the roots of both are ites |

FAMILY PERBAL. s

to be exactly alike and .it.is therefore more pro-
bable, that this is not another plant, but the same
ina different stage of growth. -

We use the roots ; our druggists keep them, and
they are the principal ingredient in that famous
powder, called, from its being rolled up. into balls,
lapis contrayerva. Itis an excellent cordial and
sudorific, good in fevers, and in nervous’ cases ;
and against indigestions, colies,., aud _ weaknesses
ef the stomach. owder or

with that “mixture of ca im and other use-
less ingredients, which go inte the contrayerva,
stone. In fevers and nervous disorders, it is best
to give itin powder ; in weaknesses of the stomach,
it is best intincture. It is also an excellent. in-
gredient in bitter tinctures ; and it is wonderful the.
present practice has not put it to that use. Ali
the old prescribers of forms for these things, have
put some warm root into them; but none is so
proper as this; the most usual has been the galan-
gul, but that has a most. disagreeable flavour in
tincture: the contrayerva has all the virtues ex-
pected to be found. 1 in that, and is ae wurst
tone |

The ore Tae. Arbor apes Pe a

an LARGE ice of South America. It grows
to a great height, and is tall, straight, and tolerably
regular ; the bark of the trunk is of a deep brown.
The branches are bitter. The le re large and
oblong, and they are blunt at the ends; they are
deeply eut in at the edges, and if it were not that
_ they area great deal longer in proportion to their
breadth, they would be very like these of the oak;
the flowers are moderately - large, and fubk, at

$8 FAMILY HERBAL:

enrbide: ‘ abe fevit is round, and of a blood ted
when ripe.

We. use « resin which oozes from the bark of
large trees of this species in great plenty, and is
called copal ; it is of a pale yellow colour, some-
times brownish, and often colourless, and like gurt
arabic ; we have a way of calling ita gum, but

itis truly a resin; and the yellow pieces of it ara
so bright and transparent, that they very much re-
semble the purest amber.

It is good against the whites, and against weak-
nesses left after the venereal disease ; but it is nog’
so much used on these occasions as it deserves.

‘It is excellent for making varnishes; and what is

commonly called amber varnish among our artists
is made from it. Amber will make a very fine var-
nish, better than that of a or = other kind ;
but itisdear.

We sometimes see heads of canes of the splour-
less copal, whichseem to be of amber, only they 25
want its colour ; these are made of the same resin
in the East Indies, where it grows harder.

Corat. Corallium.

_ ASEA plant of the hardness of a stone, and
with very little of the appearance of an herb.
The red coral, which is the sort used in medicine,
grows a fout or more in height ; the trunk is az
thick as a man’s thumb, and ‘the branches are
numerous. It is fastened tothe rocks by a crust
which spreads. over them, and is covered. all over’
with a crust also of a coarse substance and striated,
texture. Towards the top there are flowers and
seeds, but very small ; from these rise the young
plants. The seeds have a mucilaginous matter —

abonta t lem, e which sichathens to om rocks, — ae |

FAMILY HERBAT, 89
whole plant appears like a naked shrub without
Jeaves or visible flowers.

It has been supposed lately that coral is made
by small insects, but this is anerror ; polypes live
in coral as worms in wood, but these don’t make
the trees nor the other the plant. Coral is to be
reduced to fine powder, by. grinding it on a mar-
ble ; and then it is given to stop purgings, to
destroy acid humours in the stomach, and to
sweeten the blood. They suppose it also a cordial.
Probably y for all i its real uses, _ chalk is a better me-

“There are dvihee sorts of white coral, which
Have been sometimes used in medicine ; ‘but all ale
low the red to be better, so ‘that = are not i
in the shops.

Coratuine. .Corallina.

A LITTLE sea plant frequent about our own
coasts and of a somewhat stony texture, but not
like the red or white coral. It grows to three |
inches high, and is very much branched, and young _
shoots arise aiso from different parts of the Bratiched? |
there are no leaves on it, nor visible flowers, but.
the whole plant” is composed of short joints. It is

when if has been thrown a time upon the shores, it ‘
bleaches and becomes white; it naturally grows 7
to shells and pebbles. The best i is the fr shest, not
that which is bleached. . ae?

‘It is given to children asa ‘remedy
scruple or half a dram ty pages

pe Sage;

ast worms ;

9p FAMILY HERBAL.

German, for the sake of its seed. It is two feet
high, and has clusters of white or reddish flowers
upon the tops of the branches. The stalks are
rouad, upright, and hollow, but have a pith in
them ; the leaves, which grow from the root, have
rounded tops, those ou the stalks are divided into
narrow parts; the seeds follow two after each
flower, and they are half round.

- The seed is the only part used : the whole plant
when fresh has a bad smell, but as the seeds dry,
they become sweet and fragrant. ‘They are ex-
cellent to dispel wind; they warm and strength- _
en the stomach and assist digestion. It is good
gc pains in the head, and has some virtue in:

‘The Cornep Trex. Cornus mos. ,

A GARDEN tree of the bigness of an apple
tree, and branched iike one; the bark is greyish,
the twigs are tough : the leaves are oblong, broad,
and pointed, ofa fine green colour, but not serrated .
at the edges. The flowers are small and yellowish,
the fruit is of the bigness of a cherry, but oblong, .
not round; itisred and fleshy, of an astringent
bark, and has a large stone. e fruit is ripe in
autumn; the flowers appear early. | eps ae

_The fruit is the part used ; it may be dried and,
used, or the juice boiled down with sugar; either
way it is cooling And hae e ately astringent ; it is a.
gentle pleasant medicine in fevers with purgings. —
“There ig: Wild corual trek’ ania tie tered
cornel, in our hedges ; a shrub five feet high, with -
road leaves, and black ber.ies ; it is not used in
eek 3 "00s parts of he Agaipiline they

the bark of a shrub of this
aS dupnitity of stint the water

~

FAMILY HERBAL: 91

ofa pond; we have not tried whether this of ours
will do the same. ;

Corn Maricoup. Chrysanthemum segestum.

A VERY beautiful wild plant growing in corn-
fields, with large bluish leaves, and full of flowers
like marigolds. It is two feet high; the stalks are
numerous, round, stiff, tolerably upright, and
branched ; the leayes stand irregularly, and are
long, very broad, and of a bluish green ; they are
smallest towards the base, and larger at the end,
and they are deeply cut inat the sides, The flow-
ers are as broad as half a crown, and of a very beau-
tiful yellow ; they have a cluster of threads in the
middle. The root is fibrous. , i

The flowers, fresh gathered and just opened,
contain the greatest virtue. They are good against
all obstructions, and work by urine. Aun infusion of
them, given in the quavtity of half a pint warm,
three times a day, has been known to cure a jaun-
dice, without any other medicine ; the dried herb
has the same virtue, but in a less degree,

Costmary. Costus hortorum. —

A GARDEN plant kept more for its virtues
than its beauty, but at presentneglected. It grows
a foot and half high, and has clusters of naked
yellow flowers like tansy. The stalks are firm,
thick, green, and upright; the Jeaves are oblong,
narrow, of a pale green, and beautifully serrated ;
the flowers consist only of deep yellow threads. —

It was once greatly esteemed for strengthening
the stomach, and curing head-achs, and for opening:
obstructions of the liver and spleen, but more seems_
to have been said of it than it deserved. re

The Costus Piant. Costus.

AN Indian plant, which bears two kinds of stalks,
one for the leaves, and the other for the flowers and
seeds ; these both rise from the sameroot, and often
near one another. ,

' The leaf-stalks are four feet high, thick, hollow,
round, upright, and of a reddish colour.

The leaves are like those of the reed kind, long,
narrow, and pointed at the edges, and they are of
a bluish green colour. The stalks which bear the
flowers, are eight inches high, tender, soft, round,
and as it were scaly. The flowers are small and-
reddish, and they stand in a kind of spikes, inter-
mixed with a great quantity of scaly leaves.

The root is the only part used ; it is kept by our
druggists ; it is oblong and irregularly shaped. It is
avery good and safe diuretic, it always operates
that way, sometimes also by sweat, and it opens
obstructions of the viscera. But unless it be new
and firm, it has no virtue. rege

The Coron Tree. Gossypium sive aylon.

_ A SMALL shrub, with brittle and numerous
branches, and yellow flowers: it does not grow
more than four feet high ; the leaves are large, and
divided each into five parts; and of a dusky green
eolour. ‘The flowers are large and beautiful, they —
are of the bell-fashioned kind, as broad as a half
crown, deep, of a yellow colour, and with a purple

ottom ; the seed-vessels are large, and of aroundish
and they contain the cotton with the seeds
. When ripe, they burst open into three or

eeds are used in medicine, but not $0,
ey deserve ; they are excellent in coughs,

PAMILY HERBAL 98

and all disorders of the breast and Jungs; they
cause expectoration, and are very balsamic and
astringent... _ af 3 ;

The Corron Tuistix. Acanthiuwn.

A TALL and stately wild plant, common hy
our way sides, and known by its great white
prickly leaves and red flowers. It is four or
five feet high. The leaves which grow from
the root area foot and a half long, a foot broad, -

eply indented at the edges, and beset with yel-
lowish thorns ; they are of a whitish colour, and
seem covered with a downy matter of the nature of
cotton. The stalks are thick, round, firm, and up-
right; and winged with a sort of leafy substances
which rise from them, and have the same sort of
prickles that are upon the leaves. The ordinary
leaves upon the stalks are like those which grow
from the root, only they are more deeply indented,
and more prickly; the flowers are purple; they
stand in long prickly heads, and make a beautiful
appearance. The root is very long, thick, and
white. : =
- The root, is the part used, and that should be
fresh gathered. It opens obstructions, and is good
iainst the jaundice, and in dropsies, and other
disorders arising from obstructions. It also mo-
derately promotes the menses. It may be dried
and given in powder for the same purposes. But
the virtues are much less. |

Fo

dens, but very useful in medicine. Nature
~ has made those plants which may be most useful

94 - FAMILY HERBAL.

to us the most common, andthe most dificult to
be removed. Couch grass grows two feet high,
and is arobust kied of grass: the stalk is round
and pointed; the leaves are grassy, but broad,
and of a fresh green colour; the spike at the top
is like an ear of wheat, only thin and flat. It
consists of ten rows of grains. The rcot is
white, slender, very long and jointed, and it takes
fresh hold at every joint; so that if but a piecé
is left in pulling it up, it grows and increases very
quickly.
_ The roots are used, and they are to be fresh
taken up and-boiled. The decoction is excellent
im the gravel and stone; it promotes urine strong-
ly, yet not forcibly or roughly. Taken for a
continuance, the same decoction is good. against
obstructions of the liver, and will cure the Fiona

a5 % bev te Very ¥E4

Cowsurr,, Paralysis.

ot \ PRETTY wild plant in our meadows. The
‘Teaves are broad, oblong, indented, rough, and
of a whitish green colour; the stalks are round,
upright, firm, thick, and downy; they are six
or eight inches high, and are naked of leaves.
At the top of each stand a number of pretty yellow
flowers, each upon a separate foot-stalk, and in its 7
own separate cup.
- The flowers are the part used. They have been
eclebrated very much against apoplexies, pa
and other terrible diseases, but at present in such
cases we do not trust such remedies, — ‘They have
lency to procure sleep, and may be ee. in
reserved i in form ofa conserve, — :

FAMILY HERBAT: 95
Cowsuir or Jervsatem, Pulmonaria maculata.

- A LOW plant, but not without beauty, kept in
gardens for the credit of its virtues, which are
indeed more and greater than the present neglect
of it would have one to suppose, It grows to eight
or ten inches high; the leaves are long aad broad,
hairy, of a deep green, and spotted with white
spots.on the upper side, but of a paler colour, and |
not spotted underneath. The stalks are slender,
igulated, and hairy, and have smaller leaves on

7 Stes

them, but of the same figure with those from the
~ root. The flowers are small and reddish, and grow
several in a ¢luster at the top of the stalk. The
Cagt We Roca 8 ae Soe GF Pees 2 PS
_. The leaves are used; they should be gathered
before the stalks grow up, and dried; they are
excellent in decoction for coughs, shortness of
breath, and all dis¢rders of the Jungs; taken in
powder, they stop the overflowing of the menses ;
‘ and when fresh bruised and put into a new made

wound, they stop the bleeding and healit. =

Cts ee
Lee a

-.._ Cow-wngar. Crateogonum.

_A,COMMOWN wild plant in our woods and
thickets, with narrow blackish leaves, and bright
yellow flowets. It is eight or ten inches high.
The stalks are. square :and sleader ; very brittle,
weak,, and seldom quite upright. The leaves are
oblong and narrow ; sometimes of a dusky green
colour, but oftener purplish or blackish; they
are broadest at the base, and small all the way to
the point; and they are commonly, but not always
indented a little about the edges. The flowers —
stand, or rather hang, all on one side of the stalk,
ina kind of loose spike ; they are small and yellow, _

9 | FAMILY HERBAL:

and stow two together. ‘The ‘seeds which follow
these are large, and have something of the As-
pect of wheat, from whence the plant has rts odd
name. ;

These seeds are the part used ; they are to be
dried and given in powder, but in small doses.
They have virtues which few seem to imagine;
they are a high cordial and provocative to venery;
but if given in too large a dose, they occasion the
head-ach and a strange giddiness. Iknew an in-
stance of a woman who had boiled the fresh tops
of the plant in a large quantity in water, as a re-
medy forthe jaundice, (I know not by what in-
formation, ) aud having drank this in large draughts,
was as a person drunk and out of her senses ; she
complained of numbness in her limbs, and seemed
in danger of her life, but nature recovered her after
a few hours without other assistance. ==

‘The Crap Tree. Matus syleestris.

A COMMON hedge shrub, and when in: flow=
er very beautiful. e trunk is uneven, and the
bark rough; the branches are knotty, the wood
is firm, and the bark of a dark colour; the
leaves are’ broad: and short, the flowers are large
and reddish, very beautiful and sweet, and the
fruif is a small apple. ES 3 :
_ Verjuice is made from the crab ; and itis a re-
medy for the falling down of the uvula, better
‘than most other applications: it is also goo
‘@gainst sore throats, and in all disorders of

Cuanxseitt. Geranium robertianum. — _

FAMILY HERBAL. 97.

ander hedges, and in uncultivated places: there
are many kinds of it, but that which has most vir -
tue, is the kind called herb robert ; this is a pretty
and regularly growing plant. The stalks are a
foot iong, but they seldom stand quite upright ;
they are round, branched, and jointed, and are often
red, as is frequently the whole plant: the leaves are
large, and divided into a great number of parts,
and they stand upon long foot-stalks, two at every
joint. een — are moderately large, and of
a bright are very conspicuous and pretty ;
the fruit hick alien is long and slender, and has
some resemblance of sian long beak of a bird, whence
- name, © ~

- The whole plant 3 ja tobe gathered root and. all,
and dried for use; it is a most excellent astringent =
scarce any plantis equal to it. It may be given
driéd and powdered, or in decoction. It stops
overflowings of the menses, bloody stools, and all
other bleedings.

It isto be observed that nature seems to have
set her stamp upon seyeral herbs which have the
virtue ‘to stop bleedings. This and the tusan, the
two best remedies the fields afford for outward and
inward bleedings, become all over as red as ning

BE lets ne wenn

‘The Bisnis Cade: "Nasturtium I hortense.

A COMMON paged plant, raised forsnlieds. It
is two feet high: the stalk is round and firm, and
pei green; the leaves are div

and the flowers are small and white ; put
the full grown plant is mot seen at our tables ; we
eat only the leaves rising immediately from the root. :
Avot are a finely divided, of a a exe

98 _ FAMILY HERBAL,

and sharp. Cresses eaten in quantity are very gol
against the scurvy. The seeds open obstructions.

Warer Cress. Nasturtium aquaticum,

A WILD piant common with usin ditches, and
shallow rivers. it is afoot high, the stalks are
round, thick, but not very upright, of a pale green,
and much branched ; the leaves are of a fresh and
bright green, div ided in a winged manner and ob-
tuse ; the flowers are small and white, and there is
generally seen a kind of spike of the flowers and
seeds at the top of the stalks.

The leaves are used ; they may be eaten in the
manner of garden cress, and are full as pleasant,
and they are excellent against the scurvy. The
juice expressed from them has the same virtue, and
. works also: pometsls by ‘Ores ae, ona ts

ssaitiets: sdeey S5F5 :

=

Sciatica Cress. Iberis, 3
ak PRETTY wid plant, but not frequent i in all
: parts of the kingdom. It is a foothigh. The
- stalk is round, firm, and upright; of a pale green
colour. ‘The leaves are small, longish, and of a
pale green also ; and the flowers stand at the tops
of the branches, into which the stalk divides in its
upper part ; they are white and little. The leaves
‘that grow ‘immediately from the root, are. four
inches long ; narrow and perrBiee about the edges

and of a deep green. aia
The leaves are used ; “they are rece
greatly in the sciatica or hip-gout ; they. are. to. be
applied externally, and repeated as they grow dry.
The best, piste ao Don them agit eee es 2 2S

FAMILY HERBAL. 99

is an approved remedy, and it is strange that it is
hot more in use. Bidet

Warr Cresses, on Swinn’s Cresses, Coroncpus
“i ruellii. :

A LITTLE wild plant very common about our
fields and gardens. It spreads upon the ground. —
The stalks are five or six inches long; firm, and
thick, but usually flat on the earth; very much
branched, and full of leaves. The leaves that rise
immediately from the root are long, and deeply
divided : andthose on the stalks resemble them, —
only they are smaller : they are of a deep glossy
green colour, and not at all hairy. The flowers
are small and white ; they stand at the tops of the
branches and among the leaves; the sced-vessels.
are small and rough. : 7

This is an excellent diuretic, safe, and yet very
powerful. Itis an ingredient in Mrs. Stephens’
medicine: the juice may be taken ; and it is good
for the jaundice, and against all inward obstruc-
tions, and against the scurvy; the leaves may
also be eaten as salad, or dried and given in de-

Cross-wort. Cruciata.

A VERY pretty wild plant, but not very com-
mon: it grows a foot and a halfhigh.. The stalks
are square, hairy, weak, and of a pale green. ‘The
Igaves are broad and short ; they stand four at
every joint, star-fashioned, upon the stalk. The
flowers sre little and yellow ; they stand in clusters
round the stalk, at the joints, rising from the in-
sertion of the leaves. It is to be found in drp
Places. 2 ae ® fetes ae

100’ FAMILY HERBAL:

The whole plant is to be gathered when begin-
ning to flower, and dried. A strong decoction of
it isa good restringent and styptic ; it stops pur-
gings, even wai: there are’ bloody stools; and
everflowing's of the menses.

Crow-roor. Ranuculas.

A COMMON wild plant. There are several
sorts of it, but the kind used in medicine is that
most common in meadows, and called the common
creeping crowfoot. 1t grows a foot or more high;
the stalks are firm, thick, branched, and of a _
green ; but they seldom stand quite upright, :
leaves on them are few, and divided into tae
segments ; the flowers. are yellow, of the breadth
of a shilling, and of a fine’ ig colour ; they _
stand at the tops of all the branc ies; the leaves

y rise from the root are. large; divided in a
threefold manner, and often aotied with white.

Some are so rash as to mix a few leaves of this
among salad, butit is very wrong ; the plant is
caustic and poisonous, They are excellent applied
externally in palsies and apoplexies ; for they act
quicker than cantharides i in raising blisters, and are
more felt. It is a wonder they are not more used
fur this purpose; but we are at present so fond
of ae paersusese that these ers are not
minded.» :

_. ‘There are ye: he. kinds of. oshntcadaes

| guished as poisons ; though all of them. are, sath ;
legree of justice, branded with this -n: me

but the two most peentcipaee Aan, are eas called

FAMILY HERBAL, ‘108
.JEhe Curses Prant.., Cubeba.

A CLAMBERING plant. of the warm cli-
‘mates, but unknown in this part of the world, until
described by those who have been where it grows,
The stalks are weak, angulated, and reddish; the
leaves.are broad and short, and the flowers small ; "
the fruit is of the bigness ‘of a pepper corn, buta
little ables tnd sows on a aes aud - wery slender
foot s

This frui is “the: parks ‘naedlt the druggists En
it. Iti is a warm -and pleasant spice good against
weaknesses of the stomach, in colics, and in palsies,
aloue. ner yous: eer: ut, it as. seldom.) ped
ONG &:

<= “The lead Piant. Cucumis hortensis.

A CREEPING: straggling ulent sufficiently
known, . The stalks are a yard or two long, thick,
but spread upon the ground, angulated and. hairy.
The leaves are broad deeply indented, and very
rough, and of a bluish greea colour; the flowers
_are large and yellow. _ The fruit is long and thick;
the seeds are used in medicine, and the fruit should
be suffered to stand till very ripe before they are
gathered. They are cooling and diuretic, good
against stranguries, and all disorders of the urinary

_» passages ; the best way of giving shes is beat up
Se eniulsion polly harley. water. oes

ihe Wain Reewasic ananaa asininus.

En though called wild, is sail a nalts of

aoe. It spreads upon the ground in the |

manner of the other cucumber, and its branches

grow to a considerable length; me are thick, a

-~

1022 + FAMILY HERBAL.

hairy, angulated, and of a pale green and tough,
The ieaves are broad at the base, and narrow at the
point, serrated round the edges, and of a pale green
above, and whitish below. ‘The flowers are yellow,
and moderately large; the fruit is of an oval
figure, hairy, and full of juice. Care must be taken
in teuching it when ripe, for the sharp juice flies
out with violence. .

The juice of the fruit is pressed out, and a thick
matter that subsides from it is separated-and dried ;
the druggists keep this and call it elatherium, it is
a violent purgative, but little used.

Cuexow Frower, or Lapy’s smock... Carda= .
nine, ~

_ A VERY beautiful wild plant, frequent in our
meadows in spring, and a great ornament to them.
It grows a foot high. The leaves which rise from
the root, are winged very regularly and beautifull ys
and are spread ia a circular manner, the stalks
round, thick, firm, and upright, ‘he leaves that
grow on it are smaller, finely divided, and stand
singly. The flowers grow in a little cluster, on
that spike on the top, and from the bottom of the
Jeayes. They are jarge, of a fine white, often

tinged with a blush of red, | Hee

' cs
Fe

Cypween. Gnaphalium.

IMON wild plant, but singular in is

FAMILY HERBAL. 103

appearance. There are many. species of it, But
that used in medicine is the kind called the middle
cudweed, a herb impious. It has this last name
from the whimsical observation of the young flow-
ers rising above the old ones, which is called the
son’s growing above the father. This cudweed,
is a little low plant, it seldom rises to a foot high.
The stalks are tough, firm, white, slender, and up-
_ fight ; they are very thick, set with leaves, .which
are small, oblong, white, and pointed at the ends, and
seldom lie very eveu. The flowers are a kind of
brown or yellowish heads, standing at the tops, and
inthe divisions ofthe stalks,
The herb Sruised, and applied to a fresh wound,
stops the bleeding ; it may be also dried and given in
decoction, in which form it is good against the
whites, and will often stop violent purgings. 7

Cummin. Cuminum., -

A PLANT of the umbelliferous kind, cultivated
in every part of the East, for the value of the seed,
It grows a foot anda half high. The stalk is
round, striated, green, and hollow. The leaves are’
Jarge, and very finely divided in the manner of
those of fennel. The flowers stand in large clus-
ters, at the tops of the branches, and they are small
and white, with a blush of red. The seeds are long
‘and striated. set idem

The seeds are used. Our druggists keep them.
They are of a very disagreeable flavour, but of
excellent virtues; they are good against the colic
and wind in the stomach, and, applied outwardly, _
they will often remove pains in the side. They must
be bryised, and a large quantity laid on. 7

10 FAMILY HERBAL.
The Bracx Currant. Ribesia nigra,

THIS is a little shrub, of late brought very
universally into our gardens. It grows three or
four foot high. The branches are weak, and the
bark is smooth. The leaves ate large and broad,
and divided in the manner of those of the common
currants ; but they have a strong smell. The
flowers are greenish and hollow. The fruit is
a large and round berry, black, and of a some-
what disagreeable taste, growing in the manner of
the currants. | ,
The juice of black currants boiled up with su-
gar toa jelly, is an excellent remedy against sore,
throats. gee | ’

A WILD plant in our marshes, fens, and other
damp places. It isa fobt and half high. ‘The
leaves are a foot long or more, narrow, grassy, and
of a bright green colour, flat, and sharp at the
ends, The stalk is triangular and green ; there
are no leayes On it, except two or three small ones
at the top, from which there rises a number of
small tufts or spikes of flowers. These are brown,

_ Lone Cyrznus. ¢

FAMILY HERBAL. 165

put a native of the warmer countries. It grows
two fect high. ‘The leaves are very numerous;
a foot and a hajf long, narrow, of a pale green
colour sharp at the point, and ribbed all along
hke those of grass. The stalk is triangular, and the
edges are sharp; it is firm, upright, and often
purplish, especially towards the bottom. The
flowers are chaffy, and they grow from the top of
the stalk, with several small and short leaves set
under them ; they are brown and light. The root
is composed of a great quantity of black fibres, to
which there grows at certain distances roundish
Jumps. These are the only parts used in medicine,
Our druggists keep them. They are light , and of
a pleasant smell, and warm spicy taste. meat
» "They are good in all nervous disorders. They
are best takenin infusion, but as the virtues are
much the same with the other, that is best, because
it may be had fresher. :

_ The Cypress Tree. Cupressus.

A TREE kept_in our gardens, an evergtfeen,
and singular in the manner of its growth. It
rises to twenty or thirty foot high, and is all the
way thick beset with branches. These are lar,
towards the bottom, and smalier all the way up;
so that the tree appears naturally of a conic fi-
-gure. The bark is of a reddish brown. The

eaves are small and short; they cover all the
twigs like scales, and are of a beautiful deep
green. The flowers are small and inconsiderable.
The fruit is a kind of nut, of the bigness of a
small walnut, and of a brown colour and firm sub-
stance. When ripe, it divides into several parts,

and the seeds fall out. ,
The fruit is the only part used. It is to be
y fee

106 FAMILY HERBAL.

guthered before it bursts, and carefully dried and
given in powder ; five and twenty grains is the
dose. It is an excellent balsamic and styptic,
It stops the bleeding of the nose, and is. goad
against spitting of blood, bloody-flux, and over-
flowing of the menses. We are not aware how
powerful a remedy it is; few things are save
to it.
D.

Common Darropity. Narcissus.

A WILD English plant, with narrow leaves and
_ great yellow flowers, common in - our. gardens
in its own form, and ina great yariety of shapes
that culture has given it. In its. wild state, it is
pedis eas ‘The leaves are long

Srassy, ot ac ep he c: they
astall asthe stalk. T dish,
somewhat flatied and edged. The flower is lade
and single; it stands at the top of the stalk, and by
its weight presses it down a little. The root is round
and white.

The fresh root i is to be fart and ‘tis. very easy
to have it always in readiness in a garden ; and
very useful, for it has great virtues. Given in-
ternally.,, in a small quantity, it acts asa vomit,
and afterwards purges a. litile ; andit is, excellent
sates all_ obstructions. » The best. way of giving
itis in form of the juice pressed out with some

ite wine, but its; principal uses are extern :

‘ipe.the: thick sents of plants, ec i te |
are full of a slimy Beit eee ae om
them -to soak in water, ‘then hang them

the steam of a pot in which rice is boiling ; after
sey trip ae ecome in some

me"

FAMILY HERBAL — 107

degree transparent and horny. It would be worth
while to try the method upon this root and some
others of our own growth ; which, because of this
slimy juice, we cannot well dry any other way ;
probably this would lose its vomiting quality
when dried, ard would act only as an opener of
obstructions, in which case, it might be given in
repeated doses ; for at present no body will be pre-
vailed upon to take. it often.

The fresh root bruised and applied to fresh
wounds heals them very suddenly. — lied to
strains and bruises, it is also excellent, ia ing away
the swelling and ps: *

a ees Great eo "Bellis major. a

on BEAUTIFUL and stately wild plant, which,
if it were not frequent in our fields, would douht-
less be esteemed in gardens. It grows to a foot
high. Thestalks are angulated slender, but firm
and upright: the leaves are oblong, narrow,
dented round the edges, and of a beautiful deep
green. The flowers stand on the tops of ee
branches. They are white, and an inch broad
very like the white china starwort so much ata
ed in our gardens. The rootis slender, =~

_ The flowers are the part used. They are to be
gathered when newly opened, and dried, and may
afterwards be given in powder or infusion. They
are good against coughs and shortness of breath,
_ in all disorders of the ae. “he, are : balsamic

and strengthening.

The Livre Duy. Belts minor.

—7 7 PRETTY wild yikae eS common "45 need
much description, but too much neglected ae os

2

108 FAMILY HERBAL!

virtues. The leaves are oblong, broad, and ob-
tuse. The stalks are three or four inches high,
and have no leaves. The flowers grow une on
each stalk, and are of the breadth of a shilling, and
whitish or reddish. The root is composed of a
vast quantity of fibres,

The roots fresh gathered and given in a strong
decoction, are excellent against the scurvy; the
use of them must be continued some time, but the
event will make amends for the trouble. People
give these roots boiled in milk to keep puppies from
growing, but they have no such effeets.

Danpetion. Dens leonis.

ANOTHER of our wild plants too common to
neéd much description. The leaves are very long, |
somewhat broad, and deeply indented at the edges,
- 'Thestalks are naked, hollow, green, upright, and
six, eight, or ten inches high ; one flower stands
on each, which is large, yellow, and composed of
a great quantity of leaves, and seeds which follow
this, have 2 downy matter affixed to them. The
whole head of them appears globular. The root
is long, large, and white. ‘The whole plant is full
ofa milky juice, the rootmost of all. This runs
from it when broken, and is bitterish but not dis-
agreeable. . —— ‘3

The root fresh gathered and boiled, makes an
excellent decoction to promote urine, and bring
away gravel. The leaves may be caten as salad
when very young, and if taken this way in suf-
ficient quantity, they are good against the scurvy.

Rep Drew. Lolium rabrum. ee

s, very common about way-sides, a

FAMILY HERBAL. _ yoy

and distinguished by its stubborn stalks and low
_ growth. It is notabove a foot high, often much
fess. The leaves are narrow, Rect and of a
dusky green. The stalk is thick, reddish, some-
what flatted, and upright. The ear is flat; and
is composed of a double row of short spikes: this,
as well as the stalk, is often of a purplish colour.
foe root is composed of a great quantity of whitish |
bres, >. 3 ae ,
The roots areto be used ; and they are best dried
and given in powder. ‘They are a very excellent
astringent ; good against purging, overflowing of
the menses, and all other fluxes; and ‘bleeding ;
but the last operation is slow, and they must be con-
tinued. *Tis a medicine fitter, therefore, for hae
bitual complaints of this kind, than sudden illness,
There is an old opinion that the seeds of darnell,
when by chance mixed with corn, and made into
bread, which may happen, when it grows in corn-
fields, occasions dizziness of the head, sickness of
_the stomach, and all the bad effects of drunkenness :
they are said also to hurt the eyes; but we have
very little assurance of these effects ; nor are they
very probable. They properly belong to another
kind of darnell, distinguished by the name of white
darnell ; which is a taller plant, and more common -
in corn-fields than the red ; but this is very much
to besuspected upon the face of the account. The
- antients make frequent mention of this kind of
- darnell, growing, to their great distress, among the.
wheat ; but by the accidental hints some have
given about its height, and the shape of its ear,
they seem tohave: meant the common dog’s grass
or couch grass, under that name ; though others
have seemed to understand the distinction. In this
uncertainty, however, remains the matter about _
which particular kind of grass was really accused —

f

lio FAMILY HERBAL.

of possessing these bad qualities: but it is most
_ probable that they belong to neither ; and that
‘fancy, rather than any thing really known, gave
birth to the opinion. aid

- The Dare Tres, Palma dactylifera. —

A TREE of the warmer countries, very unlike
those of our part of the world. The trunk is thick
and tall, aud is all the way up of ihe same bigness ;
it has no bark, but is covered with the rudiments of
Jeayes, and the inner pari of the trunk. when it is.
young iseatable. At the top of the trunk standa
vast quantity of leaves, some erect and some droop-
ing, and from the bosoms of these grow the flowers
and the fruit ; but it ibesmerhchle that the flowers

ow upon the. trees only, and the fruit on some
Suan _.If there be not a tree of the male kind,
is a flowering tree near the fruit of. the fe it

will never naturally ripen, In this case they cut
off bunches of the flowers, and shake them oyer
‘the head of the female tree, and this answers the
urpose : | - 7
All plants have what may be called male and fe-

FAMILY HERBAL: abet

we:do not much regard. it, ‘in hemp, spinage, and
many others.
The fruit of the date is the only part used. It
is as thick as a man’s thumb and nearly as long, of
a sweet taste, and composed of a juicy pulp, ina
' tender skin, with a stone within it. They are
strengthening and somewhat astringent, but we win
not much use them, reg 3 en

Daye s Br Suectea.

A WILD eine in our Fneadws, with slonded
stalks, and globous flowers. It grows two feet
high. The stalks are round,. firm, and upright,
and divided into several branches: they have two |
little leaves at each: joint..’Fhe flowers are as big
as a small walnut, and composed of maby little onesz
their colour is: very stroig and: beautiful, The
leaves which grow from the root. are four inches
long, an.inch broad, obtuse, ef a dark green, and a
little hairy, not’ at all,divided;, or so. much as in
dented at the edges. The roots are white, and com=
posed of a thick head, which terminates abruptly
as if it had’ been bitten or broken off, and of a
multitude of Ble ‘Fhe Devil, as old oomean Step
bit itaway, envying mankind its virtues. I

The leaves are to be gathered before the stalls
appear, They are good against coughs, and the
disorders of the lungs, given in decoction. The
root dried and given in powder, promotes sweat,
and 3 15: sve magicine: sch e but eo ith:

ha Anetivam.

hed ius Wel lifendins obits beanies ‘our: eeediedli
principally for the use of the kitchen. The stalk

n , , striated, hollow, upright, a

112 += (FAMILY HERBAL:

and divided into a great many branches. The leave¢
_are divided into numerous, narrow, and long parts,
inthe matner of fennel ; but they are not so large,
The flowers are small and yellow ; they stand in
clusters on the topsof the branches. The root
is long. The seeds of dill are good against the
colic ; and they are said to be a specific against
the hiccough, but I have known them tried with-
out success, :

Ditrranper. Lepidium.

A TALL plant, with broad leaves and little white
flowers; wild in some places, and frequent in
our gardens. It grows a yard high. ‘The stalks
_ are round, firm, of a pale green, and very much
branched. The leaves are large towards the
bottom, smaller upwards ; and the flowers stand
in a kind of loose spikes; the lower leaves are
beautifully indented, the others scarce at all: the
_ seeds are contained in little roundish eapsules, and

are of a hot and pungent taste.

The leaves of dittander fresh, gathered and boil-
ed in water, make a decoction that works by urine,
and promotes the menses: they are also good to
promote the necessary discharges after delivery. ~

Drrrayy or Crete. Djctamuns Creticus.

A VERY pretty little plant, native of the East,
and kept in some of our curious people’s ; irdens.
- It has been famous for its virtues, but they stand
more upon the credit of report than experience.
It is six or eight inches high, the stalks are square,
slender, hard, woody, and branched. The leaves
ort, broad, and roundish ; they stand two at
-and are covered with a white woolly

FAMILY HERBAL. 118

matter. T he fewer’ are small and purple: they
“grow in oblong and slender sealy heads, in the
- manner of those of origanum 3 and these heads are
themselves very beautiful, being variegated with
green and purple. The whole plant ee on og
smell. ~
Tie leaves are actidi our druggists pe ihieni
dried. The old writcrs attribute miracles to it in
the cure of wounds ; at present it is seldom used
alone; but it is good in nervous Bitorbets,: and
it ig ees ‘sents menses, and — the sto~

mych, GNEPITIM:

ik

2 irre Dittriie’® “vice. sane

ie sR eS ee ae Serie rites

& T evERY' Bad cetfan plant, native of 1 many of the
armer parts of Europe; but with us kept only

‘in gardens, Tt is three foot high, very much
branched and very beautiful. The stalks are round,
thick, firm, and of a green of purplish colour. The
leaves stand irregularly on them, and are like those
of the ash tree; only smaller. The flowers” are

se elegant : they are of a pale red, > 0
’ ihe bet ‘they stand i ina by eat of § spik

grant smell. "This | is so pitanineviery that ifa earns
be brought near any part of the plant, it takes fire
and goes off ina flash all over the plant. This
does it uo harm, and may be repeated after thr
four days, a new quantity of the balsam being
duced i in that time, ‘. a roots of this lant ar

‘ fevers, ‘dnd in
_ bot thei *virties are

nfus Oe OE thon ——
ne owe ea ae

ils FAMILY HERBAL.

the plant, a very pleasant and excellent medicine j in
the gravel; it works powerfully by urine, and gives
ease in those colicy pains which mequenuy: pitend |
upon the disorder. i 4

SHARP-POINTED Docx. Lapathum folio acuto.

A COMMON plaists like the ordinary dock, but
somewhat handsomer, and distinguished by the
figure of its leaves, which are sharp-pointed, not
obtuse as in that, and are also somewhat narrower
and longer. The plant grows three foot high.
The stalks are erect, green, round, striated and
branched, The leaves are of a fine green, smooth,
neither crumpled on the surface, nor curled at the
_ edges, and have large ribs. “The flowers are small,

at first eenish, then pales and lastly, they dry and
bee cowl The seek ig, thick, nd of

- tawny colour: os = aes
1e Toot is a part |

- gainst ‘the scurvy, and is one of the best things. we

know, for what is called sweetening the blood. It
is best given in diet drinks and decoctions. Used
outwardly, it cures the itch, and other foulness of
the skin; it should he beat up with lard for ae

purpose. -
Great W ATER Doex. Ni yar olapathum maximum.

2 THIS i is the largest of all the aock kinds 5 ‘they
=< ave a ares ral resemblance of one another bi

‘of owt, though vastly lars r aa ;
ent “to me and 1 38 | ane aoe feot_ igh.

FAMILY HERBAL. i ©

and sharp at the point, - The flowers are small,
and of a greenish colour with some white threads,
and they afterwards become brown. The root is
large, long, and of a reddish brown.

it is a good remedy in the scurvy. The reot con-
tains the greatest virtues, and it is to be given in
diet drinks. The seeds of this, and all other docks,

ate asteingrent; and good agains purgings..

Ganven Dien: called Monxs’ Apes pia
AR thum sativum; paciontap. ees
we TALL plant of -the> dock kind, a native of
Italy, and kept in our gardens for its virtues. It
grows six or seven feet high. The stalk is round,
striated, thick, upright, and firm. The leaves are
very large, long, and are pointed at the extremity :
they stand upon thick hollowed foot stalks; and
the main stalk of the plant is also frequently red.
The flowers are like those of the other docks,
greenish and white at first, but afterwards brown ;
but they are larger than in almost any other kind.
The root is very large, long, and divided ; the outer
‘coat is of a brownish yellow ; within, it is_yellow
mixed with red. This is the part used ; it has been
called monks’ rhubarb, from its possessing some of the
virtues of the true rhubarb ; but it possesses them
only in a slight degree, it is very little purgative,
and less astringent: It works by urine as well as
_ stool, and is good in the jaundice, and other disor-
ders arising from obstructions. .
There is another plant of the dock kind, called »
bastard rhubarb, kept insome gardens, and mista-
ken for this. The leaves of it are roundish. It has
the same virtues with the monks’ rhubarb, but in a
much less degree, so that it is wee wrong to use it
in its ee i

116 FAMILY HERBAL,

"gs Dopper. Cuscuta. }

A VERY strange and singular plait; ‘hus not
uncommon with us. It consists of only stalks and
flowers, for there are oo leaves, nor the least
resemblance of any. The stalks are a foot or two
in length, and they fasten themselves to other
plants ; they are ofa purplish colour, as thick as
a small pack-thread, and considerably tough and
firm. These wind themselves about the branches
of the plants, and eutangle themselves also with
one another in such a manner, that there is no end
of the perplexity of tracing and unfolding them.
The flowers grow in little heads, and are small and
reddish, four little seeds succeed to each of them.

» Dodder is best fresh gathered ; it is to be boiled
‘in water with ischett xer ‘and. allspice, and
: decoction wor stool briskly ; it also opens
te 0 yor the liter ants eth: the j

dies: and many other disorders” arising from the like.
este.

“The dodder which grows upon the garden thyme,
has been used to be preferred to the others, and
has been supposed to Possess peculiar virtues, from
the plant on which it grows; but this is imagi-
’ mary: experience shews it to be only a purge as

the other, and weaker. The common dodder is
_ preferable to it with us, because we can gather it
fresh, the other is imported, and we only have it
dry; and it often loses a great weirs its ciate in
_ the hands of the druggist. fe if

OMMON, and woisdactid ‘patie iaed: ons
cin e but t that people bined Siar ety
2 * a

=

FAMILY HERBAL. Mz

common under hedges; and ia the earlier part of
the year makes a pretty appearance. People might
very naturally be tempted to eat of it among other
spring herbs, for there is nothing forbidding in its
aspect ; and what is much worse, the authors most
likely to be consulted on such an occasion, might.
Jead those into it, whom they ought to have guarded
against Mien 3s .
It is about a foot high, and has but + leaves,
but they are large. “The. stalk is round, thick, -
whitish, pointed, and a_ little bairy ; the leaves
stand principally toward the top, four, five, or six,
sellom more: they are long and considerably
broad, sharp-pointed, notched about the edges, gad:
a little hairy. The flowers-are inconsiderable :
stand in a kind of spikes at the tops of the lathes 2
and the seeds are on separate plants, they are dou-_
ble and roundish. The herb has been from this
divided into two kinds, male and female, but they
have in earlier time given the distinctions of the sex.
wrovg. Those which bear the spikes of flowers,
are the male plants ; the others, uatwithgpadien :
any accidental resemblance, female. ;
Phere is not a more fatal plaut,. native of | our
country, than this; many have been ‘known to
die by eating it boiled with their food ; and proba-
bly many also, whom we have not heard of: yet
the aiiaeas of English Herbals, say nothing of this.
Gerard, an honest and plain writer, but ignorant
as dirt, says, it is thought they agree with the
other mercuries in nature. These other mercuries’
are eatable ; therefore, who would scruple on this
account, toeataiso this, Johnson, who put forth
another edition of this book, and called it Gerard
ces saa from the amending the faults of the —

| author, says nothing to contradict it: but

afer some idl observations upen other Kerby of

‘4318 =») FAMILY HERBAL:

same name, but very different qualities, which yet
he seems to suppose of the same nature, leaves his
reader to suppose, that he meant equally any of the
kinds of mercury, for the purposes he names ; and,
like his predecessor Gerard, supposed them all to be
alike; those safe, and those poisonous. — It is true,
Mr. Ray; in his Synopsis of the British plants,
gives an account of it as a poison, and must suflici-
ently warn all who read him, from the herb: but
who reads him ? His book in which this is mentioned,
is written in Latin ; and those who want the infor-
mation, cannot read it.

“'Thisis not only the case in one or two particulars,
itissoin all. Tospeak generally, the books which
_ contain real knowledge; are written in Latin,

through an ostentation of their authors, to shew
their learning, or a <S in having them read in
other: nations as well as e; and those we have
in English are ignorant ; despised by the persons of
judgment, and fit only to mislead. If they enu-
merate virtues, they give them at random, or give
‘too many false among the true, that the reader
kuows not what to choose ; or their rcal ignorance
mingles poisons with salads, as we see in the present
instance : Nor is any more regard to be paid to what
they say of herbs, from certain great names they
quote. Dioscorides and Galen were indeed. great

se physicians ; but men like these are not qualified

to profit from their labours. ‘The names of plants.
have been changed so often since their time, that
dam know what they mean by several: and it
4s easy for such sad proficients as these, to record
of one plant, what they spoke of another : besides,

ven in their best writings, there is a great deal of
an folly, as may be scen in a quotation of this
's from them, added to Gerard in this very
here, eerie ne: aoite) kinds of

FAMILY HERBAL. 115

mercury, distinguished like: this poisonous ‘kind,
into male and female, he says, 3 ‘that’ the male kind
‘ conduces to the generation of boys, and. the female
‘of girls,’ Suchis the matter, that a superiority
in one of these authors over the. other, qualified
him, to add to his book: such are the English
books that are extant upon this subject ; and-such
the direction offered to the charitable, confounding
eatable herbs with poisons. This has heen one
great reason of writing the present book, that there
may be one guide and direction at least, to be de-
pended upon; and thisits author has thought pro- -
iF? to. say at” Jarge ‘upon the. immediate occasion,
an in a preface ; because there it must
hate bec, accompanied with a needless repetition,
perhaps would not have been observed by many.
o may have recourse to the. book.

Doc- ‘Tootn.. ee caninus,

AVERY. panty fittle. plants with two. broad
leaves and a. large drooping: flower ; common in-
Italy and Germany, and frequent in-our gardens
It is five or six inches high. The stalk. ds_round,
der, weak, and greenish towards the. top; often
white at the bottom. The.leaves. stand a little
height above the ground : they are oblong, some-
what broad, of a beautiful green, not at all dented
at the edges, and bivnt at the end :, they inclose
the stalk at the base... The flower is large and white,
but with a tinge of reddish ; it hangs down, and
is long, hollow, and very. elegant... The root is
‘roundish, and has some fibres. growing | from. its
bottom ; itis full of aslimyjuice.

The fresh gathered roots are used ; for they dry
very ill, and generally. lose their virtues entirely.

ey are good against * worms in children, and tal

120 ‘ FAMILY RNERBAL.

a surprising and speedy effect against those vielent
‘pains in the belly, which are owing to those crea-
tures. The best way of giving them is in the ex-
pressed juice ; or if children will not take that,
they may be boiled in milk, to which they give very
little taste. It is a powerful remedy ; anda small
dose will take effect, especially of the juice; so
that it is best to begin with very little, and as that
is well horne, to increase the quantity.

Dracons. Dracontium.

A FINE, tall, and beautiful plant ; kept in
gardens for its use in medicine, as well as for its
appearance. It is four feet high. The stalk is
thick, round, and firm; perfectly smooth, and
painted on the surface with several colours ;
purple, white, green, and others. seo leaves
are very large, and stand on Ic - foot-stalks : the ey
are of a deep and strong green ; and each is ‘divided
into several portions in the manner of fingers.
_ The flower is like thatof the common arum or
cuckoo pint: it is contained in a hollow green case,
of a deep purple within, and the pistil is also of a
deep purple ; after this is fallen, appear as in the
arum, large red berriesin a cluster. The whole
— is of an acrid and insupportable taste.
_ The whole plant is tobe gathered when in flower,
nib dried ; it may afterwards be given in decoction,

_ powder, or otherwise. It was vastly esteemed for
malignant fevers, and in the small pox ; but it bas
late lost much of its credit: at pee is only

‘in some ——— cae. $ eave .

PAMILYHERBAL: 12}

The Dracon’s Broop Tree. Sanguis draconis

A VERY beautiful trée, native of the Canaries,
and some other places. Itisof the palm kind, and
oue of the handsoniest of them, The trunk is pa-
ked all the way to the top, and there stand on its
summit a great quantity of leaves, long, narrow,
and pointed at the ends ; of a bluish green colour;
and not unlike the leaves of our flags. The fruit —
is round, and is of the bigness of a walnut with
‘the green rind. uponsts ie! tse ad riche 4s 3

The dragon’s blood is a red friable resin. ‘Our
druggists keep it: the best is in small lumps; there
ig an inferior kind in cakes or masses. It is pro-
_ eured by cutting the trunk of this tree in the great

heats. There are also two other kinds of palm;
that afford the same resin. It is a very excellent
astringent. It is usefal in purgings and in the
overflowing of the menses, in spitting of blood, and.
all other occasions of that kind. It may be given
in powder, .— fe AGAR AS TS gee preity.

-- Drorworr: | Filipendula. (2 io

A VERY pretty wild plant, with tufts of whitish
flowers, and leaves finely divided. It grows two
feet high. The stalk is round, striated; upright,
firm, and branched. ‘The leaves are large and.
divided into a great number of firm segments, they
rise principally from the root, and stand on slender
foot-stalks. ‘There are few leaves on the stalks, and
they are small. The flowers are little, but they
stand in great tufts ‘at the tops of the branches : they
are white on the inside, and often reddish on the —
outside. The seeds are flattish and grow several _
ether, The root is composed of a great number

» Jez. FAMILY HERBAL.

~ of smill Jumps, fastened fogether hy filaments.
This rootis the part most used ; it is good in fits
of the gravel, for it promotes urine greatly and
safely. For this purpose the juice should be given, _
or a strong deeoction of the fresh root. When_
dried it may be given in. powder to stop the whites
and purgings, it isa gentle and safe astringent.
There are several other plants called in English
dropworts, which are yery different in their qua-
lilies, and one of them is poisonous in a terrible
degree; this last is called hemlock dropwort; care
must therefore be taken that the right kind is used,
but this is sufficiently different from all the others,
The flower is composed of six little leaves, and is
fall of yellow threads in the middle ; the flowers of
all the others are composed. only. of five leaves each.
free asc umbelliferous plants, but this i is not ;
the Ts grow in clusters, but not in-um :
a the: y grow. Aes those of ‘the emia or meadow
" Sweet. « eats S

“Docx-wann. Lenticula.

