University of
Michiñan
Libraries
1 817
ARTES
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
FAMILY HERBAL,
THE
OR AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THOSE
ENGLISH PLANTS,
WHICH ARE
REMARKABLE FOR
THEIR VIRTUES,
AND OF THE DRUGS
WHICH ARE PRODUCED BY
Vegetables of other countries;
WITH THEIR
DESCRIPTIONS AND THEIR USES,
AS PROVED BY EXPERIENCE.
ALSO
Directions for the gathering and use; receipts for making distilled
preserving roots, herbs, flowers, and waters, conserves, syrups, electus-
seeds; the various methods of pre- ries, juleps, draughts, &c. &c. with
serving these simples for present necessary cautions in giving them,
INTENDED FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES.
BY SIR JOHN HILL, M, D.
P. R. A. OF SCIENCES AT BOURDEAUX
EMBELLISHED WITH
FIFTY-FOUR COLOURED PLATES.
BUNGAY:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY C. BRIGHTLY AND CO
PUBLISHED ALSO BY T. KINNERSLIX.
1812.
JASOHYGIMAS
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2001
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Transf. To
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630
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BORIS
book
PREFACE.
VO
od
stro
sd asdan bir
u 8 gang
SANY books have been written upon the saine
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 employed the at-
tention of its author.
It is his opinion, that the true end of science is
use; and in this view, the present work has been
undertaken. It appears to him a matter of more
consequence, and a subjection 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 he 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
larger than those at home.
It grievės a man of public spirit and humanity,
to see those things which are the means alone of
the advantages of mankind studied, while in the end
that advantage itself is forgotten. And in this
view he will regard a CULPEPPER as
respectable person than a LINNÆUS or a Dille-
а
more
MUS.
3071
That Botany is an useful study is plain ; be
a 2
20.1991
iv.
PREFACE.
cause it is in vain that we know betony is good
for head-achs, or self-heal for wounds, unless we
can 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
remedy ; let us therefore esteem the study of
botany, but let us know, that this use of the dis-
tinctions it gives is the true end of it; and let us
respect those, who employ their lives in establish-
ing those distinctions upon the most certain foun-
dation, upon making them the most accurately,
and carrying them the farthest possible: these
are the botanists ; but with all the gratitude we
owe them for their labours, and all the respect
we shew them on that consideration, let us under-
stand then as but the seconds in this science. The
principal are those who know how to bring their
discoveries to use, and can say what are the ends
that will be answered by those plants, which they
have so accurately distinguished. The boy col-
lects the specimens of herbs with great care,
and bestows ten years in pasting them upon pa-
per, and writing 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 tine: but if he
has, to the knowledge of their forms, added after-
ward the study of their virtues, he will be far from
censuring himself for all the pains he took to that
end.
He who wishes well to science and to man-
kind, must wish this matter understood : and this
is the way to bring a part of knowledge into cre-
dit, which, as it is commonly practised, is not a
PREFACE.
zot above the studies of a raiser of tulips or a carnation
fancier.
When we consider the study of plants, as the
search 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
in this intent, the principal regard ought to be
had to those of our own growth. The foreign
plants brought into our stoves with so much ex.
pense, and kept there with so much pains, may
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 berb
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 ridiculous
in their inquiries concerning the laws and govern-
ment of other countries, while they are not able to
give a satisfactory answer to any question which re-
gards their own ?
I have said thus much to obviate the censures
of those, to whom an inquiry into the virtues of
herbs may seem the province of a woman. It is
an honour to the sex that they have put our
studies to use ; but it would be well, if we had
done so ourselves ; or if, considering that they might,
we had made our writings more intelligible to
them.
The intent of words is to express our meaning :
.
1
vi.
PREFACE.
writings are published that they may he under-
stood, and in this branch, I shall always suppose
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 all the sciences together, and so remarkable
is the SwedE before mentioned, LINNÆUS, for this,
that a good scholar, nay the best scholar in the
world, shall not be able to understand three lines
together in his best writings, although they are
written in latin, a language in which he is ever sọ
familiar. The author has not been at the pains to
explain his new words himself, but refers his reader
to nature ; he bids him seek them in the flowers,
where he found them.
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 who
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.
When knowledge is perplexed with unintelligi-
ble terms, and the memory of the student con-
founded with a multiplicity of names; when the
ignorant only, who have written concerning 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 sepa- .
rate the necessary from the frivolous knowledge ; and
to lay before those who are inclined to do good to
their distressed fellow-creatures, all that it is neces-
sary for them to know of botany for that purpose,
and that in the most familiar manner; and to add
do this, what experience has confirmed of the many
things written by others concerning their virtues.
This is the intent of the following work.
The plants are arranged according to the English
alphabet, that the English reader may know where
to find them : they are called hy one name only in
English, and one in Latin and these are their
most familiar names in those languages ; no natts
what CASPAR, or JOHN BAUCHINE, or LINY TIS
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 suhjoined a
general description of the plant, if it be a common
in a 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 prac-
tice: and all this is delivered in such words as are
common, and to be understood by all.
Every thing that is superfluous 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 complete the
good intentions of the charitable in this way. There
are rules for gathering and preserving herbs, and
their several parts, directions for making such pre-
one,
Vill.
PREFACE.
parations from them, as can conveniently be pre-
pared in families, and general admonitions and
cautions in their respective uses.
If I could have thought of any thing farther, that
could tend to the making the book more useful, I
should have added it ; as it is, the candid reader is
desired to accept it, as written with a real view to be
of service to mankind.
INTRODUCTION.
CONTAINING GENERAL RULES FOR THE GATHERING
AND PRESERVING HERBS, ROOTS, BARKS, SEEDS, AND
FLOWERS; TOGETHER WITH THE METHODS OF
MAKING SUCH PREPARATIONS FROM THEM,
FROM THEM, AS MAY
BEST RETAIN THEIR VIRTUES, OR BE MOST USEFUL
TO BE KEPT IN FAMILIES.
ad
CHAP. I.
The design and purpose of this work, and the me-
thod observed in it.
TH
THE intent of the author in publishing this
book, is to inform those who live in the
country, and are desirous of being useful to
their families and friends, or charitable to the
poor in the relief of their disorders, of the virtues
of those plants which grow wild about them : that
they may be able to supply this necessary assis-
tance, in places where apothecaries are not at hand;
and that they may be able also to do it without
putting themselves to the expense of medicines
of price, when the common herbs, that mav be
a
ii.
INTRODUCTION.
.
had for gathering, will answer the same pur-
pose.
However, as there 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 veget-
able productions, kept by the druggists and apothe-
caries, 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 ladies who may be desirous of giving
this great relief to the afflicted poor in their neigh-
bourhood, and to remind apothecaries of what
they had before studied : but the first mentioned
purpose is by much the most useful, and the most
considerable, and for this reason the greatest regard
is paid to it.
The plants are disposed in the alphabet, ac:
cording to their English names, that they may be
turned to the more readily ; and an account is
given, in two or three lines, of their general as-
pect and place of growth, that those who in part
know them already, may understand them at once :
if they are not perfectly. known from this, a more
particular description is added, by observing which,
they cannot be mistaken or confounded with any
others; and after this follow, not only their virtues,
as others are content to set them down, but the part
of each plant which contains them in most perfection
is named, and the manner in which they may best be
given.
With regard to the virtues of plants, it has been
the custom to attribute too many to most of them :
so much is said more than the truth on these oc-
casions, that those who would be informed, know
INTRODUCTION.
iii.
not what they should believe. This is more cau-
tiously regulated here. The real virtues alone
are set down, as they are assured by experience:
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 ass urance than
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 seen tri-
ed; and if some are set down, which other wri-
ters have not named, and some, of which they have
said most, are slightly mentioned, it is owing to
the same experience which has added to the cata-
logue in some things, and has found it too great for
truth in others.
Nature has, in this country, and doubtless also
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
chemical preparations has almost driven the whole of
galenical medicine out of our minds.
To restore this more safe, more gentle, and
often more efficacious part of medicine to its na-
tural credit, has been one great intent in the wri-
ting this treatise; and it is the more necessary for
the service of those, who are intended most to
be directed in this matter, since this is much less
dangerous than the other : nay, it is hard to
say, that this is dangerous at all, in most in-
stances.
The apothecaries are apt, in their unfeeling
mockery, to say, they are obliged to the good
in.
INTRODUCTION
Jadies who give medicines to their sick neigh-
bours, 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 will 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;
it is more safe in all. If opium may be danger-
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, but recommended from experience in this
treatise,) will find that it will ease pain, and that
it will cause sleep, in the manner of that foreign drug,
but she will never find any ill consequences from
it: and the same might be said in many other in-
stances.
Bilo
As the descriptions in this work, very readily
distinguish what are the real plants ihat should be
used, the great care will remain, in what man-
ner to gather and preserve, and in what man-
ner 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 depends upon it; the latter cannot easily be mis-
taken.
Having displaced the drugs brought from
abroad in a great measure from this charitable
practice, I would have every lady, who has the
spirit of this true benevolence, keep a kind of
druggist's shop of her own : this should be sup-
plied from the neighbouring fields, and from her
garden. There is no reason the drugs should not
be as well preserved, and as carefully laid up,
و
INTRODUCTION
as if the product of a different climate, though
the use of the fresh plants will in general be best
when they can be had.
As there are some which will not 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 apothecary's man-
ner; and these chapters, with that which shall
lay down the method of making the preparations
from them for ready service, will be sufficient to
lead to the perfect use of the medicines of our
own growth: and it will be found upon experi-
ence, that those who sufficiently know how to make
a proper use of these, need seldom have recourse
to any others.
CHAP. II.
THE
Concerning the methods of collecting and preserv-
ing plants and parts of them for use.
HE virtues of different plants residing princi-
pally in certain parts of them, and those
different according to the nature of the herb,
these several parts are to be selected, and the rest
left; and these are in some to be used fresh and
just gathered ; in others, either necessity, or the
natural preference, make it proper to dry and pre-
serve them.
In some only the leaves are to be used ; in
others the whole plant cut from the root : in others
the flowers only ; in others the fruits ; in others
the seeds; in some the roots ; and of some trees
vi.
INTRODUCTION.
tlfe barks ; some the woods; and only the excreg.
ences of others : while some vegetables are to be
used entire, whether it be fresh gathered, or dried
and preserved. Of all these, instances will be
given in great number in the following sheets,
and the matter will be specified under each article,
as the part of the plant to be used 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 particular
articles,
The whole of most plants native of our coun-
try, dies off in winter, except the root ; and in
many that perishes also, leaving the species to be
renewed from the fallen seeds. When the whole
plant dies, the root is seldom of any virtue ; but
when 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
very little to be expected in the roots of annual plants :
their seeds, for the most part, contain their greatest
virtues.
In others, the root lives through the winter, and
there arise from it large leaves in the spring, be-
fore the stalks appear. These are to be distinguish-
ed from those which afterwards grow on the stalk,
for they are more juicy, and for many purposes
much better. In the same manner, some plants,
from their seeds dropped in autumn, produce a
root and leaves which stand all the winter, and
the stalk does not rise till the succeeding spring.
These are of the nature of those leaves, which
rise from the root of other plants before the stalks
in spring; and are in the same manner to be dis-
tinguished from those which grow upon the stalks :
INTRODUCTION.
vii.
were
as it
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 con-
tinue the plant.
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 from 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
very vigorous before the
stalk grew up, they die and wither
rises.
When the juice of the leaves of any plant is
required, these are the leaves from which it is
to be pressed : when they are ordered in decoction,
notice is always taken in this book, whether they
be best fresh or dried ; if fresh, they should be
just gathered for the occasion ; they should be
cut up close from the root, and only shook clean,
not washed ; for in many, that carries off a part of
the virtue : they are to be cut into the pot. If
they are to be dried, the same caution is to be
used; and they are best dried, by spreading them
upon the floor of the room, with the windows
open ; often turning them. When thoroughly
dried, they should be put into a drawer, pressing
them close down, and covered with paper. When
the entire plant is to be used except the root,
care is to be taken that it be gathered at a pro-
per season. Nature in the whole growth of plants,
tends to the production of their flowers and seeds,
viii.
INTRODUCTION.
و
but when they are ripe, the rest begins to decay,
having done its duty; so that the time when the en-
tire plant is in its most full perfection, is when it is in
the bud ; when the heads are formed for flowering,
but not a single flower has yet disclosed 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 preferable to the whole plant for immediate
use
When the entire herb is to be dried, the season
for gathering it is to be as just described, when
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 ney
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.
Care must also be taken to cut them in a dry day;
for the wet of rain will do a much harm, as that of
dew.
When the herbs are thus gathered, they are to
be looked over, the decayed leaves picked off,
and the dead ends of the stalks cut away: they
are then to be tied up in small bunches, (the
less the better,) and hung upon lines drawn across
a room, where the windows and doors are to be
kept open in good weather ; the bunches are to
be half a foot asunder, and they are to hang till
perfectly dry. They are then to be taken softly
down, without shaking off the buds of the flow-
INTRODUCTION
ix,
ers,
and laid evenly in a drawer, pressing them down,
and covering them with paper. They are thus ready
for infusions and decoctions, and are better for dis-
tillation than when fresh.
The flowers of plants are principally used fresh,
though several particular kinds retain their virtue very
well dried; they are on these different occasions to be
treated differently.
Lavender flowers, and those of stocha, 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 to dry. The stoechas 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 this is very right, for the leaves retain more
virtue than the flowers. Some dry borage, bu-
gloss, and cowslips, hut 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
is always meant, when we speak of the dried
flowers.
For the rest of the flowers used in medicine,
they are best fresh ; but as they remain only a
small part of the year in that state, the method
is to preserve them in the form of syrups and
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 wanting to make this book
b
conserves.
INTRODUCTION.
as useful for families, as the nature of such an one
will admit.
Among the fruits of plants, several are to be
used 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
bay 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 floor, often
turning them till they are dry. But of these
we use very few of our own growth; most of the
fruits used in medicine are brought from abroad,
and must be purchased of the druggist or apothe-
cary.
With respect to the seeds and plants, it is
otherwise : many of them are of our own growth,
:
and nothing is so easy as to preserve them. These
are all to be used 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
be spread for three or four days upon a clean floor,
where the air has free passage, but where the sun
does not come; and they are then ready to be
put up.
The seeds used in medicine, may be referred
to three general kinds. They
They either grow in
naked heads or umbels, as in fennel, parsley, and
the like ; or in pods, as in mustard and cresses ;
or in large fleshy fruits, as in melon and cu-
cumbers. In each case they must be left upon
the plant till perfectly ripe ; then they are only
to be shook from the heads upon the floor, or if
in pods, a smart stroke or two of the plant upon
the floor, when they are thoroughly ripe, - will
INTRODUCTION.
xi.
dislodge them. In 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 upon a
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
others, lose all their virtues in drying; and
many that retain some, yet lose the greater part
of it: there are others which are excellent both
fresh and dried, 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 managed according
to their several natures, and they do a great deal
toward the furnishing this druggist's shop, which
should be filled with medicines, the produce of our
own country.
The best season for gathering roots for drying is in
the earlier part of the spring : what nature does for
plants when they are just going to flower, she does
for roots when the leaves are just going to bud : the
juices are rich, fresh, and full
, and the virtue is
strongest in them at this season, therefore they are to
be then taken up.
In the end of February and the beginning of
March, the ground should be searched for the first
budding of leaves, and the roots taken up. They are
to be wiped clean, not washed; and, according to
their several natures, prepared for drying.
Some are full of a mucilaginous juice, as marsh-
xii.
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 stretched across a frame.
They must be frequently turned ; and be very
thoroughly dry, before they are put up, else they will
become mouldy; but, rightly prepared, they keep
Very well.
are
Other roots have juices, that evaporate more
easily. These have the virtue either throughout
the whole substance, or only in the outer part, and
they are to be prepared accordingly. When roots
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-
ting off the head, and the little end ; or if consider-
ably thick, they may be quartered; when this is done,
they are to be strung upon a line, by drawing a needle
threaded with a small twine through their thickest
part, and they are then to be hung up to dry in the
manner of the herbs; the line being stretched across
a room, the doors and windows of which are to be
kept open in good weather.
When roots consist of a sort of thick rind, or
feshy substance within the rind, and a hard sticky
part in the middle, this fleshy substance under
it possesses all the virtues, the hard inner substance
having none; in this case, the root is to be split
long-wise as before, and the hard woody part is
to be taken out and thrown away; the rest is to he
strung as before described, and dried in the same
manner.
When roots consist of fibres, these are generally
connected to a head, if it be ever so small, and the
best way is to split this in two, and then string up the
separate parts for drying.
It is needless to enumerate the examples of the
INTRODUCTION.
xiii.
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 of a new kind indeed ; but
they would gave the price of many brought from
other countries, and might be used with less
danger.
The barks of the trees make but a small part of
the English drugs, and most of them are hest
fresh ; 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
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 for the most part losing of their
virtues.
It may be prudent to preserve drugs brought
from abroad a great while because of their
price; but as these cost only the trouble of
ga-
thering and preserving them, I would advise,
that the whole shop be renewed every year ;
what is left of the old parcel of every kind, being
thror»n away as the fresh one is collected in its
same
season.
The place for keeping these should be a dry
room, neither damp nor hot; and they should now
and then be looked at, to see that they are in order ;
that they do not grow mouldy, or smell musty through
damp, or become lighter, and lose their virtue by too
much heat.
It may be proper just to mention, that the
niv.
INTRODUCTION.
:
woods which we use are best 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 is best to keep a
block of sassafras, and of lignum vitæ in the house,
and cut them as they are wanted.
As to the excrescences, such as galis of the oak,
and the bur upon the wild briar, they are naturally
so dry, that they only require to be exposed a
few days to the air, upon a table, and then they
may be put up with safety, and will keep a long
time.
Lastly, the funguses, such as Jew's ears and the
like, are to be gathered when they are full grown,
and strung upon a line, that they may dry leisurely,
for else they spoil : they must be very well dried
before they are put up, else they will grow mouldy
in damp weather, and if once that happen, no art
can recover their virtues.
Thus may a druggist's shop 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 has made the virtues of the several
things familiar, the lady may do from her judgment
as the physician in his prescription, mix several
things of like virtue together, and not depend upon
the virtues of any one singly, when the case requires
something of power. These roots and barks pow-
dered, will make as handsome and as efficacious
boluses and mixtures, as any furnished by the ape-
thecary
INTRODUCTION,
CHAP. III.
Concerning the various methods of preparing
simples for present use.
WHERE is no form of medicines sent from
T
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 subjoined to
this chapter, that all may be understood be-
fore we enter on the book itself: and in the same
manner 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
making which shall be also annexed in a familiar
manner.
But beside these several forms of giving them,
there are others much more simple, easy, and
ready, and these are generally more efficacious.
I shall arrange these under three kinds, juices, in-
fusions and decoctions. These are the forms of
giving the medicines most frequently mentioned
in the course of the work, and there is less trouble
in them than in the others. They are not in-
deed contrived for shew, nor would they answer
the purpose of the apothecary, for his profits
would be small upon them; but when the design
xvi.
INTRODUCTION.
is only to do good, they are the most to be chosen of
any.
Juices are to be expressed from leaves or roots ;
and in order to this, they are to be first beaten
in a mortar. There is no form whatever in which
herbs have so much effect, and yet this is in
a manner unknown in the common practice of
physic.
These are to be obtained in some plants 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 pestle serve best for this pur-
pose, for any thing of metal is improper : many
plants would take a tincture from it, and the
juice would be so impregnated with it, as to
become a different medicine, and probably very
improper in the case in which it was about to be
given.
As these juices have sometimes an ill taste, and
as some of them are apt to be cold upon the
stomach, or otherwise to disagree with it, there
are methods to be used, to make them sit better up-
on it ; and in some cases these increase their vir-
tues.
When the thick juice, fresh drawn, is too coarse
for the person's stomach, it may be suffered to settle
and grow clear : a little sugаr may
: a little sugаr may be added also in
beating the herb, and in many cases, as in those
juices given for the scurvy, the juice of a Seville orange
may be added, which will greatly improve the
flavour.
a
INTRODUCTION.
xvii,
To 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 ; and if a little sugar, and, upon occa-
sion, a few grains of powdered ginger be added,
there will be scarce any fear of the medicine dis-
agreeing with the stomach, and its effects will
be the same, as if it had been bruised and pressed
alone.
Infusions are naturally to be mentioned 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
the 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 ;
in this case it is to be cut to pieces, and hot wa-
ter being poured upon it, extracts so much of its
qualities, as to stand in the place of the other.
Often, indeed, the virtues are the same : in some
plants they are greatest from the infusion but
then some others lose so much in drying, that
an infusion scarce has any thing. But it is not
only as a help in the place of the other, that
this preparation is to be used, for infusions are
very proper from many fresh herbs; and are
of great virtue from many diy ones, of which,
when fresh, the juice would have been worth
little.
с
xviii.
INTRODUCTION.
Infusions are the fittest forms for those herbs
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
none 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 would
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 be
caught or let to fly away, all that virtue must be
lost in boiling. It is from this, that some plants
are fit for decoctions, and some for infusions.
There are some which, if distilled, give no virtue
to the water, and these are fit for decoctions,
which will retain all their virtue, as bistort, and
tormentill roots, and the like. On the contra-
ry, an infusion of mint, or penny-royal, is of a
strong taste, and excellent virtue ; whereas, a
decoction of these herbs is disagreeable or good for
nothing
There are herbs also, which have so little juice,
that it would be impossible to get it out ; and
others whose virtue lies in the husks and buds
and this would be lost in the operation. An in
fusion of these is the right way of giving them.
Thus the mother of thyme is a dry little herb, from
which it would be hard to get any juice, and wher.
gotten, it would possess very little of its virtues :
but an infusion of mother of thyme possess it en-
tirely.
Infusions are of two kinds. They are either
prepared in quantity, to be drank cold ; or they
are drank as they are made, in the manner of tea,
INTRODUCTION.
xix.
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 stronger
hot, than it is cold.
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 is to 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 in: boiling water
is then to be poured upon it; and the top is to be
fixed on: it is thus to stand four, five, or six
hours, or a whole night, according to the nature
of the ingredient, and then to be poured off
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 yirtue of the herb as is necessary : this is
only to be known in each kind by trial; and the
virtue may be heightened, as well as the flavour
mended, by several additions.
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 strength to tincture of roses. Salt
of tartar makes many infusions stronger also than
they would be, but it gives them a very disagreeable
taste. It is, therefore, fit only for such as are to be
taken at one draught, not for such as are to be
swallowed in large quantities time after time.
Among the herbs that yield their virtues most
XX.
INTRODUCTION.
;
commodiously by infusion, may be accounted
many of those which are pectoral, and good in
coughs, as colts-foot, ground ivy, and the like ;
the light and aromatic, good in nervous disorders,
as mother of thyme, balm, and the like; the bitters
are also excellent in infusion, but very disagreeable
in decoction: thus boiling water poured upon
Roman wormwood, gentiaa root, and orange peel,
makes a very excellent bitter. It need only stand
till the liquor is cold, and may be then poured off for
use.
It is often proper to add some purging ingre-
dient to this bitter infusion; and a little fresh
polypody root excellently answers that purpose, with-
out spoiling the taste of the medicine.
Several of the purging plants also do very well
in infusion, as purging flax, and the like; and the
fresh root of polypody alone is a very good one:
a little lemon juice added to the last named infasion
does no harm; and it takes off what is disagreeable
in the taste, in the same manner as it does 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 is required,
but pouring some boiling water upon the plants fresh
or dried, as already directed, and pouring it off again
when cold.
Decactions are contrived to answer the purpose of
infusions, upon plants which are of so firm a texture,
that they will not easily yield forth their useful parts.
In these the ingredients are to be boiled in the water,
es in the others, the boiling water was to be poured
bver them. In general, leaves, flowers, and entire
plants, whether fresh or dried, are used in infusions ;
the roots and barks in decoctions.
An earthen pipkin, with a crose cover, is the
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 impro-
per to boil- them in a copper pan, (as it is too com-
mon a custom,) as to beat the herbs and roots in a
metal mortar.
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 woods
should be shaved down ; as to the leaves and entire
plants, they need be cut but slightly. When dry in-
gredients are used, the roots and barks are best
pounded to pieces, and as to the herbs and flowers,
Iittle is to be done to them, and in general, they are
best added toward the end of the decoction.
It 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 prportion-
ed to the nature of the ingredients. Generally a
quarter of an hour is sufficient, sometimes much longer
is necessary. They are then to be strained off while
they are hot, pressing them hard, and the liquor set
hy to cool : when they are thoroughly cold, they are
to he poured off clear from the settlement, for they
always become clear as they cool, and sweetened
with a little sugar. Frequently also, it is proper
to add to them a little white wine, as to the infusions.
a
INTRODUCTION.
XX11.
CHAP. IV.
Concerning distilled waters, and other prepara-
tions to be kept in the house.
a
SHALL bring the charitable lady farther in this
matter than perhaps she was aware at the
first setting out; but it will be with little expence,
and little trouble. She will find, that I now 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 a great price, will have place in it; they are
all natives of our own country; and the prepa-
ration of these medicines from them will cost only
a little spirit, a little sugar, and the labour of a
servant.
That spirit is best which is called molosses spi-
rit; is to be bought at a small price at the distillers ;
and 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 alembic or still,
and that will be of material service. With that
instrument the simple waters are to be made,
with no expence beside the fire ; and it will be
proper to keep those of the following ingredi-
ents
Mint water, pepper-mint water, and penny-
,
royal water, are to be made of the dry herbs.
Three pounds of each is to be put into the still,
with four gallons of water, and two gallons is
to be distilled off. Milk water is to be made
thus ; a pound and half of spear-mint, a pound
of rue, half a pound of Roman wormwood, and
INTRODUCTION.
.
Xili.
a
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 to make juleps. It used to be made
with milk, but that answers no purpose. Only
one simple water more need be kept, and that for
colics: it is best made of Jamaica pepper : a.
pound of Jamaica pepper is to be put into the
still over night, with three gallons of water; and
the next morning two gallons of water distilled
off.
It has been customary to keep a great 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 following ; and no more are ne-
cessary:
1. Cinnamon water; which is made by putting
into the still a pound of cinnamon, a gallon of spirit,
and a gallon of water, and the next day distilling off
a gallon. This is good in sickness at the stomach,
and is a fine cordial.
2. Spirituous milk water ; made from a pound
of spear-mint, half a pound of angelica, and a
quarter of a pound of Roman wormwood, all green.
To these is to be put a gallon of spirit, and a gallon of
water, and a gallon to be distilled off; to which is
to be added a pint of vinegar : this is good to pro-
mote sweat, and is used instead of treacle water, being
better.
3. Strong pennyroyal water, which is used
instead of hysteric water, in all hysteric cases,
xxiv.
INTRODUCTION.
and to promote the menses, is made of a pound
and half of dry pennyroyal, a gallon of spi.
rit, and six quarts of water, drawing off a
gallon
4. Aniseed water, which is good in the colic,
and is made with a pound of aniseed, a pound
of angelica seed, and two gallons of spirit, with
one gallon of water, distilling off two gallons. No
more of these are necessary : but before I close this
article of distilling, I shall add the making of lavender
water, spirit of lavender, and Hungary water,
which are preparations of the same kind, and very
easy
Lavender water, is made from a pound of
fresh lavender flowers, and a gallon of molosses
spirit, with two quarts of water ; five pints are to be
distilled off. Hungary water is made of a pound
and half of rosemary tops with the flowers, a
gallon of spirit, and a gallon of water, distilling
off five pints: and to make the spirit of laven-
der, or palsy drops, mix three pints of lavender
water, and one pint of Hungary water, and add to
this half an ounce of cinnamon, the same quan-
tity of nutmegs, and three drams of red saunders
wood ; these are to stand together till the spirit is well
coloured.
This is all the family practitioner will need with
distilling: a short account, but sufficient.
As for tinctures, which are
a great article
with the apothecary and chemist, making a
great shew, and really very useful, I would
;
have several of them kept, and they are
easily made as the waters, nay, more easily.
Molosses spirit is all that is necessary for this
purpose.
It would be well to keep tinctures of all
roots and barks, which are said to be good dried
as
INTRODUCTION.
in the course of this work, for a tincture will
contain 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 to be
cut to thin slices, or bruised in a mortar, and
put into a quart of spirit; it is to stand a fort-
night in a place 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 paper, and put up with the name of
the ingredient.
To these tinctures of the English 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 cardamon seeds, and a quart of
spirit: or it may be made in white wine, allowing
two quarts.
2. Tincture of castor, good in hysteric complaints,
and made with two ounces of castor and a quart of
spirit.
3. Tincture of bark, which will cure those who will
not take the powder, made of four ounces of bark,
and a quart of spirit.
4. Tincture of soot for fits, made with two ounees
of wood-soot, one ounce of assafoetida, and a quart of
spirit.
5. Tincture of steel, for the stoppage of the menses,
made of flowers of iron four ounces, and spirit a
quart.
6. Tincture of myrrh, made of three ounces of
myrrh, and a quart of spirit, good for curing the
scurvy in the gums.
7. Tincture of rhubard, made of two ounces
d
xxvi.
INTRODUCTION.
of rhubarb, half an ounce of cardamon-seeds, and a
quarter of an ounce of saffron, with a quart of
spirit.
8. Elixir salutis, made of a pound of stoned
raisins, a pound of sena, an ounce and half of carraway
seeds, and half an ounce of cardamons, in a gallon of
spirit.
9. Elixir of vitriol, made of six drams of cin-
namon, three drams of cardamons, two drams
of long pepper, and the same of ginger; and
a quart of spirit: to a pint of this tincture 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-
jamin, two ounces of strained storax, one ounce
of balsam of Tolu, half an ounce of aloes, and
a quart of spirit of wine, such as is burnt under
lamps. This spirit may be made by putting
a gallon of molosses spirit 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, we are to add what is called
the asthmatic elixir, made with flower of benja-
min and opium of each a dram, camphire two
scruples, oil of aniseed forty drops, liquorice
-
root half an ounce, honey one ounce, and a
quart of spirit. This is a gentle opiate, and is
much better in families than the strong lauda-
num.
As to the tinctures made with white wine
instead of spirit, a few are sufficient. Steel
wine is made of a quarter of a pound of filings
of iron, and half an ounce of mace, and the
same quantity of cinnamon, put into two quarts
of Rhenish. Hiera picra is made of half a pound
INTRODUCTION.
xxvi i
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 vomit, of two ounces of that root,
half an ounce of dry orange peel, and a quart
of sack. Lastly, what is called elixir proprieta-
tis is made of aloes, myrrh, and saffron, of
each an ounce, sal armoniac six drams, and salt
of tartar eight ounces, in a quart of mountain
wine.
These are all the tinctures and wines that
need be kept in a family, whose charity is design-
ed to be very extensive; the expense of the whole
is a trifle, not worth naming, and the trouble
scarce any thing Books are full of directions
in 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-
quent shaking, and that will stand in the place
of heat in most things of this kind: nevertheless,
I advise that they should stand in a
where a fire is kept while they are making ; and
those which require heat, that is, those that
take a colour most slowly, are to be placed nearest
to it.
Easy as these are, they are by far the most dif-
ficult part of the task, the rest is as it were
nothing. Conserves, syrups, and ointments will
be wanting; but in the same manner one direc-
tion will serve for the making the whole assort-
ment of each, and the ingredients will he at
hand. As to plaisters in general, they do more
room
xxvii.
INTRODUCTION
In
harm than good. Surgeons at this time rake
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.
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.
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
the same manner, or as many of them added
to those here named, as shall be thought pro-
per.
Conserves of the flowers of rosemary, mal-
lows, archangel, and lavender, are to be made
also in the same manner, and red rose buds.
These last are to be picked from the husk, and
the white heels are to be cut off. They are all
to be beat up with three times their weight of
sugar ; and in the same manner may be made
conserves of cowslip flowers, and of those of
many other plants mentioned in the following
pages.
The outer rinds of Seville oranges and lemons,
are also to be made into conserves in the same
manner, beating them first to a pulp, and then
adding the sugar ; and to these must be added the
conserve of hips and sloes, which are to be made
in a particular manner. The hips are to be
gathered when fully ripe, afterwards set by in
a cellar, till they grow very soft ; then they are
to be laid upon the back of a large hair sieve,
INTRODUCTION.
xxix
1
a dish being put underneath; they are to be
broke with the hand or a wooden pestle, and rub-
bed about till all the soft matter is forced through
the hair-cloth, the seeds 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 mode-
rately ripe, and they are to be set over the fire
in water, till they swell and are softened, but
not till the skin bursts; they are then to be
laid upon a sieve, and the soft matter driven
through as in the other case, and three times
the quantity of sugar is to be mixed with this,
that it may make a conserve by beating toge-
ther.
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 made
may be the juice of some herb or fruit, or a
decoction, or an infusion; which ever it be, let
it stand till quite clear ; then to every wine pint
of it, add a pound and three quarters of loaf sugar,
first beat to powder : put the sugar and the liquor
together into an earthen pan that will go
into a large saucepan ; put water in the sauce-
pan, and set it over the fire. Let the pan stand
in it till the sugar is perfectly melted, scumming it all
the time; then as soon as it is cold, it may he put up
for use, and will keep the year round without
danger.
This being set down as the general method of
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. Let
them stand all night, and in the morning pour
off the clear liquor, and make it into a syrup
as directed above : in the same manner are to
be made the syrups of violets and red poppies :
but less of the violet flowers will do, and more
of the poppies may be added : thus, also, are to
be made the syrups of damask roses, peach blos-
soms, cowslip flowers, and many others which
will be recommended for that purpose in this
book.
Syrup of buckthorn, is to be made by boiling
the juice down to half its quantity, with a little
cinnamon, ginger, and nutineg, and then adding the
sugar.
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 things are to be made
of strong infusions of those ingredients, made
as before directed, with the first mentioned quan-
tity of sugar added to them, when they have stood to
settle.
Syrup of marshmallows, and of poppy heads,
and some others, are to be made in the same
manner with the strongest decoctions that can
possibly be made from those ingredients, with
the same quantity of sugar as is first men-
tioned.
INTRODUCTION.
xxxi.
Syrup of balsam is made by boiling a quarter
of a pound of balsam of Tolu, in a pint and a half
of water in a close vessel, and then making the
water into a syrup, with the usual quantity of
sugar: and thus may be made syrups of any of the
balsams.
Syrup of saffron is made of a tincture 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 syrup, with the usual
quantity of sugar.
At one time it was a custom to keep a quantity
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 worth keeping, and
two or three of the latter, for they have very
particular virtues. The way of making them is
much the same with that of making syrups ; but to
be exact, it may be proper just to give some instance
of it.
Honey of roses is the most useful, and it is
to be made of an infusion of the flowers and
honey in this manner. Cut the white heels from
some red rose buds, and lay them to dry in &
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, and let them
stand twelve hours ; then press off the liquor,
and when it has settled, add to it five pounds
of honey ; boil it well, and when it is of the
consistence of a thick syrup, put it by for use.
It is good against sore mouths, and on many
other . occasions. In the same manner may be
made the honey of any flower; or with the
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 following are so
useful, that it will be proper always 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 honey, and boil it to a con-
sistence.
For vinegar of squills, put into a pint of vinegar
three ounces of dried squills ; let it stand two days
in a gentle heat, then press out the vinegar, and
when it has stood to settle, add a pound and a half of
honey, and boil it to a consistence. Both these are
excellent in asthmas.
To these also should be added, the common simple
oxymel, which is made of a pint of vinegar, and
two pounds of honey boiled together to the consis-
tence of a syrup.
Finally, as to ointments, nothing can be so easy
as the making them of the common herbs, and
the expense is only so much hog's-lard. The lard
is to be meited, and the fresh gethered leaves of
the herb are to be chopped to pieces, and thrown
into it: they are to be boiled till the leaves begin
to feel crisp, and then the lard is to be strained
off. It will be green, and will have the virtues of
the herb, and must be called ointment of such an
herb. To these I shall take the opportunity of
adding the way of making two or three more,
which, though not the produce of English herbs,
a
INTRODUCTION.
Xxxiii.
are very useful, and our charitable shop should not
be without them.
1. 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 :
But it is better for all common purposes without
these.
2. Yellow basilicon, which is made by melting to-
gether yellow wax, resin, and Burgundy pitch, of each
half a pound, in a pint of oil of olives, and adding
three ounces of turpentine.
3. Black basilicon, which is made by melting to-
gether in a pint of olive oil, yellow wax, resin, 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 together. The ointment
of tutty is prepared with levigated tutty, and as
much viper's fat as will make it into a soft ointment :
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 before named for old
sores.
Of the same nature with the ointments, are, in
some degree, the oils made by infusion of herbs
and flowers in common oil. These are also very
easily prepared, and an instance or two will serve
to explain the making of them all. The most
regarded among these is the oil of St. John's-
wort, and that is thus made; pick clean a quarter
of a pound of the flowers of common St. John's
xxxiv.
INTRODUCTION.
wort, pour upon them a quart of olive oil, and let
them stand together till the oil is of a reddish colour.
Oil of elder is made of a pound of elder flowers,
which are to be put into a quart of olive oil, and
boiled till they are crisp, and the oil is to be then
strained off.
3: What is called the green oil, is thus made,
bruise in a marble mortar three ounces of green
chamomile, with the same quantity of bay leaves,
sea-wormwood, rue, and sweet marjoram; then hoil
them in a quart of oil of olives, till they are a little
crisp. The oil is then to be poured off, and when
cold put up for use.
These oils are used to rub the limbs when there
is pain and swellings; their virtues will be found
at 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.
Lastly, though herbs are now left out of the
composition of plaisters, even the melelot being now
made without the herb from which it was first
named; it may be proper to add the way of pre-
paring a few that are most useful, and ought to be
kept in families.
1. The common plaister is thus made; boil
together a gallon of oil, five pounds of powdered
litharge, and a quart and four ounces of water
When the water is boiled away, the rest will be
united into a plaister, but it must be stired all the
time : this used to be called diachylon. To make
diachylon with the gums, add to a pound of the last
described, two ounces of galbanum, and an ounce of
common turpentine, and the same quantity of frank-
incense. Melt them all together the gums first, and
then add the plaister.
INTRODUCTION.
XXXV
2. For a strengthening plaister, melt two pounds
of the common plaister, and add to it half a pound
of frankincense, and three ounces of dragon's
blood.
3. Fer a drawing plaister, melt together yellow
wax and yellow resin, of each three pounds, and
a pound of mutton suet. This is used instead of
the old melilot plaister to dress blisters ; and the
blister plaister itself is made of it, only by 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 waters
made without distillation, which are very cheap and
very serviceable, and the family shop will then be
quite compleat.
1. Lime water. This is made by pouring gra-
dually six quarts of water upon a pound of quick
lime; when it has stood to be clear, it must be poured
off. If a pound of lignum vitæ wood, an ounce of
liquorice root, and half an ounce of sassafras hark
he added to three quarts of lime water, it is called
compound lime water; and is excellent in foulnesses
of the blood.
2. The blue eye water. This is made by put-
ting a dram of sal ammoniac into a pint of lime water,
and letting it stand in a brass vessel, till it is of a sky
blue colour.
-3. Alum water is made by boiling half an ounce
of white vitriol, and the same quantity of alum in a
quart of water, till they are dissolved.
Thus have we described all the drugs and coni-
a
Xxxvi.
INTRODUCTION.
positions that need be kept in the charitable shop
of the family, which intends to relieve a neigh-
bourhood of poor in their greatest of all distresses,
that of sickness. The diseases for which these
remedies are to be used will be found enumerated
at large under the several heads of the principa!
ingredients, as described in the succeeding pages:
It only remains to say a few words about the
manner of putting these things most conveniently
together, and we then shall have prepared all that
follows.
CHAP. V.
Concerning the best methods of putting medicines
together for present taking.
Ion
N the first place, although these several forms
syrups, conserves, and the like, have been
named, as what will be sometimes necessary. The
great practice in the country will lie in the in-
fusions and decoctions of the fresh plants and
roots.
The strength of these infusions and decoctions
is to be proportioned to the taste : for as they are
made to be swallowed in quantities, if they be
made so strong as to be very disagreeable, that
end will be defeated : they may be rendered more
pleasant by sweetening them with sugar, about an
ounce of which is to be allowed to a quart; and
occasionally a little white wine, or a small quan-
tity of some of the cordial waters may be added
to them. The dose of either decoction or infu-
sion, will be in general about half a pint, except
INTRODUCTION.
XXXVII
where they are intended to purge or vomit; there
they must be more carefully and exactly proportioned
to the strength, than can be told in this general
manner.
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 other
ingredients
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
elixir salutis, three, four, or more spoonfuls is the
dose.
It would be well to 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, as sent from
apothecaries, will be very easy.
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 hysteric julep, let
the simple water be pennyroyal, the strong water
the strong pennyroyal, the syrup that of saffron,
and the tincture of castor, and it is a 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 or tincture, and adding two
drams of sugar, and half a dram of levigated
oystar-shel The apothecaries will not be plea-
sed with who disclosing the mysteries of their pro-
xxxviii.
INTRODUCTION.
و
fession, but the public good is of more consequence
than their pleasure.
Draughts are only little juleps, with more pow-
erful ingredients 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 be determined from the case
itself.
Bolises are made with these 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-brass, which is
abominable.
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 piece taken be as large; which is ow-
ing to the conserve, that having in general little
virtue in comparison of the other ingredients.
This is 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 punctually
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
drams of powdered bistort root, one dram of
powdered tormentill, and half a dram of toasted
rhuharb. This makes an electuary, a piece of
which, of the bigness of a nutmeg, taken once in
two days, will check the abundance of stools, with-
out stopping the customary looseness entirely : it
INTRODUCTION.
xxxix.
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.
ood
In this manner the charitable lady may supply
the place of the apothecary, to those who could
not afford such assistanse : and experience is so
good a guide, that she will be able in most cases
to save the expense 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 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 practitioner
will have to do withal, they are the most capable of
doing harm : the great care will therefore lie in the
right use of these.
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 landanum, I would advise that
these two latter be used very seldom. A syrup
INTRODUCTION.
made of the juice of the wild lettuce, is an excellent
medicine; the syrup of diacodium, which is made of
a strong decoction of poppy heads, is a little stronger
than this; and if something more powerful than these
is required, there is the ashmatic elixir. One or other
of these may almost on every occasion serve the pur-
pose ; and it is almost impossib, that the use of them
should be attended with danger. I would therefore
advise, 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 cases, if not
universally, to answer the purpose
FAMILY HERBAL,
A.
ACACIA TREE. Acacia vera sive spina Ægyptiaca.
THE
a
rid
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:
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 very small and narrow: the breadth is
where they lie.
The tree is frequent in Egypt, and there are
à great many other kinds of it. No part of the
acacia tree is kept in the shops ; but we have
from it two drugs :
1. The acacia juice, and 2. The gum arabic.
The acacia juice, or succus acaciæ, is like liquor-
ice juice, hard and black. They bruise the un-
ripe pods and seeds, and press out the juice which
they evaporate to this consistence.
arabic oozes out of the bark of the trimk and
The gum
B
FAMILY HERBAL.
branches, as the plum-tree and cherry-tree gum
do with us.
The acacia juice is an astringent but little
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-water, or in powder in electuaries
or otherwise.
What is called the German acacia is the juice
of unripe sloes evaporated in the same manner.
ACONITE. Anthora sive aconitum salutiferum.
THERE are many poisonous aconites, not used;
but there is one medicinal and kept in the shops :
this is called the wholesome aconite and antithora.
It is a small plant, a foot high, with pale
green divided leaves and yellow flowers. 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
smell: the seed-vessels are membranaceous, and the
seeds black; the root 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 it is not
much regarded at this time.
ADDER'S-TONGUE. Ophioglossum.
ADDER'S-TONGUE is a little plant common in our
meadows. It consists of a single leaf, with
a little spike of seeds rising from its bottom,
which is supposed to resemble the tongue of a
serpent.
The leaf is of an oval shape, and of a fine
FAMILY HERBAL.
bright green colour ; it is thick and fleshy, and has
no ribs or veins. The stalk 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 seed-
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 no-
thing 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 in wounds; but this
is trifling
AGRIMONY. Agrimonia.
A COMMON English planit flowers in the midst
of summer. It grows to a foot or more in height;
the leaves are winged, and the flowers 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 nu.
merous, and the seed-vessels which succeed them
are rough like burs. The plant is common about
hedges.
The leaves are used fresh or dried; they have
been recommended in the jaundice; but they are
found by experience to be good in the diabetes and
incontinence of urine. The plant is also one of the
B 2
4
FAMILY HERBAL.
famous vulnerary herbs, and an ingredient in the
right arquebusade water.
BLACK ALDER.
Alnus nigra. Frangula.
THE black alder is a little shrub. The shoots are
brittle, slender, and covered with a brown bark;
the leaves are roundish, of a bright green, and
veined; they terminate in a point. The berries
are large and black, they are ripe in autumn ;
the flowers which precede these are small and
inconsiderable, they are whitish and stand on short
stalks.
The shrub is frequent in moist woods, and the
berries are sometimes mixt among those of the buck-
thorn by such as gather them for sale ; but this should
be prevented.
No part of the black alder is used in medicine
except the inner rind; this is yellow, and is a
good purge; the best way to give it is in a de-
coction. Boil an 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-IVY.
Hedera terrestris.
A Low plant that creeps about hedges, and flowers
in spring. The stalks are hollow and square, a
foot 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 joint, and the roots
FAMILY HERBAL.
5
are fibrous.
The whole plant has a peculiar
and strong smell, it should be gathered when in
flower.
