of numeral expression of sums of money, and is different from the common
libra which consisted only of 84 denarii, or 96 drachms, for _as_, _æs_,
_pondo_, and _mina_, amongst ancient authors generally pass for the same.
_Pondo_ is an indeclinable word, and when it is joined with numbers it
signifies _libra_; but when it is joined to other weights, it stands for
the same thing as σταθμῆ, or ὅλκη in the Greek, signifying the same with
pondus, or weight in general.
_Of Roman Weights._ The Romans used the libra, which they divided into 12
unciæ, or ounces, and the later Greeks, in imitation of them, had their
_litra_, which they divided after the same manner.
They divided their ounce into 3 _duellæ_, and likewise into 6 _sextulæ_
(sextula among the Greeks was called ἑξάγιον, and corruptly, στάιγιον).
Another division of their ounce was into 4 _sicilici_. They likewise
divided their ounce into 7 _denarii_. Then they divided it into 8
_drachms_. The 12th part of an ounce they called _dimidia sextula_. It
was likewise divided into 24 _scrupula_, or rather _scriptula_, called by
the Greeks, γράμματα.
The denarius was divided into 2 _victoriati_, not only as a piece of
money but as a weight. The denarius was also divided into 6 _sextantes_,
in imitation of the 6 oboli of a drachm; according to which division a
_sextans_ would contain, in English Troy weight, about 6⅓ grains. Celsus
mentions the quadrans denarii and the triens denarii.
The value of the Roman pound is determined, as in the tables, from the
value of the denarius, viz. 5245⁵⁄₇ Troy grains; according to the common
reckoning it is 5256; this small difference proceeds from assuming the
avoirdupois ounce to the Troy ounce precisely as 51 to 56.
_Greek Weights._ The _talent_ was the greatest weight as well as the
greatest sum of money among the Greeks. And this ponderal talent was
divided, as the nummary talent, into 60 _minæ_, and every mina into 100
_drachmæ_.
A _drachma_ was ⅛ of the ounce and ¹⁄₁₀₀ part of a mina. The Greeks used
the expression τρίτον ἡμιδράχμον to signify 2½ drachms. The old division
of drachma was into 6 _oboli_.
An _obolus_ contained 6 χαλκὸι, or, as the Latins call them, _æreoli_.
An ἡμιώβολον, or _semiobolus_, contains 1 siliqua and a half, and 4
_æreoli_, according to Cleopatra, but 3 only according to Diodorus (Ap.
Suidam.)
Χαλκὸς, or æreolus contained the 6th part of an obolus, and 7 λεπτὰ,
according to Suidas.
The Λεπτὸν was the 7th part of an æreolus, and was called by the Latins
_minuta_, and sometimes _minutia_, and is not divided into any lesser
weight.
The Greeks used the ὀυγγία, and divided it as the Romans did. They used
the κεράτιον, in Latin, _siliqua_, which was the ¹⁄₁₈ of a drachma.
The medical weights were the _mina_, of 16 Roman ounces, as appears
from Dioscorides and Galen, and Cleopatra (in Cosmeticis) who tells you
that mina, as a weight, contains 16 ounces, 128 drachms, 384 scriptula,
768 oboli, 1052 lupini, 2304 siliquæ, 6144 æreoli. But when Celsus and
Scribonius Largus make use of a denarius of about 62²²⁄₄₉ grains, the
drachma being supposed equal to that; 100 such drachmæ must have made a
mina of 6222²²⁄₄₉ grains, whereas, a mina of 16 ounces is about 7000 Troy
grains, or our avoirdupois pound.
The physicians likewise made use of the _litra_ of 96 drachms. The
ὀυγγία, or uncia, being divided as usually. The κεράτιον, or _siliqua_,
as mentioned before, was likewise a common weight among the physicians;
and the σιτάριον, or grain, ¼ of the siliqua.
The Romans dividing their ounce into 7 _denarii_, and likewise into 8
_drachms_; the Greeks of later ages dividing likewise their ounce into
8 drachms, and the Roman denarius being supposed equal to the Greek
drachma, have occasioned great confusion in the expressions of authors
about the weights of both nations. It is evident there was an Attic mina
of 16 Roman ounces, namely, the more ancient one, and another of 12½
ounces. By ounces is here meant Roman ounces, which is our avoirdupois
ounce. So that the most ancient _mina Attica_ was exactly our avoirdupois
pound. Cleopatra speaks of the two different minæ, the first of 16 and
the other of 12½ ounces. Dioscorides mentions only that of 16 ounces; and
though it is mentioned by the physicians, it is not what they prescribed
by, but perhaps like our avoirdupois weight, what their gross drugs were
at first bought and sold by.