A SMALL green herb, consisting of single, little
roundish leaves, which float upon the surface of
the water, and send their roots into it for nourish-
‘ment, without sticking them mto the mud. It is
the small green herb that covers almost all our
standing waters insummer. There are two other
_kinds of it, one with smaller leaves and many fibres
= fom each, another with only oze fibre from each

eaf: both these ere green all over; and a third
ad with larger leaves, which’are. purple under-
but all these have the same virtue, and it
er which is taken. The juice isto be -
i giaito. be continued for several days. =

‘FAMILY HERBAL. 123

tions of the liver : jaundices have been cured by
it singly, Sane oe aE

OP me

Dwarr ELper. ‘Ebulus. ;

A PLANT so much resembling the common —
elder-tree, that it may be easily mistaken for it till
examined. It grows four or five feet high. The
stalks are green, round, tender, and upright ; and
they have. very much the appearance of the young
shoots of elder ; but there is no woody part from
whence they rise. The leaves are large, and com-
posed of several pairs of others, as those of elder,
with an o'ld one at the end ; but these are longer than
in the elder, and they are serrated round the edges.
The flowers are small and white ; but they stand
_ in very large clusters or umbels, just as those of the
elder ; and they are succeeded by herries which
are black when ripe; but that 1s a condition in
which we seldom see them ; for the birds are so
fond of them, they eat them as they come to ma-
turity. The root is white and creeping ; and the
whole plant dies down every year to the gound.

- Itis wild im England, but not common ; a gre:

quantity of it grows at the back of Cuper’s gar-
dens, It may be dried: but the best way of

giving it isinthe juice. This works strongly both
by stool and urine, and has often cured dropsies,

‘Dyer’s Weep. Luteola. |

AVERY singular and pretty wild plant; it
grows on dry banks and upon Walls, and is known
at sight by its upright stalks, and very long spikes
of greenish yellow flowers. It grows to four feet

or moreinheight. ‘The stalk is thick, firm, chan-

felled, and in a manner covered with leaves: the;

124 FAMILY HERBAL; |

are smalbin proportion to the bigness of the plant,

oblone: narrow, and pointed at the ends, of a yel-+
lowish green colour, and not serrated at the edges ;
a tuft of the same kind of leaves, hut sumewhat
larger, surrounds the bottom of the stalk. The
root is long and white. The flowers are small,

but very numerous.

The flowery tops of this plant dried, and given
in decoction, are said to be a remedy for the evil,
but the report isnot established by any known ex-

‘perience:

E

. Evper. Sambucus.

eee coMMON as shrub, 3 itr arene restreples

within an Salen: in te. aseeh Rey di are
shrub, butit is never quite obliterated. The young
- shoots are thick, long, and green ; they grow quick,
and are often a yard long before they hegin to chang¢
colour, or grow woody, These contain a large
quantity of pith ; and their bark as they stand he-
comes brownish, and their undersurface woody. The —
leaves are composed of several pairs of others,
with an odd one at the end ; the flowers stand in
vast clusters, or umbels, ‘and are small and white ;_
they are succeeded by berries; which are black
when ripe, and are full of a purple juice. There
= is another kind of elder, with berries white when
_they:are ripe, and another with jagged Pa but
: the common elder is the sortto be used.
= bark of the elder is a stron; - purs e
known to cure dropsies when taken
en aes ae flowers are ie |

‘FAMILY HERBAL, 1S

info an 1 ointment, by boiling them in lard, till they
are almost crisp, and then pouring it off, this is
cooling ; the juice of the berries is boiled down
with a little sugar, or by some wholly without,
aud this, when it comes to the consistence of honey, —
is the famous rob of elder, good in coldsand sore
throats. A wine is made of the eldencbersses, en oF
has the flavour of Frontignac. ss :

©. Evecampane. Enula campana.. eee :
De TALL and robust plant, wild in some Spe
of England, but kept in gardens for the uses of
medicine; it grows five feet high, and the flower
is yellow, and very large. The stalk is round,
thick, upright, very robust, and reddish: the
leaves are long, large, and rough, and they are
pointed at the ends; of a pale green colour.
The flowers grow at the tops of the branches, —
and have something like the appearance of a dou-
ble sun flower. They are two inches in diameter,
yellow, and very beautiful. The root is long
and thick, and is brown on the tutaide, and white
within. | ee
The root is thse. part oilit; we ave it diet from :
Germany, but it is for most purposes better to take
.that fresh out of the garden, which we have here.
Hardly any plant has more virtues. It is good in
all disorders of the breast and lungs, and it opens
obstructions: It operates hy urine powerfully, and
also by sweat: and the juice of it will cure the
itch, applied externaily. Its greatest virtue, how-
ever, is against coughs, and for this purpose it is
best takea candied; provided that be well done. A
'dittle of it may in this way be held almost conti-'
-nually inthe mouth, and swallowed gently, so that

ae

126 FAMILY HERBAL.

it will take effect much better than by a lar ger dose
swallowed at once.

Eco. Uimus.

OK TALL tree watives of our own country, and
sufficiently common in our hedges. It grows to a
great bigness. The bark is brownish, rough, and

irregular; the twigs are also brown, and very tough.

TheAeaves are small, broad, short, rough to the

touch, and finely indented about the edges, and they

terminate in a point. The flowers are not regarded ;
they appear before the leaves, and principally about
the tops of the tree, and they are only thready ; ; the
aeeey are flat.
_ ‘The inner bark of the elm boiled in water, makes
one of ‘the best gargles for a sore. throat. that et

extremely softand healing, ¢ abd yet att hes same tne
very cleansing.

_ There are two or thins other kinds of elms com- |

mon in garden hedges ; they are brought from other
countries, but the bark of the English rough slg) is
———— to them all asa medicine.

Enprv ye. - Endivia.

e sige ‘COMMON jeilass plant Laptior sgleda. tt
x rows two feet high, and the flowers are blue, but
re see it a thousand times with only the leaves
r once in a flower, and these the gardeners have —
¢ art of twisting and curling, and whitening in
manner, that they are scarce to be known, —
ing to the plant. ‘Naturally the: arelong —
blunt at the end, and deeply notched

$i Ses

FAMILY BERBAL, 127

at the edges, and gf a yellowish: gr. teen colour ; the
stalks are round and firm, and the leaves that grow
on them arelike those from the root, but smaller :
‘the fluwers stand at the tops of the stalks and bran-
ches, they are blue, and in shape and structure like
those of dandelion: they are very beautiful. .
The juice of endive may be taken with
advantages as medicine ; it cools the stonetchs
and operates by urme very powerfully ; 3 it also
opens obstructions of the viscera. It is
against the janodice, and nmertbsces ighen for some
time, eae the scarvy. :

avweos Eryngiuia..

lg WILD failelt, hick SEOWS with u us by the os
Side, and is kept also in gardens, because of its
virtues. It is prickly like a thistle, and the
whole plant appears not green, but whitish. The
stalk is firm, woody, round, striated, and thick,
not very upright, branched, and spread irre-
gularly ahout. The leaves are smali, aud of a
pale bluish green, approaching to white; they
are broad, oblong, and Jagged and prickly. The
flowers grow jn little heads at the tops of the
stalks, and there stands a circle of sma!l leaves under
them. The flowers, separately taken, are small,
and ofa pale greenish white, but the head of them
is tolerably large. - The root is —e aie: valender,
and of a pleasant taste.

“This is the part used ; the best way is to take
them candied ; they are ‘good against coughs, and
‘weakneses of all kinds. They have aiso caused
noble virtues, as a diuretic, and are good against
the jaundice; for this last purpose a decoction
nade from the fresh roots is best. They are hale
_ samic as ¥ ell as diuretic. ; 5

WMIBY HLEGAL

(128 3
Burnorsius PiANT a % ss Hapheniuin::

; af 2 VERY strange plant, uative 0 “the. hot coun-
es and unlike every. thing | that. As. known, in
this part of the world... It is ten or twelve feet
high, and is of a solid. thick. body, of a triangu-
lar or else a square figure, as thick. as a. man’s
leg, and is divided by knots placed at distan-
_ €es, s0.as to seem made. up of several joints. The

edges of the body are all beset with very sharp
prickles; the plant itself is composed only of a
_ pulpy soft matter, covered with a thick rind, of

a green colour ; it abounds with a milky juice,
but so acrid that there. is no bearing a drop of it
a moment on | the tongue. ae plant often _con-

leave : 2 ate eI grow. aeee together. among
ashes i“ ie aap isa sesatl, SRT a three

2 ; = BE hag ee
variegated flowers. Tt grows: six”
The stalks are round, thick, 1
eed: the leaves are flat, c roadacmd oy
indented: at the edges ; and they ar bright.
shining: green. ‘The flowers are little, and t eyere:

Hy “Pawn.

Agomwron seven plant ent foe is use in

Reenicubums dy foes

A GARDEN plant very like'the common kind, —

0 FAMILY HERBAL.

but of a fel indians Kt giows, four, feet, chigh,,
thestalkeis round, hollow, striated, , upeight and
branched;; and the leaves aré large. and divided
iuio a great number of fine segments, in. the. man:
ner of those of common. fennel, bate both. these,
aud the stalks are of a pale. yellowis reen £o-
four, not«so/.dark as = * sf other kind. ‘The
flowers are yellowish, and stand in small. clusters
or umbels? «the seeds. follow, two. after. each
flower’; and» they are quite, different from: those
of the: dommon-fennel, in size, shape, colour,..and
taste. They are long, slender, of a-pale, colour, a
little crooked, and deeply striated. Their taste is
awectishs and a little acrid,

beta hiaiacnn Be eed most used of the com-

But Suncare very. shia: na Pea "thee sep
pease internal UsO.'y # 46 Fea nclion -h “

a Sy prieket fp th’ z7e8]
FENNEL, Browse Nigel. seit ¥ 14d
YFOT eggh i! * . Hetittd ti - pee
ra SING %

ULAR and: mecibys phat ap Mea
dens.» It. grows. afoot. and half. | see jal]
ier ee and. — a an “8 19 How.
eaves are-divided. into, a) of, ine
slender parts like those of fennel iti er !
‘efaoosi- lowers ihe ence at, ha

FAMILY HERBAL. 431

for the head-ach ;: it is fo be: snuffed tp. the nose,
and it wiil occasion sneezing ; inwardly leg it

satire by urine, ands hip in Pipe os

Hos’ s FEnnet. -Peucedanum.. ies
erg ret WILD sider divided: shessh anil aly
of yellow flowers, and thence bearing a remote re=
semblance of fennel. It grows two feet high: the
wstalk. is. round, striated, hollow, upright, and
Branched. The leaves. are like those of fennel, but
the: divisions;:ares much) broader, and they run in
threes. The flowers are little and yellow, but the
eclusters of them are large, and the. seed is oblong-and
flat. ‘At the top af the root, there:is always ‘found
‘a tuft of hairy matter. This is made-up of the fibres
of deeayed leavyes,. but it has a singular appearance!
The root is large, long, -and» brew >and thts is
the partused asa medicine. |: Iias:to be boiled in
water, and the decoction drank night and morning ;
it dissolves, tough phlegm, and :helps asthmatic
ja it y betes aa urine, and here’ the

A PLANT of 3 the: trefoil kind, ‘uitieogubarsi i
Ste manner of gro-vth, cultivated in fidlds in many
places for the sake of the seed... It is emollient. It
grows afoot and al high the stalks are’ round,
striated, and branched. Se

she: flowets are yp pirate “erery they
- resemblea: pea-blossom ; the pods are flat, and in
them es es a quantity of yellow seeds; of an

*. “FAMILY HERBAL.
ee ae E ERN. atlis mas.

on COMMON BS growing at ther oct a
_ trees, and in dry ditches. It has no stalk for bear-
ing of flowers, but several: leayes rise together from
the root, and each of these is in itself a distinct plant.
[tis two feet -high, and nearva foot in bréadth;
the stalk-is naked far six or eight.inches, and theiice
is set on each side with a row-of ribs or smaller
stalks, every; one. of which casties. a deuble row
of smaller leaves, with an odd-one at the end 5: the
whole together making. up one great new: ‘as in
malny of the umbelliferous plants.

-On the -backs:of these, smailer- leaves. stuttdsiiee
seeds 1 in round clusters ; they Jook brown and dusty.
The root is Jong and “thidk -and the whole plaat
has a: disagreeable smell. Fidetrcorinhs _——
‘ forse | ! a

With whet succes it would be hard to ech

Es ingts ay or Pewue F Penn. ; Fiz femina

cath and called “ase the soaker people brake:
It grows four four feet high, The stalks aie round,
green, and smooth ; the leaves are set on each side,
di are saab sidahis . The whole may eee

FAMILY HERBAL 133

by the roots, that the seeds are less necgyery ; and

where it is so, they are always produced more

sparingly A certain quantity of every species is

to he kept up, but the earth is net to be ‘over-run

with any.
The roots of female fern’ fresh guia ‘and
made into a decoction, are a remedy against that.

long ant flat worm in the bowels, called oe
tm > n destre oys them we renee 4

? ¥ RN. Osmiunda regalis. He

nH ERE i 1s bitte that at iret: sight appears
‘singular in the manner of this fern’s flowering, but
when particularly examined, it is not different in
any thing material from the other. It grows three
fect high, and the leaves are very regularly con-
structed, and very beautiful; they are composed.
im the manner of the other ferus, each of several
small ones, and these are broatler and bigger thav in
any of the other kinds, not at all indented on the
edges ; and of a’ bluish green colour, and afterwards

yellowish. Man leaves arise from the same root,
but onl e few of them bear seeds." ie
rincipall at the middle, and the seeds stand

only Lee as per part: they cover the whole
surface of the om oe aatly ses Se part, an¢ ss
little pinuules turn. round inwards, and shew their
_ backs rounded up. These are brown from heing
-. eovered with | he seeds, and they have so different
ail appearant om all the rest of the plant, that they
are ‘i fibre flowe’ > unt ‘is long and covered
-< wit res. The plant grows io hogg: laces,
why bat itis not very com dio England, © - ,
_ A decoction of th | roots promotes urine,
A pth obstructions of the et rea a a

134 asi HERBAL.

, but I have known a jaundice cured
in the beginving. :

‘not much )
by it, ,

Feverrzw. Matricaria. .

A COMMON wild plant; with. divided leaves,
and a multitude of small flowers like daisies ; it
grows about farmers’ yards, The stalk is round,
hellow, upright, branched, and striated, and grows
twofeet high. The leaves are large, divided into
many small ones, and those chasadinte and indented ;
they are ofa yellowish green colour, and particular
smell. The flowers. stand about the tops of the
stalks, they are small, white round the edges, and
yellowish i in the middle, The root is white, | little,
and inconsiderable.

The whole plant Se ae eke ry is best fres aby
but it preserves some virtue dried ; it is to be giv.

i ese is oe h ‘steric ict eager $i

ents

“The FreTaee. Ficus. ,

A SHRUB sufficiently known iu our wenleiae
The trunk is thick, but irregular, and the branches,
which are very numerous, grow without any sort
of order. The Jeary are ve a irs large and. ofa Dk

Good within, the font.” The. Jali du
twice in the years the first set in spring

vith us. The dried figs of the eroee
it of the same tree in Spain anc
dere, there, and, ri y

pee ay

FAMILY: HERBAL. = 135

applied outwardly to swellings with iiecess, they
soften ands give «ease while; ane: taatte forming
within, 350 | 2

> Fiowone. Scrophularia.

ee ee ‘ittle * inks “sbete is diated kind
nfliesaamell at es, called also water betony, which
distinguished from it by the round indents
ings: of: ‘the leaves; it also grows:in water, or just
hyit:( the right, figwort only Joves shade and
dampness, but not absolute wet. The stalk is
square; upright; hollow, and very firm ; the leaves
staid two at each joint, opposite one to the other ;
they are large, broad at the base, narrow at the
point, and sharply indented ; they stand on long
foot-stalks, and they have the shape of the nettle
leaf, but.they are perfectly smooth, and of a
shining colour; ; they are sometimes green, but often
own, as granite. whole plant. The flowersare
nali, and gapin Seis alo risa blackish
is long, rate, ie me Lae

‘The j juice aot the fresh fan ee is cannes
sacteuee of. ithe blood taken in small. doses, and
for a long time. together. The fresh roots bruised
and applied externally, are said also to be excellent
for the evil. They cool and: Miers in — om

— Sasch ec ata .

The Fim. Tare Abies. “

;
7 7 és ;

ay : oy tree. in , Germany, aare many i boa et Zs

136 _ BAMILY HERBAL

of a with us only kept ingardens... We
have no of the fir native: what is called the
Scotch fir, is not a fir but a pine.

The fir-tree grows to a considerable height, and
with great regulacity. The trunk is covered with
‘a rough and cracked bark, ofa resinous smell ; the |

leaves are numerous, and stand very beautifully: on
the branches. They stand in two rows, one oppo
site to the other, and are oblong, but somewhat
broad and flat. _They are of a pale green, and of
a whitish hue underneath. : The tree is hence called
the silver fir, and from the disposition of the leaves,

the yew-leaved fir, for they grow asin the yew-
tree. The fruit or cones stand te ae in n this kind,

they are long, thick, and brawn.

ithe nae of dhe oda are —_ syreeteners of the

a ‘pe

oN "TALL. tree,’ ore not so teint ‘nits mslyere

or in the disposition of its leaves as the other: “TRE

trunk is thick, the bark reddish, and the’ wood! mn

The branches are ntmerous, and they: stand! ir

regularly. The leaves are oblong, narrow.” afd

7 sharp-pointed, and they do not “grow: in’ +e ‘even
powwsas 1s 3 mm tte other, hut stand irregularly”

FAMILY‘HERBAL, 137.

also the Strasburg and some other of the turpentines.
The larch tree and turpentine tree furnishing the
others, as will be seen in their places. The wood.
is piled in heaps, and lighted at the top, and the
tar sweats out at the lower parts. This being
boiled; becomes hard, and is called pitch. ©
the turpentines are balsamic, and very pow-
erful promoters of urine, but of these. more in
‘theic places: the tar has been of late rendered
‘famous by the water made from it; but it was a
fashionable remedy, and is now out of repute

again.
Sweer FLAG. Acoruscalamus.aromaticus dictus.

A COMMON wild plant that grows undistin-
‘guished among the-flags and rushes, by our’ ditch
sides. The old physicians meant another thing by:
calamus aromaticus: they gave this name to the
dried stalks of a plant, but at present it is used as.
the name of the root of this. The sweet flag grows
three feet high, but consists only of leaves without
_astalk. They are long, narrow, and ofa pale green’
colour. Among these there are communly three
or four, in all respects like the rest, but that they
have a cluster of flowers breaking out at one. side,
within five or six inches of the top. This is long,
brown, and thick, and resembles a catkin of a filbert
tree, only it is longer and thicker. The rootis long,
flattish, and creeping: it is of a strong and rather
unpleasant smell when fresh, but it becomes very:
fragrant, and aromatic in drying. Our own has its
value, because we can have it fresh, but the dried
_ rootis better had of the druggists ; they haye it from
warmer countries, where it is more fragrant.
-The juice of the fresh root of acorus is excel->
lent to promote the menses, it yvorks by urine’
. ees

138 FAMILY HERBAL!

moderately, and gives no offence to the stomach.
Ehe dried root is cordial and sudortfic; it warms
the stomach, and is good against indigestions aad
_ fevers. ree

Common Aconus, or Yerttow Fracs. Acorus
: _ adulterinus. —

A COMMON plant in our ditches, and by ri-
ver sides, distinguished by its blue-green flag like
leaves, and its large yellow flowers, which in shape
resemble those of the iris, or flower de luce. It

ows four feet high: the stalk is roundish, but
a little flatted, of a pale green, very erect, firm, and
not branched. It only sends out two or three shuots
upwards from the bosom of the leaves. The leaves —
are a foot and a half long, narrow, flat, and sharp
at the edges; the flowers stand at the tops of the
stalks, and are large and beautiful. The seeds are
numerous, and are contained in large triangular yes- ~
sels. The root.creeps. coad 20 SPR

. The root of this is the only part used; some have
_ confounded them with the true acorus root, but
they are called, by way of distinction,. false or
hastard acorus; they are not at all like them in
‘ shape, colour, or qualities ; they are of a reddish
brown, have no smell, and are of an austere taste ;
they are an excellent astringent. They should be
taken up in spring and dried, and afterwards given
inpowder. They stop iluxes and overflowings of
_ the menses. Mad Meee

3 Frax. Linum.

= “A VERY pretty as well as a very useful plant,
cultivated for the sake of its seeds, as well as its
Stalks. Itis three feet high, the stalk is round,

FAMILY HERBAL 139

slender, firm, end upright, The leaves are small
oblong, and narrow ; and the <a | irregularly,
but in great numbers on it. Toward the top the
stalk divides into three or four short branches ; .
and on these stand the flowers; they are large and
of a beautiful blue. Each of these is succeeded
by aroundish seed vessel ; in which are a number
of seeds. © $c. ie fen ab
_ This seed is what is called linseed. A tea made

of it is excellent in coughs and disorders of the
breast and lungs, and the seed bruised is also good
in cataplasms and fomentations for swellings. The
oil drawn from itis given in pleurisies and peripneu- »
monies with great success, and it is also excellent
in the gravel and stone. lap eee.

Porcine Frax. Linum cutharticum.”

A PRETTY little herb that grows abundantly
in our hilly pastures, in parks and warrens. It is
eight inches high. The stalk is round, firm, and
at the top divided into small branches. The leaves
are little, oblong, and obtuse, and they stand two
at each joint. The flowers are small and white,
* and the whole plant has very much the aspect of
some kind of chickweed, but the seed vessel being
examined, it appears to be altogether of the flax
kind. The root is small and thready. | :

This little plant is astrong but safe purge ; the
country people boit it in ale, and cure themselves

of rheumatic pains, and a great many other ob-
gtinate disorders by it. They talk of it as a re-
medy for dropsies. Doubtless it is useful im all
cases where a strong and brisk purgative is re-
quired. dig

140 FAMILY HERBAL.
ik FLEABANE. Conyza:

A PRETTY wild plant, frequent about damp
places, with whitish leaves and large yellow flow-
ere in autumn. It istwo feet high. The stall: is
round and erect, very firm and strong, and is often
of a reddish colour. The leaves are numerous,
and stand irregularly ; they are above an inch
‘Jong, moderately broad, of a rough surface, and
whitish green. The flowers stand at the top of
the branches; they are broader than a shilling,
yellow, and composed of many narrow petals.
The whole plant has adisagreeable smell.

It is disputed whether this kind of fleabane, or
- another which is smaller, and has globous flowers,
have the greater virtue ; but most give it for this.
‘The juice of the whole plant cures the itch, applied
externally ; and the very smell of the herb is said
toPewoPleese thr Seer eT aras a

Freawort. Psyllium. —

AN herb of no great beauty, native of France,

. but kept in gardens here. It has narrow leaves,
and inconsiderable flowers. It is a foot high.

_ The stalks are weak, greenish, and a little hairy.
The leaves stand two or more at every joint, for

that is uncertain ; they are long, very uarrow, and

also somewhat hatry: there rise from: the bosoms

of these leaves, long naked stalks, on which stand

a kiud of spikes of little fiowers, somewhat like —
the spikes of plaintain, only shorter ; two seeds

succeed each flower ; and they are smooth, black-
ish, and of the shape of fleas; whence the- name.
There are many flowers in each head. _ A mucilage
is urade of the seeds to cool the throat in fevers.

~—s\

~

FAMILY HERBAL. Best
Fix Weep. | Sophiachirurgprum.

A PRETTY wild plant,-about our waste places
and farm-yards ; conspicuous for its leaves, if not
so for its flower. It grows two feet high ; and
the stalk is round, erect, very firm and strong,
and not much branched. The leaves are mode-
rately large, and most beautifully divided into
numerous small segments, long and narrow ; they |
stand irregularly upon the stalks. The flowers are
emall.and yellow; they stand in a kind of spikes
at the topsof the stalks. They are followed by
short pods. The whoie plant is of a dark green.

The seeds are the part used: they are to be
_ collected when just ripe, and boiled whole... The
decoction cures the bloody fiux, and is good against
ihe overflowing of the menses. :

FroweR GENTLE. Amaranthus.

A GARDEN flower. There are many kinds
of it; but that used in medicine, is the large one
withthe drooping purplespike. It grows to four
- feet high. The stalk is firm, round, and channel-
led, green sometimes, but often red. The leaves
are oblong and broad even at the edges, and point-
_ ed atthe ends: they are very large, and are often
tinged with red. The flowers are purple, end
they grow in long beautiful spikes hanging down-
wards.

The flowers are the part used. They are to be
gathered when not quite full blown, and dried.

They are good against purging and overflowng

of the menses im powder or decoction.

142 FAMILY HERBAL.
gF rower ve Luce. Iris.

A COMMON flower in our busdieds The
‘plant grows three foot high. The leaves area
-fontand a half jong, narrow, flat, and in all re-
spects like the leaves of flags, and of a bluish
' green. The stalks are round, or a little flatted ;
‘thick, firm, upright, and of a greener colour.
The flowers are large, and of a deep blue. The
root spreads about the surface and is thick, and
of a brownish colour, and marked with rings.

The juice of the fresh roots of this plant bruised
with white wine, isastrong purge; it will some-
‘times also vomit ; but thatis not hurtful ; if is a
cure for dropsies. - Gordon, an old physic writer,
says if a dropsy can be cured by the hand of man,
this root will effect ites® have found it true in
PEgctee:-

Fronserive Fiower DE Taare Iris Florentina.

t PLANT kept also in our purdeas, ‘but not so
frequently as the former; it scarce differs in any
thing from the common flower de luce, except that
the flowers are white. The root spreads m_ the
same manner, and the leaves are flaggy. The
stalk is two feet or more in height, and the flower
_isas large as that of the blue kind, and. perfectly
of the same form.

The root of this Lind when dried, is fragrant.

The druggists keep it. It is good against dis-

orders of the lungs, coughs, hoarseness, and all
- that train of ills ; and it promotes the menses. |

és Migs: ELLIN. Elatine.

A LOW plant frequent in corn-fields, and con-:

‘

- FAMILY HERBAL. 142

spicuous for its pretty, though small fower. The
stalks.are five or six inches long, round, hairy,
weak, and trailing upon the ground. The leaves
are little, hairy, rounded, and placed irregularly,
The flowers are very small, but they are variega-
ted with purple and yellow, both colours very
bright ; they have a heel behind, and each stands
upon a little hairy foot-stalk, arising from the
bosom oftheleaf. = : :

There is another kind, the leaves of which have
two ears at their base; in other respects they are
the same, and they have the same virtoes. The
_ juice of either is cooling and astringent. It is
given by the country people in the bloody flux and
overflowing of the menses. ) eee

Foou’s Srones. Satyrium sive orchis.

A BEAUTIFUL wild plant in our meadows
and pastures in June. The leaves are long and
spotted, and the flowers are purple. It grows ten
inches high. ‘The leaves are six inches long, and
three quarters of an inch broad, of a very deep
fan with large and irregular blotches of black in

ifferent parts. The stalk is round, thick, upright,
single, and fleshy; it has two or three smaller leaves
of the same figure, and at the top stand the flowers,
in a spike of an inch and a half lone; they are not |
very large, and of ashape different from the generality
of flowers; their colour is a deep and glossy purple ;
but sometimes they are white. Fhe whole plant is
juicy. The root consists of two round bulbs or
two round lumps, like a pair of testicles, and is
white and full of a slimy juice. : ,

The root is the only part used. It is supposed
to be a strengthener of the parts ef generation, and

144 JBAMILY HERBAL.

‘s promoter ¢ svenereal desires ;-but with what truth
one canvot say. Externally applied in cataplasms,
it isexcellent in hard swellings. There are a great
many other kindsof orchis,in our meadows, but
only this is used:. The root, called salep by our

druggists, is brought , from. Turkey, and is the root

ofa plantof this kind. It is strengthening and:
restorative, good in cousumptions and all decays.

Fox-ciove: Digitalis,

A VERY beautiful wild plant, in our pastures,.
and about wood sides. The leaves. are whitish,

and the flowers large and red. It is three feot =

high. The leaves are large, long, rough on the
surface, pointed at the ends, and serrated round
the edges. The stalks are round, thick, firm, and
upright, and of a white colour. The flowers

g down from the stalk in a kind of spike: they
1ollow, red, large, avd a little spotted with
white ; they are shaped like the end of the finger
ofa glove.

The plant boiled inale, is.taken by people of
robust coustitutions, forthe rheumatism and other
stubborn complaints ; it works violently upwards.
and downwards ; and cures also quartan agues,
and as is said, the falling sickness. An ointment»
made of the flowers of fox-glove boiled ia May
butter, has been long famous in serophulous sores.

she FRANKINCENSE site Arbor duryfera. a

oS LARGE tree, as is nite § a , native of the
warner countries, but we know VERE:
Those who describe it most, only say that the trunk
is thick, Abe: mood spurgy. sentet: bark, wie

FAMILY HERBAL. » 45
The leaves they say are narrow, ail of @ pale
green: but as to the flower and fruit, they are
silent. Some say it is thorny.

All that we use is the dry resin, which 1s of a
yellowish white colour, and bitterish resinous taste,
and strong smell. Our druggists keep this. What-
ever tree produces this, it is a noble balsam ; dissoly-
ed in the yoik of an egg, and made into an emul-
sion with barley water, it will do good in con-
sumptions, when almost all other things fail:
‘It were well if the common trifling practice in
that fatal disorder, would give. way to the use of
this great medicine.

Frencn Mercury. Mercurialis mas et feemina:

A WILD plant, but not very frequent in Eng- '
land, conspicuous for little else than that it has
the male flowers on some plants, and the female
flowers onvthers, in the manner of spinage, hemp;
and some others, as has been explained already
under the article date-tree. It grows ten inches
high. Thestalks are angular, green, thick, but
not firm, and stand but moderately upright. ‘The
leaves are oblong, broadest in the middle, sharp
‘atthe point, serrated at the edges, and of a deep
green colour. The female plants produce two
seeds growing together at the top of a little spike:
The male produce only one spike ef dusty flowers,
without any seeds or fruit at all. - But people com-
monly mistake the matter, and call the female the
male. :

A decoction of the fresh gathered plant purges
alittle, and werks by urine ; it is cooling, and
good for hot constitutions*and oyerfulness. The
dried herb is used in decoctions for glisters,

U

146 FAMILY HERBAL.
Broc Bir. Morsus rane.

A LITTLE plant, not uncommon on waters,
with round leaves and small white flowers. [i
has been by the common writers called a kind of
water lily, because its leaves are round, and it
floats upon the water, but it is as distinct as any
“thing can be, when we regard the flower. Duck-
weed has round leaves, sisal floats upon the’ water,
and it might be called water lily for that reason,
if that were sufficient. The leaves are of a round-
ish figure, and a dusky dark green colour : they,
are of the breadth of a crown piece, and. they rise
many together in tufts, from the same part of the
stalk. This stalk runs along at a little distance
under the surface of the water, and from it descend
the roots, but they do not reach down into the mud,
but play loose like the fibres of duckweed in the
water. The flowers stand singly upon. slender
foot stated they are white, and, composed. of
three leaves =e which ete, them a singular

earance.
The fresh leaves are eee in obiimard applica
tions, and are very cooling:. | ; ts
= Futon’. Famaria: 409 sible

~
2

ee * PRETTY. wild plant, with bluish divided
leayes, and spikes of little purple flowers, com-
mop in our corn-fields in Juve and July. It grows
ten inches high. The stalk is round, ‘striated, of
a pale green, thick enough, but not very firm.or
perfectly erect. The leaves are large, but they are
‘ d@ into a vast number of jittle parts, which
are blunt and rounded at the ends ; their colour
is a faint green, The flowers are small and pur-
ple: = have a heel ——— and a number of

~

FAMILY HERBAL. 347

them stand together in a kind of pits The whole
plant has little taste.

The juice expressed from: this plant, is excellent
against the scurvy. It opens obstructions of the
viscera, and is good against the jaundice, and all
gir Pane: arising from obstructions.

' *%

The Furze Bus, Genista spinosa.

A WIED wigs pir our heals and by. toad
Rae: too common to need much description. The
stem is thick, tongh, and of a whitish coluur, cover-

ed with fragments of an irregular kind. The bran-
ches are extremely numerous, and spread in such
a manner, that when the plant is left to itself, it
forms a kind of globular or semi-globular tuft
upon the ground. The thorns are very numerous
_ and very sharp; they stand as it were one upon
another. ‘The leavesare little, and of a pale green,
and they fall off so quickly, that fora great part of
the year, we see the shrub without any. The flow-
ers are yellow and beautiful, and the seeds are con-
tained in pods. The root spreads a great way,
and is not easily got up, when the shreb has once
thorougly fixed itself. aoe ie of it left in,
will send up a new plant.

The root and the seeds are vised, but neither
much. ‘The seeds dried and powdered are astrin-
gent and a proper ingedient in electuaries, among —
other things of that “intention. The bark of the
root is used fresh taken’ up, and is to be given in
infusion : It works by urine, and is good against _
the gravel; but we have so many better things of
eurown growth for the same purpose, that it is _
: scarce worth while tome et die with it; it eens ae

¥ rtues by drying. |

148 FAMILY HERBAL:
G.
The Gatanean Pranr. Galanga.

A WILD plant in the East, which grows by wa-
ters, aud has some resemblance of the geuerality
of our water plants in its leaves, and manner of
growth. It is two feet and a half high, aid has
white flowers. The roots spread about the surface,
andare of an irregular shape. The leaves are a
foot long, not half an inch broad, sharp at the point,
and at the edges. The stalk is firm, thick, round,
and of a purplish green, the flowers are small, and
of a snow white; they consist of a larger upper
lip, and asmaller tender one, each divided into three
parts. The seed vessels are oblong, and have each
three divisions, containing many seeds. The roots
havea very acrid taste, and are reddish: as we.
have two sorts of galangal roots at the druggists,
it might be expected there should be found two
galangal plants, but they are both the roots of the
same. ,
The lesser galangal is most used: itis a warm
and fine stomachic, we put it in all bitter tinctures,
Head-achs which arise from disorders in the sto-
mach, are greatly relieved by this root. What is
called English galangal, is the root of the long
cyperus, described already in its place. -

3 Garuic. Allium.

A PLANT kept iv our gardens for its uses in
medicine, and in the kitchen. It grows two
feet and ahalf high. The leaves are broad, long, »
and ofa strong green. The stalk is round, smooth,
and firm, upright, and of a pale whitish or bluish

FAMILY HERBAL. 149

colour. The flowers are white and small, but they
grow in a large tuit atthe top of the stalk. The
root is white, ora little reddish ; it is composed
of a great number of bulbs, or, as we call them,
cloves, joined together, and covered with a common
skin, and with fibres at the bottom. The whole
plant has an extremely strong: amell, and an acrid ©
and pungent taste.
_ The root is to. be boiled in sev and the decoc-
tion made into syrup with honey ; this is excellent
in asthmas, hoarseness, and sone and in all diffi-
culties eas ene

Caenitens Gentiana. —

A ROBUST and handsome plant, native of
Germany, and kept with us in gardens. It grows
two feet and a half high. The lcaves that rise
from tie root, are oblong, broad, of a yellowish
green colour, and pointed at the ends. The stalk
is thick, firm, upright, and brownish or yellowish.
At every joint there stand two leaves like the others,
only smaller; and towards the tops at every joint,
also, there stand a number of flowers: these are
small, yellow, with a great lump in the middle,
which is the rudiment of the seed vessel, and a
great quantity of yellow threads about it. The
root is large, long, and oftendivided. It is of a
brownish colour onthe outside, and yellow within,
and is of a very bitter taste.

The root is used ; our druggists keep it dry :
is the great bitter and stomachic of the ope
practice. Gentian root, and the peel of Seville —
oranges, make the common bitter tinctures and i
fusions: beside strengthening the stomach, and
eenetibe:s an — these open obstructions, aud

fe =

‘160 FAMILY HERBAL.

are good in mast chronic disorders. The powder of
geatian will cure agues. ss

— MANDER. Chamedrys.

A LITTLE vlanty native 68 many parts of

Europe, but with us kept in gardens. It grows
a foot or more in height, but rarely stands quite
upright. The stalks are square, green, and a little
hairy. Whe leaves stand two at each joint. They
are oblong, deeply indented at the edges, of a
firm substance, green on the upper side, but hairy -
‘underneath. ‘The flowers are small and purple, like
the flowers of the little dead nettle. They stand in
_ clusters about the uppet: soon of the “Pere and
: appear in July.
_ .Germander is an_ gare -oelebrated for many
virtues. Tis said to be excellent ne the
- gout and sheumatism : however that be, if p.v- —
motes urine and the menses, and is good in all
obstructions of the viscera. The juice is the
best way of giving it, but the infusion is more
frequent. :

ee

Water. GERMANDER, Scordium.

A LITTLE: mean locking plant, wild in “sorte

parts of England, but kept in gardens also for its
virtues. The stalks are square, hairy, of adusky
green, and so weak, that they seldom stand
much up. They are eight or ten inches long.
‘The leaves are short, broad, and indented’ about the
~ edges, but not sharply or deep as those of the other

they are of asort of .woolly soft ap- —

sc touch, and of a dusky deep green
—— es flowares are ne mes and? a and

FAMILY HERBAL, 151

they stand at the upper joints: of the stalks, in little
parcels together. The whole plant has a strong and
disagreeable smell.

The whole. plant is . to bs used fresh or dried.
It has been celebrated greatly as a sudorific, and for
its virtues against gestitentiat fevers, but it. is how
little used. : tg gee

Gsneme. Zinsiber. : hie

AN East: fee plant, ate alsa in. other ihe
and very singular in its. manner of growth. It
produces two kinds of stalks, the one bearifig the

leaves, and the other only the flowers. The first
grow two or three feet high, and are themselves
composed-in a mavner of the lower parts of leaves ;
so that they seem to be only bundles of leaves rolled
together at the bottom. These are long, narrow,
andin some degree resemble the leaves of our com-.
mon flags. The other stalks are tender, soft, and
about a foot high: they have .no leaves on them,
but only a kind of films, and at the tops they
‘produce the flowers, in a spike : these are. small,
in shape like those of our orchis, and ofa mixed co-
lour, purple, white, and yellow. The root spreads
irregularly. under the surface.

The root is the only part used: we have it dry
atthe grocers ; but the best way of taking it, is
as it comes over preserved © oon the East Indies. ~
It isa warm and fine stomachic, and: dispeller of
wind. It assists digestion, and prevents or. cures
cholics. It is also an excellent. addition. to the
rough purges, to. mame tent bhets. sriping in the
epleahscs. pagh bi ea

Guapwrn. Xy yris sive spatula fia,
er WILD piant of the es fod of no. great

, i

152 FAMILY HERBAL.

beauty, but not without its virtues. The root
creeps about the surface, like that of the common
flower de luce. The leaves are a foot long, nar-
row, and sharp-pointed, and of a strong and very
peculiar smell. The staiks are round, firm, up-
right, and of a bluish green. The flowers are like
those of the common flower de luce, but smaller,
and of a very dull colour. There is a little purple
in the upper part of the flower, and there are some
veins and streaks in the lower ; but the rest is of a
dull dead hue, between grey and a and they
haye a faint and bad smell.

The juice of the root promotes urine, and the
menses. The dried toot; 1n powder or infusion, is
good against all hysteric disorders, faintings, and —
pains. Outwardly, the fresh root is said to be an
excellent remedy for artabuess se =ipal Sh ; a
og we must take —— trust.

+ @Raseweler: : Kali.

A COMMON wild plant, on the’ sea conste of
many parts of Europe, but not a native of our.
country. It ts called cochleated kali, from the
form of its seed vessels, which are twisted in the
manner of a enail’s shell. It grows to a foot and a
half in- height. The stalk is round, thick, fleshy,
and brittle. . The leaves are few, and they stand
irregularly ; they are oblong, and blunted at the
ends, and of a bluish green colour. The —
. are small, inconsiderable, and yellow.

_ The juice of the fresh plant is said ~ to ‘he an
exécllent diuretic ; but we have no opportunities |
of knowing its virtues here. Some say the seed
vessels have the same virtue, and give them i in infa- |
sion, but we have better remedies of the same_

kind, of ‘Gur’ own pres ~The whole plant is

FAMILY, HERBAL. 593

burot for its fixed salt, which is used in making
glass. . |

7

Goats’ Bearp. Tragopogon. _

- A COMMON wild plant, distinguished in our
-meadows by its narrow and fresh green leaves, anck
the long leayes of the cup, about its yellow flowers.
are very narrow; they are broadest at the base,
and smaller all: the way to the point. . The stalk is
round, thick, firm, very upright, and towards the
top divided into two. or three: branches, The
flowers stand at.the extremities of the stalks ; they
are ofa beautiful pale yellow, very large and sur-
rounded by a cup, composed of long and narrow
green. leaves, which, for the greatest part of the
day, are closed over it, so that it seems only in bud,
The seeds are winged with a fine white down, in
the manner of those of dandelion, and when ripe,
they stand upon the tops of the branches, in a
round head, in the same manner. "The root is long,
and white ; and the whole plant is full of a milky
juice, which, after it-has been a little time ex-
posed to the air, becomes yellow, and thick like ©
| CRORIN, idan ReeRe ay at \. LaPPY cots pis
The root is used. . It is so pleasant in taste, that
it may be eaten in the manner of carrots, and other
roots at table, but it exceeds them all in its qualities.
It is an excellent restorative, and. will do great
service to people after long. illnesses : the best way
of giving it for this purpose, is to boil it first in
water, and then cutting it to pieces, boil it again.
in milk, which is to be rendered palatable in the
usual way; it becomes thes a most excellent me-
dicing, ip the fuim-of food.., . 5... oe

Vim AG SoG ie i ih. anager carlt Tes TR

15 FAMILY HERBAL.
Goats’ Rue. Gelega. —

A TALL plant, native of Italy, but kept with
- usin gardens. ‘It grows a yard high. ‘The stalks
are round, striated, hollow, not very firm or strong,
aud of a pale green colour: they are very much
branched, and not altogether upright. ‘The leaves
arelong and large, each is composed of several pairs
of smaller leaves, with an odd one at the end of the
rib ; these are oblong, narrow, and of a yellowish
green colour, thin, and not at all indented at the
edges. The flowers are small, and of a bluish and
whitish colour ; they stand a great many upon the |
same pedicle, in a drooping posture. se

The whole plant is used. It is to be gathered .

"when just come to flower, and dried, and afterwards

given in infusion: this gently promotes sweat,
and is good in fevers; so much is true of: the
virtues of this plant, but much more has been sajd
of it. * as PPS RMR) © Oks GENS

~Geitpen Rov. Virga aurea.

A VERY pretty wild plant. with tufts of yel-
low flowers, frequent on our heaths in autumn. — It
is two feet high. The stalk is firm, erect, round,
and hairy. The leayes are long, broadest in the
middle, indented at the edges, rough on the surface,
hairy, and of a strong green colour. The flowers
aresmall, and of a bright yellow, but they grow

together in a sort of thick and- short spikes, so»
_ that they are very conspicuous. The root is’

Drown, and of an austere taste, as is also the whole

“Phe root taken up in spring and dried, is an e®-
cellent medicine given in powder for purgings, and
for overflowing of the meuses, bloody stools, or any

FAMILY HERBAL. 155

other hemorrhage whatsoever. The whole plant
has been at all times famous as a yulnerary or
wound herb, given in decoctions_

Go or. Pueasure. Myagrum.

A VERY pretty plant common in many. parts of
England, and knowmat sight by the vast quantity
of seed vessels.< It is two feet high: the staik is
round, thick, firm, upright, and toward the top

has a great many. branches, all standing upright.

_ Theleaves stand irregularly, and are not numerous,
they are long, not very broad, and ofa pale green ;
they are indented about, the edges, and surround
the stalk at the base; the flowers are little and
white ; the seed vessels are short and roundish, and
they stand in vast quantities, forming a kind of
spikes all the way up the tops of the branches, with
few flowers at the summit.

The fresh tops of the plant are. to, be used
before it: is run to seed. An infusion of them
sweetened with honey, is excellent for sore throats,

and ulcerations of the mouth. The seeds yield a
great quantity of oil om pressing, and they are so
plentiful; that it might seem worth while to culti-
vate - plant for them ; the oil is pleasant and well
tasted. © : “4 * ee .

The Gourp. Cucurbita.

A LARGE plant, of the melon or. cuctimber
kind, kept in gardens. The stalks are ten or twelve
feet tong, thick, angular, rough, and hairy, but

_ nuable to support themselyes upright: they trail
“npon the ground, or climb upon other things.
“The leaves are very large and broad, indented
- deeply, rough, of a blackish green. The flowers

teh FAMILY: HERBAL.

nré large, and bell- fashioned, white ‘and: downy: on
the inside, and not es smonth on ‘the outer:
surface.

_ The fruit is large, me fies a hard, ra shell on
the outside; and is fleshy and: juicy within, with
seeds in the manner of the melons; ; these are flat, of
an oblong shape, and bard.’ sore Sig

‘These seeds are the ‘only. part. sabes, they: are
cooling apd diuretic. “They have this) vittue in
much the same degree with cucumber and melon
po aud-are ives with them i in emulsions.
‘The Birree Goon, wilted Doesen APPLES
a Coleeiaees. baiwebal ote

A NATIVE. of the Bast; andof senkitibteannite
countries, kept in our curious gardens, and: afford-
ing the famous drug called coloquintide. . It isa
small plant of the gourd kind. The stalks are
thick, angular, hairy, and of a pale green. They

cannot support themselves, but have a number™ of
tendrils’ growing” from “them, by ‘which »they. lay
hold of evéry thing they come near. The leaves
are large, broad, and very deeply, divided , at. the.
edges. The flowers are of a pale yellow, ‘lar,
and not unlike the flowers: of melons... The fruit
isa round gourd, of the bigness of the largest
orange. The bark is hard, and, the inner part spua-
gy, with seeds’ among it: these are flat, bard and vo
an oval figure.

iEhe:: fruit is the part. used ; they take off. a
‘outer shell, and send the dried. pulp with the seeds —

‘among it: but these are to be separated afterwards,
coat aed alone. It isa very violent purge, —

but itma 4 —_ with proper caution, ard it 1s
excellent. agains aithes rape eee and violent —
habitual) dy achs. These — ames will |

FAMILY HERBAL. 157

reach the cause of disorders, that the common gen-
tle ones would’ not touch ; and the present prac-
tice denies the use. of many of the best medicines
we know. ; Ce:

Goi Worr. | Padagrara herba gerrard.

A COMMON wild plant over-runhing our gars :
dens, and when once it has taken root, very. diffi-
cult ‘to be got out again; it : grows two feet. high. 3
The Téaves which rise from the roots are large; —
aud they are composed each of several smaller, =
on a divided rib, in the manner of ‘those of» an
¢a, of which théy have some resemblance. © They
ate of a pale green colour, and are oblong: andi ine
dented at the edges. The stalks are round, up-
tight, anda little branched, they are slender, stri-
ated, and green ; the leaves on these are smaller,
and consist of fewer parts than those that rise from
the root. The flowers are ‘little and white, and
they stand in small round clusters ; each is suc-
ceeded by: two flat seeds. The root creeps. © |
"The root and fresh buds of the leaves are both
used, but ‘only externally ; they are excellent in
fomentations, and pultices for pains ; and the plant
has obtained its name from their singular eflicacy
against the pain of the ‘gout : but it is not advise-
able to do any thing in that disorder ; the warm
applications of this kind are of all others the least
dangerous. I have known a quantity of the roots
and Jeaves boiléd soft together, and applied to the
hip inthe sciatica, keeping a ct coreg hot
to renew the other, as it grew cold, I have seen
great good effect from it.” Its use should not be
confined to this” pain alone, it will entee:! in
— ss

138 i(‘ésé RA MIL. HERBAL
- GROMVEL. Lithespegians

AW ILD plant of no great beauty, but diss
tinguished by its seeds, which are hard, glossy,
end resemble so many pearls, as they stand in the
open husk. The plant grows a yard high. The
stalk is round, thick, firm, very upright, and
branched...,:'The leaves are obJong, not very: broad,
rough, and hairy, of a deep blackish green colour,

and placed irregularly ; the flowers are small and —

white : when they are fallen off, the cups remain,
and contain these shining, and as it were stony seeds,
The plant is frequent about hedges.

The seeds are the only part used ; they work
powerfully by, urine, and are of great service in
the gravel and all other obstructions ; they are best
given in powder, with a —_ seek of. ue wales
at on — simed) a

be Chapin tne, 1 ot ys.

A VERY singular little wild plant, of a mossy

‘ appearance, and resinous smell: it grows four

inches high ; the stalks are hairy, and seldom stand
upright; the leaves are very close set, and the
young shoots which grow from their besoms per-
fectly obscure the stalk ; it, seems a thick round
tuft. These leaves are short; narrow, and divided
into three parts at their ends, and they stand two
atevery joint of the stalk: they are rongh and
hairy like the stalk. The flowers are ii tle i

e whole plant is ek: an it has: vate vir-

; it is to be used dry in powder or infusion.
ks strongly by urise, and promotesthe menses.
Tt ope . ell = of the liver and

®

FAMILY HERBAL. 159.

spleen, and is good in jaundice, the rheumatism,

and myst of the chronic disorders,

Gioenpeni: Erigeron : sive Senecio.

A COMMON weed in our ‘gardens, shar upon
walls, with little yellow flowers, “and downy seeds ;
it grows .eight inches high ; the stalk is round,
fleshy, tolerably upright, “and green or purplish;
the leaves are oblong, broad, blunt, and divided
.at the edges. The flowers are small and yellow ;
they grow in & sort of long cups at the tops of the
‘stalks and branches.