It is an excellent vulnerary, outwardly or inwardly
used ; a conserve may be made of it in spring :
and it may be given by way of tea. It is excellent
in all disorders of the breast and lungs, and in
those of the kidneys, and against bloody and foul
urine.
ALLHEAL, OR CROWN'S ALLHEAL.
Panax Coloni.
a
A COMMON herb in our wet grounds 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 addition ; they stop
the bleeding, and cure.
ALMOND TREE. Amygdalus.
BITTER and sweet almonds are very different in
taste, but the tree which produces them is the same;
it is distinguishable at least only by the taste of the
almond.
'Tis a moderately large tree, with long narrow
leaves, of a beautiful green, and notched at the
edges; the blossoms are large, of a pale red colour,
and very beautiful. The fruit is composed of
6
FAMILY HERBAL.
17
three parts, a tough matter on the 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 consump-
tions 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.
ALOE PLANT.
Aloe.
THERE are a great many kinds of the aloe pre-
served 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 common
aloe.
The socotrine aloe is a very beautiful plant ; the
leaves are like those of the pine-apple, eighteen or
twenty inches long, prickly at the sides, and armed
with a large thorn at the end. The stalk is half
a yard high or more, naked at the bottom, but orna-
mented at top with a long spike of flowers; these
are of a long shape and hollow, and of a beautiful
red colour.
The socotrine or finest aloes are produced from this
FAMILY HERBAL.
7
plant; the leaves are pressed gently, and the juice
received in earthen vessels : it is set to settle, and 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 a very
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 is a 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 it is in the tincture of bicra
picra.
IT
ALOES Wood. Lignum aloes.
It may be necessary to mention this wood, as it
is sometimes used in medicine, although we are
not acquainted with the tree which affords it. We
are told that the leaves are small, the flowers mode-
rately large, and the fruit as big as a pigeon's egg,
and woolly; and we read also that the juice of the
tree, while fresh, will raise blisters on the skin, and
even cause blindness : but these accounts are very
imperfect.
We see three kinds of the wood in the shops,
S
FAMILY HERBAL
and they are distinguished by three different names,
calambac, common lignum aloes, and calambour;
of these the calambac is the finest and the 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 little.
a
TRUE AMOMUM. Amomum verum racemosum.
a
AMOMUM is another of those drugs we receive
from abroad, and do not know the plants which pro-
duce them. The fruit itself, which is called amo-
mum, is like the lesser cardamom, but that it is
round; it consists of a skinny husk and seeds within,
and is whitish, and of the bigness of a horse-bean.
Several of these sometimes are found growing to-
gether to one stalk in a close body.
The old physicians used it as a cordial and car-
minative, but at present it is much neglected.
COMMON AMOMUM. Amomum vulgare
THOUGH the amomum before mentioned be not
lised in prescription, it is an ingredient in some old
compositions ; and, being often not to be met with,
it has been found necessary to substitute another
carminative seed in its place; this grows on an
English plant, thence called also amomum.
The common amomum, otherwise called bas-
tard stone parsley, is frequent about our hedges ;
it grows to three feet in height, but the stalk
is slender, and divided into a great many branches.
The loaves are of a bright green and winged,
or composed of double rows of smaller, with an
FAMILY HERBAL
9
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 more than all by the pecu-
liar taste of the seeds, which have a flavour of
mace.
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 ingredient in
bitters.
ALKANET. Anchusä.
ALKANET is a rough plant of no great beauty,
cultivated in France and Germany for the sake of
its root. It grows to a foot and a half high ; the
leaves are large, and of a rough irregular sur-
face, 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, and increases the
virtue.
€
10
FAMILY HERBAL.
ANGELICA. Angelica.
A LARGE and beautiful plant kept in our gardens,
and found wild in some parts of the kingdom. 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 vast clusters, of a globose form : two
seeds follow each flower.
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 sudo-
rific; it has been always famous against pestilen-
tial and contagious diseases. The root, the stalks
candied, the seeds bruised, or the water distilled
from the leaves, may be used, but the seeds are
the most powerful. It is also an ingredient in many
compositions.
ANISE. Anisem.
The aniseed used in the shops is produced by
a small plant cultivated in fields for that purpose
in the island of Malta and elewhere. 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 divisions.
The flowers are small, but they grow in large umbels
at the top of the branches, and two seeds follow
each; these are the aniseed.
FAMILY HERBAL.
11
As much bruised aniseed as will lie on a
sixpence is excellent in cholie. 'Tis also
good in indigestions, and other complaints of the
stomach.
APPLES OF Love. Poma Amoris.
These are large juicy fruits, but they are pro-
duced not on a tree, but on a 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 cultivate
it in gardens. The Italians eat the fruit as we do
cucumbers. The jnice is cooling, and is good
externally used in eruptions on the skin, and in
diseases of the eyes, where a sharp humour is trouble-
some,
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
12
FAMILY HERBAL
and a half of sugar. They may also be dried.
They are excellent in the whites, and all other
weaknesses.
There is a little plant with red flowers called
also the red archangel, or red dead-nettle. 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 is 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 of blood, or any kind of hemor-
rhage. It also stops blood, bruised and applied
outwardly.
ARRACH, OR STINKING ARRACH. 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 upright ; 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 less. The
flowers are inconsiderable, and the seeds small, but
they stand in clusters at the tops of the branches,
and have a greenish white appearance. The whole
plant is covered with a sort of moist dust in large
particles, and has a most unpleasant smell. It is
to be used fresh gathered, for it loses its virtue
in drying. A syrup may be made of a pint of
its 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
any of these forms it is an excellent medicine in
FAMILY HERBAL.
13
;
all hysteric complaints. It cures fits, and promotes
the menses, and the necessary evacuations after
delivery.
There is another kind of arrach also mentioned
by medical writers, and called garden arrach ; it is
an annual 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
also 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 in clysters,
but they are less used, and less valuable than the
other.
ARON. Arun.
A VERY common plant under our hedges, and
more vulgarly called cuckowpint, 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 bearded head of an arrow, of a
strong green colour, and sometimes spotted. In
April and May rise among these thick stalks, sup-
porting 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. Afterwards this case
and the pointal fall off, and there remains only
the stem supporting a quantity of berries, which
are ripe in autumn, and are then of a fine red
colour.
The root is the part used. It is an excellent
medicine in palsies. Half one of the roots, fresh
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
its virtue.
ARSMART OR WATER-PEPPER.
Persicaria Urens.
a
A COMMON wild herb, neglected, but of great
virtues. It grows every where about ditches, and
in watery places. It is a foot and a 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 even 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 arsmart, 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 thiek pikes 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.
ARTICHOKE
Cinara.
The root of the common artichoke, or hartichoke,
cultivated for our tables, is an excellent medicine.
The plant itself is of the thistle-kind. and its
FAMILY HERBAL.
15
head, which we see at table, owes much of its big.
ness 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 is 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 to a quart of the water, makes a de-
coction, which works by urine, and I have known it
alone cure a jaundice.
ASARABACCA. Asarum.
A VERY little and low plant found wild in many
parts of Europe, and common in our gardens.
The roots creep about the surface of the ground,
the leaves grow singly from them, and there is no
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
small and of a dusky colour, and they stand near the
ground.
The roots are the most valuable part; the
juice of them may be given in small doses, or
they may be dry and given in powder or infusion.
It works very powerfully by urine, and is good in
obstructions of the menses, and in jaundices and
dropsies.
THE Ash. Fraxinus
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,
16
FAMILY HERBAL.
the seeds are what they call ash-keys, these ripen in
September
The bark of the young branches is good in
obstructions 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. The seeds have the same virtue, but in a less
degree.
The Manna Ash. Fraxinus minore folio.
a
very little.
This is a lower tree than the common ash, and is
not a native of our kingdom, but is frequent 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 the flower and fruit differ
They have also in Calabria another low ash-
tree, which has the backs of the leaves small-
er than ours, and flatter and more rounded, and
from this also they collect manna for the use of
the apothecaries. The manna is a sweet or honey
juice that naturally sweats out of the bark and
leaves in hot weather. The finest manna of all
is that which oozes out of the leaves ; this is in
small pieces. It flows out of the ribs 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 out of itself, and is much
better.
Manna is a most excellent purge, very gentle,
and without any after astringency.
There is a
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 man-
na ; this is produced by the shrub called alhagi, a
kind of broom, or nearly allied to it. But these are
scarce with us.
ASPARAGUS. Asparagus 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 succeed
them are as big as peas, and red.
The root is a powerful diuretic, and is good in all
obstructions of the viscera. It has been known
singly to perform cures in jaundices and dropsies.
It is best given in decoction.
ASPHODEL. Asphodelus verus ramosus albus.
An elegant garden flower, a native of Italy, and
préserved with us more for its beauty than its
use, though sometimes taken as a medicine. It
grows to three feet in height, and the stalk di-
vides into three or four branches towards the
top. The flowers are white, and they stand in
spikes on the tops of these divisions. They are
18
FAMILY HERBAL.
streaked with purple on the top, and have yellow
threads in the middle. The leaves are long and
narrow, hollowed and sharp-pointed ; the root is
composed of several oblong lumps. The root is the
part used in medicine, and it is said to be good
against all obstructions, particularly against 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 ASAFETIDA PLANT.
Asafatida herba.
This is a Persian plant, and is a very tall and
robust one. It grows to nine feet high, and the
stalks are as thick as a child's leg ; they are hollow
and divided toward the tops into several branches.
The leaves are very large, and composed of many
smaller set upon a divided rib. 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, but 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 have 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 full of a thick juice of a strong
smell, which, when hardened, is asafoetida such as
we see.
No part of tbe plant is used but only this
gum or
hardened juice of the root. They
cut off the top of the root, and let the juice
that rises from the wound dry. It becomes
FAMILY HERBAL.
19
reddish on the outside and white within, and is the
asafetida of the shops. An excellent medicine in
all nervous disorders ; it may be given alope rolled
up into pills, no way better.
AVENS. Carryophyllata.
A COMMON wild plant neglected, but worthy
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.
The leaves are large and rough, 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 at the end. Those on 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
as a horse bean, composed of many seeds with hooked
filaments. The root is longish and large, of
a firm substance, reddish colour, and very fragrant
spicy smell ; it is better than many drugs kept in the
shops.
It is a cordial and sudorific, It is good in
nervous complaints, and I have known it alone
cure intermittent fevers, where the bark has been
unsuccessful.
B.
BALM. Melissa.
A PLANT common in our gardens. It grows to
two feet in height, and the stalks are robust,
square, and hairy. The leaves are oblong, broad,
pointed at the end, and dentated about the edges,
and they stand two at a joint; the flowers are small
FAMILY HERBAL.
and white, but they have large rough tops, which
remain after they are fallen. They stand in circu-
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 is in flower
in July
Fresh balm is much better than dry, for it loses
its fragrancy in drying. The best way of taking
it is in tea ; it is good for disorders of the head and
stomach.
;
BALM OF GILEAD SURUB. Balsamum syri-
acum rutæ folio.
kind of pods.
This is an eastern shrub; it grows to five or
six feet high, and the branches are very tough,
and, when broken, have a fragrant smell. The
leaves are like those of rue, only larger and
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, they are contained in a
No part of the shrub is used, but only the
halsam 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 is a very fine balsamic and detergent ; it is good
in the whites, and all weaknesses, and it is cordial
at the same time that it acts as a balsam ; it is best
taken alone upon sugar.
FAMILY HERBAL.
21
BALSAM OF CAPIVI-TREE. Arbor balsamifera
fructu monospermo.
This is a large tree. The wood is of a red colour,
and fine grain ; the bark is brown ; the leaves
are broad, short, and pointed at the end, and
are of a dark green on the upper side, and a
mealy white underneath. The flowers are as
large as apple blossoms, and of a pale colour ;
the fruit is a pod containing only one seed, which
is as big as a nut, and the kernel is sweet and of a
good taste.
The tree is frequent in the Brasils. We use no
part of it, but only the balsam which runs out at
wounds they make in the trunk in summer; 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.
BALSAM OF Peru-Tree. Arbor balsamifera
Peruviana.
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.
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 is a white balsam of Peru, very fragrant and
fine, but it is scarce. This is the produce of
a
22
FAMILY HERBAL.
the same tree, but it oozes naturally from the cracks
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 continued daily, have
cured asthmas and beginning consumptions. It
also promotes the menses, and is excellent in sup-
pressions of urine. Outwardly applied it heals fresh
wounds.
BALSAM OF Tolu-TREC. Arbor balsamifera
Tolutana.
This is a kind of pine tree. It does not grow
to any great height, but spreads into a great quan-
tity of branches. The leaves are long and very
slender, and of a deep green; the bark is of a reddish
white, and the fruit is a small cone, brown and
hard.
No part of the tree is used but the balsam only
which comes from it. They wound the trunk in
liot seasons, and this liquid resin flows out, which
they put up into shells for exportation : it is thick,
brown, and very fragrant. It is excellent in con-
sumptions, and other disorders of the breast, and
may be given in pills. The balsamic syrup of the
apothecaries is made from it, and possesses a great
deal of its virtues.
•
BARBERRY-Bush. Berberis.
This is a wild bush in some parts of Eng-
land, but it is common every where in gardens ;
it grows to eight or ten feet high, in an ir-
regular manner, and much branched. The bark
FAMILY HERBAL.
28
is whitish, and there are abundance of prickles about
the branches. The leaves are of an oval figure, and
strong green colour; and are indented about the
edges. The flowers are small
, and of a pale yellow-
ish colour; the fruit is sufficiently known ; the ber-
ries 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.
BARLEY. Hordeum.
The harley used in medicine is the same with
that of which bread is made, and which serves
the brewer and distiller in their several capacities.
It is known at sight from wheat, when growing,
for it is not so tall, and the leaves are smaller and
narrower. A long beard grows from each grain
in the ear, and the ear is composed of two rows of
them.
We use this 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 a longer
grinding to a little round white lump. The pearl
barley makes the finer and more elegant barley-
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
BARREN WORT. Epidemium.
A SINGULAR and very pretty plant, native of
24
FAMILY HERBAL.
Brod
England, but not common. It grows in woods,
and has beantiful 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, ten or a dozen upon the top ; they
are small, but very singular 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-
sion is easily known. When it stands exposed to the
sun, it seldom does flower ; we see 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 it in warmer climates, and under an
unfavourable exposure.
They called it from this
circumstance, as well as from its virtues, by a
name, which 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 taught to give it to young wo-
men of robust habits, subject to violent hysteric
complaints, and I am assured with great success ;
they give the decoction of the root made strong
and sweetened. 'Twas 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, if they take it in too large quantity, it ren-
FAMILY HERBAL.
ders them stupid for some hours, but no ill consequence
has attended this.
BAY TREE. Laurus.
The bay is a native of Spain and Italy; where
it grows to a large tree : we keep it in gardens,
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 remain 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 flowers are very small
and inconsiderable ; their colour is whitish; they
;
appear in May, but are not regarded, the berries
are ripe in the latter end of autumn, and are large
and black, consisting of two parts within the same
skin.
The berries are dried, and are the part of the
tree mostly used; but the leaves also have great
virtue. The berries are given in powder or in.
fusion ; they are good in obstructions, and in
cholics. They promote urine, and the evacu-
ations after delivery. The leaves are cordial and
good in all nervous complaints. Paralytic 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 crisp, reduced to
powder.
ro
Basil. Ocymum vulgare majus.
а.
Basit is small herb, native of warmer
countries, but not uncommon in our gardens ;
it is bushy and branched ; the stalks are square,
E
26
FAMILY HERBAL.
are
and the leaves stand two at each joint. They
broad and short, and somewhat indented
at the edges. The flowers are small and white,
and are of the shape of those of the dead nettle ;
they stand on the upper parts of the branches in
loose spikes. The whole plant has a very fragrant
smell.
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
they have not equal virtue.
BDELLIUM TREE. Arbor bdellium ferens.
We are very well acquainted with the gum,
or rather gum resin, called bdellium, but we
know very little of the tree from which it is
produced ; the best description we have of it,
amounts to no more than that it is moderate-
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
does not come upon certainty, that is, we are not
assured that this tree produces the very gum we
see. This is of a red brown colour, and bitterish
taste.
It is a good medicine in obstructions of the liver
and spleen, but it is not much used.
FAMILY HERBAL,
27
BEAN. Faba. ,
common
THE
garden bean 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 seeds 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
alembic. The water is a very gentle carminative,
without any heat or acridness; this is excellent for
children's gripes.
common
MALACCA BEAN-TREE. Anacardium
legitimum.
This is a large tree, native of Malabar and
the Philippine Islands ; it grows to the height
and bigness of our tallest elms, and has much of
their manner of growth, as to the branches. 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
of the syringa flower, but fainter. The fruit is
of the bigness of a pear, and much of the same
shape; it is of a deep red, when ripe, 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 an olive,
28
FAMILY HERBAL.
and has a dusky red coat or shell, but it is
white within. This is the part used in medicine,
for the whole fruit is not regarded
The ana-
cardium, 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 between
the outer and inner rinds of the shell, which will
take away freckles from the skin; but it is so
sharp, that the ladies must be cautious how they
use it.
WEST-INDIA-BEAN, or Cashew Nut-TREE.
Arbor acajou vulgo cajou.
It appears by the description of the anacar-
dium how very improperly it is called a nut,
for it is the kernel of a large fruit, though
growing in a singular manner. The case is just
the same with respect to the Cashew nut, for it
is neither a nut nor a bean, any more than the
other: but it is necessary to keep to the common
names, and it is proper they should be mentioned
together.
The tree which produces it is large and spread-
ing; the bark is of a pale colour, rough and
cracked, and the wood is brittle. The leaves
are half a foot long, and two or three inches
broad, blunt at the end, and of a fine green
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 colour mixt together; the Cashew nut or
bean, as it is called, hangs naked from the
bottom of this fruit. It is of the bigness of a
garden bean, and indented in the manner of a
kidney ; it is of a greyish colour, and consists of
a shelly covering, and a fine white fleshy sub-
FAMILY HERBAL.
29
stance within, as sweet as an 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 sometimes causes
mischief.
BENGAL BEAN-TREE. Faba Bengalensis.
A LARGE tree, native of the East, and not
unlike our plum-tree. It is thirty or fortyfcet
high ; the leaves are roundish, but sharp-pointed,
and of a deep green ; they are 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.
The Bengal bean, as it is called, is an irregu-
lar production of this tree : it is very ill-named
a bean ; it is truly a gall like those of the oak :
a
but it does not rise like them from the wood or
leaves, but from the fruit of this particular plum.
It is as broad as
as a walnut, but flatted, and
hollowed in the centre ; 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 it is green, and has
but the rudiments of the stone. It grows dis-
30
FAMILY HERBAL,
tempered from the wound, and the stone never ripens
in it, but it takes this singular form.
It is an excellent astringent. It is of the nature of
the galls of the oak, but less violently binding. It is
good in all purgings and bloody fluxes, and against
the overflowing of the menses.
BEAR'S-BREECH. Acanthus.
A VERY beautiful plant, native of Italy, and
some other warm parts of Europe, and kept in our
gardens. It grows a yard high ; the stalk is
thick, round, and fleshy; the leaves grow from
the root, and are a foot long, four inches broad,
very beautifully notched at the edges, and of
a dark glossy green.
The flowers stand in a
kind of thick short spike at the top of the stalks,
intermixed with small leaves; these flowers are
large, white, and gaping. The whole plant, when
in 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 decoction. It
was a great medicine with an eminent apothecary of
Peterborough, and he gave more relief with it in the
gravel and stone, than any other medicine would
afford.
BEAR's-FOOT. Helleborus niger.
A LOW and singular plant, but not without
its beauty ; it is a native of many parts of
Europe, but we have it only in gardens; the
leaves are large ; each rises from the root singly,
on a foot-stalk of six inches long, and is di-
vided into nine parts like fingers on a hand :
FAMILY HERBAL.
31
sometimes thé divisions are fewer. The flowers are
very large and beautiful, they are as big as a com-
mon single rose, or nearly so ; they are white, red-
dish, or greenish, according to the time of their having
been open ; and they stand each on a single stalk,
which rises from the root, and has no leaves on it.
It flowers in 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
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.
LADIES' BEDSTRAW. Gallium luteum.
A PRETTY 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
many at each joint, and are small, narrow, and
disposed about the stalk like the rowels of a
spur ; the flowers grow in great tufts on the
tops of the stalks, so that they make a very con-
spicuous appearance, though singly they are 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 evacuations of
blond.
32
FAMILY HERBAL.
BEET. Beta alba.
A COMMON garden plant eaten at our te
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 un-
dulated, the flowers are inconsiderable, they are
of a greenish white colour ; the root is large and
long.
The juice of fresh beet-root 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 purpose,
but it is not so strong as the white.
WHITE BEHEN. Behen album.
a
A COMMON wild plant in our corn fields. It is
two feet high ; the stalks are weak and often crooked;
but they are thick enough, round, and of a whitish
green colour. The leaves are oblong, broad, and
of a fine blue green colour, not dented at all at the
edges, and they grow two at every joint ; the
joints of the stalks where they grow are swelled
and large, and the leaves have no stalks. The
flowers are white, moderately large, and prickly.
They stand upon a husk which seems blown up with
wind.
This is one of those plants of our own growtli,
that have more virtue than people imagine. The
root, which is long, white, and woody, is to be
gathered before the stalks rise, and dried. An
infusion is one of the best remedies known for
nervous complaints: it will not take place against
FAMILY HERBAL.
a violent present disorder ; but is an excellent pre-
servative, taken cautiously.
RED
Rod BEHEN. Limonium majus.
.
A COMMON wild plant about our séa-coasts,
and a very pretty one. It grows to a foot in
height; the stalks are naked, and the flowers
red; and, in their disposition, they somewhat re-
semble lavender, whence the plant is also called by
sone sea lavender. About the bottoms of the
stalks stand clusters of large and broad leaves,
rounded at the ends, of a deep green colour,
and fattish substance; these rise immediately
from the root, and the stalks grow up among
them. The stalks are very tough and strong, and
branched, and of a paler green; the root is long and
reddish.
The people in Essex cure themselves of purg-
ings, and of overflowings of the menses, with an
infusion of this root; and it is a very great me-
dicine, though little known. It is to be gathered,
as soon as the young leaves appear, cleaned and
dried; it may be taken in powder, half a drachm
for a dose. These are not the white and red behen
roots of the old writers on physic, but they are
better.
BEN-NUT-TREE. Balanus myrepsica.
This is an Arabian tree, not very large, but
exceedingly singular in the nature of its leaves.
They are composed of a great number of small
roundish parts, growing at the extremities of
strong branched foot-stalks. The leaves fall
first, and these foot-stalks long after. When
the leaves are fallen, and the stalks remain,
84
FAMILY HERBAL.
the tree makes a very singular appearance. The
fruit is a pod, long, but slender, and containing two
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 vomit and stool violently,
and is seldom used. It affords an oil which has nei.
ther smell nor taste, and which will keep a long time
without growing rancid.
a
BENJAMIN TRED. Arbor benzionifera.
و
A BEAUTIFUL tree frequent in the East, and
there affording the fine fragrant resin of its name :
it is also of the growth of America, and thrives
there, but it yields no resin. It is a moderately
tall tree; the bark is smooth and brown; the
leaves are broad, oblong, and not unlike those
of the lemon-tree. The flowers are whitish,
and very inconsiderable. The fruit is as big as
a nutmeg, and consists of a fleshy substance on
the outside, and a kernel inclosed in a thin and
brittle shell within. The tree is properly of the bay-
tree kind.
They cut the branches of the benjamin trees,
and the juice which flows out hardens by de-
grees into that reddish and white fragrant resin
we see. It is an excellent medicine in disorders of
the breast and lungs : and a tincture of it made
with spirit of wine makes water milky, and this
mixture is called virgin's milk; it is good to cleanse
the skin.
Wood BETONY. Butonica sylvestris.
A COMMON wild herb, but ,of very great vir-
FAMILY HERBAL.
35
.
tue. It is frequent in our 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. The 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 just going to
flower. It is excellent for 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 tobacco and smoke it, but this is a more un-
certain method.
There is a tall plant with small purple flowers
growing by waters, thence and from the shape of
the leaves called water betony, but it has none of the
virtues of this plant; it is a kind of fig-wort, and
possesses the virtues of that plant, but in an inferior
degree.
BIND WEED.
Convolvulus major.
A COMMON wild plant which climbs about
our hedges, and bears very large white flowers.
The stalks are weak and slender, but very tough,
six or eight feet long, and twist about any thing
that can support them. The leaves are large,
and of the shape of an arrow-head, bearded at
the base, and sharp at the point: they stund
36
FAMILY HERBAL.
singly, not in pairs, and are of a pale green co-
lour. The flowers are of the breadth of a crown-
piece at the mouth, and narrower to the base, bell-
fashioned, and perfectly white. The root is long
and slender. Gods
In Northamptonshire the poor people use the root
of this plant fresh gathered and boiled in ale as a
purge; they save the expense of the apothecary,
and answer the purpose better than any one thing
would do for them. It would nauseate a delicate
stomach, but, for people of their strong constitution,
there is not a better purge.
BILLBERRY Bush. Vaecinia nigra.
onide
A LITTLE tough shrubby plant, common in our
boggy woods, and upon wet heaths. The stalks are
tough, angular, and green; the leaves are small;
they stand singly, not in pairs, and are broad, short,
and indented about the edges. The flowers are
small but pretty, their colour is a faint red, and
they are hollow like a cup. The berries are as
large as the biggest pea, they are of a blackish
colour, and of a pleasant taste.
A syrup made of the juice of billberries, when
pot over ripe, is cooling and binding; it is a plea-
sant and gentle medicine for women whose menses
are apt to be too redundant, taken for a week before
the time.
a
BIRCH-TREE. Betula.
A TALL and handsome tree, common in our woods
and hedges. The bark is smooth and white. The
young shoots are reddish, and they are small and
long. The leaves are beautiful ; they are short,
roundish, of a fine bright green, and notohed
FAMILY HERBAL.
37
about the edges. The flowers are inconsiderable;
the fruit is a little scaly globule, preceding the leaves
in spring
The juice of the birch-tree, procured by boring
a hole in it in spring, is diuretic, and good against
the scurvy. The leaves, fresh gathered, and boil-
ed in water, afford a decoction, which acts in the
same manner, and is good in dropsies; and in all
cutaneous disorders, outwardly used.
brego
ROUND-ROOTED BIRTHWORT. Aristolochia
tunda.
ro-
A WILD plant in Italy, and the south of France;
but with us found only in the gardens of the
curious. It has no great beauty, or even singularity
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 leaves
are short, broad, and roundish, of a dusky green;
also the flowers are long, hollow, and of an odd
form, not resembling the flowers of other plants :
they are of a dusky greenish colour on the out-
side, and purple within : the fruit is fleshy, and
as big as a small walnut The root is large and
roundish.
The root is the only part used in medicine,
and that we have from countries where the plant
is a native ; it is a rough and Gisagreeable medicine;
it often offends the stomach, but it is an excellent
drug for promoting the necessary evacuations after
delivery:
There are two other kinds of birthwort, the
poot of which are also kept in the shops; the one
called the long birthwort; the other the climbing
birthwort. They possess the same virtues with the
The ined in medicine
toe
38
FAMILY HERBAL.
round, but in a less degree, and are therefore less
regarded.
BISHOPSWEED. Ammi.
A WILD plant in France 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
is succeeded by two seeds; these are small and
striated, of a warm aromatic taste, and not disa
greeable.
The seeds are the only part of the plant used
in medicine; they are good against the colic,
as all the other carminative seeds are ; but they
are also diuretic; so that they are particularly
proper in those colics which arise from the stone
in the kidneys and ureters ; they also promote the
menses.
There is another sort of bishopsweed called
Cretick ammi, the seeds of which are used in me
dicine; they are of the same virtues with these, but
are less used. They have a more spicy smell.
BISTORT. Bistorta.
A VERY beautiful wild plant : it grows in our
meadows, and, when in flower, in May and June,
is very conspicuous, as well as very elegant in
its appearance.
It is about a foot and a half
2
FAMILY HERBAL.
39
high; the leaves are broad and beautiful, and
the flowers grow in a thick spike or ear, at the
top of the stalks, and are of a bright red colour.
There rise immediately from the root a number
of 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 are round, firm, and erect, of
a pale green, and have two or three leaves, like
the others, but smaller, on them, placed at dis-
tances. The spike of the flowers is as long
and as thick as a man's thumb: the root is thick
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 astringents in the world : not
violent, but sure. The time of gathering it is in
March, when the leaves begin to shoot. String
several of them on a line, and let them dry in the
shade. The powder or decoction of them will stop
all fluxes of the belly, and is one of the safest reme
dies known for overflowings of the menses. They
are also good in a diabetes. The use of this root
may be obtained without danger, till it effects a
perfect cure.
BITTER-SWEET.
Solanum lignosum.
A COMMON wild plant, with weak, but woody
stalks, that runs among our hedges, and bears
bunches of very pretty blue flowers in sum-
mer, and in autumn red berries. The stalks
run to ten feet in length, but they cannot sup-
port themselves upright : they are of a bluish
colour, and, when broken, have a very disagree-
able smell like rotten eggs. The leaves are oval;
FAMILY HERBAL.
a
but sharp pointed, and have each two little ones
near the base; they are of a dusky green and
indented, and they grow singly on the stalks.
The flowers are small, and of a fine purplish blue,
with yellow threads in the middle. The berries
are, oblong. This is little regarded in medicine,
but it deserves to be better known; we account
the night-shades poisonous, and many of them
are so; but this has no harm in it. The wood
of the larger branches, and the young shoots of
the leaves, are a safe and excellent purge. I have
known a dropsy taken early cured by this single
medicine.
BLOOD-WORT. Lapathum sanguineum.
A BEAUTIFUL kind of dock kept in gardens,
and wild in some places. It grows to four feet
high ; the stalks are firm, stiff, upright, branch-
ed, and striated. The leaves are very long and
narrow, broadest at the base, and smaller all the
way to the end. They are not at all indented
at the edges, and they stand upon long foot-stalks :
their colour is a deep green, but they are in
different degrees stained with a beautiful blood
red; sometimes the ribs only are red, sometimes
there are long veins of red irregularly spread
over the whole leaf; sometimes they are very
broad, and in some plants the whole leaves and
the stalks also are of a blood colour; the flowers
are very numerous and little. They in all respects
resemble those of the common wild docks. The
root is long and thick, and of a deep blood red
colour.
The roots are used : they are best dry, and they
may be given in decoction, or in powder. They are
a powerful astringent: they stop bloody fluxes,
FAMILY HERBAL.
41
spitting of blood, and the overflowings of the menses.
It is also good against violent purgings and against
the whites.
BRAMBLE. Rubus vulgaris.
a
pur-
The most common bush in our hedges. The
stalks are woody, angulated, and of a
plish colour; and they are armed with crooked
spines; the leaves are rough, indented, and stand
either five or three on a stalk. The flowers are
white, with a very fairit tinge of purplish, and
the fruit is composed of a number of small
grains.
The most neglected things have their use.
The
buds of the bramble-leaves boiled in spring water,
and the decoction sweetened with honey, are excel-
lent for a sore throat. A syrup made of the juice
of the unripe fruit, with very fine sugar, is cooling
and astringent. It is good in immoderate fluxes
of the menses, and even in purgings. The berries
are to be gathered for this purpose, when they are
red.
BLUE BOTTLE. Cyanus.
A VERY
common and
and a very pretty weed
among our corn; the leaves are narrow, and of a
whitish green ; and the flowers of a very beauti-
ful blue, and large. The plant is about a foot
high, and, when in flower, makes a conspicuous
and elegant appearance. The root is hard and
fibrous ; the stalk is very firm and white, angu-
lated, and branched. The leaves that grow from
the root have some notches on the edges; those
on the stalk have none, and they are narrow
like blades of grass; the flowers stand only on the
FAMILY HERBAL.
tops of the branches, and they grow out of scaly
heads. The seeds are beautiful, hard, white, and
shining
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 are not sufficiently known for
this purpose, but 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 is a large kind of this plant in gardens,
which is called a vulnerary or wound herb. But it
is not so good as this.
a
Box TREE. Buxus.
A COMMON little shrub in our gardens, and a
native of our own country, though not common
in its wild state. With us it grows but to a
small height; in some other parts of Europe, it
is a tolerably large shrub. The bark is whitish,
the wood yellow; the leaves small, roundish, smooth,
of a very dark green colour, and very numerous.
The flowers are small and greenish yellow; the
fruit is little, round, and furnished with three
points.
The wood of the box-tree, and particularly
of the root, is an excellent medicine in all foul-
nesses of the blood; it has the same virtues with
the guiacum, but in a greater degree. It is to be
given in decoction not made too strong, and con-
tinued a long time. There have been instances
of what were called leprosies cured entirely by
This medicine. There is an oil made from it by
FAMILY HERBAL.
43
distillation, which is good for the tooth-ache. It
is to be dropped on cotton, and to be put into the
tooth.
BORAGE. Borago.
a
A ROUGH plant common in our gardens, with 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 so sturdy
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 stalks 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 medicinal preparations, for in them it is
a
nauseous.
WHITE BRYONY. Bryonia alba.
A TALL, climbing, wild plant, which covers our
hedges in many places. The leaves are somewhat
like those of the vine; the flowers are incon-
siderable ; but the berries are red, and make a great
shew. The root is vastly large, rough, and whitish;
the stalks are tough, ten or twelve feet long; but
weak and unable to support themselves ; they have
tendals at the joints, and by these they affix them-
selves to bushes. The leaves are broad, and divided
FAMILY HERBAL.
deeply at the edge, and they are hairy. The flowers
are of a greenish white and small, but the berries are
moderately large and full of seeds.
The root is the only part used in medicine; the
juice of it operates very strongly by vomit and stool,
and that in a small 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 to be given in very small doses,
and frequently repeated.
BLACK BRYONY. Bryonia nigra.
THERE is not any instance which more blames our
neglect of the medicines of our own growth, than
this of the black bryony, a medicine scarce known
or heard of, but equal to any.
The plant climbs upon bushes and hedges like
the former, but this by twisting its stalk about
the branches of trees and shrubs, for it has no
tendrils. It runs to fifteen feet in height; the
stalk is tough and angular: the leaves are broad,
and of a heart-like shape, and are perfectly smooth
and shining, and of a glossy and very deep blackish
green. The flowers are very small, and of a greenish
white; the berries are red. The root is black
without, white within, and full of a slimy juice.
The root of black bryony is one of the best
diuretics known in medicine. It is an excel-
lent remedy in the gravel, and all other obstructions
of urine, and other disorders of the urinary
passages.
BROOKLIME. Anagallis aquatica, becabunga.
A COMMON wild herb frequent about shallow
FAMILY HERBAL.
15
walers, with a thick stalk, 'roundish leaves, and
spikes of little bright blue flowers. Brooklime
grows to a foot high. The stalk is round, fleshy,
and large, yet it does not grow 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 must be used
fresh gathered, for they are all lost in drying. The
juice in spring is very good against the scurvy ; but
it must be taken for some time. It works gently
by urine, but its great virtue is in sweetening the
blood.
BROOM. Genista.
A COMMON naked-looking shrub that grows on
waste grounds, and bears yellow flowers in May.
It is two or three feet high. The stalks are very
tough, angular, and green.
The leaves are few,
and they are also small; they grow three together,
and stand at distances on the long and slender stalks.
The flowers are numerous, they are shaped like a
pea-blossom, and are of a beautiful bright yellow.
The pods are flat and hairy.
The green stalks of broom, infused in ale or beer
for the common drink, operate by urine, and remove
obstructions of the liver and other parts; they are
famous in the dropsy and jaundice. It is a common
practice to burn them to ashes, and infuse those ashes
in white wine ; thus the fixed salt is extracted, and
the wine becomes a kind of lee. This also works
,
by urine more powerfully than the other, but the
other is preferable for removing obstructions,
46
FAMILY HERBAL.
BUTCHERS-BROOM. Ruscus.
A LITTLE shrubby plant frequent on our waste
grounds and heaths, with small prickly leaves and
bushy tops. The plant grows a foot and a 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 re-
garded; they grow in a singular manner upon the
backs of the leaves ; they are very small and pur-
plish: these are succeeded each by a single berry,
which is red, round, and as big as a pea. The roots
a
are white, thick, and numerous
The root is the part used, and it is an excellent
medicine to remove obstructions. It works power-
fully by urine, and is good in jaundices, and in
stoppages of the menses, and excellent in the gravel.
BUCK-BEANS. Trifolium palustre.
An herb better known by the common people,
than among the apothecaries, but of great virtue.
It grows wild with us in marshy places, and is
of so very singular appearance, that it must be
known at sight. It grows a foot high, the leaves
stand three upon each stalk, and these stalks rise
immediately from the roots. They are thick,
round, smooth, and fleshy; and the leaves them-
selves are large, oblong, and have some resemblance
of those of garden beans. The flowers stand
upon naked stalks, which are also thick, round,
fleshy, and whitish: they are small, but they grow
FAMILY HERBAL.
47
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 ; the root is whitish, long, and
thick.
The leaves of buck-bean are to be gatnered
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 for a con-
tinuance of time in infusion, or in the manner of
tea.
BUCKTHORN. Spina cervina.
A PRICKLY shrub, common in our hedges,
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 edges.
The flowers are little and inconsiderable; they
are of a greenish yellow, and grow in little clus-
ters. The berries, which are ripe in September,
are round, glossy, black, as big as the largest
pepper-corns, and contain each three or four
seeds.
The juice of the berries, boiled up with sugar,
makes a good purge; but it is apt to gripe, unless
some spice be added in the making. It is a rough
purge, but a very good one.
BUCKSHORN PLANTAIN. Coronopus.
A VERY pretty little plant, which grows in our
sandy and barren places, with the leaves spread
out in manner of a star, all the way round from the
a
48
FAMILY HERBAL.
root; and in the heads like other plantains, al-
though 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 Ittle hairy. The stalks are
slender, six inches long, but seldom quite erect :
they are round, hairy, and whitish, and have at the
top a spike of 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
It is said also to be a remedy against
the bite of a mad dog ; but this is idle and ground-
less.
a cure.
BUGLE. Bugula
A COMMON wild plant, and a very pretty
one, with glossy leaves, creeping stalks, and blue
flowers; it is frequent in damp woods. The
stalks, when they rise up to bear the flowers, are
eight or ton inches high, square, of a pale green
colour, often a little purplish ; and have two leaves
at every joint, the joints being somewhat distant,
These leaves are of the same form with those
which rise immediately from the root; oblong,
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
are small, and of a beautiful blue, in shape like
those of betony; they grow in a sort of circles
round the upper part of the stalks, forming a kind
FAMILY HERBAL
49
of loose spikes. The cups remain when the flowers
are gone, and hold the seeds.
The juice of this plant is esteemed good for inward
bruises; it is a very good diuretic.
BUGLOSS. 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. The 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
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 making
any regular preparation of it, that is possessed of any
virtues.
There is a wild kind of bugloss upon ditch-
banks, very like the garden kind, and of the same
virtues.
>
BURDOCK. Bardana.
Ir the last 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 ;
u
50
FAMILY HERBAL.
but, because 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
among the hooked prickles of those heads which
we call burs, and which stick to our clothes.
Even this seems a provision of nature in kindness
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 me-
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 sudorific
and good in fevers ; but its virtue in operating by
urine is its great value.
to us.
a
BURNET. Pimpinella sanguisorba.
A COMMON wild plant. It grows by way-
sides, 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 of a 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-
ly serrated round the edges. The stalks are
foot high, round, striated, purplish or green, and
almost naked; the few leaves they have are like
those at the bottom. On the tops of these stalks
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
51
a
stand the flowers; they are disposed in little round
clusters, and are small, 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.
BURNET SAXIFRAGE. Pimpinella saxifraga.
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 foot are pinnated, and the lesser leaves
of which they are composed, are hard, of a deep
green, 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.
The root is the only part used; it should be
taken up in spring before the stalks shoot up, and
dried ; it is very good in colics, and disorders of the
stomach, and it works by urine.
:
BUTTER-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.
The stalks are round, thick, spungy, and of a
whitish colour, and have a few films by way of
52
FAMILY HERBAL
leaves upon them. On the top of each stands
a spike of flowers, of a pale reddish colour ;
the whole does not rise to more than eight inches
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 fect 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 good
diuretic, and excellent in the gravel.
و
BUR-REED. Sparganium.
A COMMON water plant, with leaves like
flags, and rough heads of seeds : it is two or three
feet high. The stalks are round, green, thick,
and upright. The leaves are very long and nar.
row, sharp at the edges, and with a sharp ridge
on the back along the middle; they are of a pale
green, and look fresh and beautiful. The flowers
are inconsiderable and yellowish : they stand in a
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 nutmeg, green and
rough. The root is composed of a quantity of
white fibres.
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
is infused in a rough red wine, with a little cin-
namon. They use them in some parts of England
FAMILY HERBAL.
53
externally 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.
CHOCOLATE NUT-TREE.
Cacao.
This is an American tree, very beautiful, as
well as very valuable for its fruit. The trunk
is of the thickness of a man's leg, and the
height of fifteen feet'; but in this it differs
greatly according to the soil; and the size of the
fruit 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 into
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 yellowish,
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 rigid, and, when ripe, of a purplish
colour, with some tinct of yellow. The cacao nuts,
as they are called, are lodged within 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 cho.
colate.
The common way of taking this in chocolate is
not the only one in which it may be given ; the nut
itself may he put into electuaries. It is very nourish-
ing and restorative.
FAMILY HERBAL.
CALAMINT. 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 green 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, and are of a whitish co-
lour, a little tinged with purplish, The root is
composed of few fibres. Calamint should be ga-
thered when just coming into flower, and careful-
ly dried ; it is 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. I
have known effectual and lasting cures performed by it.
PENNY-ROYAL
odore
CALAMINT. Calamintha
pulegh.
mon.
A LITTLE plant of the same kind with the
other, and found in the same places, but more com-
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 small and 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 is strong-
scented and pleasant.
This is to be preserved dry as the other, and
taken in the same manner.
It is excellent against
stoppages of the menses, and, if taken constantly.
will bring them to a regular course,
FAMILY HERBAL
53
CALVES' SNOUT, OR SNAPDRAGON.
Antirrhinum.
A COMMON wild plant in many parts of
Europe, and is very frequent in our 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 particu-
lar, and the taste of the infusion is so far from
agreeable, that it is not worth while to have recourse
to it.
CAMEL'S HAY.
Schenanthus.
A SORT of grass of a fragrant smell, frequent
in many parts of the East, and brought over
to us 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 leaves 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.
a
the stalks in a double series: they are not unlike those
of our grasses, chaffy and ornamented with a few
filaments.
It was at one time in great esteem as a medicine;
they called it a cordial, and a promoter of the menses,
but it is now very little regarded.
CHAMOMILE. Chamamelum.
;
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, and gets
no good by being brought into gardens. It grows
larger there, but has less efficacy. In its 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, and of 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 pleasant bitter; or in powder they are excellent
for disorders of the stomach, and have sometimes
cured agues, as many other bitters will. The tea
made of them is also good against the colic, and
works by urine.
CAMPHIRE-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
leaves are like those of the common bay-tree, only
a little longer; and they are curled at the edges.
FAMILY HERBAL.
The flowers are small and white, and the fruit is
a berry 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.
"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 full of 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 sudorifis and works by urine; it also pro-
motes the menses, and is good in disorders of the
bladder.
WHITE CAMPION. Lychnis flore aibo.
a
3
A COMMON wild plant in our hedges and dry
pastures, with hairy leaves and white flowers. It
grows to a foot and a half high : the stalks are round
and hairy; the leaves are of an oval form, and also
hairy, and they grow two at every joint: they are
of a dusky green, and are not indented about the
edges. The flowers are moderately large, and
.
white; they grow in a kind of small clusters on
the tops of the branches, and each has its separate
foot-stalk.
This is a plant not much regarded for its virtues,
but it 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.
CANEL BARK-TREE, CALLED THE WINTER'S BARK-
TREE. Canella alba.
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 they stand in a 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 cinnamon, and is of a spicy taste,
and of a whitish colour. Its proper name is canella
alba, white canel ; but the druggists have accustom-
ed themselves to call it cortex winteranus, winter's-
bark. It has the same virtues with that, but in a
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.
It is 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 are not so well established.
a
CANTERBURY BELLS. Trachelium majus.
A VERY beautiful wild plant, with leaves like
the stinging-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
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 or a 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, sharpened 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, in the the use of every
thing in this way, it is best to spit the liquor out
together with the foulnesses which it may have
washed from the affected parts.
>
CAPER SHRUB. 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.
FAMILY HERBAL.
The bark of the root is to be taken in powder,
or infusion ; it is good against obstructions of the
liver and spleen, in the jaundice, and hypochondriac
complaints: it is also commended in indigestions.
CARANNA TREE. Caranna arbor.
A TALL East Indian 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.
The resin called gum caranna, is a product of
this tree; it is procured by cutting the branches;
they send it in rolls covered with leaves of rushes ;
it is blackish on the outside, and brown within.
It is supposed a good nervous medicine, but it is
rarely used
LESSER CARDAMOM PLANT. Cardamomum
minus,
An East Indian plant, in many respects resem-
bling our reeds. It grows to ten or twelve feet
high. The stalk is an inch thick, round, smooth,
green, and hollow, but with a pith within. The
leaves 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 every flower one
of the fruits, called the lesser cardamoms, which
are a light dry hollow fruit, of a whitish colour,
and somewhat triangular shape ; of the bigness of
an horse-bean, and of a dry substance on the out-
:
FAMILY HERBAL.
61
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 cardamom 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 taste is
not at all disagreeable.
The two other kinds are the middle cardamom,
a long fruit very rarely met with, and the great
cardamom, otherwise called the grain of paradise,
much better than the cardamoms.
