mention of glass, since the Orphic remains, in which it is noticed, are
now generally supposed of a later date. In his comedy of “Acharnenses,”
an ambassador from the court of Persia is made to say that he had drunk
undiluted wine out of vessels of glass and gold. (Acharn. l. 74.) In his
“Nubes” he mentions burning mirrors of glass. It is also mentioned in
the Timæus of Plato. Pliny gives an interesting account of the invention
of glass. (H. N. xxxvi, 65.) Glass appears to have been in common use
about his time and afterwards, for we find Dioscorides directing to keep
certain medicines in vessels of glass; and Actuarius recommends to have
_pots-de-chambre_ made of glass in order to facilitate the observations
upon the urine. From a passage in Pliny it would appear that imitations
of the precious stones were commonly made in glass in his time with foil
or the like placed under it. (H. N. xxvii.) On the glass cups of the
ancients, see Strabo (xvi); Athen. (xviii, 28, ed. Schw.); and Salmasius.
(Ad Solin. 769.) From the following passage in the works of Lactantius it
appears that glass was used by the ancients in windows: “Manifestius est,
mentem esse, quæ per oculos ea quæ sunt opposita transpiciat quasi per
fenestras perlucente vitro aut speculari lapide obductas.” (De Opificio
Dei, 8.) We need scarcely say that glass has been found in the ruins of
Pompeii of late much more plenteous than was expected from the ideas
which were formerly entertained of its scarcity in ancient times. The
hyalus _or_ vitrum, however, was a term applied to crystal as well as to
glass. By the medical authors, we suppose, it is generally applied to the
former; for Avicenna says quaintly of vitrum, that it is _among stones_
what a fool is among men, that is to say, it is easily made to assume any
colour, and is easily broken into pieces. This article does not occur in
the Mat. Med. of Dioscorides. Galen prescribes it medicinally on various
occasions: thus like our author, he says of burnt crystal or glass, that
it is lithontriptic (De Renum Affect.), and recommends the same for
drying ulcers (De Comp. Med. sec. gen. iv), and also calls it a good
diuretic (De Simpl. v.) Our author borrows his paragraph on this subject
from Aëtius. (ii, 31.) It is never prescribed medicinally by any more of
the Greek or Roman authorities. It is regularly treated of, however, by
the Arabians in their systems of the Mat. Med. See Avicenna (ii, 2, 720);
Serapion (De Simpl. 382); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 748); Ebn Baithar (i,
723); Haly Abbas (Pract. ii, 47.) (?) Of these Serapion is the authority
that treats most fully of this article. He quotes Galen as saying of
it, that it is hot in the fourth degree. He says there are two kinds,
the sandy and the stony; that when vitrum is set fire to, and a magnet
is mixed up with it, it becomes coagulated owing to its ductility. He
says of it that it has various colours, as white, like crystal, which
is the colour of the best kind, red, yellow, green, and azure. He then
says, like Avicenna, that glass is among stones what a fool is among
men, and so forth. He adds that crystal is a species of glass (vitrum)
which is found in a mineral state. As to its medicinal properties, he
says it is hot in the first degree, and dry in the second; that it
removes furfures of the head, and is applied to the head and beard as a
depilatory. When pounded and drunk with wine, it is lithontriptic. One of
his Arabian authorities, Aben Mesuai, says glass is good for the lungs
and for baldness. Avicenna further recommends it as a dentifrice, and as
an application to remove albugo of the eye, in which case, he adds, the
burnt is most efficacious. There is nothing of any interest further on
what is written of it by Rhases, Haly Abbas, and Ebn Baithar (l. c.) We
may mention in conclusion that although glass has long been excluded from
the practice of the regular physician, we have often heard of powdered
glass having been used by empirics, and certainly in some cases with
good effect, to remove opacities of the cornea. See also Gray (Suppl. to
Pharmacop. 260.)
Ὕδνα,
Tuber Terræ, _Truffle_, is composed of a very terrene substance, with a
slight degree of attenuating power.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. We have treated of _Truffles_ in the 77th section of Book I.
It is the _Tuber Cibarium_ L.