The juice of this herb isa gentle and very good
emetic: It causes vomiting without any great
irritation or pain ; and it is also good for cutane-
ous foulnesses applied outwardly.

The Guaracum Tree. Guaiacum.

A GREAT tree, native of the West Indies, and
to be seen in some of our curious gardens. The
fruit is.very large, and the branches are numerous ;

precharge ‘small, each is composed of two o

ante ee of smaller ones, with no odd leaf at the

therib. ‘These are short, broad, roundish, _

ond of a dusky green colonr. The flowers are

small and yellow, but they grow in large clusters

together, so that the tree, when in bloom, makes
avery pretty appearance.

‘The bark and wood are the only parts of the tree
used ; they are Boek in decoction, to promote sweat,
and so cleanse the blood ; theyare excellent against —
the rheumatism, scurvy, and all other disorders,
which arise from what is ‘commonly called foulness —
of the mloed, but they must be taken for a cousides- :

160 - FAMILY HERBAL.

able time. 5. for these effects canuot be produced
at once.

What is called gum guaiacum, is the resin pour-
ed froin this tree ; it is yery acrid and pungent,
audin the rheumatism and many other cases is . to
be rr to the wood. itself.

Hare’s Ears. 2upleuron latifolium. 4

A COMMON wild plant in some parts of
Europe, but kept here in gardens, Itis two feet
ormorein height. The leaves are long and broad,
of a stiff substance, and somewhat hollowed, which
_ gives them the appearance | “of, a long and hollow

ear, from | whence the ee y are of a
. = reen colour, and the ribs upon t jem are
ived kind is to eed ke redieitie” The

stalks are ‘atin upright, striated, and toward, the °
top branched, ‘The flowers are little and yellow,

and they stand at the tops of the branches in small
umbels, The root is long and thick, and has mq
ny fibres.
-. The young shoots of the leaves which grow z
from the root, are esteemed excecdingly in places
where they are native, for the cure of fresh wounds.
They cut two of three of these off close to the
ground, and without bruising them, first closing
Sie Se lips, of the wound, they ay them « on due ove
the her, making a kind of comp!

ni Ags, ant
sing for tliree ‘days, at ithe
t cases ees 8; ~ fir

FAMILY HERBAL. 161
ous account sent lately toa person of distinction
with some leaves of the herb. There is no dorbt |
of the truth, and the surgeons will very well under-
stand the nature of the cure ; the distoyery how-
ever is not new, for the- herb has always been
teckonéd among the vulnerary plants; and some
have pretended that it will smgly cure the king’s
evil, but that is not to be expected ; atthe same
time it may be roper to observe, that we do not
want’plants for the same nse in England ; we have
the tutsan which is to bé applied in the same man-
ner, and has the same éffect ; clown’s all- on and
many others, named i in their places.

Hane’ 8 Foot. Ba dépile
A COMMON little plant, singular ia the tuft, ‘

._ which contains its séeds, and whence it has its
name, but not so much regarded as it ought to be
for its virtues. The stalks are numerous, round,

slender, and spread upon the ground, each is
r into a number of lesser branches. The leaves

ma ll, oblong, narrow, of a pale green colour,
id hairy; : ey stand three together. in the
manner of tre “The flowers are small and of

a faint red, they stand several together in a short
spike, and the cups which receive them at the
base, are’downy ; this gives the singular. aspect of
penne to these heads, and their sottness to the
touc

The whl plant is to be used dried: It is an
excellent astringent. It stops the over flowings of
the menses, and the whites, and is good #-ainst
bloody fluxes, and purgings ofall kinds. “The best

way of taking it is in a strong Geroetion, which
must be og some time,

="

162 FAMILY HERBAL.
Hart’s Toncve. Phylilitis. Lingua cervina.

A WILD plant of the fern kind, that is con-
. sisting only of leaves, without a stalk, the flowers
and seeds being borne on the backs of them. But
it has po resemblance to the ordinary ferns in its
aspect. Each leaf of hart’s tongue, is a separate
plant, but there rise many from the same root.
The foot-stalk is five inches long, the leaf an inch .
and a quarter broad, largest at the bottom, and
smaller to the top, usually simple, but sometimes
divided into two or more parts at the end. It is of
a beautiful green at the upper side, somewhat paler
underneath, and the foot-stalk runs all along its
middle in the form of a very large rib. The seed ves-
_ sels are disposed in long brown streaks on each side
of this rib, on the under partof the leaf, and they are

more cvaspicuous than in most of the fern kind.
The plant grows in old wells, and in dark ditches,
and is green all the year. : =:

It isnot much used, but deserves to be more
known. It is an eer astringent’; the juice
of the plant taken in small quantities, and for a
continuance of time, opens obstructions of the liver
and spleen, and will cure many of the most obstinate —
chronic distempers. tS

Harrtwort. Seseli.

_ A TALL, robust, and handsome plant, native
of the Alps, but kept in our gardens. It grows
five or six feet in height: the stalk is round, thick,
ed, and hollow, very firm and upright, and
littl eo, The leaves are Riegel
ey are divided into a great number of parts,
es and by threes, they are: of a yellowish

FAMILY HERBAL. 163

stand i ~ eat tufts or umbels, at the tops of the
stalks; the seeds follow, two after each flower, and
they sb oblong, broad, and edged with a leafy
border; they are of a dark colour, a strong smell,

and acrid taste.

The seeds are the only part used ; they promote
the menses, and the necessary discharges after
delivery ; ; and are an excellent warm and cordial
medicine; they work also gently by urine, and cure
colicy pains ; = are tobe given in pra or
infusion,

Hawrnorn. “Spina alba.

A SHRUB too common in our hedges to need
much description. The trunk is irregular, and sel-
dom straight ; the branches are strong, tough, and
thorny ; and the leaves of a glossy green and beau-
tifully divided. The flowers are white and beauti-
ful, the fruit is small. -

The flowers and the dried fruit are used in medi-
cine ; they have the same virtue ; they work by
ans and are good in the gravel, and all com-

of that kind ; but there are so man better
Meet for the omy purpose at hand, that t these are
not much regarded.

Hepvece Mustarp.. Erisimum. —

A VERY common wild plant, and of no iibes
beauty ; it is frequent about old walls, and in farm
yards, and is distinguished by its long spikes of
pods, which are lodged close upon the stalk. It
grows two feet in height ; the stalk is round, firm,
upright, but not always quite straight, and a little
branched. The leaves are of a pale green colour,

hairy, oblong, and deeply indented at the —

dé . a.

64 | $$ FAMILY HERBAL,

The flowers are small and yellow, and they.common-
ty stand atthe tops of long. spikes. of pods, which.
have becn flowers before.them,

The whole plant. is. used, an infusion of it ‘frat
is the best way of taking it. This dissolves tough
3 phlegm, and is excellent.;.in. asthmas, | hoarse-
nesses, and. other. complaints of the breast. This
simple infusion, made. into a syrup) with honey,
also answers the: same Purposes, and Anepe all the
year, | :

Hem Lock. Cicuta.

A LARGE, ‘tall, =. aadidine Snbclibt cons

plant, frequent i in our hedges. .It grows to six
ae bs iy othe jeralee is. undies » hollow,

us partitions. © The ni ey fa ei white,
and. ais in tics clusters on the tops of the stalks.
The seeds:are roundish... The whole plant has
a strong dhaegtecable smell, and has been. called,
poisonous, *.;,

The roots, are excelent in Pultice pid hard
swellings. ,

Hur. . Eaaneihtss: sao

_HEMPis: a tall plant, iof a coarse, aspect, culti-
- Yated in fields for its stalk, It,grows five feet nies
- and.is a robust plant ; ihe stalk is thick and rigid rigid 5,
- the leaves. are numerous, they. are large avd h,
ed. of six or seven smalle

ingen soho gg =
ro 3 ‘en, a Pp
: serrated at the.

FAMILY. HERBAL. (163

seeds on others. » The flowers are. inconsiderabie,
and whitish, the seeds are large, roundish, grey, and
have a white pulp within. ‘The rovt is fibrous.
The seeds are used in medicine ; anemulsion made of
them cures the peace.

. Hauer Acrimoxr. Eupatorium cannabinun

* are ‘TALL plant growing. by waters, seviths tufts
of-red- flowers and leaves, divided in the man-
ner of » those of hemp. It grows five feet high; :
the sens is round, thick, reddish, and very ups |
The leaves are large, of a pale green,
and yews they stand two at each Joint, the
flowers grow in bunches as big as a man’s fist,
on the tops of she branches, andare of a —
reds. :
The root fresh gathered and boiled in ale is
used in some places.as a purge; it operates strong= |
iy, but without any ill effect, and dropsies are said:
to have been cured by it singly.
— Brack Henpane. Hyoscyamus n niger.
ed pels hlico ake Aes - ye
MC ie ‘plant, ‘of a ‘dina cies
a pepe smell, ‘The farm yards and
ditch banks.in- most places are full of 1S: rt
grows two feet high. ‘Fhe stalk is thiek, round,
hairy, and clammy to the touch; but not very
upright... Thedeaves are large, long, and broad,
deeply serrated at the edges, of a: bluish green co-
lous, hairy, and clammy to the touch, and leav-
ing a disagreeable smell upon the hands. The —
flowers are large and stand in rows. on the tops:
of the branches, which often bend down ; the
are of a strange: ‘yellowish. brown colour, ferns
purple veins. ‘The seeds arenumerous and brown

166 FAMILY HERBAL.

The sine are used ; the rest of the ela 8
esteemed poisonous. They are given in small doses
against the bloody flux, and it is said with great suc-
cess ; I have not known it tried.

Wuits Henpane. Hyoscyamus albus.

A NATIVE of Italy and Germany, kept in our
gardens. It is a foot high, and has something of
the aspect of the black henbane, but not so dismal.
The stalk is round, thick, and of a pale green ; the
leaves are large, broad, but short, and a little in-
dented at the edges ; they are of a yellowish green,
and somewhat hairy; the flowers-are small and
yellow, and the seeds are whitish.

The seeds of this kind are preferred to those of
the other, as less strong in their effects, but if any
harm would Happen from the i al use of the
ethers, we should have known it, for they are ae

‘Berally sold for them. .

Goon Kine Henry. Bonus Henricus.

A COMMON wild plant, called also by some
English mercury by way of distinction from the
other, which is called French mercury, and has
been described already. This grows a foot high ;
the stalk is round and thick, but rarely stands
quite upright ; it is greenish and purplish, and is
covered with a kind of grey powder unctuous to the
touch. The leaves are large, broad, and of the
ye of an arrow-head, they stand on long stalks,
are of apale green above, and greyish under-—
h, being there covered with this grey powder.
-are inconsiderable, and are of a green-—
low, and they stand in long spikes at the tops

che seceoatat is common in farm yards.

FAMILY HERBAL. 167

The young shoots are eaten as spinage, the juice
of the whole plant works gently, and well by urine ;
and the dried herb is used in decoctions for ‘glisters.

The Reston sore’ Pant. Hermodactylus. is

A BEAUTIFUL plant, having more the aspect
of a garden flower, but it is common wild in the
East, The root is roundish, but flatted, and in-
dented at the bottom, and smaller at top. The
leaves are small and broad ; they are sharp at the
point, and of a deep green colour. The flowers are
large and of a whitish colour, veined and striped
with purple ; this is the best account we have re-
ceived of the plant, but part of it comes with less
authority than one would wish to things of this

~kind. The root is dried and sent to us.

It is a gentle purgative, but it is less used at
this time than many others. It has been in more
repute, perhaps with reason. ;

Hoxtoax. Malia arborea,
oo ‘COMMON garden flower. It” grows. aan.
pain high, and the stalk is round, firm, hairy, and
upright. The leaves are large aid roundish, of a
deep green, hairy, and cut in at the edges; the
flowers are very large, red, white, or purple, and
stand in a kind of long spike. The root is white,
long, and thick, and isof a slimy nature, and not
disagreeable taste.

This is the part used ; a decoction of it ope-
rates by urine, and is good in the gravel; it has _
the same virtue with the mallow and marshmallow,
but in a middle degree between them ; more than
the mallow, and not 30 much as the other, nor a.
op: ploseant.

168 . FAMILY HERBAL
Honeworr. tite sid foliis.

A COMMON plant in corn-fields and dry
places, with extremely beautiful leaves from the
root, and little umbels of white flowers. It has its
English name from its virtues. Painful swellings,
are in sotne parts of the kingdom called hones, and
the herb, from its singular effect in curing them,
has recciyed ‘the name of honewort, that is hone-
herb.

The root is long and white ; they rise from it
early in the spring, | “half. a dozen of more spite
which lie spread upon the ground, in an ele
manner, and are al] that is generally observe af
the plant. The stalks do not rise till the end of
summer, and these leaves decay by that time, 80:

that tthe) are ie to belong to it.

nd an inc dace Ral f
Sah dth : comfposudl each’ ‘of a double
row of smiatler leaves, ‘set ona common rib, with _
an odd leaf at the end ; these are oblong, tolerably
broad, and indented in a beautiful manner. They ~
are‘of a fresh green colour ; they are the part of
the plant most seen, and the part to be used ; ‘and
they are not easily confounded with those of avy
athe: plant, for there isscarce any that has what
are nearly sohandsome. The stalk is two feet high,
round, hollow, upright, but not very firm, and

__ branched toward the top. ‘The leaves on it are
‘somewhat like those from the root, but they have
not the singularity of those beautiful and num |

small ones ; the flowers are little and white, and
ds are small, flatted, siriated, end” two of ;

few every flower, °° Soe *
are eee ; they are to be fresh

are ‘to be Tid'onsoweling tat =

FAMILY HERBAL. 169

red, painful, and threatens to have bad consequen-
ces, and they disperse it. The application must be
frequently renewed, and there are those who speak
of its curing the evil. |

_ Honey-Sucxur. Periclymenum,

A BEAUTIFUL wild shrub. The trunk is
seldom more than an iach thick ; the branches are
very long and slender, of a reddish colour, brittle,
and all of the same bigness. The leaves stand in
pairs, they are broad, short, blunt, of a dark dead
green colour. The flowers grow in little clusters ;
they are long, slender, tubular, and very fragrant ;
the berries are red. .

The fresh leaves of honey-suckle given in de-
coction, are good against obstructions of the liver
and spleen ; they work by urine, and they are also
a good gargle for a sore throat.

Honexvwort. Cerinthe.

_A JUICY plant frequently wild in many parts

its name from the sweet taste of the flowers. Al-
most all flowers hayea drop of honey juice in their
bottom: this is indeed the real substance of honey,
for the bees only pick it out and get it together -
the hollow flowers in general have more of if, or
it is better preserved in them than others, but scarce
any in so great a degree as this plant named from
it. Itis two feet high, when kept erect, but if left
to itself, is very apt to lean upon the ground. ‘The
stalk is round, thick, juicy, and tender ; the leaves
are large, oblong, broad, they surround and inclosé

~

the stalk at their base; they are of a bluish
= = Z

Sst a By

170 | KAMILY HERBAL.

colour, spotted or clouded ir egularly with white,
and they are full of a sort of prickles. ‘The flow-
ers grow at the tops of the stalks, several together,
among the clusters of leaves ;: they are loltows
oblong, and very wide open at the mouth ; their
eslour: is yellow, variegated with purple in the
middle, and they have a very pretiy appearance.

The fresh gathered tops of the plant are to be
used ; an infusion of them is cooling, and works
byurine. It is good against scorbutic complaints,
and in the jaundice.

The Hop Prant. Lupulus. -

' A CLIMBING plant, with very long stalke,
‘common in our hedges, and cultivated also in many
places. The stalks are roundish, rough to the
_ touch, and of a purplish colour often, Sometimes
only green, The leaves are very large, of a round=
- ish figure, deeply indented, of 2 dark green colour,
and very rough also to the touch. The fruit is
eufficiently known. —

A decoction of fresh gathered hops is good against
the jaundice ; and the powder of hops dried in an
oven, has been often known to cure agues, but
upon this there is no absolute dependance.

WHITE HorEwou _— Marrubium etidas 7

A WHITE hoary plant; with little flowers i in
tufts round the stalks, frequent in dry ‘places in
many parts of the kingdom. It grows sixteen
2 high. Thestalks aresquare, and very ro-
hairy, pale coloured, and upright. The
stand two at each joint, theyareshort and

nt a atthe ener and — at

FAMILY HERBAL. Vi

#he edges, of a rough surface, and» white colour.
The flowers are white, and ‘hepoits of their cups
are prickly,

The best part of the plant for medicinal use, is
the tops of the young shoots; a decoction of these
made very strong, and boiled into thin syrup with
honey, is ‘excellent against coughs, hoarsenesses
of long standing, and all disorders of the lungs.
The same-decoction if taken in large doses, and
for a continuance, promotes the menses, and opens
all obstructions. :

Brack Hameacien: . Ballote.

A COMMON wild plant, of a disagubenble
arilell thence also called by some stinking hore-
hound. The stalks are square, the leaves grow
two at every joint, and are broad, short, and of /
eblackish greed colour, but in shape not untike
. those of the white kind. ‘The flowers: stand ia
clusters round the stalk at the joints, as in the
dint but balley are red. The whole iver pees

it he more virtue than anost i imagine. | It is b <=

given: in the form of tea ; it promotes’ the menses,

‘and is superior to most things as a remedy in hyste-

tic cases, faintings, convulsions, and low spirit-_
edness, and all the train of those disorders,

sais Honszram, Equisetum seg cline:

“~ COMMON, wid yet very singalak wild plant,
fertgrsent in our corn-fields, and composed of
branches only, without leaves ; there are also many’
other kinds of ‘horsetail. Itis 2 foot or more ia os
Seight, and is extremely branched ; the stalk is ge

472 FAMILY HERBAL.

round; blunt, ridged, and angulated, and composed
of joints. It is hollow, weak, and seldom sup-
ports itself tolerably upright. The branches are
of the same structure, and they are again branch-
ed ; they grow several from every joint of the
main stalk, and have others again, though in less
number, growing from their joints. The whole
plant is of a green colour, and when bruised, not of.
avery agreeable smel].

The whole plant is to be used, and it is best fresh ;
though it retains a great deal of its virtue dried.
Given in decoction, it stops overflowiigs of the
menses, and bloody stools ; and applied externally,
it immediately stops the bleeding of wounds and
heals them.

5ar

_ Hounp’s Toncue. —Cynog
3 Beats eee

co

. A TALL and singular looking plant, frequent by
our way sides, and distinguished by its large whi-
tish leaves, and small purple flowers, as also by

_ the particularity of its smell, which has been sup-

posed to resemble that of a kennel of hounds. It

is two feet anda half high. The stalk is angu-

Jated, firm, and upright: the leaves are long,

considerably broad, and of a pale whitish or bluish

green colour, sharp at the points, and not at all
serrated at the edges. The flowers are small, and

_ of a deep purple : they grow aloug the tops of the

branches, and are followed by rough seeds,

__ The root is the part used: itis long, thick, and

brown, but whitish within; it is balsamic and

astringent. Given in decoction, it is excellent against
ths arising from athin sharp humour. Dried
owdered, it is good against purgings, and

a

FAMILY HERBAND. (73
Great Houseierk. Sedum majus.

A PLANT sufficiently known as well by its
particular manner of growing, as for its place of
growth. It forms itself into clusters of a round-
ish figure, these are composed of leaves, which
are largest toward the bottom, and smallest at
theend ; they are yery thick and juicy, broad
atthe base, sharp at the point, flat.onthe upper
‘side, a little rounded on the under, and some-

what hairy at their edges. The stalk grows to
ten inches high ; it is very thick, round, and juiey,
upright, of a reddish colour, and divided at the
top into a few branches. The leaves on it are
thin and narrow. The flowers are numerous ;
they are red and have a green head in their middle,
which afterwards becomesa cluster of seed vessels.

The leayes are the part used; they are applied

externally in inflammations, and are very useful, —
when cooling things may be employed. ‘The juice
is also cooling and astringent taken inwardly, but

it is rarely used. Some praise it greatly for the in-
flammations of theeyes. pee aaa
- There is another kind of houseleek, very unlike
this in form, but of the same virtues, this is called
the lesser houseleek ; the stalks are round, small, and
reddish, and grow six inches high; the leaves are
long and rounded, not flat as the others leaves ; and
the flowers are white, and stand in a kind of tufts,
like umbels at the tops of the stalks, This growson
old walls, and the tops of houses like the other,

The Least HouseteeK, on Waut Perper. Sedum
minimum acre. See

A COMMON plant on old walls, of kin tg

ms $AMILY HERBAL.

the preceding, but very different both in face and
virtues. The root is little; from this grow abun-
‘dance of stalks ; they areround, weak, and unable :
to support theraselves ; ; they spread every way
about, and are six inches inlength. The greatest
part of every stalk is covered with leaves, so that it _
appears a-green substance, of the thickness of ones
little finger ; these leaves are short and thick; they
are of a fine green colour, and are broad at the base,
and sharp at tie point. The flowers are little, and of
a bright yellow ; they grow in great numbers, from
the tops of these branches, and are of the shape of
‘those of common houseleek, and rounded by such
seed vessels.

The juice of this kind of houseleek, is excel-
tent against the scurvy and all other diseases arising
from. what | lled foulness of the blood. It

id that a ce Sede course of. it will eure
oe thek Eire evil 3 sic we want secant to mpeen

The Hypocisr, Hypocistus.

A VERY singular plant, native of the Grecian
islands, and of some of the warmer parts of Europe.
It is five inches high, and of a singular figure,
itdoes not grow in the earth at large as other
plants, but to the reot of some species of cistus ;
- as missletoe grows to the branches of trees. The if
stalk is thick and fleshy, and is often twice as large —
toward the top, as at the bottom. It is whitish, or ae
yellowish, or purplish, and has a parcel of short
| and broad skinny films, by way of leaves upon it.

¢ flowers grow at the top, with leaves of the same _
tthem. They are large. and beautiful,
by ae a = oundish copes

FAMILY HERBAL - (5

in which is a quantity of glutinous liquor, and with
it the seeds, which are very small, abd of a brown-
ish colour.

We use the hardened juice of” ite fruit ; it is
evaporated over the fire, to a thick consistence, and
then isof a black colour, like the common lignorice
juice, called Spanish liquorice. The druggists
keep it in this state ; it is good in violent purgings,
with bloody stools, and in overflowing of the
menses: it is to be given in a@electuar ag with
conserve ‘of red roses. =

Hyssop. ia

A VERY pretty garden plant, kept for its vir-
tues. It grows two feet high. The stalks are —
- square, robust, upright, and of a pale green colour. —
Theleaves stand two at each joint ; they are long,
narrow, pointed at the ends, and ae a bright green
colour. The flowers are small, and they stand in
long spikes, at the tops of the branches ; ; they are
of a beautiful blue colour. The whole eth has a
strong, but not disagreeable smell. : Sete

Hyssop is to be gathered when just beginn
flower, and dried: the infusion made i in the | manner
of tea, is not unpleasant, and is the best way of
taking it: it is excellent against coughs, hoarse-
nesses, and obstructions in the breast. A strong
infusion made into a syrup with honey, is excellent
for the same purposes, mixed with an equal > bag
tity of oil of almonds.

Hepeer Hyssop. Grasjots

A LITTLE plant kept in our gardens. It

grows to a foot in height; thestalks are square,

slender, and not very robust : the leaves are long,

1%6 FAMILY HERBAL,

narrow, and sharp-pointed : they stand two at
every joint. The flowers are long, moderately
large, and yellow ; they grow from the bosoms of.
' the leaves, and are hollow, and only a little divided
at the ends: they are somewhat like fox- glove
flowers,

A decoction of the fresh plant is an excellent
purge, but it works roughly ; it is good against
dropsics and rheumatisms ; and the jaundice has
been often cured by it singly.

*
Jack BY THE Hepvce. Alliaria.

-ASPRING plant of a conspicuous es fre
quent in our hedges, _ The stalk is round, thick,
firm, upright, and of a pale green, thr :
height, and very straig ht. ‘The leaves are large,
broad, and short, of a figure approaching to
dotraittsh: but somewhat pointed at the ends, and
notched at the edges; they are of a pale vellowish
green colour, and stand on long foot stalks, The |
flowers are little and white; they stand ten or
a dozen together, at the tops of the branches, and
are followed ‘y long pods.

The fresh leaves eaten as salad work by urine
powerfully, and are recommended in dropsies. The
juice of them boiled into a syrup with honey, is
good to break tough phlegm, and to cure Pan
and hoarsenesses. oe:

= ‘The Jacives, oR Hyacrnra. - ye :

FAMILY HERBAL, 197
bells. The root is white and roundish ;. the leaves _

are narrow and long, like grass, but of a deep green
colour, and: smooth surface: the stalks are round,
upright, and smooth ; they have no leayes on them.
The flowers are large, and of a beautiful blue ; they

are hollow, oblong, and turn up at the rm, The |

root is the part used. :
~ It abounds ina slimy juice, but it is to be drigit
and this must be done carefully ; the decoction of

it operates ¥ ell by urine; and. the powder is halsa-.
and sOmewhat. styptic. It is not enough

mic,
known. ‘There is hardly a more pow renedy
for ae whites.

“The JAAP Pian, : BT i A ” as

‘é CLIMBING plant, native ‘of America, aud not
yet ¢ got into our gardens. The root is long, irregu-

larly shaped, and thick, The stalks are round,

tough, and firm, but slender and unable to support
themselves. They grow to tenor twelve feet in
: leva. and wind among the bushes. ‘The Jeaves

; Sad a ani si aiontt the. bas dusky

tae and oval. ris

The root is the Spar Gash ‘and dre
Given in powder with a little ginger, to prevent its
griping, it is an excellent purge. A strong tincture
of it made in brandy, answers the same purpose ;. it
‘is good in dropsies ; and is in igneten a safe and ex-
eeent purge. Se. ate

Si ESGAMIN. for ey

ae COMMON drake ia our gardens, and a

cn A \

tig
ma)

178 FAMILY HERBAL;

eat ornament to them. It does not well support
itself, so that it is commonly nailed against walls.
The trunk is covered with a greyish bark: the
young shoots are green. The leaves stand two. at
each joint, and they are very beautiful ; each is
-tmade up of about three pair of narrow, oblong, and
pointed leaves, with a very long one at the end.
They are of a deep green colour : the flowers are
long, hollow, open at the end, and white; half a
dozen or thereabout, grow on each stalk, -and they
are of avery delicate and fragrant smell; these
are succeeded by berries, which ripenin the warner
countries.

Rose 0 oF , Jenicu0, Rive Wier atoatcs.

ole LITTLE woody plant, named a rose fiptn
nothing but ifs size, and if6 manner of folding
itself up, by bending in the tops of the branches, —
so that it appears hollow and roundish. We are
accustomed to see it dry, and in that condition it is
always thus drawn together. It is of the bigness
of a man’s fist, and is composed of a quantity of
woody branches, interwoven with one another, and
~all bending inward. When it-is put. into warm
water, it expands, and become flattish, but on ary
ing, it acquires the old form again.
- Itisin reality, 2 kind of thlaspi, or trestle; mus-,
tard, bui of a peculiar woody texture The root
rand pierces deep into the ground ; there
from = aoe or, Basses eae which spread

FAMILYHERBAL; —s_-179

themselves upon the ground, in a circular manner,
as we see the stalks of our bird’s foot, and many
other little plants. These stalks are thick and
woody, and about four inches in length : they lie
upon the ground toward the base, but lay turned
up a little at the tops, and each of themhas a num-
‘ber of branches. The leaves are long, narrow,
and of-a pale green ; they are very numerous, and
they stand irregularly. The flowers are small,
and white like those of our shepherd’s purse. ‘The
-seed-vessels are small, and contain several seeds
like those of the common treacle mustard.

This is the appearance of the plant, as it grows
very frequent in the warmer climates ; and thus
it has nothing singular init, while in its perfection
of-growth, but aftera time, the leaves decay and
' fall off, and the stalks as they dry, in the heat, -
draw up more and more, till by degrees they get
intothis round figure, from which, warm. water
will expand them, but they recover it again as
_ they dry. yg F898

This is the real history of that little kind of trea- _
Bar tet which is called the rose of an
and concerning which so many idle, as well as
have many ways of trying many experiments with
it, by way of deciding future events, but nothing
can be so foolish. The nature of the plant will
make it expand, and open its branches, when put
into warm water, and draw them together again, as
it growsdry. This will always happen, and it will
be more quick or more slow, according to the con-
dition of the plant. Where it is to be had fresh,
it does not want medicinal virtues. The young
shoots are good in infusion against sore throats, but
we have the plant without its leaves, and in reality,

180 FAMILY HERBAL.

little morethan a stick ;.so that it. would be idle
soeempent ae good in it. ‘

es

“The Jesurr’s Bank Tren. ae orale

A SMALL psi ative of South ‘Ametion; which
has not yet got into our gardens. ‘The trunk is
as thick as a man’s leg, ; and its bark is grey. The
branches ..are numerous and irregular, and their
bark is of a browner colour, but with the same
tinge of.grey. The leaves: are long and. large,
three inches im length, and halfas much in breadth,
and of a pale. green colour: they are pointed at
the end, but not.at all indented at the edges. .'The
flowers are small, and their colour is a pale purple :
they stand in great clusters together ; they are long,
eee and open at the end, where they are a little

eh ie bark ee: eats Besides. its. Seviain
_ efficacy against agues and intermiiting fevers, it is
an excellent stomachic and astringent; nething is
better to strengthen the appetite, and in overflow-
ings of the menses, and all other bleedings, it is
of the greatest efficacy. It is best.given in pow-
der. ‘The tincture isto be made in brandy, but it
is not nearly so good as the substance ; when it is
given for disorders of the stomach, the best way is
to rhein fire pieces of the bark andchew them.

Jaw's Ears. Auriculee Jude. seats

od KIND of fungus, er, as the common 1 phrase:
toad’s stool, growing uponoldelder trees. It
tan inch and a.half long, and generally an |
road and is 2 Semen hets nb the a aaa

FAMILY HERBAL, isl

ear. It grows by a broad base to the bark of the
tree, and from this, it gradually spreads into a
flat, hollow, substance, with several ridges in it,
running irregularly, whence it is supposed to have
the resemblance of the ear most perfectly. Its
- eolourisapale grey on the outside, it is darker
within, and there run several ribs along it. .Itis
to be dried... Boiled in milk, it is recommended
greatly in sore throats avd guinsies. These reme-
dies. of | the. yulgar, haye come originally from
icians, and they. commonly. have something to
support them. The Jew’sear is at this time out
of repute, but that seems owing to sophistication. —
They commonly sell under the name of it, another
fiingus that grows to a great bigness, overspreading
wood, in damp places. ‘They get it off the water
pipes at the New River head at Islington, to supply
‘Covent Garden market,

: rue St. Ienatius’s Bean. Taba sancti Ignatu,

sah PLANT. common in the West Indies, and very
ill called a bean, being truly a gourd. The name
a was given to the seeds of this plant, before. it
was known how they were produced, and some
have continued it to. the plant. It grows to. a
great height, when there is a tree to support it, for
it cannot support itself. It has a stalk as thick
asa man’s arm, angulated, light, and not firm.
The leaves are very large, oblong, and undivided,
and they have the ribs very high upen them : they
are broad at the base, and grow narrower te the
point, and are of a deep green colour. ‘The flow-
ers are very large, and of a deep blood red; ata
distance, they have the aspect of aredrose. The
fruit is large and roundish ; it has a woody shell,
and over that a thin skin, bright and shining.

182 ‘PAMILY HERBAL.

Within hiss are twenty or thirty jae: ; they are
of the bigness of a small nutmeg, velien _we' see
them: they are roundish, and very rough upon
the surface : each is of a woody substance, and -
when tasted, is of the flavour of citron seeds, but
extremely bitter and nauseous. ‘The colour is of
all grey or brownish.

These seeds. are what we use in medicine, and
callthe St. Ignatius’s bear. It is a medicine to be
given with great caution, but it has many virtues:
the most powerful remedies, when in ill hands, are
naturally the most dangerous ; the powder given
ina smal! dose, occasions vomiting and purging,
and often if the constitution be tender, convalsion® ?
it is much better to give it in tincture, when no
_ Such effects happen fromit. °Tis of an excellent
effect against nervous complaints : it will cure the
falling sickness, given in proper doses, and con-
tinued for a long time : the tincture is best for this

ose. Some have given the powder in very
sma!l quantities against worms, and that with suc-
cess ; its extreme bitter makes it very disagree-
able, and the taste continues in the throat a “Tong
time, whence it occasions vomiting. We neglect
it very much at present, because of its roughness ;
but it would be better we found the way of. giving:
it with safety. There are gentler medicines, but
none of them so. efficacious: it will do service in
cases that the common methods do not reach.

Si: Jouy’ s Wort. Hypericum. |

= “A ROBU ST ~ pretty plant; frequeilé: in our

astures, and other dry places. The height is a
foot and a half. The stalk is round, thick, firm,
very upright, and divided towards the iop

into several. ree. = leaves are shorty and

FAMILY HERBAL. 188

blunt at the points: they are, of a bright green
colour, and if held up against the light, ‘they : seem
to be full of pin holes. The flowers grow in
abundance on the tops.of the branches: they are
large, and of a bright and beautiful yellow, fall
of yellow threads, which, if rubbed upon, the hand, ~
stain it red like blood. The fruit is a ary: eed,
vessel,

The part used is the fewery. tops of the plant
just as they begin to ripen. A. decoction of these
works powerfully by urine, and is excellent against
the gravel, and in ulcerations of the ureters. The
same tops fresh gathered and bruised, are good
for wounds and bruises; they stop bleeding, and
serve as a balsam for one, and take off blackness
in the other.

The Jusuze Tree. Zizyphus.

A TREE of the bigness of our plum trees, and
not unlike to'them in shape. The bark is gre
on the trunk, and brown on. the branches. The?
leaves are moderately large, and each is composed
ofa ni er of Sciatlad. ones, set on, each. side of
a middle rib, but not opposite to one another, .
and with an odd one at the end : these are oblong,
obtuse, and serrated round the edges, ‘and the odd
leaf at the end is the largest and longe te The
flowers are small and yellow. The fruit is oval,
andof the bigness of a moderate plum; it has a
soft substance on the outside, ,and a stone within,
which is large and long, and_ pointed at both ends.
_ The fruitis used. It was at one time brought
over to us dried, but we see littleof it now ; it was
esteemed balsamic, and was given to cure coughs,
and to work by urine, —

im;
i

184 FAMILY HERBAL,

The Wate Stock JuLY FLowER. . Leucoium
: albpass aia

A ROBUST garden lant; “kept for ob aiese,
which art variegates and makes double. . It grows
two or three fuck high, The stalk is thick, firm,
round; and of a greyish. colour. The leaves are
long, narrow, hairy, and whitish. The stalks whieh
bear the flowers, are alseof a whitish green, and
tender, The flowers are as broad as a shilling,
white,| and sweet scented.

The flowers are the part used, and they arete
be fresh gathered, and only. just blown. A tea
made of them, is-good to promote the menses, and
at operates also ‘by urine: An ointment: is: to be
made, by boiling them in hog’s lard, which is ex-
cellent for sore nipples. as

cee ie ai ted jut te aS

duxteee Sa RUE. cd funiperus.

aRe gx

A COMMON. sfitetedn our: heaths, It erows
to no great” height in England, but in some other
parts of Europe, rises to a considerably large tree.
“The bark is ofa reddish brown, The branches are
tough.. The leaves are lon Sibi very narrow, and.
prickly at the ends. ‘Ihe flowers are of a yellow-
isk’ colour; but small and inconsiderable. The
berries are large, and when ripe blackish: they are
of a strong, but not disagreeable smell, and ‘of a
sweetish, but resinous taste. The leaves are = a-
faint bluish: green colour. ie
_ The berries are the part most oe we: iy 4
ee on: from Germany principally. They have two
excellent qualities, they dispel wind, and work by
, for which reason, they are excellent in those
hich arise from the gravel and stone.
is also made the true Geneva, but the

. FAMILY HERBAL. 183

liquor our poor people @rink under that name, 1s
only malt spirits and oil of turpentine.

Ivy. Hedera,

A VERY commonshrub, crawling about old

round clusters, and they are small and inconsider-.
able: they are succeeded by large berries.. The
leaves upon the young shoots that bear the flowers,
are always oblong; those on the trunk are an-
gulated. They are all of a deep glossy green.
The leaves and berries are both used, but nei-

ther much. A decoction of the leaves destroys
Vermin in children’s heads, and heals the soreness
that attends them. The berries are purging; an
infusion of them will often work also by vomit,
but there is no harm in this: they are an excellent:
remedy in rheumatisms, and pains of all ‘kinds,
and it is said, have cured dropsies ; but this is per-
haps going too far. a oe 7
The ivy inthe warm countries sweats out a kind
of resin, which has been used externally at some
times, on various occasions ; but at this time, it is
quite unknown in practice. — ,

‘Kipyey Wort. Umbilicus weneris.

> ee eh

- “AVERY singular plant, which grows on eld
oe “OPE i oe See

186. FAMILY HERBAL

walls in some parts of England. It is eight inche¢
high, and is distinguished at sight, by a cluster of |
round leayes which grow about the stalk. The
root is roundish, and its fibres grow from the hottom..
The leaves stand on longish and thick foot stalks,
which are, except in the lowest of all, inserted not
at the edges of the leaf, but in the middle: these
are round, thick, fleshy, and indented about the
edges. The stalk which bears the flowers is round,
thick, and towards the top, divided into two or
three branches ; on these grow the flowers, in a
kind of spikes: they are oblong, hollowish, and of
a greenish white colour. :

The leaves are the part used. - Externally, they
are cooling, and good against pains. They are
applied bruised to the piles, with great success.
The juice of them taken inwardly, operates by
urine, and is excellent against stranguries, and good
in the gravel, and faliaaaiklsons of the liver and

Kwap-weep. Jacea.

A VERY common wild plant, with dark colour-
ed longish leaves, and purple flowers, like those of
thistles. It is two feet high. The stalks are
roundish, but ribbed: they are of a pale colour,
very firm and strong, upright, and divided into
branches. The leaves are long, and of the same
breadth :_ Those which grow immediately from the.
root, are but little jagged or cut at the edges :
those which stand upon the stalk, are more so.
The flowers are large ; they stand in scaly heads, _
one of which is placed at the top of every branch ;~
and at a distance, they have something of the ap-—
pearance of the: flowers of thistles, but when ex-
amined nearer, they are more like those of the blue

FAMILY HERBAL. 187

bottle. The flowers themselves are of a bright red
and large.

The young plant is used fresh : a decoction of it
is good against the bleeding of the piles, against
loosenesses with bloody stools, and all other bleed-
ings. A slight infusion is recommended against
sore throats, to be used by way of gargle. There
are so many of these gentle astringent plants, com-
mon in our fields, as yarrow and the like, that less
respect is to be paid to one of less power in the
sane way. Knapweed may be very properly added
to decoctions of the others, but it would not be so
well to trust to its effects singly.

gee:

Knot-erass. Polygonum. ~

A MOST common wild plant in our fields, path-
ways, and hedges : there are two or three kinds of —
it, but they pretty much resemble one another in
form, and in yirtues: the ee, 2 is the best. The
stalks of this are ten inches long, round, jointed,
and of a dusky green. The leaves are of an oyal
form, of a bluish green colour, and not indented
at the edges. ‘The stalks lie upon the ground, and
one of these only grows at each joint, The flowers
_are small and white, but with a tinge of reddish.
The seed is single, black, and three cornered. ;

It has been observed before, that Providence has
in general made the most common plants, the most
useful. A decoction of knot-grass roots, stalks, |
and leaves, is an excellent astringent. It stops
bloody stools, and is good against all bleedings,
but in particular, it is a remedy against the
bleeding piles, and against the overflowing of the
menses. es ;

Rees

18s FAMILY HERBAL:
| -
The Gum Lac Tres. Laca arbor.

A TREE of the bigness of our apple tree, fre-
quent in the East, but not yet known in Europe.
The trunk is covered with a rough reddish bark.
The branches are numerous and tough. They have
asmoother rind, of a colour inclining to purple.
The leaves are broad, and of a whitish green on
the upper side, and of a silvery white underneath.
_ The flowers are small and yellow. The fruit is of
the bigness of a plum, and has in it a large stone:
The outer or pulpy part, is of an austere, and not —
very agreeable taste.

The gum lac is found upon the branches of this
tree, but it is pretended by some, that a sort of flies, ©
_ deposite it there, and on other substances ; and
that it is a kind of wax ; however, there are per-

. per

sons of credit, who any they have obtained by cut-
ting the branches of this tree, and a like substance
from the branches of the several kinds of jujubes,
_ to which this belongs, in the hot countries. Pro-
bably the flies get it off this tree, and lodge it for.
their purposes upon sticks, and other substances ag
wesce itr =°.* | .
_ Our druggists have three kinds of this resin, for
it is ill called a gum. The one they call stick lac,
because it is brought in round sticks; the other
seed lac, insmall lumps; and the other’ shell lac,
which is thin and transparent, and has been melted ; __
of this resin the sealing wax is made with yery little
_ alteration more than the colouring it, which is
né by means of cinnabar or coarser materials.
en inwardly, gum lac is good against obstruc-

# the liver : it operates by: urine and sweat,.

FAMILY HERBAL. agg

and is good in most chronic: ‘cases earning from such
_ obstructions. ita,

Lapiss’ Manae. Archimitli.

A VERY pretty little plant, native of some
parts of England, but not very common wild. The
leaves are numerous and yery beautiful; they are
broad, aud of a roundish’ figure, but divided deeply
inte eight parts, and each of these elegantly indent-
ed about the edges. They are of a yellowish
green colour, nearly as. broad as the palm of ones
hand, and they stand upon foot-stalks of an inch
or two in length. The stalks grow in the midst;
they are round, a little hairy, eight inches long,
notyery upright, and of a pale green colour. The
flowers stand in considerable numbers at their tops ;
they are small and of a greenish colour, but have a
great many, yellow threads ia the middle. The root
4s long, thick, and dark coloured. :

The root is the part most valuable ; a decoction.
of it fresh takea up, is an excellent remedy for the
overflowings of the menses, for bloody fluxes, and
all other bleedings. - Dried and powdered, it an-—
swers the same purpose, and is also good against
common purgings. The good women in the north |
of England apply the badves to their breasts, to
make flings recover their form, after they have been
swelled with milk, Hence it has got the name of

ladies’ mantle.

The Larcy Tree. Larix. -

A MODERATELY tall, andi in summer : avery
beautiful tree, but though onc of ihe resinous kind,
and in many respects approaching to the nature of |
the fir and pine, it loses its leaves in winter : it is: x

190. FAMILY HERBAL.

a native of Italy, and is frequent in our gardens,
The trunk is rugged, and the branches are covered
with a rough bark, of a brownish colour, with a
tinge of reddish. The leaves are an inch or more
in length, extremely slender, and of a bluish green
colour, and they grow in little clusters, and different
parts of the branches. The flowers are inconsidera-
ble, the fruit is a cone, but very small, It is not
bigger than a little walnut. :
The young leaves are boiled, and the liquor i
drank to promote urine, but this is an idle way of
getting at the virtues of the tree. Venice turpen-
tine is produced from it, and this liquid resin con-
tains them all in perfection. They cut the trunk of
the tree deep, in the heat of summer, and the resin
flows out. This works powerfully by urine, and
- isanoble balsam ; it is good against the whites, and
to stop the running that often remains from a clap
after all the virulence is removed ; but in this case

it must be given cautiously, —
Larxs’ Spur. Delphinium.

A COMMON 4ower in our gardens ; but not -
without its virtues. It grows a yard high; the
stalks are round, upright, firm, and of a pale
green. ‘The leaves are cut into a multitude of long,
narrow, and very fine divisions, and are of a deep
green colour, and the flowers which grow in long
spikes at the tops of the branches, are naturally
blue, but often red or white. They are moderately
— darge and havea kind ofspurbehind. -
_ The leaves are used ; they must be boiled fresh
‘Im water, and the decoction is good against’ the
seeding piles. It stops the hemorrage, and at the
same time cools the body, whereas too many of the
se diciics are heating.

FAMILY HERBAL. - 19%
' LAvEeNnDER. Lavendula.

A COMMON plant in our gardens, native of
the warmer parts of Europe ; it is of a shrubby
nature in the stem, but the rest is herbaceous It
growsayard high, The trunk, or main stem, is
thick, woody, firm, and covered with a whitish
bark. The youngshoots from this, are tender and
greenish ; and onthese stand the leaves. They are
long, narrow, and of a pale green colour, and stand
two at each joint. The stalks which bear the
flowers, are square, green, and naked ; the flow-
_ ers stand in short spikes, orears; they are small,

blue, and very fragrant; the cups of the flowers

are. whitish. : SE meee < ese

These flowers are the part used ; they are good
_against all disorders of the headand nerves. They —
may be taken in the formof tea. The famous
spirit of lavender called palsy drops, and the sweet
lavender water are made with them. The spirit
of lavender called palsy drops is thus made best.

Put into a small still a pound of lavender flowers,
and five ounces of the tender tops of rosemary, put
to them five quarts of common melasses spirit, anda
quart of water : distil off three quarts ; putto this —
cinnamon and nutmegs, of each three quarters of
an ounce, red sanders wood half an ounce; let |
these stand together a week, and then strain off the
spirit. : ee Sg
The lavender water is thus made. Put a pound.
of fresh lavender flowers into a still with a gallon”
of melasses spirit, and draw off five pints. This
is lavender water. a ee

Lavenper Corton, Abrotonum feemina.

A LITTLE shrubby plant, frequently wild in

192 FAMILY HERBAL, —
Italy, but with us kept in gardens. It grows two
feet or more in-height, the stem is whitish: the
stalks growing from it, are tough and firm, of a
whitish colour also, and very numerous ; the leaves
are oblong, slender, of a square shape, and indent-
ed ; they are also whitish and of a strong smell.
The stalks which support the flowers are ‘Tong and
naked ; they are round, of a greenish colour, and
each has at its top a single flower, which is yel+
low and naked, and of the bigness of an horse-bean.
The leaves are the part used, they are best fresh
gethered. ‘They are to be given infused in water
against worms, they are a disagreeable medicine,
but a very efficacious one. They also promote the
menses, and open obstructions of the liver. They ©
have been recommended greatly in the peesaices

“Srurce Laveen, Laureola.

. Sag WILD little shrub of a singular aspect anil of
considerable Virtues, it is three feet high, the stem
is half an inch thick, and divides into a great many
branches. The bark is of a brownish colour, and
they are not very strong. The leaves stand at the
tops of the branches, they are long, narrow, and of
a bright and fine green ; they are of a firm substance,
and are not indented at the edges. The flowers are
very small, and inconsiderable, they are green with
some yellow threads, and have a sweet smell, the
- berries are small, roundish, and black.
__ The leayes are a powerful remedy against the
= roy Yo but = are so violent oft "must ita an

an It ts not every “constitution | that
ich a geeticing we

FAMILY HERBAL, 198
The Leek. Porrum |

A COMMON plant in our kitchen gardens. It
grows three feet high; the stalk is round, green,
and thick, the leaves are large, long, and of a deep
green, and the flowers grow in a round cluster at tha
top of the stalk, they are of a purplish.colour, with
a tinge of green, the root is white, oblong, thick,
and roundish, with fibresatthe bottom. =
_ An infusion of the roots of leeks made in water,
and boiled inte a syrup with honey, is good against
asthmas, coughs, and obstructions in the breast and
lungs. It answers the same purposes with syrup
of garlic, but it will agree with some, who cannot
bear that medicine.

The Lamon Tree. Limonia malus,

. A SHRUB, native of the warmer countries, and
frequent in our green houses, very beautiful and
fragrant. The trunk is moderately, thick, and
covered with a brewn bark; the branches are
leaves are large, and very beautiful, of an oval
figure, and set upon a naked stalk ; they are of a
beautiful green, and remain on the tree all winter.
The flowers are large and white; ofa thick firm
substance, and very fragrant smell. The fruit we
are: sufficiently acquainted with ; its shane is ob-
long, and its rind of a pale yellow colour: it has
a part like a nipple ateachend. Its smell is very

fragrant, and its juice sour,

The peel and the juiceof the fruit are used.
The peel is stomachic. and warm, it is a good Ain--
gtedient in bitter infusions, The juice made into |
asyrup with twice its weight of fine sugar, is ex-_

Sy ce a

19t © FAMILY HERBAL.

cellent for sweetening juleps and drinks in fevers, and
mixed with salt of wormwood, it set pee.

Leapwort. " Dentittaria sive plumbago.

A LITTLE silat: native of some parts of Eu-
rope, and keptin our gardens. It is two feet high,
the stalks are slender, tough, and weak, hardly
able to support themselves upright. The leaves
are of a pale bluish green colour, oblong, not very
broad, and they surround the stalk at. the basé.
The flowers are red, they are singly, very small, bat
they stand in thick, oblong clusters, on the tops of
the stalks, and each is succecded by a single seed
which is very rough, and stands naked,

The dried root is to be used; a piece of it put
into the mouth, fill it with a great quantity of
_rheum, aud is often an almost. instantaneous | cure
for the head-ach. It also cures the tooth-ach in
the same manner as pellitory of Spain does: it is
more hot and acrid, than even ae fiery root. —

The ¥isian Lear Tb iu: Malabathrum.