CARANNA TREE. Caragna.
and narrow,
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
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
have of it, but this is far from perfect or satisfactory
in every respect.
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
medicines, but this is not probable.
CARLINE THISTLE. Carlina.
I HAVE observed that many plants are
not
62
FAMILY HERBAL.
so much regarded for their virtues as they ought
to 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 upon
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.
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.
а.
CARAWAY PLANT. Carum.
A WILD plant of the umbelliferous kind, frequent
in most parts of Europe, but cultivated in Germany
for the sake of the seed. I have met with it very
common in Lincolnshire.
It grows to a yard high ; the stalks 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
Wild CARROT. 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.
CANDY CARROTS. 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
branched : 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-
uretic.
CASCARILLA TREE. Cascarilla.
A TREE of South America, of the fruits and
flowers of which we have but very imperfect
64
FAMILY HERBAL.
accounts, though we are very well acquainted with
the bark of its young branches. What we have
been told of it is, that the branches are numerous,
and spread irregularly ; that the leaves are oblong,
green on the upper side, and whitish underneath;
and the flowers small, fragrant, and placed in a
sort of clusters.
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 : it is cordial and
astringent. It
It is very properly given in fevers
attended with purging. And many have a custom
of smoking it among tobacco, as a remedy for
head-aches, 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 too far.
CASSIA FISTULA TREE. Cassia fistula.
It grows
This is a large tree, native of the East, and
a very beautiful one when in flower.
twenty or thirty feet high, and is very much
branched. The leaves are large, and of a deep
green, and each is composed of three or four
pairs of smaller, with an odd one at the end.
The 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, and the seeds.
This pulpy matter is the only part used in
medicine. It is a gentle and excellent purge,
the
lenitive electuary owes its virtues to it. It never
FAMILY HERBAL..
65
binds afterward, and therefore is an excellent medi-
cine for those who are of costive habits; a small
dose of it being taken frequently.
CASSIA BARK TREE. Cassia lignea.
This is a large spreading tree, frequent in the
East Indies, and very much resembling the cinna-
mon tree in its appearance.
The branches are
covered with a brownish bark; the leaves are
oblong and pointed at the ends, and of a deep
green colour, and fragrant smell. The flowers are
small, and the fruit resembles that of the cinnamon
tree.
The bark of the branches of this tree is the
only part used in medicine; it is of a reddish brown
colour like cinnamon, and resembles it in smell
and taste, only it is fainter in the smell, and less
acrid to the taste; and it leaves a glutinous or
mucilaginous matter in the mouth. It is often
mixed among cinnamon, and it possesses the same
virtues, but in a less degree. However in purgings
it is better thanı cinnamon, because of its mucila-
ginous nature. It is an excellent remedy given in
powder in these cases, and is not so much used as it
ought to be.
CASSIA CARYOPHYTHATA, OR CLOVE BARK TREE
Cassia caryophythata.
This is a large and beautiful tree, frequent in
South America. The trunk is covered with a
dusky bark, the branches with one that is paler
coloured and more smooth. The leaves are like
those of our bay-tree, only larger; and when
bruised, they have a very fragrant smell : the flowers
66
FAMILY HERBAL.
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 in
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.
CASSIDONY, OR ARABIAN STÆCHAS. 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, and is not uncommon in our
gardens. 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 at each joint; they are long, narrow,
and white. The flowers stand in little clusters or
heads, like those of lavender; and there are two er
three large and beautiful deep blue leaves upon the
tops of the heads, which give them a very elegant
appearance.
The 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
in all nervous complaints, and help to promote
the menses. They are best taken dried and pow-
dered sitano
972 89TOI SI o tome be bomo
អន់ៗ (1)
Biosol ach lioma cererilor sayes
FAMILY HERBAL.
67
CASSUMUNAR PLANT. Cassumunar.
A COMMON plant of the East Indies, but of which
we do not seem to have yet so perfect a description
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 somewhat
like those of certain of our orchises. They are mota
.
tled 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 warm taste.
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 is a
very good medicine in nervous and hysteric com:
plaints. It 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
by sweat.
CATMINT.
Nepeta.
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 obtuse
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 in a kind of spiked clusters,
surrounding the stalks at certain distances. The
whole plant has a very strong and not very agree.
able smell.
68
FAMILY HERBAL.
Catmint should be gathered just when the flowers
are opening, and dried. It is an excellent woman's
medicine ; an infusion of it is good against hyteric
complaints, vapours, and fits, and it moderately
promotes the menses : it is also good to promote the
evacuations after delivery.
GREAT CELANDINE. Chelidonium majus.
It grows
A COMMON wild plant with large leaves, and
yellow flowers : which, when broken in any part,
stalk or leaves, emits a yellow juice.
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
a yellowish green. The flowers are small, but of a
beautiful yellow, and they stand on long foot-stalks
several together.
Celandine should be used fresh, for it loses the
greatest part of its virtue in drying.. The juice
is the best way of giving it; and this is an excel-
lent medicine in the jaundice: it is also good
against all obstructions of the viscera, and if con-
tinued a time, will do great service against the
scurvy. The juice is also used successfully for sore
eyes.
LITTLE CELANDINE. Chelidonium minus.
The great and the little 'celandine are plants
so perfectly different, that it is hard to conceive
what could induce the old writers to call them
both by the same name. They hardly agree in
any thing, except it be that they have both yellow
flowers. The great celandine approaches to the
.
nature of the poppy; the small celandine to that
FAMILY HERBAL.
69
of the crow-foot; nor are they any more alike in
virtue than in form.
Little celandine is a low plant, which is seen
almost every where in damp places in spring, with
broad 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 lumps connected to
the strings.
The roots are commended very much against
the piles, the juice of them is to be taken inwardly;
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 oint-
ment. The operation of the roots is by urine, but
not violently.
3
LITTLE CENTAURY. Centauriuni minus.
A PRETTY wild plant which flowers in autumn, in
our dry places. It is eight or ten inches high; the
leaves are oblong, broad, and blunt at the point;
the stalks are stiff, firm, and erect; and the flowers
are of a fine pale red. There grows a cluster of
leaves an inch long or more from the root; the
stalks divided towards the top into several branches,
and the flowers are long and slender, and stand in a
cluster.
This is an excellent stomachic; its taste is a
70
FAMILY HERBAL.
pleasant bitter, and given in infusion; it strengthens
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 jaun-
dices; and the country people cure agues with it
dried and powdered.
As there are a greater and lesser celandine, there
is also a great as well as this little centaury; but
the large kind is not a native of our country, nor
used by us in medicine,
CHASTE TREE. Agnus castrus.
A LITTLE shrub, native of Italy, and frequent
in our 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, or seven, 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 nobody regards that now. A de-
coction of the leaves and tops is good against ob-
structions of the liver.
i
BLACK CHERRY TREE. Corasus fructu nigro.
a
This is a well known tall tree, and well shaped
The leaves are broad, roundish, sharp at the point,
and indented round the edges. The flowers are
white, the fruit is well enough known. The medicinal
part of this is the kernel within the stone. This has
been supposed good against apoplexies, palsieş,
and all nervous diseases. The water distilled from
FAMILY HERBAL.
71
it was, for this reason, in constant use as a remedy
for children's fits. But a better practice has now
obtained : it is highly probable that this water oc-
casioned the disorders it was given to remove.
Laurel water, when made of a great strength, we
know to be 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 suppose,
that in any degree of strength, it may do mischief,
Very probably thousands of children have died by
this unsuspected medicine.
The gum which hangs upon the branches of
cherry-trees, is of the same nature with the gum
arabic, and may be used for the same purposes, as
in heat of urine, dissolved in barley-water
urobor
Button
sil bonto
WINTER CHERRY. Alkekengi.
A very singular and pretty plant kept in our
gardens; it grows two feet high, not very erect, 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 yellow threads in the middle; the
fruit is a round red berry, of the bigness of a common
red cherry, contained in a green hollow husk, round,
and as big as a walnut.
The berries are the only part used; 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 cases, but are not to be de-
to e
a
a
209
pended upon alone. id odio
72
FAMILY HERBAL.
CHERVIL. Chærefolium.
A SALLAD herb cultivated in gardens, but not
without its medicinal virtue. It is like parsley 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 in large tufts at the tops of the branches,
The seeds are large and smooth.
The roots of chervil work by urine, but mode
rately ; they should be given in decoction.
CHESNUT TREE. Castanea.
A TALL, spreading, and beautiful tree. The bark
is smooth and grey : the leaves long and moderately
broad, 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 covered with a rough prickly shell, and, under
that, each particular chesnut has its firm brown
coat, and 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 ripe, and
dried : it is a very fine astringent; it stops purgings
and overflowings of the menses.
EARTH-CHESNUT, OR EARTH-NUT.
Bulbocastanum.
Soo
sath
A COMMON wild plant, which has the name
from its root. This is of the bigness of a chesnut,
more
FAMILY HERBAL.
73
foundish, brown on the outside, and white within,
and of a 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 tufts on the tops of the
branches.
The root is the part used; it is to be roasted in
the manner of a chesnut and eaten. It is said to
have great virtues as a provocative to venery, but
this is not well confirmed.
CHICK-WEED. 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 : it is low and bránched. 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
two at every joint. The flowers are 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 inwardly is
good against the scurvy.
CHINA-ROOT PLANT: Smilax cujus radix Ching
officiorum.
A NAILING plant frequent in the East Indies, ,
It grows to ten or twelve feet in length, but the
stalks are weak and unable to stand erect ; they are
ridged, of a brown colour, and get with hooked
yellow prickles. The leaves are oblong and broad,
largest at the stalk, and blunt at the points, of a
4
FAMILY HERBAL.
shining green colour, and glossy surface; the
flowers are small and yellowish ; the fruit is a round
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 venereal disease and the
scurvy. It is also said to be very good against the
gout, taken for a long 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.
tot de
CHICH. Cicer.
sti
A LITTLE plant of the pea kind, sown in some
places for the fruit as peas. The plant is low and
branched; the stalks are round and weak, and of a
pale green. The leaves are like those of the pea,
but 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 in
each.
They are eaten in some places, and they are gentle
diuretics.
CINQUEFOIL. Pentaphyllum
A CREEPING wild plant common about way-
sides, and in pastures. The stalks are round and
smooth, and usually of a reddish colour; they lie
upon the ground, and take root at the joints; the
leaves stand on long foot-stalks, five on each stalk ;
FAMILY HERBAL.
9
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 large and long, and is covered with a
brown rind.
The root is the part used; it should be dug up in
April, and the outer bark taken off and dried; the
rest is useless ; this bark is to be given in powder
for all sorts of fluxes; it stops purgings, and the
overflowings of the menses ; few drugs are of equal
power.
portals
olan? On
CINNAMON TREE. Cinnamon.
A LARGE tree frequent in the East, and not une
like the 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
berries are little, oblong, and of a bluish colour,
spotted with white.
The root of the cinnamon tree smells strongly of
camphire, and a very fine kind of camphire is made
from it in the East, the wood is white and insipid.
The leaves are fragrant.
The root is the only part used, and this is an ex-
cellent astringent in the bonels ; it is cordial and
good to promote appetite: it also promotes the
menses, though it acts as an astringent in other
cases,
WINTER'S BARK TREE. Cortex winteranus.
A BARK called by many winter's bark, has been
76
FAMILY HERBAL.
already described under its true name canella alba;
in this place we are to inquire into the true winter's-
bark, called by many writers cinnamon. The tree
which affords it is a tree of twenty feet high, very
spreading, and full of branches, the bark is grey
on the outside, and brown within. The leaves are
two inches long, and an inch broad, small at the
stalk and obtuse at the end, and divided a little.
The flowers are white and sweet-scented, the fruit is
a small herry,
The bark is the part used; they send over the two
rinds together : it is very fragrant, and of a hot
aromatic taste. It is a sudorific, and a cordial, and
it is excellent against the scurvy.
CISTUS SHRUB, from which labdanum is procured.
Cistus ladanifera.
A VERY pretty shrub, frequent in the Greek
islands, 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 al-
most of the shape of those of sage; they stand two
at every joint, and are of a dark green colour. The
flowers are of the breadth of half a crown, and of
a pale led colour. The gum labdanum is pro-
cured from this shrub, and is its only produce used
in medicine. This is an exudation discharged from
the leaves in the manner of manna, more than of
any thing else. They get it off by drawing a parcel
of leather thongs over the shrubs. It is not much
used, but it is a good cephalic.
CITRON TREE. Citria sive malus medica.
A SMALL tree with prickly branches, but very
beautiful in its leaves, flowers, and fruit; the
FAMILY HERBAL,
77
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 of a pale yellow, and very fragrant ; the inner
rind is exceedingly thick, and white; there is very
Jittle 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.
I'he Barbadoes water owes its taste to the peel of
this fruit : and there is a way of making a water
very nearly equal to it in England, by the addition of
spice to the fresh peels of good lemons; the method
is as follows:
Put into a small still a gallon of fine molasses
spirit, put to six of the peels of very fine lemons,
,
and half an ounce of nutmegs, and one drachm 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.
CITRULL. Citrullus.
A CREEPING plant of the melon kind, cul-
tivated in many parts of Europe and the East
The branches or stalks are ten feet long, thick,
angular, fleshy, and hairy : they trail 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
of a pale green colour ; the flowers are large and
78
FAMILY HERBAL,
yellow; and very like those of our cucumbers:
the fruit is also like the melon and cucumber kinds,
roundish, often flatted, and composed of a fleshy
part under a thick rind, with seeds and juice
within.
The seeds are the only part used, our druggists
keep them ; they are cooling, and they work by
urine gently; they are best given in form of an
emulsion, beat up with barley-water.
CLARY. Horminum.
CLARY is a common plant in our gardens, not
very beautiful, but kept for its virtues. It grows
two feet and a half high ; the leaves rough, and
the flowers of a whitish blue. The stalks are thick,
fleshy, and upright; they are clammy to the touch,
and a little hairy. The leaves are large, wrinkled, and
of a dusky green, broad at the base, and smaller to
the point, which is obtuse; the flowers stand in
long loose spikes; they are disposed in circles round
the upper parts of the stalks, and are gaping and
large; the cups in which they stand are robust, and
,
in some degree prickly.
The whole herb is used fresh or dried. It is
cordial, and in some degree astringent. It strength-
ens the stomach, is good against head-aches, and stops
the whites, but for this last purpose it is necessary
to take it a long time; and there are many remedies
more powerful.
There is a kind of wild clary on our ditch-banks,
and in dry ground, which is supposed to possess
the same virtues with the garden kind. The seeds
of this are put into the eyes to take out any little
offensive substance fallen into them. As soon as
they are put in, they gather a coat of mucilage
about them, and this catches hold of any little thing
FAMILY HERBAL..
19
it meets with in the eye. Dr. Parsons has perfectly
explained this in his book of seeds.
CLEAVERS. Aparine.
A WILD herb common in all our hedges, and
known by sticking to people's clothes as they touch
it. The stalks are square and very rough, two
feet long, but weak and unable to support them-
selves ; they climb among bushes. The leaves are
long and narrow, and of a pale green ; they grow
several at every joint, encompassing the stalk in the
manner of the rowel of a spur; they are rough
in the same manner with the stalk, 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 is used; it cools the
body, and operates by urine; it is good against the
scurvy, and all other outward disorders. Some
pretend it will cure the evil, but that is not true.
CLOVE Barx-Tree. Cassia caryophylata.
A TALL and beautiful tree, native of the West
Indies. The trunk is covered with a thick brown
bark, that of the branches is paler and thinner.
The arms spread abroad, and are not very regularly
disposed ; the leaves are oblong, broad, and sharp-
pointed; they are like those of the bay-tree, but
twice as big and of a deep green colour. The
flowers are small and blue; they are pointed with
streaks of orange colour, and are of a fragrant
smell; the fruit is roundish; we use the bark,
which is taken from the larger and smaller branches,
but that from the smaller is best. It is of a fragrant
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 cloves is predominant, and is so
very strong that it seems to burn the mouth. It is
excellent against the colic; and it warms and
strengthens the stomach, and assists digestion : it
is also 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 chemists, to imitate or adulterate
the several productions of cloves and cinnamon, for
it is cheaper than either.
ClOvE JULY FLOWER. Caryophyllus ruber.
a
A COMMON and very beautiful flower in our
gardens ; it has its name from the aromatic
smell, which resembles the clove spice, and from
the time of its flowering which is in July. It
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
green.
The flowers are used; they are cordial, and
good for disorders of the head ; they may be
dried, and taken in powder or in form of tea,
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 the husks,
and with the white heels cut off : after they
have stood twelve hours, straining off the clear
liquor without pressing, and dissolving in it two
pounds of the finest sugar to every pint. This
makes the most beautiful and pleasant of all
syrups.
FAMILY HERBAL.
81
Clove Spice TREE. Caryophyllus
aromaticus.
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 not very
large, but of a beautiful blue colour, and the
cups that contain them are oblong and 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 fruit as 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-
ache; a bit of lint being wetted with it, and laid to the
tooth.
COCKLE. Pseudomelanthium.
A TALL, upright, and beautiful plant, wild in
our corn-fields, with red flowers, and narrow
leaves. It is two feet high : the stalk is single,
slender, round, hairy, very firm, and perfectly
upright. The leaves stand two at a joint, and
are not very numerous : they are long, narrow,
hairy, and of a bright green colour ; the flowers
stand singly, one at the top of each branch. They
are very large, and of a beautiful red. They have
an elegant cup, composed of five narrow hairy
leaves, which are much - longer than the flower.
62
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
actices were fairly tried, chymical medicines
would loose their credit.
CocoLUS INDI TREE. Arbor coculos Indicos
ferens.
A MODERATELY large 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
pea, roundish, but with a dent on one side,
wrinkled, friable, and brown in colour, and of an ill
smell.
The powder of these strewed upon children's
heads that have vermin destroys them, people also
intoxicate fish by it. Make a pound of paste, with
flour and water, and add a little red led to colour
it, add to it two ounces of the coculus indi pow-
dered. See where roach and other fish rise, and
throw in the paste in small pieces, they will take it
FAMILY HERBAL.
83
greedily, and they will be intoxicated. They will
swim upon the surface, with their belly upward, and
may be taken out with the hands. They are not
the worse for eating.
CODAGA SHRUB. Codaga pali.
A LITTLE shrub frequent in the East Indies, and
very beautiful, as well as useful. It grows ten or
fifteen feet high; the branches are brittle, and
the wood is white. The leaves are long and narrow,
not at all notched at the edges, and of a beautiful
green on both sides ; the flowers are large and
white, and somewhat resemble those of the rose-
bay, or nerium, of which some make it a kind.
Each flower iş succeeded by two large pods, which
are joined at the ends, and twist one about the
other ; they are full of 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 purgings.
It is to be given in powder for three or four days,
and a vomit or bleeding before the use of it, as may
be found necessary.
COFFEE-TREE. Arbor coffee ferens.
A BEAUTIFUL shrub of the eastern part of the
world, which we keep in many of our stoves, and
which flowers and bears its fruit with us. It grows
eight or ten feet high ; the branches are slender
and weak; the leaves are large, oblong, and broad,
somewhat like those of the bay-tree, but bigger,
and thin. The flowers are white, moderately large,
and like jasmine ; the fruit is a large berry, black
84
FAMILY HERBAL.
when it is ripe, and in it are two 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 drink it, and there are constitu-
tions for which it is very proper.
SEA COLEWORT, OR SEA BINDWEED. Soldanella,
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 support
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 green. The
flowers are large and red, they are of the shape of
a bell; the roots are white and small, a milky juice
flows from the plant when any part of it is broken ;
especially from the 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 is a 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 I 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
a substance like scammony, and is an excellent
purge.
FAMILY HERBAL.
85
COLTSFOOT. Tussilago.
а.
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 flowers
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 yellow,
and as large as those of the dandelion, and like
them.
The leaves come up after 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. Aquilegia.
a
A COMMON garden flower, but a native also of our
country. It grows two feet high; the leaves
are divided into many parts, generally in a three-
fold order; the stalks are round, firm, upright,
and a little hairy ; the flowers are blue and large;
the seeds are contained in a kind of horned cap-
sules. The leaves and the seeds are used ; a de-
coction 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.
COMFREY. Symphytum.
A COMMON wild plant, of great virtue ; it is
frequent by ditch sides; it grows a foot and half
86
FAMILY HERBAL
high: the leaves are large, long, not very broad,
rough to the touch, and of a deep disagreeable green :
the stalks are green, thick, angulated, and up-
right. The flowers grow along the tops of the
branches, and are white, sometimes reddish, not
very large, and hang often downwards. The root
is thick, black, and irregular ; when 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-
ble disease the whites. It is also good against
spitting of blood, bloody fluxes and purgings, and
for inward bruises.
CONTRAYERVA PLANT. Contrayerva.
A VERY singular plant, native of America, and
not yet got into our gardens. It consists only of
leaves rising from the root, upon single 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 colour is
a dusky green; and the foot-stalks on 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 than these ; and
the flowers are of a very peculiar kind; they
are disposed together in a kind of flat form, and are
very small and in considerable. The bed on which
they are situated is of an oval figure, and is called
the placenta of the plant ; it is of a pale colour and
thin.
We are told of another plant of the same kind;
the leaves of which are less divided, and the pla-
centa is square, but the roots of both are allowed
FAMILY HERBAL.
87
to be exactly alike, and it is therefore more pro-
bable, that this is not another plant, but the same
in a 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. It is an excellent cordial and
sudorific, good in fevers, and in nervous cases ;
and against indigestions, colics, and weaknesses
of the stomach. It may be taken in powder or
in tincture ; but it is better to give it alone, than
with that mixture of crab's claws and other use-
less ingredients, which go into the contrayerva
stone. In fevers and nervous disorders, it is best
to give it in powder ;' in weaknesses of the stomach,
it is best in tincture. It is also an excellent in-
gredient in bitter tinctures ; and it is wonderful the
present practice has not put it to that use. All
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 in that, and is quite unexcep-
tionable.
COPAL TREE. Arbor copalifera.
A LARGE tree 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 leaves are large and
oblong, and they are blunt at the ends; they are
deeply cut in at the edges ; and if it were not that
they are a great deal longer in proportion to their
breadth, they would be very like those of the oak;
the flowers are moderately large, and full of
3
88
FAMILY HERBAL
a
threads; the fruit is round, and of a blood red when
ripe.
We use a 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 gum
arabic; we have a way of calling it a gum, but
it is truly a resin ; and the yellow pieces of it are
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 not
so much used on these occasions as it deserves
It is excellent for making varnishes; and what is
commonly called ainber varnish among our artists
is made from it. Amber will make a very fine var-
nish, better than that of copal, or any other kind;
but it is dear.
We sometimes see heads of canes of the colour-
less copal, which seem to be of amber, only they
want its colour, these are made of the same resin
in the East Indies where it grows harder.
CORAL. Corallium.
thick as
numerous.
A SEA 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 foot or more in height; the trunk is as
a man's thumb, and the branches are
It is fastened to the 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
about them, which sticks them to the rocks. The
FAMILY HERBAL.
89
whole plant appears like a naked shrub without
leaves or visible flowers.
It has been supposed lately that coral is made
by small insects, but this is an error; 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 for all its real uses, chalk is a better
medicine.
There are several sorts of white coral, which
have been sometimes used in medicine; but all
allow the red to be better, so that they are not kept
in the shops.
CORALLINE, 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 also from different parts of the branches :
there are no leaves on it, nor visible flowers, but
the whole plant is composed of short joints. It is
commonly of a greenish or reddish colour; but
when it has been thrown a time upon the shores, it
bleaches and becomes white; it naturally grow's
to shells and pebbles. The best is the freshest, not
that which is bleached.
It is given to children as a remedy against worms
a scruple or half a drachm for a dose.
CORIANDER. Coriandruni.
A SMALL plant, cultivated in France and Germany,
N
90
FAMILY HERBAL.
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 round, up-
right, and hollow, but have a pith in them ; the
;
leaves which grow from the root have rounded
tops, those on 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
cellent to dispel wind; they warm and strengthen
the stomach, and assist digestion. It is good against
pains in the head, and has some virtue in stopping
purgings, joined with other things.
ex-
CORNEL TREE. Cornus mos.
A GARDEN tree of the bigness of an apple-tree,
and branched like one; the bark is greyish, the
twigs are tough: the leaves are oblong, broad, and
pointed, of a 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; it is red and fleshy, of an astringent
bark, and has a large stone. The fruit is ripe in
autumn; the flowers appear early.
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 moderately astringent; it is a
gentle pleasant medicine in fevers with purging's.
There is a wild cornel tree, called the female
cornel, in our hedges ; a shrub five feet high, with
broad leaves and black berries; it is not used in
medicine. In some parts of the West Indies they
intoxicate fish with the bark of a shrub of this
kind, by only putting a quantity of it into the water
FAMILY HERBAL.
91
of a pond; we have not tried whcther this of ours
will do the same.
CORN MARIGOLD. Chrysanthemum segestum.
A VERY beautiful wild plant growing in cora-
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 leaves 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 in at 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.
The flowers, fresh gathered and just opened,
contain the greatest virtue. They are good against
all obstructions, and work by urine. An infusion of
them, given in the quantity 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.
3
COSTMARY. Costus hortorum
A GARDEN plant kept more for its virtues than its
beauty, but at present neglected. 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 leaves 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-aches, and for opening
obstructions of the liver and spleen, but more seems
to have been said of it than it deserved.
92
FAMILY HERBAL,
COSTUS PLANT. Costus.
a
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 same root, 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
a very 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.
COTTON TREE. Gossypium sive xylon.
a
A SMALL shruh, 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
colour. 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
bottom ; the seed-vessels are large, and of a roundish
figure, and they contain the cotton with the seeds
among it. When ripe, they burst open into three
or four parts.
The secds are used in medicine, but not so
much as they deserve; they are excellent in coughs,
а.
FAMILY HERBAL.
93
and all disorders of the breast and lungs; they
cause expectoration, and are very balsamic and
astringent.
COTTON THISTLE. Acanthium.
A TALL and stately wild plant, common by
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 are a foot and a half long, a foot broad,
deeply 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
against the jaundice, and in dropsies, and other
disorders arising from obstructions.
It also mo-
derately promotes the menses.
and given in powder for the same purposes. But
the virtues are much less.
It may be dried
Couch Grass. Gramen caninum.
A VERY troublesome weed in fields and gar-
dens, but very useful in medicine.
. Nature
has made those plants which may be most useful
94
FAMILY HERBAL.
to us the most common, and the most difficult to
be removed. Couch grass grows two feet high,
and is a robust kind 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 root is.
white, slender, very long and jointed, and it takes
fresh hold at every joint ; so that if but a piece
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
in 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 jaun-
dice,
Cowslir. Paralysis.
a
A PRETTY wild plant in our meadows. The
leaves 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
own separate cup.
The flowers are the part used. They have been
celebrated very much against apoplexies, palsies,
and other terrible diseases, but at present in such
cases we do not trust such remedies. They have
a tendency to procure sleep, and may be given in
tea, or preserved in form of a conserve.
FAMILY HERBAL.
95
CoWSLIP OF JERUSALEM. Pulmonaria maculata.
A Low plant, but not without heauty, 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 cight
or ten inches high; the leaves are long and 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,
angulated, and hairy, and have smaller leaves on
them, but of the same figure with those from the
root. The flowers are small and reddish, and grow
several in a cluster at the top of the stalk. The
root is fibrous.
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 disorders of the lungs ; 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 heal it.
COW-WIIEAT. Crateogonum.
А COMMON wild plant in our woods and
thickets, with narrow blackish leaves, and bright
yellow flowers. It is eight or ten inches high.
The stalks are square and slender ; 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,
in a kind of loose spike; they are small and yellow,
a
96
FAMILY HERBAL.
and grow two together. The seeds which follon
these are large, and have something of the as-
pect of wheat, from whence the plant has its 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-ache and a strange giddiness. I knew 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 for the jaundice, (I know not by what in-
formation) and 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.
CRAB TREE. Malus sylvestris.
À COMMON
hedge shrub, and when in flower very
beautiful. The 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 fruit is a small
apple.
Verjuice is made from the crab; and it is a re-
medy for the falling down of the uvula, better
than most other applications: it is also good
against sore throats, and in all disorders of the
mouth.
CRANESBILL. Geranium robertianum
CRANESBILL is a little herb very frequent
а.
FAMILY HERBAL,
97
a
under hedges, and in uncultivated places : there
are many kinds of it, but that which has most vir
tue is the kind called herh robert ; this is a pretty
and regularly growing plant. The stalks are a
foot long, but they seldom stand quite upright;
they are round, branched, and jointed, and are ofteri
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. The flowers are moderately large, and of
a bright red, they are very conspicuous and pretty ;
the fruit that follows is long and slender, and has
some resemblance of the long beak of a bird, whence
the name.
The whole plant is to be gathered, root and all,
and dried for use ; it is a most excellent astringent:
scarce any plant is equal to it. It may be given
dried and powdered, or in decoction. It stops over
flowings of the menses, bloody stools, and all other
bleedings.
It is to be observed that nature seems to have
set her stamp upon several 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 blood
at a certain season.
GARDEN CRESS. Nasturtium hortense.
A COMMON garden plant raised for sallads. It
is two-feet high : the stalk is round and firm, and
of a bluish green ; the leaves are divided into seg-
ments, and the flowers are small and white; but
the full grown plant is not seen at our tables; we
eat only the leaves rising immediately from the root.
These are large finely divided, of a bright green,
o
98
FAMILY HERBAL.
and sharp. Cresses eaten in quantity are very good
against the scurvy. The seeds open obstructions.
WATER CRESS. Nasturtium aquaticum.
A WILD plant common with us in ditches, and
shallow rivers. It is a foot 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, divided 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 powerfully by urine, and opens ob-
structions.
SCIATICA CRESS. Iberis.
A PRETTY wild plant, but not frequent in all parts
of the kingdom. It is a foot high. 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 serrated about the edges, and of
a deep green.
The leaves are used ; they are recommended
greatly in the sciatica or hip-gout; they are to be
applied externally, and repeated as they grow dry.
The best way is to beat them with a little lard. It
FAMILY HERBAL.
99
is an approved remedy, and it is strange that it is
not more in use
WART CRESSES, OR SWINE'S CRESSES.
ruellii.
Coronopus
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 : and those 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 seed-vessels
are small and rough.
This is an excellent diuretic, safe, and yet very
powerful. It is 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 sallad, or dried and given in de-
coction.
CROSS-WORT. Cruciata.
A VERY pretty wild plant, but not very com-
mon: it grows a foot and a half high. The stalks
are square, hairy, weak, and of a pale green. The
leaves are broad and short; they stand four at
every joint, star-fashioned, upon the stalk. The
flowers are 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 dry
places.
100
FAMILY HERBAL.
The whole plant is to be gathered when begin-
ning to flower, and dried. A strong decoction of
it is a good restringent and styptic ; it stops pur-
gings, even when there are bloody stools; and
overflowings of the menses.
CROW-FOOT. Ranuculus.
a
A COMMON wild plant. There are several sorts of
it, but the kind used in medicine is that most com-
mon in meadows, and called the common creeping
crowfoot. It grows a foot or more high; the stalks
are firm, thick, bránched, and of a pale green ; but
they seldom stand quite upright. The leaves on
them are few, and divided into narrow segments;
the flowers are yellow, of the breadth of a shilling,
and of a fine shining colour ; they stand at the
tops of all the branches; the leaves which rise from
the root are large, divided in a threefold manner,
and often spotted with white.
Some are so rash as to mix a few leaves of this
among sallad, but it is very wrong; the plant is
caustic and poisonous. They are excellent applied
externally in palsies and apoplexies; for they act,
quicker than cantharides in raising blisters, and are
more felt. It is a wonder they are not more used
for this purpose ; but we are at present so fond
of foreign medicines that these things are not
minded.
There are two other kinds of crow-foot distin-
guished as poisons; though all of them are, with
some degree of justice, branded with this name:
but the two most pernicious kinds are that called
spearwort, which has long, narrow, and undivided
leaves ; and that with very small flowers, and leaves
somewhat like the divisions of those of smallage.
These both grow in watery places.
FAMILY HERBAL.
101
CUBEB PLANT. Cubeba.
a
A CLAMBERING plant of the warm climates, 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, but a little
oblong, and grows on a long and very slender foot-
stalk.
This fruit is the part used; the druggists keep
it. It is a warm and pleasant spice, good against
weaknesses of the stomach, in colics, and in palsies,
and all nervous disorders. But it is seldom used
alone.
CUCUMBER PLANT. Cucumis hortensis.
A CREEPING straggling plant 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 green 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 stran-
guries, and all disorders of the urinary passages;
the best way of giving them is beat up to an emulsion
with barley water.
WILD CUCUMBER. Cucumis asininus.
Tas, though called wild, is not a native of
England. It spreads upon the ground in the
inanner of the other cucumber, and its branches
grow to a considerable length; they are thick,
102
FAMILY HERBAL.
hairy, angulated, and of a pale green and tough.
The leaves 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
touching 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.
our
Carda-
CUCKOW FLOWER, OR LADY'S SMOCK.
mine.
A VERY beautiful wild plant, frequent in our
meadows in spring, and a great ornament to them.
grows a foot high. The leaves which rise from
the root, are winged very regularly and beautifully,
and are spread in a circular manner; the stalk is
round, thick, firm, and upright. The 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
leaves. They are large, of a fine white, often
tinged with a blush of red.
The juice of the fresh leaves is to be used;
it is an excellent diuretic, and is good in the
gravel and all suppressions of urine. It also opens
obstructions, and is good in the jaundice and
green sickness; and a course of it against the
scurvy.
CUDWEED. Gnaphalium.
A COMMON wild plant, but singular in its
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
froin 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-
right; they are very thick, set with leaves, which
are small, oblong, white, and pointed at the ends, and
seldom lievery even.
The flowers are a kind of
brown or yellowish heads, standing at the tops, and
in the divisions of the stalks.
The herb bruised, and applied to a fresh wound,
stops the bleeding; it may be also dried and given in
decoction, in which form it is goed against the
whites, and will often stop violent purgings.
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 and a half high. The stalk is
round, striated, green, and hollow. The leaves are
large, and very finely divided in the manner of
those of fennel. The flowers stand in large clusters
at the tops of the branches, and they are small
and white, with a blush of red. The seeds are long
and striated.
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 bruised, and a large quantity laid on.
104
FAMILY HERBAL.
BLACK CURRANT. Ribesia nigra.
This is a little shruh, 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 are 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 somewhat
disagreeable taste, growing in the manner of the
currants.
The juice of black currants boiled up with
sugar to a jelly, is an excellent remedy against sore
throats.
а
LONG CYPERUS. Cyperus longus.
A WILD plant in our marshes, fens, and other
damp places. It is a foot and a 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 leaves 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,
light, chaffy, and in all respects like those of the
other water grasses.
The root is used. It is long and brown, and,
when dried, is of a pleasant smell, and aromatic
warm taste. It should be taken up in spring. It
.
is gond against pains in the head, and it promotes
urine
ROUND CYPERUS. Cyperus rotundus.
od
A PLANT in many respects resembling the other
FAMILY HERBAL.
10S
but a native of the warmer countries. It grows
two feet high. The leaves are very numerous,
a foot and a half long, narrow, of a pale green
colour, sharp at the point, and ribbed all along
like 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
lumps. These are the only parts used in medicine.
Our druggists keep them. They are light, and of
a pleasant smell, and warm spicy taste.
They are good in all nervous disorders. They
are best taken in infusion ; but as the virtues are
much the same with the other, that is best, because
it may be had fresher.
CYPRESS Tree. Cupressus.
A TREE kept in our gardens, an evergreen,
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 largest
towards the bottom, and smaller all the way up;
so that the tree appears naturally of a conic fi-
gure.
The bark is of a reddish brown. The
leaves 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
P
106
FAMILY HERBAL.
gathered 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 good
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 equal
to it.
D.
COMMON DAFFODILL. Narcissus.
a
A WILD English plant, with narrow leaves and
great yellow flowers, common in our gardens
in its own form, and in a great variety of shapes
that culture has given it. In its wild state, it is
about a foot high. The leaves are long, narrow,
grassy, and of a deep green, and they are nearly
as tall as the stalk. The stalk is roundish, but
somewhat flatted and edged. The flower is large
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 is to be used, 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 as a vomit,
and afterwards purges a little ; and it is excellent
against all obstructions. The best way of giving
it is in form of the juice pressed out with some
white wine, but its principal uses are externally.
The eastern nations have a peculiar way of dry-
ing the thick roots of plants, especially if they
are full of a slimy juice as this is : they put
them to soak in water, and then hang them over
the steam of a pot in which rice is boiling; after
this they string them up, and they become in some
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, and would act only as an opener of
obstructions, in which case, it might be given in
repeated doses; for at present nobody will be pre-
vailed upon to take it often,
The fresh root bruised and applied to fresh
wounds heals them very suddenly. Applied to
strains and bruises, it is also excellent, taking away
the swelling and pain.
Great Daisy. Bellis major.
A BEAUTIFUL and stately wild plant, which, if
it were not frequent in our fields, would doubt-
less be esteemed in gardens. It grows to a foot
high. The stalks are angulated, slender, but firm
and upright : the leaves
the leaves are oblong, narrow,
dented round the edges, and of a beautiful deep
green. The flowers stand on the tops of the
branches. They are white, and an inch broad;
very like the white China starwort so much esteemed
in our gardens. The root is 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,
and in all disorders of the lungs. They are balsamic
and strengthening
LITTLE DAISY. Bellis minor.
A PRETTY wild plant, too common to need
much description, but too much neglected for its
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 one 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 effects.
DANDELION. Dens leonis.
ANOTHER of our wild plants too common to
need much description. The leaves are very long,
somewhat broad, and deeply indented at the edges.
The stalks 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 a downy matter affixed to them. The
whole head of them appears globular. The root
is long, large, and white. The whole plant is full
of a milky juice, the root most of all. This runs
from it when broken, and is bitterish, but not disa
agreeable.
The root, fresh gathered and boiled, makes an
excellent decoction to promote urine, and bring
away gravel. The leaves may be eaten as sallad
when very young, and if taken this way in sufficient
quantity, they are good against the scurvy,
RED DARNELL.
Lolium rubrum.
A WILD grass, very common about way-sides,
FAMILY HERBAL.
109
and distinguished by its stubborn stalks and low
growth. It is not above a foot high, often much
less. The leaves are narrow, short, and of a
dusky green.
The stalk is thick, reddish, some-
what fatted, and upright. The ear is fat; and
is composed of a double row of short spikes : this,
as well as the stalk, is often of a purplish colour.
The root is composed of a great quantity of whitish
fibres.
The roots are to 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 ha-
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 be suspected 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 to have 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
110
FAMILY HERBAL.
of possessing these bad qualities : but it is most
probable that they belong to neither; and that
faney, rather than any thing really known, gave
birth to the opinion.
DATE TREE. Palma dactylifera.
a
A TREE of the warmer countries, very unlike
those of our part of the world. The trunk is thick
and tall, and is all the way up of the same bigness ;
it has no bark, but is covered with the rudiments of
leaves, and the inner part of the trunk when it is
young is eatable. At the top of the trunk stand a
vast quantity of leaves, some ereet and some droop-
ing, and from the bosoms of these grow the flowers
and the fruit ; but it is remarkable that the flowers
grow upon the trees only, and the fruit on some
others. If there be not a tree of the male kind, that
is a flowering tree near the fruit of the female, it
will never naturally ripen. In this case they cut
off bunches of the flowers, and shake them over
the head of the female tree, and this answers the
purpose.
All plants have what may be called male and fe-
male parts in their flowers. The male parts are
certain dusty particles : the female parts are the
rudiments of the fruits. In some plants these are
in the same flowers as in the tulip. Those black
grains which dust the hands are the male part, and
the green thing in the middle of them is the female :
it becomes afterwards the fruit or seed-vessel, In
other plants, as melons, and many more, the male
parts grow in some flowers, and the female parts in
others, on the same plant: and in others, the male
flowers and the female grow upon absolutely dif-
ferent plants, but of the same kind. This is the case
,
in the date tree as we see, and it is the same, though
FAMILY HERBAL.
11
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, in a
tender skin, with a stone within it. They are
strengthening and somewhat astringent, but we do
not much use them.
Devil's Bir. Succisa.
A wild plant in our meadows, with slender 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.
The flowers are as big as a small
walnut, and composed of many little ones; their
colour is very strong and beautiful. The leaves
which grow from the root are four inches long, an
inch broad, obtuse, of a dark green, and a little
hairy, not at all divided, or so much as indented, at
the edges. The roots are white, and composed of
a thick head, which terminates abruptly, as if it had
been bitten or broken off, and of a multitude of
fibres. The Devil, as old women say, bit it away,
envying mankind its virtues.
The leaves are to be gathered before the stalks
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 is a good medicine in fevers, but we neglect it.
DiLL. Anethum.
AN umbelliferous plant, kept in our gardens,
principally for the use of the kitchen. The stalk
is round, striated, hollow, upright, three feet high,
112
FAMILY HERBAL.
and divided into a great many branches. The leaves
are divided into numerous, narrow, and long parts,
in the manner of fennel ; but they are not so large.
The flowers are small and yellow; they stand in
clusters on the tops of 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.
DITTANDER. 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 capsules, 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.
DITTANY OF CRETE. Dictamuns Creticus.
A VERY pretty little plant, native of the East,
and kept in some of our curious people's gardens.
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 branclied. The leaves
are short, broad, and roundish; they stand two at
every joint, and are covered with a white woolly
FAMILY HERBAL.
113
smell. to do
mach. sool.99
matter. The flowers are small and purple: they
grow in oblong and slender scaly heads, in the
manner of those of origanum ; and these heads are
themselves very beautiful, being variegated with
green and purple. The whole plant has a fragrant
The leaves are used, our druggists keep them
dried. The old writers attribute miracles to it in
the cure of wounds; at present it is seldom used
alone ; but it is good in nervous disorders, and
it promotes the menses, and strengthens the sto
aolo
do WHITE DITTANY. Fraxinella.
Im
A VERY beautiful plant, native of many of the
warmer parts of Europe ; but with us kept only
in gardens. It is three feet high, very much
branched, and very beautiful. The stalks are round,
thick, firm, and of a green or purplish colour. The
leaves stand irregularly on them, and are like those
of the ash tree, only smaller. The flowers are
large and elegant : they are of a pale red, white, or
striped ; and they stand in a kind of spikes at the
top of the branches. The whole plant is covered
in the summer months with a kind of balsam,
which is glutinous to the touch, and of a very fra-
grant smell. This is so inflammable, that if a candle
be brought near any part of the plant, it takes fire
and goes off in a flash all over the plant. This
does it no harm, and may be repeated after three or
,
four days, a new quantity of the balsam being pro-
duced in that time. The roots of this plant are the
only part used, and they are kept dry by the druga
gists. They are commended in fevers, and in
nervous and hysteric cases, but their virtues are
not greatI have found an infusion of the tops of
FAMILY HERBAL.
the plant a very pleasant and excellent medicine in
the gravel ; it works powerfully by urine, and gives
ease in those colicy pains which frequently attend
upon the disorder.
а
SHARP-POINTED Dock. Lapathum folio acuto.
ISR
A COMMON plant, 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 greenish, then paler, and lastly, they dry and
become brown. The root is long, thick, and of a
tawny colour.
The root is the part used. It is excellent
against 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 be beat up with lard for this
purpose.
Stone
ototito
GREAT WATER Dock. Hydrolapathum maximum.
This is the largest of all the dock kinds; they
Have a general resemblance of one another, but this
is most of all like to the last described, in its man-
ner of growth, though vastly larger. It is fre-
quent about waters, and is five or six feet high.
T'he stalks are round, striated, thick, and very up-
right, branched a little, and hollow. The leaves
are vastly large; of a pale green colour, smooth,
FAMILY HERBAL.
115
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 root con-
tains the greatest virtues, and it is to be given in
diet drinks. The seeds of this and all other docks
are astringent, and good against purgings.
و
GARDEN Dock, called Monks' RHUBARB. Lapathum
sativum, patientia.
Ener
A 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
irtues 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 in some 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 very wrong to use it
in its place.
116
FAMILY HERBAL.
DODDER.
Cuscuta.
A VERY strange and singular plant, but not
uncommon with us. It consists of only stalks and
flowers, for there are no 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 of a purplish colour, as thick as
a small pack-thread, and considerably tough and
firm. These wind themselves about the branches
of the plants, and entangle 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 a little ginger and allspice, and
the decoction works by stool briskly; it also opens
obstructions of the liver, and is good in the jaun-
dice, and many other disorders arising from the like
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-
nary: 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 deal of its virtue in
the hands of the druggist,
DOG MERCURY. Cyrocrambe. ha bread
A common and poisonous plant named here, not
as a medicine, but that people who gather herbs,
for whatever use, may guard against it. It is
cause.
FAMILY HERBAL.
117
а
common under hedges; and in 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
lead those into it whom they ought to have guarded
against it.
It is about a foot high, and has but few leaves,
but they are large. The stalk is round, thick,
whitish, pointed, and a little hairy; the leaves
stand principally toward the top, four, five, or six,
seldom more: they are long and considerably
broad, sharp-pointed, notched about the edges, and
a little hairy. The flowers are inconsiderable : they
stand in a kind of spikes at the tops of the stalks ;
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
wrong. Those which bear the spikes of flowers
are the male plants ; the others, notwithstanding any
accidental resemblance, female.
There is not a more fatal plant, native of our
country than this; many have been known to
die by eating it boiled with their food ; and pro-
bably many also, whom we have not heard of : yet
the writers of English Herbals say nothing of this.