Ὑδράργυρος,
Hydrargyrum, _Mercury_, is scarcely used for medical purposes, being
deleterious. But some having burnt it, so as to reduce it to ashes, and
mixed it with other articles, have given it to drink in cases of colic
and ileus.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. We have given some account of the ancient opinions on this
subject in Book V. From the statement of our author it will be perceived
that the Greek physicians made little use of this important article in
the practice of medicine. Rhases, Avicenna, Haly Abbas, and Serapion
recommend it as an application for scabies, lice, and malignant ulcers.
Avicenna says the vapour of it induces paralysis, tremblings, spasms, and
contractions of the limbs. He adds that the vapour of it is destructive
of sight, and brings on fetor of the breath (ii, 2, 46.) Serapion gives
exactly the same account of it. (De Simpl. 385.) See also Rhases (Cont.
l. ult. i, 75); Haly Abbas (Pract. ii, 48, 501); Ebn Baithar (i, 553.)
Galen admits that he had no experience of it as proving destructive,
either internally or externally. (De Simpl. ix.) It is remarked by Dutens
that Dioscorides’s description of the method of preparing mercury from
cinnabar is the first account of the process of _distillation_ which we
possess. (v, 70.) Pliny copies the same. (H. N. xxxiii, 8.)
Ὑδροπέπερι,
Hydropiper, _Water-pepper_, is a hot herb, but not so much so as pepper.
When applied green along with its fruit it discusses hypopia and
scirrhous tumours.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is the _Polygonum Hydropiper_, known by the vulgar name
of _Arse-smart_. The other authorities recommend it as a stimulant
application to discuss tumours and suggillations. See in particular
Dioscorides (ii, 190), and Galen (De Simpl. viii.) The Arabians treat of
it succinctly in much the same terms. See Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 551);
Avicenna (ii, 2, 551.)
Ὕδωρ,
Aqua, _Water_; the best, and that which is unmixed with other matters,
is cooling and diluent by its own proper substance. Having got acquired
heat, as long as it preserves this it heats, but when it becomes cold, it
cools. That which has a certain admixture, such as of natron or bitumen,
acquires the property of the substance which is mixed with it. Rain water
has some astringency, for which it is mixed with ophthalmic remedies. The
qualities of the best water have been enumerated in Book I.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is fully treated of by us in Book I. See in particular
Pliny (H. N. xxxi, 21); Avicenna (ii, 2, 58); and Rhases (Contin. l. ult.
i, 706.)
Ὑοσκύαμος,
Hyoscyamus, _Henbane_; that species which has black seed, and that which
has yellow, are deleterious. The fittest for medicine is that species,
the seed and flower of which are white, being of the third order of
refrigerants.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Dioscorides describes with considerable precision three
species of hyoscyamus, deriving their specific differences from the
colour of the seed, the first being black, the second yellow, and
the third white. The first two he rejects as being highly dangerous,
by inducing delirium and sleep. The first of these we are inclined
to think must be _Hyoscyamus niger_, a well-known plant, which was
most probably naturalized in this country by the Romans for medicinal
purposes. The second was probably a variety of it, or _H. aureus_; and
the third the _H. albus_. He gives minute directions for preparing the
juice of it, which he recommends as an ingredient in anodyne collyria,
for hot and acrid rheums, earache, and complaints about the uterus;
and with flour for inflammations of the eyes, feet, &c. Its seed, he
says, is applicable for coughs, catarrhs, defluxions, and pains of the
eyes; for menorrhagia, and other hemorrhages, when taken in a draught
with poppy-seed and hydromel. He recommends it as forming an anodyne
cataplasm, for gout, swelling of the testicles, or swelled mammæ after
parturition. He speaks highly of the leaves in all these cases, and for
every kind of pain. Three or four leaves, he says, cure the remittent
fever called hepialus. He states that the leaves, if taken internally,
and as had been said, when applied as a clyster, induce mental
alienation. He concludes with stating that the root with vinegar forms
a gargle in toothache. (iv, 69.) The hyoscyamus of Hippocrates was no
doubt the _albus_. See Sprengel and Dierbach. The leaves, the root, the
seed, and the juice of the henbane are all used by Celsus in the practice
of medicine. He gives a formula for a pill consisting of mandragora,
parsley-seed, and seed of henbane, which he says is soporific (v, 25.)
Pliny describes confusedly four or five species or varieties of henbane.