A TALL and beautiful tree of the East Indies, |
not unlike the cinnamon tree in its manner of
growth. ‘The trunk is as thick as our elms, and it

»ws as tall, but the branches are disposed with.
less regularity; the wood is brittle, and the young
_ shoots are of a pale brown. The leaves are very
large, nine inches long, and seven in breadth, and

t at all indented. he flowers stand i in clusters,
ae tops of the branches: they see-smali ead

is + and the fruit is of the bign our

FAMILY HERBAT. . £95

These leaves are the part used, we have them
dried at the druggists, but they commonly keep them
till they are decayed. It is an aromatic medicine,
it strengthens the stomach, and is goo ijn nervous

disordess. : a

Lentite. Lens.

A KIND of little pulse, sown in fields in some
ie of England. It. grows a foot and a half high,
does not stand very upright. The stalk is a
gulated, of a pale green, and branched ; the leaves
are like those of the common pea: they consist each
of several pairs of small ones, set on arib, and there
is a tendril in place of an odd leafatthe end. These
_ small Jeaves are of a pale green colour, and oyvai
shape. The flowers are white and. small, but in
shape like a pea blossom, they stand singly on long
stalks. The fruit is a pod of a flattish shape, ia
_ which there generally are two seeds also a little
flatted, and of the bigness of a small pea.
The fruit, is used; it. is ground.to powder: to
make into pation for amclage. us itis neem auch

wands, ; ayaa ei CLE Revie ¥ ne A:

3s.

‘Lernice. Lactuca. - —

ie COMMON plastid our ‘kitchen ‘gardens,
which we eat raw. When it rises to flower. it is
two feet and a half high. The stalk is round,
thick, very upright, and of a pale green. The
leaves are oblong, broad, and somewhat wayed at the
edges : the flowers stand on the tops of the stalks,
_andarecfa pale yellow, the seed omringednvith 2 light
= white. down.
‘The juice of lettice, is a good medicine to pro-
| que: Sleep, or the thick stalk eaten will serve the —

196 FAMILY HERBAL.

same purpose. It is a good method to put those
into, who require a gentle opiate, and will not take
medicines. |

Witp Lerrice. Lactuca sylvestris major.

‘A COMMON plant in our hedges, and having
some resemblance to the garden lettice i in its flowers,
though ot i its manner ‘of. growth. It is six. or
seven feet high. The stalk 18 thick, round, very
upright, branched, and ofa pale yellowish gréen
colour. The leaves at the bottom are very large;
afoot long, and five inches broad, and of’a pale
green colour ; thosehigher up the stalks are smal- _
ler, they are deeply indénted at the edges, and either —
these, the stalk, or any other part of the plant being
wounded, there flows out a milky juice, which has
the smell of opium, and its hot bitter: taste: the
branches are very numerous, and the flowers are
also very nu merous, bat they are small and ofa pale

ehlow. fees

Xs ‘This is a plant ets ‘trollaced into the common
practice; but very worthy of that notice. I have
known it used in private families, with great suc-_
cess. A syrup made from astrong infusion of it, .
is an excellent anodyne; it’ eases the most violent
pain i in colics, and other disorders, and gent y dis--
poses the person to sleep.’ It has the good effect
ofa gentle eae a hone of — bad ones of that,
Violent medicine.” Rt ee ae. ok Seek

The Ware Line. ‘Litium alloum. !

LAL, fagrant, end beautiful garden oi
four or five feet high ; the stalk is round, |
k, firm, and very upright: j-agreatmany.
rou it at the by ottom, ~ne many

FAMILY HERBAL. ‘197

grow upon it allthe way! these are of the same
shape, long, narrow, and smooth, and of a pale green
upon the stalk, and deeper green-at the root. The
flowers stand on the divisions of the top of the stalk,

they are large, white, and composed as it were of’ a
quantity of thick scales.

The roots contain the greatest virtue ; they are
excellent mixed in pultices; to apply to. swellings.
The flowers possess the same virtue also, being emol-
lient and good against pain: Awoil is made of the _
flowers steéped in common oil of olives; but the
fresh flowers are much better in the season ; and the
root may be had fresh at re nes aud? it cpa
the’ Same virtues, BOER Jib ies

En OF THE Ww atnitle Lilium icenthallis um.

A VERY pretty ptebs: but so different fot

. the former, that one would wonder how it eame

to'be called by any part ofthe same name. - It is
six or eight inches high, ‘The leaves are large,
long, ‘and btoad, of a deep greén colour, and full
of very thick ribs or veins. ‘The stalks are weak, -
slendér, angular, and green *: they bend towards the
top, and on éach there ‘stands, or rather hangs )'a
row_of white flowers ; they are roundish, hollow,
and of a delicate ner pleasing smell ; these are
succeeded by berries, ‘which "are red when: ‘they
areripe. —

The flowers afe tsi A tea made of them and.
drank for a constancy, i is excellent against all nery-
ous complaints, it will cure nervous head-achs, and
tremblings of the limbs: a great deal. too much
bas been said of this’plant, for people call it a re-

amedy for apoplexies and the dead palsies, but :

.

thoagh all this is not true,” enough i is, to give the.
plant a reputation and bring it‘again into uses

193 FAMILY HERBAL.
: The Warer Liny. . Nymphea alba. .

7 LARGE and elegant plant, the broad leaves
of which we see floating upon. the surface of the
water in our brooks not. unfrequenily ; ; and in ihe
autumn large white flowers. among them. _The
root of the plant is very long, and, extremely. thick,
and Jies buried inthe mud... The leaves rise sing]
one en each sialk ; the stalks are round,.thick, an
of .a..spungy substance, having. 2. white. pith in
them ; andthe leaves also are thick and somewhat
spungy; they areof a roundish figure, and they
lie flat. upon the surface of the water. .The flow-
ers stand upon single foot stalks, arising like those
of the leaves séparately from the root, and being
like them, light, round, glossy, and full of x aelbites
pith ; the flow ers ate large and white, and have

some. eads. de the middle ;. the seed-vessel
large id rou and th “numerous,

The root is the part. used, and it is best fresh, and
given lua strong: decaction.. It is a powerful re-
medy in the whites, and in those weakuesses left
after venereal complaints: it is also good against
violent purgings, especially where there are bloody
stools, ..‘There are other kinds of. water lily in our.
ditches, particularly a large yellow: flowered. one, ,
whose roots possess the. same y ites with the others,
_ butinaless degree. 5.

bith The LiwetTeee, sak Tilia, oe

BR (A TREE common enough j in (ee Ae nd ey ans,
and when in flower. very beautiful aod fragrant ;
he trunk is thick, -and the. branches. grow with.
lerable regularity... The leayes. syshoth » broad,
sppecschivg oe puns es terminating

seit oy oh
"eae i

FAMILY HERBAL, 199

flowers grow on long “yellowish ‘stalks, with
yellow, oblong, and narrow leaf uponthem. They
are themselves also of ‘a yellowish whité colour,
and extremely delicate and sweet smell. The
fruit is roundish and small. The flowers are the
only part used ; they ate good against ‘giddiness of
the head, tremblings of the limbs, and all other
lighter nervous disdrders. They are best taken as

~The Liquid Auser Tree. © Liquid ambars~

“A VERY beautiful tree of the American islands,
which we haye brought of late into our gardens;
it grows fifty feet high, and the branches are nu-
merous and disposed with a tolerable regularity.
The leaves are large and very beautiful; they are
broad, and are divided much in the manner of the
leaves of our maple tree, but much more beautiful-
ly ; they are of a glossy green, and the tips of the
boughs have a fragrant smell. The flowers are
greenish end small ; the fruit is of the bigness of
a small walnut, roundish and rough upon the sur-,
face, with several seeds within. = = = = |
We use a resin which ruas from the trunk of
this tree in great heats. Itisof a reddish colour,
soft, and extremely fragrant, nearly a perfume:
It is an excellent balsam, nothing exceeds it as a
remedy for the whites ; and for the weaknesses left
after venereal disorders. It is also good in disorders
of the lungs ; and it works by urine, and dislodges
gravel. There wasa custom at one time of mix-
ing it among perfumes, but of late it has been neg-
lected; and is grown scarce,

00 FAMILY HERBAT

‘“

The Liquip Srorax TREE. _ Styraz liquida arbor’

A LARGE trea, so much we hear of a is native
of the East Indies, bat very ill described to.us. We
are told the leaves are large, and the flowers fra-
grant, but of what form, they are no body, has told
us, or what isthe fruit. All that we use isa liquid
resin. of a very peculiar kind, which we are told is
obtained by boiling the bark, and the shoots of this
tree in water ; the resin swims at the top, and they
scumnit off and strain it, but it will not all pass
through. It is from hence that-we eee two kinds ;
the one finer, thinner, and purer, the other thicker
and. éoarser ;. this last kind is more common than
the. hetter sort, and it is generally used.

It is a balsam of the nature of the turpentines ;
and is good against the whites, and, the weaknesses
thes Salhentsnaneney ie s. Some have used it

2s of f the lungs, “bat: it has never been
in great. repute on those occasions. It is sometimes
put into-ointments intended for old ulcers ; and it is
said, to be used this way neh great success.

Paewnion “Gh lycyrrhiza.

ere ROUGH looking plant,,. cultivated i in many
laces for the sake of the root. It isa yard high.
ermore.. The stalk is round; striated and braneh-
ed: the leaves are long and large, each. is com-
of a great many pairs of smaller, standing on
Siaeidle: rib, with an odd one at the end; these are
ofan oval figure, of a dusky green olou _and
iney are clammy to the pH The Rowers, are
very small and blue, they. stand in long spikes,
rising from the hosoms of or se leaves. The. seeds
ntained in pods. Thé root is the part used ;

Hes sare very’ grent Tt agbeti fresh taken

FAMILY HERBAL. 901

out of the ground, the sweetness. ef: its taste renders -
it agreeable, and it is excellent against coughs,
hoarsenesses, and shortness of breath. It aise
works gently by urine, and is of service in ulcera-
tions of the kidneys and urinary passages, acting
there as in lungs at once, ada detergent ae balsa-
mic.

_ The best way of taking it is by sucking or chews
ing the fresh root: but it may be taken in infusion,
orin the manner of tea. The black substance cal- —
Ted liquorice juice, and Spanish liquorice, is made
by evaporating a strong decoctign of this root. But
the fresh root itself is better.

Nosie Liverwort, on Hisikdeteit Hepatica!
nobilis. ie ‘

A COMMON garden flower, which makes a
very pretty figure in spring, and is little regarded,
except as an orgament in our borders; though it is
not without considerable virtues. ‘The leaves are
stipported each on a single foot-stalk, white; slender,
and reddish, they are nearan inch broad, and of
the same length, and divided each into three parts.
‘The flowers rise early in the spring, before these
appear; they also stand singly on long foot-stalks,
and are moderately large and blue; with a =
head in the middle, the root is fibrous.

An infusion of the leaves of this plant is good
against obstructions of the liver and spleen ; it works
gently by urine, and isa _ erieenns in the j jaun-

one taking it in time.
“Green Livenwonr. Lichen yee

A COMMON iw pleat, compnsed wholly of
| leaves, which spread see ieee on sis ground, and
~ ;

20 FAMILY HERBAL,

are of a beautiful green colour ; authors refer it td
the kinds of moss. It grows on old walls, in wells,
and other damp places, The leaves are oblong,
blunt, and thin, they spread one over another and
take root wherever they touch the ground. They
often cover the space of a foot or more in one clus-
ter. This isall that is usuallyseen of the plant, but
in spring when the place and the weather favour,
there rise up among these leaves certain long: and
slender:stalks,; on the tops of which stand imperfect
fiowers, as'they are cailed, small, roundish, aud
resembling the heads of little musbrooins,
. — The whole plant is used, and it is best green and
fresh gathered. It is to be given in a strong de-
cection, It opens obstructions of the liver, and
works by urine. It is good against the jaun-
dice, and is an excellent medicine i in the first stages
of consumptions. It is not nearly so much rega d+
etainteen tthe: salk-ae: abet sed externally

Grex Geovr eeeauaan dank in cinereus ter-
resiris.

A PLANT, very common by our dry wood-sidés,
aud in pastures, in some degree resembling the
last described, but differing in colour and in its
_ fructification. This consists also entirely of leaves ;
they are of a bluish grey colour, on the outside,
and of a whitish grey underneath. They are two
_ inches Jong, and an inch and a half broad ; and

. See in clusters togethers often wag! > reac

ee FAMILY HERBAL. 203

The whole plant is used, and. hhas_ been of. late
yery famous. Its efficacy i is against the bite. of
a mad dog ; itis mixed with pepper, and the per-
sen is at the same time to bathe in the sea, There
have been instances of its success; when given to
dogs, hut periaps no eure was ever perfarmed
upon a human creature, when this terrible disease
had arisen to any height. So geniacts andl: ppm
are ihe ‘Present practice. pet ea ict

‘The Loc woop Tree. “Arbor eampechiana..

A TREE, uative of the Soutbsirn parts of
America, the wood of which has been used in
dying, longer than in medicine, but is very seryice-
able in the latter capacity. The tree is large, and
makes a beautiful appearance. The branches are
numerous, and they spread with a sort of regularity.
The leaves are composed cach of several pairs of
smaller, set on the two sides of a common rib ;
with an odd one at the end, The flowers are of
the shape of pea blossoms, but they are pales ;
the pods which succeed them are very large, and
the boughs of the tree are very thick -set, ‘with
sharp thorns of areddish colour. =
_ We use only the heart of the wood whieh; is of

adeep red colour. It is of an austere taste, but
with something of sweetness in it at last, in this it
resembles greatly what is called Japan earth, and
it resembles that drug also in its virtues. Itisa
a very powerful medicine to stop fluxes of the
_ belly, and overflowings of the menses. The best
_ way of giving it is m formof an iextcact, which
~ is to be made by boiling down a strong decoction
ef wood to the consistence of honey. In this
form it will keep . a ae time, and. is saree vite

for use,

204 FAMILY HERBAL.
PourriLe Loosestrire. Lasimachia purpurea,

A WILD plant, that decorates the sides of
ditches and rivers, and would be an ornament to
our gardens. It grows to three feet high, and is
very regular ; the stalk is square, hairy, and gene-
rally of a reddish colour. The leaves stand two
at each joint, and they ate long and narrow; of a
dusky green, and alitile rough. The flowers stand
in yery long spikes at the tops of the stalks, and
are large, and of a strong purple colour. The
spikes are often a foot or more in length, The
seecdis very littleand brown. — bs

‘The leaves are used. They are a” fine balsara
for fresh wounds, and an ointment is to be made of
_ them boiled in-lard, which is also cooling and de-
tersive, but it is not of a fine green colour, =

? —— 42 richgces ee Joes yee ae ey eS ie, wr : :
*Yztuow Loosesrrirs. Lysimachia lutea.
aa ' , Vs & % =* rE

A WILD plant not uncommon in our watery
places, but forits beauty, very worthy a place in
our gardens. If it were brought from America, it
would he called one of the most elegant plants in
the world. It is four feet high, the stalks are rigid, .
firm, upright, and very regular in their growth: a °
little hairy ; and toward the tops divided into several
branches. The leaves aré as long as ones finger,
and an inch and half broad in the middle, and’ small
at each end ; Seay and ofa yellow-
ish green. The flowers are large and of a beautiful —
elow, they grow: several together on the tops of —

=

s. The seed-vessels are full of small —

FAMILY HERBAL. 205

gent and balsamic. The young leaves bound about
afresh wound, stop the bleeding, and perform a
cure in a short time. estat |

Lovace. Levisticum. »

A TALL plant of the umbelliferous kind, kept
in our gardens for its use in medicine. The stalk
is round, thick, hollow, and deeply striated or
channelled. ‘The leaves are very large, and they are —
each composed of a number of smaller; these are —
set on a divided stalk, and are short, broad, and in-
dented at the edges. The flowers are smali and
yellow, the seed is striated, the root is brown, thick,
and divided, and the fibres from it are numerous;
it is of a hot aromatic taste.
The roots fresh dug work by urine, and are good
against the jaundice. The seeds have the same
effect also and they dispel wind. The dried root
is a sudorific, and is good in fevers.

_ Tree Luneworr. Muscus pulmonarius.

; Bsa eS PR PRE EEE AE Se OPE FE Picartig* Saas 2 hes

A BROAD and large’kind of moss, in form some-
what resembling the green and grey liverwort, but
bigger than either. It grows on tbe barks of old —
oaks, and beech trees, but is pot common. It is”
principally found in large woods. Each leaf, or
separate plant, is eight or ten inches long, and near-
ly as much in breadth, of a yellowish colour, and
of a substance resembling leather: it is divided -
deeply at the edges, and is rough, and full of high
veins on the surface, At the season of flowering
there algo appear certain’ small red heads, which.
contain the seeds for a new succession of plants. — —

This plant is not so much known as it deserves to
be. It is an excellent astringent, a strong decoction —

206 FAMILY HERBAL

of it stops the overflowings of the menses, and all
other bicedings ; it is remarkable against.a spitting.

ef blood, and hence it is got into general usein

consumptions, but thafnot'so properly. It may be

given in powder: bet thesother: ways is better.

“Fhe Lyssa. -Eupinas satious cabs.

“THERE a are: many lupines kept in sawed te oud
the best: kind. for use is “the. white-flowered ;) it
grows to a yard: high, thestalk is round, thick, firm,
andof a pale-green. ‘Fhe leaves stand on loxig foot-
stalks, and are each: composed of seven, eight, oF
nine long narrow: ones; disposed .in the manner of
fivgers ;. " bhese-age: alsoiof a'whitish green colour.
The flowers are — S eaaalore of the shape of

~ A decoction of
: ‘pil ke the me | barley
-water,.not only works by-urine, but is good to bring

own ae ieaneierand aperealh obstructions. leis is
excellent in the beginning of consumptions, jaun-
dices, and dropsies ; but when those diseases are ad-
vanced to a height, more powerful remedies are to.
be employed. .A. decoction. made. very strong is
good to wash the heads of children that have break

ings out pee: them ; dan eee wt eee thea: a
=. i eaaeiidhe’ iia —

“facun Lusewort. > Padaouarta aurea,

A TALL, erect, and beautitul, plant of the nk

- oct kind, with yellow flowers, and very hairy leaves

frequent in the mountainous parts of Europe, and
veit wild insome places in England, upon wails

dry aes! pet aches weit is netcommon.
set hi large and ob-
eabosit- ime

FAMIEY'HERRAL: —~.207

mediately fromthe root, and have'thick foot-stalks :
they are oblong, broad, of a deep and often a
purplish colour, and are extremely hairy, the hairs
being long, white, and set so thick, that they give
it an aspect of woolliness. The stalk is round,
slender, tolerably firm, upright, of a purplish
colour, and also hairy: the leaves on it are smaller
than those from the root, but like them in shape,
aud they are in the same manner very hairy. ‘The
flowers are not very large, but they are of a beau-
tiful yellow, and they have» the more singular as-
pect, as the plant has so much whiteness. The
seeds are winged with a white down.
‘The i, eae rising from the root, are the
part used. They areof the same nature with those
of coltsfoot, but ‘thes possess their virtues ina much
greater degree. In many other parts of Europe,
where the plant is’ more common, it is a constant
medicine in diseases of the lungs, in coughs, asth-
mas, and the first stagesof consumptions: it is
best given in form of a strong infusion; and I
have known it tried here with more success than
could be expécted from so. simple a remedy, in

cases of such consequence. It is scarce wild, but it _
is easily propagated in gardens. Let but one plant

of it ripen its seeds and leave them to the chance of
the winds, and the garden, the walls, and the neigh-
bouring places will never be without a antteeaens

supply of it, for all purposes,

i
THE spice we edll mace, is. wiles covering of the

stone or kernel of a fruit, within which is the nuts

meg. | eee will therefore more uaturally be

208 FAMILY HERBAL; — as

described under the article nutmeg ; but it may
be proper to say here, that the fruit of it is large,
and roundish, and has somewhat the appearance of
_ # peach, being of nearly its bigness ; the outer part
ismore like the green rind of a walnut, than the
- flesh of a peach: within is the nutmeg contained
4m a hard shell; and on the outside of that shell, is
laid the mace; in a kind of thin, divided, yellowish
jJeaves. It isof a soft and unctuous nature, and
very fragrant; more so than the nutmeg itself.
Mace is a noble spice, it warmé and strengthens

the stomach, and is good against pains in the head,
_ arising from faults there : it is also-

colics; and even outwardly applied will take
effect. The mace: bruised may “wh used for this
= fi og roman Aiea a ch ek

: ROUGH and naa cultivated fot
the sake of its root, which is used by the dyers,”
and also in medicine. It is a foot and a, haif high.
The stalk is square and weak. The leaves stand
six or eight atevery joint, disposed star-fashioned,
and they are of a dusky green colour, and very
rough, they ‘feel almost prickly. The flowers are

Hittle and jallest’ and they grow from the bosonrs

Of the leaves. - Bh rok eee slender, and of a

red colour. ~

aa of the fresh roots of wailila iets

by urine, but it ve erful $ ob-

“Biictiocs of the liver aud core it is) oe ced

t = ree and icmiernisee
he Tri M0 E Marexnare, i :
Fe VERY beautiful plant. of the fern kind, but

PAMIGY HERBAL 209

a

exceeding the ordinary ferns-very much in delicac
The stalks are smail, black, and gloss y seach fudge
toward. ihe top, inte a great ray aches, ‘and. o
_ these. stand the smatler leaves,” which make up the
complete one, or, the whole plant 5. a ay
asin the fern, every leaf is an entire p lan
aie short,.] lunt, rounded, and notche :
fully . and regularly at the edges, a and ay are ae a
pale green colour. The seeds are fixed to the edge
of the under side of the leaves, in form of a brown
povaleha .The whole plant is used: our druggists
rom France, —
" «heat of the fresh plant, is gently. fee:
obstructions, especia ly of the | ung
bat: as we iy eet easily ] have. it bach, a8} lose
a.gueat deal of the virtue in drying, the best.
-pedient i is to. use the fine syrup. of capellé ire, whidl
is made of an infusion of the plant, when im its os
fection, with fine Narbome honey. .. We, sup pose
this a trifle, but barley water sweetened with it,
i3.one of, the best known: remedies. for a violent
£oug

‘A VERY pretty Tittle pla :
maidenhair, a1 ghee i: ini i ple ,
this is very wrong, er yh virtues. faa gr
and. it is unpleasant. _ It grows eight inches,
_each leaf, as in the rest of the fern kind, js an
plant. This. leaf consists of ‘a vast number tf
small ones, set.on.each side af middle nh fit d. they

ise rot ul §

. are very short ani | obt ome-"

re blac <—

210 FAMILY HERBAL.

in the rest, in form of a brown dust, on the under
part of these leaves.

“The plant grows frequently on the sides of old
wells and on damp walls, and it is used entire. A
syrup, made from an infusion of it, is the best shift
we could make for the true French capellaire ; but
that is so easy to be had, that no such shift is neces-
ate : an infusion of the dry plant may also be

Warre Maipennair. Adiantum album.

A VERY little plant of the fern kind, and of
tne nature of the two others just described. Some
will be surprised at the calling it a very little plant,
having seen leaves a foot long, sold in Covent Gar-
den, under that name; but this is an imposition:
they sell a kind of water fern under this name,
The real white maidenhair, is not above two inches
high. ‘The stalks are very slender, and of a whitish
green, not black as in the others. The leaves
are divided into a great many small parts, and at
first sight they have some resemblance of the leaves
of rue. The seeds are contained in brown lumps,
behind the leayes, covering the greatest part of the
surface. : oe

This is not uncommon in old walls: it has the
same virtues with the others against coughs, and
a decoction of it is also strongly diuretic, and good
against the gravel, and all stoppages of urine.

£

ANOTHER of the small plants of the fern kind, —
ind more of the shape and formof the common.
rns, than any yet described, Tt is like the com-

ee itd <=
emt es ee See an ce
goes Sob © Pore a iT

FAMILY HERBAL: ai

mon fern of the divided kind; only very small,
It grows to eight or ten inches high. The stalks
are thick, black, and glossy. The leaves are very
beautifally divided into a great many parts: these
are short, of a dark shiting green, and deeply notch-
éd at the edges, and they terminate in a sharp point,
Hot blunt as some of those already mentioned, The
seeds lie on the edges of the under part of the leaves,
in form of a brown dust. It is not uncommon by
wood sides, and in shady Janes. |

A decoction of it works powerfully by urine,
_and rt has the same virtue with the rest in the cure
of coughs. ;

Of these four, for they possess the same virtues,
the preteretice is given to the first described, or
true kind; next to the English maidenhair ; and
i @efect of both these, to the black kind. The
white maidéenhair is preferred to any against the
gravel; and in suppression of urine ; but for the
common use in coughs and hoarsenesses, itis the
least esteemed of all. }
~ ‘Phere is another plant, called by the name of maid- -
enhair; which is yet to be described, it makes one of
what are commonly called the five capeliary herbs,
put it ts so distinct from the others, that it is best
kept separate. They are all kinds of fern: thisisa

sort of moss. east ted 3
ae GoLpen MAIDENBAIR. Adiantum aureum. a

* ALITTLE upright plant, but considered as a
miss, one of the largest of the kind. Ib grows
four or five inches high, when in perfection. The
lower part of the stalk is covered for au inch or
more, with thick, short, natrow leaves, sharp at
the point, and of a dusky green colour: these stand

fizsuch clusters, that they quite hide the stalk ; from_

22: ##|§ FAMILY HERBAL

_thetop ofthese rise the pedicles, supporting. the
heads; they are naked three or four inches. high,
slender, and of .a brownish, reddish, or blackish
colour: the head upon the summit of these is single,
square, and is coyered-with a woolly cap, of the
ure of an extinguisher, which falls off when. the
head is esi ripes ste head is. full ofa fine
dust.
The plant is feequebt i in boge y plices, amie is to
be used intire. Some talk of its being good in
coughs, but the more frequent use of it is external) y.
they boilit in water, and. wash the head with at, fa
titeethe hair grow thick. .

. he Common MAaAttow. Matoa,

i " AWILD pinta; every where about our. hedges
fields, and -gardens.. It is, one among many in-—
stances, that:God has made the. most useful plants,
the most common... 'The. mallow grows three or
four feet high. The stalk is round, thick and
strong. ©The leaves are roundish, but) indented
and divided: at the edges. The flowers are nu-
- -merous,-darge,» and red. The root is long and ~
- ‘white, of a firm,, east substance, and not dis-_

agreeable taste. |
The whole planted is. aubed, ‘but the ook has we
virtue. ‘The leaves dried, or fresh, are Pe in de-
coctions for listers; and th e, root ‘may. be fare ;
_ for it retains a great deal of virtue, but it is best.

- fresh, and should be chosen. when. there are only.

| leaves growing | from it, not, a: stalk. It isto be

_ FAMELY HERBAL. . ie
against sharp humours m the bowels, and. for the’

gravel. | 1 oie
There is a little kind of malbaied that has whitish
flowers, and lies flat upon the ground. — This is of
a more pleasant taste than the common maliow,,
_ and has the same virtues. A tea made of the roots, ©
and tops of this, is very agreeable to the taste, and,

ae excellent for promoting the tiesiestoss by —

Mansa Maxtow. Althea. i

oe pone wild: hast of the ialiank Lind. fon :
quent with us about salt marshes, and the sides of.
rivers where the tides come. It-grows to four feet
in height. ‘The stalk is round, upright, thick, and
somewhat hairy. Theleaves are large, broad at the
base, small at the point, of a figure approaching io |
triangular, and mdented round the edges: they are -
of a whitish green colour, and soft to the touch
like velvet. The flowers are large and white, with
sometimes a faint blushof reddish. ‘They are of
the same size = whuye with those “4 hes common —
mallow’) a2 prs gue ;
“''Fhe root | iueaiost wedi nities png, sitaile:
thick, , of an insipid taste, ~and fall of a mucilaginou
juice. Boiled in water, and the decoction. made.
strong, it is excellent to promote urine, and bring
away gravels. ‘and smull stones ; it also cures stran-

uities, and is good in coughs. Its virtues are the
sdfie with thoseof the common allots le ina

ey degree. ed ee

Vervair’

faye EM snide ik sedcatieelaeerand: |
manner ‘of growth ; commomin pastures, and worthy

o’be cherished in our'gardens: It grows two, feet

214 FAMILY HERBAL.

high. The stalks ate round, modefately thick, a
little hairy, and very upright. . The lower leaves
are rounded, and divided slightly at the edges:
those on the stalk are cut into very swia}l parts, and
ina very beautiful manner. The flowers are of a
very bright red, and are three times aslarge as
those of the common mallow, and yery beautiful.
The seeds are disposed in the same circular manner,
as inthe common mallow. The root is white.

The rootis the part used. It has the same virtue
with that of the common mallow, but in a less
degree. The leaves also have the same babe:
= are very pleasant taken in tea.

Musx Mattow. Bamia Moschata.

. A PLANT, not unlike the vervain. mallow in
its aspect, but a native only of the hotter countries.
It is two fect high. The stalk is single, r
thick, hairy, and upright. The lower leaves are
foundish, only. indented a little at the edges; the
oa ones are divided into five parts, pretty pins 8

The flowers are of the shape of those of
A mallow, and are large, but their colour
is yellow. The seed is contained in a long husky
‘OF case, and. is of a -kidney-like alee: and of a
sweet perfumed smell.

Phe seed is the only part used, and that very

‘tarely. It is said to be good against the head-ach,

but: we seldom — cert ww hax?
any vastus. LS Re

Maxpnanee | Manaragora,

FAMILY HERBAL. are

perly speaking, two kinds of mandrake ; ihe one
with round fruit, and broad leaves, called the
male ; the other with oblong fruit, and parrower
leaves, called the female: their yirtues are ithe
same, but the male is generally preferred. They
are nativesof Italy, where they grow in woods,
and on the banks of rivers: we keep them in Bakr
dens ; but they grow there as freely as if native.
The mandrake has no stalk. The. leayes. rise ime
mediately: from the root, and they are very large:
area foot long, four inches broad in the mid-
dle, and.of a dusky green colour, and bad smelt,
The flowers stand upon foot stalks, of four inches
high, slender, and hairy, and rising immediately
from the root : these flowers are large, of a di
purplish colour, and of a very bad smell. The
fruit which follows, is of the bigness and aes
of a.small apple, or like a small pear, according
to the male or female kind : this is yellow when |
ripe, and is also of a very bad smell. The root
is long and thick ; it is largest at the head, and
smaller all the way down ; sometimes it is divided
— = peste from home middle a if *
ave lain in the way, or any ;
sit ; but usually itis single. This is
the root which is. pictured to be like the ann
form: it is when single, no more like. man than
a carrotora parsnip is, and when by, some accident
itis divided, ’tis no more like, than any loug
root, which happens to have met the same accie
dent. Those reots which are shewn about -
money aud have the head, limbs, and figure, of
a human form, are made-so by art; and they sel-
dom use the real mandrake root for that purpose :
they. are often made of white briony root, some-
times of angelica. The people cut them into.
this shape, si put them into the ground again,

216 “FAMILY HERBAL.

where they will be sdtnetinsies i part bivered with
anew bark, and so look natural) All the story
that they shriek, when they are pulled up, and
_,they use a dog to draw them out of the ground,
“* because it is fatal to any person to do. it. and
* the like, are idle, false, aud groundless ; calculated
only to surprise ignorant people, and get money
by the shew : there is nothing singular m the root
of the mandrake ; and as to the terms male and
female, the two kinds would be better distinguish-
ed, ‘by calling the one, the broader leaved man-
drake, with round fruit,.and the other, the narrow-
‘er leaved mandrake, with oval fruit. There aré
‘plants which are separately male ard. female, as
hemp, spinach, the date tree, and:the like : but
; there i is nothing of ihis distinction inthe mandrakes.;
The fresh root of mandrakey:is.a violent me-
‘icine ; it operates both by vomit and stool, and few
constitutions are able to bear it. ‘Phe bark of the
root dried works by vomit: wleniin tats very -roughly.
The fruit may be eaten, but it has a sleepy quality,
- though not strong. The leaves are used in foment-
ations and ‘pultices, to allay sean in amen
— they do very well. 7
Most of the idle stories. concerning the’ -man-
drake, have taken their origin from its being named
- ‘inseripture. And from the account there. given
of it, some have imagined, it would make women
: ‘fruitful ; ; but this plant does not seem to be the
thing ‘intended by the word, nor has it any such
“virtues. What the vegetable is, which is named
in a rt gee = Se arr a we ¢
mow.” ; oe. :

FAMILY HERBAL: 2m7

but kept for the sake of its y irtues and use. Itis —
a foot high. The stalks are 1 rm, upright, and a
little hairy.. ~The leaves are broad, short, and.
somewhat hairy, ofa pale green colour, and not in-
dented at the edges, and.of a fine smell. At the
tops of the branches, stand a kind of soft. sealy'\
heads, three quarters of an inch long, and from
these grow the flowers, which are small and white,
The seeds are very small; aud the root is fibrous.
The whole plant has a Bue smell.

The whole plant is to be used fresh ; and it A
best taken by way of infusion It is good against
the. head ach, and dizziness, and all the inferior —
order of nervous complaints; but they talk idly
who call it aremedy for apoplexies. It gently
motes the menses, and opens all obstructions. {The
dried herh may be given for the same purpose i
powder but it does not succeed so well.

Wu Mansonams § resacim,

sii WILD plant, frequent about wan-welenid in
many places, but superior to the other in beauty
and in virtues. It very well deserves a place, on
both accounts, in our gardens. It grows a foot

and a half high. The stalk is firm, very upright,

a little hairy, and of a purplish brown colour, ex-
tremely regular in its growth. The leaves are
broad and ‘short, of the bigness of one’s thumb-
‘pail, and of a dark green colour; two stand at
every joint, and they have long foot stalks,. The
flowers grow on the tops of the brancbes : there
stand on these long scaly heads, of a beautiful form,
and purple colour; and from different parts of
those, arise the flowers; whichare little, but of a
beautiful red colour. The whole plant sme a frae
“grant smell, and an aromatic taste.

- The fresh tore of the _ are to be ated: “They

S18 FAMILY HERBAL:

are best taken in infusion: they strengthen the sto-
mach, and are good against habitual colics: they
are also good in head-achs, and inall nervous com-
plaints ; and they open obstructions, and are

in the jaundice, and to promote the menses. Shy. -
mists sell what they call oil of ‘origanum, but its
commonly an- oil made from garden thyme, it is
very acrid; a drop of it put upon lint, and laid to
an aching tooth, often gives ease.

Cretic Masoram. Origanum creticum.

_A BEAUTIFUL plant, of the wild marjoram
kind, frequent wild in the east, and kept in our
gardens. It grows 2 foot high. The stalks are
Square, upright, and brown. The leaves are ob-
long and-broad: they are of a whitish colour, and
stand on long foot stalks: there grow scaly heads
at the tops of the branches, as in the other kinds,
_and from these burst out the cegyes which are
) a es

e tops are the part used: our sts keep
them dry aoe lak acura have lost so much
of thee virtue, that the fresh tops of our own wild
majoram, -or the tes ones of-the last season, are

+ Sere Minicovs. Celindat:

28 PLANT too common in our kitchen gardens;
_tnitieed mach description... ‘At is a foot high. ‘The

= stalks are thick, angulated; and net ‘very u

The leaves are long, narrow at the base, and bfoed>
et toward theend. The flowers are large and
» and they stand at the tops of the branches.
oe: eet

i tea made "of the flowers: of

FAMILY HERBAL 219

marigold, picked from the cups, is good in fevers -
it gently promotes perspiration, and throws out
any thing that ought to appear onthe skin.

The Mastic Tree. Lentiscus.

A NATIVE of the warmer countries, but not
uncommon in our gardens. It grows to the big-
ness of our apple trees, and-is as irregular in the
disposition of its _ branches. They covered
with a greyish bark, and are brittle. leaves
are composed, each of about four pairs of small
ones, without any odd leaf at the end: they are
affixed to a kind of rib or pedicle, which has a filen
running down it, on each side. They are oblong,
narrow, aiid pointed at the ends. The flowers are
little, and yellowish; and they grow ain tufts. -
The fruit is a bluish berry. f

We use the resin which drops from the wounded

branches of this tree. The tree itself is common
in France and Italy, but it yields no resin there ;
we have that from Greece: It is whitish, hard,
nd in little lumps. It is good for all nervous
diserders, and ‘acts also as @ balsam. There is
scarce any thing better for a spitting of blood,
or in the first stage of a consumption: it is also
- good against the whites, and in the gleets after
_gonorrheeas. Some have a custom of chewing
it, to preserve the teeth and sweeten the breath.

_ Hers Mastic. Marum, a
A PRETTY little plant, native -only of th
warmer climates, but commoninour gardens. It
is a foot high, and the stem and principal branches
areshrubby or woody in their texture: the small- —
_eF shoots are whitish. The leaves grow two at

+ 4
at

220 FAMILY HERBAE.

* * each joint : they are little, oblong, and pointed ;
of a pale colour, and fragrant smell like mastic,
resinous, and very agreeable. At the tops of the
stalks, stand a kind of downy, or hairy spikes or
ears, of a peculiarly odd appearance, and from out
of these come the flowers, which are little and
white. The root is small.

The whole plant is used dry. It may be given
in infusion, or in powder : it is a good strengthever
of the st@Mach, and an astringent. It stops the
overflowing of the menses: the powder of the
tops is best given for this purpose in red wine, a
scruple for a dose.

_ Syrtan Mastic TuyMe. Marum Syriacum.

A BEAUTIFUL little plant, native of the
warm countries, but not unfret uent in our gardens.
Ws a foot high. “The stalks are” brittle, slen-
and whitish. ‘The leaves stand two at each
joint : the: are small, in’ shape very like those of
: 2 yme, ane of a pale green colour on the upper.
e, and white and hoary underneath. The flow-
aes ta small and red: they grow in a kind of
little ‘spikes, or oblong clusters at the tops of the
stalks, and haye hoary white cups. The whole
Pes ‘plant has a very penetrating, but pleasant smell,
and an aromatic taste. ‘Cats are fond of this plant,
_ and will rubit to pieces in their fondness. It is
good for all disorders of the head and nerves: it
may be given in powder, but ‘the most common
= ae ae iti in snuff. oe ee ee

FAMILY “HERBAL. 221

are round, striated, hollowed, upright, not very:
strong. The leaves are each-eomposed of three’
smaller: they are of a dark green colour, blunt at
the points, and indented about the edges. The flow-
ers are small and white : they stand in little umbels:
at the tops of the brauches. The roots are long,
brown, divided, of a strong smell, and a ‘sharp
aromatic taste. are

The root is the part used: it is good in fevers,
disorders of the head, and of the gmach. and
bowels. It is best taken up fresh, an feivce ina
light infusion : it promotes sweat, and is a better
medicine for that purpose, than most of the foreign
roots kept by druggists. | :

Maupin. Ageratum.

A COMMON plant in our gardens, not with-
out beauty, but kept more for its virtues. It isa
foot high. The stalk is round, upright, firm,
single, aud of a pale green. The leaves are very
numerous, and they are longish, narrow, and
serrated about the edges. The flowers are small
and naked, consisting orly of a kind of thrums ;
- but they stand in a large cluster together, at the top
of the stalk, in the manner ofan umbel. ‘The whole
plant has a pleasant smell. : oa Fee %

The whole is used, fresh or dried; but it is best
fresh gathered. An infusion of it taken for a
continuance of time, is good against obstructions of
the liver: it operates by urine.

STINKING Mayween. Cotula feetida,

oi, COMMON: Wild SIAGEMn corn fields, and
‘waste grounds, with finely divided leaves and white —

“flowers like daizies. The stalk is round and stria-

222. | FAMILY HERBAL.

ted. Theherb grows a foot high. The leaves are _
like those of cammomile, only of a blacker green,
and larger. ‘The flowers. stand ten or dozen near
one another, at the tops of the branches; but they
grow separate, not ina cluster, The whole lane
has a strong smell.

The infusion of the fresh plant is good in all
hysteric complaints, and it promotes the menses.

he herb boiled soft, is an excellent pultice for the

piles. a

Meavow Sweer.. Ulmaria.

A WILD plant, frequent about the sides of
rivers, with divided leaves, and beautiful tufts of
white flowers, . It is four feet high. The staik is
round, striated, upright, firm, and of a pale green,
or sometimes of a purple colour. The ieaves inne
each composed of about three pair of smaller, set
on athick rib, with an odd leaf at the end: they
are of a fine green on the upper side, and whitish
underneath, and they are rough to the touch. ‘The
flowers are small and white, but they stand so close,
that the whole cluster looks like one large flower.
The seeds are set in a twisted order.

An infusion of the fresh tops of meadow sweet,
is an excellent sweat, and it is a little astringent.
Iisa good medicine in fevers, attended with purg-

ings, Ato Se iRt AREA ia eee ne ERE
hours. Spee ee

The Mecuoacan Puanr. Mechoacana. =
< CLIMBING plant, native of the West Indies. :

Tt i 1s capable of ruaning to a great: height, when
Sen can eerpperied x walie elms aoe re ies

FAMILY HERBAL. -. 298

green, and brittle; and when broken, the y yield a
vast quantity of an acrid, sie juice. The
leaves stand singly ; they are broad, and not very
long, and of a beautiful shape, terminating in a
point. The flowers are large, and of the shape of a
bell: they are of adeep purple on the inside, and
of a pale red without; and the seed-vessels are
large, as are also the seeds. The root is whitish
- ‘and very thick.: ©. 42> ~ |

The root is the part used: our dru 5 keapit
dry. Itis in slices, and is whitish anf brittle,
It is dn excellent purge, but there requires a large
dose to work tolerably; this ‘has occasioned its.
being much less used than worse medicines, that
operate more strongly, and can be taken with less
disgust ; but it is to be lamented, that so little use
is made of it. rea

The Meptar Tres. Mespitus.

A COMMON tree in our gardens. It is of the
bigness of an apple tree, and grows in the same ir-
regular manner : the branches have thorns on them,
The leaves are longer and narrower than in the _
apple tree, and they terminate in a point. The —
bJossoins are large and white. The fruit is round-
ish, and openat thé bottom: and till very much

mellowed, is of anaustere taste. = 9 ~ A

- A strong decoction of unripe medlars, is gaod
to stop violent purgings. The seeds work by urine,

and are good against the gravel; but there are

so many more powerful things at hand, they are

Metuar. Melilotus.
2 A ¢ C MMON wild pleat, with three leaves st _

a2 _ FAMILY HERBAL,

a joint,’ and long straggling spikes of yellow flow-
ers. Itisa foot and a half high, or, more. The
stalk is weak, slender, green, and striated. The
leaves are oblong, and blunt at the ends: they
are serrated round the edges, and of a bright green
colour. The flowers are small, andof the shape
of the flowers of tares, but little ; and there fol-
lows each a roundish pod, rough and green. . ‘The
whole plant has a singular, but not disagreeable
smell ; x the leaves are the food’ of so many
insects, t they are commonly gnawn to pieces.

The fresh plant is excellent to mix in pultices, to
be applied to swellings. It was once famous ina ©
plaister, used for dressing of blisters, but the apothe-
caries used to play so many bad tricks, to imitate
the green colour it was expected to give, | that the
plaister is now made without it.

The Mutow. Melo.» sth 3’

oA TRAINING herb, with pellow feners, and
large fruit ; well known at our tables. The plant
_gtows to eight or ten feet long, but is not erect.
Thestalks are angulated, thick, and of a pale green.
The leayes are large and broad, somewhat round- .
ish, and not deeply divided, as in most of the creep- -
ing ing plants of this sort. There are tendrils on the
for its laying hold of any thing. The flowers
are very large, and open at the mouth. ‘The fruit
is oblong and rough, more or less on the surface,
. containing seeds, with a juicy matter within.

_ The seeds are the facets ngs are” cooling,
and work by urine. — give
emulsion, beat up with bar ey "water: : this is
drink in fevers given warm.

FAMILY HERBAL- 295
The Mezrreon: Surus. » Mexeren.

A VERY pretty shrub, native of many parts of
Europe, and frequent in our gardens. It is four
feet high, and very much branched. The branches
stand irregularly, and they are very tough and. firm.
The leayes are oblong and narrow: they grow in

clusters from certain little swellings on the bark,
_ The flowers are small and red; they are hollow;
and are succeeded by oblong berries, ge are
black when ripe. The root is woody and creep-
ing; and the plant is not easily destroyed, when
once well established. , ny

The bark of the root, or the inner bark of the
branches is to be used ; but it is a violent medicine,
and must be given with great caution, in small
doses, and only to those who have strong constitu-
tions. It will cause vomiting, and bloody stools
to people that are tender, or to any, in a large dose ;
but to robust people, it only acts asa brisk purge.
It is excellent in dropsies, and other stubborn dis-
orders; and the best way of giving it, is in a light

Miser. Millium.
A PLANT of the. grass kind, large, upright;
and not without its beauty. It is four feet high.
The stalk is round, hollow, jointed, thick, and firm,
The leaves are long and broad, of a pale green, and.
hairy, The flowers and seeds grow at the top of
the stalk, ina vast cluster, so heavy that, the head
usually bangs down: they are altogether of the
grass kind. The flowers are inconsiderable, and
the seeds small, hard, and white, -—
_..The.seeds are used sometimes in the manner of.
wley ta make a drink, which is goad in fevers»
SZ

‘90 FAMILY HERBAL.

and against heat of urine; it is also a little ‘as-
tringent. The grain is eaten also as barley.

Mrixkwort. ‘Polygata.

A COMMON little plant upon our weit: aud
in dry pastures, with numerous leaves and blue or
white flowers, (for this is a variety and caused by
accidents) disposed in loose spikes. The root is
long, and divided into several parts, the stalks are
very numerous, and very mach branched, they are
slender and weak, and they spread themselves upon
the ground, forming a little green tuft. There is
great variety in the a appearance of the plant, beside -
what has. been already named in the colour of the
flower ; nor is that indeed the only variation there:
so that it has been- divided into two or three kinds
by some writers, but as all these will rise from the.
same seed, and only are owing to the soil ‘and
exposure, the plant is without doubt the same in
every appearance, and its virtues are the same
in which ever state it is taken. When it grows in
barren places, the stalks are not more than three
or four inches in length, and the leaves are very
numerous, short, and of an oval figure. . The flow-
ers are in {this case small and blue, sometimes:
whitish, striated ‘with blue, and sometimes in-
_tirely white. When the plant grows in a some
what more. favourable soil, the leaves are oblong, -
ad narrow, pointed at the ends, and of abeautiful .
_ green, the stalks are five or six inches long, and
the flowers in {this case are commonly blue, and

the most ordinary state of the plant. When

in very favourable: places, as upon the —
e ofa hill, where there are ‘springs, and’

tall grass, then its Jeaves are longer, its.
: , and its Howe a:

FAMILY HERBAL, —_ 2

are red. These are the several appearances of this
little plant, aud it is all one in which: of them it
istaken. The:root is often ofa considerable thick-
ness, and single, but itis more usually divided and
smaller; it is whitish, aud of a disagreeable acrid
taste. Freee,
This plant had passed unregarded as to any
medicinal use, till Dr. Tennent brought inte Eng-
land the senekka root, famous in America against
the effects of the bite of the rattle-snake, and found
here to be of service in pleurisies: but when it was
_ found, that this was the root of a kind of milk-
wort, not very different from our own, we tried
the roots of our own kind, and found them effectual
in the same cases : as to the poisonous bites of a
serpent, they are so uncommon here, that we need
not regard that part of the qualities, but we find it
good in the other disorder, ‘and in all diseases in
which the blood is thick and sizy. The fresh reot
is best, but it has not its full virtue except in spring,
swhen the stalks are just shooting out of the ground,
for this reason it is most proper to take it up at
that time, and dry it for the service of the year.
When fresh, it is best given in infusion: but when

a i /"

dried, it is kept in powder.
Aa ': iB “Spear Minr. Mentha vulgaris. = By :

A COMMON plant in our gardens, andiof
frequent use in the kitchen. It is two feet bigh,
the stalks aré square, single, upright, firm, and
ofa pale green. The leaves stand two at. a ‘joint ;
dey: are long, narcow, of a blackish green, ser-
_yated at the edges, and sharp-pointed. The flow-
ers are small and purple ; they stand in long spikes,
ia a beautiful manner. The whole pian has a
fragrant smell, and a pleasant aromatic taste.

Bile

995 FAMILY HERBAL.

The whole plant is used, fresh or dried, and_is
excellent‘ against disorders of the stomach. It
will stop vomiting; and create an appetite; it is
best given in the simple distilled water, well made,
orelse in the formof tea.. The fresh herb bruis-
ed, and applied outwardly to the stomach, will
stop vomitings. | a .

Water Mint. Mintha aquatica..

A COMMON wild plant of the mint. kind,
not so much regarded as it deserves. It is frequent
by ditch sides.. It is a foot and half high. The
stalks are square, upright, firm, and strong, and
generally of a brown colour; the leaves are broad
and short ; they standtwo at a jvint, and are of.2

a if

iers at the tops

that of mint, and penny royal: and the taste is
_ strong and acrid, but it is not to be called disagree-
able.

A distilled water of this plant is excellent against
colics, pains in the stomach and bowels, and it will.
britg down the menses, A single dose of it often
cures the colic. The use of peppermint has ex- .
cluded this kind from the present practice, but
all three ought to he used. Where asimple weak-_

_ ness of the stomach is the complaint, the comm
mint “should be used; when colicy pain
the peppermint ; and where suppress
menses are in the case, this wild water mint: they
y all be given in the way of tea, but a simple
Ss ee ee ee ee ee

See

FAMILY HERBAL. ' _—-229

water distilled from them, and made ‘sufficiently
strong, ig by much the most efficacious.