Gerrard, an honest and plain writer, but ignorant
as dirt, say, it is thought they agree with the
other mercuries in nature. These other mercuries
are eatable; therefone, who would scruple on this
account, to eat also this. Johnson, who put} forth
another edition of this book, and called it Gerrard
Emaculated, from the amending the faults of the
original author, says nothing to contradict it; but
after some idle observations upon other herbs of the
1)s
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 suffici-
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.
This is not only the case in one or two particulars,
it is so in all. To speak generally, the books which
contain real knowledge are written in Latin,
through an ostentation of their authors, to shew
their learning, or a pride in having them read in
other nations as well as here, 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
knows not what to choose ; or their real ignorance
mingles poisons with sallads, 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
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
we do not know what they mean by several : and it
is easy for such sad proficients as these, to record
of one plant what they spoke of another: besides,
even in their best writings, there is a great deal of
error and folly, as may be seen in a quotation of this
Johnson's from them, added to Gerard in this very
chapter. Where, speaking of one of the kinds of
FAMILY HERBAL.
119
mercury, distinguished like this poisonous kind,
into male and female, he says, that the male kind
'conduces to the generation of boys, and the female
of girls. Such is 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 been one
great reason of writing the present book, that there
may be one guide and direction at least, to be de-
pended upon; and this its author has thought pro-
per to say at large upon the immediate occasion,
rather than in a preface; because there it must
have been accompanied with a needless repetition,
and perhaps would not have been observed by many,
who may have recourse to the book.
Dog Tooth. Dens caninus.
A VERY pretty little plant, 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 is round, slender,
weak, and greenish towards the top ; often white at
the bottom. The leaves stand a little height above
the ground: they are oblong, somewhat broad, of a
beautiful green, not at all dented at the edges, and
blunt 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; it is full of a slimy
juice.
The fresh gathered roots are used; for they dry
very ill, and generally loose their virtues entirely.
They are good against worms in children, and take
120
FAMILY HERBAL.
a surprising and speedy effect against those violent
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; and a small
dose will take effect, especially of the juice ; so
that it is best to begin with very little, and as that
is well borne, to increase the quantity.
a
DRAGONS. 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.
The leaves are very
large, and stand on long foot-stalks: they are of a
deep and strong green; and each is divided into
several portions in the manner of fingers.
The
flower is like that of the common arum or cuckow
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 berries in a cluster. The whole plant is
of an acrid and insupportable taste.
The whole plant is to be gathered when in flower,
and 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 has
of late lost much of its credit: at present it is only
used in some compositions
FAMILY HERBAL.
121
Dragon's BLOOD TREE. Sanguis draconis
arbor.
It is pro
A VERY beautiful tree, native of the Canaries,
and some other places. It is of the palm kind, and
one of the handsomest of them. The trunk is naked
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 greeti
rind upon it.
The dragon's blood is a red friable resin. Our
druggists keep it: the best is in small lumps; there
is an inferior kind in cakes or masses.
cured 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 useful 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.
DROPWORT. Filipendula.
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 reddisk on the
outside. The seeds are flattish, and grow several
together. The root is composed of a great number
R
122
FAMILY HERBAL.
of small lumps, fastened together by filaments.
This root is 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 decoction of the fresh root. When
dried it may be given in powder to stop the whites
and purgings, it is a gentle and safe astringent.
There are several other plants called in English
dropworts, which are very different in their qua-
lities, 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
füll of yellow threads in the middle; the flowers of
all the others are composed only of five leaves each,
They are all umbelliferous plants, but this is not ;
the flowers grow in clusters, but not in umbels :
they grow like those of the ulmaria or meadow
sweet.
3
DUCK-WEED. 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 into the mud. It is
the small green herb that covers almost all our
standing waters in summer. There are two other
kinds of it, one with smaller leaves and many fibres
from each, another with only one fibre from each
leaf: both these are green all over ; and a third
kind with larger leaves, which are purple under-
neath; but all these have the same virtue, and it
is no matter which is taken. The juice is to be
given ; and it is to be continued for several days.
It works powerfully by urine, and opens obstruc-
FAMILY HERBAL.
123
tions of the liver: jaundices have been cured by
it singly
DWARF ELDER. Ebulus.
5
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 odd 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 berries which
are black when ripe; but that is 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 ground.
It is wild in England, but not common ; a great
quantity of it grows at the back of Cuper’s gar-
dens. It may be dried: but the best way of giving
it is in the juice. This works strongly both by stool
and urine, and has often cured dropsies.
DYER'S WEED, Luteola.
A VERY 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 more in height. The stalk is thick, firm, chan-
nelled, and in a manner covered with leaves : they
124
FAMILY HERBAL.
are small in proportion to the bigness of the plant,
oblong, 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, but somewhat
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 is not established by any known ex-
perience.
E.
ELDER. Sambucus.
A COMMON wild shrub; it grows irregularly.
The stem or trunk is covered with a rough whitish
bark, and the wood is firm, but there is a hollow
within ; this is smallest in the largest parts of the
shrub, but it is never quite obliterated. The young
shoots are thick, long, and green ; they grow quick,
and are often a yard long before they begin to change
colour, or grow woody. These contain a large
quantity of pith ; and their bark as they stand be
comes brownish, and their under surface 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 leaves, but
the common elder is the sort to be used.
The inner bark of the elder is a strong purge ;
and it has been known to cure dropsies when taken
in time, and often repeated. The flowers are made
FAMILY HERBAL,
125
;
into an 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,
and this, when it comes to the consistence of honey,
is the famous rob of elder, good in colds and sore
throats. A wine is made of the elder-berries, which
has the flavour of Frontignac.
ELECAMPANE. Enula campana.
A TALL and robust plant, wild in some parts
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 outside, and white
within.
The root is the part used; we have it dried 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 by urine powerfully, and
also by sweat: and the juice of it will cure the
itch, applied externally. Its greatest virtue, how-
ever, is against coughs, and for this purpose it is
best taken candied, provided that be well done. A
little of it may in this way be held almost contie
nually in the mouth, and swallowed gently, so that
-
126
FAMILY HERBAL,
it will take effect much better than by a larger dose
swallowed at once.
ELM. Ulmus
а.
A TALL tree, native 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.
The leaves 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
seeds are flat.
The inner bark of the elm boiled in water makes
one of the best gargles for a sore throat that can
be supplied by the whole list of medicines. It
should be sweetened with honey of roses ; it is
extremely soft and healing, and yet at the same time
very cleansing
There are two or three other kinds of elms com-
mon in garden hedges ; they are brought from other
countries, but the bark of the English rough elm is
preferable to them all as a medicine.
ENDIVE. Endivia.
A COMMON garden plant kept for sallads. It
grows two feet high, and the flowers are blue ; but
we see it a thousand times with only the leaves -
for once in a flower, and these the gardeners have
the art of twisting and curling, and whitening in
such a manner, that they are scarce to be known,
as belonging to the plant. Naturally they are long
and narrow, blunt at the end, and deeply notched
FAMILY HERBAL.
197
at the edges, and of a yellowish green colour ; the
stalks are round and firm, and the leaves that grow
on them are like those from the root, but smaller :
the flowers stand at the tops of the stalks and
branches, they are blue, and in shape and structure like
those of dandelion : they are very beautiful.
The juice of endive may be taken with great
advantages as medicine; it cools the stomach, and
operates hy urine very powerfully; it also opens
obstructions of the viscera. It is good against the
jaundice, and constantly taken for some time, against
the scurvy.
ERYNGO. Eryngium.
A WILD plant, which grows with us by the sea
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 about. The leaves are small, and of a
pale bluish green, approaching to white; they
are broad, oblong, and jagged, and prickly. The
flowers grow in little heads at the tops of the
stalks, and there stands a circle of small leaves under
them. The flowers, separately taken, are small,
and of a pale greenish white, but the head of them
is tolerably large. The root is long and slender,
and of a pleasant taste
This is the part used; the best way is to take
them candied; they are good against coughs, and
weaknesses of all kinds. They have also caused
noble virtues, as a diuretic, and are good against
the jaundice ; for this last purpose a decoction
made from the fresh roots is best. They are hal-
samic as well as diuretic.
128
FAMILY HERBAL.
EUPHORBIUM PLANT. Euphorbium.
3
A VERY strange plant, native of the hot coun-
tries, and unlike every thing that is known in
this part of the world. It is ten or twelve feet
high, and is of a solid thick body, of a triangu-
far or else a square figure, as thick as a man's
leg, and is divided by knots placed at distances,
so 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. The plant often con-
sists of one single stem, such as is just described,
but frequently it sends out several branches; these
are naked in the same manner as the main stem.
All they have beside the prickles, are a kind of
thin films or membranes, small and growing from
their bases, but the plant is altogether without
leaves. The flowers grow three together among
.
the thorns, and the fruit is a vessel containing three
seeds.
The gum which sweats out from this plant, is
used in medicine ; it is yellowish and connes forth
in small drops, its taste is sharp and insupport-
able; it is a violent purge, and is recommended
against dropsies, but we scarce ever prescribe it,
it is so very rough; it is sometimes used outwardly
among other things applied to the feet in violent
fevers.
EYEBRIGHT. Euphrasia.
A VERY pretty low herh common in our mea-
dows, with woody stalks, and bright and little
FAMILY HERDAL.
129
variegated flowers. It grows six or eight inches
high. The stalks are round, thick, firm, and very
hard; the leaves are flat, broad, and very deeply
indented at the edges; and they are of a bright
shining green. The flowers are little, and they are
very bright; their ground colour is white, and they
are streaked and spotted with black and some other
dark colours.
This plant has been always famous for dinness
of sight, but whether experience warrants the
character that is given of it is uncertain. The juice
is very diuretic.
loob
F.
FENNEL. Fæniculum.
A COMMON garden plant, kept for its use in
the kitchen, rather than its medicinal virtues.
It grows six or eight feet high. The stalk is
round, hollow, and of a deep green colour; the
leaves are large, and divided into a vast num-
ber of fine slender segments, and
they are also of
a deep or bluish green colour. The flowers stand
at the tops of the branches, and are small and
yellow; but there grow large clusters of them to-
gether; the seed is small, dark coloured, and striated,
and is of a sharp acrid taste; the root is long and
white.
Burro
The root is the part most used; a decoction
made of it with common water, and given in large
quantities, works by urine, and is good against the
gravel and in the jaundice.
2
Sne
SWEET FENNEL. Fæniculum dulce.
A GARDEN plant very like the common kind,
S
130
TAMILY HERBAL
hut of a paler colour. It grows four feet high ;
the stalk is round, hollow, striated, upright, and
branched; and the leaves are large and divided
into a great number of fine segments, in the man-
ner of those of common fennel, but both these and
the stalks are of a pale yellowish green colour,
not so dark as in the 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 common
fennel, in size, shape, colour, and taste. They are
long, slender, of a pale colour, a little crooked, and
deeply striated. Their taste is sweetish and a little
acrid.
As the roots are the part most used of the com-
mon fennel, the seeds are the only part used of this.
They are excellent in the colic, and are used exter-
nally with success in pultices to swellings. The
seeds of the common fennel are used by some,
but
they are very hot and acrid. These are preferable
for internal use.
FENNEL FLOWER. Nigella.
A SINGULAR and pretty plant kept in gardens.
It grows a foot and a half high. The stalk is firm,
round, striated, and upright and hollow. The
leaves are divided into a multitude of fine slender
parts like those of fennel, only very small in com-
parison, and thence it had the English name of
fennel flower; they stand irregularly on the stalks,
and are of a pale green. The flowers stand at the
tops of the branches : they are singular and pretty;
the colour is whitish, and they are moderately large,
the green leaves about them give them a very par-
ticular grace.
The juice of the plant fresh gathered, is good
FAMILY HERBAL.
131
for the head-ache ; it is to be snuffed up the nose,
and it will occasion sneezing; inwardly taken it
works by urine, and is good in the jaundice,
Hog's FENNEL, Peucedanum.
A WILD plant with divided leaves and umbels
of yellow flowers, and thence bearing a remote re-
semblance to fennel. It grows two feet high: the
stalk is round, striated, hollow, upright, and
branched. The leaves are like those of fennel, but
the divisions are much broader, and they run in
threes. The flowers are little and yellow, but the
clusters of them are large, and the seed is oblong and
flat. At the top of the root, there is always found
a tuft of hairy matter. This is made up of the fibres
of decayed leaves, but it has a singular appearance.
The root is large, long, and brown, and this is
the part used as a medicine. It is to be boiled in
water, and the decoction drank night and morning;
it dissolves tough phlegm, and helps asthmatic
people; it also works by urine, and promotes the
menses, and is good in all obstructions.
FENUGREEK Fænum Græcum,
A PLANT of the trefoil kind, but singular in its
manner of growth, cultivated in fields in many
places for the sake of the seed. It is emollient. It
grows a foot and a half high; the stalks are round,
striated, and branched. The leaves are short and
broad : they stand three upon every stalk as in
the common trefoils : and are indented about the
celges. The flowers are white and small, and they
resemble a pea-blossom ; the pods are flat, and in
them is contained a quantity of yellow seeds, of an
irregular figure, and disagreeable smell
192
FAMILY HERBAL.
MALE FERN. Filix mas.
pies a idem
A COMMON Weed growing at the roots of trees, and
in dry ditches. It has no stalk for bearing of
flowers, but several leaves rise together from the
root, and each of these is in itself a distinct plant.
It is two feet high, and near a foot in breadth ;
the stalk is naked for six or eight inches, and thence
is set on each side with a row of ribs or smaller
stalks, every one of which carries a double row
of smaller leaves, with an odd one at the end, the
whole together making up one great leaf, as in many
of the umbelliferous plants.
On the backs of these smaller leaves stand the
seeds. in round clusters; they look brown and dusty.
The root is long and thick, and the whole plant
has a disagreeable smell. The root is greatly re-
commended for curing the rickets in children ;
with what success it would be hard to say.
FEMALE Fern. Filix fæmina.
FERN
Filix fæmina. In
og
A TALL and spreading plant, common on our
heaths, and called by the country people brakes.
It grows four feet high. The stalks are round,
green, and smooth : the leaves are set on each side,
and are subdivided. The whole may indeed be
properly called only one leaf as in the male fern ;
but it has more the appearance of a number because
it is so ramous. The small leaves or pinnules which
go to make up the large one, are oblong, firm, hard,
and of a deep green colour, and they are so spread
that the whole plant is often three feet wide. On
the edges of these little leaves stand the seeds
in small dusty clusters. But they are not so
frequent on this as on the male fern, for nature has
so prell provided for the propagation of this plant
I
FAMILY HERBAL.
133
by the roots, that the seeds are less necessary; and
where it is so, they are always produced more
sparingly. A certain quantity of every species is
to be kept up, but the earth is not to be over-run
.
The roots of female fern fresh gathered, and
made into a decoction, are 'a remedy against that
long and fat worm in the bowels, called the tape-
worm; no medicine destroys them so effectually.
with any
FLOWERING FERN. Osmunda regalis.
:
a
THERE is something that at first 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
feet high, and the leaves are very regularly con-
structed, and very beautiful ; they are composed
in the manner of the other ferns, each of several
small ones, and these are broader and bigger than in
any of the other kinds, not at all indented on the
edges ; and of a bluish green colour, and afterwards
yellowish. Many leaves arise from the same root,
but only some few of them bear seeds. These
principally rise about the middle, and the seeds stand
only on the upper part : they cover the whole
surface of the leaf, or nearly so in this part, and the
little pinnules turn round inwards, and shew their
backs rounded up. These are brown from being
covered with the seeds, and they have so different
an appearance from all the rest of the plant, that they
are called flowers. The roof is long and covered
with fibres. The plant grows in boggy places,
but it is not very common wild in England.
A decoction of the fresh roots promotes urine,
and opens obstructions of the liver and spleen ; it is
134
FAMILY HERBAL.
not much used, but I have known a jaundice cured
by it, taken in the beginning.
FEVERFEW. 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,
hollow, upright, branched, and striated, and grows
two feet high. The leaves are large, divided into
many small ones, and those roundish and indented ;
they are of a yellowish green colour, and particular
smell. The flowers stand about the tops of the
stalks ; they are small, white round the edges, and
yellowish in the middle. The root is white, little,
and inconsiderable.
The whole plant is to be used ; it is best fresh,
but it preserves some virtue dried; it is to be given
in tea, and it is excellent against hysteric disorders ;
it promotes the menses.
FIG-TREE. Ficus.
A SHRUB sufficiently known in our gardens. The
trunk is thick, but irregular, and the branches, which
are very numerous, grow without any sort of order.
The leaves are very large, and of a deep blackish
green, broad, divided deeply at the edges, and full
of a milky juice. The flowers are contained within
the fruit. The fig-tree produces fruit twice in the
year ; the first set in spring, the second towards
September, but these last never ripen with us. The
dried figs of the grocers are the fruit of the same tree
in Spain and Portugal, but they grow larger there,
and ripen better.
Our own figs are wholesome fruit, and they are
FAMILY HERBAL
135
applied outwardly to swellings with success, they
soften and give ease while the matter is forming
pyithin.
Figwort. Scrophularia,
A TALL and regular growing wild plant, with
small deep purple flowers. It grows four feet
high, and is common in our woods and ditches,
where there is little water; there is another kind
of it in wet places, called also water betony, which
is to be distinguished from it by the round indent-
ings of the leaves ; it also grows in water, or just
by it: the right figwort only loves shade and
dampness, but not absolute wet. The stalk is
square, upright, hollow, and very firm ; the leaves
stand 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
Icaf, but they are perfectly smooth, and of a
shining colour; they are sometimes green, but often
brown, as is also the whole plant. The flowers are
very small and gaping, their colour is a blackish
purple. The root is long, white, and full of
little tubercles, it spreads a great way under the
surface.
The juice of the fresh gathered root is an excellent
sweetener of the 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 give ease in the piles,
applied as a pultice.
FIR TREE. Abies.
A WILD tree in Germany, and many other parts
136
FAMILY HERBAL:
a
of Europe, but with us only kept in gardens. We
have no kind 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 regularity. The trunk is covered with
a rough and cracked bark, of a 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 as in the yew-
tree. The fruit or cones stand upright; in this kind,
they are long, thick, and brown.
The tops of this kind are great sweeteners of the
blood, and they work powerfully by urine. They
are best given in diet drinks, or brewed in the beer,
which is commonly drank.
RED FIR TREE, OR PITCH TREE. Picea.
A TALL tree, but not so regular in its growth,
or in the disposition of its leaves, as the other. The
trunk is thick, the bark reddish, and the wood soft.
The branches are numerous, and they stand ir-
regularly. The leaves are oblong, narrow, and
sharp-pointed ; and they do not grow in two even
rows, as in the other, but stand irregularly on
the twigs. The cones are long, slender, and hang
downwards. The whole tree has a strong resinous
smell.
The tops of this are boiled in diet drinks against
the scurvy as the other, but they make the liquor
much more nauseous; and not at all better for the
intended purposes.
Pitch and tar are the produce of the fir-tree, as
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
their 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.
SWEET FLAG.
Acorus calamus aromaticus dictus.
A COMMON wild plant that grows undistinguished
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 a stalk.
They are long, narrow, and of a pale green colour.
Among these there are commonly 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 root is 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 root is better had
of the druggists; they have 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 works by nrine
a
a
138
FAMILY HERBAL.
moderately, and gives no offence to the stomach.
The dried root is cordial and sudorific, it warms
the stomach, and is good against indigestions and
fevers.
COMMON ACORUS, OR YELLOW FLAGs. Acorus
adulterinus.
و
A COMMON plant in our ditches, and by river
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
grows 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 shoots
upwards from the bosom of the leaves. The leaves
are a foot and a half long, narrow, flat, and sliarp
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
vessels. The root creeps.
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
bastard 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
in powder. They stop fluxes and overflowings of
the menses,
FLAX. Linum.
A very pretty as well as a very useful plant,
cultivated for the sake of its seeds, as well as its
stalks. It is three feet high; the stalk is round,
FAMILY HERBAL.
199
slender, firm, and upright. The leaves are small,
oblong, and narrow; and they stand 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 a roundish seed-vessel ; in which are a number
of seeds.
This seed is what is called linseed. A tea made
of it is excellent in coughs and disorders of the
hreast and lungs, and the seed bruised is also good
in cataplasms and fomentations for swellings. The
oil drawn from it is given in pleurisies and peripneu-
monies with great success, and it is also excellent
in the gravel and stone.
PURGING FLAX. 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 a strong but safe purge ; the
country people boil it in ale, and cure themselves
of rheumatic pains, and a great many other ob-
stinate disorders by it. They talk of it as a re-
medy for dropsies. Doubtless it is useful in all
cases where a strong and brisk purgative is in
quired
140
FAMILY HERBAL.
FLEABANE. Conysa.
A PRETTY wild plant, frequent about damp places,
with whitish leaves and large yellow flowers in
autumn. It is two feet high. The stalk 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 long, 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 a
disagreeable 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 to
destroy fleas.
FLEAWORT. 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 narrow, and
also somewhat hairy : there rise from the bosoms
of these leaves, long naked stalks, on which stand
a kind of spikes of little flowers, somewhat like
the spikes of plantain, 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 made of the seeds to cool the throat in fevers.
FAMILY HERBAL.
141
Flix WEED. Sophia chirurgorum.
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 moderately large, and
most beautifully divided into numerous small seg-
ments, long and narrow; they stand irregularly
upon the stalks. The flowers are small and yellow;
they stand in a kind of spikes at the tops of the
stalks. They are followed by short pods. The
whole 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 flux, and is good against
the overflowing of the menses.
a
FLOWER GENTLE. Amaranthus.
A GARDEN flower. There are many kinds of
it; but that used in medicine is the large one
with the drooping purple spike. 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 at the ends: they are very large, and are ofien
tinged with red. The flowers are purple, and
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 overflowing
of the menses in powder or decoction.
142
FAMILY HERBAL.
FLOWER DE LUCE. Iris.
a
A COMMON flower in our gardens. The plant
grows three feet high. The leaves are a foot and
a half long, narrow, flat, and in all respects 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 ring's.
The juice of the fresh roots of this plant bruised
with white wine is a strong purge; it will some-
times also vomit; but that is not hurtful ; it 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 it. I have found it true in
practice.
FLORENTINE FLOWER DD LUCE. Iris Florentina.
A PLANT kept also in our gardens, 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 in the
same manner, and the leaves are flaggy. The
stalk is two feet or more in height, and the flower
is as large as that of the blue kind, and perfectly of
the same form.-
The root of this kind, 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.
FLUELLIN. Elatine.
A Low plant frequent in corn-fields, , and con-
FAMILY HERBAL.
143
spicuous for its pretty, though small, flower. 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 variegated
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 of the
leaf.
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 virtues. The
juice of either is cooling and astringent. It is
given by the country people in the bloody flux and
overflowing of the menses.
Fool's STONES. 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 green,
with large and irregular blotches of black in different
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 long; they are not very
large, and of a shape different from the generality,
of flowers; their colour is a deep and glossy purple ;
but sometimes they are white. The 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 of generation, and
144
FAMILY HERBAL.
a promoter of venereal desires ; but with what truth
one cannot say. Externally applied in cataplasms,
it is excellent in hard swellings. There are a great
many other kinds of orchis in our meadows, but
only this is used. The root, called salep by our
druggists, is brought from Turkey, and is the root
of a plant of this kind. It is strengthening and
restorative, good in consumptions and all decays.
Fox-GLOVE. 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 feet
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
hang down from the stalk in a kind of spike : they
are hollow, red, large, and a little spotted with
white; they are shaped like the end of the finger
of a glove.
The plant boiled in ale, is taken by people of
robust constitutions, for the 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 in May butter, has
been long famous in scrophulous sores,
FRANKINCENSE TRçE. Arbor thurifera:
A LARGE tree, as is said, a native of the warmer
countries, but we know very little of it. Those
who describe it most, only say that the trunk is
thick, the wood spungy, and the bark rough.
FAMILY HERBAL.
145
The leaves, they say, are narrow, and of a 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 is 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 ; dis-
solved in the yolk 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.
ST
FRENCH MERCURY. Mercurialis mas et fæmina.
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 on others, in the manner of spinage, hemp,
and some others, as has been explained already
under the article date-tree.
high
The stalks are angular, green, thick, but
It grows ten inches
not firm, and stand but moderately upright. The
leaves are oblong, broadest in the middle, sharp
at the point, serrated at the edges, and of a deep
green colour.
colour. The female plants produce two
seeds growing together at the top of a little spike.
The male produce only one spike of 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
a little, and works by urine; it is cooling, and
good for hot constitutions and over fulness. The
dried herh is used in decoctions for clysters.
30
U
146
FAMILY HERBAL.
FROG Bır. Morsus rane.
A LITTLE plant, not uncommon on waters,
with round leaves and small white flowers. It
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, and 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 duck-weed in the
The flowers stand singly upon slender
foot-stalks; they are white, and composed of
three leaves apiece, which give them a singular
appearance.
The fresh leaves are used in outward applications,
and are very cooling:
water.
FUMITORY. Fumaria.
A PRETTY wild plant, with bluish divided leaves,
and spikes of little purple flowers, common in
our corn-fields in June 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
divided into a vast number of little parts, which
are blunt and rounded at the ends; their colour
is a faint green. The flowers are small and pur-
ple: they have a heel behind, and a number of
FAMILY HERBAL.
147
them stand together in a kind of spike. The whole
plant has little taste.
The juice expressed from this plant is excellent
o
against the scurvy. It opens obstructions of the
viscera, and is good against the jaundice, and all
other diseases arising from obstructions.
a
FUBZE Bush. Genista sninosa.
.
A WILD bush, upon our heaths and by road
sides, too common to need much description. The
stem is thick, tough, and of a whitish colour, 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 leaves are little, and of a pale green,
and they fall off so quickly, that for a 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 shrub has once
thoroughly fixed itself. Every piece of it left in
will send up a new plant,
The root and the seeds are used, but neither
much, The seeds dried and powdered are astrin-
gent, and a proper ingredient 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
our own growth for the same purpose, that it is
scarce worth while to meddle with it; it loses its
virtues by drying
148
FAMILY HERBAL
loro lige brendtarga bato
G
Standasig
GALANGAL PLANT. Galanga.
Sit 10 anos
A WILD plant in the East, which grows by wa-
ters, and has some resemblance of the generality
of our water plants in its leaves, and manner of
growth. It is two feet and a half high, and has
white flowers. The roots spread about the surface,
and are 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 a smaller tender one, each divided into three
parts. The seed-vessels are oblong, and have each
three divisions, containing many
seeds. The roots
have a very acrid taste, and are reddish: as we
have two sorts of galangal roots at the druggista,
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 : it is a warm
and fine stomachic, we put it in all bitter tinctures.
Head-aches 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.
GARLIC. Allium.
A PLANT kept in our gardens for its uses in
medicine, and in the kitchen.It grows two
feet and a half high. The leaves are broad, long,
and of a 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 tuft at the top of the stalk. The
root is white, or a 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 smell, and an acrid
and pungent taste.
The root is to be boiled in water, and the decoc-
tion made into syrup with honey ; this is excellent
in asthmas, hoarseness, and coughs, and in all diffi-
culties of breathing
3
GENTIAN. Gentiana.
A ROBUST and handsome plant, native of Ger-
many, and kept with us in gardens. It grows
two feet and a half high. The leaves that rise
from the 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 often divided. It is of a
brownish colour on the outside, and yellow within,
and is of a very bitter taste.
The root-is used ; our druggists keep it dry: it
is the great bitter and stomachic of the modern
practice. Gentian root, and the peel of Seville
oranges, make the common bitter tinctures and in-
fusions : beside strengthening the stomach, and
creating an appetite, these open obstructions, and
150
FAMILY HERBAL:
are good in most chronic disorders. The powder
of gentian will cure agues.
mer GERMANDER. Chamædrys.
or
1 A LITTLE plant, native of many parts of Europe,
but with us kept in gardens. It grows a foot
more in height, but rarely stands quite up-
right. The stalks are square, green, and a little
hairy. The leaves stand two at each joint. They
are oblong, deeply indented at the edges, of a
firin 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 upper joints of the stalks, and
appear in July sabi
Germander is an herb celebrated for many
virtues. 'Tis said to be excellent against the
gout and rheumatism : however that be, it pro-
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
WATER GERMANDER. Scordium.
A LITTLE mean looking plant, wild in some
parts of England, but kept in gardens also for its
virtues. The stalks are square, hairy, of a dusky
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
germander: they are of a sort of woolly soft ap-
pearance and touch, and of a dusky deep green
colour The flowers are very small and red, 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 be used fresh or dried.
It has been celebrated greatly as a sudorific, and for
its virtues against pestilential fevers, but it is now
little used.
GINGER. Zinziber.
An East India plant, found also in other places,
and very singular in its manner of growth. It
produces two kinds of stalks, the one bearing the
leaves, and the other only the flowers. The first
grow two or three feet high, and are themselves
composed in a manner 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,
and in 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 of a mixed
colour, purple, white, and yellow. The root spreads
irregularly under the surface.
The root is the only part used: we have it dry
at the grocers; but the best way of taking it, is
as it comes over preserved from the East Indies.
It is a 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 prevent their griping in the
operation.
GLADWYN, Xyris sive spatula fætida.
A WILD plant of the iris kind, of no great
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 stalks 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 brown, and they
have a faint and bad smell.
The juice of the root promotes urine, and the
The dried root, in powder or infusion, is
good against all hysteric disorders, faintings, and
pains. Outwardly, the fresh root is said to be an
excellent remedy for scrophulous swellings; but this
we must take upon trust. .
а.
menses.
GLASSWORT. Kali.
A COMMON wild plant, on the sea coasts of
many parts of Europe, but not a native of our
country. It is called cochleated kali, from the
form of its seed-vessels, which are twisted in the
manner of a snail'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 flowers
are small, inconsiderable, and yellow.
The juice of the fresh plant is said to be an
excellent diuretic; but we have no opportunities
of knowing its virtues here. Some say the seed-
vessels have the same virtue, and give them in in-
fusion, but we have better remedies of the same
kind, of our own growth.
own growth. The whole plant is
FAMILY HERBAL.
153
burnt for its fixed salt, which is used in making
glass.
ad visi lo svitant tool LINTA
{ ' ,
Bill Goar's BEARD. Tragopogon.
i ovjol voltorbrita banon 51
A COMMON wild plant, distinguished in our
meadows by its narrow and fresh green leaves, and
the long leaves of the cup, about its yellow flowers.
It grows to a foot and a half in height. The leaves
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
Aowers stand at the extremities of the stalks; they
are of a 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
a
cream.
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 illness : 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 thus a most excellent medi-
cine in the form of food,
adib
ould 32 33 34
x
154
FAMILY HERBAL
y Goat's
IGOAT'S RUE. Galega. a tu
A TALL plant, native of Italy, but kept with
us in gardens. It grows a yard high. The stalks
are round, striated, hollow, not very firm, or strong,
and of a pale green colour: they are very much
branched, and not altogether upright. The leaves
are long 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 pediele, in a drooping posture.
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 said
of it. honom
GOLDEN Rod. Virga aurea.
A VERY pretty wild plant, with tufts of yellow
flowers, frequent on our heaths in autumn. It
is two feet high. The stalk is firm, erect, round,
and hairy. The leaves are, long, broadest in the
middle, indented at the edges, rough on the surface,
hairy, and of a strong green colour. The flowers
,
are small, 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 long,
brown, and of an austere taste, as is also the whole
plant.
The root, taken up in spring and dried, is an ex-
cellent medicine given in powder for purgings, and
før overflowing of the menses, bloody stools, or any
FAMILY HERBAL.
155
?
other hemorrhage whatsoever The whole plant
has been at all times famous as a vulnerary or
wound herb, given in decoctions,
Gold of PLEASURE. Myagrum.
aroon
A VERY pretty plant, common in many parts of
England, and known at sight by the vast quantity
of seed-vessels. It is two feet high: the stalk is
round, thick, firm, upright, and toward the top
has a great many branches, all standing upright.
The leaves stand irregularly, and are not numerous,
they are long, not very broad, and of a 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. biog
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 month. The seeds yield a
great quantity of oil on pressing, and they are so
plentiful, that it might seem worth while to culti-
vate the plant for them; the oil is pleasant and well
tasted.
20
od is GOURD. Cucurbita.
A LARGE plant, of the melon or cucumber kind,
kept in gardens. The stalks are ten or twelve
feet long, thick, angular, rough, and hairy, but
unable to support themselves upright : they trail
upon the ground or climb upon other things.
The leaves are very large and broad, indented
deeply, rough, of a blackish green.. The flowers
156
FAMILY HERBAL.
be on the
are large, and bell-fashioned, white and downy on
the inside, and not altogether smooth on the outer
surface.
The fruit is large, and has a hard, firm 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 hard,
These seeds are the only part used: they are
cooling and diurețic. 1 They have this virtue in
much the same degree with cucumber and melon
seeds, and are given with them in emulsions.
109,bro
176
BITTER GOURD, called BITTER APPLE.
DOT bisa
Colocynthis.
A NATIVE of the East, and of some other warın
countries, kept in our curious gardens, and afford-
ing the famous drug called coloquintide. It is a
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 every thing they come near. The leaves
are large, broad, and very deeply divided at the
edges. The flowers are of a pale yellow, large,
and not unlike the flowers of melons. The fruit
is a round gourd, of the bigness of the largest
orange. The bark is hard, and the inner part spun-
gy, with seeds among it. these are flat, hard, and
of an oval figure.
The fruit is the part used; they take off the
guter shell, and send the dried pulp with the seeds
among it: but these are to be separated afterwards,
and the pulp used alone. It is a very violent purge,
but it may be given with proper caution ; and it is
excellent against the rheumatism, and violent
haitual head-aches. These rough purges will
a
FAMILY HERBAL
157
reach the cause of disorders, that the common gen-
tle ones would not touch ; and the present practice
denies the use of many of the best medicines we
know.
Gour Wort. Padagrara herba gerrardi.
A COMMON wild plant over-running our gar-
dens, and when once it has taken root very diffi-
cult to be got out again; it grows two feet high.
The leaves which rise from the roots are large,
and they are composed each of several smaller, set
on a divided rib, in the manner of those of angelica,
of which they have some resemblance. They are
of a pale green colour, and are oblong and in-
dented at the edges. The stalks are round, up-
right, and a 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 efficacy
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 leaves boiled soft together, and applied to the
hip in the sciatica, keeping a fresh quantity hot
to renew the other, as it grew cold, and I have seen
great good effect from it. Its use should not be
confined to this pain alone, it will succeed in
others.
353
FAMILY HERBAL.
GROMVEL. Lithospermon.
ad
A WILD plant of no great beauty, but distinguished
by its seeds, which are hard, glossy, and 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 oblong, not very broad, rough, and hairy,
of a deep blackish green colour, and placed irregular-
ly; 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 fre-
quent 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 great deal of barley-water
at the same time.
Aina
0
bris
GROUND-PINE. Chamæpitys.
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 bosons perfectly
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 at every joint of the
stalk: they are rough and hairy like the stalk. The
flowers are little and yellow, and they stand at the
joints
The whole plant is used, and it has great vir-
tue ; it is to be used dry in powder or infusion.
It works strongly by urine, and promotes the menses.
It opens also all obstructions of the liver and
FAMILY HERBAL.
159
spleen, and is good in jaundice, the rheumatism,
and most of the chronic disorders.
he
GROUNDSEL. Erigeron sive senecio.
A COMMON weed in our gardens, and 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
a sort of long cups at the tops of the stalks and
branches.
The juice of this herb is a gentle and very good
emetic. It causes vomiting without any great
irritation or pain ; and it is also good for cutaneous
foulnesses applied outwardly.
the siamo
GUAIACUM TREE.
Guaiасит.
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;
the leaves are small, each is composed of two or
three pair of smaller ones, with no odd leaf at the
end of the rib. These are short, broad, roundish, ,
and of a dusky green colour.
The flowers are
small and yellow, but they grow in large clusters
together, so that the tree when in bloom makes a
very pretty appearance.
The bark and wood are the only parts of the tree
used; they are given in decoction, to promote sweat,
and so cleanse the blood ; they are excellent against
the rheumatism, scurvy, and all other disorders,
which arise from what is commonly called foulness
of the blood, but they must be taken for a consider
a
160
FAMILY HERBAL
able time; for these effects cannot be produced at
once.
What is called gum guaiacum, is the resin pour
ed from this tree; it is very acrid and pungent,
and in the rheumatism and many other cases is to be
preferred to the wood itself.
H.
HARE'S EARS. Bupleuron latifolium.
A COMMON wild plant in some parts of Europe,
out kept here in gardens. It is two feet or more
in 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 they are named; they are of a
whitish green colour, and the ribs upon them are
high. There is a sort with narrow leaves, but the
broad leaved kind is to be used in medicine. The
stalks are round, 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 many
fibres.
The young shoots of the leaves which grow
from the root, are esteemed exceedingly in places
where they are native, for the cure of fresh wounds.
They cut two or three of these off close to the
ground, and without bruising them, first closing
the lips of the wound, they lay them on one over
the other, making a kind of compress: they then
bind them on with linen rags, and never take off
the dressing for three days, at the end of which
time in most cases they only find a scar: the cure
being perfected. This is the substance of a pomp-
FAMILY HERBAL
161
ous account sent lately to a person of distinction
with some leaves of the herb. There is no doubt
of the truth, and the surgeons will very well under-
stand the nature of the cure; the discovery how-
ever is not new, for the herb has always been
reckoned among the vulnerary plants; and some
have pretended that it will singly cure the king's
evil, but that is not to be expected ; at the same
time it may be proper to observe, that we do not
want plants for the same use in England ; we have
the tutsan which is to be applied in the same man-
ner, and has the same effect; clown's all-heal, and
many others, named in their places.
HARE's Foot. Lagopus.
A A COMMON little plant, singular in the tuft,
which contains its seeds, 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
divided into a number of lesser branches. The leaves
are small, oblong, narrow, of a pale green colour,
and hairy; and they stand three together, in the
manner of trefoils. 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
hairiness to these heads, and their softness to the
touch.
The whole plant is to be used dried. It is an
excellent astringent.
It stops the overflowings of
the menses and the whites, and is good against
bloody fluxes, and purgings of all kinds. The best
way of taking it is in a strong decoction, which
must be continued some time.
Y
162
FAMILY HERBAL.
HART's TONGUE. Phyllitis. Lingua cervina
A WILD plant of the fern kind, that is, con-
sisting only of leaves, without a stalk, the flowers
and seeds being horne on the backs of them. But
it has no 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 part of the leaf, and they are
more conspicuous than in most of the fern kind.
The plant grows in old wells, and in dark ditches,
and is green all the year.
It is not much used, but deserves to be more
It is an excellent 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.
Known.
HARTWORT.
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,
striated, and hollow, very firm and upright, and
but little branched. The leaves are very large,
and they are divided into a great number of parts,
hy fives and by threes; they are of a yellowish
green. The flowers are small and white, but they
FAMILY HERBAL
163
stand in great tufts or umbels at the tops of the
stalks: the seeds follow, two after each flower, and
they are 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 ; they are to be given in powder or
infusion.
HAWTHORN. 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 beautiful,
the fruit is small.
The flowers and the dried fruit are used in medi-
cine; they have the same virtue; they work by
urine, and are good in the gravel, and all com-
plaints of that kind; but there are so many better
things for the same purpose at hand, that these are
not much regarded.
HEDGE MUSTARD. Erisimum.
A VERY common wild plant, and of no great
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 edges,
164
FAMILY HERBAL.
The flowers are small and yellow, and they common-
ly stand at the tops of long spikes of pods, which
have been flowers before them.
The whole plant is used, an infusion of it fresh
is the best way of taking it. This dissolves tough
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 purpose, and keeps all the
year.
HEMLOCK. Cicuta.
A LARGE, tall, and handsome umbelliferous
plant, frequent in our hedges. It grows to six
feet in height; the stalk is round, firm, hollow,
and upright; it is of a dark green, and often
stained with purple and yellow. The leaves are
very large, and divided into very fine and nume-
rous partitions. The flowers are small and white,
and stand in large clusters on the tops of the stalks.
The seeds are roundish. The whole plant has
a strong disagreeable smell, and has been called
poisonous.
The roots are excellent in pultices for hard
swellings.
HEMP. Cannabis.
HEMP is a tall plant, of a coarse aspect, culti-
vated in fields for its stalk. It grows five feet high,
and is a robust plant; the stalk is thick and rigid;
the leaves are numerous, they are large, and each
composed of six or seven smaller ; these are disposed
in the manner of fingers, and are of a deep green
colour, rough, narrow, and serrated at the edges.
The flowers in hemp grow in some plants, and the
FAMILY HERBAL.
165
seeds on others. The flowers are inconsiderable,
and whitish; the seeds are large, roundish, grey, and
have a white pulp within. The root is fibrous.
The seeds are used in medicine; an emulsion made of
them cures the jaundice.
HEMP AGRIMONY. "Eupatorium cannabinum.
A TALL plant growing by waters, with tufts
of red flowers and leaves, divided in the man-
ner of those of hemp. It grows five feet high;
the stalk is round, thick, reddish, and very up-
right. The leaves are large of a pale' green,
and fingered ; they stand two at each joint; the
flowers grow in bunches as big as a man's fist,
on the tops of the branches, and are of a bright
red.
The root fresh gathered and boiled in ale is
used in some places as a purge; it operates strong,
ly, but without any ill effect, and dropsies are said
to have been cured by it singly.
Black HENBANE. Hyoscyamus niger.
A COMMON wild plant, of a dismal aspect
and disagreeable smell. The farm yards and
ditch banks in most places are full of it. It
grows two feet high. The stalk is thick, round,
hairy, and clammy to the touch ; but not very
upright. The leaves are large, long, and broad,
deeply serrated at the edges, of a bluish green co-
lour, 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 ; they
are of a strange yellowish brown colour, with
purple veins. The seeds are numerous and brown
166
FAMILY HERBAL.
The seeds are used ; "the rest of the plant is
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.
WHITE HENBANE. Hyoscyamus albus.
a
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 others, as less strong in their effects; but if any
harm would happen from the internal use of the
other, we should have known it, for they are gene-
rally sold for them.
Good King HENRY. Bonus Henricus.
a
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
shape of an arrow-head, they stand on long stalks,
and are of a pale green ahove, and greyish under-
neath, being there covered with this grey powder.
The flowers are inconsiderable, and are of a green-
ish yellow, and they stand in long spikes at the tops
of the branches; the plant 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.
HERMODACTYL PLANT. Hermodactylus.
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.
HOLLOAK. Malva arborea
A COMMON garden flower. It grows eight feet .
high, and the stalk is round, firm, hairy, and
upright. The leaves are large and 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 is of a slimy nature, and not
disagreeable taste.
This is the part used; a decoction of it operates
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 so much as the other, nor is it so
pleasant.
168
FAMILY HERBAL.
HONEWORT. Selinum süi 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 some parts of the kingdom called hones, and
the herb, from its singular effect in curing them,
has received the name of honewort, that is, hone-
herb.
The root is long and white; there rise from it,
early in the spring, half a dozen or more leaves,
which lie spread upon the ground, in an elegant
manner, and are all that is generally observed of
the plant. The stalks do not rise till the end of
summer, and these leaves decay by that time, so
that they are not known to belong to it. These
leaves are eight inches long, and an inch and a half
in breadth : they are composed each of a double
row of smaller leaves, set on a 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 any
other plant, for there is scarce any that has what
are nearly so handsome. The stalk is two feet high,
ound, hollow, upright, but not very firm, and
franched toward the top.
The leaves, on it are
somewhat like those from the root, but they have
not the singularity of those beautiful and numerous
small ones; the flowers are Įittle and white, and
the seeds are small, flatted, striated, and two of them
follow every flower.
The leaves are to be used; they are to be fresh
gathered and beat in a marble mortar into a kind of
paste. They are to be laid on a swelling that is
FAMILY HERBAL.
169
red, painful, and threatens to have bad consequences,
and they disperse it. The application must be
frequently renewed, and there are those who speak
of its curing the evil.
HONEY-SUCKLE. Perielymenum.
a
A BEAUTIFUL wild shrub. The trunk is seldom
more than an inch 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,
HONEYWORT. Cerinthe.
A JUICY plant frequently wild in many parts
of Europe, but with us kept in gardens. It has
its name from the sweet taste of the flowers. Al-
most all flowers have a 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 it, or
it is better preserved in them than others, but scarce
any in so great a degree as this plant named from
it. It is 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 inclose
the stalk at their base; they are of a bluish green
a
2
170
FAMILY HERBAL.
colour, spotted or clouded irregularly 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 hollow,
oblong, and very wide open at the mouth; their
colour is yellow, variegated with purple in the
middle, and they have a very pretty appearance.
The fresh gathered tops of the plant are to be
used ; an infusion of them is cooling, and works
by urine. It is good against scorbutic complaints,
and in the jaundice.
Hop PLANT. Lupulus.
a
A CLIMBING plant, with very long stalks, 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 roundish figure,
deeply indented, of a dark green colour, and very
rough also to the touch. The fruit is sufficiently
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 HOREHOUND. Marrubium album.
A WHITE noary plant, with little flowers in
tufts round the stalks, frequent in dry places in
many parts of the kingdom. It grows sixteen
inches high. The stalks are square, and very ro-
bust, hairy, pale coloured, and upright. The
leaves stand two at each joint; they are short and
broad, blunt at the ends, and widely indented at
FAMILY HERBAL
171
the edges, of a rough surface, and white colour.
The flowers are white, and the points 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 a 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.
BLACK HOREHOUND. Ballote.
A COMMON wild plant of a disagrecable smell,
thence also called by some stinking horehound.