He says not much in favour of any of them as medicines. (H. N. xxxv,
17.) See also Scribonius Largus (c. 181), and Apuleius (c. 4.) Galen
and Aëtius treat of it in nearly the same terms as our author. For the
Arabians, see Avicenna (ii, 2, 348); Serapion (c. 340); Rhases (Cont.
l. ult. i, 377, ii, 380); Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42); Haly Abbas (Pract.
ii.) Of these Avicenna is the fullest on this head, and yet he borrows
almost everything from Dioscorides. Of the three species which they
all describe, he represents the white as being the only one fit to be
used as a medicine. Serapion copies closely from Dioscorides and Galen.
The ancient characters of the several species of henbane are given to
them by Platearius, and by our old herbalists Parkinson and Gerard. It
is singular that the black henbane has supplanted the white, which was
in common use 200 years ago. See Franciscus de le Boe (xx, 34.) It it
also worthy of remark, that about 100 years ago the henbane had wholly
disappeared from the Dispensatory. Thus Quincy does not treat of it at
all, and Lewis represents it as a medicine which had been deservedly
expelled from practice. In Greece at the present day the white species
is much more common than the black. Both have a place in the Greek
Pharmacopœia, published at Athens in 1837 (p. 81.)
Ὑπέρικον,
Hypericum, _St. John’s Wort_, consists of two species, the first of
which, called Androsæmum or Ascyron, has been treated of. The other is
heating and desiccative, consisting of a subtile substance. Hence the
whole fruit of it is diuretic and emmenagogue. When applied green along
with its leaves it cicatrizes wounds. It cures sores when sprinkled dry
upon them. It is also given to drink in ischiatic complaints.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. There is some difficulty in determining the species. Sibthorp
decides in favour of the _Hypericum crispum_. The other authorities,
namely, Dioscorides, Galen, and Aëtius, give it the same characters as
our author. Celsus recommends it in calculus. (v, 21.) The Arabians in
like manner commend it as being emmenagogue and diuretic. See Rhases
(Cont. l. ult. i, 371); Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42); Avicenna (ii, 2, 354);
Serapion (c. 267.) Rhases says it is called “herba sancti Joannis,” and
hence the modern term St. John’s wort.
Ὑπήκοον,
Hypecoon, is cooling in the third degree, being nearly like poppy.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. The _Hypecoum procumbens_ would seem to answer very well with
the characters of it given by Dioscorides and the other authorities. It
is a genus closely allied to the poppies. The other writers on the Mat.
Med. treat of it in the same brief terms as our author. See Dioscorides
(iv, 68); Ebn Baithar (i, 63.)
Ὑπόγλωσσον,
Hypoglosson, is a shrub; the root and juice of it are possessed of
emollient powers.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is the _Ruscus Hypoglossum_. It appears to have been
little used. We are not sure that it is mentioned at all by the Arabians,
except Ebn Baithar, who copies literally from Dioscorides and Galen (i,
98); and the Greeks all treat of it briefly like our author. Dioscorides
mentions its being used as an amulet in headache; and that its root and
juice formed ingredients in softening plasters. (iv, 130.) It is not even
yet wholly unknown to the shops. See Gray (Suppl. to Pharmacop. 24.)
Ὑποκιστὶς,
Hypocistis, is the juice of certain substances like pomegranate-flowers,
growing under the roots of the cistus, otherwise called cistharus, being
an active remedy for all cases of defluxions by drying and strengthening
the parts.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. _The Undergrowth of the Cistus._ The term is applied both to
the parasitic plant, which grows on the roots of the _Cistus Ladanifera_,
and also, as is evident from the words of our author, to the inspissated
juice of the same. The plant is the _Cytinus Hypocistis_. Dioscorides
describes it accurately, and also the process for preparing the juice
of it. He says it is possessed of the same medicinal powers as acacia;
but is still more astringent and desiccant, being efficacious in cæliac
affections, dysenteries, hæmoptysis, and the female flux, both when taken
by the mouth, and in clysters. (i, 127.) Galen Aëtius, and the other
Greek authorities state its properties in general terms, like our author.
It occurs in one of the Hippocratic treatises (De Nat. Mulieb.), and is
set down by Celsus as an ingredient of several of his antidotes, but more
especially of that most famous one ascribed to Mithridates. (v, 23.)