Peppermint. Mentha piperata,

A PLANT kept in our gardens, but much more
_ resembling the wild mint last described, than the
spear mint, both in form and qualities. It grows
two feet anda half high. The stalk is square and
firm, upright, and of a pale. green; the leaves
stand two at each joint : they are broad, not very
long, of a dark green, and serrated deeply at the
edges. The flowers grow-in thick spikes, but
not very long ones, they are large, and of a pale
red. The whole plant has am agreeable quick
smell, and a hot taste like pepper, but “not dis-

able. 5 |

The whole plant is used fresh or "dried ; but
the best way is to give the distilled water. It
cures the colic, often almost instantaneously, and
it is good against the gravel.

Lone Leavep Wirp Minr. Menthastrum, —

A SINGULAR wild plant, of the mint kind;
but not without its beauty ; it is two feet high,
and grows with great regularity. The stalk is
square, firm, and of a pale green, very upright;
and at the top full of young shoots. The leaves
are long and narrow ; they are of a whitish green,
deeply indented about the edges, and pointed at
the ends : the flowers stand in spikes, at the tops
of the young shoots ; they are pale, red, and large, °
and very numerous, ‘The whole plant has a strong
smell. : -

The whole plant is used fresh or dried, and is —
to be given in way of tea, for the distilled water

939 FAMILY HERBAL:

is disagreeable. It.strengthens the stomach, and
promotes the menses. It is in this latter respect
avery valuable medicine, but the use of it must
be continued some time:

The Myrriz. Myrtus.

A LITTLE sltemi, very beautiful in ite manner
of growth, a native of Italy, but common in our
gardens” The trunk is covered with a rough
brown»bark. The branches:are numerous, slen-
der, tough, and reddish. The leaves are very
beautiful ; they are small, short, of a fine green,
pointed at the ends, not serrated at the edges, ‘and —
they stand in great numbers, and in a beautiful
erder upon the branches. “The flowers stand on
short foot stalks ; they are large, white,-and full
of threads: the fruit is a round black berry, as
large as the biggest pea; © nd has a crown ‘at the
top. -Theleaves* uised, have an extremely
fragrant smell. The shrub will bear our’ climate
better than is imagined ; there are, in some places,
hedges ef it five orsix feet high, that stand the

winters without the least hurt.

~The leaves and berries of the niyrtle are used ;
they are cordial and astringent. A strong infu

sion of the fresh leaves.is good against a slight —

purging, strengthening the stomach at the same
| time. that it removes the: complaint. “The dried
leaves powdered, are excellent against ihe whites:
‘The berries are good against bloody fluxes, « over~
epeenenc! of . ties seein and in vaprnee of Bloed:

Mistztor. Viseus,

_ ASINGULAR plant, native of our own country,
| gtow! a not —— as. — Sui

FAMILY HERBAL. O31

upon the branches of trees; on which it makes a

very conspicuous figure. It grows two féet high,

and its branches are so numerous, and spread in.
such a manner, that the whole plant is as broad as

tall, and appears a round yellow tuft of that di-

ameter, quite unlike to the tree on which it grows, —
in fruit, leaves, and bark. The main stem is half
an inch in diameter ; the branches divide always .
by two’s, and they easily break at the joints:or
divisions. The bark is throughout of a yellowish
colour,; though with some mixture of green on
the young shoots ; the leaves are also yellowish;
they grow two: at each joint: they are fleshy,
oblong, narrowest at the bottom, and. broader
toward:the top. ‘The flowers are yellow, but they
are small and inconsiderable ; the fruit is a white
berry, round, and of the bigness of a pea, this is
full of a tough, clammy juice. — ‘
_ The leaves of misletoe dried and powdered are
a famous remedy for the falling sickness, ‘They
are good in all nervous disorders, and have been
- known to perform great cures taken for a_coptinu-

Tlesinoue Myropatan Tree. Myrobalanus
{SRR ABD TE Indica. aii bse

~A TREE native of the warmer climates, and
not yet got into our gardens. It grows to twenty
feet high. The branches are numerous, and very
irregularly disposed. The leaves are long and
narrow : the flowers are white, and like the blos- ~
soms of our plum trees ; and the fruit resembles
_a plum, oblong and ‘fleshy, with a long stone or
kernel ; but the fruit is generally gathered before
the stone hardens, so that it seems to have none.’
~ "We used to have the fruit brought over, and it

»

: 232 FAMILY HERBAL.

was given.as a purge, but at present none regard
it. There are also four others of the same kind,
the names of which we see in books of medicine,
but the fruits are not to be met with, nor is it
much loss,’ for we have better things to answer
their purposes. They were called the citrine,
chebule, belleric, and emblee myrobalanus ; they
are all used as purges, but common senna is worth

them all.

Moonwort. Lunaria.

ay A VERY singular, and very pretty plant, fre-
quent in some parts of the kingdom, but in most
very scarce. It grows six inches high ; and con-
sists of the stalk, one leaf, and the flowers: The
stalk is round, firm, and thick. Itis naked to the
middle, and there grows the leaf, which is composed
. as it were of several pairs of small ones, or rather
is a whole and single leaf divided deeply, so as
to resemble a number of smaller ; these are round-
ed and hollowed, and thence came its name of
moonwort ; from the base of this leaf, the. stalk
is continued up aninch or two, and then rise the
clusters of flowers and seeds ; these are very small,
and like dust, and of a brown colour. The leaves
of moonwort dried and given in powder, stop
purging’, and the overflowing of the menses.
e fresh plant bruised and laid to a eut,. stops
the bleeding, and heals it ina mete ortwo. © |

Hairy "Teer Mess. Usnea. oe

ee
ei

. VERY singular plant of the moss kind, fre-.
nt in our large forests, but rare “elsewhere = tie
to the branches of old oaks and bushe
gs down, from above in. plone strings. - The

FAMILY HERBAL. 233

tufts of it are often.a footlong, and in the whole
two or three inches thick; they are composed
of a great quantity of stalks and branches, the
largest not higger than a large packthread ; these
are of a grey. colour, and are composed of a soft
bark; and:a firm white fibre within: this bark
is often cracked, and the fibres appear jointed’,
the small. fibres. of the plant resemble hairs: ow
the larger grow, at certain seasons, little hollow
brown bodies... These contain the seeds, but. they
are too. minute to be distinguished singly. The
whole plant is dry, and sapless as it grows, and
has not the least appearance of leaves upon.it..
The powder of this moss is an excellent astrin-
gent ; itis io dried in an oyen, and. beat in. a mor-
tar : the white fibres will remain, when the soft
part has gone through the sieve ; they are of no
use, the other has all the virtue, It it good against’
the whites, against overflowing of the menses; and
bloody fluxes, and against spitting of blood: it
deserves to,be much more regarded than it is in.
the present practice. .The dose is half a dram, —
oop Cur Moss... - Muscus pyxidatus,
_-& COMMON little plant on ditch banks, by
awood sides, and in dry barren places. It consists
of a thin coat of a leafy matter, spread ppon the
‘surface of the ground, and of a kind of a little cups
gising from it. The leafy part is dry and without
juice, divided into several portions, and these
arregularly notched; it is grey or greenish on the
upper side, and whitish underneath. | The cups
‘are halfan incl high. They have each a thick
-stem, aod an open mouth, and rather resemble a
celumsy drinking glass, than a cup. They are of
grep eclour, often witendmness. mixhiagt
- oa

ye et os

25

934 FAMILY HERBAL:

_ green, of a dusty surface ; sometimes they grow
one from the edge of another, <4 up to the third or
fourth stage: they have also many other accidental
varieties ; and sometimes they bear little brown
lumps, which are supposed to contain the seeds.
The whole plant is to be used ; it is to be taken
fresh from the ground, shook clean: and boiled
in water, till the decoction be very strong ; then
there is to bé added as much milk as there is of
the liquor, and it is to be sweetened with honey.
It is an excellent medicine for children’s coughs:
it is recommended particularly in that called the

chincough.

Common Grounp Moss. Muscus terrestris vul-
an toe

A PRETTY, but very small plantix It creeps
apis Pa or rises in tufts two or three inches
high, according to the place. Thestalks are very
slender, but they are thick, covered with leaves,
and their branches are disposed in such a manner
that they in some degree resemble fern. The
leaves are very small, of a triangular shape, and of
a bright green ; they stand loosely on the lower
part of the stalks, but on the upper, they lie close
and cover them. It yery rarely produces its
seeds ; but when it does, there rise naked and very
slender pedicles an inch long from the bosoms of
the leaves, and at the top of each of these stands
a little oblong head, of a brownish red: colour,
covered with a cap like an inaieagtapiien: ———-
and full of a fine green dust. 7
~ ‘Fhe whole plant is used ; it is to bended ‘andl
red, and is given with success ———

of the menses, and all b dings ———

FAMILY HERBAL. 235

Moss or an Human Skuu, Muscus ex cranio
humano. of eo

THERE is not any eae kind of moss
that grows upon the human, skull; mor does any
moss by growing upon it acquire any particular
yirtues, whatever fanciful people may have ima-
gived. In, England, we commonly use the moss
just described, when it happens to run over an
human skull, that has been laid by accident, or
has: been laid on purpose in its way: in other
places, they use the sort of white moss, that L grows
upon our old apple. trees. Both these are in their
own nature astringents, but they are as good if
taken from trees, or off the ground, as.if found up-
on these bones. They have been supposed good

st disorders of the head, when guhered

again
came the skull, but this is all fancy.
_.. Morusr or Tuyme. Serpyilum.

A COMMON wild little lank: feud very preity,
very fragrant, and of great virtues. It growsin little
tufts by way sides, and on dry hillocks ; the stalks
are round, slender, reddish, and six or eight inches
long, but they do not stand upright: The leaves
are very small, and of an oval figure; they grow
two “ype joint, and they are smooth, and of a
bright green. | The flowers are of a pale red; and |
sr in little tufts. at the tops of the stalks, the
whole. ae has- ~ Seoteo fragrant ened, and ap
aromatic agreeable taste. |
_ lt is a better medicine in- nervous sedate, than
most that are used ; the fresh plant or dried, may
be drank as tea; it is yery agreeable to the taste,
atid by 2 continuance, will cure the common nery-

ous disorders. The night mare isa yery trouble-

236 FAMILY HERBAL.

some disease, and often puzzlesthe physician, but
it will be perfectly cured by a tea made of this
plant. .

Moruznwonr. Cardiaca.

A TALL, and not unhandsome wild plant. It
grows wild about farm-yards and in dry places.
itisa yard high ; the stalk is square, thick, up-
right, and firm. ‘The leaves stand’ on long foot
stalks, two at each joint. They are divided into
three ‘parts, the middle one being the lovgest, and
are deeply indented at the edges ; of a dark green
colour, and bad smell. ‘The flowers are ofa pale
réd: they grow ina kind of prickly cups, from
the bosoms of the leaves, igen the stalks-
The root creeps, and is whitish:

The whole plant may be used dvied: Wat’ theses
fresh cut are best ; they are to be given i in _a strong
infusion or dece ction. “Itis good ‘against hysteric

omplaints, and it promotes the menses It is
mous ‘ for curing the palpitation of the heart,
when that arises from an hysteric cause : for there
are palpitations, which nothing can cure.

Mouse-pan? ° Pilosella. 1 EEO

“AN exceeding pretty little. ‘plant, with whitish
Sees? and’ large bright yellow flowers,’ freq
on our ditch banks, 'The leaves grow. in’ jittle
elusters, and are longish and broad, of a dark
green on the upper side, but white underneat
and so much of the under past is usually, seen,
that the whole looks whitish, ‘The stalks trail
upon the ground, and take root at every joi
aves have long hairs upon them. — The sta
sup ort the flowers rise single.” “hey ate

FAMILY HERBAL. 937

hairy, they have no leaves, and each bears only
one flower, this stands on the top, and is large,
somewhat of the form of the dandelion Bouse,
but of a beautiful pale yellow. fa

The seeds are winged with down, and: the: —
when broken yield a milky juice, but m no great
quantity. The plant has scarce any smell, but. an
austere bitterish taste.

A decoction of the fresh gathered herb i is. ex-
cellent against the bleeding of the piles : and the
leaves boiled in milk, may be applied externally.
It is good also in the overflowing of the menses,
and’ in all other bleedings, and in the whites.

sa Mveworr. : Srtenite: .

A \ TALL, and not pabaadepiie plant, freeiaie
on ditch banks, having divided leaves, and flowers
like those of wermwood. It is a yard high or
more : the stalk isround, striated, often purplish,
firm, upright, and branched. The leaves stand
irregularly upon it ; they are large, and composed
of a P iatiber of small parts, which are ]
indented and They are of adusky green
on the upper side and white underneath. “The
flowers are little and brownish, they stand in small
tufts all along the upper partsof the branches,
put they stand upright, whereas those of worm-
wood hang down. They often have a tinge of
purple before they are quite opened, which adds
greatly to the beauty of the plant.

~The leaves of mugwort are to be used Seah or
atied ; ‘they are best given in infusion, and they

are excellent to’promote the menses, and ‘against
all the common hysteric ee :

238° FAMILY HERBAL;
The Mureerry Tree. Risa

“ALARGE and irregular growing tree, comy
mon.in our gardens. The branches are numerous
and spreading ; the leaves are very beautiful, large,
broad, of a bright green, pointed at the end, and
delicately serrated round the edges. The flow-
ers sre small, and inconsiderable: the fruit is

sufficiently known; it is large, oblong, juicy, and
— composed of a great number of small granules :
it is usually black whea ripe. But there is a kind
with white fruit.

The bark of the root of the mulberry tree fresh
taken off aud boiled in water, makes an excellent
decoction against the jaundice ; it opens obstruc-
tious of the liver, and works by urine. A very
pleasant syrup is made from the juice of the ripe
fruit, with twice the quentity of sugar. It is
cooling; andis good for sore mouths, and to qnen neh
Hivaian, fevers. eve

Ware Mouuex. | Verbascum 1 album,

A TALL ones etely ald plant, singular for
its white leaves, and— long spike of yellow flow-
ers ; and: frequent on our ditch banks, and in. dry
places, It grows six feet high; the leaves rising
from the root, are a foot long, as broad as ones
hand, sharp-pointed, serrated about the edges, and
covered with a white downy or woolly matter. The
stalk i is thick, firm, and. very upright, and is | cover-
ed with smaller leaves of the same kind: the flow-
Be are yellow and large: they stand in spikes, of
long, three or four only openi ¢ at a time

4 mall and brown, the root i:

caves are ed: sod those are a chk |

FAMILY HERBAL. 239

grow from the root, when thereis no stalk. They
are to be given in decuction against the overflow-
ings of the menses, the bloody flux, the bleeding
of the piles, and spitting of blood ; boiled in milk.
they are also excellent by way of pultiea. de, the

piles, and other painful sw ellings. oo

Musrarp. Sinapt.

A COMMON rough looking plant, wild ip
many places, but kept also in gardens, for the ct :
of the seed. It grows a yard high. The stalk
is round, smooth, thick, and of a pale green; the
leayes are large, and of a coarse green, deeply
indented, and placed irregularly ; they hang down,
and have a disagreeable aspect. The flowers are
small and yellow ; they grow in great numbers.
on the tops of the branches, and the pods of the
seed follow them. ‘he whole plant is of an acrid
pungent taste. The rvot is white.

The seeds are the part used; what we call
mustard is nadine seas — is very wholesome ; .
it strengthens the stomach, and procures an a etite.
The seed bruised and taken in large qu pe .
works by urine, and is excellent against rheu-—
matisms, and the scurvy. It also promotes the
menses. Laid upon the tongue. it will sariehaed ,

restore speech in palsies.
- Treacre Mustarp. Thlaspi discordis. :

A LITTLE wild plant with broad leaves, ier
flowers, and flat ‘pods, common in.dry places... It
is eight inches high ; the stalk is orien and. to
ated. ‘The leaves are oblong, and broad, of a

: sam and dentated round the edges.

240 FAMILY HERBAL.

They grow irregularly on the stalks, and have no.
foot stalks. The flowers are very small, a little
tuft of them stands at the top of the stalk, and the

.. pods follow them ; so that the usual appearance,

when the plant is in flower, is a short spike of the
pods, with a little cluster of flowers on the top;
the pods are large, flat, roundish, and edged with
aleafy border. The seeds are small, brown, and
of a hottaste. The seed is the part used ; but
our druggists generally sell the seeds of the garden
cress, inthe placeofit. Itis not much regarded.

Miraripatre Mustarp. Thlaspi incano folio.

A LITTLE wild plant, common in ooretatan.
It is of a foot high ; the stalks are round, firm,
upright, and not much branched ; the leaves are
long, narrow, a little hairy, and of 3 a dusky ee.
The flowers are small and white, and |
which follow them are roundish and little, act
flatted as in the former kind, nor surrounded with
a foliaceous edge. The leaves grow very thick
upon the stalk, and each has as it were a ore
of little ones at the base.

_ The seed of this is used also, at least in name,
for the cress seed serves for both: the matter is not |
great, for they seem to have the same virtues, and
either is a minded, . excel as een: in com-

FAMILY. ‘HERBAL, 241

that the leaves are oblong, broad, and of a strong
smell, and that the bark of ea aa is rough,
and of a greyish colour.

_ The gum resin called myrrh, is | certainly pro-
cured from some tree in the hot countries,
whether this be a true description -of that tree,
there is.no certainty, The gum. itself is a yery
great medicine ; it opens all .obstructions.of the
viscera; is good in enaroee aneraniead and
dropsies:; and is excellent for promoting the menses,
assisting: in the natural ar d necessary discharges __
after delivery : it is to be given in powder ; the
_ tincture dissolves it but imaperfectly : ; but this ae
excellent —— of the teeth and gums.

32.9

4 Senin Wisen Nious:*

APLANT kept i in some gardens, and not unlike
the common. turnip.in ifs aspect and appearance.
It grows a yare high. The stalk is round, smooth,
_of a pale green. . The leaves stand irpegularly
on.if, an nd the y are oblong, broad at the hase, sehiers:
) ts ee peet The leaves, which: grow from. the
root, are a gi larger and deeply cut in at.the
sides ; and they are ail of a pale or. bluish green
Solent. ‘The flowers are small and yellows and
_ the pods arelong. The seed is round and black.
The root is white and large; and has the taste; but
not the round shone of the turnip, for it is. saan
: Tike a parsnip... are :
-. The seeds are eek: but not much. 1
on of them is said to p sweat, and to
ry, thing out, to the skin 5 but it does not bees
eserye any great regard. ae ee

242 FAMILY HERBAL.
Witp Navew. Bumas. )

3 ‘THE plant which pandas what we . call: rape=
_ seed, and in some places cole-seed. Though wild
on our ditch banks ; it is sown in some places for
the sake of its seed, trani which an oil is made for
mechanical purposes. The plant is two or three
feet high ; the stalk is rewad, upright, smooth
thick, faite: and ofa pale green, the lower leaves
are long and narrow, very deeply divided at the
edges, and of a pale or bluish green colour. Those
on the stalk are of the same colour, but small,
narrow, and a little divided : the flowers are small,
and of a bright yellow. The pods are long, and
- the seeds are round, large, and black ; they are
of a somewhat hot and sharp taste. ‘The seeds
are used for the same purposes as the other, and
- are supposed to haye more. tfees but mepbably
— have much.

A LITTLE plant 0 of $i) cleciesh <a; yeaa
in many parts of Europe, but not a native of Eng-
“dand.: “It ‘is six or eight inches in height ; the’
> stalks. are round, striated, and greenish : the leaves
at the bottom! are oblong, narrow at the base, and —

_ rounded at the end, and of a Hallow ng Sects |
- Tho: on the stalls | stand in aits ; they are paelt

A part sed Fie our
is best Kasaphs

sY HERBAL. 243
plcsiete | Urtica.

AK PLANT too common to” ee hal: descrip-
tion. It is threé feet high ; the stalks are
aid rough ; the leaves are large, and of a beautiful
shape, regularly from a broad base diminishi
@ sharp point, and nicely serrated round the. edg
the colour of these and of the stalks is a dusky
green, and they are both covered with a kind ‘of
prickles, which easily make their way into the
skin, and have at their base, a hollow hag of
sharp juice, which gets into the wound, occasion:
that swelling, sigs aad and pain that follows.
The naked eye may distinguish these bags at the
bottom of the prickles on the stalk of a fall
néttle, ‘but a inicroseope shews them all over. The =

_ flowers of the nettle, are yellowish, Jittle;o and
ee ineonsiderable, the seeds are small, and round, —
| root is long and creeping.
| The juice of the nettle is good against over-

flowings of the menses. The root is to be given in
ag and it Ber poverfally. by — = is

“ a. WILD lea” of thie’ ‘nettle ‘kindy: bait isiot
common. It is two feet high, the stalks are round,
and of a deep green colour. ‘The leaves are large,

and of a dee i petal broad ae ‘Barrow

: ={ 3 th ¢ shorter vat ree they ‘are:

ae a bunch ; oe

44 | ¥ AMILY HERBAL.

tips, and have the same bag of liquor at the base,
aud they sting very terribly; more a Stost deal
than the common nettle. —

- The seeds are the part ood; aes are goad
against coughs, shortness of breath, and hoarse-
nesses ; the seeds of the common nettle are com-
mended for this ‘purpose, but these are greatly prefer-
able. The best way of giving them 1s in. a the man-=
ner of tea, sweetened with honey.

Comox NicutTsHave. Solanum vulgare.

ei ‘WILD plant, that over-runs gardens, and _
all: other cultivated places, if not continually —
weeded out.. It grows two feet high; the -stalks
are roundish, thick, but not very erect or strong,
and ofa dusky green. sane, leaves are > broad and
af atk gro ol terminate in a point, ‘They ai
of a dar colour,
Fhe. flowers fon

terpahdl they 83 are oper ‘oF candid black oe =
The leaves are used fresh, and only externally.
They are very cooling, and applied bruised toin-
flammations, scalds, burns, and troublesome ie Z
tions on the skin. — :

Denix Ninrsuape. Sanam lethal. ai = a

ieines, | eet nangarrae sh ie rl “ig its ue eet

| lo apa et. ae Gore

* aegis ve feet stalks are~ an,
aad of ak ore she eae Y

FAMILY HERBAT. =o

they also have the same aiindy! 2!
large, holléw, and hang down.
they are of a dusky colour, bety vn
green, and within they are of a very deep p
These are succeeded by berries of the bi
cherries, black and shining when ripe, and full of
a pulpy matter, of a sweetish and mawkish — : ‘3
The root is leng. The betries are fatal ; ofiftiren” =
have often eat them, and perished by it. The leaves
externally applied a are cooling and softening ; they .
are good against the ringworm and tetters, and
against hard wellings. They aye very” “great

3 they are
the outside

virtue in” espect, but the plant shouldbe kept
out of the way o children, or never suffered Ba
grow to be , as t Teaves only a are wanted, . ‘eae

yurmee’ Tae, | Nux moschata. got si

a TALL, ‘spreading tree, native only of the
warm climates ; the trunk is large, and the bran-
ches are. numerous and irregular ; the bark isof |

_colou and the “wood light and. soft,

ist underneath. They stand. inte but
often so. nearly opposite, that they seem in p :
as we see in the leaves of some of our eles:
The blossom is of the shape and bigness of that _
of our cherry 1 tree, but its colour is yellow. » “ae
st of the b b: Ohms j

fruit which succeeds this
small peach, and not t
which Vy open there

6° FAMILY HERBAL:

| The nutineg is an excellent spice, it strengt hens,

the stomach, aud assists digestion. ‘Tt will stop
yomiline's, and is good against the colic, When ©
rousted before the fire, and mixed witha small quan-.
tity of rhubarb, it isthe best of all ibe i! aga ninst

areiags

..° The Oag. - Quercis. : 7 "3

ee NOBLE and sey tree, native of our couns,
try, and no where growing toso great perfection,
Tt is very tall, and atee 4 irregular in the dispo- -
sition of its branches, that yery irregularity has.
is beauty 3 ; the. dryak As very thick ; the branches

. pen it aoe purgings, eine ren 2

menses, given in powder ; a deecction of it
1t for the falling down of the uy

is = called the falling down

FAMILY HERBAL. 247

is fourd upon it ; and haset sometimes been suppo-
sed a fruit of it: the shrub thence obtained its
name of the scarlet oak. It ‘grows. only six or
eight feet high. The branches are tough, and
covered with asmooth greyish bark. The leaves
are an inch long, three quarters of an inch bre
of a figure approaching to oval, serrated about
the eles and a littleprickly The flowers are
small and inconsiderable ; the fruit is an acora, like
that of. the common oak, but smaller, standing i in
its cup. The k ermes,. or scarlet grain, isa small
round substance of the bigness of a pea, of a fine
red colour within, and of a purplish blue without,
covered with a fine joary dust, like a bloom upon

a plum. It is an insect at that time full of young.
When they intend to preserve it in its own form,
they find ways of destroying the principle of life —

‘ithin, else the young come forth, and it is spoiled, —
When they express the juice, they bruise the whole
grains, and squeeze it through a hair cloth; they
then add anequal weight of fine sugar to it, and
send it over to us under the name of juice of kermes ; :
this is used medicine t much more than the grain

itself. |
‘tis a cordial, | od a ra 3, and
drive out the small pox ; “and fo women in ch
It supports the spirits, ‘and at the same fiat, eee
motes aeedeitiad discharges. cece x

moves OF. Jenvsarsx. ise

: mk LITTLE plant, ine: of the warmie?: ‘coun:
tries, and kept in our gardens, with leaves which
have been supposed to. resemble those of the oak
tree, whence it got its name, and small yellowish
flowers. The stalk is a foot and half high, round-

La little, or deeply striated, a

- 9A8 FAMILY HERBAL.
pale green ; the leaves are of a yellowish green, dint
of arough surface; they are oblong, somewhat

_ broad pointed at the ends, and deeply cut in on thé
sides. The flowers stand in abundance of long
spikes on the tops of the branches ; they are very
small and inconsiderable. The whole plant has
a pleasant smell, particularly the “young shoots,
which are to bear the flowers. —

' The fresh plant is to be used, and it is best taken
inthe manner of tea, or in infusion. Itis good in
- asthmas, hoarseness, and coughs, and it promotes the
‘menses and discharges after delivery.

~The Oxrrve’ Tree. pened

* LA RGE tree, native of the warmer saree of
: —- and the East. The trunk is thick and

- the fruit’ is of ‘the. pnt of a small sah: ‘bat of a
_ lenger shape, and has a very large stone within: -
The oil isthe only produce of this tree used in
_ médicine, itis pressed out of the fruit, and is ex-
cellent in disorders of the lungs, and against colics,
and stoppages of urtue. But in the latter cases
_ the oil of sweet almonds fresh pressed i is preferable,
and for the first linseed | ils so that oil of. =,
oras it) is called sallad oil

: = LY HERBAL, - B49

feet aad a half: Chigh. The leaves are long, round-
ed, of the thickness of a man’s finger, and hollow.
The stalk isround also, and has at the top a round
cluster of little flowers; these are of a mixed
purplish and greenish colour ; and of a peers
smell, as has the whole plant.

. The root isthe part used ; it is: + cubital —
composed of a great multitude of coats laid one
over another. A syrup snasin atin) jee ——
me ice is excellent for —

~The Ororosax Bases Opoponac. :

: A LARGE and robtist plant; of which we: hive
“hut imperfect descriptions : it is a native of the
_ East, and has not been brought into Europe. It
__is:said to be eleven or twelve . feet high : the stalk
round, thick, and hollow. The leaves very large,
and. each composed of a vast number of smatier
_set.upona divided stalk. The:flowers:we are in-
formed stand in very large round clusters at the
tops of the stalks, and that the. seeds: are broad,
-brownj and of a; strong smell ; striated on the
surface and flattish,-The root is: said to be hk ” |
and Jarge, and full of an actid and milky juice.:”
.» We use a kind: of resin, which is said to ceaalt
Jeeted, from this.root,. after it has béen’ wounded
‘tomake, it flow in--sufficient quantity: but the
-whole account; comes to us very imperfect, and
upon no eee sound. pagan ‘however it seems
probable. .. “a
The resin is cbectatth or yolseniole ainda’ —
pieces. It is an excellent medicine against nery-
_ ous complaints ; and particularly against disorders
of the head. It works by urine and promotes
‘pthesmenses ; apr tendency to-operate, though
“ Wery-gentiy, by stool. It ~_ not so much used as

25g FAMILY HERBAL, -

it deserves to be. I have wat CUE peciet
effects from it. HAL S at, wo

‘The Onan Tare. Aderantia mals.

A BEAUTIFUL: and. shldable tree, native S6f
‘Spain, Italy, and the: Kast. \ It grows to a consider
able bigness, and its’ branches spread irregularly.
The bark of the'trunk is brown and rough, ‘that
of the branches is smooth and greyish. . The leaves
are large, and very beautiful; they are cblong,
and moderately broad, and: the foot stalk has an ;
edge of a leafy matter on each side, giving it
-aheart-like appearance: » The: flowers are white,
darge; fragvant, and veers! ptegrseatiog The ft
ds cnough known.: »

+ The. saut; dr Bivile brah iatlie dud used in
medicine, but the»peel of» age ‘more than the juice

‘or pulpy part: A pleasant syru ig made of Seville
orange juice;: by! melting in ‘it twice its weight

ofthe finest sugars: and a ually pleasant,
though of another kind, | a ade of aradhiner of
the peel : butthe great use of the peel is in tiné-
ture, or infusion as a stomachic. It is for this
puspose to be pared off very thin, only the yellow
-part being useful, and:to:be put into brandy or
‘wine, or to have boiling water poured on it fresh
ordry. If a little gentian and afew cardainon
seeds be added to this tincture or: infusion, it is as —
good a bitter as can be made; it prevents sickness
of the stomach and v Seo ee is “emeetient
eam the appetite. é

Oneixe. ‘Taephum. ; Ms

ERY beantiful wild plant, of a foot Tilg
‘with fresh green aves, and 10 of

FAMILY HERBAL apt

bright red flowers ; common in~ cur hedges in
autumn in many parts of England. The stalk Is
round and fleshy ; the leaves are oblong, broad,
and indented round the edges, and their colour is
a bluish gree. The flowers are small, but they
are very heautiful ; the root is white and thick.
The whole plant has a fieshy appearance, and it
will grow out of the ground, a long th Sahin
its nourishment from the air.

The juice of orpine is good against the bloody
flux: the best way of giving it is made into a thir
syrup, with the finest sugar, and with the addition

of some cinnamon, 2

ie Oxcve. Buphthalmum.’ ~*~

oh VERY beautiful wild plant, common in the
North of England, but not in other parts of the
kingdom. It grows a foot and a half high. The
stalk is round, firm, and branched ; the leaves are
numerous ; they are divided each into a multitude
_ of fine segments, so that at a distance they some~
what resemble the leaves of yarrow, but they are
whitisb. The flowers are large and yellow ; they
somewhat resemble a mariped in “sag and ey
stand at the topsof the branches,

The fresh herb is used ; they boil it in ale, od
give it as a remedy for the Poreseces 3 it =o by
urine.

- - i ie 2a i 7
: Panama Cuniert. Ricinus, sis
_ A FOREIGN plant, kept i in our gardens m more

a? r its beauty than use. The stem is thick, and
leds woody toward the bottom. It grows six

os +4 FAMILY HERBAL.

feet high, and on the upper part is davered with
asortof mealy powder, of a bluish colour. The
I¢aves are large, and very beautifu). They are
somewhat like those of the vine, but they are di- .
vided deeply into seven or more’ parts, which are
also sharply serrated at the edges, and they stand
upon long feot stalks, which are not inserted at
the edge, but in‘the middle‘of the leaf. ‘The flow-
ers are small: they grow in bunches toward the
top of the plant. “The seeds grow upon the trunk
of the plant in different places : : three are contain-
ed in husks, and they haye over ihem severally
a hard shell. aie

The kernels of these seeds are ‘the part used, but
they are very little regarded at present. There
used tobe three or four kinds of them kept by
the druggists, under different names, but nobody
now a stems : or are very — pet. in their

a VERY beautiful Sent native of Africa alee
_ America. It grows moderately high. The trunk
is naked all the way to the top, where the leaves
grow in vast quantities: they are long and nar- ~
row, and the foot stalks on which they stand ae: ‘
_ prickly. The flowers ae small and mossy. ‘The
fruit is of the bigness of a plum, oblong 7 wd
flattish, and is coer over with a tough and
fibrous coat. From this fruit the natives ‘e ress
_ what they call palm oil: it isa sub ' the
Ae consistence of butter, and ms 4 P asant,
very Matis tte, : ie:

ee

_ PAMILY HERBAL. 258

nally against cramps, strains, pains in the limbs,
and weaknesses: but we seldom meet with it fresh
enough, to be fit for use ; and at present, it has
given place to the famous opodeldoe, and te several
other things, which have the same qualities in a
much greater degree. >

em

4 Pare. Paniewin,

A VERY edule" and pretty plant of the
grass ind, cultivated in some parts of Europe.

he stalk is very thick and firm, ‘round, jointed,
and a yard high. leaves are grassy, but they
are large and broad. The flowers and seeds are
contained in along ear, which is broad and flat;
it is composed of several smaller ears, arranged
on the two sides of the stalk ; these spikes are
hairy. Theseed is round, and i is much like mil-
let, only smaller.

The seed is the only part used, It is | good
against Bea: purgings, wee sig and spitting
of Pleats “

= age cue BING bint: of South pds the:
root. of which has lately been introduced into
_ medicine. It grows to twelve or fourteen feet in
height, if there be trees-or bushes to support it,
else it lies upon the ground, and is shorter. The stalks
are woody, light, and covered witharough bark,
which is continually coming off in smal! flakes.
The leaves are large-and broad. The flowers are
small, and of a greenish’ colour; and the berries
are round, and when ripe, black. The root is

Tre, pea, and yery oe and creeping. ie

254 FAMILY HERBAL

- "The root is used. It is of a brownish colour,»
rough on the surface, and woody, but loose in, its
texture. Itis tobe given in infusion. It is an
excellent medicine in the gravel, and in suppres-
Sions of urine, as also im the -quinzy, and in pleu-
risies, and peripneumonies. It works the most
powerfully, and the most suddenly, by urine of
any medicine : and isso excellent in forcing away
gtavel and small stones, that some have pretended
it aremedy for the stone; and-said it would dissolve
and break it. This is gcing too. far ; no medicive
has been found that has that effect, nor can it be
supposed that any can, Great cood bas been
done by those medicines which the parliament
purchased of Mrs. Stephens, more than perhaps,
by any other whatsoever, in this terrible complaint ;.
but they never. dissolyed. a large and hard stone. .

there needs no more to be assured of this,
than to examine one of those stones ; it will not
be s : ed any. thing that the bladder can bear,
wall Haale: to dissolve so firm and solid a substance.

Pars ty. Petroselinum,

A VERY common plant i in our gardens, useful
in the kitchen, ard in medicine. ii grows to two
feet in height. The léaves are composed of many.
small parts:: they are divided into three, and then
into a multitude of sub-divisions: they are of 3.
bright green, and indented. sa he: stalks. arectound,
angulated, or deeply striated, slender, upright,
3 ranched.. The flowers are small and white ;
y stand in large tufts at the tops

i? de ‘seeds are roundish and

FAMILY: HERBAL. 255

strong decoction of them/is against the jaun-
dice. It operates: —— - apy and opens’
obstructions. . ;

>» Parsty Pirrr. Pervicier.

2A LIPTLE wild plant; common among. our
corn, and in other dry places, with small-pale
leaves, and hairy drooping stalks. It does not
grow to more than three or four inches ‘in length,
and seldom stands well upright. The stalks are
sound and whitish. ‘The leaves'stand irregularly :
4they are narrow at the base, and broad at “the end,
-where they are divided jinto three rounded. parts.
-The flowers: are very:small: they grow in clusters
-atthe joints, and are ofa greenish colour. The
seed issmall and round. The rootis fibrous. ~~
. The whole plant ' is ‘used ; and it is best fresh.
eAn infusion of .itis very powerful against the
gravel. It operates violently; but safely, by urine,
tand) it opens obstructions of ‘the Jiver ; whence
rit is. good tra co Veg nitions : There is an opinion
‘insmany ‘ofbits having a ower of dissoly-
ing the stone ra Serene by nn i@ idle: there
is, however, a a great deal of good to be done in
nephritic ‘cases, © by. — which - ‘hare not
this power, ~~ Been Og?

Maczpox IAN Panscy. | Petroselinum Macedonicum
Ti is

A PLANT kept in some of our gat
‘toni feet high. “The stalk ‘is slen wig’ 1c.
‘ands;hairy. The leaves are composed of: many
parts, and those are ‘small and rounded : those on
_ the: upper part of the stalk are more finely divided.
‘The flowers are small and white, like those of com-
‘mon parsly ; and they stand like them, in clusters

256 FAMILY HERBAL:

on the tops of the stalks. ‘The seeds are ‘small,
somewhat hairy, and of a dusky colour:

The seed is used ; and it is best given inipow-
der. It operates powerfully by urine, ard it is
good against stoppages of the menses, and in the
gravel and colics, arising from that cause. It

~1s also recommaanes b cane the cag and j Eo
dice.

o} Wip Parsner. Pastinaca sylvestris:

A WILD plant, common about our road du,
It is three feet high. The stalk is straight, up-
tight, round, striated, and yellowish. The leaves
are composed of many broad divisions, and resém-
cble those of the garden parsnep, but they are small-
er. ‘The flowers are little and yellow : they grow
atthe tops.of ithe» stalks; in large, aawe, tufts,
and ai seeds Rees and. eter oto. figure. i The

_. The reot.is to. be used) A> strong. ripen of
it pa ov urine;'and opens all obstructions. It
is good against. the gravel’ and. the astindiceriaes
will —— down the menses:

The PavanaSunon.: “Pavena : i

‘7

= eee aan the top. “Phe. leaves oer pon
— Jong: foot stalks, and they all. rise ig ite together,
1e upper pi tof the stem: they are. atge,
unded igure, and divided at the ed; prett;
into several parts: their colour is a dee
‘he flowers are- small, and of a greenis
Ane ier tence ofa a shale

-FAMILY HERBAL. 7

nut. The. wood is not very firm, and when cut,
yields a milky juice, of a yery disagreeable smell.

' The wood and the seeds are used; and they
have both the same. violent operation by yomit and
stool ; but the wood given in infusion, and in a
moderate dose, only purges, and that, though brisk-
ly, without any danger. It is good in dropsies,
and in’ other stubborn disorders ; and it is ex¢el-
lent against rheumatic pains. Some recommend
it as a specific against the sciatica. The secds ate
what are called grana tiglia ; but though much
spoken of by some writers, they are at- this time
very little used in Be shops.

The Peach Tree. Persicamalus.

_ A TREE very frequent against our garden walls,
The trunk is covered with a brown vark. The
branches grow irregularly. .The leaves are beauti-
ful: they are lone, narrow, and elegantly serrated
at the edges. The blossoms are large, and of_a
pale red. The fruit is too well known to_neet
_ much description: it consists of a soft pulpy mat-
_ ter, covered by a hairy skin, and inclosing ‘a hard -
stone, in whith is a kernel ‘of apleasant bitter taste.

The flowers ate to be used. A pint of water
is to be poured boiling hot on a pound weight of

each blossoms ; when it has stood four and twenty
eas it isto be poured off, through a sieve, with-
out squeezing, and two pounds of loaf sugar is
to be dissolved in it, over the fire : this makes an
excellent syrup. for children. It purges gently,
and sometimes will make them pukea little. They
have so frequent occasion for this, that people
who have children, have cy use for it.

258 ‘FAMILY HERBAL.
_ Penurrory or rue Wauu. Parietaria.

K WILD plant frequent on old walls, with weak
Bianches, and pale green leaves. It grows a foot
high, but seldom altogether erect. The stalks
are round, tender, a little hairy jomted, and often
purplish. The leaves stand irregularly on them,
and are an inch long, broad in the middle, and
smaller at each end. |The flowers stand close upon
the stalks, and are small and ineonsiderable, of
a whitish | green Cokes when hace but reddish i in
the bud.

The whole plant is ‘used dent ie “is best fei:
An infusion of it works well by urine. It is very

rvice 1 the jaundice, and is” often found a

y in fits of es xa the pfosiap

FAMILY H ERBAL 259
bist PENNY-BOYAL. | ee. |

A WILD plant, creeping about on marshy
places, with litile leaves, and tufts of tal flowers at
the joints. The stalks are a foot long, round, and
often of a reddish colour, The leaves are small,
broad, and pointed at the ends, and of a pale green
es . The flowers stand round the joints in thick

>, they. are like like those of smint, and of z
pale sea and the ¢ cups in which they stand are green,
and alittle hairy. The whole plant has a strong
penetrating smell, andl an acrid but not disagreeable
taste.

‘The whole plant, is used, fresh or dricd; but
that which grows wild, is much stronger than the
larger kind, which is cultivated in gardens. The
simple water is the best way of taking it, though
it will do very well in infusion, or by way of tea.
fé is excellent against stoppages of the menses.

Busck Perrzr. Piper nigrum, %
AN eastern plant, of a very papier ist, ke
grows six or eight feet in length, but the stalks are
not able to support themselves ns ‘ight : they are
round, green, jointed, and thick, and when they
trail upos the ground, roots are sent forth from biel
joints, The leaves are large, of an, oval figure,
of a firm substance, and ribbed highly: they stand
on short pedicles, one. at each jowt. The flowers
are small and inconsiderable : they grow to the
stalk, The fruit succeeds, which is what we-call
p:pper: they hang upon a long stalk, twenty or
forty together: they are green at first, but when
ripe they are red : they grow black and wrinkled
dnedryiag The largest and. least wrinkled on the

Coat, aro the best grains,

260 FAMILY HERBAL.

The fruit is used, and it is excellent against all
coldnesses and crudities upon the stomach, It
gives appetite in these cases, and assists digestion,
It is also good against dizzinesses of the ‘head, and
against obstructions of the liver and spleen, and’
against colics. Weare apt to neglect things as
medicines, that we take with food; but there #
hardly a more powerful simple of its kind than
pepper, when given singly, and on an empty sto-
mach. |

White Perrer. Piper Album.

THE common white pepper we meet with, is
- made from the black, by soking it in sea water till
it swells, and the dark wainkled coat falls off ;
but this though the common, is not the true white
pores there is another kind, which is natural, and

as no assistance from art. ‘The white] plant,

has round, thick, and whitish stalks: they lie upon
the ground, and haye large joints : at each joint stands
2. single leaf, wiich is long, and narrow, sharp at

the end, and ribbed. ‘The flowers grow on little

FAMILY HERBAL. 261

atall inits fruit. “The stalk j is tind: thick, joint-
ed, and of a deep green colour : it is not able to
support itself, but climbs upon. bushes. The
leaves are long and narrow : they stand one at each
joint, upon Tong foot stalks. The ‘flowers’ ‘grow
upon the outside of the fruit : they are small and
inconsiderable._ The fruit, which is what we call.
te is an inch and a half long, and as thick
as a large quill, marked ‘with spiral lines, and di-
vided cic cells ‘within, in each of which is a sin-
le seed.

This has the sale virtues With the common black
pepper, but in a, less degree ; it isnot so hot and
actid, and therefore will be borne upon the sto-
mach when that cannot. It is a eae to assist
digestion, and prevent colics. ~~

a

The Jamaica Perrer TREE. Piper Jamaicense.

AN American tree, in all reipeihe different from
the plants ond produce the other Kinds of pép-
wae also the fruit ait yether different. ft
should not be Gala pepper” )

| Ned pepper: “round shap e of
it was the only t . ing t at led | people to give) it such

a name. The Jamaica pepper . tree is large and
beautiful. The trunk is covered’ with a smooth
brown bark. ‘The branches are numerous; and
they are well covered with leaves. The tree is

as big and high as our pear trees. The leaves
ite oblong and broad, of a shining green colour:
they grow in pairs, and they stand on long pedicles.
The flowers grow. only at the extremities of the
branches: theystanda great many together, and
aresmall. The fruit which succeeds is a berry,
green at first, and afterwards becoming of a red:
~ fish. brown, and in tle end, black. They are,
wheh ripe, full of a pulpy matter, surrounding

262 FAMILY HERBAL.

the seeds; but they are dried when unripe. for
our use. " :

The fruit, thus gathered and dried in the sun,
is what we call Jamaica pepper, piamenta, or
allspice. Itis an excellent spice : it strengthens
the stomach, and is good against the colic. ‘The
best way to take if is in powder, mixed with a
little sugar. It will prevent vomiting, and sick-
ness after meals, and is one of the best known re-
medies for habitual colics.

Guinza Peprer, Papsicune.

“A COMMON plant in our gardens, Leese
ed by its large scarlet pods. It grows a foot and
ahalf high. The stalk is angulated, thick, aod
green, tolerably erect, and branched. The an
stand i irregular and _ ngish, pretty
and of . Fa dcp a pede lanes The aaa are
moderately la ige and white, with a yellow head
in the middle : The grow at the divisions of the
branches. - The frait lle. and is an inch and
a half long, “an inch thick, and biggest at the base, °
whence it grows smaller to the point: the colour
’s a fine red, and its surface is so smooth, that it
looks hike polished coral : it is a skin containing
@ quantity of seeds.

he fruit is the part used. ‘Held in the mouth,
it cures the tooth-ach ; for its heat and acrimony
- are greater than in pellitory of Spain, and it fills
‘the mouth with water. Applied externally, br B-
ed and mixed with honey and crumbled |
iti is 2 goal for a -quinsy .

eee
es:

sar eM BRIWINKLE. | Vinca i perinca

‘FAMIEY HERBAL. 63

ices, but kept in gardens ‘also. The stalks are
‘numerous, and a foot or more in length, but they
& net der upright: they are round, green,
and tough, and generally trail upon the ‘ground.
The leaves are oblong, broad, of a° ‘shining green
colour, smooth on the surface and placed
at each joint. The flowers are large and blue:
the Are bell- Pte ane eee on fie foot

The waa alt is sased fresh, Tt hs to be bot: :
ed in water, and the decoction drank with a little
red wine in it. It stops the overflowing of
menses, and the bleeding of the piles.

Spext, or St. Picker s Sere Zen.

A PLANT of the corn kind, resembling barley ;
sown in some parts of Europe, but not muc h
known fh England. It grows a foot and a halt
high.. The stalk is rvund, hollow, jointed, and

green ; the leaves are grassy, but broad. At the
ops of the stalk stands anear like that of barley,
but smaller and thinner , though with long beards ;
the grain is not unlike barley i in shape, or between
that and wheat, only much smaller than either.

The seed or grain is the part used ; it is supposed
to be strengthening and in some degree astringent,
but we know very little of its qualities, nor are
they considerable enough to encourage us to in-
quire after them. !

PimPERNEL. “Rangel fore rubro.
*
A PRETTY little plant common in corn fields
rden borders. ‘The stalks are square, smooth
nat § but unt very upright: they are five or six

264 » FAMILY HERBAE.
2

inches long. The leaves stand two at each joint,
and they are of an oblong figure, considerably
_broad in the middle, and pointed at the end. The
flowers stand singly on long slender foot-stalks ;
they are small, but of a most bright scarleteolour.
The whole plant is ased, and the best method
. of giving it, is man infusion, made by pouting boil-
ing water upon if fresh gathered: this is an excel-
lent drink in fevers ; it promotes sweat, and throws
out the small pox, measles, or any other eruptions:
the dried leayes may be given in powder ora tea
made of the'vholedried plant, but nothing is.so well
as the infusion of it fresh, those who have not seen
eit tried this way do not know ;how valuable a me-
dicine itis...
_ There is another, kind of pimpernel, perfectly
like this, but that the flowers are blue ; this is cal-
led the female, and the other the male pimpernel,

ear

pine in the North, called Scotch fir, .but it is not
_the same tree. . The trunk of the true pine is coyer-
ed witha rough brown bark, the branches with a
smoother, and more reddish.. The leaves..are bong

and slender, and they grow always. two from the
same base, or out of the same sheath, they are of

a bluish green colour, and are a little hol
the inside : the flowers are small and inconsidera
_ they stand in a kind of tufts. on the branche:
the fruit are cones of a brown colour, Jar

and blunt at.the top. These contain betv ee t
certam white kernels of a sweettaste, a

‘FAMILY HERBAL: 263

| celle it in consumptions, and after long illness, given

way of restorative. An emulsion may be made
ey beating them up with barley water, and this will
be of the same service with coeree emulsions fer
heat of urine. |

The Witp Pine Tres. Pinus sylvestris,

A tT EE native of many “einen: of Sinan,
yer ‘much res » what is called the manur
in or simply the pine before described. It grows
o be a large at tall tree ; the trunk is covered
with. a rough brown bark, that of the branches is
paler and smoother. ‘The leaves are very narrow,
and short ; they ow two out of a case or husk, as
in iy the athe, are of a bluish green colour.
They differ principally . in being shorter. ‘The
flowers are yellowish, and like the others very small
and inconsiderable, the cones are small, brown, and
hard, and sharp at the tops, they contain kernels in
their shells, among the scales as the other ; but
they are smaller. oP ae z

ers | i dey “SF22 this Boh Ke a

| Ay, or when itis eat ‘for that ‘purpose, “is fad we
eal ec | line, It is a thick substance,
4 25 “of a brownish Posyes and wey tsong
and disagreeable smell,

_. When this turpentine has been distilled to make
oil of turpentine, the resin which remains, is what
we call common resin ;. if they put out the fire
in time, it.is y llow | resin ; if they continue it
longer, it is black resin. They often boil the tur-
_ pestine in water without distilling it for the com-
mon resin; and when they. take it out half boiled
| for this ‘parpate 5 at - what we call Bu rgundy

266 FAMILY HERBAL.

pitch. © “And the whitish resin which is called thas,
or frankincense, and is a thing quite different fro
olibanum, or the fine incense, is the natural resia
flowing from the branches of this tree, and harden-
ing into drops upon them, — It does not differ much
from the common turpentine in its nature, but i is
less offensive in smell.