The stalks are square, the leaves grow two at every
joint, and are broad, short, and of a blackish green
colour, but in shape not unlike those of the white
kind. The flowers stand in clusters round the stalk
at the joints, as in the other, but they are red.
The whole plant has a dismal aspect. The root is
fibrous.
The plant is to be used fresh and dried, and
it has more virtue than most imagine. It is to be
given in the form of tea : it promotes the menses,
and is superior to most things as a remedy in hysteric
cases, faintings, convulsions, and low-spiritedness,
and all the train of those disorders.
HORSETAIL. Equisetum segetale.
A COMMON, and yet very singular wild plant,
frequent in our corn-fields, and composed of
branches only, without leaves ; there are also many
other kinds of horsetail. It is a foot or more in
height, and is extremely branched; the stalk is
172
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
a very agreeable smell.
The whole plant is to be usea, and it is best fresh ;
though it retains a great deal of its virtue dried.
Given in decoction, it stops overflowings of the
menses, and bloody stools; and applied externally,
it immediately stops the bleeding of wounds and
heals them.
Hound's TONGUE. Cynoglossum.
A TALL and singular looking piant, frequent by
our way sides, and distinguished by its large whitish
leaves, and small purple flowers, as also by the
particularity of its smell, which has been supposed to
resemble that of a kennel of hounds. It is two feet
and a half high. The stalk is angulated, 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 along the tops of the branches, and are followed
by rough seeds.
The root is the part used; it is long, thick, and
brown, but whitish within ; it is balsamic and
astringent. Given in decoction, it is excellent against
coughs arising from a thin sharp humour. Dried
and powdered, it is good against purgings, and
stops the overflowing of the menses.
FAMILY HERBAL.
173
GREAT HOUSELEEK. Sedum majus.
а
a
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 roundish figure, these
are composed of leaves, which are largest toward
the bottom, and smallest at the end ; they are very
thick and juicy, broad at the base, sharp at the
point, flat on the upper side, a little rounded on
the under, and somewhat hairy at their edges. The
stalk grows to ten inches high; it is very thick,
round, and juicy, 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 becomes a cluster of
seed-vessels.
The leaves 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 the eyes.
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 other leaves; and
the flowers are white, and stand in a kind of tufts,
like umbels at the tops of the stalks. This grows on
old walls, and the tops of houses like the other.
LEAST HOUSELEEK, OR WALL PEPPER. Sedum
minimum acre.
A COMMON plant on old walls, of kin to the
174
FAMILY HERBAL,
a
preceding, but very different both in face and
virtues. The root is little ; from this grow abun-
dance of stalks ; they are round, weak, and unable
to support themselves; they spread every way
about, and are six inches in length. 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 the 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-
lent against the scurvy and all other diseases arising
from what is called foulness of the blood. It
is said that a continued course of it will cure
the king's evil : but we want experience to support
this.
HYPOCIST. 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.
It does not grow in the earth at large as other
plants, but to the root of some species of cistus;
as missletoe grows to the branches of trees. The
stalk is thick and fleshy, and is often twice as large
toward the top, as at the bottom. It is whitish, or
yellowish, or purplish, and has a parcel of short
and broad skinny films, by way of leaves upon it.
The flowers grow at the top, with leaves of the same
kind among them. They are large and beautiful, ,
and are succeeded by fruits of a roundish figure,
FAMILY HERBAL.
175
a
in which is a quantity of glutinous liquor, and with
it the seeds, which are very small, and of a brown-
ish colour.
We use the hardened juice of the fruit; it is
evaporated over the fire, to a thick consistence, and
then is of a black colour, like the common liquorice
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 an electuary, with conserve of red
a
roses.
Hyssop. Hyssopus.
a
a
A VERY pretty garden plant, kept for its virtues.
It grows two feet high. The stalks are square,
robust, upright, and of a pale green colour. The
leaves stand two at each joint; they are long, narrow,
pointed at the ends, and of 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 plant has a strong, but not
disagreeable smell.
Hyssop is to be gathered when just beginning to
flower, and dried: the infusion made 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.
infusion made into a syrup with honey, is excellent
for the same purposes, mixed with an equal quantity
of oil of almonds.
A strong
HEDGE HYSSOP. Gratiola.
A LITTLD plant kept in our gardens. It
grows to a foot in height; the stalks are square,
slender, and not very robust : the leaves are long,
176
FAMILY HERBAL.
varrow, 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
dropsies and rheumatisms; and the jaundice has
been often cured by it singly.
J
JACK BY THE HEDGE. Alliaria.
A. SPRING plant of a conspicuous figure, fre-
quent in our hedges. The stalk is round, thick,
firm, upright, and of a pale green, three feet in
height, and very straight. The leaves are large,
broad, and short, of a figure approaching to
toundish, but somewhat pointed at the ends, and
notched at the edges ; they are of a pale yellowish
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 by 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 coughs and
hoarsenesses.
JACINTH, OR HYACINTH. Hyacinthus
vulgaris.
The common spring plant our children gather
with their cowslips and May Mowers, and call blue
FAMILY HERBAL
177
a
bells. The root is white and roundish; the leaves
are narrow and long, like grass, but of a deep greeil
colour, and smooth surface: the stalks are round,
upright, and smooth ; they have no leaves on them.
The flowers are large, and of a beautiful blue; they
are hollow, oblong, and turn up at the rim. The
root is the part used.
It abounds in a slimy juice, but it is to be dried,
and this must be done carefully; the decoction of
it operates well by urine ; and the powder is balsa-
mic, and somewhat styptic. It is not enough known.
There is hardly a more powerful remedy for the
whites
JALAP PLANT. Jalapium.
A CLIMBING plant, native of America, and 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 ten or twelve feet in
length, and wind among the bushes. The leaves
are oblong, broadest toward the base, of a dusky
green, and not dented about the edges. The flow-
ers are large, and of the shape of a bell, and their
colour is purplish or white. The seed-vessel is large
and oval.
The root is the part used; and druggists sell it.
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 general a safe and ex-
cellent purge.
TESSAMIN.E Jasminum.
A COMMON shrub in
our gardens, and
А а
178
FAMILY HERBAL.
great ornament to them. It does not well support
itself, so that it is commonly nailed against walls.
The trunk is covered with a greyish hark: the
young shoots are green. The leaves stand two at
each joint, and they are very beautiful ; each is
made 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 a very delicate and fragrant smell; these
are succeeded by berries, which ripen in the warmer
countries.
The flowers are the part used. Pour a pint of
boiling water upon six ounces of the fresh gathered
and clean picked flowers of jessamine ; let it stand
twelve hours, then pour it off; add honey enough to
make the liquor into a thin syrup, and it is an excel-
lent medicine in coughs.
Rose oF JERICHO. Rosa Hicracontea.
A LITTLE woody plant, named a rose from nothing
but its size, and its 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 in,
ward. When it is put into warm water, it expands,
and become flattish, but on drying, it acquires the
old form again.
It is in reality a kind of thlaspi, or treacle mus-
tard, but of a peculiar woody texture. The root
is long, and pierces deep into the ground; there
grow from this eight or ten stalks, which spread
FAMILY HERBAL,
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 them has a num-
ber of branches. The leaves are long, narrow,
and of a pale green; they are very numerons, and
they stand irregularly. The flowers are small,
and white like those of our shepherd's purse. The
seed-véssels 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 in it, while in its perfection
of growth, but after a 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
into this round figure, from which warm water
will expand them, but they recover it again as they
dry.
This is the real history of that little kind of trea-
cle mustard, which is called the rose of Jericho,
and concerning which so many idle, as well as
strange things, have been said. Our good women
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 grows dry. 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.
shoots are good in infusion against sore throats, but
we have the plant without its leaves, and, in reality,
The young
180
FAMILY HERBAL.
little more than a stick ; so that it would be idle to
expect any good in it.
JESUIT'S BARK TREE. Arbor Peruviana.
A SMALL tree, native of South America, 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 in length, and half as 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,
hollow, and open at the end, where they are a little
divided. The fruit is a dry capsule, of an oblong
figure.
The bark is the part used. Besides its certain
efficacy against agues and intermitting fevers, it is
an excellent stomachic and astringent ; nothing 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 powder.
The tincture is to 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 pick
fine pieces of the bark and chew them.
JEW'S EARS. Auriculæ Juda.
A KỊND of fungus, or, as the common phrase
is, of toad's stool, growing upon old elder trees. It
is about an inch and a half long, and generally an
inch broad, and is somewhat of the shape of an
FAMILY HERBAL.
181
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
colour is a pale grey on the outside, it is darker
within, and there run several ribs along it. It is
to be dried. Boiled in milk, it is recommended
greatly in sore throats and quinsies. These reme-
dies of the vulgar have come originally from
physicians, and they commonly have something to
support them. The Jew's ear is at this tiine out
of repute, but that seems owing to sophistication.
They commonly sell, under the name of it, another
fungus 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.
ST. IGNATIUS'S BEAN. Taba sancti Ignatii.
A PLANT common in the West Indies, and very
ill called a bean, being truly a gourd. The name
bean 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
as a man's arm, angulated, light, and not firm.
The leaves are very large, oblong, and undivided,
and they have the ribs very high upon them: they
are broad at the base, and grow narrower to the
point, and are of a deep green colour. The flow-
ers are very large, and of a deep blood red; at a
distance, they have the aspect of a red rose.
The
fruit is large and roundish, it has a woody shell,
and over that a thin skin, bright and shining,
182
FAMILY HERBAL.
Within there are twenty or thirty seeds; they are
of the bigness of a small nutmeg, when 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
call the St. Ignatius's bean. 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
in a small dose occasions vomiting and purging,
and often, if the constitution be tender, convulsions ;
it is much better to give it in tincture, when no
such effects happen from it. '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
purpose.
Some have given the powder in very
small quantities against worms, and that with suc-
cess ; its extreme bitter makes it very disagrec-
able, and the taste continues in the throat a long
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.
St. John's Wort. Hypericum.
A ROBUST and pretty plant, frequent in our
pastures, and other dry places. The height is a
foot and a half. The stalk is round, thick, firm,
and very upright, and divided towards the top
into several branches The leaves are short and
FAMILY HERBAL
182
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, full
of yellow threads, which, if rubbed upon the hand,
stain it like blood. The fruit is a dry seed-
vessel.
The part used is the flowery 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
JUJUBE TREė. Zizyphus.
A TREE of the bigness of our plum trees, and
not unlike to them in shape. The bark is grey on
the trunk, and brown on the branches. The leaves
are moderately large, and each is composed of a
number of smaller 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 longest. The flowers are small and
yellow. The fruit is oval, and of 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 fruit is used. It was at one time brought
over to us dried, but we see little of it now; it was
esteemed balsamic, and was given to cure coughs,
and to work by urine.
.
184
FAMILY HERBAL.'
WHITE STOCK JULY FLOWER. Leucoium
album.
A ROBUST garden plant, kept for its flowers, which
art variegates and makes double. It grows two or
three feet high. The stalk is thick, firm, round, and
of a greyish colour. The leaves are long, narrow,
hairy, and whitish. The stalks which bear the flow-
ers are also of 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 are to
be fresh gathered, and only just blown. A tea
made of them is good to promote the menses, and
it operates also by urine. An ointment is to be
made, by boiling them in hog's lard, which is ex-
cellent for sore nipples.
JUNIPER SHRUB. Trenipcrus.
A COMMON shrub on our heaths. It grows to
no great height in England, but in some other
parts of Europe rises to a considerably large tree.
The bark is of a reddish brown. The branches are
tough The leaves are longish, very narrow, and
prickly at the ends. The flowers are of a yellow-
ish 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 sweet-
ish, but resinous taste. The leaves are of a faint.
bluish green colour.
The berries are the part most used. We have
them from Germany principally. They have two
excellent qualities, they dispel wind, and work by
urine, for which reason, they are excellent in those
colics which arise from the gravel and stone.
With these is also made the true Geneva, but the
FAMILY HERBAL.
135
liquor our poor people drink under that name, is
only malt spirits and oil of turpentine.
Ivy. Hedera.
A VERY
common shrub, crawling about old
trees, or upon old walls; it sometimes runs upon
the ground for want of such support, but then it
rarely bears any fruit. The trunk is thick, brown,
and covered with a peculiar roughness. The
branches are numerous and brittle The leaves
have a strange variety of shapes, oblong, angular,
cornered, or divided. The flowers stand in little
round clusters, and thev are small and inconsiderable :
they are succeeded by large berries. The leaves
upon the young shoots that bear the flowers are al-
ways oblong; those on the trunk are angulated.
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 rheumatisins, and pains of all kinds, and,
it is said, have cured dropsies; but this is perhaps
going too far.
The ivy in the 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.
K.
KIDNEY WORT. Umbilicus veneris,
A VERY singular plant, which grows on old
Bb
B
186
FAMILY HERBAL.
walls in some parts of England It is eight inches
high, and is distinguished at sight by a cluster of
round leaves which grow about the stalk. The
root is roundish, and its fibres grow from the bottom.
The Icaves 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
branchés ; on these grow the flowers, in a kind of
spikes : they are oblong, hollowish, and of a green-
ish wlrite 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 inflammations of the liver and
spleen.
a
KNAP-WEED. Jacea.
A VERY common wild plant, with dark-coloured
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
same 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.
KNOT-GRASS. Polygonum.
a
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 virtues : the largest is the best. The
stalks of this are ten inches long, round, jointed,
and of a dusky green. The leaves are of an oval
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
188
FAMILY HERBAL.
L.
GUM LAC TREE. 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
a smoother 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;
deposit it there, and on other substances; and
that it is a kind of wax; however, there are per-
sons of credit, who say 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, as
we see it.
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, in small lumps; and the other shell lac,
which is thin' and transparent, and has been melted ;
of this resin the sealing wax is made with very little
alteration more than the colouring it, which is
done by means of a cinnabar or coarser materials.
Taken inwardly, gum lac is good against obstruc-
tions of the liver: it operates by urine and sweat,
FAMILY HERBAL.
189
and is good in most chronic cases arising from such
obstructions.
LADIES' MANTLE. Archimilla.
a
a
A VERY pretty little plant, native of some parts of
England, but not very common wild. The leaves
are numerous and very beautiful; they are broad,
and of a roundish figure, but divided deeply into eight
parts, and each of these elegantly indented 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, not very upright, and
of a pale green colour. The flowers stand in con-
siderable numbers at their tops; they are small and
of a greenish colour, but have a great many yellow
threads in the middle. The root is long, thick, and
dark coloured.
The root is the part most valuable ; a decoction
of it fresh taken 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 of the north
of England apply the leaves to their breasts, to make
them recover their form, after they have been swelled
with milk. Hence it has got the name of ladies'
mantle.
a
LARCH TREE. Larix,
A MODERATELY tall, and in summer a very beautiful
tree; but though one of the resinous kind, and in
many respects approaching to the nature of the fir
and pine, it loses its leaves in winter: it is a native
190
FAMILY HERBAL
а
a
of Italy, and is frequent in our gardens. The trunk
is rugged, and the branches are covered with a
l'ough 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, on different parts of the
branches. The flowers are inconsiderable, the fruit
is a cone, but very small. It is not bigger than a
little walnut.
The young leaves are boiled, and the liquor is
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
is a noble 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.
Larks' Spur. Delphinium.
•
a
A COMMON flower in our gardens; but not with-
out 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 large, and have
a kind of spur behind.
The leaves are used; they must be boiled fresh
in water, and the decoction is good against the
bleeding piles. It stops the hemorrhage, and at the
same time cools the body, whereas too many of the
astringent medicines are heating
FAMILY HERBAL,
191
LAVENDER. 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
grows a yard high. The trunk, or main stem is
thick, woody, firm, and covered with a whitish
bark. The young shoots from this, are tender and
greenish; and on these stand the leaves. They are
long, narrow, and of a pale green colour, and stand
two at each joint. The stalks which bear the
Aowers are square, green, and naked; the flowers
stand in short spikes, or ears, they are small, blue,
and very fragrant ; the cups of the flowers are
whitish.
These fowers are the part used; they are good
against all disorders of the head and nerves. They
may be taken in the form of 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 molasses spirit, and a
quart of water: distil off three quarts; put to 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.
The lavender water is thus made. Put a pound
of fresh lavender flowers into a still with a gallon of
molasses spirit, and draw off five pints. This is
lavender water.
а
LAVENDER COTTON. Abrotunum fæmina.
A LITTLE shrubby plant, frequently wild in Italy,
192
FAMILY HERBAL,
but with us kept in gardens. It grows two feet or
more in height, the stem is whitish: the stalks grow-
ing from it, are tough and firm, of a whitish colour
also, and very numerous ; the leaves are oblong,
slender, of a square shape, and indented; they are
also whitish and of a strong smell. The stalks which
support the flowers are long and naked; they are
round, of a greenish colour, and each has at its top
a single flower, which is yellow and naked, and of
the higness of an horse-bean.
The leaves are the part used, they are best fresh
gathered. 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 jaundice.
SPURGE LAUREL. Laureola.
a
A WILD little shrub of a singular aspect and 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
tons 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 leaves are a powerful remedy against the
dropsy, but they are so violent they must be given
with caution ; a small quantity of a slight infusion
of them in water, works by vomit and stool in a
powerful manner. It is not every constitution that
can bear such a medicine.
FAMILY HERBAL.
193
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 the top of
the stalk ; they are of a purplish colour, with a tinge
of green; the root is white, oblong, thick, and round-
ish, with fibres at the bottom.
An infusion of the roots of leeks made in water,
and boiled into a syrup with boney, 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.
LEMON 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 brown bark; the branches are nume-
rous, irregular, and beset with prickles. The 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 ; of a thick firm sub-
stance, and very fragrant smell. The fruit we are
sufficiently acquainted with ; its shape is oblong, and
its rind of a pale yellow colour: it has a part like
a nipple at each end. Its smell is very fragrant, and
its juice sour.
The peel and the juice of the fruit are used.
The peel is stomachic and warm, it is a good in-
gredient in bitter infusions. The juice made into
a syrup with twice its weight of fine sugar, is ex-
C C
194
FAMILY HERBAL.
cellent forsweetening juleps and drinks in fevers, and,
mixed with salt of wormwood, it stops vomitings.
LEAdwort. Dentillaria sive plumbago.
A LITTLE plant, native of some parts of Europe,
and kept in our gardens. It is two feet high; the
stalk:s 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 base. The flow-
ers are red, they are singly, very small
, but they
stand in thick, oblong clusters, on the tops of the
stalks, and each is succeeded 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,
and is often an almost instantaneous cure for the
head-ache. It also cures the tooth-ache in the same
manner as pellitory of Spain does : it is more hot
and acrid than even that fiery root.
INDIAN LEAF TREE. 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
grows 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
not at all indented. The flowers stand in clusters
on the tops of the branches; they are small and
greyish, and the fruit is of the bigness of our red
currant. It is common in the mountainous parts of
the east.
FAMILY HERBAL.
195
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 stonrach, and is good in nervous
disorders
LENTIL. Lens.
A KIND of little pulse, sown in fields in some
parts of England. It grows a foot and a half high,
but does not stand very upright. The stalk is an-
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 a rib, and there
is a tendril in place of an odd leaf at the end. These
small leaves are of a pale green colour, and oval
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, in
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 pultices for swellings, but it is not much
regarded
LETTICE. Lactuca.
A COMMON plant in 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 waved at the edges :
the flowers stand on the tops of the stalks, and are
of a pale yellow; the seed is winged with a light white
down.
The juice of lettice is a good medicine to pro-
cure 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,
Wild LETTICE. Lactuca sylvestris major.
A COMMON plant in our hedges, and having
some resemblance to the garden lettice in its flowers,
though not in its manner of growth. It is six or
seven feet high. . The stalk is thick, round, very
upright, branched, and of a pale yellowish green
colour. The leaves at the bottom are very large,
a foot long and five inches broad, and of a pale
green colour; those higher up the stalks are smaller, ,
they are deeply indented 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 numerous, but they are small and of a pale
yellow.
This is a plant not introduced 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 a strong infusion of it,
is an excellent anódyne; it eases the most violent
pain in colics, and other disorders, and gently dis-
poses the person to sleep. It has the good effect
of a gentle opiate, and none of the bad ones of that
violent medicine.
WHITE LILY.
Lilium album.
A TALL, fragrant, and beautiful garden plant.
It grows four or five feet high ; the stalk is round,
green, thick, firm, and very upright; a great many
leaves surround it at the bottom, and a great many
;
FAMILY HERBAL.
197
grow upon it all the 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. An oil is made of the
flowers steeped in common oil of olives ; but the
fresh flowers are much better in the season ; and the
root may be had fresh at all times, and it possesses the
same virtues.
LILY OF THE VALLEY. Lilium convallium.
A VERY pretty plant, but so different from the
former, that one would wonder how it came to
be called by any part of the same name.
It is six
or eight inches high. The leaves are large, long,
and broad, of a deep green colour, and full of very
thick ribs or veins. The stalks are weak, slender,
angular, and green; they bend towards the top,
and on each there stands, or rather hangs, a row
of white flowers; they are roundish, hollow, and
of a delicate and pleasing smell; these are suc-
ceeded by berries, which are red when they are
ripe.
The flowers are used. A tea made of them, and
drank for a constancy, is excellent against all nerve
ous complaints; it will cure nervous head-aches, and
tremblings of the limbs : a great deal too much
has been said of this plant, for people call it a re
medy for apoplexies and the dead palsies, but though
all this is not true, enough is, to give the plant a
reputation, and bring it again into use.
198
FAMILY HERBAL.
WATER LILY. Nymphæa alba.
A LARGE and elegant plant, the broad leaves
of which we see floating upon the surface of the
water in our brooks not unfrequently; and in the
autumn large white flowers among them. The
root of the plant is very long, and extremely thick,
and lies buried in the mud. The leaves rise singly
one on each stalk; the stalks are round, thick, and
of a spungy substance, having a white pith in
them; and the leaves also are thick and somewhat
spungy; they are of 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 separately from the root, and being
like them, light, round, glossy, and full of a white
pith; the flowers are large and white, and have
some yellow threads in the middle; the seed-vessel
is large and roundish, and the seeds are numerous.
The root is the part used, and it is best fresh, and
given in a strong decoction. It is a powerful re-
medy in the whites, and in those weaknesses 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 virtues with the others,
but in a less degree.
:
LIME TREE. Tilia.
A TREE common enough in parks and gardens,
and when in flower very beautiful and fragrant ;
the trunk is thick, and the branches grow with a
tolerable regularity. The leaves are short, broad,
of a figure approaching to round, but terminating
in a point, and serrated about the edges. The
FAMILY HERBAL.
199
flowers grow on long yellowish stalks, with a
yellow, oblong, and narrow leaf upon them. They
are themselves also of a yellowish white colour,
and extremely delicate and sweet smell. The
fruit is roundish and small. The flowers are the
only part used; they are good against giddiness of
the head, tremblings of the limbs, and all other
lighter nervous disorders. They are best taken as
tea.
LIQUID AMBER TREE. Liquid Ambar.
A VERY beautiful tree of the American islands,
which we have 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 and small; the fruit is of the bigness of a
small walnut, roundish and rough upon the surface,
with several seeds within.
We use a resin which runs from the trunk of
this tree in great heats. It is of 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 was a custom at one time of mixing
it among perfumes, but of late it has been neglected,
and is grown scarce.
200
FAMILY HERBAL.
LIQUID STORAX TREE. Styrax liquida arbor.
A LARGE tree, so much we hear of it, is native
of the East Indies, but very ill described to us. We
are told the leaves are large, and the flowers fra-
grant, but of what form they are nobody has told
us, or what is the fruit. All that we use is a 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
scum it off and strain it, but it will not all pass
through. It is from hence that we see two kinds ;
the one finer, thinner, and purer, the other thicker
and coarser; this last kind is more common than the
better 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
that follow venereal disorders. Some have used it
also in diseases of the lungs, but 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 with great success.
LIQUORICE. Glycyrrhiza.
A ROUGH looking plant, cultivated in many
places for the sake of the root. It is a yard high
or more. The stalk is round, striated, and branch-
ed: the leaves are long and large, each is com-
posed of a great many pairs of smaller, standing on
a middle rib, with an odd one at the end ; these are
of an oval figure, of a dusky green colour, and
they are clammy to the touch. The flowers are
very small and blue, they stand in long spikes,
rising from the bosoms of the leaves. The seeds
are contained in pods. The root is the part used;
and its virtues are very great. It is best fresh taken
FAMILY HERBAL.
201
out of the ground, the sweetness of its taste renders
it agreeable, and it is excellent against coughs,
hoarsenesses, and shortness of breath. It also
works gently by urine, and is of service in ulcera-
tions of the kidneys and urinary passages, acting
there as in lungs at once, as a detergent and balsa-
mic.
The best way of taking it is by sucking
or chewing
the fresh root : but it may be taken in infusion, or in
,
the manner of tea. The black substance called
liquorice juice, and Spanish liquorice, is made by eva-
porating a strong decoction of this root. But the
fresh root itself is better.
NOBLE LIVERWORT, OR HEPATICA. Hepatica,
nobilis.
A COMMON garden flower, which makes a very
pretty figure in spring, and is little regarded, ex-
cept as an ornament in our borders ; though it is
not without considerable virtues. The leaves are
supported each on a single foot-stalk, white, slender,
and reddish, they are near an inch broad, and of
the same length, and divided each into three parts.
The flowers rise early in the spring, before these ap-
pear ; they also stand singly on long foot-stalks, and
are moderately large and blue, with a greenish 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 is a good medicine in the jann-
dice, taking it in time.
GREEN LIVERWORT. Lichen vulgaris.
A COMMON low plant, composed wholly of
leaves, which spread themselves on the ground, and
Da
202
FAMILY HERBAL.
a
are of a beautiful green colour ; authors refer it to
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 cluster.
This is all that is usually seen 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 flowers,
as they are called, small roundish, and resembling the
heads of little mushrooms.
The whole plant is used, and it is best green and
fresh gathered. It is to be given in a strong decoc-
tion. It opens obstructions of the liver, and works
by urine.
It is good against the jaundice, and
is an excellent medicine in the first stages of con-
sumptions. It is not nearly so much regarded as it
ought to be. It is also used externally for foulness of
the skin.
GREY GROUND LITERWORT. Lichin cincreus ter-
restris.
A PLANT, very common by our dry wood-sides,
and 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 long, and an inch and a half broad ; and grow
in clusters together; often they are less distinct, and
therefore appear larger. These do not send up any
stalks to bear a kind of flowers in heads. The tips of
the leaves turn up, and are reddish, and in these parts
are contained the seeds. The whole plant seems dry
and sapless.
a
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
208
The whole plant is used, and has been of late very
famous. Its efficacy is against the bite of a mad
dog ; it is mixed with pepper, and the person is
at the same time to bathe in the sea. There have
been instances of its success, when given to dogs, but
perhaps no cure was ever performed upon a human
creature, when this terrible disease had arisen to
any height. Bleeding and opium are the present
practice.
Logwood TREE. Arbor campechiana.
A TREE, native of the Southern parts of America,
the wood of which has been used in dying, longer
than in medicine, but is very serviceable in the
latter capacity. The tree is large, and makes a
beautiful appearance.
The branches are numer-
ous, and they spread with a sort of regularity.
The leaves are composed each 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 yellow; the pods
which succeed them are very large, and the boughs of
the tree are very thick set, with sharp thorns of a
reddish colour.
We use only the heart of the wood which is of
a deep 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. It is a
a very powerful medicine to stop fluxes of the
belly, and overflowings of the menses. The best
way of giving it is in form of an extract, which
is to be made by boiling down a strong decoction
of wood to the consistence of honey. In this
form it will keep a long time, and is always ready for
use,
201
FAMILY HERBAL.
PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE. Lysimachia 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 are long and narrow ; of a
dusky green, and a little rough. The flowers stand
in very 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 seed is very
little and brown.
The leaves are used. They are a fine balsam for
fresh wounds, and an ointment is to be made of
them boiled in lard, which is also cooling and detersive,
but it is not of a fine green colour.
a
a
a
YELLOW LOOSESTRIFE. Lysimachia lutca.
A WILD plant not uncommon in our watery
places, but for its beauty, very worthy a place in
our gardens. If it were brought from America, it
would be 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 towards the tops divided into several
branches. The leaves are as long as ones finger,
and an inch and half broad in the middle, and small
at each end ; they are a little hairy, and of a yellow-
The flowers are large and of a beautiful
yellow, they grow several together on the tops of
the branches. The seed-vessels are full of small
sceds.
The root dried and given in powder, is good
against the whites, and against bloody fluxes, over-
flowings of the menses, and purgings; it is astrin-
ish green
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
205
gent and balsamic. The young leaves bound about a
fresh wound, stop the bleeding, and perform a cure
in a short time.
LOVAGE. 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 small 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 ef-
fect also and they dispel wind. The dried root is a
sudorific, and is good in fevers.
TREE LUNG WORT. Muscus pulmonarius.
A BROAD and large kind of moss, in form some-
what resembling the green and grey liverwort, but
bigger than either. It grows on the barks of old
oaks, and beech trees, but is not 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 also
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
و
of it stops the overflowings of the menses, and all other
bleedings ; it is remarkable against the spitting of
blood, and hence it is got into general use in consump-
tions, but that not so properly. It may be given in
powder, but the other way is better.
LUPINE. Lupinus sativus albus,
THERE are many lupines kept in gardens, but
the best kind for use is the white-flowered ; it
grows to a yard high, the stalk is round, thick, firm,
and of a pale green. The leaves stand on long foot-
stalks, and are each composed of seven, eight, or
nine long narrow ones, disposed in the manner of
fingers; these are also of a whitish green colour.
.
The flowers are large and white, of the shape of a
pea-blossom. The pods are hairy. A decoction of
the seeds of lupines, drank in the manner of barley
water, not only works by urine, but is good to bring
down the menses, and open all obstructions. It 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
he employed. A decoction made very strong is
good to wash the heads of children that have break-
ings out upon them; they cleanse and dispose them
to heal.
GOLDEN LUNGWORT. Pulmonaria aurea.
A TALL, erect, and beautiful plant of the hawk-
weed kind, with yellow flowers, and very hairy leaves ;
it is frequent in the mountainous parts of Europe, and
we have it wild in some places in England, upon walls
and in very dry places, but with us it is not common.
Itis two feet high; the leaves are large and ob-
long ; they grow half a dozen or thereabout im-
FAMILY HERBAL
207
mediately from the 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 parplish colour,
and also hairy: the leaves on it are smaller than those
from the root, but like them in shape, and they are
in the same manner very hairy. The flowers are
not very large, but they are of a beautiful yellow,
and they have the more singular aspect, as the plant
has so much whiteness. The seeds are winged with
.
a white down.
The young leaves rising from the root, are the
part used. They are of the same nature with those
of coltsfoot, but they possess their virtues in a 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 stages of consumptions ; it is
,
best given in form of a strong infusion; and I have
known it tried here with more success than could be
expected from so simple a remedy, in cases of such
consequence. It is scarce wild, but it is easily pro-
pagated 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 neighbouring
places will never be without a sufficient supply of it,
for all purposes.
;
M
MACE. Macis.
The spice we call mace, is the covering of the
stone or kernel of a fruit, within which is the nut-
meg. The tree will therefore more naturally be
206
FAMILY HERBAL.
may be
а
described under the article nutmeg; but it
proper to say here, that the fruit of it is large, and
roundish, and has somewhat the appearance of a peach,
being of nearly its bigness; the outer part is more
like the green rind of a walnut, than the flesh of a
peach : within is the nutmeg contained in a hard
shell, and on the outside of that shell, is laid the mace,
in a kind of thin, divided, yellowish leaves. It is of
a soft and unctuous nature, and very fragrant ; more
so than the futmeg itself.
Mace is a noble spice, it warms and strengthens
the stomach, and is good against pains in the head,
arising from faults there: it is also good against colics ;
and even outwardly applied will take effect. The
mace bruised may be used for this purpose, or its oil
by expression.
MADDER. Rubia tinctorum.
а
A ROUGH and unhandsome plant, cultivated for
the sake of its root, which is used by the dyers,
and also in medicine. It is a foot and a half high.
The stalk is square and weak. The leaves stand
six or eight at every joint, disposed star-fashoned,
and they are of a dusky green colour, and very
rough, they feel almost prickly. The flowers are
little and yellow ; and they grow from the bosoms of
the leaves. The root is long, slender, and of a red
colour.
A decoction of the fresh roots of madder, works
gently by urine, but it very powerfully opens obstruc-
tions of the liver and spleen. It is very good against
the gravel and jaundice.
TRUE MAIDENHAIR. Adiantum verum.
A VERY beautiful plant of the fern kind, but
FAMILY HERBAL.
209
exceeding the ordinary ferns very much in delicacy.
The stalks are small, black, and glossy; each divides
toward the top, into a great many branches, and on
these stand the smaller leaves, which make up the
complete one, or the whole plant ; (for in this,
as in the fern, every leaf is an entire plant, these
are short, blunt, rounded, and notched very beauti-
fully and regularly at the edges, and they are of a
pale green colour. The seeds are fixed to the edges
of the under side of the leaves, in form of a brown
powder. The whole plant is used : our deuggists
have it from France.
A decoction of the fresh plant, is gently diuretic,
and opens obstructions, especially of the lungs;
but as we cannot easily have it fresh, and it loses
a great deal of the virtue in drying, the best ex-
pedient is to use the fine syrup of capellaire, which
is made of an infusion of the plant, when in its per-
fection, with fine Narbonne honey. We suppose
this a trifle, but barley water sweetened with it,
is one of the best known remedies for a violent
cough.
ENGLISH MAIDENHAIR. Triehomancs.
A VERY pretty little plant, of kin to the true
maidenhair, and frequently used in its place; but
this is very wrong, for its virtues are no greater,
and it is unpleasant. It grows eight inches, and
each leaf, as in the rest of the fern kind, is an entire
plant. This leaf consists of a vast number of
small ones, set on each side a middle rib, and they
are very short and obtuse, of a roundish, but some
what oblong figure. The stalk is slender, black,
and shining, and the little leaves are of a bright
and strong green colour. The seeds are lodged as
Еe
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-
sary; an infusion of the dry plant may also be
used.
WHITE MAIDENHAIR. Adiantum album.
A VERY little plant of the fern kind, and of
the 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 leaves, covering the greatest part of the
surface.
This is not uncommon in old walls : it has the
same virtues with the others against coughs, and a de-
coction of it is also strongly diuretic, and good against
the gravel, and all stoppages of urine.
BLACK MAIDENHAIR. Adiantum nigrum.
ANOTHER of the small plants of the fern kind,
and more of the shape and form of the common
ferns, than any yet described. It is like the com-
FAMILY HERBAL.
211
a
a
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
beautifully divided into a great many parts: these
are short, of a dark shining green, and deeply notch-
ed at the edges, and they terminate in a sharp point,
not blunt as some of those already mentioned. The
secds 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 lanes.
A decoction of it works powerfully by urine, and
it has the same virtue with the rest in the cure of
coughs.
Of these four, for they possess the same virtues,
the preference is given to the first described, or
true kind ; next to the English maidenhair ; and
in defect of both these, to the black kind. The
white maidenhair is preferred to any against the
gravel, and in suppression of urine ; but for the com-
mon use in coughs and hoarsenesses, it is the least
esteemed of all.
There 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 capellary herbs,
but it is so distinct from the others, that it is best
kept separate. They are all kinds of fern : this is a
sort of moss.
GOLDEN MAIDENHAIR. Adiantum aureum.
a
A LITTLE upright plant, but considered as a
moss, one of the largest of the kind. It grows
four or five inches high, when in perfection. The
lower part of the stalk is covered for an inch or
more, with thick, short, narrow leaves, sharp at
the point, and of a dusky green colour: these stand
in such clusters, that they quite hide the stalk; from
212
FAMILY HERBAL.
the top of these 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 of the summit of these is single,
square, and is covered with a woolly cap, of the
figure of an extinguisher, which falls off when the
head is intirely ripe : this head is full of a fine
dust.
The plant is frequent in boggy places, and is to
be used intire. Some talk of its being good in coughs,
but the more frequent use of it is externally, they boil
it in water, and wash the head with it, to make the
hair grow thick.
COMMON MALLOW. Malva.
A WILD plant, 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, large, and red. The root is long and white,
of a firm, tough substance, and not disagreeable
taste.
The whole plant is used, but the root has most
virtue. The leaves dried, or fresh, are put in de-
coctions for glişters; and the root may be dried,
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 is to be
boiled in water, and the decoction may be made
very strong, for there is nothing disagreeable in the
taste: it is to be drank in quantities, and is ex-
cellent to promote urine, and to take off the
strangury. It is good also in the same manner.
.
FAMILY HERBAL.
213
a
against sharp humours in the bowels, and for the
gravel
There is a little kind of mallow, that has whitish
flowers, and lies flat upon the ground. This is of a
more pleasant taste than the common mallow, and has
the same virtues. A tea made of the roots and tops
of this, is very agreeable to the taste, and is excellent
for promoting the discharges by urine,
MARSH MALLOW. Althea,
A TALL wild plant, of the mallow kind, fre-
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. The leaves are large, broad at the
base, small at the point, of a figure approaching to
triangular, and indented 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 blush of reddish. They are of
the same size and shape with those of the common
mallow.
The root is most used. It is white, long, and
thick, of an insipid taste, and full of a mucilaginous
juice. Boiled in water, and the decoction made
strong, it is excellent to promote urine, and bring
away gravel, and small stones ; it also cures stran-
guries, and is good in coughs. Its virtues are the
same with those of the common mallow, but in a
greater degree.
VERVAIN MALLOW. Alcea.
A VERY beautiful plant, both in its flower and
manner of growth ; common in pastures, and worthy
to be cherished in our gardens. It grows two feet
214
FAMILY HERBAL
high. The stalks are round, moderately 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 small parts, and in a very
beautiful manner.
The flowers are of a very bright
red, and are three times as large as those of the com-
mon mallow, and very beautiful. The seeds are dis-
posed in the same circular manner, as in the common
mallow. The root is white.
The root is 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 virtue, and are very
pleasant taken in tea.
.
MUSK MALLOW. Bamia Moschata.
A PLANT, not unlike the vervain mallow in
its aspect, but a native only of the hotter countries.
It is two feet high. The stalk is single, round,
thick, hairy, and upright. The lower leaves are
roundish, only indented a little at the edges; the
upper ones are divided into five parts, pretty deep-
ly. The flowers are of the shape of those of the
common mallow, and are large, but their colour is yel-
low. The seed is contained in a long husk, or case,
and is of a kidney-like shape, and of a sweet perfumed
smell.
The seed is the only part used, and that very
rarely. It is said to be good against the head-ach, but
we seldom meet with it fresh enough to have any
virtue.
MANDRAKE. Mandragora.
A PLANT, about which there have been a mul-
titude of errors, but in which, there is, in reality,
nothing so singular as pretended. There are pro-
FAMILY HERBAL.
215
perly speaking, two kinds of mandrake; the one
with round fruit, and broad leaves, called the male ;
the other with oblong fruit, and narrower leaves,
called the female : their virtues are the same, but the
male is generally preferred. They are natives of
Italy, where they grow in woods, and on the banks of
rivers : we keep them in gardens ; but they grow
there as freely as if native.
The mandrake has no stalk. The leaves rise im-
mediately from the root, and they are very large :
they are a foot long, four inches broad in the mid-
dle, and of a dusky green colour, and bad smell.
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 dingy
purplish colour, and of a very bad smell. The
fruit which follows, is of the bigness and shape
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
into two parts, from the middle downwards, if a
stone have lain in the way, or any other accident
occasioned it; but usually it is single. This is
the root which is pictured to be like the human
form : it is when single, no more like a man than
a carrot or a parsnip is, and when by some accident
it is divided, 'tis no more like, than any long
root, which happens to have met the same acci-
dent. Those roots which are shewn about for
money and 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, and put them into the ground again,
216
FAMILY HERBAL.
where they will be sometimes in part covered with
a new 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, and groundless ; calculated
only to surprise ignorant people, and get money
by the shew : there is nothing singular in the root
of the mandrake; and as to the terms male and female,
the two kinds would be better distinguished, by call-
ing the one, the broader leaved mandrake, with round
fruit, and the other, the narrower leaved mandrake,
with oval fruit. There are plants which are se-
parately male and female, as hemp, spinach, the date
tree, and the like : but there is nothing of this dis-
tinction in the mandrakes.
The fresh root of mandrake, is a violent me-
dicine; it operates both by vomit and stool, and few
constitutions are able to bear it. The bark of the
root dried works by vomit alone, but very roughly.
The fruit may be eaten, but it has a sleepy quality.
though not strong. The leaves are used in fomenta-
tions and pultices, to allay pains in swellings, and they
do very well.
Most of the idle stories concerning the man-
drake, have taken their origin from its being named
in scripture. 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
the scripture, and translated mandrake, we do not
know.
SWEET MARJORAM. Majorana.
A COMMON garden plant, of no great beauty,
FAMILY HERBAL.
217
but kept for the sake of its virtues and use. It is
a foot high. The stalks are firm, upright, and a
little hairy. The leaves are broad, short, and some-
what hairy, of a pale green colour, and not indented
at the edges, and of a fine smell. At the tops of the
branches, stand a kind of soft scaly heads, three
quarters of an inch long, and from these grow the
flowers, which are small and white. The seeds are
very small ; and the root is fibrous. The whole plant
has a fine smell.
The whole plant is to be used fresh; and it is
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 a
remedy for apoplexies. It gently promotes the menses,
and opens all obstructions. The dried herb may be
given for the same purpose in powder, but it does not
succeed so well.
Wild MARJORAM. Origanum.
A WILD plant, frequent about way-sides, in
marry 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-nail, 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 branches : there stand on these long
scaly heads, of a beautiful form, and purple colour;
from different parts of those, arise the flowers, ,
which are little, but of a beautiful red colour. The
whole plant has a fragrant smell, and an aromatic taste.
The fresh tops of the herb are to be used. They
Ff
a
a
218
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 in all nervous complaints ;
and they open obstructions, and are good in the
jaundice, and to promote the menses. Chymists 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 MAJORAM. Origanum creticum.
A BEAUTIFUL plant, of the wild marjoram kind, fre-
quent wild in the east, and kept in our gardens.
It grows a foot high. The stalks are square, upright,
and brown. The leaves are oblong 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 flowers,
which are little and white.
The tops are the part used : our druggists keep
them dry ; but they generally have lost so much
of their virtue, that the fresh tops of our own wild
majoram, or the dried ones of the last season, are
better.
MARIGOLD. Calendula.
a
A PLANT too common in our kitchen gardens, to
need much description. It is a foot high. The stalks
are thick, angulated, and not very upright. The
leaves are long, narrow at the base, and broader to-
ward the end. The flowers are large and yellow, and
.
they stand at the tops of the branches. The whole
plant is of a pale bluish green colour, and feels
clammy. The root is fibrous.
A tea made of the fresh gathered 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 on the skin.
MASTIC TREE. Lentiscus.
A NATIVE of the warmer countries, but not un-
common in our gardens. It grows to the higness
of our apple trees, and is as irregular in the dispo-
sition of its branches. They are covered with a
greyish bark, and are brittle. The leaves are com-
posed, each of about four pairs of small ones, with-
out any odd leaf at the end : they are affixed to a
kind of rib or pedicle, which has a film running
down it, on each side. They are oblong, narrow,
and pointed at the ends. The flowers are little, and
yellowish ; and they grow in tufts. The fruit is a
bluish berry
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, and in
little lumps. It is good for all nervous disorders,
and acts also as a 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 gonorrhoeas. Some
have a custom of chewing it, to preserve the teeth
and sweeten the breath.
HERB MASTIC. Marun.
A PRETTY little plant, native only of the warm
climates, but common in our gardens.
It is a
foot high, and the stem and principal branches
are shrubby or woody in their texture : the small-
er shoots are whitish The leaves grow two at
220
FAMILY HERBAL
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 strengihener
of the stomach, and an astringent. It stops the over-
flowing of the menses: the powder of the tops is best
given for this purpose in red wine, a scruple for a
dose.
SYRIAN MASTIC THYME. Marum Syriacum
A BEAUTIFUL little plant, native of the warm
countries, but not unfrequent in our gardens. It
grows a foot high. The stalks are brittle, slender,
and whitish. The leaves stand two at each joint :
they are small, in shape very like those of thyme,
and of a pale green colour on the upper side,
',
and white and hoary underneath. The flowers
are small and red : they grow in a kind of little
spikes, or oblong clusters at the tops of the stalks,
and have hoary white cups. The whole plant has a
very penetrating, but pleasant smell, and an aromatic
taste. Cats are fond of this plant, and will rub
it 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 way is to take it in
snuff.
MASTERWORT Imperitoria.
A PLANT of no beauty, kept in our gardens
for its virtue. It grows two feet high. The stalks
.
FAMILY HERBAL.
221
are round, striated, hollowed, upright, not very
strong The leaves are each composed 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 branches. The roots are long,
brown, divided, of a strong smell, and a sharp aromatic
taste.
The root is the part used : it is good in fevers, dis-
orders of the head, and of the stomach and howels.
It is best taken up fresh, and given in a light infu-
sion : it promotes sweat, and is a better medicine for
а.
that purpose, than most of the foreign roots kept by
druggists.
:
MAUDLIN. Ageratum.
A COMMON plant in our gardens, not without
beauty, but kept more for its virtues. It is a foot
high. The stalk is round, upright, firm, single,
and of a pale green. The leaves are very numer-
Ous, and they are longish, narrow, and serrated
abont the edges. The flowers are small and naked,
consisting only of a kind of thrums ; but they
stand in a large cluster together, at the top of the
stalk, in the manner of an umbel. The whole plant
has a pleasant smell.