_Of Arabian Weights._ The Arabian weights used by their physicians,
Serapion, Rhases, and Avicenna, are a mixture of the Greek and Roman
weights, and derived from them. Their _manes_ is a corruption of the
Hebrew _maneh_, or the Greek _mina_: there were two of them, one of 20
ounces, and another of 16.
_The ancient Arabian weights reduced to Troy weights._
Lb. Oz. Dwts. Grs.
Kestuf 0 0 0 1²⁹⁄₅₆
+-----+
| 2 | Kirat 0 0 0 3¹⁄₂₈
+-----+-----+
| 4 | 2 | Danich 0 0 0 6¹⁄₁₄
+-----+-----+-----+
| 6 | 3 | 1½| Onolossat 0 0 0 9³⁄₂₈
+-----+-----+-----+----+
| 12 | 6 | 3 | 2 | Garme 0 0 0 18³⁄₁₄
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+
| 36 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | Darchimi 0 0 2 6⁹⁄₁₄
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+
| 41⅐|20⁴⁄₇|10²⁄₇|6⁶⁄₇|3³⁄₇| 1⅐| Denarius 0 0 2 14²²⁄₄₉
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+----+
| 144 | 72 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 3½| Sextarium 0 0 9 2⁴⁄₇
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+----+--+
| 288 | 144 | 72 | 48 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 2| Sacros 0 0 18 5⅐
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+----+--+--+
|3456 |1728 | 864 |576 |288 | 96| 84 |24|12| Ratel 0 10 18 13⁵⁄₇
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+----+--+--+---+
| | | | | | | | | | |Manes
|4608 |2304 |1152 |768 |384 |128|112 |36|16| 1⅓|Alicatica 1 2 11 10²⁄₇
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+----+--+--+---+-------------------------
_Greek Measures of Capacity._ In reducing the Greek solid measures to
the English, I shall make use of the χοῦς, which made in weight 720
drachms, according to all authors; suppose of rain-water, the ancients
making no difference betwixt the weight of that and of wine. Taking the
heaviest Attic drachm, which is the 100th part of the old Attic mina,
or our avoirdupois pound, and neglecting the small difference in the
tables, I shall state it at 70 grains Troy. According to this drachm, the
weight of the Attic χοῦς must be 50,400 grains. There are in a solid foot
1728 solid inches, weighing 76 pounds of rain water: by this experiment
760 grains make 3 solid inches; therefore, 50,400 make 198·94737 solid
inches, the number of the solid inches in the χοῦς; which is 6 pints,
25,698 solid inches, somewhat less than the Roman congius, though the
Greek χοῦς and Roman congius are used indifferently as the same measure
by ancient authors; as likewise are the 6th part of them, the ξέστης
and sextarius, and the 12th the κοτύλη and the hemina. There is great
probability that the Greeks measured the capacity of their vessels by
the weight of oil, the product of their country. For the physicians,
speaking of these measures, always mention their weight in oil; and
Galen, speaking of the cotyla, saith that Heras understood the cotyla
to be of 60 drachms reducing the weight to oil. I find likewise that it
is a general supposition among the ancients that the weight of oil was
to that of wine, as 9 to 10; so 72 pounds of oil is made equal in bulk
to 80 pounds of wine, 9 pounds of oil to 10 of wine, and so everywhere.
According to our experiments, the weight of oil is to that of wine or
fresh-water, as 476 to 527, which is very near, as 9 to 9·96. So small
a difference may be accounted for by the oil weighing less in a warm
country than in ours.
The largest Greek measure for things liquid was the Attic μετρητής, which
contained 12 _choes_. It is also called ἀμφορεὺς, κάδος, κεράμιον.
The χοῦς, or χοεὺς contained 12 cotylæ. It is also called λάγυνος, or
λάγυνον, λάγηνον, or lagena. The Greek physicians sometimes use χοῦς for
the Roman _congius_, the difference being but small. The Grecians in
later times borrow the ξέστης from the Roman sextarius. It was the 6th
part of the χοῦς.
The Attic κοτύλη was one half of the ξέστης. It is also called τρύβλιον.
The ὀξύβαφον was a measure answering to the Roman _acetabulum_. Pliny
saith it was the 4th part of the hemina. (H. N. xv, c. ult.) Hesychius
saith it was called ἄις, ἄλις, βάφιον, and γάβενον.
Κύαθος was the 12th part of the ξέστης.
Κόγχη was so called from a shell. There were a greater and a less. The
greater was equal to the _oxybaphum_, and the lesser to one half of the
_cyathus_.
Μύστρον, or μύστλον, so called from μῦς. Of this measure there were two
kinds, the greater of which was the 16th part of the cotyla, and the
lesser the 4th part of the cyathus. The mystrum is called βάρβος by
Hesychius.
Χήμη was so named from a shell-fish. There was a greater or _rustic
cheme_, the 20th part of the cotyla; but the lesser, which the physicians
used, was the 30th part of the cotyla.