The several kinds of pitch, far. and resin, are-
principally used in plaisters and ointments, The
turpentine produced from this tree also, and cal-
led common turpentine, is principally used in the
— _mamner, the finer turpentines being given

y. These are procured from the turpen-—
pret tree, the larch tree, and the silver fir. The
yellow resin and eat black are: sometimes taken

ly ills they are very good against
e | shite 5 and the Paty et afte i oo

roots are ati an im!
motes the menses. The ‘powder of. ed
good against hysteric and nervous complaints, :
is particula y recommended ” against the falli
sickness. -

several — pairs. or Pear
; broad, and of a
colo texture. The flowers grow

in tufts; they are white and small ; the fruit which
succeeds i is what we call the pistachia ut ; it is
as big asa filbert, but long and sharp-pointed, and
itis covered with a tough wrinkled bark, The
shell within this is woody and tough, but it easily
_ enough divides; ap two parts, and the kernel with-

: _but covered with a red

ti ; be, i to people wastec by : nso
given ranean.
ve lone and tedious s illnesses. be ons 4g

268 FAMILY HERBAL.

they stand very thick, and are sharp, or-
prickly at the extremities. The flowers a
: ish and iuconsiderable ; and the fruit is a long.
and large cone, which hangs down ; whereas that
of the true fir tree, or the "paws nVEC fir, stands
upright, * a

‘The tops of the prenéhin and young slietts are
used: they abound with a resin of the t Irpentine |
kind. They are best given in decoction, or brew- —
ed with beer. They are good against the rheu-
matism and ‘scurvy ; they work by urine, and heal
ulcers of the urinary parts.

Pitch and tar are produced from the ‘tapea of —
this iree, the tar sweats out of the wood in burn-—
ing, and the pitch is only tar boiled to that consis-

e. To obtain the tar, they pile up
m at

eat heaps
the wood, oe ie. to them | oD, and bog

w certair consistence, if they boil ait longer
it would be resin, for the common resin is only this
surpenyy: ¢ boiled to a hardness. ;

The Anwontacoo: Puanr. 5

FAMILY HERBAL. | 267 -

es great proof of the authenticity of the
this is, that the seeds are broad, flat, striated,
jave a folianous rim, as those of dill. Wee
know by these which are found: very fre-
j the gum, that it was a plant ef this
duced it: sv that there is great pro=
i rat the rest of the description, whieh has
er ose who did not know we had —
These seeds —
si al huvecmsae Soe
acishens but they have ©
2 igh one of the sagapenuin seeds —
‘al tle when sown among them: it would
mage Log cage ow _— some —

or tater isin: resin, for Se is. of
ture between both, which is procured
from this plant, but from what. part of it, or in
what manner we arenot informed ; it is whitish, of
rid taste, with some bitterness, and is an ex-
me iti is superior to all other drugs

Zi _ FAMILY HERBAL.

_ the middle one, but all run length-ways, like that.
from the base of the leaf toward the point. The
stalks grow a foot high, their lower half is naked,
and their upper part thick set, first with small
and inconsiderable flowers, of asgreenish swhite
colour, and afterwards with seeds which are brown:
and small.

This is one of those common plant ba 5 have
s0 much virtue, that nature seems to have made
them» common for universal. bencfit: The whole
plant isto be used, and it is best, fresh. A de-
coction of it in water is excellent against oyerflow-
ings of the menses, violent purgings with bloody
stools and vomiting of blood, the bleeding of 1
ister sd all other such disorders. ne seeds

Prowsean’ sGampenen: Se peed rae

A TALL rohest wild ‘plant with broad Be ve
leaves, and numerous small yellowish flowers, ©
frequent by road-sides, and in dry pastures. The
plant grows three feet high. The stalks are round,

thick, “upright, and a little hairy. Theleaves are
lerge,. hroad from the reot, and narrower on the
stalk ; they are blunt at the points, and a little in-
dented at the edges. The flowers. grow, on the
tops of the branches, spreading out into a large
head from a single stem ; they are little and yellow :
the seeds have down fixed..to them. The root is

brown andiwaody ; the whole plant, has 2 preerent ;

_ th leaves and tops given i in decoction, are good

a

ERBAL; = 71

ward bleedings. “The foot, ‘dried and
a roomed for prea is good

~ Polium monte

: plant, native of the warmer ‘pat
d kept in our gardens. Itisten in-—
alks are ‘sq are and whitish :
and narrow, a white colour, —
hey stand two at ajoint, and —
at the edges. © The ‘flowers are
“They grow in a kind of —
fthe branches. ©’
t is used ; it is best ’ died given”
it promotes the menses, and — renioves )
pst € liver, hence it is recommended —
reat! ly in the Powatlice. It operates by urine.

yy PoteyMouNTAIN. Polium creticum.

: - grow In ‘tufts at the tops 9 = e stalks
their cups are very white. wih
- The whole ae is to’

272 FAMILY HERBAL.

Potyropy. Pal sii ia

A SMALL plant of the fern kind: is a foot
high, and consists only of a single leaf. Several of
these commonly rise from the same root,. each
is a separate and entire plant. T ne stalk is naked
for five inches, and from thence to the top stand on
each ‘side, a row of small, oblong,- and. narraw
segments, resembling so many sma. I leaves, with
an odd one at the end. The whole plant is of a
bright green colour, but the backs of these divisions
of the leaf, are ata certain season, toward autumn,
ornamented with 2 great number of round brown
spots, these are the seeds: those of all ferns are
carried in the same manner. ‘The root is Inng,
slender, and creeps upon the surface of old stumps
of trees among the moss. The root's used, and it
is best fresh ; it is a safe and gentle purge ; the best
way of giving it is in decoction, in which form it
always operates also by urine. It is bin the
jaundice and dropsies, and is an excellent ingredient
in diet-drinks against the Scurvy ; but heside these
considerations, it isa safe and good purge, on all
common occasions. '

The Pomecranate TREE. Crenieeras a:

kept with us in co ela Iteg TOV “

of our apple-trees. The branches coal irregu-
larly; they have a.reddish brown bark, and have
here and therea few thorns. The leaves are nu-
‘merous: on the extremities of the branches they
‘are small, oblong, narrow, and of a fine green.
Tlie flowers are large, aud of a beautiful deep red:
the fruit is as big as a large apple, and has a brown
woody severing; it contains within agreat quan-

*

/ SPAMBLY CHERBAL. 8g

tity of seeds, with a sweet and fart juice about
them.

The rind of the fruit is ‘tied 96s ‘is to be ‘dried

tnd given in decoction; it is a powerful astrin-
gent: itstops purgings and bleedings of = api
and is Bood gree the whites.

The Wrap Pomscranate Tree. Balaustia,

A SMALLER tree than the Fine. but like it
in its manner of growth; except that the branches
-are more crooked and irregular, and are more
thorny. The leaves are oblong, swiall, and of a
bright green; and they are set in clusters towards.
the end of the branches. The flowers are beau-
tiful, they are double like a rose, and of a fine

U Ss

P he | flowers are the part of the wild pomegranate
used in medicine ; our druggists keep them and call
them balaustines. Th 1ey are giyen in powder or
decoction to stop purgings, bloody. stools, and over-
_ flowings of the menses. A strong infusion of then

ers in the mouth and throat, and is a good
> wash the mouth for fecteune, the: eee,

‘The Poussre. Pepo.

A VERY large and straggling plant, cultivated
by our poor people. ‘The stalks are very long and
thick, but they lie upon the ground ; they are
angulated and rough. The leaves are extremely
large, and of a roundish figure, but cornered and
angulated, and they are of a deep green colour,
and rough to the touch. The flowers are very
large, aud yellow, of a bell-like shape, but an-

ulated at the mouth, and the fruit‘is of the melon
fo only bigget and round ; of a deep ee
ND

274 FAMILY HERBAL.

when unripe, but yellow at last: in this, under
the fleshy part, are contained many large flat sceds.

The poor people mix the fleshy part of the fruit
with apples, and bake them in pies. The seeds are
excelleat in medicine ; they are cooling and diure-
tic ; the best way of taking them is in emulsions,
made with barley water. They make an emulsion
as milky as almonds, and are preferable to them,
and all the cold seeds, in stranguries and heat of
urine,

The Buack Poriar. Populus nigra.

A TALL tree, frequent about waters, and of a
very beautiful aspect. The trunk is covered with a
smooth pale bark ; the branches are numerous, and
grow with a sort of regularity. The leaves are short
and broad, roundish at the base, but ending in IS
point ; they are of a glossy shining: green, and stan

ae ik | foot talk” ye a seeds are
inconsiderable ; they appear-in spring, and ere little

si, as eee

~The young leaves of the black poplar are ex-
¢ellent mixed in pultices, to be applied to hard
painful swellings. ao

The Wuitse Poppy. Pupaver album.

_ A TALL and beautiful plant, kept in our gar-
dens, a native of the warmer climates. It grows —
a yard and half high: the stalk is sound, smooth,
upright, and of a bluish green; the leaves are
very long, considerably broad, and deeply and ir-
regularly cut in at the edges; they are also of a
bluish green colour, aud stand irregularly on the
stalk. The flowers.are very large and white, one

nds at the top of each division of the stalk ;

i

FAMILY HERBAL. 275-

when they are fallen, the seed-vessel, or poppy
head, grows to the bigness of a large apple, and
contains within ita very great quantity of small
whitish seeds, with several skinny divisions.

When any part of the plant is broken, there
flows out a thick milky juice, of a strong, bitter,
and hot taste, very like that of opium, and full as
disagreeable. = —
. The heads are used with us, and sometimes the

seeds. Of the heads boiled in water, is made the
syrup of diacodium. The heads are to be dried
for this purpose, and the decoction is to be made
as strong as possible, and then boiled up with
sugar. ‘The seeds are beaten up into emulsions
with barley water, and they are good against stran-
guries, and heat of urine; they have nothing of
the sleepy virtue of the syrups, nor of the other
parts or preparations of the poppy. Syrup of
diacodium, puts people to sleep ; but gently, and
is safer than opium or laudanum.

Opium is nothing more than the milky juice of
this plant concreted ; it is obtained from the heads:
they cut them while upon the pJant in the warmer
countries, and the juice which flows out of the
wound, hardens wid becomes opium: they make
an inferior kind also, by bruising and sqeezing the
heads. Laudanum is a tincture of this opium
made in wine. Either one or the otheris given
to compose people to sleep, and to abate the sense
of pain ; they are also cordial and promote sweat ;
but they are to be given with great care and cau-
tion, for they are very powerful, and therefore
they may be very dangerous medicines. It is
good to stop violent purgings and yomiting ; but
this must be effected by small doses carefully given.
‘Phe present practice depends upon opium and
bleeding for the cure of the bite ofa maddogs —

16 FAMILY HERBAL. —
but it isnot easy to say that any person ever was
cured, .who became thoroughly distempered from
that bite. One of the strongest instances we have
known, was-in a person at St. George’s hospital,
under the cure of Dr. Hoadly, there was an ap-
pearance of the symptoms, and the cure was effect~
ed by this method.. . ;

.

Buack Porry. Papaver nigrunt.

A TALL and fine plant, but not so elegant ag
theformer. It isa yard bigh. The stalk is round,
upright, firm, and smooth, and toward the top
divides into some branches. The leaves are long
and broad, of a bluish green colour, and deeply.
and irregularly cut in at the edges, The flowers
are large and single: they are of a dead purple
colour, with a black bottom. The heads or seed-
vessels are round, and of the bigness of a walnut.

_. A syrup of the heads of this poppy isa strong-
er suporific than the common diacodium, but it is
not used. The gentleness of that. medicine is —
its merit: when something more powerful is
used, it is better to have recourse to opium, or
laudanum. 3

Rep Porry. Papaver erraticum.

A COMMON wild plant in our corn fields, dis-
tinguished by its great scarlet. flowers. - It is a
_ foot high. The stalk is round, slender, hairy, of —
' apale green, and branched. The leaves are long —
and narrow, of a dusky green, hairy, and very '
deeply, but very regularly indented. ‘The flowers

are very large, and of an extremely bright and

| Gnescarlet colous, a little blackish toward the

os

FAMILY HERBAL. 7

bottom, The head issmall, not larger than a horse
Bean, and the seeds are small, and of a dark colour.
The whole plant is full of a bitter yellowish juice, -
_ which runs out when it is any where broken, and
has something of the smell of opium. ;
The flowers are used. A syrup is made from
. them by pouring as much boiling water on them
as will just wet. them, and after a night’s standing,
straining it off and adding twice its weight of
sugar : this is the famous syrup of red poppies.
It gently promotes sleep. It is a much weaker
medicine than the diacodium.. It is greatly re- —
commended in pleurisies and fevers ; but this up-
on no- good foundation. It is very wrong to de-
pend upon such medicines: it prevents having re-
course to better.

The Primrose. Primula veris.

A VERY pretty, and very common spring
plant. The leayes are long, considerably broad,
ofa be ea and wrinkled on the surface : they

ned + from the root in considerable — |

-are- ‘single, slender, four or five inches high, a
little hairy, and haye no leaves on them: one
flower stands at the top of each, and is large, white,
and beautiful, with a yellow spot in the middle.
The root is fibrous’ and whitish,

The root is used. The juice of it snuffed: up
the nose occasions sneezing, and is a good remedy
against the head-ach. The dried root powdered,
has the same effect, but not so eon gee =e

PRIVET. Ligustram.

Se LITTLE wild shrub in our hedges, It

28 | FAMILY HERBAL.

grows four feet high. -The stalks are slender,
tough, and covered with a smooth brown bark.
The leaves are oblong and narrow : they are small,
ofa dusky green colour, broadest in the middle,
and placed in pairs opposite to one another, and
they are of a somewhat firm substance, and have
no indenting attheedges. The flowers are white.
and little, but they stand in tufts at the ends of the
branches, and. by that make a good appearance. —
The fruit is a black berry : one succeeds to every
flower in the cluster. a aa

The tops are used ; and they are best when the
flowers are just beginning to bud. - A strong: in-
fusion of them in water, with the addition of a
little honey and red wine, is excellent to wash the
mouth and throat when there are litile sores in
them, and when the gums are apt to bleed,

— Poursnamn. Portulaca.

A COMMON plant in our gardens, and ofa —
very singular aspect: we have few so succulent.
It grows a foot Jong, but trails on the ground.
The stalks are round, thick, and fleshy, of a reddish
colour, and very brittle. The leaves are short
and broad ; they are of a good green, thick, fleshy,
and broad, and blunt at the end. The flowers
are little and yellow : they stand among the leayes
toward the tops of the stalks, The root is small,
fibrous, and whitish. eee
' Purslain is a pleasant herb in sallads, and so ,
wholesome, that ’tis a pity more of it is not eaten :
‘it is excellent against thescurvy. The juice fresh
pressed out with a little white wine, werks by
urine, and is excellent against stranguries and
violent heats, and also against the scurvy.

FAMILY HERBAL. 279
The Quince TREE. Cydonia.

A COMMON tree in our gardens, of irregular
growth. The trunk is thick, and has a brown
bark, The branches are numerous, straggling,
and spreading. The leaves are roundish, of a
dusky green on the upper side, and whitish under-
neath. The flowers or blossoms are large and
beautiful, of a pale flesh colour. The fruit is of
the shape of a pear, and has a large crown: it is
yellow when ripe, and of a pleasant smell: its
taste is austere, but agreeable. The seeds are
soft and mucilaginous.

The fruit and seeds are used. The juice of the
ripe quince made into a syrup with sugar, isex- —
cellent to stop vomiting, and to strengthen the
_ stomach. The seed, boiled in water, gives it a

softness, and mucilaginous quality; and it is an
excellent medicine for sore mouths, and may be
used to soften and moisten the mouth and throat in

fevers 2 =

Pe €

¥;

The Ravisu. Raphanus.

A COMMON plant in our gardens, the root of
which is eaten abundantly in spring. In this state
we only see a Jong and slender root, of a purple or
scarlet colour, (for there are these varieties) min-
gled with white ; from which grow a quantity of
large rough leaves, of a deep green colour, and
irregularly divided: amidst these in summer rises
the stalk, which isa yard high, round, and very
_ muchbranched, The leayes on itare much smaller

¢

280 ~ «FAMILY HERBAL.

than those from the root. The flowers are very
numerous small and white, with some spots of red.
The pods are thick, long, and spungy. :

The juice of the radish rvots fresh gathered,
with a little white wine, is an excellent remedy
against the gravel. Scarce any thing operates
more speedily by urine, or brings away little stones
more successfully.

Horse Rapisu. Raphanus rusticanus.

A PLANT as well known in our gardens as the
other, and wild also in many places, The root 1s.
very long, and of an exceedingly acrid taste, so that
it cannot be eaten as the other. The leaves are
two feet long, and half a foot broad, of a deep
green colour, blunt at the point, avd a lit-

tle indented at the edges: sometimes there are

“eaves deeply cut and divided, but that is an
accidental variety. ‘The stalks are a yard high :

The leaves on them are very small and narrow, and
~ at the tops stand little white flowers, in long spikes :
these are followed by little seed-vessels. The plant
seldom flowers, and when it does, the seeds scarce
ever ripen. It is propagated sufficiently by the
root, and wherever this is the case, nature is less
careful about seeds.
~The juice of horse radish root operates very
powerfully by urme, and is good against the jaun-
_ dice and dropsy. The root.whole, or cut to pieces,

_ is put into diet drink, to sweeten the blood ; and the —
eating frequently and in quantities, at table, is good

- against the rheumatism. ee eee

‘Raewort. Jacobea. —

WILD plant, very common in our pastures,

FAMILY HERBAL: as

-and distinguished by its ragged leayes, and clusters
of yellow flowers. It is two feet high, The stalk
is robust, round, striated, and often purplish. The
Icaves are divided in an odd manner, into several
parts,.so that they look torn or ragged; their co-
‘our is a dark dusky green, and they grow to the
stalk without any foot-stalk, and are broad and
rounded at the end. ‘The flowers are moderately —
large and yellow, and the tops of the branches are
so covered with them, that they often spread toge- .
ther to the breadth of a plate. The whole plant
has a disagreeable smell. ‘The root is fibrous, -and
the seedsare downy. |... .

The fresh leaves are used: but it is best to take
those that rise immediately from the root, for they
- are larger ayd more juicy than those on the stalk : _

they are to be mixed in pultices, and applied. out-
wardly as a remedy against pains in the joints: they,
- have a surprising effect. Itis said that two or three
times applied, they will cure the sciatica, or hip |
gout, when ever so violent. .

_ The Raspserry Busu. Rubus ideus,

* prs joke aes ieee easier Se eh PS ag
- A LITTLE shrub, common in our gardens, but
wild also in some parts of the kingdom. The stalks
are round, weak, tender, of a pale brown, and
prickly. The leaves are each composed of five
others: they are large, of a pale green, indented
about the edges, and hairy. The flowers are little,
of a whitish colour, with a great quantity of threads
in the middle. The fruit is the common raspberry,
composed like the blackberry of several grains =
it is soft to the touch, and of a delicate taste.
- he colour varies, for white ones are common.
The juice of ripe raspberries, hoiled up with
sugar, makes an excellent syrup. It is pleasant, and

80

339 - PAMILY HERBAL.

agreeable to the stomach, good against sicknesses
and reachings.

The Rarrie-Snaxe Roor Prant. Seneca. -

A SMALL plant, native of America, with weak -
stalks, little leaves, and white flowers. It grows a
foot high. The stalks are numerous, weak, and
_ Found, few of them stand quite upright, some gene-
rally lie upon the ground. The leaves stand irre-
gularly: they are oblong and somewhat broad, and
of a pale green. The flowers are little and white:
they stand ina kind of loose spikes, at the tops of
the stalks, and perfectly resemble those of the
_ eommon plant we call milkwort, of which it is in-
_. deed a kind: the whole plant has very much the
aspect of the taller kind of our English milkwort. .
The root is of a singular form: it is long, irregu-

lar, slender, and divided into many parts, and these

have on each side, akind of membranous margin
hanging from them, which makes. it distinct in its |
appearance, from ail the other roots used in the
shops ; — are
- We owe the knowledge of this medicine, origi-
naliy to the Indians: they give it as a remedy
against the poison of the rattle-snake, but it has
been extolled, as possessing great virtues. Dr.
Tennant brought it into England, and we received
itas a powerful remedy against pleurisies, quinzies,
and all other diseases where the blood was sizey; it
was said to dissolve this dangerous texture, better —
than all other known medicines; but experience

does not seem to have warranted altogether these.

= Many and very fair trials. roo iG SS
hen this remedy was discovered to be the

‘Foot ofa kind of polygala, which discovery was

effects, for it is at present neglected, after a great

FAMILY HERBAL. > 933°

_ owing to the gentleman who brought it over, and
with it some of the plant, for the inspection of
the curious. ‘The roots of the English polygala
were tried ; those of the common blue or white
flowered milk wort, (for that variety is. purely ac-
cidental,) and they were found to have the same
effects: they were given by some in pleurisies,

with great success. It was said at that time they

had less virtues than the seneca root, though of
the same kind: but it must be remembered, the
virtues of the seneca root were then supposed
’ to be much greater than they really, were. The
novelty adding to the praise,

The Common Reep. -Arundo.

A TALL water plant sufficiently knowr. The
stalks are round, hard, jointed, and six or eight
feet high. The leaves are Jong and broad,: but
etherwise like those of grass, of a | pale green colour,
and highl y ribbed. The flowers are brown and chaffy,
and. stand in prodigious numbers at the tops of the.
stalks, ina kind of panicle. ‘The zoats: are aepotlay

and jointed, and spread vastly. -
"The juice of the fresh roots of: sale ptoniotes:
the menses powerfully, but not violently. It is-
an excellent medicine: it works by urine also 3
and is good against stranguries and the gravel.

Prickty Restuarrow. Anonis spinosa.

a LITTLE, tough, and slinoat shrubby plant,
‘common in our dry fields, and by road sides. It is
‘a foot high. The stalks are round, reddish, tough,
and almost woody. The leayes are numerous :

- they stand three on —— foot stalk, and grow | .

284 YAMILY HERBAL.

_ pretty ese to the stalk. There are ‘sev ak eiaas
and sharp prickles about the stalks, principally
at the insertions of the leaves.. The leaves. are
of a dusky green, and serrated about the edges.
The flowers are small and purple: they stand
among the leaves towards the topsof the stalks,
and are in_ shape like pea blossoms, but flatted :

each is followed by a small pod. ‘The root is
white, very long, tough, and woody.

The root sais to ie taken up fresh for use, and -
the bark separated for that purpose. [I is to be-
boiled in water, and the decoction given in large
quantities. It is good against the gravel, and in
all obstructions by urine ; and it is aiso good fn
the dropsy and jaundice. :

_Ruaponric. rope icin sive rhia,

A TALL robust plant, native of Scythia, bast
Kept in many of our gardens, It grows four feet
high. ‘The stalk is round, striated, an inch thick,
sometitiies hollow, and very upright. The leaves
‘are large and broad: those from the root are

about a foot and a half long, and a fvot broad ;
‘of a deep green colour, with ] large ribs, and blunt
at the ends.. The flowers are ‘small and white :

they stand in clusters at the tops of the stalks,
and are succeeded by triangular seeds.

The root is the part used, and this is what the ‘
antients used under the name of rha, It is of
the nature of rhubarb, but different in this, that
_ it is less purgative, and more astringent ; for this
_ Yeason, there are many purposes which it would:

“answer much better. We have it at the druggists,
but there is no depending upon what they" sell,
tor the Exeidom peep it genniliee ut:

FAMILY HERBAL. 235
Rick Oryza.

A VERY common plant in the es. sown m
the fields for the sake of the seed or grain: It
grows four feet high ; the stalk is “pound. hellow,
and jointed ; the leaves are long and grassy, and
ofa pale green colour, butthey are broader’ than |
those of any of our kinds of-corn. . The flowers are
inconsiderable ; ; the seeds or grains are contained in
bushes of a brown colour, each having a long beard
to it; usually curled at the bottom, and divided at
the top into two parts.

We eat rice as a food rather than medicine; but
it is excellent for those whoa have habitual purgings
or loosenesses ; it is to be eaten any way for this
purpose, only it must be continued, and it will do
more than all the medicines inthe world. The rice-
milk is excellent for this purpose. :

GarbDEN Rocxer. Eruca sativa.

hii COMMON plant in our gardens, two feet
hi bh, and very erect. The stalk is round and of
; p green ; the leaves are oblong, considerably

broad, ofa deep green colour, and divided at the
3: the flowers are moderately large, and of a |
whitish colour, veined with purple, and they stand
ina long spike atthe top of the stalk. The pods.
are long and slender.

Some people are fond of rocket as a sallad herb,
but it isnot very pleasant. It works by urine, and
is good against the scurvy. A strong infusion of
the leayes made into a syrup is good against coughs,
‘it causes expectoration, and eases the lungs. -

$86 FAMILY HERBAL.

-. The Doe Rose, orn Witp Rose. Cynosbatus, sive
: . rosa sylvestris. :

_ A COMMON bush in our hedges. The stalks
or stems are round, woody, and very prickly. The
leaves are composed each of several amaller; these
standin pairs on a rib, with ac odd one at the end ;
and they are small, oblong, of a bright glossy green
colour, and reguiarly indented at the edges. The
flowers are single, large, and very beautiful: there
_ is something simple and elegant in their aspect that
pleases many, more than all the double roses raised
by culture. .They’are white, but with a blush of
red, and very beautiful. The fruit that follows
these isthe common hip, red, oblong, and contain-

-. ing a great quantity of hairy seeds,

The fruit is the only part used ; the pulp is sepa-
_ . rated from the skins and seeds, aud beat up intoa
conserve with sugar; this isa pleasant medicine,
and is of some efficacy against coughs. =
Though this is the only part thatis used, it is not
the only that deserves to be. The flowers, gather-
ed inthe bud and dried, are an excellent astringent,
made more powerful than the red roses that are com-
monly dried for this purpose. A tea, made strong’
of these dried buds, and some of them’ given with
it twice a day in powder, isan excellent medicine
for overflowmgs of the menses; it seldom fails to
effect acure. The. seeds separated from the fruit,
dried and powdered, work by urine, and are good |
. against the gravel; but they donot work very
powerfully. 2 “mild ay ose eae
Upon the branches of this shrub, there grow a
_ kind of spungy fibrous tufts, of a green or redish
Colour, they are called bedeguar. They are caus- .
ed by the wounds made by insects in the stalks,
salls are produced uponthe oak. They are

as

a FAMILYHERBAL, . 287
astringent, and may be given in powder against
uxes. hey are.said to work by urine, but expe-

‘Tience does not warrant this.
The Damask Rose. Rosa damascena.

A COMMON shrub inour gardens, very much .
resembling that in cur hedges last mentioned. “It
grows five or six feet high, but the stalks are not
very strong, or able to support themselves. They
are round, and beset with sharp prickles. The
leaves are each composed of two or three pairs of |
smaller ones, with an odd one at the end : they are
whitish, hairy, and broad, and. are indented at the
edges. The flowers are large and very beautiful,
of a pale red colour, full of leaves, and of an ex-
epely sweet smell ; the fruit is like the common

ip.

The flowers are used, The best way of giving

- them is ina sy rup thusmade. Pour boiling wa-
ter upon a quantity of fresh gathered damask 1 roses,
just enough to cover them; let them stand four
and twenty hours, then press off the liquor, and
add to it twice the quantity of sugar; melt this,
and the syrup | s completed ; itis an excellent purge
for children and there is nota better medicine
for grown people, who are subject to be castive.
A little of it taken every night will keep the body —
open continually ; medicines that purge strongly,
bind ee Rose water is distilled from this —
kind. : :

The’ Warr Ss ‘Rosa alba.

AC OMMON nea also ‘in our te roe Me:
grows ten or twelve feet high, but is not very able
- to Aupport itself upright, The stalks are round, -

288 FAMILY HERBAL.

prickly, and very much branched. The leaves aré
rf a dusky green, each composed of several pairs
of smaller, with an odd one at theend. The tlow-
ers are somewhatsmaller than those of the damask
rose, but of the same form: and their eelour is
white, and they hare less fragrance than the
damask.

The flowers are used. They are to be gathered
in the bud, and used freshordry. A strong infu.
sion of them is good against overflowings “of the

menses, and the bleeding of the piles.

The Rep Ross. Rosa rubra.

ANOTHER shrub common in our gardens, and
the least and lowest of the three kinds of roses. The
stalks are round, woody, weak, and prickly, but
they have fewer prickles than those of the damask >
rose: the leaves are large ; they are composed each’

of three or four pair of smaller, which are oval, ofa
- dusky green, and serrated round the edges. The
flowers are of the shape and-size of those of the
~ damask rose, but they are not so double, and they
have agreat quantity of yellow threads in the mid=
dle. They are of an exceeding fine deep red co
lour, and they have very little smell : the fruit is
hike the common hip.

The flowers are-used. They are to be gathered
when in bud, and cut from the husks without the
_ white bottoms and-dried. The conserve of red

roses is made of these buds prepared as for the
drying; they are beaten up with three times their
weight of sugar. When dried, they have more. vir~
| tue; they are given in infusion, and sometimes im
powder against overflowings of the. menses, and all
_ uther bleedings. Half an ounce of these dried buds’
Bre tobi = into an earthen pat and a + pint of

FAMILY HERRAL. 289

boiling water poured upon them after they have
stood a few minutes, fifteen drops of oil of vitriol
are to be dropped in upon them, and three deachms
of the finest sugar, in powder, is to be added at the
same time, then the whole is to be well stirred
about and covered up, that it may cool leisurely :
when cold it is to be poured clear off, * It is called
tincture of zoses ; itis clear, and of a fine red colour,
It strengthens the stomach, aud prevents vomitings,
and is a powerful as well as a pleasant remedy
against all fluxes. <.

The Rosr-Woop Tree. Rhodium.

THERE are two kinds of wood known under
the name of rose-wood, the one from the East;
which, when fresh brought over, has a very fra-
grant smell, exceedingly like that of the damask
rose, aud from the wood is distilled the oil, which
is sold under the name of essence of damask. rose ;
we have no account of the tree which affords this.
The other rose-wood- is the produce of Jamaica,
and has very much of the.fragrant smell of the
eastern kind, but it is not the same; the tree which
produces this is fully described by that great natu-
ralist sir Hans Sloane, in his History of the Island
of Jamaica. The tree graws twenty fect or more
' in height, and its trunk is very thick in proportion,
The leaves are each composed of three or four pairs
of smailer~: these stand at a distance from one ano-
ther on the common stalk; the flowers are_little
and white, and they grow in clusters, so that ata
distance, they look like the bunches of elder flow-
ers. The fruit is a round berry, often each of thé
bigness of atare. The wood of this tree is lighter,
paler colou red, and of a looser grain than the
eastern rose-wood.

: ‘PP

99/) FAMILY HERBAT.

The wood is said to be good in nervous disorders,
but we seldom make any use of it.

Rosemary. Rosmarinus.

A PRETTY shrub, wild in Spain and France,
and kept im our gardens. it is five or six feet
high, but weak, and not well able to support itself,
The trunk is covered with a rough bark. The
Jeaves stand very thick en the branches, which are
brittle and slender : they are narrow, an inch long,
and thick, and they are of a deep green on the
upper side, and whitish underneath. The flowers
stand atthe tops of the branches among the leaves ;
they are large and very beautiftl, of a greyish co-
Jour, with a somewhat reddish tinge, and of a very
fragrant smell. - Rosemary, when in flower, makes
a very beautiful appearance. © si 7 :
The flowery tops of rosemary, ‘fresh gathered,
ontain its greatest virtue. If they are used in
the manner of tea, for a continuance of time, they
are excellent against head-achs, tremblings of the
- limbs, and all other nervous disorders. A conserve
is made of them also, which very well answers
this purpose : but when the conserve is made only
of the picked flowers, it has less virtue. The con-
serve is best made by heating up the fresh gathered
tops with three times their weight of sugar. The
famous Hungary water is made also of these flow~
ery topsofrosemarv. Put two pound of these into
a common still, with two gallons of melasses spirit,
and distil off one gallon and a pint. This is Hun-
_ Bary water. os ete ea

= Rosa: Souis, or Sigpew. Res solis. .
VERY singular and yery pretty litile plant,

-

FAMILY. HERBAL, 29.1

common in boggy places on our heaths. It grows
six or seven inches high. The leaves all rise im-
mediately from the root ; they are roundish and
hollow, of the breadth of a silver two-pence, and
placed on fovt stalks of.an inch long ; they are
covered in a very extraordinary manner with -lop

red hairs, aud in the midst of the hottest days they
have a drop of cleat liquor standing on them.

The stalks are slender and naked; at their tops
stand little white flowers, which are succeeded
by seed-vessels, of an oblong form, contain-
ing a multitude of small seeds. The root is fi-
brous. (| ' :

The whole plant is used fresh gathered. It is
esteemed a great cordial, and good against conyul-
sions, hysteric disorders, and tremblings of the limbs ;
but it is not much regarded.

Ruvsars. Rhabarbarum.

A Sdkd eohust and not unhandsome plant, a.
native of many parts of the East, and of late got
into our gardens, after we had received many others

falsely called by its name... 2
It grows to three feet in height. The stalk is
round, thick, striated,-and of a greenish colour,
frequently stained with purple. The leaves are
very large, and ofa figure approaching to triangu-
_ Jar; they are broad at the base, small at the point,
and waved all along the edges. These stand on ©
thick hollowed foot-stalks, which are frequently
_also reddish. The flowers are. whitish, small and
inconsiderable ; they stand at the tops of the stalks
inthe manner of dock-flowers, and make little more
figure ; the seed istriangulated. The root is thick, .
long, and often divided toward the bottom; of a
yellow colour veined. with purple, but the purple.

292 FAMILY HERBAL.

appears much more plainly in the dry, than in the
‘fresh root. : 7
The root is used: its virtues are sufficiently
known ; it is a gentle purge, and has an after as-
tringevcy. It is excellent to strengthen the sto-
mach and bowels, to prevent: vomitings, and carry
off the cause of colics; in the jaundice also it is
extremely useful. Rhubarb’ and nutmeg toasted
together before the fire, make an excellent remedy
against purgings. Thereis scarce any chronic dis-
éase in which rhubarb is not serviceable.
~ "The Rhapontic monks rhubarb, and false monks’ -
thubarb, all approach to the nature of the true
rhubarb ; they have been described already in their
several places. is beat

Rue. Ruta.

A PRETTY little shrub, frequent im our gar-
dens. It grows'three or four, feet high. The stem
is firm, uoright, and woody; very tough, and
covered with a whitish bark. “The branches are
numerous, and the young shoots are round, green,
and smooth; the leaves. are compcsed of many
smaller divisions ; they are of a blue green colour,
and fleshy substance-: and each division is short,
obtuse, androundish. The flowers are yellow, not
large, but very conspicuous; they have a quantity
of threads in the center, and they are succeeded by
rough seed-vessels. : :

Rue is to be used fresh gathered, and the tops
of the young shoots contain its greatest virtue.

They are to be given in infusion : or-they may be

_ heaten up into a conserve with three times their
: ght of sugar, and taken in that form. The in-
m 1s an excellent medicine in fevers; it raises

nits, and promotes sweat, drives any thing

FAMILY HERBAL. 293
out, and is good against ‘heggeschs, and all other

nervous disorders which attend certain fevers. The
conserve is good against weaknesses of the stomach,
and pains in the bowels. It is pleasant, and may be
taken frequently by people subjectto hysteric dis-
orders with great advantage. : a

Rurrure-wort. Herniaria.

: : e
A LITTLE low plant, -wild in some parts of the
kingdom, but not common, aud kept in the gardens
efthe curious. It grows three or four inches long, -
but the stalks lie onthe ground: many grow from
the same root, and they spread into a kind of cir-
cular figure. They are slender, round, jointed, and
“of apale green, The leaves are very small, and
nearly of an oval figure ; they stand two at each
joint, and are also of a pale green., The leaves
are very small ; the root is very long, but not thick.
Thejuice of the fresh gathered herb, externally
applied, has been much celebrated against ruptures:
perhaps without any great foundation. An in-
fusion of it, taken imwardly, works by urine,
and is very good against the gravel, and in the
jaundice. — Biggs ert Fed tai thy od
s
Sarrron. Crocus.

A VERY pretty plant, of the same kind with
what are called crocuses in our gardens. It is —
planted in fields, in some parts of England, and
yields a very profitable kind of produce. The-
flowers of this plant appear in autumn, but the leaves
not till sometime after they are fallen. These flow-
ers have, properly speaking, no stalk ; they rise im~

294 FAMILY HERBAL,

mediately from the root, which is roundish, and as
big asa large nutmeg, and they stand a. little way
above the surface of the ground ; they are of a pur-
plish blue, and very large ; the lower part is cov~
ered with a skinny husk. In the centre of these
stand three stamina, or threads, with yellow tops,
which are useless, but in the midst between these
rises up what is called the pistil of-the flower.
This is the rudiment of the fugure seed-vessel ; it is
oblong and whitish, and at its top separates into
three filaments ; these are long, and of an orange
‘scarlet colour; these three filaments are the only
part of the plant that is used ; they are what we call —
saffron. Thev are carefully taken out of the flower
and pressed into cakes, which cakes we see under
the name of English saffron, and which is allowed
to be the best in the world.. ! :
The leaves are lovg and grassy, of adark green
colour, and very narrow. They are ofnouse,

Saffron is anoble cordial,
Bastarp Sarrron. Carthamus.

- A PLANT in its whole aspect as unlike to that
which produces the true saffron, as one herb can
be to another ; but called by this name, because
of the yellow threads which grow from the flow-
er. It is Of the thistle kind, two feet and a
half high, and. very upright. ‘The stalk is round,
angulated, and branched, but it is not prickly.
_ The leaves are oblong, broad, round at the poivts,
and prickly about the edges. ~The flowers stand
at the tops of the branches: they consist of round-
‘ish, scaly, and prickly. heads, with yellow flowers
_ ‘growing from amongst them: these are lke the
~ flowers in the heads of our thistles, but narrower

i! ght Ripe te

i:

FAMILY HERBAL. 295

These flowers are used imp the dyers in some
_ partsof Europe. The seed is the part taken into
the shops: it islongish, covered, and white with
a bard covering; it is to be given in infusion,
which werks both by vomit and stool, but not
violently. It is good against rheumatisms and the
jaundice. |

Sacapenum Pant. Sagapenum.

_ A LARGE plant, native of Persia and the East
Indies, and described but imperfectly to us; how-
ever, so that we have confirmation that the descrip-
tion is authentic, if not so finished in all its parts
as wecould wish. It grows upon the mountains,
and is eight feet high ; the leaves are very large,
and are composed of a great multitude of little
parts, which are fixed to a divided rib, and are
of a bluish green colour, and when bruised, of a -
strong smell. The stalk is thick, striated, round,
hollow, and upright, purplish toward the bottom,
but green upwards. The leaves which stand on
it are like those which rise from the root, only
smaller. The flowers are little and yellowish;
they stand in very large umbels at the topsof the
stalks, and each of them is succeeded by two |
seeds ; these are flat, large, brown, and striated.
The root is long, thick, of a yellowish colour,’ and
of a disagreeable smell. This is the account we
have from those who have been of late in the
East : and there is a great deal to confirm it. We
find among resin which is brought over to us,
pieces of the stalk and many seeds of the plant :
these agree with the description. I procured some
of the seeds picked out of some sagapennm, by .
yourg Mr. Sisson, to be sowed with all proper
cure at the lord Petre’s, whose principal gardener

996 « FAMILY HERBAL.

was an excellent person at his business, and with
them some seeds of the ammoniacum plant, pick-
ed also out of a large quantity of that gum. Those
of the ammoniacum plant all perished; from the
sagapenum seeds, though more than an hundred were
sown, we had only one plant, and that perished
by some accident very young ; but what we saw
of the leaves gave credit to the account given
of the plant by Mr. Williams, who told us he
had seen it in Persia. These are curious parts
of knowledge, and they are worth prosecuting by
those who have leisure: the success of this experi-
ment shews the possibility of raising some of those
plants at home, which we never have been able
to get truly or fully described to us.
We use a gum resin obtained from the roots
of this plant, by cutting them and catching the
juice ; we call this, when concreted into lumps,
sagapenum. We have it either finer in small
pieces, or coarser in masses ; it is brownish, with
a cast of red, and will grow soft with: the heat of
the hand ; it is disagreeable both in smell and taste,
but it is an excellent medicine. It is good for all
disorders of the lungs arising from a tough phlegm,
and also in nervous cases. It has been found a
remedy in inveterate head-achs, after many other.
medicines have failed. It is one of those drugs,
too much neglected by the present practice, which
encourages the use of others that have not half
their. virtue: but there are fashions in physic, as -
there are in all other things.

Rep Sacer. Salvia hortensis. _

. THE common sage of our gardens. Tt is a
Kind of shrubby plant, a foot or two high, and
full of branches. T he stem is tough, hard, woody,

FAMILY HERBAL. 297

and covered with a brown rough bark ; the smaller
branches are reddish, the leaves are oblong and
broad ; they stand on long foot stalks, and are of
a singular rough surface, andof a reddish colour,
- The flowers grow on stalks that rise only at that
season of the year, and stand up a great deal above
the rest of the surface of the plant ; they are large
and blue, and areof the figure of the dead nettle
flowers, only they gape vastly more. The whole
plant has a pleasant smell. The leaves and tops
are used, and they are best fresh ; the common
way of taking them in infusion, or in form of
what is called sage tea, is better than any other: |
they are cordial, and good against all diseases of
the nerves: they promote perspiration, aud throw
any thing out which ought’to appear upon the skin, _
The juice of sage works by urine, and promotes
the menses.

Sace or Vitvue. Salvia minor.

_ ANOTHER shrubby plant, very like the former
in eae a of eh meaning ite red colour,
stem is woody. . The branches are Pe The
leaves are oblong, narrower than in common sage,
and of a whitish green colour: there is often a
pair of small leaves at the base of each larger,
The flowers grow in the same manner as in the
red sage, but they aresmaller. The whole plant
has a pleasant smell. oo
The green tops are used ; and their virtues are
much ike same with those of the former, but they
are less. It got into use from an opinion that the
other was too hot, but ‘o was idle.
: g

29 FAMILY HERBAL.
Woop Sacs. Salvia agrestis.

A WILD plant, common in woods and hedges,
with leaves like sage, and spikes of small flowers.
It grows to two feet aud a half high. The stalk is
square, firm, slender, and upright, The leaves
stand two at each joint: they are somewhat shorter
and broader than those of sage, of a green colour,
and serrated about the edges. The flowers are .
numerous, and very small: they stand in long
spikes, and are of a greenish yellow colour,‘ with
_ some red threads in them. The plant has a singu-
lar smell, with something of the garlic flavour, but
that not strong.

The tops are to be used: fresh. . Made into an in-
fusion, they promote urine and the menses: the
_ juice of them drank for a continuance, is excellent
against rheumatic pains. .

- “Fhe Saver Puan. _ Orehis orientalis.

A VERY pretty plant, of the nature of our
commen orchis, native of the East, but growing to
a neta height and producing larger roots than
with us, though it seems very nearly allied to what
we call the tall female orchis, with large flowers,
which is frequent in our meadows. It grows in
damp ground, and is a foot high. The stalk is
round, juicy, and tender. The leaves are eight
inches long, and not an inch broad, of a dark green
colour, and also juicy. The flowers stand at the
tops of the stalk, in a spike of two inches long:
they are moderately large, and of a pale red colour.
The root is composed of two roundish bodies, of the
bigness of a pigeon’s egg, and of a white colour,
_ with some fibres. ;
.. We use the root, which we receive dry from

FAMILY HERBAL. 299

Turkey. They havea peculiar method of curing
it: they make it clean, and then soak it four and
twenty hours in water; after this, they hang a
quantity of itin a coarse cloth, over the steam of a
pot in which rice is boiling ; this softens it, but it -
gives it a sort of transparence, and qualifies it for
drying ; these juicy roots otherwise growing moul-
dy. When they have thus far prepared it, they
string it upona thread, and hangit inan airy place |
to dry: it becomes tough as horn, and transparent.
This is a practice common in the East with the roots
ihey dry for use, and it would be well if we would
practise if here: the fine transparent kind of ginseng;
which we have from China, is dried in this manner,
It is highly probable, nay it is nearly a certainty;
that the roots of our common orchis have all the
qualities and effects of this salep, but we don’t
know how to dry them. If we tried this method,
it might succeed ; and in the same manner, our own
fields and meadows might afford us many medicines;
which at present we purchase at a great price, from
the farthest parts of the earth.

The dried root is the part used ; and it is an ex
cellent restorative, to be given to persons wasted
with long illnesses: the best way is to put a small
quantity of it in powder, into a bason of warm
water, which it instantly turns into a jelly, and a
little wine and sugar are to be added. The Turks
use it as a provocative to venery: they take it diss
solved in water, with ginger and honey.

SAMPHIRE. Crithmum maritimum.

A plant not uncommon about sea coasts, with
much of the appearance of fennel, only not so tall :
some have called it sea fennel. It is two feet high.
The leaves are large, and divided in the manner of

300 FAMILY HERBAL.

those of fennel, into slender and small ‘parts, but
. they are thick and fleshy. The stalk is round, hol-
low, striated, and a little branched. ‘he flowers
are small and yellow, and they stand at the tops of
- the stalks in great clusters or umbels, inthe manner
of those of feanel. The whole plant has a warm
and agreeable taste, and a good smell.

' The leaves are used fresh ; but those which grow
-. immediately from the root, wkere there is no stalk,
are best: they are pickled, and brought to our
tables ; but they are often adulterated, and other
things pickled in their place. The juice of the
fresh leaves operates very powerfully by urine, and
is good against the gravel and stone, against sup-
pressions of the menses, and the jaundice.

Sanicie. Sanicula.
Pitted wild plant common in eo acea
und distinguished by its regular leaves, and 5
umbels of iwers >= It grows a foot and a half
high. The leaves are numerous, and they all rise
immediately from the root : they stand on long foot-
stalks, and are very conspicuous: they ate of a
roundish shape, but cut in so, as to appear five
cornered, serrated about the edges, and of a very
deep glossy green colour, and shining surface. ‘The
‘stalk is striated, upright, naked: on its top grows
a little round cluster of flowers: they are small and
white, and each is succeeded by two little rough
seeds. The root is fibrous.-

_-'The leaves are used. A strong decoction of them
is good against the overflowing of the menses, and
the bleeding of the piles. It has been vastly
velebrated for the cure of ruptures, but that is

oe ey Ree Te

<r

| FAMILY HERBAL. 30
‘The Sarsapari1a Prant., Sarsaparilia.

A PLANT of the climbing kind, nativeof the
‘warmer countries. The stalks run to ten or twelve
feet ia length, but are weak, and support them-
selves among the bushes: they are whitish, angus —
Jar, and striated, and are full of small prickles.
The leaves are an inch long, or more, and above
half an inch broad, of an oval figure, of a deep
green on the upper side, and white underneath,
firm in their texture, and very glossy. The flow=
ers are little and yellowish. The berries are black,
round, and of the bigness of a small pea.. The
root is very large and slender.

The root is used. Our druggists keep it : they
split it in two. It is brown on the outside, and
white within ; and its taste is insipid. It is sup+
posed to have great virtues, but they are not per-
fectly established. They have been at times dis-
puted, and at times supported. Given im decoe-
tion, it promotes sweat and urine. It has been
esteemed good against the scurvy, and famous in
the cure of the venereal disease. It is, in general,
accounted a sweetener ofthe blood. tt”

The Sassarras Tree. Sassafras.

A BEAUTIFUL tree, native of America, and
to be met with in some of our gardens. It grows -
twenty five or thirty feet high. The trunk is
naked tiJl it comes -near the top. The branches
grow near together, and spread irregularly. The
leaves are of two kinds: those on the older parts
ofthe twigs are oblong and pointed, somewhat —
like bay leaves; and those on the tops of the
branches are larger, broader, and divided inte
three parts, like the leaves of maple, or they carry

902 FAMILY HERBAL.

gome resemblance of the smaller leaves of the fig-
tree. The flowers are small and yellow. The
fruit are berries like bay berries. The wood is
of a reddish colour and perfumed smell. 0

The wood is used. Our druggists receive it in
logs, and cut it out into shavings. The wood of
the root is best, and its bark contains most virtue
ofall. It is best taken in infusion, by way of tea,
_ for it is very pleasant: it promotes sweat, and
is good against the scurvy, and all other foul-
nesses of the blood. It is a constant ingredient in
diet drinks against the venereal disease.

Sav INE. Sabina.

A LITTLE garden shrub, green all the winter.
The trunk is covered with a reddish brown bark:
‘The branches are numerous, and stand confusedly.
The leaves are small, narrow, of a dark green
colour, and prickly.. The flowers are very small,
and of a yellowish colour; and the fruit is a
small berry, of a black colour when ripe, and cover-
ed with a bluish dust like the bloom of a plum.