The whole is used, fresh or dried; but it is best
fresh gathered. An infusion of it taken for a continu-
ance of time, is good against obstructions of the liver :
it operates by urine.
STINKING MAYWEED. Cotula fætida..
A COMMON wild plant in corn fields, and waste
grounds, with finely divided leaves and white
Aowers like daizies. The stalk is round and stria-
292
FAMILY HERBAL
a
ted. The herb grows a foot high. The leaves are
like those of camomile, only of a blacker green, and
larger. The flowers stand ten or a dozen near one
another, at the tops of the branches ; but they grow
separate, not in a cluster. The whole plant has a
strong smell.
The infusion of the fresh plant is good in all
hysteric complaints, and it promotes the menses,
The herb boiled soft, is an excellent pultice for the
piles.
MEADOW SWEET. 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 stalk is round,
striated, upright, firm, and of a pale green, or some-
times of a purple colour. The leaves are each com-
posed of about three pair of smaller, set on a thick
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.
It is a good medicine in fevers, attended with purg-
ings. It is to be given in a bason once in two
hours.
MECHOACAN PLANT. Mechoacana.
A CLIMBING plant, native of the West Indies.
It is capable of running to a great height, when
it can be supported : it will climb to the tops
of all trees. The stalks are angulated, slender,
FAMILY HERBAL.-
293
green, and brittle ; and when broken, they yield a
vast quantity of an acrid, milky 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 a deep 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.
The root is the part used: our druggists keep it
dry. It is in slices, and is whitish and brittle.
It is an 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 litt'e use is made
of it.
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MEDLAR TREE. Mespicus.
A COMMON tree in our gardens. It is of the big-
ness of an apple tree, and grows in the same irregular
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 blossoms
are large and white. The fruit is roundish, and
open at the bottom: and till very much mellowed, is
of an austere taste.
A strong decoction of unripe medlars, is good
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 seldom
used.
:
MELILOT. Melilotus.
A COMMON wild plant, with three leares at
224
FAMILY HERBAL.
.
a
a joint, and long straggling spikes of yellow flow.
ers. It is a 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, and of the shape
of the flowers of tares, but little ; and there follows
each a roundish pod, rough and green. The whole
plant has a singular, but not disagreeable smell ; and
the leaves are the food of so many insects, that they
are commonly gnawn to pieces.
The fresh plant is excellent to mix in pultices, to be
applied to swellings. It was once famous in a plaister,
used for dressing of blisters, but the apothecaries 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.
MELON. Melo.
A TRAINING herb, with yellow flowers, and large
fruit ; well known at our tables. The plant grows
to eight or ten feet long, but is not erect. The stalks
are angulated, thick, and of a pale green. The
leaves are large and broad, somewhat roundish, and
not deeply divided, as in most of the creeping plants
of this sort. There are tendrils on the stalk 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 part used: they are cooling, and
pork by urine. They are best given in an emulsion,
beat up with barley water : this is a good drink in
fevers given warın.
FAMILY HERBAL.
225
MEZEREON SHRUB. Mezereum.
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 leaves 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, which are black
when ripe. The root is woody and creeping; and
the plant is not easily destroyed, when once well
established.
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 as a brisk purge.
It is excellent in dropsies, and other stubborn dis-
orders; and the best way of giving it, is in a light
infusion.
MILLET. 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,
in a vast cluster, so heavy that the head usually hangs
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
barley to make a drink, which is good in fevers,
226
FAMILY HERBAL,
.
and against heat of urine; it is also a little astringent.
The grain is eaten also as barley.
MILKWORT, Polygala.
A COMMON little plant upon our heaths, and
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 ig
long, and divided into several parts, the stalks are
very numerous, and very much branched, they are
slender and weak, and they spread themselves upon
the ground, forming a little green tuft. There is
great variety in the 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 some-
what more favourable soil, the leaves are oblong,
and narrow, pointed at the ends, and of a beautiful
green, the stalks are five or six inches long, and
the flowers in this case are commonly blue, and
this is the most ordinary state of the plant. When
it grows in very favourable places, as upon the
damp side of a hill, where there are springs, and
among the tall grass, then its leaves are longer, its
stalks more robust and more upright, and its flowers
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FAMILY HERBAL
227
و
are red. These are the several appearances of this
little plant, and it is all one in which of them it
is taken. The root is often of a considerable thick-
ness, and single, but it is more usually divided and
,
smaller ; it is whitish, and of a disagreeable acrid
taste.
This plant had passed unregarded as to any
medicinal use, till Dr. Tennant brought into 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 root
is best, but it has not its full virtue except in spring,
when 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 dried, it
is kept in powder.
SPEAR MInt. Mentha vulgaris.
MINT
A COMMON plant in our garden, and of frequent
use in the kitchen. It is two feet high, the stalks are
square, single, upright, firm, and of a pale green.
The leaves stand two at a joint ; they are long,
narrow, of a blackish green, serrated at the edges,
and sharp-pointed. The flowers are small and pur-
ple; they stand in long spikes, in a beautiful manner.
The whole plant has a fragrant smell, and a pleasant
aromatic taste.
a
228
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,
or else in the form of tea. The fresh herb bruised,
and applied outwardly to the stomach, will stop
vomitings.
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 stand two at a joint, and are of a
;
brownish or deep green colour, somewhat hairy,
and serrated about the edges. The flowers are
larger than those of common mint, and are of a
pale red colour; they stand in round thick clus-
ters at the tops of the stalks, and round the up-
per joints. The whole plant has a strong smell,
not disagreeable, but of a mixed kind between
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
bring 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 be used. Where a simple weak-
ness of the stomach is the complaint, the common
mint should be used; when colicy pains alone,
the peppermint ; and where suppressions of the
menses are in the case, this wild water mint : they
may all be given in the way of tea, but a simple
FAMILY HERBAL
229
water distilled from them, and made sufficiently strong,
is 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 and a 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 an agreeable quick
smell, and a hot taste like pepper, but not dis-
agreeable.
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.
LONG LEAVED Wild Mint. Menthrastrum.
a
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 the way of tea, for the distilled water
230
FAMILY HERBAL.
is disagreeable. It strengthens the stomach, and
promotes the menses. It is in this latter respect a
very valuable medicine, but the use of it must be con-
tinued some time.
MYRTLE.
Myrtus
A LITTLE shrub, very beautiful in its 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
order 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, and has a crown at the
top. The leaves when bruised, have an extremely
fragrant smell. The shrub will bear our climate
better than is imagined ; there are, in some places,
hedges of it five or six feet high, that stand the winters
without the least hurt.
The leaves and berries of the myrtle are used ;
they are cordial and astringent. A strong infusion
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 the whites. The berries are
good against bloody fluxes, overflowings of the
menses, and in spitting of blood.
,
MISLETOE. Viscus.
A SINGULAR plant, native of our own country,
but growing, not on the earth as other herbs, but
FAMILY HERBAL.
291
upon the branches of trees ; on which it makes a
very conspicuous figure. It grows two feet 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 twos and they easily break at the joints or
divisions. The bark is throughout of a yellowish
colour, though with some mixture of green on
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 in-
considerable ; 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 continuance
of time.
the young
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a
INDIAN MYROBALAN TREE. Myrobalanus
Indica.
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 irre-
gularly disposed. The leaves are long and narrow :
the flowers are white, and like the blossoms 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 emblec myrobalanus ; they are
all used as purges, but common senna is worth
them all.
MOONWORT.
Lunaria.
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. It is 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 an inch or two, and then rise the clus-
ters of flowers and seeds; these are very small, and
like dust, and of a brown colour. The leaves of moon-
wort dried and given in powder, stop purgings, and
the overflowing of the menses. The fresh plant
bruised and laid to a cut, stops the bleeding, and heals
it in a day or two.
a
HAIRY TREE Moss, Usnea.
A VERY singular plant of the moss kind, fre-
quent in our large forests, but rare elsewhere :
it grows to the branches of old oaks and bushes,
and hangs down from them in long strings. The
FAMILY HERBAL.
233
1
a
tufts of it are often a foot long, and in the whole two
or three inches thick ; they are composed of a great
quantity of stalks and branches, the largest not
bigger 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 : on 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 up-
on it.
The powder of this moss is an excellent astrin-
gent; it is to be dried in an oven, and beat in a more
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 is good against
,
the whites, against overflowing of the menses, and
bloody fluxes, and against spitting of blood : it de-
serves to be much more regarded than it is in the
present practice. The dose is half a dram.
Cup Moss. Museus pyxidatus.
a
A COMMON little planten ditch banks, by
wood sides, and in dry harren places. It consists
of a thin coat of a leafy matter, spread upon the
surface of the ground, and of a kind of a little cups
rising from it. The leafy part is dry and without
juice, divided into several portions, and these
irregularly notched; it is grey or greenish on the
upper side, and whitish underneath.
are half an inch high. They have each a thick
stem, and an open mouth, and rather resemble a
clumsy drinking glass, than a cup. They are of
a grey colour, often with some odd mixture of
The cups
234
FAMILY HIERBAL.
green, of a dusty surface; sometimes they grow
one from the edge of another, 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.
ba 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 be 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 GROUND Moss. Muscus terrestris vul-
Bora,
garis.
OD 10
JA PRETTY, but very small plant. It creeps on
the ground, or rises in tufts two or three inches
high, according to the place. The stalks 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 tern. 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 very rarely produces its seeds ; but
when it does, there rise naked and very slender pedi-
cles 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 extinguisher in shape, and full of a fine green
dust.
EN
* The whole plant is used; it is to be dried and
Dowdered, and is given with success against overflow
ngs of the menses, and all bleedings; it is also good
gainst the whites no 19.0
FAMILY HERBAL
235
Moss OF AN HUMAN SKULL. Muscus ex cranio
humano.
.....
THERE is not any particular kind of moss that
grows upon the human skull, nor does any moss by
growing upon it acquire any particular virtues,
whatever fânciful people may have imagined. 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 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 upon these bones.
They have been supposed good against disorders of
the head, when gathered from the skull, but this is all
fancy.
MOTHER OF THYME. Serpyllum
1. A COMMON wild little plant, but very pretty, very
fragrant, and of great virtues. It grows in 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
at each joint, and they are smooth, and of a bright
green. Tlie flowers are of a pale red, and stand in
little tufts at the tops of the stalks, the whole plant
has a very fragrant smell, and an aromatic and
agreeable taste.
It is a better medicine in nervous cases than
most that are used; the fresh plant or dried, may
be drank as tea ; it is very agreeable to the taste,
and by a continuance, will cure the common nerve
ous disorders. The night mare is a very trouble
a
236
FAMILY HERBAL.
somc discase, and often puzzles the physician, but
it will be perfectly cured by a tea made of this
plant.
MOTHERWORT. Cardiaca.
a
A TALL, and not unhandsome wild plant. It
grows wild about farm-yards and in dry places. It
is a yard high; the stalk is square, thick, upright,
and firin. The leaves stand o'ı long foot stalks,
two at each joint. They are divided into three parts,
the middle one being the longest, and are deeply in-
dented at the edges; of a dark green colour, and bad
smell. The flowers are of a pale red : they grow
in a kind of prickly cups, from the bosoms of the
leaves, surrounding the stalks. The root creeps, and
is whitish.
The whole plant may be used dried, but the tops
fresh cut are hest; they are to be given in a strong
infúsion or decoction. It is good against hysteric
complaints, and it promotes the menses. It is
famous for curing the palpitation of the heart, when
that arises from an hysteric cause : for there are pal-
pitations, which nothing can cure.
MOUSE-EAR. Pilosella.
An exceeding pretty little plant, with whitish
leaves, and large bright yellow flowers, frequent
on our ditch banks. The leaves grow in little
clusters, and are longish and broad, of a dark
green on the upper side, but white underneath;
and so much of the under part is usually seen,
that the whole looks whitish. The stalks trail
upon the ground, and take root at every joint :
the leaves have long hairs upon them. The stalks
which support the flowers rise single. They are
FAMILY HERBAL,
237
hairy, they have no leaves, and each hears only one
flower, this stands on the top, and is large, somewhat
of the form of the dandelion flower, hut of a beautiful
pale yellow.
The seeds are winged with down, and the stalks
when broken yield a milky juice, but in no great
quantity. The plant has scarce any smell, but an
austere bitterish taste.
A decoction of the fresh gathered herb is excellent
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.
MUGWORT. Artemisia.
A TALL, and not unhandsome plant, frequent
on ditch banks, having divided leaves, and flowers
like those of wormwood. It is a yard high or
more: the stalk is round, striated, often purplish,
firm, upright, and branched. The leaves stand
irregularly upon it; they are large, and composed
of a number of small parts, which are sharply in-
dented and pointed. They are of a dusky green
on the upper side and white underneath. The
flowers are little and brownish, they stand in small
tufts all along the upper parts of the branches, but
they stand upright, whereas those of wormwood 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 fresh or
dried ; they are best given in infusion, and they are
excellent to promote the menses, and against all the
common hysteric complaints.
238
FAMILY HERBAL.
on er
A very
MULBERRY TREE. Morus.. di
wo
A LARGE and irregular growing tree, common
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 flowers
are small, and inconsiderable: the fruit is suf-
ficiently known; it is large, oblong, juicy, and
composed of a great number of small granules : it is
usually black when ripe. But there is a kind with
white fruit.
an
The bark of the root of the mulberry tree fresh
taken off and boiled in water, makes an excellent
decoction against the jaundice ; it opens obstruc-
tions of the liver, and works by urine.
pleasant syrup is made from the juice of the ripe fruit,
with twice the quantity of sugar. It is cooling, and
is good for sore mouths, and to quench thirst in
fevers.
DO
old bits larga
WHITE MULLEN. Verbascum album.
This
A TALL and stately wild plant, singular for
its white leaves, and long spike of yellow flow-
ers; and frequent on our ditch banks, and on 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 is thick, firm, and very upright, and is cover-
ed with smaller leaves of the same kind: the flow-
ers are yellow and large : they stand in spikes, of
two feet long, three or four only opening at a time;
the seeds are small and brown, the root is long and
shaggy.
The leaves are used, and those are best which
1
FAMILY HERBAL.
239
grow from the root, when there is no stalk. They
are to be given in decoction against the overflowings
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 pultice to the piles, and other
painful swellings.
Sod
MUSTARD. Sinapi.
CEO
A. COMMON rough looking plant, wild in many
places, but kept also in gardens, for the sake of the
seed. It grows a yard high. The stalk is round,
smooth, thick, and of a pale green; the leaves 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 vel-
low; they grow in great numbers on the tops of the
branches, and the pods of the seed follow them. The
whole plant is of an acrid pungent taste. The roof
is white. berabot
The seeds are the part used; what we call mus-
tard is made of them, and it is very wholesome; it
strengthens the stomach, and procures an appetite.
The seed bruised and taken in large quantities, works
by urine, and is excellent against rheumatisms, and
the scurvy. It also promotes the menses. Laid
upon the tongue it will sometimes restore speech in
alsies.
ER 30
TREACLE MUSTARD. Thlaspi discordis.
A LITTLE wild plant with broad leaves, white
flowers, and flat pods, common in dry places. It
is eight inches high ; the stalk is round and stri-
ated. The leaves are oblong, and hroad, of a
pale green colour, 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 a leafy
border. The scerls are small, brown, and of a hot
taste. The seed is the part used; but our druggists
generally sell the seeds of the garden cress, in the
place of it. It is not much regarded.
MITIRIDATE MUSTARD. Thlaspi incano folio.
A LITTLE wild plant, common in corn-fields.
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 a dusky green.
The flowers are small and white, and the pode
which follow them are roundish and little, not flatted
as in the former kind, nor surrounded with a fo-
liaceous edge. The leaves grow very thick upon the
stalk, and each has as it were a couple of little ones at
the nase.
The sced of this is used also, at least in name,
for the cress sced serves for both : the matter is not
great, for they seem to have the same virtues, and
neither is minded, except as ingredients in con-
positions.
MYRRH TREE. Myrrha.
A TREE concerning which we have but very
imperfect accounts, and those not well warranted
for genuine. All that we hear of it is, that the
branches are numerous, and have thorns on them ;
FAMILY HERBAL.
941
that the leaves are oblong, broad, and of a strong
smell, and that the bark of the trunk is rough, and of
a greyish colour.
The gum resin called myrrh, is certainly pro-
eured from some tree in the hot countries, but
whether this be a true description of that tree, there
is no certainty. The gum itself is a very great medi-
cine; it opens all obstructions of the viscera ; is
good in consumptions, jaundices, and dropsies; and
is excellent for promoting the menses, and assisting
in the natural and necessary discharges after delivery:
it is to be given in powder ; the tincture dissolves it
but imperfectly ; but this is excellent against disorders
of the teeth and gums.
;
N
SWEET NAVEY. Napus. Un
A PLANT kept in some gardens, and not unlike
the common turnip in its aspect and appearance.
It grows a yard high. The stalk is round, smooth,
and of a pale green. The leaves stand irregularly
on it, and they are oblong, broad at the base, where
they surround the stalk, and narrower all the way
to the point. The leaves, which grow from the
root, are much larger and deeply cut in at the
sides; and they are all of a pale or bluish green
colour. The flowers are small and yellow, and
the pods are long. The seed is round and black.
The root is white and large, and has the taste, but
not the round shape of the turnip, for it is rather
like a parsnip.
The seeds are used, but not much. A decoc-
tion of them is said to promote sweat, and to drive
any thing out to the skin ; but it does not seem to de-
serve any great regard.
ui
742
FAMILY HIERBAL.
WILD NAVEW. Bunias
The plant which produces what we call rape-
seed, and in some places cole-scod. Though wild
on our ditch banks ; it sown in some places for
the sake of its seed, from which an oil is made for
mechanical purposes. The plant is two or three
feet high ; the stalk is round, upright, smooth,
thick, firm, and of a 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 rourd, 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 have more virtue, but probably neither have
much.
COLIC NARD. Nardus celtica.
A LITTLE plant of the valerian kind, frequent
in many parts of Europe, but not a native of Eng-
land. 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 yellowish green colour. Those
on the stalks stand in pairs; they are small and deeply
cut; the flowers stand in a little cluster at the top of
the stalk ; they are small and white: the root is long,
slender, and creeping.
The root is the part used ; our druggists keep
it dry. It is best taken in infusion. It operates hy
urine, and in some degree by sweat, but that very
moderately : it is commended in fevers and in the
jaundice.
FAMILY HERBAL,
243
NETTLE. Urtica.
A PLANT too common to need much descrip
tion. It is three feet high; the stalks are angulated
and rough ; the leaves are large, and of a beautiful
shape, regularly from a broad base diminishing to
a sharp point, and nicely serrated round the edges ;
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 bag of sharp
juice, which gets into the wound, occasioning that
swelling, inflammation, and pain that follows. The
naked eye may distinguish these bags at the bottom
of the prickles on the stalk of a full grown nettle,
but a microscope shews them all over. The flowers
of the nettle, are yellowish, little, and inconsiderable,
the seeds are small, and round, the root is long and
creeping
The juice of the nettle is good against overflow-
ings of the menses. The root is to be given in infu-
sion, and it works powerfully by urine, and is excel-
lent against the jaundice.
a
2015
ROMAN NETTLE. Urtica Romana.
mon.
A wild plant of the nettle kind, but not com-
It is two feet high, the sialks are round,
and of a deep green colour. The leaves are large,
and of a deep green also; broad at the base, narrow
to the point, and deeply serrated. The flowers are
small and inconsiderable, the fruit is a round hall,
as big as a large pea, it stands on a long foot-stalk,
and is of a deep green colour, and full of small
brown seeds. All the plant is covered with the
same sort of prickles as the common nettle, but they
are shorter and finer; they are silvery, white at the
244
FAMILY HERBAL
tips, and have the same bag of liquor at the base, and
they sting very terribly; more a great deal than the
common nettle.
The seeds are the part used; they are good
against coughs, shortness of breath, and hoarsenesses ;
the seeds of the common nettle are commended for
this purpose, but these are greatly preferable. The
best way of giving them is in the manner of tea,
sweetened with honey.
COMMON NIGHTSHADE.
Solanum vulgare.
a
A 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 of a dusky green.
The leaves are broad and roundish, but they ter-
minate in a point. They are of a dark green colour,
and stand on foot stalks. The flowers grow in little
clusters, ten or a dozen in a bunch ; they are white,
with a yellowish centre, and they are succeeded by
round black berries.
The leaves are used fresh, and only externally.
They are very cooling, and applied bruised to in-
flammations, scalds, burns, and troublesome erup-
tions on the skin.
DEADLY NIGHTSTADE.
Solanum lethale.
It may seem strange to mix a poison among me-
dicines, but a part of this herb has its uses. This
is a wild plant of a dull and dismal aspect. It
grows five feet high. The stalks are angulated,
and of a deep green. The leaves are very large, ,
broad, and flat, and they also are of a dull dead
green. The flowers stand singly on long foot-
stalks, arising from the bosom of the leaves, and
FAMILY HERBAL.
245
they also have the same dismal aspect ; they are
large, hollow, and hang down. On the outsile
they are of a dusky colour, between brown and
green, and within they are of a very deep purple.
These are succeeded by berries of the bigness of
cherries, black and shining when ripe, and full of
a pulpy matter, of a sweetish and mawkish taste.
The root is long. The berries are fatal ; children
have often eat them, and perished by it. The leaves
externally applied are cooling and softening ; they
are good against the ringworm and tetters, and against
hard swellings. They have very great virtue in this
respect, but the plant should be kept out of the way
of children, or never suffered to grow to fruit, as the
leaves only are wanted,
NUTMEG TREE. Nux moschata.
a
A TALL, spreading tree, native only of the
warm climates ; the trunk is large, and the bran-
ches are numerous and irregular ; the bark is of
a greyish colour, and the wood light and soft.
The leaves are large, long, and somewhat broad :
they are not unlike those of the bay tree, but bigger,
and are of a beautiful green on the upper side, and
whitish underneath. They stand irregularly, but
often so nearly opposite, that thiey seem in pairs,
as we see in the leaves of some of our willows.
The blossom is of the shape and bigness of that
of our cherry tree, but its colour is yellow. The
fruit which succeeds this, is of the bigness of a
small peach, and not unlike it in the general form ;
when cut open there appears first the fleshy coat,
which is a finger thick, and of a rough taste, then
the mace spread over a woody shell, in which is the
nutmeg. We often have the whole fruit sent over
preserved
246
FAMILYHERBAL.
The nutmeg is an excellent spice, it strengthens
the stomach, and assists digestion. It will stop
vonitings, and is good against the colic. When
roasted before the fire, and mixed with a small quan-
tity of rhubarb, it is the best of all remedies against
purgings.
a
0.
OAK. Quercus.
A NOBLE and stately tree, native of our coun-
try, and no where growing to so great perfection.
It is very tall, and though irregular in the dispo-
sition of its branches, that very irregularity has its
beauty ; the trunk is very thick ; the branches are
;
also thick, and often crooked: the bark is brown and
rough: the leaves are large, oblong, broad, and
deeply cut in at the edges, and they are of a shining
green.
The flowers are inconsiderable. The fruit
is the acorn, well known Galls are produced upon
the oak, nat as fruit, but from the wounds made by
an insect.
The bark of the oak is a very powerful astrin-
gent; it stops purgings, and overflowings of the
menses, given in powder ; a decoction of it is ex-
cellent for the falling down of the uvula, or as it
is called the falling down of the palate of the mouth.
Whenever a very powerful astringent is required,
oak bark demands the preference over every thing :
if it were brought from the East Indies, it would be
held inestimable.
SCARLET OAK.
Ilex.
A SHRUB not much regarded on its own ac-
Count, but from the insect called kermes, which
FAMILY HERBAL.
247
.
is found upon it ; and has at 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 a smooth greyish bark. The leaves
are an inch long, three quarters of an inch broad,
of a figure approaching to oval, serrated about
the edges, and a little prickly. The flowers are
small and inconsiderable; the fruit is an acorn, like
that of the common oak, but smaller, standing in
its cup. The kermes, or scarlet grain, is a 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 hoary 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
within, 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 an equal weight of fine sugar to it, and
send it over to us under the name of juice of kermes;
this is used in medicine much more than the grain
itself.
It is a cordial, good against faintings, and to drive
out the small pox ; and for women in childbed. It
supports the spirits, and at the same time promotes
the necessary discharges.
OAK OF JERUSALEM. Botrys.
coun-
A LITTLE plant, native of the warmer
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 yelowish
flowers. The stalk is a foot and half high, round-
ish angulated a little, or deeply striated, and of a
248
FAMILY HERBAL.
pale green; the leaves are of a yellowish green, and
of a rough surface; they are oblong, somewhat
broad pointed at the ends, and deeply cut in on the
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
in the manner of tea, or in infusion. It is good in
asthmas, hoarseness, and coughs, and it promotes the
menses and discharges after delivery.
OLIVE TREE. Olea.
A LARGE tree, native of the warmer parts of
Europe and the East. The trunk is thick and
rough. The branches are numerous, and stand ir-
regularly; thoir bark is grey and smooth. The
leaves are longish and broad, and of a deep green on
the upper side, and whitish underneath, and of a firm
texture; the flowers are small and yellow; the fruit
is of the bigness of a small plum, but of longer shape,
and has a very large stone within.
The oil is the only produce of this tree used in
medicine, it is pressed out of the fruit, and is excel-
lent in disorders of the lungs, and against colics, and
stoppages of urine. But in the latter cases the oil
of sweet almonds fresh pressed is preferable, and for
the first linseed oil; so that oil of olives, or as it called
sallad oil is seldom used in medicine, unless these
others cannot be had.
ONION. Cepa.
A COMMON plant in our gardens. known at
sight by its hollow tubular leaves. It grows two
FAMILY HERBAL.
249
a
feet and a half high. The leaves are long, round-
ed, of the thickness of a man's finger, and hollow.
The stalk is round also, and has at the top a round
cluster of little flowers, these are of a mixed purplish
and greenish colour; and of a strong smell, as has
the whole plant.
The root is the part used; it is roundish, and com-
posed of a great multitude of coats laid one over
another. A syrup made of the juice of onions and
honey, is excellent for an asthma.
OPOPONAX PLANT. Opoponax.
a
A LARGE and robust plant, of which we have
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 is round,
thick, and hollow. The leaves very large, and each
composed of a vast number of smaller set upon a di-
vided stalk. The flowers we are informed stand in
very large round clusters at the tops of the stalks,
and that the seeds are broad, brown, and of a strong
smell; striated on the surface and flattish. The
root is said to be long and large, and full of an acrid
and milky juice.
We use a kind of resin, which is said to be col-
lected from this root, after it has been wounded
to make it flow in sufficient quantity, but the
whole account comes to us very imperfect, and
upon no very sound authority ; however it seems
probable.
The resin is brownish or yellowish, and in small
pieces. It is an excellent medicine against nerva
ous complaints ; and particularly against disorders
of the head. It works by urine and promotes
the menses ; and has a tendency to operate, though
very gently, by stool. It is not so much used as
Kk
a
250
FAMILY HERBAL.
it deserves to be. I have experienced excellent ef-
fects from it
ORANGE TREE. Aurantia malus.
A BEAUTIFUL and valuable tree, native of Spain,
Italy, and the East. It grows to a considerable
bigness, and its branches spread irregularly. The
bark of the trunk is brown and rough, that of
the brances is smooth and greyish. The leaves are
large, and very beautiful ; they are oblong, and
moderately broad, and the foot stalk has an edge
of a leafy matter on each side, giving it a heart-
like appearance.
The flowers are white, large,
fragrant, and very beautiful. The fruit is enough
known.
The sour, or Seville orange, is the kind used in
medicine, but the peel of this more than the juice
or pulpy part. A pleasant syrup is made of Seville
orange juice, hy melting in it twice its weight
of the finest sugar ; and a syrup equally pleasant,
though of another kind, is made of an infusion of
the peel : but the great use of the peel is in tinc-
ture, or infusion as a stomachic. It is for this pur-
pose 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 or dry.
If a little gentian and a few cardamon 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 vomitings, and is excellent to amend the
appetite.
ORPINE. Telephum.
A VERY beautiful wild plant, of a foot high
more, with fresh green leaves, and tufts of
FAMILY HERBAL.
251
bright red flowers ; common in our 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 green. The flowers are small, but they
are very beautiful; the root is white and thick.
The whole plant has a fleshy appearance, and it
will grow out of the ground, a long time, taking 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 thin syrup,
with the finest sugar, and with the addition of some
cinnamon.
OXEYE. Buphthalmum,
A 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 somewhat
resemble the leaves of yarrow, but they are whitish.
The flowers are large and yellow; they somewhat re-
semble a marigold in form, and they stand at the tops
of the branches.
The fresh herb is used; they boil it in ale, and
give it as a remedy for the jaundice : it works by
urine.
P
PALMA CHRISTI. Ricinus,
A FOREIGN plant, kept in our gardens more
for its beauty than use. The stem is thick, and
looks woody toward the bottom. It grows six
252
FAMILY HERBAL
feet high, and on the upper part is covered with
a sort of mealy powder, of a bluish colour. The
leaves are large, and very beautiful. 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 foot 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 contained in
husks, and they have over them severally a hard
shell.
The kernels of these seeds are the part used, but
they are very little regarded at present. There
used to be three or four kinds of them kept by
the druggists, under different names, but nobody
'now minds them : they are very violent in their
operation, which is both upwards and downwards,
and have been given in dropsies and rheumatisms.
.
OILY PALM TREE. Palma oleosa.
A VERY beautiful tree, native of Africa and
America. It grows moderately high.
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 footstalks on which they stand are
prickly. The flowers are small and mossy. The
fruit is of the bigness of a plumb, oblong, and
flattish, and is covered over with a tough and fibrous
coat. From this fruit the natives express what they
call palm oil : it is a substance of the consistence
of butter, and of a pleasant, though very little
taste.
The oil is the only produce of the tree used :
They eat it upon the spot, but we apply it exter-
FAMILY HERBAL
253
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 opodeldoc, and to several
other things, which have the same qualities in a
much greater degree,
. PANIC. Panicum,
A VERY singular and pretty plant of the grass
kind, cultivated in some parts of Europe. The
stalk is very thick and firm, round, jointed, and
a yard high. The leaves are grassy, but they are
large and broad. The flowers and seeds are con-
tained in a long 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. The
seed is round, and is much like millet, only
smaller.
The seed is the only part used. It is good
against sharp purgings, bloody fluxes, and spitting
of blood.
PAREIRA BRAVA. Pareira brava,
A CLIMBING shrub of South America, 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 with a rough bark,
which is continually coming off in small 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 large, woody,
and very long and creeping:
a
254
FAMILY HERBAL.
The root is used. It is of a brownish colour,
rough on the surface, and woody, but loose in its
texture. It is to be given in infusion. It is an
excellent medicine in the gravel, and in suppres-
sions of urine, as also in the quinzy, and in pleu-
risies, and peripneumonies. It works the most
powerfully, and the most suddenly, by urine of
any medicine : and is so excellent in forcing away
gravel and small stones, that some have pretended
it a remedy for the stone, and said it would dissolve
and break it. This is going too far; no medicine
has been found that has that effect, nor can it be
supposed that any can. Great good has been
done by those medicines which the parliament pur-
chased of Mrs. Stephens, more than perhaps, by any
other whatsoever, in this terrible complaint; but they
never dissolved a large and hard stone. Indeed there
needs no more to be assured of this, than to examine
one of those stones; it will not be supposed, any
thing that the bladder can bear, will be able to dissolve
so firm and solid a substance.
a
PARSLY.
Petroselinum.
A VERY common plant in our gardens, useful in
the kitchen, and in medicine. It grows to two feet
in height. The leaves are composed of many small
parts: they are divided into three, and then into a
multitude of sub-divisions : they are of a bright
green, and indented. The stalks are round, angu-
lated, or deeply striated, slender, upright, and
branched. The flowers are small and white ; and
they stand in large tufts at the tops of the branches.
The seeds are roundish and striated. The root is
long and white.
The roots are the part used in meclicine A
FAMILY HERBAL
255
strong decoction of them is good against the jaundice.
It operates powerfully by urine, and opens ob-
structions.
PARSLY PIERT. Percicier.
A LITTLE 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 round and
whitish. The leaves stand irregularly : they are
narrow at the base, and broad at the end, where
they are divided into three rounded parts. The
flowers are very small : they grow in clusters at the
joints, and are of a greenish colour. The seed is
small and round. The root is fibrous.
The whole plant is used ; and it is best fresh.
An infusion of it is very powerful against the
gravel. It operates violently, but safely, by urine,
and it opens obstructions of the liver ; whence
it is good also in the jaundice. There is an opinion
in many places, of its having a power of dissolv-
ing the stone in the bladder, but this is idle: there
is, however, a great deal of good to be done in
nephritic cases, by medicines which have not this
power.
MACEDONIAN PARSLY. Petroselinum Macedonicum.
A PLANT kept in some of our gardens. It is
two feet high The stalk is slender, branched,
and 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.
а
on the tops of the stalks. The seeds are small, some-
what hairy, and of a dusky colour.
The seed is used ; and it is best given in pow-
der. It operates powerfully by urine, and it is
good against stoppages of the menses, and in the
gravel and colics, arising from that cause. It
is also recommended against the dropsy and jaun-
dice.
WILD PARSNEP. Pastinaca sylvestris.
A WILD plant, common about our road sides.
It is three feet high. The stalk is straight, up-
right, round, striated, and yellowish. The leaves
are composed of many broad divisions, and resem-
ble those of the garden parsnep, but they are smaller.
The flowers are little and yellow : they grow at the
tops of the stalks, in large, rounded tufts, and the
seeds are flat, and of an oval figure. The root is
long, white, and well tasted.
The root is to be used. A strong decoction of
it works by urine, and opens all obstructions. It is
good against the gravel and the jaundice, and will
bring down the menses.
PAVANA SHRUB. Pavana.
A SHRUBBY plant of the East Indies, of a
beautiful, as well as singular aspect.
It is six or
seven feet high. The stem is woody, firm, and
naked almost to the top. The leaves grow upon
long foot stalks, and they all rise nearly together,
at the upper part of the stem : they are farge, of
a rounded figure, and divided at the edges pretty
deeply into several parts : their colour is a deep
green. The flowers are small, and of a greenish
colour. The fruit is of the bigness of a hazle
FAMILY HERBAL.
257
i
nut. The wood is not very firm, and when cut,
yields a milky juice, of a very disagreeable smell.
The wood and the seeds are used ; and they
have both the same violent operation by vomit and
stool ; but the wood given in infusion, and in a
moderate dose, only purges, and thal, though brisk-
ly, without any danger. It is good in dropsies,
and in other stubborn disorders; and it is excel-
lent against rhumatic pains. Some recommend
it as a specific against the sciatica. The seeds are
what are called grana tiglia ; but though much
spoken of by some writers, they are at this time very
little used in the shops.
PEACH TREE. Persica malus.
а
A TREE very frequent against our garden walls.
The trunk is covered with a brown bark. The
branches grow irregularly. The leaves are beauti-
ful : they are long, narrow, and elegantly serrated
at the edges. The blossoms are large, and of a pale
red. The fruit is too well known to need much
description : it consists of a soft pulpy matter, cover-
ed by a hairy skin, and inclosing a hard stone, in
which is a kernel of a pleasant bitter taste.
a
The flowers are to be used. A pint of water is
to be poured boiling hot on a pound weight of peach
blossoms ; when it has stood four and twenty hours,
it is to be poured off, through a sieve, without squeez-
ing, 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 puke a little. They have so frequent occasion
for this, that people who have children, have continual
Use for it
1]
258
FAMILY HERBAL.
PELLITORY OF THE WALL. Parietaria.
v A WILD plant frequent on old walls, with weak
branches, and pale green leaves. It grows a foot
high, but seldom altogether erect. The stalks
are round, tender, a little hairy, jointed, 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 inconsiderable, of a
whitish green colour when open, but reddish in the
bud.
The whole plant is used, and it is best fresh.
An infusion of it works well by urine. It is very
serviceable in the jaundice, and is often found a
present remedy in fits of the gravel, the infusion being
taken largely.
PELLITORY OF SPAIN. Pyrethrum.
A VERY pretty little plant kept in our gardens.
It is eight inches high. The stalk is round and
thick. The leaves are very finely divided, so that
they resemble those of the camomile, but they are
of a pale green, thick, and fleshy, and the stalk is
purple. The flowers stand at the tops of the
branches, and are very pretty : they are of the shape
and size of the great daisy or ox-eye, white at the
edges, yellow in the middle, and red on the back or
under side. The root is long, and somewhat thick,
of a very hot taste.
The root is used : we have it at the druggists.
Its great acridness fills the mouth with rheum on
chewing, and it is good against the tooth-ach. It is
also good to be put into the mouth in palsies, for
it will sometimes alone, by its stimulation, restore the
voice.
FAMILY HERBAL.'
259
PENNY-ROYAL. Pulegium.
A WILD plant, creeping about on marshy
places, with little leaves, and tufts of red 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
colour. The flowers stand round the joints in thick
clusters: they are like those of mint, and of a
pale red, and the cups in which they stand are green,
and a little hairy. The whole plant has a strong
penetrating smell, and an acrid but not disagreeable
taste.
The whole plant is used, fresh or dried; 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. It is ex-
cellent against stoppages of the menses,
Black PEPPER. Piper nigrum.
An eastern plant, of a very singular kind. It
grows six or eight feet in length, but the stalks are
not able to support themselves upright : they are
found, green, jointed, and thick, and when they
trail upon the ground, roots are sent forth from these
joints. The leaves are large, of an oval figure,
of a firm substance, and ribbed highly: they stand
on short pedicles, one at each joint. The flowers
are small and inconsiderable: they grow to the
stalk. The fruit succeeds, which is what we call
pepper: 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 in
drying. The largest and least wrinkled on the coat,
are 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. We are apt to neglect things as
medicines, that we take with food; but there is
hardly a more powerful simple of its kind than
pepper, when given singly, and on an empty sto-
mach.
WHITE PEPPER. Piper Album.
The common white pepper we meet with, is
made from the black, by soaking it in sea water till
it swells, and the dark wrinkled coat falls off ;
but this though the common, is not the true white
pepper : there is another kind, which is natural, and
has no assistance from art. The white pepper plant,
has round, thick, and whitish stalks : they lie upon
the ground, and have large joints : at each joint stands
a single leaf, which is long, and narrow, sharp at
the end, and ribbed. The flowers grow on little
stalks, hanging down from the joints: they are
small and yellow. The fruit is round ; at first green,
and when ripe white, which is gathered and dried for
use.
This fruit is used. The common white pepper
is milder than the black; that is, it is black pepper,
which has lost a part of its virtue : this possesses all
the qualities of the other, and yet it has not so sharp
a taste.
LONG PEPPER PLANT. Piper longum.
An American plant, in some degree resembling
the other peppers in its general growth, but not
FAMILY HERBAL.
261
at all in its fruit. The stalk is round, 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 long foot stalks. The flowers grow
upon the outside of the fruit : they are small and
inconsiderable. The fruit, which is what we call
long pepper, is an inch and a half long, and as thick
as a large quill, marked with spiral lines, and di-
vided into cells within, in each of which is a single
seed.
This has the same virtues with the common black
pepper, but in a less degree; it is not so hot and
acrid, and therefore will be borne upon the stomach
when that cannot. It is excellent to assist digestion,
and prevent colics
JAMAICA PEPPER TREE. Piper Jamaicense.
a name:
An American tree, in all respects different from
the plants which produce the other kinds of pep-
per, as is also the fruit altogether different. It
should not be called pepper : the round shape of
it was the only thing that led people to give it such
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
are 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 : they stand a great many together, and
are small. The fruit which succeeds is a berry,
green at first, and afterwards becoming of a red-
dish brown, and in the end, black. They are,
when 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. It is an excellent spice: it strengthens
the stomach, and is good against the colic. The
best
way to take it is in powder, mixed with a little
sugar. It will prevent vomiting, and sickness after
meals, and is one of the best known remedies for
habitual colics.
GUINEA PEPPER. Capsicum.
A COMMON plant in our gardens, distinguish-
ed by its large scarlet pods. It grows a fuot and
a half high. The stalk is angulated, thick, and
green, tolerably erect, and branched. The leaves
stand irregularly, and are longish, pretty broad,
and of a deep green colour.
The flowers are
moderately large and white, with a yellow head
in the middle : they grow at the divisions of the
branches. The fruit follows, 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
is a fine red, and its surface is so smooth, that it looks
like polished coral : it is a skin containing a quantity
of seeds.
The 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, bruised
and mixed with honey and crumbled bread, it is good
for a quinsy.
PERIWINKLE. Vinca pervinca.
a
A VERY pretty creeping plant, wild in some
FAMILY HERBAL.
263
places, but kept in gardens also. The stalks are
numerous, and a foot or more in length, but they
do not stand 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 two
at each joint. The flowers are large and blue :
they are bell-fashioned, and stand on long foot-
stalks : the fruit succeeding. Each is composed
of two longish pods ; each containing several seeds.
The whole plant is used fresh. It is to be boiled
in water, and the decoction drank with a little red
wine in it. It stops the overflowing of the menses, and
the bleeding of the piles.
SPELT, OR ST. PETER'S CORNZea.
a
A PLANT of the corn kind, resembling barley ;
sown in some parts of Europe, but not much known
in England. It grows a foot and a half high. The
stalk is round, hollow, jointed, and green ; the leaves
are grassy, but broad. At the tops of the stalk
stands an ear like that of barley, but smaller and
thinner, though with long beards; the grain is not
unlike barley in shape, or between that and wheat,
only much smaller than either.
The seed or grain is the part used ; it is supposed
1
to be strengthening and in some degree astringent,
but we know very little of its qualities, nor are they
considerable enough to enconrage us to inquire after
them.
PIMPERNEL. Anagallis flore rubro.
A PRETTY little plant common in corn fields
and garden borders. The stalks are square, smooth,
green, but not very upright : they are five or six
364
FAMILY HERBAL.
a
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 scarlet colour.
The whole plant is used, and the best method
of giving it, is in an infusion, made by pouring boil-
ing water upon it 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 leaves may be given in powder or a tea
made of the whole dried plant, but nothing is so well
as the infusion of it fresh, those who have not seen it
tried this way do not know how valuable a medicine it is.
There is another kind of pimpernel, perfectly like
this, but that the flowers are blue; this is called the
female, and the other the male pimpernel, but the red
flowered kind has most virtue.
PINE TREE. Pinus.
A LARGE and beautiful tree, native of Italy,
but kept in our gardens. We have a wild kind of
pine in the North, called Scotch fir, but it is not
the same tree. The trunk of the true pine is cover-
ed with a rough brown bark, the branches with a
smoother, and more reddish. The leaves are long
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 hollowed on
the inside : the flowers are small and inconsiderable ;
they stand in a kind of tufts on the branches ; the
fruit are cones of a brown colour, large, long, and
blunt at the top. These contain between the scales
certain white kernels of a sweet taste, and covered
with a thin shell.
Die
These kernels are the part used, and they are ex-
FAMILY HERBAL.
265
cellent in consumptions, and after long illness, given
by way of restorative. An emulsion may be made by
beating them up with barley water, and this will be
of the same service with common emulsions for heat
of urine.
Wild PINE TREE. Pinus sylvestris.
A TREE native of many parts of Germany, very
much resembling what is called the manured pine,
or simply the pine before described. It grows to
be a large and 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 grow two out of a case or husk, as in
the other, and are of a bluish green colour. They
differ principally in being shorter. The flower's
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.
The kernels have the same virtues as those of the
other pines, but being little, they are not regarded.
The resin which flows from this tree, either natural-
ly, or when it is cut for that purpose, is what we
call common turpentine. It is a thick substance, like
honey, of a brownish colour, and very strong and dis-
agreeable 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 yellow resin ; if they continue it
longer, it is black resin. They often boil the tur-
pentine in water without distilling it for the com-
mon resin ; and when they take it out half boiled
for this purpose ; it is what we call Burgundy
.
a
M
266
FAMILY HERBAL.
pitch. And the whitish resin which is called thus,
or frankincensc, and is a thing quite different from
olibanur, or the fine incense, is the natural resin
Howing 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 is less
offensive in smell.
The several kinds of pitch, tar, 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
same manner, the finer turpentines being given in-
wardly. These are procured from the turpentine
tree, the larch tree, and the silver fir. The yellow
resin and the black are sometimes taken inwardly in
pills, and they are very good against the whites, and
the runnings after gonorrhæas ; but for this pur-
;
pose it is better to boil some better sort of turpentine
to the consistence and give it.
PIONY. Pæonia.
A FLOWER common in our gardens, but of
great usc as well as ornament. The common
double piony is not the kind used in medicine ;
this is called the female piony ; the single flowered
one called the male piony, is the right kind. This
grows two or three feet high. The stalk is round,
striated, and branched : the leaves are of a deep
green, and each composed of several others :
the flowers are very large, and of a deep purple,
with a green head in the middle. When they are
decayed, this head swells out into two or more
seed vessels, which are whitish and hairy on the
outside, and red within, and full of black seeds.
The root is composed of a number of longish or
roundish lumps, connected by fibres to the main
FAMILY HERBAL.
267
source of the stalk; these are brown on the outside,
and whitish within.
The roots are used ; an infusion of them pro-
motes the menses, The powder of them dried is
good against hysteric and nervous complaints. It
is particularly recommended against the falling
sickness.
PISTACHIA TREE. Pistachia.