The Arabians assign it exactly the same characters as the Greeks. See
Avicenna (ii, 2, 111); Serapion (c. 115); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. ii, 754,
i, 108, ii, 119); Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42.) All concur in giving it the
character of being an astringent and tonic medicine, both internally and
externally. As late as the time of Quincy, the hypocistis continued to
occupy a place in our Dispensatory, and it was retained as an ingredient
in the Theriac of Andromachus _or_ Venice Treacle (as it was latterly
called), as long as that once-celebrated composition held a place in
the Pharmacopœia. See Moses Charras (R. Phar. 114.) It still retains in
the shops the same character for astringency as it received from the
ancients. See Gray (Suppl. to Pharmacop. 38.)
Ὑπόφαιστον,
Hypophæstum, is a species of thorn used by the fullers, like the
hippophaes. The juice of the head, leaves, and roots of it when dried,
and taken to the extent of three oboli with honeyed water, evacuates
water and phlegm. It agrees principally with orthopnœa, epilepsy, and
affections of the nerves.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is the ἱππόφαιστον of Dioscorides and Pliny. They
recommend it in epilepsy. Like the whole tribe of carduinæ it is
difficult to define. Sprengel determines it to be the _Cirsium
stellatum_, Allion. Our author copies its characters from Dioscorides.
(iv, 160.) Few of the other ancient authorities have noticed it and it
has been completely lost sight of in modern pharmacy.
Ὕσσωπον,
Hyssopum, _Hyssop_, is calefacient and desiccative in the third degree.
It also consists of subtile particles.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Into the much controverted question regarding the hyssopus
of the ancients, it is not our present purpose to enter, and we shall
content ourselves in a great measure with giving a brief exposition
of its characters and medicinal virtues as delivered by the Greek,
Roman, and Arabian authorities. It occurs repeatedly in the Hippocratic
treatises, as, for example, at ‘De Diæta’ (ii, 26), where it is said of
it that it is hot and purges pituitous matters. Celsus mentions it in
various passages; thus he calls it bad for the stomach (p. 83), says
it is diuretic (p. 86, 172), rouses the senses (86), is hepatic (86),
and useful in coughs (160, ed. Milligan.) The following is an abstract
of Dioscorides’s important chapter on the Hyssop. It is a well-known
herb, of two kinds, for one is the mountain, and the other the garden;
the best is the Cilician. It has an attenuant and heating power; when
boiled with figs and water and drunk along with honey and rue, it is
useful in pneumonia, asthma, chronic cough, catarrh, and orthopnœa; it is
anthelminthic, in a linctus with honey; its decoction brings off thick
humours from the bowels when drunk with oxymel; it is eaten along with
green figs pounded for moving the bowels; but it purges more strongly
when cress, iris, or hedge-mustard is mixed with it; it improves the
colour of the skin; it is applied as a cataplasm with figs and natron for
affections of the spleen and dropsy, and with wine for inflammations;
it discusses suggillations when applied with boiling water; it is a
most excellent gargle in cases of quinsy with the decoction of figs; it
soothes the pains of toothache when the mouth is rinsed with a decoction
of it, and it dissolves flatus about the ears in the form of steam.
(iii, 27.) Pliny recommends it in angina, asthma, as an application to
sores, and, in a word, he gives it the same characters as Dioscorides
does. (H. N. xxvi, 11, et alibi.) Our author and Aëtius copy word for
word from Galen. Galen, however, in other of his works prescribes it for
various complaints, as a medicine which purges the head and nose (De
Cathars.), is useful in the decline of inflammation of the liver (Meth.
Med. xiii), for discussing tumours (De Arte Cur. ad Glauc. ii), and for
other purposes (Meth. Med. viii.) The Arabians treat of it very fully.
See Serapion (c. 270); Avicenna (ii, 2, 256); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i,
758); Mesue (De Simpl. 16); Ebn Baithar (i, 545); Averrhoes (Collig. v,
42.) Avicenna evidently derives his characters of it from Dioscorides; he
recommends it as a phlegmagogue, vermifuge, a remedy for asthma, chronic
coughs, &c. One of Serapion’s Arabian authorities, Isaac ebn Amram, calls
it a herb growing in the mountains, having branches in length a cubit
or less, and leaves like marjoram. Another of them recommends it in
hardness and frigidity of the womb, kidneys, bladder, and liver, and as a
purgative which evacuates crude humours. He also copies from Dioscorides
and Galen. Rhases and Ebn Baithar follow nearly or altogether the same
authorities as Serapion. Averrhoes states its characters in general
terms. Mesue, upon the whole, is the most interesting and original of
the Arabian authorities on the hyssop. He says there are two kinds, the
garden and the mountain; that the former rises above the ground about
half a cubit, and that its leaves are larger than those of thyme, and
its flower is purple; the latter has much smaller leaves, and its stem
is not so round. He states its medicinal virtues with much precision,
recommending it as a phlegmagogue, in asthma, and other affections of the
chest, and in nearly all the cases mentioned by Dioscorides; and also, he
adds, from personal experience, in epilepsy. Two questions now come to
be solved: 1st, Is the hyssop of Mesue the same as that of Dioscorides?