The tops of the young branches are used: they
are best fresh, and given in the manner of tea.
They very powerfully promote the menses ; and -
if given to women with child, will frequently cause
amiscarriage. The country people give the juice
mixed with milk to children, as a remedy against
worms : it generajly works by ‘stool, and brings
worms away with it.

‘SUMMER Savory. Satureia hortensts.<= = ot
-ACOMMON litle plant in our kitchen pardede!

- Itisten inches or afoot high: "The stalks are nu-

FAMILY HERBAL —- 303”

tom. The leaves are oblong and narrow : they
stand two at each joint, with a quantity of young
ones in their bosoms. The flowers grow. on the
upper parts of the stalks among the leayes: the
are white with a tinge of bluish or reddish. The
—- plant has a pleasant smell, and an agreeable
ste. =
The whole plant is used. An infusion of it,
drank in the manner of tea, is good against colicy
pains, and it opens obstructions, and promotes the
menses. 7
There is another kind of savory, with more woody
stalks, called: winter savory: this has much the
same virtues. as

The Rep Saunpers Tree. Santalum rubrum.

A TREE, native of the West Indies, but of
which we have seen nothing but the wood, and
have received very imperfect descriptions. They

* say it grows forty feet high: that the leaves are
small, but many, set near together: their colour is
a dusky green; and their substance thick and
fleshy. The flowers are like pea blossoms, and
the fruit is a pod, containing three or four seeds.
This is all we have been informed concerning the
tree, and part of this by hearsay only.

The wood is used. Itis of a deep red colour.
It is astringent, and is good against violent purgings |
and overflowings of the menses: for the former
purpose, it is best given in powder, in small] doses ;
and for the latter, it is given in decoction. But it
is not much used.

The YeLtow anp Wuirte Saunpers Trex.
: Santalum flavum et album.

* A BEAUTIFUL tree, native of the East Indics

304 FAMILY HERBAL.

It grows forty or fifty feet high, and is very much
branched. The leaves stand two or three pairs
upon a stalk, in the-manner of those of the lentisk,
and are not uniike those of that tree in shape ; they
are of a dark green colour, small, oblong, and
fleshy. The flowers are moderately large, and of
a deep dusky blue ; the fruit is a berry, of the big-
ness of a large red cherry, which is black when ripe,
_ The wood is white in the outer part, and yellow at
the heart, and these two parts are kept séparate,
and were long supposed the woods of two different
trees. They have the same smell and taste, only
that the yellow has them both in greatest perfec-
tion: and in the same manner, their virtues are the
same; but the yellow is so much superior, that the
white deserves no notice.
The yellow saunders is best taken in the man-
_ ner of tea, it is this way not unpleasant, and is’
cordial, good against disorders of the nerves, and
—— complaints, and opens obstructions, it
also gently promotes perspiration, and works by
urime, :

White Saxirrace. Saxifraga alba.

A VERY pretty plant in our meadows, dis-
tinguished by the regular shape of its leaves, and
its white suowy flowers. * It grows ten inches high ;
the stalk is round, thick, fitm, upright, and a little
hairy. The leaves are of a pale green colour, and
ficshy substance : they are of a roundish figure,

and indented about the edges; and they stand upon ~
_ long foot-stalks. The flowers are large and white;

they grow in considerable numbers on the tops of.
e stalks. The root is composed of a parcel of -
_ Small white or reddish granules, -
~The root is used ; and these small parts of which
onsists haye been used to be called by ignorant ~

FAMILY HERBAL. 305

- apothecaries saxifrage seed. It is diuretic, and
good against the gravel. The roots are best fresh,
and the best way of giving them is in decoction.

MEApow sAXIFRAGE. Seseli pratense.

A WILD plant also, but though known by the
same English name with the other, very different
in form and flower. It grows to more than two
feet in height. The stalks are round, deeply stri-
ated, of a dark green colour, and considerably :
branched. The léayes are large, but they are di-
vided into a multitude of fine narrow segments,
The flowers stand at the tops of the stalks, in little
umbels or round clusters, and they are small and
yellow. The root is brown, long, and slender, and
is of an aromatic and acrid taste.

The root is used: it is best fresh taken up.
Given in a strong infusion, it works powerfully
by urine, and brings away gravel. It also eases
those colics, which are owing to the same

Scaniovus. Scabiosa.

_ A COMMON wild plant in our corn-fields, dis-
tinguished by its tall round stalks, and round blue
flowers. It grows to three feet in height. The
_leayes rise principally from the root, and they lie

spread upon the ground. They are oblong, and

irregularly divided at the edges; they are of a
ils evetll hairy, and rough to Ahetonch: The
stalks are round, upright, hairy, of the same pale
green coleur, and they have a few leaves on them,
_ placed two at a joint ; these are more deeply
_ divided than those on the ground. The flowers
stand at the tops of the branches, they are of a

Ea oail

306 FAMILY HERBAL.

deep blue colour, and each is composed of a number
of smaller flosucles, collected intoa head. The root
is long and brown.

The leaves growing from the root are to be
gathered for use before the stalks appear. They
are best fresh. A strong infusionof them is good
against asthmas, and difficulty of breathing, and
the same infusion made into syrup, is good against
cooghs. The flowers are said to be cordial, and
aninfusion of them to promote sweat, and carry
off fevers, but this is less authentic ; the juice exter-
nally applied is good against foulnesses of the skin.

The ScAMMONY Pant. Scammonia.

A CLIMBING plant, native of the eastern

parts, of the world. — ; nhe stalks: are numerous,
ende: 1 5 they ; are five or six
t unable 01 nselves with-
out tog, bot of bushes. _ The leaves stand irregular-
ly, and not yery close to one another ; they are of
atriangular figure, and bright green colour, and
they stand upon long foot-stalks. The flowers
are large and bell-fashioned ; they resemble very
_ much those of our common little bind-weed being

whitish, butthey oftener havea yellowish than a
reddish tinge. The root is a foot and half long, and
as thick as 4 man’s arm, full of a milky juice. They
wound the roots aud catch the milky juice as it

uns out in shells ; and this when it has concreted

into a hard mass is the scammony we use.
Itisa rough purge, but a very powerful and —

ul one. It is good against oe rheumatic
ad will reach the seat of rps disorders that

FAMILY HERBAL. 30T

perfectly depended upon, because there isso much
difference in several parcels of scammony, that they
seem hardly the same medicine, some are so very
strong, and some so weak.

Garpen Scurvy Grass. Cochlearia hortensis.

A COMMON wild plant about our sea coasts,
but kept also in gardens for its virtues ; it is a foot
high; the stalks are round, weak, and green ; the
leaves that rise from the root make the most con-
siderable appearance ; they stand in a large tuft,
and are of a roundish figure, and a bright green
colour, tender, juicy, and supported on long and
slender foot-stalks. There are but few leaves on
the stalks, and they are not so round as those from
the root, but are a little angular and pointed.
The flowers stand at the tops of the stalks, in little
clusters ; they are white, small, and bright ; they are
succeeded by short roundish seed-vessels.

The fresh leaves are used, and the best way of
_allis to drink the expressed juiceof them; this is
nesses of the blood. It maybe mixed with Seville
orange juice to make it pleasant, and should be
taken every day for six weeks or two months toge-
ther in spring. . aa See

Sea Scurvy Grass. Cochlearia marina.

A COMMON plant also about our sea coasts,
and bythe sides of rivers, where the tide comes,
_ The leaves are not so numerousas those of the other ;
and they are oblong, of a reddish green colour,
pointed at the ends, and indented at the edges in an

_ aregular manner ; they are considerably larger than’
- those of garden scurvy grass, and more fleshy. The

308 FAMILY HERBAL.

stalks are eight or ten inches high; they are ten-
der, round, and striated; they have few leaves
on them, but the flowers are small and white, and
stand in clusters at the tops of the stalks, as in
theother. ‘The leaves are to be used fresh gather-
ed, or their juice is to be taken. Their virtues
arethe same as those ef the other. Butit is the
general opinion that they are greater, though the
taste be not so agreeable.

The Sesesten Trez, Nyxa sive sebesten.

A TREE of the bigness and form of our com-~
mon plum tree, and producing a fruit not altogether
unlike it. The trunk is covered with a rough
bark, the branches grow irregularly and crooked,
and are generally so slender toward the ‘ends, and
so full of leaves that they bend downward ; the
leaves are broad and short ; the flowers are white,
small, and sweet scented ; they stand in tufts or
clusters, and the cup in whick they stand remains
and encloses the fruit. This is somewhat like
a plum, and has a kernel in the same manner :
its shape is oblong ; and the pulpy part of it is so
tough and clammy, that being beat-up with water,
it makes good birdlime. |

This fruit is‘ the part used ; it is sent over to
us dried inthe manner of a prune. It used to be
_ aconstant ingredient in decoctions for coughs,

and disorders of the lungs, but it is now dis- _

regarded. rie ef oe Reece 3 oie
. $enr-nean. Prunella. ge
TLE wild plant common about way sides,

dark green leaves, and short tuftsof blue

FAMILY HERBAL. 309

square, and a little hairy ; the leaves stand in pairs
upon it, hut there are seldom more than two or
three pair, the great quantity of them rise imme-
diately from the root ; they are oblong, broad,
blunt at the point, and not at all indented at the
edges. The flowers are small; they stand in a
kind of short spikes or heads: the cups of them
are often purplish. The rootis small and creep-
ing, and full of fibres. The juice of self-heal
is astringent; it is good against purgings, with
very sharp or bloody stools, and against overflow-
ings of the menses. The dried herb made into
an infusion and sweetened with honey, is

*

against a sore throat, and ulcers of the mouth. |

The SexnaSurve. Sena.
A LITTLE shrub, three or four feet high,
native of the East. The trunk is covered with a
whitish and rough bark ; the leaves are composed
each of three pair of smaller, disposed on a com-
mon rib, with an odd one at the end: they are
oblong, narrow, and sharp pointed, of a smooth
surface, a thick substance, of a pale green colour, |
and not indented at the edges. The flowers are
like a pea blossom in sh@pe, but they are yellow,
marked with purple veins. The pods are short
and flat, and the seeds are small and brown.
We have the dried leaves from the East, the
druggists keep them. They are given in infusion,
and are an excellent purge, but’ as they are apt to
gripe in the working, the common method is to
_ throw in a few cardamom seeds, or sume other
warm medicine into the water. :

310 FAMILY HERBAL.
Bastarp Sena. Colutea.

A COMMON shrub kept for ornament in our
gardens. The trunk is not very robust, but it
keeps upright, and is covered with a whitish rough
bark. The leaves are composed each of several
pairsof smaller, set on a common; rib, with an
odd leaf at the end; but they are rounder and
_ broader in proportion to their length than those
of the true sena. The flowers are yellow. they
are but small, but they hang in long bunches,
and are succeeded by pods, which look like blad-
_ ders, of a greenish colour.

The leaves are used ; some give an infusion of
them asa purge but they are very rough: they
work both upwards and downwards, and are only
fit for — robust constitutions: av or such as can

er eaeaunting aie. 2 : Peis e eee

A TREE frequent i in the East, and named from
a gum which it affords, and which is brought in
great quantities into Europe. The tree is large
and spreading ; its trunk is covered with a rough
park, its branches with a sfhoother of a Pale brown,
and they are very full of thorns.
The leaves are large, and they are composed of
many smaller set in pairs, very beautifully and
evenly about a common rib, with an odd one at the
end of each rib: they are oblong, and of a beauti-
ful green, The flowers are white, and of the
ipe of a pea blossom ; the fruit is a large and
od, » jointed or divided inte several parts,
eds in them ; the tree is of the acacia kind,
lings aor 8h ee —_— = the

FAMILY HERBAL. snl

gum arabic, and the gum whichis obtained from
-Gt-is inthe same manner very like that.

This gum isthe only product of the tree heard
of inmedicine, and this is not much. — It is brought
over, however, in great quantities, for the dyers
use agreat deal of it. It is in large lumps, of the
bigness of an egg; rough on the surface, but
glossy and smooth when broken, and of a pale
brown colour. It is as easily and entirely dissoly-
ed in water as gum arabic, and has the same vir-
tues. It is very seldom called for by name in
medicine, but it is nevertheless often used, for
the druggists have a way of breaking the lumps
to pieces, and putting them among the gum
arabic; they may be distinguished by their brown
colour, the true gum arabic being white, or yel-
lowish, if coloured at all, and never having any
brown in it : some pick these brown pieces out ;
but, upon a separate trial, they are found to be
s0 perfectly of the same nature, that it is a needless

trouble. :
/ ‘The Ricur Service TREE. Sorbus legitima. mass"

A TREE wild in some parts of this kingdom,
but not known in others, nor eyen in many of our
gardens. It grows twenty feet high or more, and
the branches stand very irregularly. The leaves
are each composed of several pairs of smaller,
set on a common rib, with an odd one at the end ;
these are long, narrow, and serrated, so that they
have some resemblance of the ash tree. The
flowers are not large ; they are white, and stand

in clusters. Each is succeeded by a fruit of the
shape of a pear, and of the bigness of some pears
of the smaller kind ; these are green, except where

812 FAMILY HERBAL, ,

they have been exposed to the sun, where they are
sometimes reddish ; the taste is very pleasant when
they are ripe.

> The unripe fruit is used; they press the juice,
and give it against purgings, but it is little known,

The Common SernviceTree, © Sorbus vulgaris.

A LARGE tree and very beautiful, its growth
being regular, and the leaves ofan clegant shape ;
the bark of the trunk is greyish, and tolerably
smooth ; on the branches it is brown: the leaves are
single, large, and of a rounded figure, but. divided
into five, six, or seven parts, pretty deeply, and
serrated round the edges ; they are of a bright green
on the upper part, and whitish underneath... The
flowers are little. and yellowish, and am stow as in
clusters 5. the fruit is. small ‘and. m when rip
- The. unripe fr rit, a 3 is ¢€
against purgings, but it can only be had recourse to
when in season, for there is no way of preserving
the virtue in them all ihe year.

i SuepuHerps’ Purse, Bursa pastoris.

THE most common simost of all wild plants,
over-running our garden-beds, and court-yards.
The leaves spread upen the ground, and are Jong,
somewhat broad, and more or ‘less indented at the
edges, for in this there is great variaiion: the stalks

are round, upright, and eight or ten inches high,

_ they have few leaves on them. The flowers stand
e tops in little clusters, aud they are small and
below there is. gcse a kind of spike
€ sa: een short, breed. and of

FAMILY HERBAL. 313

ithe figure of a; bag, or pouch, and are divided a
little at the end. The seeds are small and yellow-
‘ish, and the roots white.

. "Ehe juice of shepherd’s purse is cooling and
astringent ; itis good against purgings, with sharp
and bloody stools; against the bleeding of oe iles,
and. the overflowings of the menses.

Skinner. Sisaruin.

x PLANT kept in our kitchen gardens. It
grows three or four feet high. The stalk is round,
hollow, striated, and somewhat branched : the leaves
‘are each composed of three or fiye smaller, two-or
four set opposite and oneat the end ; they are ob-
long, serrated at the edges, and sharp pointed ; the
end leafis longer than the others. The flowers are
little: they stand in round clusters on the tops of
the branches. The root is of a singular form: it
is composed of several long parts like carrots. They
are of a good taste, and some people eat them at
their tables.

‘A decoetion af ‘Hie Wolke by) urine, and is ‘good
against the gravel. ‘Fhe roots ‘boiled in milk, are
an excellent restorative to people who have suffered

—_ illnesses..
The Susie Late. Prunus sylvestris.

THE common low shrub in our hedges, which
we call the blackihorn. It is a plum tree in
miniature. It grows five or six feet high ; the trunk
and branches are all covered with a dark purplish or
blackish bark. ‘The leaves are roundish, and of a

The green, cell dentated about the edges.
flowers are small and white. The fruit is a

314 FAMILY HERBAL.

little plum; of a very austere taste when — but
pleasant when mellow.

The juive expressed from unripe sloes, isa very
good remedy for fluxes of the belly.~ It —_ be
boiled down - a firm consistence, and will eep
the whole year. We used to-find this dried juice
kept by cease under the name of German acacia,
but they neglect it.

SMALLAGE. "Api.
> Sis COMMON wild plant, Labels ditch sail
with the appearance of celery. These are very
numerous and large. | The stalk rises two feet and
a half in height, and isround, smooth, striated, and
branched. The leaves on it are like those from the
2 osed -of » many small parts, which are

inde i Ars pate reece sions of ~~

Faxeasddcase’ Seal: aoe itriated. The 3 roots are
long, not very thick, white, aad: of a strong, but not
disagreeable taste. Pn

The roots are most used ; a strong infusion of
_. them fresh gathered, works briskly by urine, It is
_ good against the gravel, and in jaundices and other
diseases arising from obstructions in the liver and
spleen. ‘The seednatet: are good ra the ——
and stréngthetr the sto mach. aeahe.

. The Convess-woo>, oR 2 SNAKE-WooD Tere. a

L eof teat ‘ecogilor ini geam gron |

The bark-is. rough avd
oad-in the =

sY¥ HERBAL. 315

oblong, and sharp at the point. - They are of a deep
‘green colour, and firm substance: the flowers: ate
small, they. grow: in clusters upon the branches, not
at. their, slaecuiind but in different partsof. them.
The. fruit is Jarge, and much of the shape of a
walnut. It is yellow when ripe, and containsia
great many round flat seeds. These are exactly of
the shape and form of. what we'callk nux vomica;
but ae are not half so big. Some haye, for this
teason, sapposed the real nux vomica to be the
fruit of this tree; but it is produced by another of
the same, ausi. "The wood of the smaller branches
is used >) this is what we called ligaumeolubrinum,

adder-wood, and snake-wood. | It is famous in: ‘the
East. for curing. fevers and destroyi ne worms ;
they also say it is a remedy against bites: of
serpents, and hence comes its name. We have been
tempted to give it in some cases; but:it seems better
suited to the constitutions of the people among
whom it, grows than to ours: it brings on con-
vulsions, if given in too large a dose, oF if too fresh.

It loses its strength by, degrees in keepin, ; but
I don’t know ‘how, it. can be. possible’ e (
acpenee lo: to-give of eae aeeeriaage sei Td

Siaeawwane:: Prarmica:.

- VERY pretty wid plant, with “daisy-like
flowers, and narrow dentated leaves. It grows
two feet high. The stalk is round, firm, upright,
and: but little branehed. | The leaves are very
numerous, and they. -staud ‘irregiilarly. 5: ‘they ‘are
an inch or more in length, and very tiarrow, rough
to the touch, and of a bright green: The flowers
"stand at the tops of, the stalks, so that they form

a kind of round head; they are less thai aisiea

and. pbrsie: leaves bropder'ss het 2 Ise a Ze

316 ' FAMILY HERBAL.

«The leaves of sneezewort, dried and powdered,
taken by way of sauff, are excellent against the
vhead-ach. The roots dried: are*almost as fié
as pellitory of Spain, and they cure the tooth-ath
an the same manner. A'piece held i in en mouth,
fills it with rheum in a minute."

Soromon’ s Sean) Poh vaokiienl

A PRETTY plant, wild in some nace ana
frequent in gardens. It growsa foot and half
high. The stalk is round, striated, and of a pale
green; naked half way up, and ‘from’ thence to
‘the -top-ornamented with large oval leaves of a
pale green, blunt, smooth, ribbed, and not atall

andented at the edges. The flowers hang” from
the: under part of the stalk); a Ferihoy
fiaadgired moet is nes a 3

fis “The ‘root Bodhe vat ‘ead Jere rc tienda
3 extremely. for an outward application ‘against
bruises. . The root dried and™ powdered is’ good
against purgings with bloody stools ; and the fresh
root beat up: into a conserve with’ sugar, against
the whites.

317

they are ici or reddish, a very large :
cag. is knobbed and has a nd ot wininy. fibbes
running fromit: it is of a disagreeable ma
taste. .. ag 3 sag
‘The: root is used ; and it. should be fre sh taken
up; 3 a deeoction of it opens obstructions, _and | ro
motes urine and perspiration. Lee is aa excellent
eeerianes af, the blood. we

sl Saas os ‘Sonazy. Acctosa.

oe \aak, Beer ad #12 €F% Pee

“A COMMON. plant in our meadows, with’
bias ang Plenialesey tigi say and. ae

: brous 5 the ol an ar te HS

excellent aga he seurvy.. ‘The
om exealen and may be given sae der for grey
The root dried and powdered, is also good against
purgings, the overflowing of the . menses, and
pices Pgs.

There are two other kinds of sorrel; ‘nearly of
kin to thisy: and of the.same. virtue ; ene anil

called: sheep’s,sorrel, common, on dry) bauks,; the

other large, with broad. Lapras called gardea
sorrel, er. round leayed sortel ; of = “pre-
ferahle to the com
is a plant called ia Engl
ioe pine all, eau ae be “diserbed
sae ees ea, AEE & wk SteA aes

318 FAMILY HERBAL.
| Woon SoRREL. Laila.

A VERY pretty little lait, common: galiouo our
wood sides, and distinguised by its bright green
elegant leaves, and pretty flowers. ‘The leaves rise
in considerable number from the same root; they
stand three together upon separate, long, and very
slender foot-stalks, of a reddish colour ; each is of a
heart-like shape, the broad and indented part hang-
ing downwards, and the three smaller ends meeting
on the summit of the stalk. The flowers are
whitish, tinged with purple, very bright ‘and’ de-
licate ; they stand also on single stalks, and rise im-—
mediately on the root. The seed-vessels are large,
* and when ripe, they burst asunder ‘with the least.

touch, and the seeds if about. The root oan
Pia irregular. |

The leaves are used ; lorena beef b gi
ed; their root is very agreeably, acid, and the
if the n makes a pretty syrup. — Ves |
up. with three times their wciplt of sugar, rake an
excellent conserve. ‘They are good to quench thirst
in/fevers, and they Ried. the same virtue with the
‘ood. 2 the ee and in eee ~

oe Sousa ten woop! aia :

aA SHRUBBY plant, ‘ualive: of many ‘pas af |
urope, but kept in our gardens, The stem is
ody. “and tough, and is covered-with a brown
ep Jeaves are. divided | ‘into: —

FAMILY HERBAL. 319

The tops of the young branches are used: a
decoction of them is good against worms, but it is
avery disagreeable medicine. Beaten into a con-
serve with three times their weight of sugar, they
are not very unpleasant, and they are im this form
good against neryous ea and in all ihysterie
Sompleinine eaten

“Sownussrue. “Sones asper.

- COMMON neste in our es ptleetse; and ace
our houses... It is three fect high ; the stalk is
_ found, thick, green, and upright. “The leaves are
— Tong, ‘and: not very broad ; they are indented atthe
edges, and prickly between the indentings. When
any part of the plant is broken, there runs out a
milky juice. The flowers are large, and yellow:
they are somewhat like those of dandelion, and
stand: in ‘a kind of scaly cup. The seeds have
down affixed’ to them. The root is kemes and
Ae he aaa tohe: used. fresh gathered; a stro ‘4 :
infvsion, of theay works by urine, and opens ob-

. Sor anes sallads, but the’ in-
fusion has more power. There are three or four
other kinds of sowthistle, common in some places
with this, and they have all the same virtues, mat
thes, has them most i in perirelens | .

‘Sereowene. Veronica mas. 7

it COMMON little ina? in our sry’ pastutes;

and on heaths. The stalks are six or eight inches”

_ long; the leaves are short, and of an oval figure.

The stalks are not upright: they trail along the
zround, only rising at thin upper parts. The ©

eaves are of a pale green colour, a little hairy, —

$20 FAMILY HERBAL.

and dentated at the edges: the flowers are smal!
and blue ; they grow in slendér spikes, arising
from the bosoms of the leaves; the) root ‘is’ small
and fibrous. SHER Obes av TR
. The whole herb is used, and it is‘best fresh: © “An
infusion of: it.drank in quantities, ‘works by urine,
and opens all obstructions: it promotes the metises.
There was an opinion lately that this plant would
cure the’ gout. The dricd leaves picked from the
stalks, were sold in our markets, and people made a
teaof them. The opinion was‘so prevalent, that
the plant was in 2 manner destroyed for many
miles about London, but like all other things,
that want truth for their: foundition,’ it came’to
nothing. | a. msswied: gltorry comb
x, RE paaere a 23) ee ens pe He Gath
oSriewerss Meumt oma yee
i sie Gamnesa Se itll soa AG Ane, ee age s
A WILD plant: not ‘altogether ‘unlike fentiel.
At-grows twoor three feet bight’ The stallis"are
round, striated, and branched. The leaves ‘are
large, and divided like those of fénnél, but into
narrower and finer’ parts, and they are of ‘a very
. dark. green colour. The flowers are little ‘and
white, but they:stand in clusters'at the tops of the
stalks, and-are conspicuous’ by their number. “The
root is long and brown,’ and® there are always a
quantity of filaments at the head of it ‘like hairs :
these are the fibres of the stalks of former leaves,
The root is used, and it is best’ fresh taken up.
An infusion of it is excellent medicine in the gravel ;
At also opens obstructions, and promotes the menses.
The root dried and given in powder strengthens the

Stamach, creates an appetite, and is good against

Rye he eee ee

<kves 2 : aul Ls fh eS eee
Peo ee see » ‘ a Hy po ce ewe eee ge :

wag Re et hee 2: BY oe eee 2 es 6 ee Jey 2

: F = 2 : 4

Tle eae ie ie el *

KAMILY HERBAL. 321
_ SPINAGE. Spinachtax 2

* A COMMON herb in our kitchen gardens.
It grows two feet high; the stalk is round, thick,
and juicy ; the leaves are broad and cleft at. the
bases, so that they resemble a broad arrow head:
the flowers are inconsiderable ; the seeds grow on
other plants of the same kind, and are rough and
prickly: the root is white and oblong. +
.,.The leaves are eaten at our tables ; but their
juice may very well be recommended as a medi-
cine. It works by urine, and is good against the -
gravel, The leaves eaten frequently keep the

body open. ¥ we oe hss os

5c

SpLEenwort. <Asplenium.

A SINGULAR plant, of the nature of the ferns,
but not like anyof them in form. The root is '
fibrous. From this the leaves rise in great numbers
together, each being a distinct and separate plant ; ©
they are narrow, and five inches long, deeply ir-
deuted on each side, but very irregularly, and
covered on the under part with small seeds. When
they first grow from the root, they are folded in-
ward, so that only the under part appears; and

hey have a very peculiar aspect, more like some
insect than the leaf of a plant. It grows on old
walls, and is green all the winter, but it has most
virtue in spring.

The whole plant is used. Itis best given in in-
fusion, and must. be continued for some time ; it

ens all obstructions of the liver and spleen, and
is-excellent in disorders arising from that cause.
‘They say the powder of the dried leaves cures the
rickets, but this wants proof. a

or rt

wmiéecidet:

322 FAMILY HERBAL,
Inpran SpikenarD. Nardus Indica.

AN East Indian plant, of the grass kind, with
triangular stalks, and yellowish flowers. It re-
-sembles not a little that common yellow tufted grass,
which is frequent in our meadows in spring. It is
six or eight inches high. The leaves are long,
narrow, and of pale green ; they are very numerous,
and stand in a thick tuft almost growing together
atthe bases. The stalks rise among these ; they are
naked, triangular, and of a pale, green colour ; the
flowers stand in tufts, of the bigness of an horse-
bean, on the tops of the stalks; they are blackish,
but ornamented with yellow threads, which give
the whole a yellowish appearance. ‘This is the
plant, some samples of which have been of late
broughtover, as the Indian spikenard, and there
is reason and authority for supposing they are so.
The tops of the roots have that sort of tuft of hairy —
matter, which we call Indian spikenard, growing
to them ; and it is of the nature of the hairy top
of the spignel root, owing to the fibres of decayed
leaves. . Breynius also calls the plant which affords
the Indian spikenard, a kind of cyperus grass.

The tuft of fibres at the tops of the root of
this plant, is what we call Indian spikenard ; they:
are brown, flattish, matted together, and of a plea
sant smell: they are good in disorders of the
nerves, and hysteric cases; but so many better
medicines are at hand, that this is rarely used. —

=k

: ‘ Sponee. ~ Spongia. Og ee
a -SEA plant ofa very smgular kind ‘and “form,
Tt has neither leaves, stalks, nor branches, nor has
_ it the colour or aspect of our ‘ordinary plants.
s It more approac hes to the nature of the mushrooms,

FAMILY HERBAL, 323

than of any other of the vegetable kinds. It:
grows to the rocks, and swells out into an irregular-
ly shaped mass of matter, full of holes, of a yel-
lowish colour, and retaining a great deal of water,
which is easily pressed out, and is received again
on dipping it again in the wet. It is of a round-
ish figure, and sometimes hollow. Sponge in the
‘shape of a funnel is frequently seen, and has
been described as a particular species ; but this
‘is only an accident in the growth. ak aioe
_ It would be very imprudent to swallow sponge
in its natural form ; but calcined, it is of excellent
service to sweeten the blood, and is good against —
the scurvy, and the evil: great care is to be taken
inthe burving it. It must be made brittle and fit
for powdering, but if it be calcined too long, all
the volatile parts will be driven off, and it will be
worth nothing.s Z
Great Spurce. Esula major.

' WE have many kinds of spurge wild in Eng-
land; and some of them large enough; but this |
used in medicine is a different species. It is native
of Germany, and is kept in our gardens. It grows
a yard high; the stalk is round, thick, reddish,
and divided into branches.- The leaves are nume-
rous, and stand irregularly; they are narrow and
of a pale green, and are broadest at theend. The
flowers are little, and of a pale yellow, but the
seed-vessels are large, and make a conspicuous |
figure on the tops of the branches. The root is

very thick and long ; it consists of a firm heart
covered with a thick rind. The whole plant, when

broken, affords a milky acrid juice. tee”
_ The bark of the root is used dry; and even in
that state is very rough in_its operation, Jt works —

324 FAMILY HERBAL?

by stool and vomit, and is good in the rheumatism :
and dropsy ; but it is not every constitution: as
can bear the use of such remedies.

The Lesser SPURGE. Esula minor.

A LESSER plant than the former, but suffici-:
ently robust ; itis a native of the same part of the
world, but is common in our gardens. It is a
foot high. The leaves are longish and very nar-
row, but rounded at the end: the stalks are thick,
round, and red ; the flowers are smal} and yellow ;
and the seed-vessels large and three cornered.
The whole plant is full of a sharp milky j juice,
but most of all the root. ©

' The bark of the root is used. It works b
vomit and stool as the former ; but though with
less violence, yet too rough for most. + uti
Itis een rheumatism. © , =

ca “Squits.. Sette:

A VERY common plant by the sea side in
Italy ‘and other parts of Europe, but not native
of this country. It grows a yard high, and when
in flower, is very beautiful ; the stalk is thick,
round, fleshy, and green, or else reddish. ‘The
flowers are white ; they are small but they have
’ their beauty. They stand in a long spike down
athird part of the stalk; the leaves are very large
and Jong ; they areof a deep green colour, and
grow immediately from the root ; the root is
round, and of a pound weight ; it is ea
¢ an onion of many coats one over an
1 of an acrid slimy juice. The colour
; red, and iL ie Sy = = —— or a

FAMILY HERBAL, 325

The root is used dried, or infused in vinegar or
wine, and that afterwards made into a syrup with
honey. These three preparations are cajled the
wine of squills, vinegar of squills, and oxymel
of squills; they are all good against -asthmas,
and difficulty of hreathing. The oxymel is most
given for this purpose ; the vinegar causes yomit-
‘ing, and cleanses the stomach ; the wine of squills |
works by-uriae, and ts good against the jaundice
and dropsy.-

Srarwort, Aster aticiis.

A COMMON wild plant, in many parts of
Europe and tn the Grécian islands, but not here:
we have itn gardens. Itis afoot and half high,
The stalk is round, hairy, and branched; the
leaves are oblong, moderately broad, aad rounded
at the ends, and of a dusky green. The flowerg
are yellow and large ; they resemble the marigold ;
itis singular that there stand some leaves under
this flower disposed in rays like a star ; the root

-'The-fresh leaves are used ; and that only ex.

ternaily.. Bruised, and laid on as a pultice, they
are a cure for buboes, and other hard swellings, —
“Whe plant is called also ingunialis, from its pecu-
liar effect in dissipating buboes of the groin,

The Srar Tuistie. Calcitrapa.

A WILD plant on our heaths, but not very
common. It is two feet high, and extremely
branched ; the stalks are round, hard, and whitish.
The principal leaves rise from the root, and are
disposed. ina circular manner on the ground. .
They are oblong, and divided along the sides

326 - FAMILY HERBAL.

quite to the middle rib: there are some smaller
on the stalk, but few. The flowers are numerous :
they are red, and of the form of the flowers of
thistles. They grow out of a scaly and thorny
head. The seeds are winged with down. The
reot is oblong.
The root is used ; a strong infusion of it is ex-
cellent against the gravel, and is good also in the
jaundice. It opens obstructions, and works by
urine, / : F

The Starry Heapep Anise Tree. Anisum stel-
latum.

A TALLand very beautiful tree, native of the
East, and much esteemed there. The trunk is
covered with a thick ee branches are
i lar and spreading. leaves are very
Seem and beautiful ; hey are composed each of
n or twelve pair of others set on a common rib,
with an odd qne at the end ; they are longish,
broad, serrated at the edges, and pointed at the
ends, and are of a beautiful pale green coleur,
and of a fragrant smell when bruised, such as that.
we perceive in the young leaves of the walnut
tree, but with a mixture of somewhat aromatic.
The flowers stand at the topsof the branches, on
divided pedicles ; they are white and very fra-
grant. The fruit is of a singular figure, of the
shape of a star, and of a woody substance ; it is
composed of five or morerays, and in each is a
single, smooth, brown seed. They have the smell

of aniseed and thence have been called by the
aa for there is not the least resemblance be-
the plants which produce the two; one

nall herb, and the other a large and fine

_ FAMILY HERBAL. 327

The fruit is cnly used, and we sometimes sce
it at the druggists; if the present practice en-
couraged it we might have it common enough :
and. it is one of those drugs which we neglect,
while we are fond of such as do not deserve the
distinction. It is an excellent medicine against
coldness of the stomach, colics, and those head-
achs which arise from indigestion. {t also works
_ powerfully by urine; and with it possesses all
the virtues of aniseed and many others; and even
in a very superior degree : ithas not its disagree-
able flavour. An oil drawn from it by distillation,
is sweet and excellent ; it has all the virtues of
our oil of aniseed, but not its disagreeable taste,
and it does not congeal like it in cold weather.

Sraves-Acre. Staphis agria.

A VERY pretty plant, native of Italy, and
kept in our gardens. It is two feet and a half
high. The stalk is round, thick, firm, and up-
right, and a little hairy. The leaves are of a
roundish re, but divided deeply inte seven
parts, and these serrated at the edges ; they are
large, and of a deep green, and stand on long foot- ,
stalks. The flowers are of a deep blue, ‘large,
and very like the flowers of lark-spur: they grow,
in a spike at the tops of the stalks; the seed-
vessels are notched, and the seeds rough. |

The seeds are used. Some ventureto give them
inwardly in small doses against the rheumatism,
and the venereal disease. They operate by vomit
and stool, and bring a great quantity of water
_ from the mouth. The powder of them is most
used to kill vermin, by sprinkling it on children’s _
yeads that have been kept uncleanly. 2

328 FAMILY HERBAL.

Goxuven Stacuas. Stechas citrina.

A PRETTY plant, native in the warmer parts
of Europe, and kept in our gardens. It is a shrub--
by herb, two feet high, and keeps its leaves ail
the year. The stem is woody; the leaves stand
thick on the lower branches, and they are longish,
narrow, and whitish, especially on the under side.
The flowers are yellow, and stand at the tops of
the stalks; they are dry and chaffy, and may be
kept for a. ‘long. time. The whole plant has an
agreeable smell, when rubbed between the fingers.

The leafy stalks are used ; their tops. are best,
and those fresh gathered: an infusion of them
works by urine, and’ opens obstructions. It is
- good in jaundices, aud obstructions of the menses,

There is another plant called Arabian stechas,
or French lavender. It has been described already
_ under the head of lavender, to which it belc
bias itis altogether different iremniiees plant.

The Srerax Tree. Sty raz arbor.

A SMALL tree, native of the East, and some
| parts of Europe ; but in Europe it yields none of
‘the iesin we call storax. We have it in. some
gardens. It is twenty feet high ; the trunk is
covered. with a brown dark: that on the branehes
is greyish ; the leaves are ‘of a brownish or a dusky
Sfeen en the uper side, and whitish undernéath : the
_ Kowers are white and large ; the fruit is like a nut,

—reun “— ae little, wud is is. scuwered: with i
at; three ofthe flowers nove Sopot ner uaneeeh. See 78 :

eded by three of inal =e Eee
se no part of of the tree, but a resinous su
i oduced: from it. — is kept
“and i is. reddish and of a ppm

FAMILY HERBAL. 329

smell, but very foul. It is good in all diseases of
the breast and lungs, being an excellent balsam.
At is aiso good in all nervous and hysteric com-
plaints, and it promotes the menses. _ eke?

The Srrawzerry Prant. Fragaria. Be

A VERY common little plant, both in our:
woods and gardens. The leaves stand three upon
each stalk, and they are large, broad, sharp at the’
point, and serrated about the edges ; the stalks trail
upon the ground, and take root at the joints: the
flowers are white ; they stand four or five together
upon a long foot-stalk rising from the root and with-
out any veins: they are white, and moderately
large ; the fruit is well known. When ripe it is
red, and of an agreeable taste. :

The fresh leaves are used ; an infusion of them
is good liquor to wash a sore mouth or throat ;
taken in large quantities, if works by urine, and is
good against the jaundice. 3

- Succory. Cichoreum.

A COMMON plant in our gardens. It is near
a yard high, but of. no great beauty. The stalk
is round, striated, thick, green, and strong. The
principal leaves grow from the root ; they are long,
narrow, and deeply indented, and are of a bluish
green, and hairy ; those on the stalks are smaller,
and have no foot-stalks. The flowers are of the
shape of those of dandelion, but they are blue ;
the seed is winged with down. The flowers grow
to the sides of the stalks, not at the tops, as in
dandelion. The root is long and brown on the
surface ; it is full of a milky juice, and white

UT

330 FAMILY HERBAL

~The root is used; an infusion of it opens ob-
structions ; it is rood against the jaundice. A de~
coctiou of the whole plant, fresh gathered, works
pewerfully by urine, and is good against the gravel.
It also gently promotes the menses..

The Sugar Cane. -Arundo saccharifera.

A KIND of reed, native of the East and West
Indies, of the Canary islands, and of some other
laces ; and‘ cultivated in all our plantations. It
s eight or ten feet high. The stalk is round,
hollow, hard, jointed, and upright ; it is very like
that of a common reed, only so much thicker.
The leaves are like those of the reed, but vastly
larger ; and the flowers are in the same manoer, dry,
brown, and chaffy, but the cluster of them is a
yard long ; the roots are long, creeping, and jointed
m the manner of the stalk. In very hot countries,

the sugar willsweat out at the cracks of the stalks,
_ and stand in form of a bright powder ; this is native
sugar, and is what the antients meant when they
talked of honey growing upon reeds. We press out
the juice, and boil it to the consistence of brown
. Sugar, which is afterwards refined, and becomes the

white powder or loaf-sugar. = aie
Tt were idle to talk of the virtues of sugar, its
uses are sufficiently known, and are very great.

HRUB, native of warmer countries, but

8 19, Our ae _It is of a singular ap-
_Tt does not grow to more than ten or
igh ; the wood is brittle, and the hark
ee ‘he leaves are long and very beautiful,
each ts of a great many pairs of smaller

FAMILY HERBAL. 331

leaves, with an odd one at the end ; thege-are singly,
oblong, and of a dark green, and serrated at the
edges. The flowers are white ; they grow in very
large, thick, and long clusters, and are succeeded by |
flat seeds, hairy and roundish, and of an austere
astringent taste. There are several other kinds of
sumach in the gardens of curious people, some of
them much more beautiful, but this is the kind that
is to be preferred for its medicinal virtues. ;
The seeds, dried and powdered, stop purgings, -
and the overflowings of the menses. The fresh
tops have also great eifect in strengthening the sto«
_ mach and bewels ; they are best taken in infusion,
The bark of the root has the same virtue ; but the
seeds haye itin the greatest degree, |

e.

‘Swaniewowone: Asclepias. .

A COMMON plant in gardens, but native “of
the warmer climates, It is two feet high. The
stalks are round, slender, of a dark colour, and
jointed ; the leaves are large and longish, and of
at green; they stand two at each’ joint. -’The
flowers are small te white, and each is succeeded
by two pods qenitiog sahacinanaetd the root is fibrous
and spreading.

‘The root is used; an infusion “ok it fresh is good
agaiust the jaundice; it works by urine and opens
obstructions, Dried and given in powder, it ope-
rates a sweat, and is goes in feree:

f Eee
. The TACAMAHAC Tare, Tacamahaca.

| ay LARGE and beantifol tree, native of nae
East, and of America, It is fifty or sixty feet —

332 FAMILY HERBAL. |

high. The bark is brown on the trunk, and grey-
ish on the branches, The leaves are large and
longish, sharp-pointed, and dentated at the edges ;
they are of a dusky green on the upper side, and
brownish underneath. The flowers: are incon-
siderable and yellowish.. The fruit is small and
round. The buds of the tree are very fragrant ;
2. brown kind of resin issues from them, which
‘ticks to the fingers, and this has that pleasant
smell,

We use no part of the tree, but a resin which is
produced from it. The druggists keep this. It is
brown ; some of it is in grains, and» some in a
mass. It is used only externally ; a plaister made
of it, spread on leather, is applied to the fore-
head against the head-ach; and to the navel in
_hysteric cases, ‘but it does not seem to have much.

efficacy. eee

%.

2

The Tamariyp Tree. Tamarindus. —

AVERY pretty tree, native both of the East
and West Indies, and kept in many of our gardens.
The trunk is covered with a pale coloured rough
bark; the branches with a smoother. ‘Fhe leaves.
are each composed of a great many pairs of smaller,
sed on a common rib, with no odd one at the

end. — They are small, oval, — and of a pale or

FAMILY HERBAL, 333

and excellent purge ; it worksalso by urine. It is
good in the jaundice. The pulp is useful also to
cool the mouth, and quench thirst in fevers. It is
not much used singly as a purge. | ne

Tamarisk. Tamariscus- rear ti

A LITTLE tree, frequent wild in France, and
kept in our gardens: it grows, however, much
larger in its native climate than here. The bark
is brown on the trunk, and paler onthe branches,
and the young shoots are red and very slender.
The leaves are very beautiful ; they are of a fine
bright green, delicately divided into small parts,
and regular. The flowers are very small and red ;
but they stand in spikes, and very close together;
and as four or five of these spikes also often: stand
together, they are very conspicuous; the seeds are
sinajl, and lodged in a downy substance.

The bark is used dried, and the tops of the
oranches fresh ; both have the same virtue; the
one is best in decoction, the other in a light in-
fusion, made in the manner of tea. Either is good
to open obstructions. They promote the menses,
are good in the jaundice, ‘and it is said against the
rickets. }

Tansy. Tanacetum.

A COMMON plant in our gardens. It is a
yard high: the stalks are round, firm, upright,
and of a pale green; the leaves are large, oblong,
broad, and very beautifully formed ; they are each
comprsed of several pairs of smaller, set on each
side of a common rib, with an odd leaf at the end,
These are narrow, long, pointed, and serrated at
theedges. The flowers stand in large clusters at

_ foots, but more beautiful.

334 FAMILY HERBAL,

the’ tops of the stalks, anid. they are roundish,
yellow, and naked. The reot isa cluster- of
large creeping fibres, ‘The whole ene _ a
strong smell.

The leaves are to ss used fresh “enthierelle a
strong infusion of them opens - obstructions ; it
works powerfully by urine, and gently promotes
the menses. The flowers dried,» powdered, and
mixed with treacle, are a common medicine for
worms, and they visibly satan them.

Winp Tansy. Argentina

ee COMMON wild plant about our way aides!
and. a great ornament to them. It rises to no
height. . The stalks creep upon the ground, and
take root at the joints ; but it is easily distinguish-
ed by its silvery leaves and. yellow flowers... The
stalks are round: and. eka The leaves rise’
from these; they are very” large, and each com-—
posed of a great. many pair of smaller set on both _
of oe =. rib, with an»odd one at the
end... are of the shape, and much of the
| size ak _ _ sete of tansy ; and the smaller leaves
_of which they are composed, are oblong, narrow,
‘and serrated ; but they are of a most beautiful
colour; a fine silvery green on the upper side,
and a perfect silvery white on the under. The
flowers ,stand on short foot stalks, and are large
aad yellow, ‘somewhat like the flowers of the crow-

‘he leaves are used ; a strong vaskniesial: ‘elon
with sucess against the bleeding: of the
nd. b —

ed a a little with honey, Stet is: “excelleitt
at oF bem omen, use it als to take

FAMILY HERBAL, 335
TARRAGON. Dracunculus.

A COMMON plant im our: eerdane ss it is two
feet high. The stalk is round, upright, firm,
and green ; the leaves are very numerous, and
stand irregularly. ‘They are longish and very
narrow, and of a deep green colour ; the flowers
are little and greenish, in form like those of
wormwood : they stand in spikes at the tops of
the stalks. The whole plant has a strong smell,
somewhat like fennel.

An infusion of the’ fresh tops virile by urine,
and gently promotes the menses.

ick: Thea.

A SHRUB, native of the East, ed chicriktiea
there with great care. It is six or seven fect high;
the branches are slender ; the leaves are numcrous,
oblong, serrated round the edges, and sharp point-
ed. The flowers are as big as orange flowers,

and white ; they stand in a very small cup: the
fruit is dry,” and of the ——— th nat, contain-
_ ing one, two, or three cells.

All the kinds of tea are the’ Jeaves of this sbetibis aa
they only differ as they are gathered in different
states : the buhea teais gathered when the leaves
are in the bud, and more heat ‘is used in drying
it. The several sorts of green are got from the
young shoots or older branches, in spring, in sum-
mer, or in autumn, and dried with. different de-
grees of care, according to their value.

-Good green tea, drank moderately, strengthens
the stomach, and ‘assists digestion ; it is good

inst sicknesses, and will prevent the colic: but
sa bad tea is drank, anda great deal of it,

— is wore pernicious, Bohea tea is more’

336 =FAMILY HERBAN,

astringent, and it is restorative and strengthening ; _
this should be drank with cream, but with only
@ moderate quantity of sugar.

Teazire. Dipsacus sylvestris.

A TALL and stately plant, common by road
sides, with large burr-like heads, and little red
flowers growing out of them. It is six feet high:
the stalk is single, thick, white, and very strong,
The leaves grow two together, encompassing. the
stalk at their basc, and makea hollow there which
will bold. water : they are prickly on the under
part along the rib. The heads are as big as an
apple, and somewhat oblong : they are of a pale
colour. The rootis long.

The root is used ; it is bitter, and given in
infusion, strengthens the stomach and. creates. an
appetite. Itis also good against obstructions of
the liver, and the jaundice ; people have an opinion
of the water that stands in the hollow of the leaves

—— to take away freckles.

re is another kind of teazle, called the ma-
nured teazle. The heads are used in dressing of
cloth ; the virtues. are the same, and abe silies

: bse little i in their epaeteh form. -

“Burssep fare Carduus benedictus.

a =e Hee Sgn ere and. at present
__- Rot altogether neglected. It is a native of the
_ Warmer countries, and is raised with us in gardens.
a the stalk is reddish, slender,

3 very much branched, and searce able
ht under the weight of leaves and
leaves are long, narrow, cut in ow
4 ‘a —e ‘The flow-:

FAMILY HERBAL. » 33T

ers are yellow ; they: stand ina kindof: green leafy
heads: the little leaves composing these heads
are prickly; and each of the cups-of; the flowers.
ends ina long brown spine, dented on both sides,

{t ts a bitter and stomachic. Am infusion of-it,
taken in large quantities, will excite vomiting :
in smaller draughts, it is good to create an appe-
tite, and prevents sicknesses and reachings. The
leaves, dried and powdered, are good against worms.
It was at one time supposed to possess very great.
virtues against fevers of all kinds: but that is
now disregarded. tEAM, GRBs ROS Be aes

Min Tatsties. Carduus.marie.. ...

A VERY beautiful plant, common by road-
sides, but wanting only to have-been a native of
Greece; or the Indies, to be esteemed one of the
most elegant vegetables in the world. The leaves
rising from the root are two feet long, and more
than a foot broad, of a he SEMI Nat varie-—

ited’ all over with irregular lines of a milk white,
dentated leeply at dtveedges;- and prickly. They
spread themselves into a round of more than a yard
diameter, and when'they grow out of the way of
dust, make a most charming appearance. A single
stalk rises in the midst of these. It is five feet

338 “FAMILY HERBAL.

nating in a single and very strong prickle : the roct

is lung and thick ; the seeds are winged with down.
_ ~ The root and seeds are used. ‘An infusion of
_ the fresh root temoves obstructions, and works by

urine ; it is good against the jaundice. The seeds
beaten up into an emulsion with barley-water are
good in pleurisies: The young leaves with the
‘prickles cut off, are excellent boiled in the way of
cabbage; they are very wholesome, and exceed all
sere hee in taste. i

oy a he are

hee ‘Tnows Aveie. “Stramonivm,

oe VERY peautifal atu ‘native of warmer
‘climates, but frequent i in our gardens ; we some-
ter -s meet with’ it, As it” is s called, sitet but it isno

- oP A fight green ;
d of a pretty appearance,
1. The flowers are very large,
they at hollow, and long 5 open, and
at the ; f ruit is as big as 2
with prickles ; ; the

hite, and- of an n ill

FAMILY HERBAL. $39

Goats’ eng “Tresicantha..