A TREE common in the East. The trunk is
covered with a brown rough bark, the branches
grow irregularly, and their bark is reddish. The
leaves are each composed of several pair of small
ones ; they are oblong, broad, and of a beautiful
green colonr, and firm texture. The flowers grow
in tufts ; they are white and small; the fieuit which
succeeds is what we call the pistachia nut ; it is
as big as a filbert, but long and sharp-pointed, and
it is covered with a tough wrinkled bark. The
shell within this is woody and tough, but it easily
enough divides into two parts, and the kernel with-
in is of a greenish colour, but covered with a red skin.
It is of a sweet taste.
The fruit is eaten, but it may be considered as
a medicine ; it opens obstructions of the liver, and
it works by urine. It is an excellent restorative to
be given to people wasted by consumptions, or other
long and tedious illnesses.
PITCH TREE. Picea.
A TREE of the fir kind, and commonly called
the red fir. It is a tall tree of regular growth;
the bark of the trunk is of a reddish brown, and
it is paler on the branches ; the leaves are very
numerous, short, narrow, and of a strong green ;
268
FAMILY HERBAL.
they stand very thick, and are sharp, or almost
prickly at the extremities. The flowers are yel-
lowish and inconsiderable ; and the fruit is a long
and large cone, which hangs down ; whereas that
of the true fir tree, or the yew-leaved fir, stands up-
right.
The tops of the branches and young shoots are
(ised: they abound with a resin of the turpentine
kind. They are best given in decoction, or brew-
ed with beer. They are good against the rheuma-
tism and scurvy ; they work by urine, and heal ulcers
of the the urinary parts.
Pitch and tar are produced from the wood of this
tree, the tar sweats out of the wood in burning, and
the pitch is only tar boiled to that consistence. To
obtain the tar, they pile up great heaps of the wood,
and set fire to them at top, and the tar sweats out of
the ends of the lower, and is catched as it runs from
them.
Burgundy pitch is made of the resin of the wild
pine tree, which is common turpentine boiled in water
to a certain consistence, if they boil it longer, it would
be resin, for the common resin is only this turpentine
boiled to a hardness.
AMMONIACUM PLANT. Ammoniacum.
A TALL plant, native of the East, and very im-
perfectly described to us. What we hear of it is,
that it grows on the sides of hills, and is five or six
feet high ; the stalk is hollow and striated, and
painted with various colours like that of our hem-
loc. The flowers, we are told, are small and white,
and stand in great round clusters at the tops of the
stalks, the leaves are very large and composed of a
multitude of small divisions : one circumstance we
can add from our own knowledge to this description,
FAMILY HERBAL,
269
and it gives great proof of the authenticity of the
rest; this is, that the seeds are broad, flat, striated,
and have a folianous rim, as those of dill. We
could know by these which are found very fre-
quently among the gum, that it was a plant of this
kind which produced it: so that there is great pro-
bability that the rest of the description, which has
been given us by those who did not know we had
this confirmation at home, is true. These seeds often
appear very fair and sound. I have caused a great
number of them to be sown, but they have never
grown. Though one of the sagapenum seeds grew
up a little when sown among them : it would be worth
while to repeat the experiment, for sometimes it might
succeed.
We use a gum or rather gum resin, for it is of
a mixed nature between both, which is procured
from this plant, but from what part of it, or in
what manner we are not informed; it is whitish, of
an acrid taste, with some bitterness, and is an ex-
cellent medicine. It is superior to all other drugs
in an asthma, and is good to promote tlie menses,
and to open obstructions of all kinds. The best
way of giving it is dissolved in hyssop water.
It makes a milky solution. It is used externally
also in plaisters for hard swellings, and pains in the
joints.
BROAD LEAVED PLANTAIN
Plantago major.
A COMMON plant by our way-sides, with broad
short leaves, and long slender spikes of brown
seeds. The leaves rise all from the root, for
there are none upon the stalk. They are of a some-
what oval figure, and irregularly indented at the
edges, sometimes scarce at all. They have several
large ribs, but these do not grow side-ways from
270
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 a greenish white colour,
and afterwards with seeds which are brown and
small.
This is one of those common plants, which have
so much virtue, that nature seems to have made them
common for universal benefit. The whole plant is to
be used, and it is to be fresh. A decoction of it in
water is excellent against overflowings of the menses,
violent purgings with bloody stools and vomiting of
blood, the bleeding of the piles, and all other such dis-
orders. The seeds beaten to a powder, are good
against the whites.
There is a broad leaved plantain with short flow-
ery spikes, and hairy leaves, this has full as much vir-
tue as the kind already described : the norrow leaved
plantain has less, but of the same kind.
a
Plowman's SPIKENARD. Baccharis monspeliensium.
A TALL robust wild plant with broad rough
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. The leaves are
Jarge, broad from the root, 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
secds have down fixed to them. The root is brown
and woody ; the whole plant has a fragrant and aro-
matic smell.
The leaves and tops given in decoction, are good
FAMILY HERBAL
271
against inward bleedings. The root, dried and
powdered, is a remedy for purgings, and is good
against the whites.
POLEYMOUNTAIN.' Polium montanum.
.
A PRETTY plant, native of the warmer parts of
Europe, and kept in our gardens. It is ten inches
high. The stalks are square and whitish : the leaves
are oblong and narrow, of a white colour, and woolly
surface; they stand two at a joint, and they are in-
dented at the edges. The flowers are small and
white. They grow in a kind of woolly tufts at the
tops of the branches.
The whole plant is used; it is best dried; given in
infusion, it promotes the menses, and removes ob-
structions of the liver, hence it is recommended
greatly in the jaundice. It operates by urine.
CANDY POLEYMOUNTAIN. Polium creticum.
a
A LITTLE plant of a woolly appearance, native
of the Grecian Islands, and kept in some gardens.
It grows about six inches high. The stalks are
square, white, weak, and seldom upright. The
leaves 'stand two at each joint : they are nauwow,
oblong, and not at all indented at the edges. They
are of a white woolly aspect, and of a pleasant smeli.
The flowers are small and white, and they grow in
tufts at the tops of the stalks ; their cups are very
white.
The whole plant is to be used dried. It operates
very powerfully by urine, and is good against all hys-
teric complaints, but it is not to be given to women
with child, for it has so much efficacy in promoting the
menses, that it may occasion abortion.
972
FAMILY HERBAL.
POLYPODY. Polypodium.
A SMALL plant of the fern kind. It is a foot
high, and consists only of a single leaf. Several
of these commonly rise from the same root, but cach
is a separate and entire plant. The stalk is naked
for five inches, and from thence to the top stand on
each side, a row of small, oblong, and narrow
segments, resembling so many small leaves, with
an old one at the end. The whole plant is of a
bright green colour, but the backs of these divisions
of the leaf, are at a certain season, toward autumn,
ornamented with a great number of round brown
spots, these are the seeds : those of all ferns are
carried in the same manner.
The root is long,
slender, and creeps upon the surface of old stumps
of trees among the moss. The root is 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 good in the
jaundice and dropsies, and is an excellent ingredient
in diet drinks against the scurvy; but beside these
considerations, it is a safe and good purge, on all
common occasions.
POMEGRANATD TREE. Granatus.
A COMMON wild tree in Spain and Italy, kept
with us in gardens. It grows to the bigness of
our apple-trees. The branches spread irregu-
larly; they have a reddish brown bark, and have
here and there a few thorns. The leaves are nu-
merous ; on the extremities of the branches they
are small, oblong, narrow, and of a fine green
The flowers are large, and of a beautiful deep red.
the fruit is as big as a large apple, and has a brown
woody covering; it contains within a great quan-
FAMİLY HERBAL
273
tity of seeds, with a sweet and tart juice about
them.
The rind of the fruit is used, it is to be dried and
given in decoction ; it is a powerful astringent : it
stops purgings and bleedings of all kinds, and is good
against the whites.
WILD POMEGRANATE TREE. Balaustia.
more
A SMALLER tree than the former, but like it
in its manner of growth ; except that the branches
are more crooked and irregular, and are
thorny, The leaves are oblong, small
, 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
purple.
The flowers are the part of the wild pomegranate
used in medicine ; our druggists keep them and call
thern balaustines. They are given in powder or de-
coction to stop purgings, bloody stools, and overflow-
ings of the menses. A strong infusion of them cures
ulcers in the mouth and throat, and is a good thing to
wash the mouth for fastening the teeth.
POMPKIN. 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, and yellow, of a bell-like shape, but an-
gulated at the mouth, and the fruit is of the melon
kind, only bigger and round; of a deep green
N
274
FAMILY HERBAL
when unripe, but yellow at last : in this, under the
fleshy part, are contained many large flat seeds.
The poor people mix the fleshy part of the fruit
with apples, and bake them in pies. The seeds are
excellent 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.
BLACK Poplar. Populus nigra.
a
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 a
point; they are of a glossy shining green, and stand
on long foot stalks. The flowers and seeds are
inconsiderable ; they appear in spring, and are little
regarded.
The young leaves of the black poplar are excellent
mixed in pultices, to be applied to hard painfu.
swellings.
WHITE Poppy. Papaver 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 round, 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, and stand irregularly on the
stalk. The flowers are very large and white, one
stands at the top of each division of the stalk ;
FAMILY HERBAL.
275
when they are fallen, the seed-vessel, or poppy head,
grows to the bigness of a large apple, and contains
within it a 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 dis-
agreeable.
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 plant in the warmer
countries, and the juice which flows out of the
wound, hardens and becomes opium : they make
an inferior kind also, by bruizing and sqeezing the
heads. Laudanum is a tincture of this opium
made in wine. Either one or the other is 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 vomiting, but
this must be effected by small doses carefully given.
The present practice depends upon opium and
bleeding for the cure of the bite of a mad dog :
276
FAMILY HERBAL
but it is not 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 appear-
ance of the symptoms, and the cure was effected by
this method.
BLACK Poppy. Papaver nigrum.
a
A TALL and fine plant, but not so elegant as
the former. It is a yard high. 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 bigners of a walnut. The seed is
black.
A syrup of the heads of this poppy is a strong-
er sudorific 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.
a
Red Poppy. Papaver erraticum.
A COMMON wild plant in our corn fields, dis-
tinguished by its great scarlet flowers. It is a
foot bigh. The stalk is round, slender, hairy, of
a pale 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
fine scarlet colour, a little blackish toward the
FAMILY HERBAL
97
bottom. The head is small, 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.
T'he flowers are kised. 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 recom-
mended in pleurisies and fevers ; but this upon no
good foundation. It is very wrong to depend upon
such medicines : it prevents having recourse to
better.
PRIMROSE. Primula veris.
A VERY pretty, and very common spring plant,
The leaves are long, considerably broad, of a
,
pale green, and wrinkled on the surface : they grow
immediately from the root in considerable numbers.
The stalks which support the flowers are single,
slender, four or five inches high a liitle hairy,
and have 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 soeezing, and is a good remedy against
the head-ach. The dried root powdered, has the
same effect, but not so powerfully.
Priver. Ligustrum.
A LITTLE wild shrub in
our hedges. It
278
FAMILY HERBAL
a
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,
of a 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 at the edges. 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.
The tops are used ; and they are best when the
flowers are just beginning to bud. A strong infusion
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 little sores in them, and when
the gums are apt to bleed.
PURSLAIN. Portulaca
A COMMON plant in our gardens, and of a very
singular aspect: we have few so succulent. It
grows a foot long, but trails on the ground. The
stalks are l'ound, 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 leaves toward the
tops of the stalks. The root is small, fibrous, and
whitish.
Purslain is a pleasant herh in sallads, and so whole-
some, that 'tis a pity more of it is not eaten : it is ex-
cellent against the scurvy. The juice fresh pressed
out with a little white wine, works by urine, and is
excellent against stranguries and violent heats, and
also against the scurvv.
FAMILY HERBAL
279
Q
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 underneath.
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 mucila-
ginous.
The fruit and seeds are used. The juice of the
ripe quince made into a syrup with sugar, is ex-
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.
R
RADISH. Raphanus.
A COMMON plant in our gardens, the root of
which is eaten abundantly in spring. In this state
we only see a long 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 is a yard high, round, and very
much branched. The leaves on it are much smaller
980
FAMILY PORBAL.
than those from the root. The flowers are very nu.
merous, small, and white, with some spots of red. The
pods are thick, long, and spungy.
The juice of the radish roots 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 RADISH. Raphanus rusticanus
A PLANT as well known in our gardens as the
other, and wild also in many places. The root is
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, and a lit-
tle indented at the edges : sometimes there are
leaves 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 pow.
erfully by urine, and is good against the jaundice and
dropsy. The root whole, or cut to pieces, is put into
diet drink, to sweeten the blood ; and the eating fre-
quently and in quantities, at table, is good against the
rheumatism.
RACWORT. Jacob@.
A WILD plant, very common in our pastures,
FAMILY HERBAL.
281
and distinguished by its ragged leaves, and clusters
of yellow flowers. It is two feet high. The stalk
is robust, round, striated, and often purplish. The
leaves are divided in an odd manner, into several
parts, so that they look torn or ragged ; their co-
lour 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
seeds are downy.
The fresh leaves are used : but it is best to take
those that rise immediately from the mont, for they are
larger and more juicy than those on the stalk : they
are to be mixed in pultices, and applied outwardly
as a remedy against pains in the joints : they have a
surprising effect. It is said that two or three times
applied, they will cure the sciatica, or hip gout, when
ever so violent.
RASPBERRY Bush. Rubus ideus.
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, and of a whitish
colour, with a great quantity of threads in the mid-
dle. The fruit is the common raspberry, composed
like the blackberry of several grains : it is soft to the
touch, and of a delicate taste. The colour varies,
for white ones are common.
The juice of ripe raspberries, boiled up with
sugar, makes an excellent syrup. It is pleasant, and
00
282
FAMILY HERBAL.
agreeable to the stomach, good against sicknesses
and reachings.
RATTLE-SNAKE Root PLANT. 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
round, 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 in a kind of loose spikes, at the tops of
the stalks, and perfectly resemble those of the
common 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, a kind of membranous margin
hanging from them, which makes it distinct in its
appearance, from all the other roots used in the
shops.
We owe the knowledge of this medicine, origi-
nally 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 it as 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 effects,
for it is at present neglected, after a great many and
very fair trials.
When this remedy was discovered to be the
root of a kind of polygala, which discovery was
FAMILY HERBAL.
288
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
milkwort, (for that variety is purely accidental,)
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.
COMMON REED. Arundo.
A TALL water plant sufficiently known. The
stalks are round, hard, jointed, and six or eight
feet high. The leaves are long and broad, but other-
wise like those of grass, of a pale green colour, and
highly ribbed. The flowers are brown and chaffy, and
stand in prodigious numbers at the tops of the stalks,
in a kind of panicle. The roots are knotty and
jointed and spread vastly.
The juice of the fresh roots of reeds promotes the
menses powerfully, but not violently. It is an ex-
cellent medicine : it works by urinê also; and is
good against stranguries and the gravel.
PRICKLY RESTHARROW. Anonis spinosa.
A LITTLC, tough, and almost 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 leaves are numerous :
they stand three on every foot stalk, and grow
284
FAMILY HERBAL
pretty close to the stalk. There are several short
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
Jeaves towards the tops of the stalks, and are in shape
like pea blossoms, but Natted : each is followed by a
small pod. The root is white, very long, tough, and
woody.
The root is to be taken up fresh for use, and ihe
bark separated for that purpose. It 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 also good in the dropsy and
jaundice.
RHAPONTIC. Rhaponticum sive rha,
a
A TALL robust blant, native of Scythia, but
kept in many of our gardens. It grows four feet
high. The stalk is round, striated, an inch thick,
sometimes bollow, and very upright. The leaves
are large and broad: those from the root are
about a foot and a half long, and a foot 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, they 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 reason,
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, for they seldom keep
it genuine.
FAMILY HERBAL.
285
RICE. Oryza.
A very common plant in the East, sown in
the fields for the sake of the seed or grain. It
grows four feet high; the stalk is round, hollow,
and jointed ; the leaves are long and grassy, and
of a pale green colour, but they are broader than those
of any of our kinds of corn. The flowers are incon-
siderable; 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 who have habitual purgings or
loosenesses ; it is to be eaten any way for this pur-
pose, only it must be continued, and it will do more
than all the medicines in the world. The rice-milk
is excellent for this purpose.
GARDEN ROCKET. Eruca sativa.
A COMMON plant in our gardens, two feet high,
and very erect. . The stalk is round and of
a deep green ; the leaves are oblong, considerably
broad, of a deep green colour, and divided at the
edges : the flowers are moderately large, and of a
whitish colour, veined with purple, and they stand in
a long spike at the top of the stalk. The pods are
long and slender.
Some people are fond of rocket as a sallad herb,
but it is not very pleasant. It works by urine, and
is good against the scurvy. A strong infusion of the
İcaves made into a syrup is good against coughs, it
causes expectoration, and eases the lungs,
286
FAMILY HERBAL
Dog RosE, OR WILD 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 smaller ; these
stand in pairs on a rib,with an odd one at the end ;
and they are small, oblong, of a bright glossy green
colour, and regularly 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 there is
the common hip, red, oblong, and containing a great
quantity of hairy seeds.
The fruit is the only part used ; the pulp is sepa-
rated from the skins and seeds, and beat up into a con-
serve with sugar ; this is a pleasant medicine, and is
of some efficacy against coughs.
Though this is the only part that is used, it is not
the only that deserves to be. The flowers, gathered
in the 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, is an excellent medicine
for overflowings of the menses ; it seldom fails to
effect a cure.
The seeds separated from the fruit,
dried and powdered, work by urine, and are good
against the gravel, but they do not work very
powerfully.
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 inade by insects in the stalks,
as the galls are produced upon the oak. They are
FAMILY HERBAL
287
astringent, and may be given in powder against
he
fluxes. They are said to work by urine, but expe-
rience does not warrant this.
DAMASK Rose. Rosa damascena.
3
A COMMON shrub in our gardens, very much
resembling that in our 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 white and very beautiful,
of a pale red colour, full of leayes, and of an ex-
tremely sweet smell; the fruit is like the common
hip
The flowers are used. The best way of giving
them is in a syrup thus made. Pour boiling was
ter upon a quantity of fresh gathered damask 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 is completed : it is an excellent purge
for children and there is not a better medicine
for grown people, who are subject to be costive.
A little of it taken every night will keep the body
open continually ; medicines that purge strongly,
bind afterwards. Rose water is distilled from this
kind.
WHITE ROSE. Rosa alba.
A COMMON shrub also in our gardens. It
grows ten or twelve feet high, but is not very able
to support itself, upright. The stalks are rounda
288
FAMILY HERBAL.
prickly, and very much branched. The leaves are
of a dusky green, each composed of several pairs
of smaller, with an odd one at the end. The flow-
ers are somewhat smaller than those of the damask
rose, but of the same form : and their colour is
white, and they have less fragrance than the
damask.
The flowers are used. They are to be gathered
in the bud, and used fresh or dry. A strong infusion
of them is good against overflowings of the menses,
and the bleeding of the piles.
RED Rose. 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, of a
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 a great quantity of yellow threads in the middle.
They are of an exceeding fine deep and red colour,
and they have very little smell : the fruit is like 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 in
powder against overflowings of the menses, and all
other bleedings. Half an ounce of these dried buds
are to be put into an earthen panz and, a pint of
+
FAMILY HERBAL:
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 drachms
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 roses; it is clear, and of a fine red colour.
It strengthens the stomach, and prevents vomitings,
and is a powerful as well as a pleasant remedy
against all fluxes.
a
Rose-Wood 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, and 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 grows twenty feet or more
in height, and its trunk is very thick in proportion.
The leaves are each composed of three or four pairs
of smaller : 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 at a
distance, they look like the bunches of elder flow-
The fruit is a round berry, often each of the
bigness of a tare. The wood of this tree is lighter,
paler coloured, and of the looser grain than the
eastern rose-wood.
P P
ers.
290
FAMILY HERBAL.
The wood is said to be good in nervous disorders,
but we seldom make any use of it.
ROSEMARY. Rosemarinus.
A PRETTY shrub, wild in Spain and France,
and kept in our gardens. It is five or six feet
high, but weak, and not well able to support itself
The trunk is covered with a rotigh bark. The
leaves stand very thick on 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 at the tops of the branches among the leaves ;
they are large and very beautiful, of a greyish co-
lour, with a somewhat reddish tinge, and of a very
fragrant smell. Rosemary, when in flower, makes
a very beautiful appearance.
The flowery tops of rosemary, fresh gathered,
contain 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 beating up the fresh gathered
tops with three times their weight of sugar. The
famous Hungary water is made also of these flow-
ery tops of rosemary. 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-
gary water.
Rosa SOLIS OR SUNDEW. Ros solis.
A VERY singular and very pretty little plant,
FAMILY HERBAL..
291
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 foot-stalks of an inch long ; they are
covered in a very extraordinary manner with long
red hairs, and in the midst of the hottest days they
have a drop of clear liquour 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 convul-
sions, hysteric disorders, and tremblings of the limbs;
but it is not much regarded.
RHUBARB Rhabarbarum.
A TALL, robust, 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.
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 of a figure approaching to triangu-
lar: 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
in the manner of dock-flowers, and make little more
figure ; the seed is triangulated. The root is thick,
long, and often divided toward the bottom; of a
yellow colour veined with purple, but the purple
a
292
FAMILY HERBAL.
appears much more plainly in the dry, than in the
fresh root.
The root is used : its virtues are sufficiently
known; it is a gentle purge, and has an after as-
tringency. 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. There is scarce any chronic dis-
ease in which rhubarb is not serviceable,
The Rhapontic monks rhubarb, and false monks'
rhubarb, all approach to the nature of the true
rhubarb; they have been described already in their
several places.
RUE. Ruta.
ز
A PRETTY little shrub, frequent in our gar-
dens. It grows three or four feet high. The stem
is firm, upright, 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 composed of many
smaller divisions; they are of a blue green colour
and fleshy substance ; and each division is short,
obtuse, and roundish. 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
beaten up into a conserve with three times their
weight of sugar, and taken in that form. The in-
fusion is an excellent medicine in feyers; it raises
the spirits, and promotes sweat, drives any thing
FAMILY HERBAL.
293
out, and is good against head-aches, 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 subject to hysteric dis-
orders with great advantage.
RUPTURE-WORT.
Herniaria..
A LITTLE low plant, wild in some parts of the
kingdom. but not common, and kept in the gardens
of the curious. It grows three or four inches long,
but the stalks lie on the ground : many grow from
the same root, and they spread into a kind of cir-
cular figure. They are slender, round, jointed, and
of a pale 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.
The juice of the fresh gathered herb, externally
applied, has been much celebrated against ruptures;
perhaps without any great foundation. An in-
fusion of it, taken inwardly, works by urine,
and is very good against the gravel, and in the
jaundice.
S
SAFFRON. 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.
و
mediately from the root, which is roundish, and as
big as a 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 future 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 cail
saffron. They 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 long and grassy, of a dark green
colour, and very narrow. They are of no use.
Saffron is a noble cordial.
BASTARD SAFFRON. Carthamus,
er.
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-
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 points,
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 like the
flowers in the heads of our thistles, but narrower
and longer.
FAMILY HERBAL.
295
These flowers are used by the dyers in some
parts of Europe. The seed is the part taken into
the shops : it is longish, covered, and white with
a hard covering ; it is to be given in infusion,
which works both by vomit and stool, but not
violently. It is good against rheumatisms and the
jaundice.
SAGAPENUM PLANT. Sagapenum.
A LARGE plant, native of Persia in 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 we could 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 towards 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 tops of 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 sagapenum, by
young Mr. Sisson, to be sowed with all proper
care at the lord Petre's, whose principal gardener
296
FAMILY HERBAL.
3
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 gav 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 and 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-aches, 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.
RED SAGE. Salvia hortensis.
a
The common sage of our gardens. It is a
kind of shrubby plant, a foot or two high, and
full of branches. The stem is tough, hard, woody,
FAMILY HERBAL.
297
and covered with a brown rough bark ; the smaller
branckies are reddish, the leaves are oblong and
broad; they stand on long foot stalks, and are of
a singular rough surface, and of a reddish colour.
The flowers grow on stalks that rise only at that
Reason of the year, and stand up a great deal above
,
a
the rest of the surface of the plant ; they are large
and blue, and are of the figure of the dead nettle
flowers, only they grape vastly more. The whole
plant has a pleasant smell. The leaves and tops
are rised, and they are best fresh ; the common
way of taking them is in infusion, or in form of
what is called sage tea, is better than any other :
they are a cordial, and good against all diseases of
the nerves : they promote perspiration, and throw
any thing out which ought to appear upon the skin.
The juice of sage works by urine, and promotes
the menses.
SAGE OF VIRTUE. Salvia minor.
ANOTHER shrubby plant, very like the former
in its manner of growth, but wanting its red colour.
It is a foot or two in height, and very bushy. The
stem is woody. The branches are numerous. 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 cach larger.
The flowers grow in the same manner as in the
red sage, but they are smaller. The whole plant
has a pleasant smell.
The green tops are used; and their virtues are
much the same with those of the former, but they
are less. It got into use from an opinion that the
other was too hot, but this was idle,
2.9
298
FAMILY HERBAL:
Wood SAGE. Salvia agrestis.
A WILD plant, common in woods and hedges,
with leaves like sage, and spikes of small flowers.
It grows two feet and 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-
fussion, they promote urine and the menses : the
juice of them drank for a continuance, is excellent
against rhumatic pains.
SALEP PLANT.
Orchis orientalis.
A VERY pretty plant, of the nature of our
common orchis, native of the East, but growing to
a greater 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, jucy, 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 pidgeon's egg, and of a white colour,
with some fibres.
We use the root, which we receive dry from
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
299
Turkey. They have a 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 it in 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 upon a thread, and hang it in an airy place
to dry; it becomes tough as horn, and transparent.
This is a practice common in the East with the roots
they dry for use, and it would be well if we would
practise it 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 do not
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,
what 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 dis-
solved in water, with ginger and honey.
SAMPSHIRE. 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 rennel, into slender and small parts, but
they are thick and fleshy. The stalk is round, hol-
low, striated, and a little branched. The flowers
are small and yellow, and they stand at the tops of
the stalks in great clusters or umbels, in the manner
of those of fennel. 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, where 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.
SANICLE. Sanicula.
A PRETTY wild plant common in our woods,
and distinguished by its regular leaves, and small
umbels of flowers. 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 are 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
celebrated for the cure of ruptures, but that is
idle.
FAMILY HERBAL.
301
SARSAPARILLA PLANT, Sarsaparilla,
A PLANT of the climing kind, native of the
warmer countries. The stalks run to ten or twelve
feet in length, but are weak, and support them-
selves among the bushes : they are whitish, angu-
lar, 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 in decoc-
tion, it promotes sweat and urine. It has been
esteemed good against the scurvy, and famous in
the cure of the veneral disease. It is, in general,
accounted a sweatener of the blood.
SASSAFRAS 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 till it comes near the top. The branches
grow near together, and spread irregularly. The
leaves are of two kinds: those on the older parts
of the twigs are oblong and pointed, somewhat
like bay leaves ; and those on the tops of the
branches are larger, broader, and divided into
three parts, like the leaves of maple, or they carry
302
FAMILY HERBAL,
some 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.
The wood is used. Our druggists receive it in
logs, and cut it out into shavings. The wood of
the root is hest, and its bark contains most virtue
of all. 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.
SAVINE. Sabina,
A LITTE garden shruh, 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
a miscarriage. The country people give the juice
mixed with milk to children, as a remedy against
worms: it generally works by stool, and brings
worms away with it.
SUMMER SAVORY. Satureia hortensis,
A COMMON little plant in our kitchen gardens.
It is ten inches or a foot high. The stalks are nu-
merous, and very hard, and woody toward the bot-
FAMILY HERBAL
308
tom. The leaves are oblong and narrow: they
stand two at each joint, with a quantity of young
ones on their bosoms. The flowers grow on the
upper parts of the stalks among the leaves : they
are white with a tinge of bluish or reddish. The
whole plant has a pleasant smell, and an agreeable
taste.
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
There is another kind of savory, with more woody
stalks, called winter savory; this has much the
same virtues.
menses.
RED SAUNDERS TREE. Santalum rubrum.
A TREE, native of the West Indies, but of
which we have seen nothing but the wood, and
kave 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 hear say only.
The wood is used. It is 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.
YEELOW AND WHITE SAUNDERS TREE.
Santalum flavum et album.
A BEAUTIFUL tree, native of the East Indies
304
FAMILY HERBAL.
3
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 unlike 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 separate,
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 the 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
hysteric. complaints, and opens obstructions, it
also gently promotes perspiriation, and works by
urine.
WHITE SAXIFRAGE. Saxifraga alba.
A VERY pretty plant in our meadows, dis-
tinguished by the regular shape of its leaves, and
its white snowy flowers. It grows ten inches high;
;
the stalk is round, thick, firin, upright, and a little
hairy. The leaves are of a pale green colour, and
fleshy substance: they are of a roundish figure,
and indented about the edges ; and they stand upon
long fool-stalks. The flowers are large and white;
they grow in considerable numbers on the tops of
the stalks. The root is composed of a parcel of
sinall white or reddish granules.
The root is used ; and these small parts of which
it consists have 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.
MEADOW 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 stria
ated, of a dark green colour, and considerably
branched. The leaves 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
cause.
SCABIOUS.
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
leaves 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
pale green, hairy, and rough to the touch. The
stalks are round, upright, hairy, of the same pale
green, colour, 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
Rr
306
FAMILY HERBAL
deep blue colour, and each is composed of a number
of smaller flosucles, collected into a 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 infusion of them is good against
asthmas, and difficulty of breathing, and the same
infusion made into syrup, is good against coughs.
The flowers are said to be cordial, and an infusion
of them to promote sweat, and carry off fevers, but this
is less authentic; the juice externally applied is good
against foulnesses of the skin.
SCAMMONY PLANT. Scammonia
і А
CLIMBING plant, native of the eastern
parts of the world.
The stalks are numerous,
green, slender, and angulated ; they are five or six
feet long, but unable to support themselves with-
out the help of bushes. The leaves stand irregular-
ly, and not very close to one another; they are of
a triangular 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 but they oftener have a yellowish than a red-
dish tinge. The root is a foot and a half long, and
as thick as a man's arm, full of a milky juice. They
wound the roots and catch the milky juice as it runs
out in shells; and this when it is concreted into a
hard mass is the scammony we use.
It is a rough purge, but a very powerful and
useful one.
It is good against the rhumatic
pains, and will reach the seat of many disorders that
a common purge does not effect. However, it is
seldom given alone : and a great misfortune is,
that the compositions made with it are never to be
а.
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
307
perfectly depended upon, because there is so much
difference in several parcels of scammony, that they
seem hardly the same medicine, some are so very
strong, and some so weak.
GARDEN SCURTY 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
all is to drink the pressed juice of them; this is
excellent against the scurvy, and all other foul-
nesses of the blood. It may be 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
SEA SCURVY GRASS. Cochlearia marina.
A COMMON plant also about our sea coasts,
and by the sides of rivers, where the tide comes
The leaves are not so numerous as those of the other ;
and they are oblong, of a reddish green colour,
pointed at the ends, and indented at the edges in an
irregular manner: they are considerably larger than
those of garden scurvy grass, and more fleshy, The
a
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
the other. The leaves are to be used fresh gather-
ed, or their juice is to be taken. Their virtues
are the same as those of the other. But it is the
general opinion that they are greater, though the
taste be not so agreeable.
SEBESTEN TREE. 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 which 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 clamy, that being beat up with water
it makes good bird lime.
This fruit is the part used; it is sent over to
us dried in the manner of a prune. It used to be
a
a constant ingredient in decoctions for coughs,
and disorders of the lungs, but it is now dis-
regarded.
SELF-HEAL
Prunnella.
A LITTLE wild plant common about way sides,
with dark green leaves, and short tufts of blue
flowers. It grows six inches high ; the stalk is
FAMILY HERBAL.
309
square, and a little hairy ; the leaves stand in pairs
mpon it, but 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 root is 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 tools, and against overflow-
ings of the menses. The dried herb made into
an infussion and sweatened with honey, is good
against a sore throat, and ulcers of the mouth.
SENA SHRUB. 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 shape, 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 some other
warm medicine into the water,
910
FAMILY HERBAL.
BASTARD SENA. Colutea.
a
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
pairs of 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 branches,
and are succeeded by pods, which look like blad-
ders of a greenish colour.
The leaves are used ; some give an infusion of
them as a purge, but they are very rough: they
work both upwards and downwards, and are only
fit for very robust constitutions. For such as can
bear them, they are good against rheumatic pains,
SENEGA TREE. Senica.
a
A TREE frequent 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
bark, its branches with a smoother, 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
shape of a pea blossom ; the fruit is a large and
flat pod, jointed or divided into several parts,
with seeds in them; the tree is of the acacia kind,
in many things very like that which produces the
FAMILY HERBAL.
311
gum arabic, and the gum which is obtained from
it is in the same manner very like that.
This gum is the only product of the tree heard
of in medicine, and this is not much. It is brought
over, however, in great quantities, for the dyers
ase a great 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 dissolv-
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
so perfectly of the same nature, that it is a needless
trouble.
Right SERVICE Tree. Sorbus legitima,
A TREE wild in some parts of this kingdom,
but not known in others, nor even 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
312
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 is little known.
COMMON SERVICE TREE. Sorbus vulgaris.
A LARGE tree and very beautiful, its growth
being regular, and the leaves of an elegant 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 they grow in
clusters ; the fruit is small and brown when ripe.
It grows in bunches.
The unripe fruit of this service is excellent
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 the year.
SHEPHERD'S PURSE. Bursa Pastoris.
THE most common almost of all wild plants,
over-running our garden-beds, and court-yards.
The leaves spread upon the ground, and are long
somewhat broad, and more or less indented at the
edges, for in this there is great variation : the stalks
are round, upright, and eight or ten inches high,
they have few leaves on them. The flowers stand
at the tops in little clusters, and they are small and
white: below there is commonly a kind of spike
of the seed-vessels : these are short, broad, and of
FAMILY HERBAL.
313
the 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.
The juice of Shepherd's purse is cooling and
astringent; it is good against purgings, with sharp
and bloody stools ; against the bleeding of the piles,
and the overflowing of the menses.
SKIRRET.
Sisarum.
A 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 five smaller, two or
four set opposite and one at the end ; they are ob-
long, serrated at the edges, and sharp pointed ; the
end leaf is 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 decoction of them works by urine, and is good
against the gravel. The roots boiled in milk, are
an excellent restorative to people who have suffered
long illnesses.
SLOE TREE.
Prunus sylvestris.
The common low shrub in our hedges, which
we call the blackthorn. 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
good green, elegantly dentated about the edges.
The flowers are small and white. The fruit is a
8s
314
FAMILY HERBAL.
little plum, of a very austere taste when unripe, but
pleasant when mellow.
The juice expressed from unripe sloes, is a very
good remedy for fluxes of the belly. It may be
boiled down to a firm consistence, and will so keep
the whole year. We used to find this dried juice
kept by druggists under the name of German acacia,
but they neglect it.
SMALLAGE. Apium.
:
A COMMON wild plant, about ditch sides,
with the appearance of celery. These are very
numerous and large. The stalk rises two feet and
a half in height, and is round, smooth, striated, and
branched. The leaves on it are like those from the
root, composed of many small parts, which are
broad and indented, but they are smaller. The
flowers stand in little umbels at the divisions of the
branches : they are small and of a yellowish white.
The seeds are small and striated. The roots are
long, not very thick, white, and of a strong, but not
disagreeable taste.
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
discases arising from obstructions in the liver and
spleen. The seeds dried are good against the colic,
and strengthen the stomach.
COLURINE-WOOD, or SNAKE-WOOD TR E.
Lignum colubrinum.
A TALL tree of the East, irregular in its growth,
but not without beauty. The bark is rough and
brown; the leaves are large, broad in the middle,
FAMILY HERBAL.
315
oblong and sharp at the point. They are of a deep
green colour, and firm substanice : the flowers are
small, they grow in clusters upon the branches, not
at their extremities, but in different parts of them,
The fruit is large, and much of the shape of a
walnut. It is yellow when ripe, and contains a
great many round flat seeds.
These are exactly of
the shape and form of what we call nux vomica,
but they are not half so big. Some have, for this
reason, supposed the real nux vomica to be the
fruit of this tree; but it is produced by another of
the same genus. The wood of the smaller branches
is used : this is what we called lidnum colubrinum,
adder-wood, and snake-wood. It is famous in the
East for curing fevers and destroying worms;
they also say it is a remedy against the 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, or if too fresh.
It loses its strength by degrees in keeping ; but
I don't know how it can be possible to determine
what dose to give of such a medicine.
.
SNEEZEWORT. Ptarmica,
A VERY pretty wild plant, with daisy-like
flowers, and a norrow dentated leaves. It grows
two feet high. The stalk is round, firm, upright,
and but little branched. The leaves are very
numerous, and they stand irregularly ; they are
an inch or more in length, and very narrow, 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 than daises
and their leaves broader.
316
FAMILY HERBAL.
The leaves of sneezewort, dried and powdered,
taken by way of snuff, are excellent against the
head-ach. The roots dried are almost as fiery
as pillitory of Spain, and they cure the tooth-ach
in the same manner. A piece held in the mouth,
fills it with rheum in a minute.
SOLOMON'S SEAL. Polygonatum.
و
A PRETTY plant, wild in some places, and
frequent in gardens. It grows a 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 at all
indented at the edges. The flowers hang from
,
the under part of the stalk ; they are small and
white ; the fruit is a berry as big as a pea, and
black when ripe. The root is white, oblong,
irregular, and creeps under the surface of the
ground.
The root is the part used : it is commended
extremely for outward application against
bruises. The root dried and powdered is good
against purgings with bloody stools ; and the fresh
root beat up into à conserve with sugar, against
the whites.
an
SOPEWORT. Saponaria.
A WILD plant, but not very common. It is
two feet high. The stalk is round, thick, jointed,
and of a pale green"; the knots are large. The
leaves stand two at each joint; they are of an
oval figure, and dark green colour, smooth, not
dentated at the edges, and full of large ribs. The
flowers stand in a kind of clusters at the tops ;
FAMILY HERBAL.
317
they are white or reddish, and not very large ;
the root is knobbed and has great many fibres
running from it: it is of a disagreeable mawkish
taste.
The root is used ; and it should be fresh taken
up; a decoction of it opens obstructions, and pro-
motes urine and perspiration. It is an excellent
sweetener of the blood.
SORREL. Acctosa.
our
A COMMON plant in meadows, with
broad and oblong leaves, striated stalks, and red-
dish tufts of flowers. It is a foot and half high.
The stalk is round, not very firm, upright and a
little branched. The leaves are of a deep green,
angulated at the base, blunt at the point, and not
at all indented about the edges. The flowers stand
on the tops of the stalks, in the manner of those of
docks, of which sorrel is indeed a small kind,
They are reddish and husky; the root is small
and fibrous; the whole plant has a sour taste.
The leaves eaten as a sallad, or the juice taken,
are excellent against the scurvy. The seeds are
astringent, and may be given in powder for fluxes.
The root dried and powdered, is also good against
purgings, the overflowing of the menses, and
bleedings.
There are two other kinds of sorrel, nearly of
kin to this, and of the same virtue: one small,
called sheep's sorrel, common on dry banks; the
other large, with broad leaves, called garden
sorrel, or round-leaved sorrel; this is rather pre-
ferable to the common kind. Besides these, there
is a plant called in English a sorrel, so different
from them all, that it must be described sepa-
rately
318
FAMILY HERBAL.
Wood SORREL. Luiula.
A VERY pretty little plant, common about our
wood sides, and distinguished 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 fly about. The root is small
and irregular.
The leaves are used; they are to be fresh gather-
ed; their roots are very agreeably acid, and the juice
of them makes a pretty syrup. The leaves also beat
up with three times their weight of sugar, make an
excellent conserve. They are good to quench thirsts
in fevers, and they have the same virtue with the
other against the scurvy and in sweetening the
blood.
SOUTHERNWOOD.
Abrotanum mas.
A SHRUBBY plant, native of many parts of
Europe, but kept in our gardens. The stem is
.
woody, and tough, and is covered with a brown
Lark. The leaves are divided into fine slender
parts, and are of a pale green, whitish colour, and
strong smell. The flowers are small and yellowish;
they grow in great numbers on the top of the stalk,
and are naked and of a rough appearance. The
seeds are longish, and of a pale brown.
FAMILY HERBAL.
319
The tops of the young branches are used ; a
decoction of them is good against worms, but it is
a very disagreeable medicine. Beaten into a con-
serve with three times their weight of sugar, they
are not very unpleasant, and they are in this form
good against nervous disorders, and in all hysteric
complaints.
SOWTHISTLE. Sonchus asper.
A COMMON weed in our gardens, and about
our houses. It is three feet high; the stalk is
round, thick, green, and upright. The leaves are
long, and not very broad ; they are indented at the
;
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 long and
white.
The leaves are to be used fresh gathered ; a strong
infusion of them works by urine, and opens obstruc-
tions. Some eat them in sallads, but the infusion
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, but this has them
most in perfection.
SPEEDWELL.
Veronica mas
A COMMON little plant in our dry pastures,
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
ground, only rising at thin upper parts.
The
leaves are of a pale green colour, a little hairy,
:
820
FAMILY HERBAL
and dentated at the edges : the flowers are small
and blue; they grow in slender spikes, arising
from the bosoms of the leaves ; the root is small
and fibrous.
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 menses.
There was an opinion lately that this plant would
cure the gout. T'he dried leaves picked from the
stalks, were sold in our markets, and people made a
tea of them. The opinion was so prevalent, that
the plant was in a manner destroyed for many
miles about London, but like all other things,
that want the truth for their foundation, it came to
nothing
SPRIGNEL.
Meum.
A WILD plant not altogether unlike fennel.
It grows two or three feet high. The stalks are
round, striated, and branched. The leaves are
large, and divided like those of fennel, 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 conspicious 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 ;
it also opens obstructions, and promotes the menses.
The root dried and given in powder strengthens the
stomach, creates an appetite, and is good against
the colic.
FAMILY HERBAL.
321
SPINAGE. Spinachia.
3
A COMMON herb in our kitchen gardens. It grows
iwo 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.
SPLEENWORT. Asplenium.
A SINGULAR plant, of the nature of the ferns,
but not unlike any of them in form. The root
is fibrous. From this the leaves rise in great num-
bers together, each being a distinct and separate
plant; they are narrow, and five inches long, deeply
indented 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 they
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. It is best given in in-
fusion, and must be continued for some time; it
opens 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.
322
FAMILY HERBAL.
INDIAN SPIKENARD. Nardus Indiea.
a
;
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 a pale green; they are very numer-
ous, and stand in a thick tuft almost growing together
at the 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 brought
over as the Indian spikenard, and there is reason
and authority for supposing they are so.
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 pleasant
smell : they are good in disorders of the nerves, and
hysteric cases ; but so many better medicines are at
hand, that it is rarely used.
The tops
go
SPONGE. Spongia.
A SEA plant of a very singular kind and form.
It has neither leaves, stalks, nor branches, nor has
it the colour or aspect of our ordinary plants.
It more approaches 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 to an irregularly shaped
mass of matter, full of holes, of a yellowish 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 roundish 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.
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 in
the burning 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
GREAT SPURGE.
Esula major
We have many kinds of spurge wild in England,
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 numerous,
and stand irregularly; they are narrow and of a
pale green, and are broadest at the end. 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.
The bark of the root is used dry; and even in
that state is very rough in its operation. It works
a
324
FAMILY HERBAL.
by stool and vomit, and is good in the rheumatism
and dropsy ; but it is not every constitution that can
bear the use of such remedies.
LESSER SPURGE. Esula-minor.
;
A LESSER plant than the former, but sufficiently
robust ; it is 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 narrow, but
rounded at the end : the stalks are thick, round, and
red; the flowers are small and yellow; and the seed-
vessels large and three cornered. The whole plant
is full of a sharp milky juice, but most of all the
root.
The bark of the root is used. It works by vomit
and stool as the former; but though with less violence,
yet too rough for most constitutions. It is good in
the rheumatism.
SQUILL. Scilla.
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
a third part of the stalk ; the leaves are very large
and long ; they are of a deep green colour, and
grow immediately from the root; the root is
round, and of a pound weight; it is composed
like an onion of many coats one over another,
and is full of an acrid slimy juice. The colour
is white or red, and they call it the white or red
squill.
3
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 called the
wine of squills, vinegar of squills, and oxymel
of squills; they are all good against asthmas,
and difficulty of breathing. The oxymel is most
given for this purpose ; the vinegar causes vomit-
ing, and cleanses the stomach; the wine of squills
works by urine, and is good against the jaundice and
dropsy.
STARWORT. Astér aticus
A COMMON wild plant, in many parts of Europe
and in the Grecian islands, but not here : we
have it in gardens. It is a foot and half high.
The stalk is round, hairy, and branched ; the
leaves are oblong, moderately broad, and rounded
at the ends, and of a dusky green. The flowers
are yellow and large ; they resemble the marigold ;
it is singular that there stand some leaves under
this flower disposed into rays like a star; the root is
long.
The fresh leaves are used ; and that only exter-
nally. Bruised, and laid on as a pultice, they are a
eure for buboes, and other hard swellings. The plant
is called also ingunialis, from its peculiar effect in dis-
sipating buboes of the groin.
STAR THISTLE. Calcitrapa.
common.
A WILD plant on our heaths, but not very
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 in a 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 root 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.
Anisun stel-
STARRY HEADED ANISE TREE.
latum.
A TALL and very beautiful tree, native of the
East, and much esteemed there. The trunk is
covered with a thick bark : the branches are
irregular and spreading.