We answer this question, with little hesitation, by saying, we think it
is; Mesue merely defines his plant better, but the agreement of these
authors as to its medicinal virtues convinces us that both treated of the
same plant. 2d, Was the hyssop of the ancients, then, the same as our
_Hyssopus officinalis_? With much deference to the many eminent scholars
who deny this, we hesitatingly answer this question in the affirmative,
for the two following reasons: first, the medicinal characters of the
ancient hyssop, as given by Dioscorides, Mesue, and the other Greek and
Arabian authorities, agree with those of the _Hyssopus officinalis_, as
given by modern writers on the Materia Medica. See Platearius (de Simpl.
Med.); Tournefort (Mat. Med. 223); Boerhaave (Mat. Med. 148); Alston
(Mat. Med. ii, 152); Hill (Mat. Med. 364); Culpeper (Compl. Herbal.
95); Ainslie (Mat. Ind. i, 177); Rutty (Mat. Med. 145); Gray (Suppl. to
Pharmacop. 47.) But, secondly, it is incumbent upon those who deny the
identity of the ancient and modern hyssop to show when and how the _H.
officinalis_ came to be substituted for a plant, the characters of which
it now bears. But, further, no competent judge, we believe, will dispute
that the hyssop must have been brought to Britain, and naturalized here
by the Romans. Is it likely, then, that they would have brought a plant
not described by their learned men at home, and not the one which had
the character of being possessed of so many virtues? If, as Sprengel and
others have maintained, the _Origanum Ægyptiacum_ be the true hyssopus of
the ancients, why was not _it_ introduced into this country and not the
_Hyssopus officinalis_? Since then the _H. officinalis_ is what our Roman
conquerors brought us for their hyssop, we may be pretty confident that
it truly is the ancient plant, the name of which it bears.
Φακόι,
Lentes, Lentils, (?) are desiccants of the second order, being
intermediate as to cooling and heating qualities. They have also some
astringency. They therefore dry the body and bind the belly; but the
decoction loosens it. The first water, therefore, is thrown away when
it is taken to restrain the bowels. The _Lens palustris_, _Duck-meat_,
moistens and refrigerates in the second order.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. See Book I, 79. It is, undoubtedly, the _Cicer Lens_. The
Lens palustris is the _Lemna minor_, Angl. Duck-meat. Our author borrows
from Dioscorides, who treats of the virtues of the lentil more fully than
it would seem to deserve. It is simply a vegetable astringent. (ii, 129.)
The other authorities treat of both in the same terms as our author. See
in particular Avicenna (ii, 2, 711); Serapion (c. 9.)
Φαλαρὶς,
Phalaris; the juice, leaves, and seed, when drunk, relieve pains of the
bladder. They are also remarkable for some tenuity of parts, and are of a
heating nature.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Sibthorp refers it to the _Phalaris Canariensis_. Our author
borrows its medicinal character from Dioscorides (iii, 149), and the same
is repeated by Galen and all the authorities who treat of it. None of the
Arabians, as far as we can discover, have noticed it, except Ebn Baithar,
who, in describing it, merely gives extracts from Dioscorides and Galen.
It would appear, that in the shops of the apothecaries, it still is kept,
and is reputed to be useful in pains of the bladder. See Gray (Suppl. to
Pharmacop. 18.)