A LITTTE white looking prickly shrub, native
of the East, but kept in our gardens. — Tt ‘is. not
above two or three feet high, ‘very spreading,
full of branches. The stem is of a tough aie very
firm substance, covered with a whitish rough bark :

che: we as tough, and the bark is pale

_ but smoother. The leaves are long and, narrow ;
they are. eal eorkiponkd of a great many pairs of

smaller set on a middle rib, which is continued

into a thorn, and when these leaves fall off, remains

a white thorn of that Iength. The flowers are-
white and small; they are of the shape of a pea
blossom, but flatter 5 the) nits which follow are

short and flat. —

No part of the Gente itielf ts ised: Bue} we aes
a gum produced by it, and called by its name in
the shops ;. this is what they also call gum dragant ;

it is white and tough, and is in long twisted — vieces 5

2 ages of the sank int “a 1ea

he Fateble, but. it is pee cme st
‘is very pre eases ate? -— sobatios © is not
3 opie |
| Twonovenwax. Perfoliata. ep

a VERY. beanttel aid: plant. among’ sie *

: : corn, distinguished. by the stalk growing through

- round, firm, upright, whitish, and toward the top
—. divided into some branches. The leaves are broad

the leaves. It is three feet. hig The stalk is © :

S40 FAMILY HERBAL.

. bottom, for they have no foot-stalks, and they sur~
round it in their largest part, ending in a blunt:
point. They are ofa bluish green colour, and
not dented at the edges. The flowers are little and
yellow,.they stand in clusters, or a kmd of umbels
at the tops of the branches, with a parcel of small —
leaves placed under them. The root is white, oblong, —
and slender.

The leaves are used by the country people
against wounds and bruises externally, the seeds are
ae sscsabaa to prevent the ill effects of internal

urts,. 3

- i Pere, Theiss.

A COMMON plant in our ‘itehed scalaiabe :
with hard and woody stalks, small leaves, and pale
red flowers. The height is eight or ten inches;
the branches are numerous. The- leaves stand two
at each oint,, and are of a dusky green; the flow-

: din akind of short. Sikes ot ile taps
ofthe stalks ; the whole plant hasa strong smell,
and an aromatic taste.

_ A tea made of the fresh tops of thyme, is good
_ Inasthmas, and stuffings of the lungs: it is recom- _
_ mended against nervouscomplaints; but for this

pose the wild thyme, called mother of thyme, is
preferable. There is anoil made from thyme that
the tooth-ach, a drop or two of it being put
int, ang Sy ped Landen Bog is com-

FAMILY ‘HERBAL, | 341

on dry banks, and isa foot and half high. The stalk
is round and thick, firm, upright, a single, The
leaves stand irregularly ; they are oblong, narrow,
smooth, not denied at the edges, and Pointed at
the ends : the flowers stand in a short ai id thick
spike; they are large, and many of them‘are gene-
rally open together ; they have a spur bebind, and Z
their forepart is of two yellows, a darker i in the ‘mid~ =
dle, and a paler oneach side. _ =
The tops are used fresh gathered, or the white
herb dried. An infusion of them is excellent —
against the jaondiee. and all inward obstructions ; ri:
it gently promotes the menses, and works by urine.
A fine cooling ointment is made by boiling the fresh
plant chopped to pieces in lard, tillit be crisp ; the
colour. _ to be seained. of, aid is of 3 a fine green
_ golour. reat H i

Tos Acco. | Nicotiana.

ATALL and beautiful ae native of the West .
Indies, but kept in our gardens. It is five feet
high ; the stalk is round, thick, upright, single and
a little hairy. - Ithas aclammy dampness abot
by which it Sticks to the hands in touch 2
leaves are very large, oblong, and pointed at the”
euds. ‘They are ofadusky grea colour, and feel
also clammy like the stalk. The flowers are red
and large; they are long, hollow, and open at the
mouth. The seed-yessel is oval, and Abe seeds are.
stnall. : a
The leaves are eed: ‘fresh or “aned. oni slight
infusion of them fresh gathered is a powerful
yomit; it is apt to work too rou
stitations that will bear it, is a good medicine
against rheumatic pains. An ointment made of te SS
real 9 ones awit lard, is good against hod. inflam-

ly, but for con- ne

aie FAMILY HERBAL

mation of the piles, the distilled oil is sometimes
‘dropped on cotton to cure the tooth-ach, applying
it to the tooth ; the powder kills all kinds of vermin.
As to the custom of chewing and taking it as snuff,
little can be said for them, from practice, and no-
thing from reason: nor much for smoking. If
these customs had any good tendency, i it would be
taken off by the constant practice.
There is a lesser, pteener kind of tobacco, calied
? Eoghan! tobacco. It has the same virtues-with
the other, but in a more remiss degree. The leaves
ee — ‘sold for those of the other.

TToraestne. Torvaentitia. 56

7 oa VERY ‘common and plant. but very. pretty,
ed of great yirtne. The. stalks are eight. ipehes
ee but they don’t stand upright, he

= at tl ‘serrated at the ‘edges, a
: ref a deo enes “The flowers are small, but of a
beautiful shining yellow: they grow on slender

foot-stalks, and-are of the shape and’ colour of the

= deme Rowen, ony | more beautiful ; and much
Se - Jarge, ae and gay

FAMILY HE BAL. 2s

coction ig therefore’ very setvici able fevers, vat-
tended with purgings.. It checks this moder ately,
andi is ve ecrpad the fever at the same time,

Tree oF Le, “Arbor vite.

ravi SMALL ees of integolar growth,’ anata
of merica, but common in our gardens, ‘The
a rough tas bark > the
ae ee irregular ; the yo
: | nd a leaves. a them oe —
flat and of a scaly texture ; they are of a bright
green, narrow, and somewhat like the leaves of
cyprus, only not prickly; the flowers are whitish, —
small, and iuconsiderable : they stand towards the
_ tops of the branches. The whole tree has a strong
~ and not agrecable smell, at brnet: into one’ 8 mind
old bad cheese.
The young shoots, and: sbpe of the bidnchar are
used fresh. An infusion of them is good against
| . s oft 3, but it must be slight, and —

544 FAMILY HERBAL.

they are of a purple colour, and stand atthe tops of
the branches. The fruit is a large pod. —

The only substance we owe to this tree, is what
we commonly call gum anime, but that is a very ill
name, it is properly a resin. It is whitish, brittle,
and very fragrant. We sometimes also see at the
druggists a greenish, brownish, or reddish resin,
called gum anime; this comes from the East, and
is what was originally known by that name ; but
at present the other only is used. It is a fine bal-
sam, good in consumptions, and against the whites
and it is put into some ointments, for old Eas
with great atsmatige.

Trevor. . ZF } -foltum Purpureum, 2h

A COMMON wild plant in our meadows. It
Scigitiaches ie the sta d not

a colour, a little airy, aa have gene-
rally a eae spot in the center of cach. The
leaves on the stalks, are of the same form, but little :
the flowers stand at the tops, in a kind of short,
: ey spikes ; pier tne sma — red, = are end

FAMILYHERBAT,. 34.

the root, and are long, broad, pointed at the
ends, not dented at the edges, and of a very deep
grecn colour. On other parts of the root stand
the stalks, which bear the flowers ; these are @
foot high, and of the thickness of a goose quill.
They have only a kind of films instead of leaves ; ae
the flowers stand in short thick spikes, and are.
of a red colour, longish and slender; they look
very pretty in the spike, but do not last Jong >
the root is oblong, thick, and of an irregu abe
figure, whitish on the outside, and of a deep
yellow within ; it. creeps under the surface of the
ground.

Our druggists keep these roots ‘dry, Whey aré
: good against the jaundice ; they open all pi eared
tions, and prone the menses, and work by
urine, me , ee ee es,

TuRPETH. dharpethn.

A PLANT of the bind-weed kind, native of
: It gro ibe Seale tet length,

et

white, and large} they ver) h
peor of the common Fo aoe

by our ir deuggists : ae : 4 seat
= a ite. but

#6 FAMILY HERBAL:
- The Turnip. pe stack 4

A PLANT too common in our. gardens to re-
quire a curious description. The root is round
and white, or purplish. - The leaves are large,
long, rough, and of a deep green; they are deep-
-ly cut at the edges, and large aud round at’ the
ends: the stalks are a yard high, round, smooth,
firm, upright, and branched ; the leaves on them
are small and smooth ; the flowers are little and
yellow, and they stand in a kind of long spikes ;
they are followed by long pods. |
' The roots are so frequently eaten, that few
would think of their possessing any medicinal
virtues, but being cut into slices, and stewed with
sugar ; till their juice with the sugar, -becomes
@ syrup ; — is a vats er bent tase against
a Peo

: LL tree é the East, hae 6 is Serediva ; 7
“Swe have it in gardens, but it never arises to any
: Eres height here. The bark is brown and rough :
e branches are numerous and stand irregularly ;
_ the leaves are each composed of a double row
of smaller set on a common rib, with an odd
one at the end. These are oval, and of a deep
shin} —, “The flowers are small and pur-
; form of clusters of ro
ves; the fruit is long, but with a
inous taste. The whole shir

FAMILY HERBAL. 347

cine; it works by urine, and is an universal bal-
sam. It is good i in coughs and all other disorders
of the lungs; and it stops the whites, and the
weaknesses after venereal complaints.
There are several other. kinds of turpentine § in
use in the shops produced from the different trees ;
the Venice turpentine is from the larch tree ; the
Strasburg turpentine from the yew-leaved ‘fir;
_and the common_ turpentine. from the wild pine.
They all have been mentioned already, under
‘the names of the several trees which produce
them ; bot this is the finest kind. What is called
Cyprus turpentine is obtained from the same tree
with the Chio turpentine, the right turpentine tree,
but it is coarser and. PLONE Shueawise bes same
with the Chio. hk Seas Ve = pts

Worsiee Androsemum.

A VERY singular and beautiful lant, and of
great virtues. It grows in our wo , and under
hedges, | but. oat: yery common : cs is = kept is in eae
2] ns. It grows two fect in height. The |
stalks are firm and smooth, oe 2 reddish colour
tolerably upright, and not at all. benched, ex-
cept for some young shoots near the top. The
leaves stand two at each joint, opposite to one
another, and at no great distance ; they are very
large, and of a shapeapproaching to oval. - Their
colour is a brownish green ; they are. smooth and
not serrated at the edges. The flowers are not
_yery large, but of a beautiful yellow ; they re-
semble those of St. John’s wort, and are like them
full of yellow threads, which, when rubbed, stain
the hands red. The fruit isa kind of. berry,

& black when ae me containing a great. quan-

3 ti Bee small seeds. The whole os in autar

343 - FAMILY HERBAL oe

frequently appears of a blood red colour, very
singulat and beautiful. The root is small, red~
dish, and irregular ; it creeps under the surface.
The leaves are an excellent cure for fresh
wounds. Scarce any thing is equal to them. The
young and tender ones at the tops of the branches
are to be chosen ; they are to be bound upon the—
wound, and they stop the bleeding and perform
avery speedy cure. I have had very late and
very singular instances of the effects of this herb.
Many of the common plants are celebrated for
this J ia but the effect of this is EDA:

seg

Bi Bs Tw Brape. Bifolium. Be coh

se ERY singular. and pretty plant, common,
in our meadows in the beginning of summer,
It is a foot high; the stalk is round, green,
tender, and upright; ‘it has only two leaves” on it, |
: i they grow from the root. They are eiaka
‘ge, broad, of an oval figure, and stand op
ite to one another, about the middle of the Halk
or soewbat Tower. The flowers are small and
; ; they are of an uncommon figure, some
? inet of the orchis, and they stand in ~
; the seeds are ery anal: end. the
slender, and white...

FAMILY HERBAL = $19

mountainous parts of Tialy, and common in our.
gardens. It is three feet high. ‘he stalk is
upright, round, striated, and hollow. ‘The leaves
which grow from the root, are long and somewhat
broad ; some of these are divided deeply on e€ ch J
side, others are entire; all have a broad and ro
end. Those on the stalks are smaller, and 1
are all deeply divided. The flowers stand in’

ree tufts, | in the form of umbels, at the tops”
of the “stalks and branches ; they are small and~
white. >The root is long, ‘irregular, ‘and mode-
rately thick; it creeps under the surface of
the ground, ‘and has a strong smell ; ; its colour is.
brown, and it is full of fibres.

This root is used dry ; the dogatsle call it phu: .
it is good in fevers and suppressions of the menses,
for it is diaporetic, and good against — all obstruc-_ :
tions. It works also by urine, and it is warm up-—
on the stomach, and good against et of the —

ner Ves.

¥

LD Va Bastin f

Yate tn sale

wands and upon heaths, ie unlike the”
valerian in its form and manner of growth, and
of greater virtues. Hit: 198 yard high. ~ The”
stalks are round, striated, upright, hollow, and
of a pale green. The leaves are large and beauti- —
ful ; they are each composed of several pairs of
smaller set on a common rib, and with an odd ©
one at the end. These are long, narrow, den-
- tated at the edges, of a faint green colour, and
a little hairy. The flowers stand in ie tufts
like umbels at the tops of the stalks, and are
small and white with a blush | of reddish, The :

ada a — sith and is

350 FAMILY HERBAT)- ~ °°

agteat many thick fibres. It isofa ery siren
and disagreeable smell.

“The root is used ; it is best dried. and: given in
powder, orin infusion, It is an excellent medicine
in nervous disorders. It is said that it will cure
the falling sickness, but its good effects against head-
achs, low-spiritedness, and tremblings of of ne limbs,
are well known,

_ ‘The VaniLta Pranr. Vanilla.

- ACLIMBING plant, native of America. It
gtows to thirty feet or more in length, but the
stalk is slender and weak, and climbs upon trees te
support it. It is round, ‘striated, green, and tough.
‘Phe leaves are numerous and placed gobi ;

“shall Fi —— aa

_ * "This pod is the part eed: ; it is a cordial and
storative ; it opens obstructions, and promotes the
en it opers es by urine, and by sweat, but itis

a wrinkled and PabieN surface. “the: flow
white, with a tinge of purplish: there
spike of their buds, and of the remain
but only two or three flowers are open at atime.

' The fresh gathered tops are used; an infusion
of them i od against obstructions of the liver and
; warm upon the stomach, and a
us sa te it Re remove | nervous com ES

he WEAK pane too 0 fariilia r
* géell afbch description. The trunk is covere
a rough bark; the branches are long, and
strageling ; the leaves are roundish in the Whole.
figure, but indented deeply into five or seven di_

ions, the lower are inconsiderable : the fruit

ith us; but not to mention the several kinds ae
wine that are useful on different occasions, the
dried fruit in ‘the form of what we call raisir eae
currants, is in constant repute. Raisins of the SLO, <
Malaga raisins, and currants all have the same vir —
tiie; they are good in el and soreness of the
lungs, and in consumptions. — 3 5
| ‘Vinegar is alsoa product ¢
a wine become sou » and

-

fthe very best kids

te} WH PORE BR ER ee:
353 FAMILY HERBAL.

a 4 hy Pe ee
ones to ate ‘gtape, more ais rae ne as

tat '55 RST,

MABE t iy ts

nb TSN fiddwpineapo-aun: yo dod-osis
SiR, $k WOVE 4h

a Gare pes oy ‘ohio Ph fab ait taal

“A Sere ren ld. plant in “our, woods’ “and
path but of a at ae superior “to all that
awe.teccive from the rich East. _It.is a Title, low,

stalks are round, green, | “and, creeping ; they “do
not rise up, > but spread themselves along t pile gro nd,

u

; e from

‘ these rooted Baie: : they, an »darge. and shed each
ey are ‘of a heart- like

he edg:

om flowers are one Pee an

soe te. ay ata I i AS

eet to each. ci mt 4k is ‘to
“be na over the fire; this. bis ob of
Violets,, an excellent , gentle ree for’ en,
at leaves, are dried. Iso, ee iB te re “used ‘in the
aor tions for .c c hes An infusion o of then work 2

ay 20538
; face et ‘eher eis tix bow ae Sidingerk avaiays

= a

680

agi ot Sh § has fbidgicie® Fit

FAMILY HERBAL, | 353

pale green, sharp pointed, and not dentated at the
edges. Those from the-rovot are long and norrow
also, but they are considerably larger. The flow-
ers grow at the top of the branches ; they are
large like dandelion flowers in shape, andof a
most beautiful pale yellow ; the seed has’a white
down annexed to it. The root is long, thick,
and brown. gui $32 (acy af
The root is the part nsed, and it is best fresh
taken up.. It is given in infusion, and it is cor-.
dial, and operates by sweat ; it is good in fevers,
but little used. | a sin

. Virer’s Buetoss. Echium,

A COMMON wild plant, about our,path ways,
and on ditch-banks, known by its spotted stal
and fine blue flowers. It isa foot and half high ;~
the stalk is round, thick, firm, hairy, and upright ;
it is of a whitish, colour stained with spots and
lines of blue, red, and purple. The leaves are.
longish and narrow; they are rough, and of a
deep dusky green, broad and blunt at the point,
and have no foot stalks. The flowers are large,
and of a beautiful blue, with a red stamina in
the middle. Pee YK ae :
The leaves are used; those growing from the
root are best; an infusion of them is cordial,
and operates by sweat ; it is good in fevers, and
against head-achs, and all nervous complaints

The Vircinsan Snakeroot Prant. Serpenta-
ria Virginiana.

A LITTLE plant of the birthwort kind, but
different from the several sorts of that plant, des-
cribed already in their places, in its roots, and

@

35k FAMILY HERBAL.)

in-its)manner of growing... It.is., two, feet high,
when. it’) grows.in a favourable. soil, and. has,
bushes or any thing else to support it... The stalks.
are weak and green ;.the leaves cand irregularly,
on them,-and they are oblong, narrow, and auri-.
culated at. the otaiats The flowers are small,
hollow, and of a deep dusky, purplish colour.
The root is composed ofa vast quantity. of strin
which are of ‘a dusky olive colour, and o
strong ‘smell and aromatic taste. The roots of
this plant were the. first that came into use, under.
the: name of Virginian snakeroot, but there: are
upon the spot two other plants of the same kind,
though different species; which have thiready roots
_ Of the same form, and they are indifferently taken
wp for ‘use ; they all seem to -haye the same yir-
“$0 that there is no harm in. the. mixtures
al sometimes another root. mixed) among:
them ;: but: that is easily disti ed; for, it is:
black, and these are all of the same. dusky olive.
colour.» This last adulteration. should be avoided.
» The Virginian snakeroot isan excellent medi-
cine in fevers ; it operates by urine and by.. sweat,
and will: often. take off inveterate <head-achs: ~
It: is also-given by some as. a. remedy -against
worms ; and it was originally famous against. the
of the raitle-snake, and was.a remedy we
learnt from ‘the: Indians. It is. good | againat:
worms in children, and may be given in, small
doses for a continuance of ‘time. Scarce Bed
thing i is more effectual. i ss 3
2 ie aedyen joer ee e. Ay nb

~The Vomic lon Tere Nur comics.

TALL and spreading troe of the East," very
| tha which affords the wood called ‘suake-
Wood in the: ee eh See eevee? the:

PAMILY HERBAL 355

same with it, but that is an error: the: kernels of:
the fruit of that tree, ate indeed» of the shape
of the yémic hats, but they are not half so big.
The tree is large and spreading: the branches
até numerous, ‘arid the leaves are large they stand
in pairs’ ‘opp osité th ohe another’; and are

he ést iu Phe middle; and rounded or blant at
the etd; ‘and’ ‘of a very bitter’ taste; the flowers
are small, and stand id ‘clusters at certain parts
of the young branches: the’ fruit is of the. big-
ties Gf ani apple, and is yellow when ripe. The
Kernels in this are what we' call-nux vomica ;
- there are fifteen of them in eich fruit, and they
| Stelodgéd in three divisions. —

These kernels are the only part used ; our drug-
a A them ; they are round, flat, and of a

itish colour, very firm, and tough. bo
have ‘heen used as poison to dogs, cats, and oth
animuls; but there are those who give them ‘to
the burial species, in small doses, without mischief,
and with very good effect. Quartan agues: that
ave. stood Gaiet we the bark, have been =

‘them } but if ciel ‘be pate arge, the

t We have choice tam many tnoliinge
rel ee that it is almost me
ye such as are suspicious. me people
Tuer vaktnred ba give even ratsbane, asa medi-
‘cite, mixed with other things, and in the twenti-
eth part of a grain for a dose ; but reason con-
‘demns this rash way of pi ractice, and et as
: there is Polar A to an orize it.”

eter. tinig aifhorn mt, igs £E 3 ; ope” FF 2

2. : fo fee oh r ; Pee? £4

i ieatbinceat
Wists

The Wa LNUT. tise. Set cat Rar.

yy COMMON tree. 10 our, gardens ; ;. it, grow
to a great bigness, and is yery much, brancl
Jeaves are very large and long ; each is. com>
posed ofa double row of smaller, and has an odd
one at the end. These are each of an oval figure
and stages. green. colour, and of a pleasant
HI. The flowers are littl ; they, are. yellows
ish, anc | arranged | in loose catkins. - ‘The. fruit. is
ec overe with a green thick coat, and has wilh+
in a kernel divided’ into. parts, and of an. sMEENED
surface.
The bark of the walnut tree is.a good.
it may be’ Iven in infusion, or dried and. powders
ed; i cole easily and plentif ully. ski

Eyiwe fF

oe. 6 ils ‘the kernel is good against |

a 1S Sait [2d

| Wart-Frower. si Leucoium, -

A COMMON wild plant, but not. without
peauty ; 3 itis frequent on old walls, and, h as .yel-
low and sweet-sceuted flowers. The. stalks. are.
woody, and a foot and half high ; the caves 08
very numerous, longish, narrow, and of.a dead

green. The flowers stand in- a kin a of ,
the tops of the stalks, and are yellow,
. wey, lates, ‘The sceds are contained

—e wets a nd a in asion of t .
Bi piled a the head-ach, inion So al oft
as: w : ich. : c “i

ey are also good t to steep in oil,
hls a cordial warmth, and make
Lins Neate res | Mat sy: are

“FAMILY RERBAL, = 357
Warer ARRow. Heap. Sagitta aquatica.

A VERY: pretty plant, téthttion twdue ditches,
with leaves like the bearded - heads of arrows,
ind with pretty white ‘flowers. It is two feet
anda half high, but generally” ‘the gteatest 7
of the stalk is “ putied’s in water, very little a
ing above,” except the spike of flowers, — gic
leaves stand each iets a pedicle, which is round,
thick, and very ‘they are of a beautiful
green, and are “ene Th carded at the base,
and sharp at the point; the flowers are white, to+
lerably large, and very bright 5 and the stalk,
aes they are supported, is also round and

ic

-The common people in man gies have a cuss
tom of applying these leaves Guttised to inflamma-
tions ; they cool and give ease, but it is not al-
ways ‘right.

we asee wth aioe — oe

having cot the" tae} resen ce Balti Tet fed
plantain; except in the at from which, how-
ec irdrnattp ketone Pla reat is yo
posed of a great quantity of fibres. From t
there rise in spring a acho of leaves, oblong,
broad, smooth, atid of a beautiful green colour,
and having in shape, though not at all in colour.
or, consistence, same. slight resemblance of plan~
tain: they are perfectly smooth, of a glossy sur-
face, and brittle. ‘These stand for many months
without the stalk ; and doubtless in this state. it.
gor the name. "The. stalk is two feet or more.
ight ; round, firm; and upright ; and at,
the top it sends outa vast number of brane

3B FAMILY HERBAL.

which send ovt other smaller ;’ and’ éventhesd last
are agdin divided. On the tops of the. last di-”
visions stand the flowers’ with their buds, ‘and
the seed-vessels ; se that” the whole ‘has the ap-
pedrance of “a cone. The flowers’ are little and
whito, and consist of three leaves each ; cto
stand | but a ‘litle’ time, and ait a few: te yi:
tézether. .
The ae is the? ‘part eta 7 the: rolbnt is 10° be
suffered to stand, till this is: thoroughily ripe, and
then cut: up gently, and Jaid’ to “dry two’ or
three'days upon a table:)a smart stroke or "two,
will dislodge great; quantity of the seeds; they
‘are very good’ against’ the * overflowmg’ ‘of the
menses, and all other bleedings ; and are” ‘giv-
en in’ ‘powder, in electuarics; “small doses be-
ing’ to be taken ata time, and often’ tepented ‘eine

tenis? Siege o he i aa: ig vaekt’ ii et
Ree-teaven: AW nevepweCenicess | Parongehta
PASEO TIES Os Tite ceeo bag 16 - :
~ _ RBA é A ce F 7a & fa aT? 5

=A COMMON little lint, early i in Spring, on
our walls and houses; and of a very ‘singular ase
ee: it is red,» and has pretty “white:

t is not morethaa four inches: high: 1p the weales
are round, upright, anda little hairy ‘sand they
are covered with an unetuous clamminéss,’ which
makes them stick to the fingers:in “handling. ‘The
leaves are little, and also red; they are ‘each
divided into three parts ‘at the“extremity, in ‘the -
way of fingers : they stand irregularly “on the
‘stalks, and they are thick; fleshy, ‘and “clai
in mies The flowers stand at the tops of
the branche ches ; they are'little, but of 'a very bright

e, and look * very! rt So een te

FAMILY: HERBAL: 355,

. “The fresh. gathered plant ;is |to, be used entire :)
a strong P foston of it. is, a. IRE sweetentr
of the blood. , Itis, excellent, against Ts
in whatever form ; and there) are ic ut oie
curing the. king’ sevil, that seem yery well. attested. .
A. syrup may be made ¢ of its juice, or ofa very's .
infusion of it; or a conserve of. the leaves for:
the dried plant. has. very little. virtue, and. it is.
to. he. dace! ies sia ay Sete eae nile oh; abe
year. - “pemeas Pied s

old eb. etaste ivts

The oora Wausow.. Sulix pews Us te sith
A VERY common tree im. wet places, and thes.

which is used in medicine is the most common of

ali the several kinds of it. /It.is also the largest. .
It grows to bea tall tree : the bark is whitish, and
rough upon the trunk, and grey upon the branches ;
the jeayes are oblong, narrow, and whitish, es=
pecially oa the under side: they stand irregularly
on the branches, and are a little serrated at the
s, and pointed at the: ends. The flowers are

- together, in» jehathsate<celedsjenthiot .\oci jnee
The seeds arc small ; they stand seereeeguciatoan
mixed with fine white down, i

The bark of. the branches is uxod, Pe

dried ; it-is good against purgings, and the over-
flowings. of the menses, and is. most inlet ee

sivenan Abie phall « dram for: dose...
| “Wavren Gneex. Pyrota. ae ie “tow a

“AN EXTR EMELY pier plant, aide in some
parts of England, but not common. The. stalk. is
round, thick, upright, and. ten inches, high. The
leaves. alli grow from the root, renee “ig nana,

350 FAMILY HERBAL.

they are broad, roundish, and of a deepgreen colour ;
they are of a fleshy substance, and stand each on -
a separate foot-stalk ef three or four inches
‘The flowers are small, and of a, very bright. white ;
they stand in a kind of loose spike on the tons of
the stalks. The root is composed ofa quantity. of
thick whitish ‘fibres.

. The leaves are used. A decoction of them with
a piece of cinnamon, and a hittle red wine, is giver
against the overflowings of the menses, bloody stools,
and all hemorrhages, and against ulcers in the

urinary passages, and bloody urine.
eis | Woap. Giastum.

A perry: cultivated in fields, in many Hae
of England, for the use of ihe d and com--
monly met with in places near ines sitet it was
sown, as if a wild plant; but it isnot properly a
nativeof our country. It is a tall, erect, and hand-
some piant ; the stalk is round, thick, firm, upright,
saad foo feet high ; but itis usually so eovered
with the leaves, that scarce any part of it is to be
seen naked. The leaves are long and of a consider-—
able breadth. They are large atthe base, where
they grow to the stalk, without any foot-stalks;
and narrower all the way to the point. They are
ofabluish green colour, and the whole plant is
covered with them, so the top has a pretty aspect.
The flowers are little and yellow; they stand ia
gtcat numbers about the tops of the stalks, which
are divided into a multitude of small branches;
and they are succeeded by small seed vessels. "a
pg roel long and thick. | 5

Although the dyers are the people le who pay

: moti regard to woad, and for whose use it is cule
: —_—_eees that Bement 5t a great’

“RAMEY HERBAL 26

- deabofrespectin medicine: The top or the’ stalks,
« before the flowers appear, ‘contain the’ ‘teatest’vir-

tue, and they are best'fresh. "They aré to given in
infusion, and they are excelent against obstructions
of: the liver “and spleen 3*they work: by urine, ‘and
‘sotake effect; the use of: this infusion’ mast be

continued a pdnaiielsile time :’ these are disorders |

that come on: aeons; fend’ are to tar ‘slowly 1 re:
jee a es

fittiis : a am i this) % se Bia

| Wooprurrs. “Asperta.

rm COMMON little wild plant, in our seeds

and thickets: it is ten inches high. The stalk
is square, slender, weak, and not able to support |
itself perfectly upright. The'leaves stand several
at each joint,encompassing the stalk in’ the man-
ner of astar ; they are oblong, broad, and of a
-deep green, Intheir form and manner of growth
they much resemble those of common cleavers, .
but they are larger, though the plant is. so much
‘less, and they are not rough as in that plant; but
nearly. smooth. »< The - flowers stand at the tops

_ of the stalks in dittle clusters; they are small and
-white j-the seeds stand two together i in a —
form, |The-roots‘are little and fibrous.
_.'Bhe fresh herb is used, and is best given in a
_strong decoction; it opens obstructions of the
liver.and spleen, and is a cordial, and Pagid
_Ituis press in the jaundice. —

Pe er.
wR r? >

: The ai nk waielie Pi ksee Absinthium santonicumn.

Li KIND of “Warmantealts native of dies ache
_and not known so much as in our: gardens. The
: ee is two feet et ee ‘The leaves are ayy finer

ae re

ee a eB Pig.

362 FAMILY HERBAL.

Ty divided, Itke those of the true Roman worm:
wood, and of a pale green onthe upper side, and
a silvery white below. The stalks are stiff, firm,
woody, ahd branched; they are of a whitish
colour, and have a loose downy skin upon them :
the flowers are small and. brownish ; they resem-
ble those of wormwood, and stand in a kind of
loose spikes atthe tops of the stalks. © >
The seeds are used : our druggists keep them ;
and very often the unripe buds of the flowers i
their place, are mixed with them. They are gond.
against worms in children ; the good women give |
them mixed with treacle: and few medicmes
for this purpose have better effect. For people
of nicer palates, they may be powdered, and made
into boluses Ss

iy a
Fee

_Treacte Wormseep. Camelina.

' THIS is not the plant which produces what

the druggists sell under the name of wormseed ;
that is the produce of an Egyptian. kind of
wormwood, just. described. This is an English
herb of the podded kind, and very distinct in its
whole appearance from that, and all of its sort.

It is two feet high. The stalks are round, up-

right, firm, and toward the top divided into
branches; the leaves are very numerous,
stand irregularly. They are longish, narrow,
pointed at the ends, not at all dented at the edges,
and of a dusky green colour. The flowers are |
_iittle and. yellow ; they stand in small clusters at
the tops of the branches, and under them is a kind
ike of pods ; these are long and slender,
first, but of a kind of brown colour when
bd in cach is a great number of seeds;

FAMILY HERBAL. 363

these are round, small, and of an extremely bit-
ter taste, much more bitter than the common
wormseed. aes

This seed isthe part used. The good women
bruise it, and mixing it with treacle, give it to
the chikiren of robust constitutions against worms.
It operates powerfully, by stool, and, if given in
too large a quantity by vomit. It is therefore
to he used with discretion ; but it will answer the
_ purpose, and is preferable, for many reasons, to
those mercurial medicines, which it is the fashion
of the times to give to people for those disorders ;.
especially in the country, where there seldom is
skill enough in the practitioner to manage, as he
ought, medicines, which may be the occasion of
so much mischief.

Common Wormwoop. Absynthium vulgare.

A WILD plant frequent by way sides, and on ~
ditch-banks. itis ayard high. The stalks are -
round, striated, white, firm, andbrauched. The ©
eaves are iarge, but they are divided into a great _
‘number of small parts. They are of a pale whit-
ish green, and stand irregularly on the stalks ;
many larger, but of the same kind, rise from the
root. The flowers stand in a kind of loose spikes
at the tops of the stalks; they are small and
brown. The whole: plant is of a very bitter
taste.

The tops of the plant are to be used fresh gather-
ed; a very slight infusion of them is excellent for
all disorders of the stomach, and will prevent

sickness after meals, and create an appetite ; but
if it be made strong, it will not only be disagree-
able to the taste, but will disgust the stomach.

The tops with the fowers on them dried and

364 FAMILY HERBAL.

powdered, are good against agues, and have the
same virtue with wormsced in killing worms ;
indeed they are much better than the wormseed
that is commonly to be met with, which is gene-
rally too much decayed. The juice of the large
jeaves of wormwood, which grow from the root
before the stalk appears, is good against the dropsy
and jaundice, for ii opens obstructions, and works
BY urine powerfully.

~ Sea “Wormwoop. een seriphium,

A PLANT common in our salt-marshes, ‘and
about ditches, where salt water comes. It has
_ somewhat the aspect of wormwood, but the leaves
are much narrower in the divisions, and the whole
plant is smaller. The stalks are woody, firm, up-
right, very much branched, and a foot and a half —
high. The leaves are whitish and small. The flow-
_ ers stand in loose spikes at the tops of the stalks ;
_ they are little and brown; and they very much,
resemble those of the common wormwood, except
for the size. The whole plant has a bitter taste
but not disagreeable, and it has a pleasant aroma-.
tic smell.
* The tops fresh gathered, and the whole plant
dry, are used. They cull it Roman wormwood
at the markets and in the shops; and it is used
for the other: it has the same gencral virtues.
All the three kinds indeed possess them in com-
mon ; but the common wermwood is the most dis-
‘agreeable to the taste, and sits worst upon the

“Stomach : this is better than that, but itis much
-Thore” aps aad than the true Roman. worm-

i. It isvery strengthening to the stomach ;

it assists digestion, and prevents wind. [tis com-
. ewciy 80 igredieat in the bitter infusions, and

FAMILY HERBAL: 365

tinctures of the shops, but it does very well alone ;
boiling water poured upon it, and suffered to
stand till it is cold. then strained off, is an excel-
lent medicine to cause an appetite. Putinto white
wine, it also gives a pleasant bitter flavour, with
the same virtues. fess

Roman Wormwoon. Absynthinm Romanum,

A VERY delicate plant of the wormwood kind,
native of the warmer parts of Europe, but kept
in Our gardens. It is two feet and a half high ;

the stalk is round, smooth, hard, upright, of

a browish colour, and somewhat woody. The

_ leaves stand irregularly on it, and they are small —
and divided into very fine segments: they are

_more like the leaves of the common southern-
wood in figure, than those of either of the other
wormwoods. Tie flowers are little and brown,

like those of common wormwood, but vastly
smaller ; they are very numerous, and stand at —

the tops of the stalks in a kind of long and thick

spikes. The root is creeping and spreading, and —

composed of fibres. The whole plant has a bitter.

taste, but not at alllike that of wormwood, ex-
tremely aromatic and pleasing. The flowers ate
very bitter, and haye little of this aromatic fla~
your. :

- ‘The fresh tops are used, and the whole plant
dried. It is excellent to strengthen the stomach ;
but that is not all its virtue. The juice of the fresh
tops is good against obstructions of the liver
and spleen, and has been known singly to cure the
jaundice. % sa

366 FAMILY HERBAL,
: Y.
Yarrow. WMVillefolium.

A COMMON plant in our’ pastures, and by
way sides. It is two or three feet high ; the stalk
is round, upright, firm and striated: the leaves
are long, and not very broad, and they are the
most beautifully divided of those of any known
plant. :

Their colour is a deep green, and the part
into which they are divided are exccedingly fine,
slender, and regularly arranged : the flowers stand —
at the tops of the branches, in the manner of
umbels, in round and large tufts ; they are white,
but they often bave a blush of red. The root
is white and creeping, and the seeds are white,
broad, and flat. <a
_. The swhole plant is used fresh gathered, but

the best part is the tops of the shoots ; these are-
to be boiled in water, and the decoction sweeten~
ed with fine sugar; it is excellent against the
blecdings of the piles, and bloody fluxes, and
the overflowing of the menses. It is also heal-
ing and good in ulcerations of the ureters; and

at operates gently by urine. )
| a oe
The Zevoary Prans. Zedoaria. = ,

___ AN Eastern plant, very singular, and very
beautiful. The. root nest under the surface,
and has many tuberous lumps, some long, and —

_ some round; but the long are preferred. The
_ found have by many been called zerumbeth;_—
_ though the zerumbeth is properly another root,

~~

- FAMILY HERBAL. 367

to be described in its place. The leaves of the
zedoary plant are large, very broad, and not
vastly long; they stand in clasters, encircling
one another at the bases: the flowers stand on
separate stalks ; these are only eight or ten inches
high. They are small, of an irregular shape,
aud purplish. : |
The root is the only part used; our drug-
gists keep it dry; it is a warm cordial, and
stomachic medicine; it strengthens the stomach,
assists digestion, and expels wind. It is good
also in all neryous complaints, such as lowness of
spirits,. faintings, tremblings of the limbs, and
restlessness. & ounce of zedoary, sliced thin,
and put into a quart of wine, makes an excellent
_ tincture for these purposes, and is very go
taken in the quantity of a small glass, on going
_ a damp, or what is suspected to be a taint-
air.

The Zerumbetu Puantr. Zerumbetha.

THE zerumbeth plant in some respects re-
sembles that which affords the zedoary, but it
is larger. It is a natiye of the East, and has
not been yet got into our gardens. The leaves grow
together in such a manner as to form a kind of
stalk ; this is six feet high or more; but it is
only formed of their lower parts wrapped round
one another, in the manner of the leaves of our
flags. The loose part of each leaf is long, nar-
row, and ofa bluish green. The flowers stand
upon separate stalks; these rise about a foot
high, and are of a brownish gplout. ey have
only a sort of films upon them in the place of
leaves. The flowers stand in a short and thick

apike, at the tops of these, they are gens.

368 FAMILY HERBAL.

hollow, moderately large, and of a beautiful
scarlet. The root is long andirregular.

~The root is used ; our druggists kocep it: it is
warm and good in all nervous cases. Its virtues
are very nearly the same with those of zedoary ;
aud in general the round roots of zedoary are sold
under its name, though in reality it is a much
longer, as well as larger root, than the zedoary
itself.

; : ve ible, cannot close it
without observing, that, sitwithitaddiag. the great
deal that is known of the virtues of English plants, —
there is certainly a great deal more unknown ; and
there is room for great discoveries. ~~ ee

The plants mentioned in this work are only four
or five hundred, and not all these of ee
‘growth: y were, they swould yet t a

ae

of his eae: better, t!
fat number of the unre

‘mote countries less.
ment to the attemp
titude of objects for the trial ! |
| covering: but one — amon

370 APPENDIX.

a disease we knew not how so well to cure before,
isa sOurce of more true honour, than can be de-
rived from all the useless knowledge in the
world?! -—

Ifany suppose the trial dangerous, thay mis-
Icad themselves ; and to encourage so laudable an
undertaking, I shall observe how little is sthe
hazard, and how considerable the advantages,
from what we know already.

_ Ifa mau were to be turned loose upon an island
where no person had set foot before, he might
dread to taste of any plant he saw, because “he
might not know, but every one he saw was fatal:
and supposing him to have got over this fear,
the ignorance of the virtucs of all would keep
him backward : but this is not at all the case with
him, who shall at this time sct about: inguiriog
into the virtues of plants in England: The
. ous 7 Jants, native of our soil, are” nerdy a
singular or * dietnad in the ‘aspect.
The Pty aid he has nothing to do
Butts ¢ pat thea OP ay the rest, he has so many,
_ whose uses and qualities are ‘already perfectly
known, that he has a great foundation to go upon
in the search, because he can compare those he
“does not know with them. Their ‘tastes will go
agreat way toward | informing him ; but this is
“not all, their rae outward va ae will direct him :
_ for in gene: al tho ei ants which _ he a in the

cil nous quality, ‘ht have guessed this to
clei ous a oly he eae: a before knew of medi-
eine. The next plant he meets, we will suppose
‘ js thecommon mallow, and afterwards ‘the little
White flowered mallow, which lies upon the
ground ; he tastes the roots of these, and he finds

‘are like the other: he will therefore guess,
that they have the same virtues and upon asd |

be. will # find it is so,

- But this is not ae if he had examined the
‘Scie. of the marshmallow, in what manner it.
was constructed, and how the little threads grew
within it, he would have. found that the flowers
of these other two mallows were, in all respects,

like those of the other ; and farther, he would
haye found, that the seeds of these two kinds
were in the same manner disposed in eircular bo-
dies : from this he might, without tasting their Se
roots, have been led to guess that their virtues —

were the same; or having guessed so much from
this, he might have been thence led to taste them,
and by that have been confirmed in it: _but. he

sort of round. a of ‘wel: in _ he hollyoak

m his en; and upon exami the

ppecctiy would see they were ne alike : nyt
hence he would discover that it was of this kind ;
and he would rightly judge that the. hollyoak,
also possessed the same virtues.

This is a method: by which many of the plants
mentioned inthis book, have been found to have
virtues which others neglected; for there are
‘many named im the preceding” pages, and named
with great praise, of which others have made
little account : these arethe means by which the |

first. guesses have been made about their virtues ; _
and experiments have —_ ‘confirmed them, a

Bie _ APPENDIX:

li has not always hitpprued that the virtues of a
plant thus tried, have been “in a degree wortli
setting ina light of consequence: they have been
sometimes slight, and the plant has been disregard-
ed ; but they have scarce ever missed to be found
of the same nature. Ma ¢ 7
These experiments, I have always thought bicit
nesty reguired me to make upon myself, and I
never found harm from the trials. I had no right
10 bring into the least possible danger, the health
of others ; ; as to my own there was no probability
of harm ; but if ithad happened, the intent would
have sanctified the nuptials and I should: righ
been contented.

There is this great use in ekamisiing pilees! éplaaté
which have the same sort of flowers and fruits
with those which we know. to. have virtues, that —
we may in this way discover plants at home, to
supply the place of those we have from er

jes. It is Certain the sun in sate

| J. je ces of vegetables | farther: than
in ours, but yet we find the plants of the same
_ kind from whatever part of the world they come,
to possessucarly the same kind of virtues ; genes

_ rally indeed they are the same, only differing in
degree. Thus all the mallows of Spain and Italy, -
to ‘bring the trial to the before-named instance, —

‘Possess the same virtues with the marsh mallow, 3
= mallow, and hollyoak of England ; and t =
ds: with th which are Sealy mallows 2

B78

of which little. mention has been made here, he- _
cause the attention has not been turned upon novel- _
ty but use, being found to belong toa kind of milk-
wort, or polygala.. The roots of the common
milkwort of our pastures being tried, have been
_ found to possess the same virtues, though in a
less degree. This plant would not have been res —
garded, if the other had not been found to be of
_ the same kind ; but to that we owe the knowledge _
Of ate Wintamsis es ee a
There is this great reason for seeking in our own _
climate, plants of the same nature, and form, and _
kind, with those which in other countries afford |
us remedies ; that they are generally of the same _
kind, and may be fitter for our constitutions. This —
is certain, that as the sun ripens the juices of plants _
in hotter countries to more virtue than with us, |
so it makes men’s constitutions more able to bear —
their effects... ae i tecets | er
The Chinese will swallow such doses as are
poison to one of us. This we know in many in-
stances, and it ought to encourage us in the pre-—
vent research; because, if the same doses which
agree with them, are too much for us; we may |
also find, that other medicines, of the same kind —
of virtues, though in a less degree, may also
be found to agree better with our constitutions.
J would not carry so far as some have done, that —
opinion of nature’s having provided in every
country the remedies for the diseases of that coun-_
try : God is the author of nature, and he know-_
ing there would be commerce among mankind, —
knew that would not be necessary. But not-
withstanding that it may be necessary in some —
eases, and convenient in many, for us to have drugs
from abroad, yet in general it will be better for us __
to beeured by those herbs we may find at home 5

374 APPENDIX.

and they will be found upon trial more sufficient
for that purpose, than we at present imagine, The
means are at hand, but we have made very little
use of them, proportioned to their number and
their value.
The observation already made, that the exter
nal form of plants may very well give the hint
for a conjecture about their virtues, is much more
general than might be imagiued. Almost all
the plants of the same kinds are of the same vir-
tues. But that is not ell: for in general, those
of the same class possess the same qualities ;
though different in degree: and this is a prodigi-
ous help to him, who shall set out upon the gene-
rous avd useful plan of adding to the ntmber of
a eciet plants. tis. ih galt that what
_ might appear objections in case, being brought
to the trial, veil often) be found confirmations of
the truth there is in the observation. “pies es
: _ Thus suppose a man, observing that lettuce i is
table, should inquire into all the plants like
ettuce, which are those that have flowers com-
posed of many parts, and have the seeds winged
with a white downy maiter, to find whether they
were eatable ; let.us examine how he would suc-
ceed. The plants of this class native of England,

ox . are the sowtbistle, the hawkweeds, the dandelions,

_ goats-beards, succory, and endive, all _ eatables.

‘The rertirag2 are less agreeable in the taste,

ut wholesome ; ai nd. as to the wild lettuces, those
ould | the rare Eh of the prin-

th em 4s an Ms tease en. - ob-

375

it is disagreeable vate its: inte are the same
with “those of letinee, only greater. — There are
some kinds of h a LW | Aikged ae whee have a bitter

is ge we ‘al iia veation 4 nay Fe cattiol a stent
‘farther ; but it were the business of a volume,
not of a short appendix, to explain itat large: In
reneral, the seeds of umbellifcrous plants, that is,
those which have little flowers in rounded clusters,
each, sugceeded by two seeds, are good against
colics ; : se of carraway, anise, cummin, corian-
der, and all of that kind, are produced by plants
of this figure. Inthe same manner, the verticil-
late plants, as they are called, that is, those which
have the flowers surrounding the stalks, as in mint
and thyme, are of a warm nature ; and however.
pee differ. in peer es and circumstance, they have —
the s neral virtues. Farther, such plants :

ipid to the tas eand smell, have generally
little virtues ; ; and, on ‘the contrary, those which
have the most. fragrant smell, and sharpest
taste, have the Steatest virtues, of whatever
kind.

In general also, those plants which havea strong
but an agreeable taste, are most worthy to be
examined with respect to their ‘virtues ; for they
are gencrally the most. yaluable ; ‘and on the con-
trary, when a very strong taste is ; also a very dis- .

eeable one ; or, in the ‘same manner, when the
strong smell of a plant has also something heavy,
disagreeable, and overpowering — in it, there is
mischief i in the herb, rather than any useful quality. 3

37 6 APPENDIX.

The poisonous. plants of this country are very
few ; but they are for the most part characterized
after this manner : so that they. are known as it
were at sight, or Ivy the first offer of a trial.
Thus we see how little can be the danger of
inquiring farther into the virtues _ of our own
plants, by experix d how useful such an

inquiry may be to manki d is meee proved
by the matter of the

.
F st

« courage - some hb ha = ences to uke
ial; and for my own part, I shall not be
r. What I bare already discovered in this
,Tam pleased to see makes no inconsiderable
addition to the present publication ; what I shall

iscover farther, or learn from the experience of

iP

ie -s
4

a an CR me Oat pill call ee ~

a ‘
Sore Y4ar

plies cs a

A blers 2

og atin tv

Cy

Ahearn

A
O07

/

2p

beulthe nil hicomn

Pe er eS

[a

a fhur weed he) ct i
i S| < r

g
> 4
Pucrinebrhe, > ian
(

“

~iiiger on

,

ereditre "S i

2p

ay

t

Dine

saad

iA

LPP CF.

&

a

ma ee
Bz Cale Povo

tH ABD «

+ Levchil: Barres

fubdZ

Hl we

Sy prs ag
Pbepcseie tbbider t » § LEPOLGA? QI LIAL”
eS od my ee

N

ZA

he: elt ‘s
vA

2

: You Pee ftw

/

3 ,
é Wt “tf rafoot

: fe cma tA ¢

\

ae

QM oneword ; |

Pee

fa

4d,
LL
MOFZ.

2

iP

wil KirecsoA = = 4

be
Va

YR le i

ff

Pte

S

ae gs AE : Hey Hh br
‘ee ee

Horapekee
bn afetevte

Ha

z es

Uy,

LP

fy
‘
;

rit s sr ait

ar

ewacl-

, am

oo Veto

Pipa
y

Maal tet —

WN

f y pf?
House Cur

‘ Wi thes Mint

oy

a ee

eideaditiiatt ites,

wp

na tenor =einttnt RESETS

D empurned

a

{

ro,
my

Dingle Tee

Ov

Apredurcld

*

=

‘h4

: \ ‘I | Ce
A N .

a = ar
7 + * sz i,
ZL, heat Shoat Slax

re . 43 200He

er
é

ye

5 van en sacha - ne Sr

2 a Nr

L
.¢

>)
TO

Jb ory aed

i , :

2 _—
QO fer Yh, 6)
PE 4 ALAVECIITCO