The leaves are very
large and beautiful ; they are composed each of
ten or twelve pair of others set on a common rib,
with an odd one at the end ;- they are longish,
broad, serrated at the edges, and pointed at the
ends, and are of a beautiful pale green colour,
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 tops of 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 more rays, and in each is a
single, smooth, brown seed. They have the smell
of aniseed, and thence have been called by the
name, for there is not the least resemblance be-
tween the plants which produce the two; one
being a small herb, and the other a large and fine
tree.
FAMILY HERBAL
327
The fruit is only used, and we sometimes see it at
the druggists ; if the present practice encouraged
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 indi-
gestion. It also works powerfully by urine; and with
it possesses all the virtues of aniseed and many
others, and even in a very superior degree : it has
not its disagreeable 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 dis-
agreeable taste, and it does not congeal like it in cold
weather.
STAVES-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 upright, and
a little hairy. The leaves are of a roundish figure
but divided deeply into 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 venture te give thera
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 heads that have
been kept uncleanly.
328
FAMILY HERBAL.
GOLDEN STOCHAS. Stechas citrina:
A PRETTY plant, native in the warmer parts of
Europe, and kept in our gardens. It is a shrubby
herb, two feet high, and keeps its leaves all 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 jaun-
dices, and obstructions of the menses.
There is another plant called Arabian stæchas, or
French lavender. It has been described already under
the head of lavender, to which it belongs, for it is
altogether different from this plant.
STORAX TREE. Styrax arbor.
a
A SMALL tree, native of the East, and some
parts of Europe ; but in Europe it yields none of
the resin we call storax. We have it in some
gardens. It is twenty feet high; the trunk is
covered with a brown bark: that on the branches
is greyish ; the leaves are of a brownish or a dusky
green on the upper side, and whitish underneath : the
flowers are white and large; the fruit is like a nut,
roundish and little, and is covered with a woolly coat;
three of the flowers grow together usually, and are
succeeded by three of these.
We use no part of the tree, but a resînous sub-
stance, which is produced from it. This is kept
at the druggists, and is reddish and of a fragrant
FAMILY HERBAL.
329
smell but very foul. It is good in all diseases of the
breast and lungs, being an excellent balsam. It is
also good in all nervous and hysteric complaints, and
it promotes the menses.
STRAWBERRY PLANT. Fragaria.
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 stalk rising from the root and without 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, it works by urine, and is good
against the jaundice.
SUCCORY. Chichoreum.
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 nó 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
within.
U u
336
FAMILY HERBAL.
The root is used ; an infusion of it opens ob.
structions ; it is good against the jaundice. A de-
coction of the whole plant, fresh gathered, works
powerfully by urine, and is good against the gravel.
It also gently promotes the menses.
SUGAR CANE Arundo saccharifera.
و
A KIND of reed, native of the East and West
Indies, of the Canary islands, and of some other
places; and cultivated in all our plantations. It
is 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 manner, dry,
brown, and chaffy, but the cluster of them is a
yard long; the roots are long, creeping, and jointed
in the manner of the stalk. In
In very hot countries
the sugar will sweat 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.
It were idle to talk of the virtues of sugar, its
uses are sufficiently known, and are very great.
SUMACH
Rhus.
A SHRUB, native of warmer countries, but
,
common in our gardens. It is of a singular ap-
pearance. It doses not grow more than ten or
twelve feet high; the wood is brittle, and the bark
is brown. The leaves are long and very beautiful,
cach consists of a great many pairs of smaller
FAMILY HERBAL.
331
leaves, with an odd one at the end ; these 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 effect in strengthening the sto-
mach and bowels; they are best taken in infusion.
The bark of the root has the same virtue ; but the
seeds have it in the greatest degree.
SWALLOW-WORT. 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
a deep green; they stand two at each joint. The
flowers are small and white, and each is succeeded
by two pods growing together; the root is fibrous
and spreading
The root is used ; an infusion of it fresh is good
against the jaundice ; it works by urine and opens
obstructions. Dried and given in powder, it ope-
rates by sweat, and is good in fevers.
T
TACAMAHAC TREE. Tacamahaca.
A LARGE and beautiful tree, native of the
East, and of America. It is fifty or sixty feet
332
FAMILY HERBAL.
high. The hark 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 ;
a brown kind of resin issues from them, which
sticks 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
hysterie cases, but it does not seem to have much
efficacy
a
TAMARIND TREE. Tamernilus
A VERY 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. The leaves
are each composed of a great many pairs of smaller,
disposed on a common rib, with no odd one at the
end. They are small, oval, and of a pale or
whitish green. The flowers are large, and very
pretty ; they are part yellow, and part white ; the
white leaves of them stained often with red. They
stand in clusters, half a dozen together. The fruit
is a flat pod, broad, brown, and hard ; these contain
a pulpy substance, and the seeds a stringy matter
with them. The pulp, strings, and seeds are
brought over to us, and the pulp is separated for
use : it is of a pleasant acid taste, and is a gentle
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
333
and excellent purge ; it works also 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.
TAMARISK. Tamariscus.
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 on the 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 small, and lodged in a
downy substance.
The bark is used dried, and the tops of the
branches fresh ; both have the same virtue ; the
one is hest 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
composed 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
the edges. The flowers stand in large clusters at
334
FAMILY HERBAL.
the tops of the stalks, and they are roundish,
yellow, and naked. The root is a cluster of large
creeping fibres. The whole plant has a strong
smell.
The leaves are to be used fresh gathered ; a strong
infusion of them opens obstructions ; it works pow-
erfully hy urine, and gently promotes the menses.
The flowers dried, powdered, and mixed with treacle,
are a common medicine for worms, and they visibly
destroy them.
Wild Tangy. Argentina.
A COMMON wild plant about our way sides,
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 reddish. The leaves rise
from these ; they are very large, and each com-
posed of a great many pair of smaller set on both
sides of a common rib, with an odd one at the
end. They are of the shape, and much of the
.
size of the leaves 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 and yellow,
somewhat like the flowers of the crow-foots, but
more beautiful.
The leaves are used ; a strong infusion of them
is given with success against the bleeding of the
piles, and bloody stools : and made less strong and
sweetened a little with honey, it is excellent for a sore
throat. The women use it also to take away freckles,
but this seems idle.
FAMILY HERBAL.
336
TARRAGON. Dracunculus.
A COMMON plant in our gardens. 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 works by urine, and
gently promotes the menses.
TEA. Thea.
A SHRUB, native of the East, and cherished there
with great care. It is six or seven feet high ; the
branches are slender; the leaves are numerous,
oblong, serrated round the edges, and sharp pointed.
The flowers are as big as orange flowers, and white ;
they stand in a very small cup : the fruit is dry, and
of the bigness of a nut, containing one, two, or three
cells.
All the kinds of tea are the leaves of this shrub;
they only differ as they are gathered in different
states: the bohea tea is 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 summer, or in
autumn, and dried with different degrees of care, ac-
eording to their value.
Good green tea, drank moderately, strengthens
the stomach, and assists digestion ; it is good
against sicknesses, and will prevent the colic : but
when bad tea is drank, and a great deal of it,
nothing is more pernicious. Bohea tea is more
336
FAMILY HERBAL.
astringent, and it is restorative and strengthening;
this should be drank with cream, but with only a
moderate quantity of sugar.
TEAZLE. Dipsacus sylvestris
A TALL and stately plant, common by road
sides, with large bur-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 base, and make a hollow there which
will hold 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 root is long
The root is used; it is bitter, and given in infu-
sion, strengthens the stomach and creates an appetite.
It is 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 being good to
take away freckles
There is another kind of teazle, called the ma.
nured teazle. The heads are used in dressing of
cloth; the virtues are the same, and they differ very
little in their general form.
BLESSED THISTLE. Carduus benedictus.
A PLANT once in great esteem, and at present
not altogether neglected. It is a native of the
warmer countries, and is raised with us in gardens.
It is two feet high; the stalk is reddish, slender,
and weak; very much branched, and scarce able
to keep upright under the weight of leaves and
heads. The leaves are long, narrow, cat in on
both sides, and of an obscure green. The flow-
FAMILY HERBAL.
337.
ers are yellow; they stand in a kind of green leafy
heads: the little leaves composing these heads
are prickly; and each of the cups of the flowers
ends in a long brown spine, dented on both sides.
It is bitter and stomachic. An 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 suppossed to possess very great
virtues against fevers of all kinds : but that is
now disregarded.
Milk THISTLE.
Carduus maria
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 beautiful deep green, varie-
gated all over with irregular lines of a milk white,
dentated deeply at the edges, 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
high, round, thick, very firm, upright, and divided
at the top into a few branches. The leaves on it
are like those from the root, and variegated with
white in the same manner. At the tops stand the
flowers, which are of the nature of those of other
thistles, but twice as big, and vastly more beau-
tiful. The flowery part is of a deep and fine pur-
ple; the head itself is composed of beautiful scales
arranged with great regularity, and each termi,
x x
338
FAMILY HERBAL.
nating in a single and very strong prickle ; the root
is long and thick ; the seeds are winged with down.
The root and seeds are used. An infusion of
the fresh root removes obstructions, and works by
urine ; it is good against the jaundice. The seeds
beaten up into an emulsion with harley-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
other greens in taste.
THORN APPLE.Stramonium.
A VERY beautiful plant, native of warmer
climates, but frequent in our gardens; we some-
times meet with it, as it is called, wild ; but it is no
native of our country. Seeds have been scattered
from gardens.
It is three feet high; the stalk is round, thick,
and divided into many branches. The leaves are
very large, oblong, broad, and of a bright green ;
divided at the edges, and of a pretty appearance,
but a very ill smell. The flowers are very large,
and white; they are hollow, and long ; open, and
angulated at the brim. The fruit is as big as a
large walnut, and is covered with prickles; the
root is very long and thick, white, and of an ill
smell.
The leaves are used externally ; the country
people lay them upon burns and inflammations ; but
this is not always safe. The root and seeds are
of a sleepy quality; but they are not thought safe
to be given inwardly. Opium is a less dangerous
medicine, so they are not used.
FAMLIY HERBAL.
339
Goat's THORN. Tragacantha.
A LITTLE white looking prickly shrub, native
of the East, but kept in our gardens. It is not
above two or three feet high, very spreading and
full of branches. The stem is of a tough and very
firmi substance, covered with a whitish rough bark,
the branches are as tough, and the bark is pale
but smoother. The leaves are long and narrow ;
they are each composed 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 length. The flowers are
white and small; they are of the shape of a pea
blossom, but flatter; the pods which follow are
short and flat.
No part of the shrub itself is used, but we have
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 pieces ;
it sweats out of the bottom of the trunk in the heat
of summer. It is good in coughs arising from a
sharp humour : and in sharpness of urine, and
sharp stools, but it is a disagreeable medicine ; it
is very difficultly powdered, and the solution is not
pleasant.
3 which Follow
THOROUGHWAX Perfoliata.
.
A VERY beautiful wild plant among our corn,
distinguished by the stalk growing through the
leaves. It is three feet high. The stalk is
round, firm, upright, whitish, and toward the top
divided into some branches. The leaves are broad
and oval; the stem runs through them toward the
840
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 of a bluish green colour, and
not dented at the edges. The flowers are little and
yellow, they stand in clusters, or a kind 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
given inwardly, to prevent the ill effects of internal
hurts.
ho
sisukame Thymus.
A COMMON plant in our kitchen gardens,
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 cach joint, and are of a dusky green; the flow-
ers are disposed in a kind of short spikes at the tops
of the stalks ; the whole plant has a strong smell,
and an aromatic taste.
A tea made of the fresh tops of thyme, is good
in asthmas, and stuffings of the lungs ; it is recom-
mended against nervous complaints ; but for this
purpose the wild thyme, called mother of thyme, is
preferable. There is an oil made from thyme that
cures the tooth-ach, a drop or two of it being put
upon lint and applied to the tooth : this is com-
monly called oil of origanum.
a
و
TOAD FLAX. Linaria.
A
COMMON wild
wild plant, with narrow bluish
leaves, and thick spikes of yellow flowers. It grows
FAMILY HERBAL.
341
on dry banks, and is a foot and half high. The stalk
is round and thick, firm, upright, and single. The
leaves stand irregularly ; they are oblong; narrow,
smooth, not dented at the edges, and pointed at
the ends: the flowers stand in a short and thick spike;
they are large, and many of them are generally open
together; they have a spur behind, and their forepart
is of two yellows, a darker in the middle, and a paler
on each side.
The tops are used fresh gathered, or the whole
herb dried. An infusion of them is excellent
against the jaundice, and all inward obstructions ;
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, till it be crisp ; the
Jard is then to be strained off, and is of a fine green
colour.
а.
TOBACCO. Nicotiana.
shid
A TALL and beautiful plant, 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. It has a clammy dampness about it,
by which it sticks to the hands in touching. The
leaves are very large, oblong, and pointed at the
ends. They are of a dusky green 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-vessel is oval, and the seeds are
small.
The leaves are good fresh or dried. A slight
infusion of them fresh gathered is a powerful
vomit; it is apt to work too roughly, but for con-
stitutions that will bear it, is a good medicine
against rheumatic pains. An ointment made of the
fresh ones with lard, is good against the inflam-
342
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 nothing
from reason : nor much for smoking. If these cus-
toms had any good tendency, it would be taken off by
the constant practice.
There is a lesser, greener kind of tobacco, called
English tobacco. It has the same virtues with the
other, but in a more remiss degree. The leaves are
often sold for those of the other.
.
otros
tro
TORMENTIL. Tormentilla. to
A VERY common wild plant, but very pretty,
and of great virtue. The stalks are eight inches
long, but they don't stand upright. They are very
slender, round, and of a brownish colour. The
leaves stand seven or thereabout together at a joint,
all rising from one base; they are narrow, longish,
pointed at the ends, and serrated at the edges, and
of a deep green. 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
crow-foot flowers, only more beautiful ; and much
less. The roots are large, thick, and crooked, brown
on the outside, and reddish within, and of an austere
taste.
The root is the part used, and it is best dried ; it
may be given in powder, or decoction. The pow-
der is excellent against the bleeding of the piles,
bloody stools, and the overflowings of the menses.
Two ounces of the root added to a quart of harts-
horn drink in the boiling, gives it a pretty colour,
and adds to its virtue ; the root is cordial as well as
astringent, and operates a little by sweat: this de:
FAMILY HERBAL.
343
5
coction is therefore very serviceable in fevers, attended
with purgings. It checks this moderately, and is
good against the fever at the same time.
TREE OF LIFE. Arbor vite
:
A SMALL tree of irregular growth, a native of
America, but common in our gardens. The
trunk is covered with a rough brown bark : the
branches are numerous, and irregular ; the young
twigs are flatted and the leaves of them are very
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 inconsiderable : they stand towards the
tops of the branches. The whole tree has a strong
and not agreeable smell, it brings into one's mind
old bad cheese.
The young shoots and tops of the branches, are
used fresh. An infusion of them is good against ob-
structions of the lungs, but it must be slight, and the
use continued.
GUM ANIME TREE. Anime arbor.
.
A LARGE and beautiful tree, native of America.
Its trunk is covered with a rough brown bark;
the leaves are large and oblong; they are not un-
like those of the common bay-tree in form, and
they always grow two at a joint, one opposite to
the other. They are very numerous, and the
;
branches of the tree spread a great way; they are
not all naked, but the head seems at a distance a
solid mass : the leaves are of a firm texture, but
when held up to the light, innumerable holes are
seen in them, as they are in the leaves of St. John's
wort. The flowers are shaped like pea blossoms ;
344
FAMILY HERBAL.
they are of a purple colour, and stand at the 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 ulcers, with
great advantage.
a
TREFOIL. Trifolium Purpureum.
A COMMON wild plant in our meadows. It is
eight inches high; the stalk is round, and not very
upright; the principal leaves rise immediately from
the root ; they stand three together upon long foot-
stalks, and are of an oval figure, but pointed ; of
a pale green colour, a little hairy, and have gene-
rally a white spot in the centre of each. The leaves
on the stalks, are of the same form, but little : the
flowers stand at the tops, in a kind of short, thick,
spikes; they are small and red, and are followed by
little flat pods.
The flowers are used; they are best fresh
gathered, and given in infusion. They are good
against the bleeding of the piles ; and while they
are balsamic and astringent in the bowels, they work
by urine.
TURMERIC. Curcuma.
A NATIVE of the East Indies, and a very sin.
gular plant. The leaves rise immediately from
FAMILY HERBAL
345
green colour.
a
the root, and are long, broad, pointed at the
ends, not dented at the edges, and of a very deep
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 ;
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 long;
the root is oblong, thick, and of an irregular
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. They are
good against the jaundice; they open all obstruc-
tions, and promote the menses, and work by
urine.
à
TURPRTH. Turpothum
A. PLANT of the bind-weed kind, native of the
East Indies. It grows to twelve feet in length, but
the stalk is slender and weak, and cannot support
itself upright. The leaves are oblong, broad, and
obtusely pointed. The flowers are white, and
large ; they very much resemble those of the com-
mon great bind-weed, and the seed-vessel is large
and full of little secds; the root is very long and
slender.
The bark of the root is sent us dry. It is
properly indeed the whole root, with the hard
woody part taken out of its centre.
It is kept
by our druggists; it is a brisk purge given in a
proper dose, but it is very rarely used at this
time.
346
FAMILY HERBAL.
TURNIP. Rapum.
و
A PLANT too common in our gardens to require
a curious description. The root is round and
white, or purplish. The leaves are large, long,
rough, and of a deep green; they are deeply
cut at the edges, and large and 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 a
syrup ; this is a very good medicine against a
cough
TURPENTINE TREE. Terebinthus.
A TALL tree in the East, where it is native ;
we have it in gardens, but it never arises to any
great height here. The bark is brown and rough :
the 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
shining green.
The powers are small and pur-
ple; they appear in form of clusters of threads
before the leaves ; the fruit is long, but with a kernel
of a resinous taste. The whole shrub has also a
resinous smell.
We use no part of the tree but the fine Chio tur.
pentine, the most esteemed of all those balsams, is
obtained from it ; in the island whence it has
its name. It is a pleasant and an excellent medi-
9
a
FAMILY HERBAL.
347
cine ; it works by urine, and is an universal balsam.
It is good 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;
but 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 browner, otherwise the same with the
Clrio.
TUTSAN. Androsæmum.
;
A VERY singular and beautiful plant, and of
great virtues. It grows in our woods, and under
hedges, but not very common: it is kept in many
gardens. It
grows two feet in height, The
stalks are firm and smooth, of a reddish colour
tolerably upright, and not at all branched, 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 shape approaching to oval. Their
colour is a brownish green; they are smooth and
not serrated at the edges. The flowers are not
very 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 is a kind of berry,
black when ripe, and containing a great quan-
city of small seeds. The whole plant in autumo
848
FAMILY HERBAL
frequently appears of a blood red colour, very singular
and beautiful. The root is small, reddish, and ir-
regular; it creeps under the surface.
The leaves are an excellent cure for fresh wounds.
Scarce any thing is equal to them. The young
and terder 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 a very
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 virtue, but the
effect of this is surprising.
Twy BLADE. Bifolium.
A VERY 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, and they
grow from the root. They are very large, broad,
of an oval figure, and stanů opposite to one another,
about the middle of the stalk or somewhat lower.
The flowers are small and green ; they are of
an uncommon figure, somewhat like that of the
orchis, and they stand in a long spike; the seeds
are very small, and the root is small, slender, and
white.
The fresh gathered plant is used ; an infusion of
it made strong, is good against the bleeding of the
piles, and the juice is recommended to be applied to
them externally.
V.
GARDEN VALERIAN. Valeriana hortensis.
A TALL and beautiful plant, native of the
'
FAMILY HERBAL.
349
mountainous parts of Italy, and common in our
gardens. It is three feet high. The 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 each
side, others are entire; all have a broad and round
end. Those on the stalks are smaller, and they
are all deeply divided. The flowers stand in large
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 moderately 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 druggists 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 a ainst disorders of the
nerves.
WILD VALERIAN. Valeriana sylvestris.
A TALL and handsome plant, frequent in our
woods and upon heaths, not unlike the garden
valerian in its form and manner of growth, and
of greater virtues. It is a yard high. The
stalks are round, striated, upright, hollow, and
of a pale green. The leaves are large end 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 large tufts
like umbels at the tops of the stalks, and are
small and white with a blush of reddish. The
root is of a whitish colour, and is composed of
350
FAMILY HERBAL.
a great many thick fibres. It is of a very strong and
disagreeable smell.
The root is used; it is best dried and given in
powder, or in 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 the limbs,
are well known.
VANILLA PLANT. Vanilla.
A CLIMBING plant, native of America. It
grows to thirty feet or more in length, but the
stalk is slender and weak, and climbs upon trees to
support it. It is round, striated, green, and tough.
The leaves are numerous and placed irregularly;
they are a foot long, considerably broad, and like
those of the common plantain, of a dusky green,
and have high ribs. The flowers are small in shape
like a pea blossom, but of a greenish white colour.
The pods are long and flatted, of a brown colour, of
a very fragrant smell, and full of exceedingly small
seeds.
This pod is the part used; it is a cordial and
restorative; it opens obstructions, and promotes the
menses; it operates by urine, and by sweat, but it is
not much used. Some put them into chocolate,
to give it a flavour, and to make it more cordial and
restorative ; this is done in the grinding up the nuts
to the cake, and we bựy it by the name of Vanilla
chocolate.
.
VERVAIN.
Verbena.
A COMMON wild plant, about our path-ways,
with slender spikes, and a few little flowers. It is
two feet high; the stalks are numerous, square, very
FAMILY HERBAL.
351
strong, a little hairy, and often purplish. The
leaves grow two at each joint ; they are oblong, nar-
row, notched at the edges, of a dusky green, and of
a wrinkled and rough surface. The flowers are white,
with a tinge of purplish: there is a long spike of
their buds, and of the remaining cups, but only two
or three flowers are open at a time.
The fresh gathered tops are used ; an infusion
of them is good against obstructions of the liver and
spleen: it is warm upon the stomach, and a
continued use of it will remove
plaints.
a
nervous
com-
VINE. Vitis.
A WEAK shrub, too familiar in our gardens to
need much description. The trunk is covered with
a rough bark; the branches are long, weak, and
straggling; the leaves are roundish in the whole
figure, but indented deeply into five or seven di-
visions, the lower are inconsiderable : the fruit
is round, or oblong, juicy, and produced in great
bunches.
We use no part of the common vine, as it
grows
with us ; but not to mention the several kinds of
wine that are useful on different occasions, the
dried fruit in the form of what we call raisins and
currants, is in constant repute. Raisins of the sun,
Malaga raisins, and currants all have the same virtue ;
they are good in coughs, and soreness of the lungs,
and in consumptions.
Vinegar is also a product of the grape : it is
wine become sour, and spirit of wine and brandy
of the very best kinds, are made from wine also by
distillation. The substance called tartar, of which
the cream of tartar is made, is only a salt of the
grape, which sticks to the wine gasks. So that we
952
FAMILY HERBAL.
owe to the grape, more medicines than to any one
simple whatsoever.
VIOLET. Vrota
A COMMON wild plant in our woods and hedges,
but of a fragrance superior to all that we re-
ceived from the rich East. It is a little, low,
creeping plant, obscure even when in flower ; the
stalks are round, green, and creeping; they do
not rise up, but spread themselves along the ground,
taking root at the joints; the leaves rise from
these rooted parts ; they are large and stand each
on a long foot stalk. They are of a heart-like
shape, and dented round the edges, and of a deep
green. The flowers are small and of a deep and
beautiful purple ; they stand singly on short foot
stalks arising among the leaves, and covered by
them.
The flowers are the part used; boiling water
is to be poured upon them just enough to cover
them, and it is to stand all night ; when it is
strained clear off, the sugar is to be added to it,
at the rate of two pounds to each pint, and it is to
be melted over the fire ; this makes syrup of
violets, an excellent gentle purge for children.
The leaves are dried also, and are used in the de-
coctions for clysters. An infusion of them works by
urine.
VIPER'S GRASS. Scorzonera
A TALL and handsome plant, native of the
warmer parts of Europe, but kept in our gardens,
It is three feet high; the stalk is round, thick,
upright, and firm; the leaves are numerous and
stand irregularly : they are long, narrow, of a
FAMILY HERBAL
353
pale green, sharp pointed, and not dentated at the
edges. Those from the root are long and narrow
also, but they are considerably larger. The flow-
ers grow at the top of the branches; they are
large like dandelion flowers in shape, and of a
most beautiful pale yellow ; the seed has a white
down annexed to it. The root is long, thick,
and brown.
The root is the part used, 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.
VIPER'S BUGLOSS. Echium.
A COMMON wild plant, about our path ways,
and on ditch-banks, known by its spotted stalks,
and fine blue flowers. It is a 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 niddle.
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.
VIRGINIAN SNAKEROOT PLANT. Serpentaria
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
22
354
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 stand irregularly
on them, and they are oblong, narrow, and auri-
culated at the bottom. The flowers are small,
hollow, and of a deep dusky purplish colour.
"The root is composed of a vast quantity of strings,
which are of a dusky olive colour, and of a
strong smell and aromatic taste. The roots of
this plant were the first that came into use, under
the name of Verginian snakeroot, but there are
upon the spot two other plants of the same kind,
though different species, which have thready roots
of the same form, and they are indifferentiy taken
up for use ; they all seem to bave the same vir-
tue, so that there is no barm in the mixture.
There is sometimes another root mixed among
them ; but that is easily distinguished, for it is
;
black, and these are all of the same dusky olive
colour. This last adulteration should be avoided.
The Virginian snakeroot is an 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
poison of the rattic snake, and was a remedy we
learnt from the Indians. It is good against worms
in children, and may be given in small doses for
a continuance of time. Scarce any thing is more
effectual.
VOMc Nor Teee. Nux vomica.
A TALL and spreading tree of the East, very
like that which affords the wood called snake.
woed in the shops, and by some supposed the
FAMLIY HERBAL.
355
same with it, but that is an error: the kernels of
the fruit of that tree, are indeed of the shape
of the vomic nuts, but they are not half so big.
The tree is large and spreading: the branches
are numerous, and the leaves are large : they stand
in pairs opposite to one another; and are oblong,
broadest in the middle, and rounded or blunt at
the end, and of a very bitter taste; the flowers
are small, and stand in clusters at certain parts
of the young branches: the fruit is of the big-
ness of an apple, and is yellow when ripe. The
kernels in this are what we call nux vomica;
there are fifteen of them in each fruit, and they
are lodged in three divisions.
These kernels are the only part used; our drug-
gists keep them ; they are round, flat, and of a
whitish colour, very firm, and tough. They
have been used as poison to dogs, cats, and other
animals ; but there are those who give them to
the human species, in small doses, without mischief,
and with very good effect. Quartan agues that
have stood it against the bark, have been cured
by them; but if the dose be too large, they
bring on convulsions, and there is reason to be-
lieve, that in very large ones they would kill.
At present we have choice of so many medicines
for every disorder, that it is almost unpardonable
to give such-as are suspicious. Some people
.
have ventured to give even ratsbane, as a medi-
cine, mixed with other things, and in the twenti-
eth part of a grain for a dose ; but reason con-
dems this rash way of practice, and doubly, as
there is no necessity to anthorize it.
Theo
356
FAMILY HERBAL.
W.
WALNUT TREE. Juglans,
A COMMON tree in our gardens; it grows
to a great bigness, and is very much branched.
The leaves are very large and long; each is com-
posed of a double row of smaller, and has an odd
one at the end. These are each of an oval figure
and yellowish green colour, and of a pleasant
smell. The flowers are little ; they are yellow-
ish, and arranged in loose catkins. The fruit is
covered with a green thick coat, and has with-
in a kernel divided into parts, and of an uneven
surface.
The bark of the walnut tree is a good emetic;
it may
be given in infusion, or dried and powder-
ed; it vomits easily and plentifully. The skin
that covers the kernel is good against fluxes.
WALL-FLOWER. Leucoium.
COMMON
A
wild plant, but, not without
beauty ; it is frequent on old walls and has yel-
low and sweet-scented flowers. The stalks are
woody, and a foot and half high; the leaves are
very numerous, longish, narrow, and of a dead
green. The flowers stand in a kind of spikes, at
the tops of the stalks, and are yellow and mode-
rately large. The seeds are contained in long
pods.
The flowers are used ; and an infusion of them
fresh is good against the head-ach, and in all nerv-
ous disorders. They are also good to steep in oil,
to which they give a cordial warmth, and make
it good against pains in the limbs. But they are
not either way much used at present
FAMILY HERBAL.
357
WATER ARROW Hrad. Sagitta aquatica.
A VERY pretty plant, common in our ditches,
with leaves like the bearded heads of arrows,
and with pretty white flowers. It is two feet
and a half high, but generally the greatest part
of the stalk is buried in water, very little appear-
ing above, except the spike of flowers. The
leaves stand each upon a pedicle, which is round,
thick, and very long; they are of a beautiful
green, and are broad, and bearded at the base,
and sharp at the point ; the flowers are white, to-
lerably large, and very bright; and the stalk, ,
on which they are supported, is also round and
thick.
The common people in many places have a cus-
tom of applying these leaves bruised to inflamma-
tions ; they cool and give ease, but it is not always
right.
WATER PLANTAIN. Plantago aquatica.
A VERY common tall plant in ditches, and
having not the least resemblance of any kind of
plantain, except in the leaves ; from which, how-
ever, it has received its name. The root is com-
posed of a great quantity of fibres. From this,
there rise in spring a number of leaves, oblong,
broad, smooth, and of a beautiful green colour,
and having in shape, though not at all in colour
or consistence, some slight resenıblance 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
got the name
The stalk is two feet or more
in height; round, firm, and upright ; and at
the top it sends out a vast number of branches,
358
FAMILY HERBAL.
which send out other smaller; and even these last
are again divided. On the tops of the last di-
visions stand the flowers with their burls, and
the seed-vessels ; so that the whole has the ap-
pearance of a cone. The flowers are little and
white, and consist of three leaves each ; they
stand but a little time, and only a few are seen to-
gether.
The seed is the part used : the plant is to be
suffered to stand, till this is thorougly ripe, and
then cut ap gently, and laid to dry two or three days
upon a table: a smart stroke or two, will dislodge
a great quantity of the seeds; they are very good
against the overflowing of the menses, and all other
bleedings ; and are given in powder, in electuaries,
small doses being to be taken at a time and often re-
peated.
a
RUE-LEAVED WHITLOW-GRASS. Paronychia rudiaco
folio.
A COMMON little plant, early in spring, op
our walls and houses, and of a very singular as-
pect; it is red, and has pretty white flowers.
It is not more than four inches high; the stalks
are round, upright, and a little hairy; and they
are covered with an unctuous clamminess, 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 clammy
in handling. The flowers stand at the tops of
the branches; they are little, but of a very bright
white, and look very conspicuous. The whole
plant dies away as soon as it has ripened the seed,
and is not to be seen again till the next spring.
FAMILY HERBAL
359
1
The fresh gathered plant is to be used entire :
a strong infusion of it is a very great sweetener
of the blood. It is excellent against the scurvy
in whatever form ; and there are accounts of its
curing the king's evil, that seem very well attested.
A syrup may be made of its juice, or of a very strong
infusion of it ; or a conserve of the leaves : for
the dried plant has very little virtue, - and it is
to be had fresh only a very small part of the
year.
WHITE WILLOW. Salix vulgaris alba.
A VERY common tree in wet places, and this
which is used in medicine is the most common of
all the several kinds of it. It is also the largest.
It grows to be a tall tree: the bark is whitish, and
rough upon the trunk, and grey upon the branches ;
the leaves are oblong, narrow, and whitish, es-
pecially on the under side : they stand irregularly
on the branches, and are a little serrated at the edges,
and pointed at the ends. The flowers are very in-
considerable, but they are arranged several together,
in what are called catkins or palms. The seeds are
small; they stand in the same catkins, mixed with
fine white down,
The bark of the branches is used, and it is best
dried ; it is good against purgings, and the overflow-
ings of the menses, and is most conveniently given
in powder, half a dram for a dose.
WINTER GREEN. Pyrola.
An extremely pretty plant, wild in some parts
of England, but not common. The stalk is
round, thick, upright, and ten inches high. The
leaves all grow from the root, for the stalk is naked
366
FAMILY HERBAL
a
they are broad, roundish, and of a deep green colour
they are of a fleshy substance, and stand each on
a separate foot-stalk of three or four inches long.
The flowers are small, and of a very bright white;
they stand in a kind of loose spike on the tops of the
stalks. The root is composed of a quantity of thick
whitish fibres.
The leaves are used. A decoction of them with
à piece of cinnamon, and a little red wine, is given
against the overflowings of the menses, bloody stools,
and all hæmorrhages, and against ulcers in the urinary
passages, and bloody urine.
WOAD. Glastum.
>
3
a
A PLANT cultivated in fields, in many paris of
England, for the use of the dyers, and common-
ly met with in places near those where it was
sown, as if a wild plant; but it is not properly a
native of our country. It is a tall, erect, and hand-
some plant ; the stalk is round, thick, firm, upright,
and four feet high ; but it is usually so covered
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 at the base, where
they grow to the stalk, without any foot-stalks ;
and narrower all the way to the point. They are
of a bluish 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 in
great numbers about the tops of the stalks, which
are divided into a multitude of small branches ;
and they are succeeded by small seed vessels. The
root is long and thick.
Although the dyers are the people who pay
most regard to woad, and for whose use it is cul-
tivated, it has virtues that demand for it a great
FAMILY HERBAL.
361
deal of respect in medicine. The top of the stalks,
before the flowers appear, contain the greatest vir-
tue, and they are best fresh. They are to be given in
infusion, and they are excellent against obstructions
of the liver and spleen ; they work by urine, and
so take effect; the use of this infusion must be
continued a considerable time : these are disorders
that come on slowly, and are to be slowly re-
moved.
WOODRUFFE. Asperula.
A COMMON little wild plant, in our woods
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 a star; they are oblong, broad, and of a
deep green. In their 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 little clusters ; they are small and white;
the seeds stand two together in a globular form. The
roots are little and fibrous.
The 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 stomachic. It is
good in the jaundice.
a
WORMSEED PLANT. Absinthium santonicum.
A KIND of wormwood, native of the East,
and not known so much as in our gardens. The
plant is two feet high. The leaves are very finely
3 A
362
FAMILY HERBAL.
a
a
а.
divided, like those of the true Roman worm-
wood, and of a pale green on the upper side, and
a silvery white below. The stalks are stiff, firm,
woody, and branched ; they are of a whitish colour,
and have a loose downy skin upon them : the flowers
are small and brownish; they resemble those of
wormwood, and stand in a kind of loose spikes at the
tops of the stalks.
The seeds are used : our druggists keep them
and very often the unripe-buds of the flowers in
their place, are mixed with them. They are good
against worms in children ; the good women give
them mixed with treacle : and few medicines
for this purpose have better effect. For people of
nicer palates, they may be powdered, and made into
boluses.
TREACLE WORMSEED. 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, and
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
little and yellow; they stand in small clusters at
the tops of the branches, and under them is a kind
of spike of pods; these are long and slender,
green at first, but of a kind of browo colour when
ripe; and in each is a great number of seeds;
FAMILY HERBAL
363
these are round, small, and of an extremely hit-
ter taste, much more bitter than the common
,
wormseed.
This seed is the part used. The good women
bruise it, and mixing it with treacle, give it to
the children of robust constitutions against worms,
It operates powerfully by stool, and, if given in
too large a quantity, hy vomit. It is therefore
to be 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 ; es-
pecially 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 WORMWOOD. Absynthium vulgare.
root.
A wild plant frequent by way sides, and on
ditch-banks. It is a yard high. The stalks are
round, striated, white, firm, and branched. The
leaves are large, 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
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 disagreeable to the taste,
but will disgust the stomach.
The tops with the flowers on them dried, and
364
FAMILY HERBAL.
powdered, are good against agues, and have the
same virtue with wormseed in killing worms ; indeed
they are much better than the wormseed that is
commonly to be met with, which is generally too
much decayed. The juice of the large leaves of
wormwood, which grow from the root before the
stalk appears, is good against the dropsy and jaun-
dice, for it opens obstructions, and works by urine
powerfully.
SEA WORMWOOD. Absynthium 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
aigh. 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 aromatic
smell.
The tops fresh gathered, and the whole plant
dry, are used. They call it Roman wormwood
at the markets and in the shops; and it is used
for the other : it has the same general virtues.
All the three kinds indeed possess them in com-
mon; but the common wormwood is the most dis-
agreeable to the taste, and sits worst upon the
stomach : this is better than that, but it is much
more disagreeable than the true Roman worm-
wood. It is very strengthening to the stomach ;
it assists digestion, and prevents wind. It is con-
monly an ingredient in the bitter infusions, and
3
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 excellent me-
dicine to cause an appetite. Put into white wine, it
also gives a pleasant bitter flavour, with the same
virtues.
ROMAN WORMWOOD. Absynthium 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 brownish 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. The 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 all like that of wormwood, extremely aromatic and
pleasing. The flowers are very bitter, and have
little of this aromatic flavour.
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
366
FAMILY HERBAL.
Y.
YARROW. Millefolium.
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 parts
into which they are divided are exceedingly 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 have a blush of red. The root is white
and creeping, and the seeds are white, broad, and
fiat.
The whole 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 sweetened with
fine sugar; it is excellent against the bleedings
of the piles, and bloody fluxes, and the overflowing
of the menses. It is also healing and good in
ulcerations of the ureters: and it operates gently by
urine.
Z.
ZEDOARY PLANT. Zedoaria.
AN Eastern plant, very singular, and very
beautiful. The root creeps under the surface,
and has many tuberous lumps, some long, and
some round; but the long are preferred. The
round 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 clusters, 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, and
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 nervous complaints, such as lowness of
"
spirits, faintings, tremblings of the limbs, and
restlessness. An ounce of zedoary, sliced thin,
and put into a quart of wine, makes an excellent
tincture for these purposes, and is very good
taken in the quantity of a small glass, on going
into a damp, or what is suspected to be a tainted
air.
ZERUMBETH PLANT. Zerumbetha.
THE "zerumbeth plant in some respects re-
sembles that which affords the zedoary, but it
is larger. It is a native of the East, and has
not yet been 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 of a bluish green. The flowers stand
upon separate stalks; these rise about a foot
high, and are of a brownish colour : they have
only a sort of films upon them in the place of
leaves. The flowers. stand in a short and thick
spike, at the tops of these, they are oblong,
368
FAMILY HERBAL.
hollow, moderately large, and of a beautiful scarlet
The root is long and irregular.
The root is used ; our druggists keep it: it is
warm and good in all nervous cases.
Its virtues are
very nearly the same with those of zedoary; and 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.
a
APPENDIX.
Concerning the virtues of plants which have not yet
been tried.
S the intent of this work is truly to be of use to
A
mankind, the author who is desirous of making
that utility as extensive as possible, cannot close it
without observing, that, notwithstanding 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.
The plants mentioned in this work are only four
or five hundred, and not all these of English
growth; if they were, they would yet be but a
very small number in proportion to the whole.
The catalogue of those native of our own country,
as published by Mr. Ray, amounting to many
thousands ; great numbers therefore remain yet
untried.
To what purpose can a man devote the hours
of his leisure better, than to the discovering among
the number to the unregarded, virtues which may
farther supply the catalogue of our own remedies,
and make the roots and seeds brought from re-
mote countries less necessary? What encourage-
ment to the attempt, that there are such mul-
titude of objects for the trial ! and that the dis-
covering but one remedy among them all, for
3 B
370
APPENDIX.
a disease we knew not how so well to cure before,
is a source of more true honour, than can be de-
rived from all the useless knowledge in the
world.
If any suppose the trial dangerous, they mis-
lead themselves ; and to encourage so laudible an
undertaking, I shall observe how little is the
hazard, and how considerable the advantages,
from what we know already.
If a man 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 virtues of all would keep
him backward : but this is not at all the case with
him, who shall at this time set about inquiring
into the virtues of plants in England. The
poisonous plants, native of our soil, are hardly a
dozen and these are charactered even to the eye,
by something singular or dismal in the aspect.
They are well known ; and he has nothing to do
but to avoid them. For 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 taste will go
a great way toward informing him ; but this is
not all, their very outward figures will direct him :
for in general those plants which agree in the
external aspect, agree likewise in their virtues.
To give an instance in the marshmallow. It is
known to work by urine, and to be good against
the gravel. We will suppose no more known
concerning this kind. A person desirous of ex-
tending this useful knowledge, finds that by the
taste of the root, which is insipid, and its mu-
APPENDIX
371
cilaginons quality, he might have guessed this to
be its virtue, from what he before knew of medi-
cine. The next plant he meets, we will suppose
is the common mallow, and afterwards the little
white flowered mallow, which lies upon the
ground; he tastes the root of these, and he finds
they are like the other; he will therefore guess,
that they have the same virtues and upon trial,
he will find it is so.
But this is not all : if he had examined the
flower 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
have found, that the seeds of these two kinds
were in the same manner disposed in circular bo-
dies : from this he might, without tasting their
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
might be carried farther ; he would find the same
sort of round clusters of seeds in the hollyoak
in his garden ; and upon examining the single
flowers, he would see they were also alike : and
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 in this book, have been found to have
virtues which others neglected; for there are
many named in the preceding pages, and named
with great praise, of which others have made
little account: these are the means by which the
first guesses have been made about their virtues ;
and experiments have always confirmed them. .
372
APPENDIX
It has not always happened that the virtues of a
plant thus tried, have been in a degree worth
setting in a liglit 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.
These experiments, I have always thought ho-
nesty required me to make upon myself, and I
never found harm from the trials. I had no right
to bring into the least possible danger, the health
of others; as to my own there was no probability
of harm ; but if it had happened, the intent would
have sanctified the accident, and I should have
been contented.
There is this great use in examining other plants
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 other
countries. It is certain the sun in warmer climates
does ripen the juices 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 possess nearly the same kind of virtues ; gene-
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,
mallow, and hollyoak of England; and the case
is the same with those which are truly mallows
of the East and West Indies ; though this does
not hold good with respect to some of the
plants of those countries which have been brought
hither under that name.
Thus also, that root which was at one time
about to be brought very much into use, under
the name of the Senegal rattle-snake root, but
APPENDIX.
373
of which little mention has been made here, be-
cause the attention has not been turned upon novel-
ty, but use, being found to belong to a 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 re-
garded, if the other had not been found to be of
the same kind; but to that we owe the knowledge of
its virtues.
There is a 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
make men's constitutions more able to bear their
effects.
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-
sent 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
he found to agree better with our constitutions.
I 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
cases, and convenient in many, for us to have drugs
from abroad, yet in general it will be better for us
to be cured by those herbs we may find at home;
374
APPENDIX
tues.
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 imagined. Almost all
the plants of the same kinds are of the same vir-
But that is not all : for in general, those
of the same class possess the same qualities ; though
different in degree: and this is a prodigious help
to him, who shall set out upon the generous and
useful plan of adding to the number of the useful
plants. It is also singular, that what might appear
objections in this case, being brought to the trial,
will often be found confirmations of the truth there is
in the observation.
Thus suppose a man, observing that lettuce is
eatable, should inquire into all the plants like
lettuce, which are those that have flowers com-
posed of many parts, and have the seeds winged
with a white downy matter, to find whether they
were eatable ; let us examine how he would suc-
ceed. The plants of this class native of England,
are the sowthistle, the hawkweeds, the dandelions,
goats-beards, succory, and endive, all eatables.
The hawkweeds are less agreeable in the taste,
but wholesome ; and as to the wild lettuces, those
who would bring the opiate quality of the prin-
cipal of them as an objection, strengthen the oh-
servation ; for the garden lettnce also has an opi-
ate quality. This wild one possesses it in a great-
er degree, but still in such degree, that it is an
excellent medicine, not at all dangerous.
bitter taste would prevent people's eating it, for
;
Its
APPENDIX.
375
a
it is disagreeable ; but its virtues are the same
with those of lettuce, only greater. There are
some kinds of hawkweed also, which have a bitter
milky juice, altogether like that of this lettuce ;
and they, also, have this opiate quality. I have
tried many of them, but as they are none of them,
equal to the great wild lettuce in this respect, it
would have been idle to have spent many words
about them.
This general observation may be carried a great
deal farther ; but it were the business of a vclume,
not of a short appendix, to explain it at large. In
general, the seeds of umbelliferous plants, that is,
those which have little flowers in rounded clusters,
each succeeded by two seeds, are good against
colics ; those of caraway, anise, cummin, corian-
der, and all of that kind, are produced by plants
of this figure. In the 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 nåture ; and however
they differ in degree and circumstance, they have
the same general virtues. Farther, such plants
as are insipid to the taste and smell, have generally
little virtues; and, on the contrary, those which
have the most fragrant smell, and sharpest taste, have
the greatest virtues, of whatever kind.
In general also, those plants which have a strong
but an agreeable taste, are most worthy to be
examined with respect to their virtues ; for they
are generally the most valuable; and on the con-
trary, when a very strong taste is also a very dis-
agreeable 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 in the herh, rather than any useful quality.
The poisonous plants of this country are very few;
876
APPENDIX.
but they are for the most part characterized after this
manner : so that they are known as it were at sight,
or by the first offer of a trial,
Thus we see how very little can be the danger of
inquiring farther into the virtues of our own plants,
by experiments; and how useful such an inquiry
may be to mankind is sufficiently proved by the matter
of the preceding volume.
What I have written, is with intent to encourage
some who have opportunities to make the trial; and
for my own part, I shall not be wanting. What I
have already discovered in this way, I am pleased to
see makes no inconsiderable addition to the present
publication ; what I shall discover farther, or learn
from the experience of others, shall have its place in
the succeeding editions.
FINIS.
Bungay: Printed by Brightly and Co.
PILI
2010
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