Φαλαγγίτις,
Phalangitis, _Spiderwort_, is so named because it is a remedy for the
bites of the venomous spiders called phalangia. It also consists of
subtile parts, and hence is supposed to prove a remedy in cases of
tormina.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. According to Sibthorp, it is the _Anthericum Græcum_. Our
author, like Galen and the other authorities that treat of it, copies
almost word for word from Dioscorides. (iii, 112.) Ebn Baithar, in
describing it, merely gives extracts from Dioscorides and Galen. It does
not appear to be noticed by the Arabians. It has been scarcely known in
modern practice, and yet the _Anthericum Liliastrum_ is still kept in the
shops and retains the name of spiderwort, with the reputation of being
useful against the bites of scorpions. See Gray (Suppl. to Pharmacop. 22.)
Φελλὸς.
Suber, _Cork_, and particularly that from wine-vessels, when burnt has
very desiccative ashes. This is mixed up especially with dysenteric
remedies.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Theophrastus gives an accurate description of the _Quercus
Suber_. (H. P. iii, 16.) Cork, as Pliny states, is formed from its bark.
He recommends its ashes or charcoal in hemorrhages. (H. N. xxiv, 8.) Q.
Serenus recommends it in the same cases. (c. 22.) Dioscorides does not
describe this article. Galen also omits it in his list of simples, but
briefly notices it in a preliminary book (v), and recommends the burnt
cork of a wine-cask as an astringent. (De Comp. med. sec. loc. v.) We
have not been able to trace it in the works of the Arabians.
Φιλλυρέα,
Phillyrea, _Mock Privet_; the leaves of the tree are astringent like
those of the wild olive. They relieve ulcers in the mouth when chewed,
and when the mouth is rinsed with a decoction of them. When drunk they
prove diuretic and emmenagogue.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Stackhouse and Sprengel agree that it is the _Phillyrea
latifolia_ L. Our author copies its medicinal characters literally from
Dioscorides. (i, 125.) None of the other Greek authorities on the Mat.
Med. have described it. Neither can we find traces of it in the works of
any of the Arabians, except Ebn Baithar, who gives nothing of any moment
under this head but a translation of the chapter of Dioscorides referred
to above. It certainly is not the _Mahaleb_ of the Arabians, as we shall
show in the Appendix.
Φλόμος,
Verbascum, _Petty Mullein_; there are many species, among which is that
called Thryalis. The leaves of all the kinds are possessed of desiccative
and moderately detergent powers, and especially that with the golden
flower. Being sour they suit with all sorts of fluxes. Some also rinse
the teeth with them.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It cannot be doubted that the genus is referable to the
_Verbascum_, but the species cannot be well determined. See Sibthorp
(Flora Græca), and Sprengel (ad Dioscor. iv, 102.) The white female
Phlomos would appear to be the _Verbascum Thapsus_, and the black
is indisputably the _Verbascum nigrum_. The _Phlomis Lychnitis_ of
Dioscorides is probably the _V. Lychnitis_. The other species cannot
be determined with any degree of certainty. Our author abridges the
medicinal characters given to them by Dioscorides. (l. c.) Galen also,
as well as Aëtius and Oribasius, borrow freely from Dioscorides. The
mullein occurs in the Hippocratic treatises (Morb. Mulier.), but we do
not find it in the works of Celsus. Pliny describes the verbascum in
nearly the same terms as Dioscorides. (H. N. xxv, 74.) See also Apuleius
(De Herbis, 71.) The Arabians follow Dioscorides in delivering its
medicinal properties. See Avicenna (ii, 2, 98); Ebn Baithar (i, 184.) The
verbascum held a place in the Dispensatory as late as the time of Lewis.
(ii, 417.) The _V. Thapsus_, _nigrum_, and _Lychnitis_, although now
rejected from our Dispensatory, are still retained in the shops. See Gray
(Suppl. to Pharmacop. 91.) It is said that the juice of their leaves,
which is acrid and bitterish, is used to poison mice and fish. Lindley
(Veg. King. 683.) In the modern Greek Pharmacopœia, both the _Verbascum
Thapsus_ and _thapsiforme_ stand for the female phlomos. (166.)
Φοῖνιξ,
(Called by some Rhus), is a herb like the _Darnel_. It has astringent
powers, and when drunk with austere wine stops all fluxes.
Palma, _the Palm-tree_, has a fruit which, when ripe, is moderately hot,
stomachic, and tonic, when taken internally or applied externally. The
rest of the palm-tree is sufficiently astringent, and hence is mixed up
as an ingredient with stomach and liver remedies. But the most astringent
part is the involucrum or cover, as it were, of the fruit while growing.
* * * * *