The κοχλιάριον, in Latin, cochlear, was the smallest measure for liquids:
it is equal to one half of the cheme. See the Table.
_Greek Measures of things Dry._ Μέδιμνος, or μέδιμνον, was a measure
for dry things, such as wheat, barley, flour, &c., and contained 48
_chœnices_.
Χοῖνιξ is a dry measure containing 3 cotylæ, and so was 1½ of the ξέστης:
κοτύλη, ὀξύβαφον, κύαθος, and κοχλιάριον were also used as measures for
things dry. Their capacity and proportion to one another is the same as
when they are measures for liquids, which have been shown already.
_The Roman Measures of Capacity._ The _amphora_, which contained 8
congii, was the cube of a pes, or foot. The congius itself, the cube
of ½ foot. The pes being settled, as equal to 11·604 inches, its cube
1562·5112, gives the contents of the amphora in solid inches; and divided
by 8, gives 195·3139 inches for that of the congius.
The greatest measure among the Romans of liquid things, was the _culeus_,
or _culleus_, containing 20 amphoræ. A culeus also contains 40 _urns_,
the urn being half the amphora.
The _amphora_ is otherwise called quadrantal, ceramium, cadus, and
μετρητὴς Ιταλικὸς. The _urna_ is the 40th part of the culeus, and the
half of the amphora.
The _congius_ was the 8th part of the amphora, and the 4th of the urna:
it contained 6 sextarii. The congius in English measure contains 207·0676
solid inches, that is, 7 pints 4·942 solid inches.
The _sextarius urbicus_ was the 6th part of the congius. This sextarius
is divided into two _heminæ_, or _cotylæ_. It is also divided into four
quartarii which are the half of a hemina. A sextarius is also divided
into 8 acetabula. The parts of the sextarius were like those of the as,
uncia, sextans, quadrans, triens, quincunx, semis, septunx, bes, dodrans,
dextans, deunx, by which words a certain number of cyathi is meant, a
cyathus being the 12th part of the sextarius. The _sextarius castrensis_
was double of the urbicus.
_Hemina_, the half of the sextarius, contains 2 quartarii, 4 acetabula, 6
cyathi, 24 ligulæ.
_Quartarius_, as we have said, was the fourth part of the sextarius.
The _acetabulum_ was the half of the quartarius.
_Cyathus_ was the 12th part of the sextarius.
The _ligula_, or _lingua_, contained one 48th of the sextarius.
_Cochlear_, _cochleare_, and _cochlearium_, often denote a spoon, and
sometimes a measure equal to the ligula.
There was also among the Romans a _libra mensuralis_, which the Greeks
called λίτρα μετρικὴ, and distinguished from the λίτρα σταθμικὴ, or libra
ponderalis. This consisted of 12 ounces, and was divided as the _as_. It
was made commonly of horn, and divided by 12 lines, marking the ounces.
This _libra mensuralis_ weighed 10 ounces of oil, and of wine, 11 oz.
2 scr., 1 obolus, and 1 siliqua, according to the ponderal libra. The
ancients all along supposed the weight of oil to be, to that of wine, as
9 to 10. This proportion of the specific gravity of these two liquors
holds in this computation; for 11 oz., 2 scr. 1 ob. 1 sil., make 1600
siliquæ; and 10 ounces make 1440 siliquæ; and dividing both by 160, makes
it as 9 to 10. According to this weight of wine assigned by Galen, the
_libra mensuralis_ contained 19·085 solid inches, somewhat less than ¾ of
our pint, wine measure. But the Roman measures varying, in all appearance
this originally was designed to contain 12 ponderal ounces of water,
according to which weight it would be equal to 20·612 solid inches, the
difference between the two being only 1·527 solid inches.
_Roman Measures of Capacity for things dry._ The _modius_ was the
third part of the _amphora_, or _quadrantal_, which was one half of
the _medimnus_. The _semimodius_ contained 8 sextarii. _Sextarius_ and
_hemina_ are also measures of dry things, as so also _quartarius_,
_acetabulum_, _cyathus_ and _concha_.
_Table of the Roman Measures of capacity for things Dry._
English Corn Measure.
Pecks. Gals. Pints. Sol. Inch.
Ligula 0 0 ¹⁄₄₈ 0·01
+---+
| 4| Cyathus 0 0 ¹⁄₁₂ 0·04
+---+----+
| 6| 1½| Acetabulum 0 0 ⅛ 0·06
+---+----+---+
| 24| 6 | 4| Hemina 0 0 ½ 0·24
+---+----+---+--+
| 48| 12 | 8| 2| Sextarius 0 0 1 0·48
+---+----+---+--+--+
|384| 96 | 64|16| 8| Semimodius 0 1 0 3·84
+---+----+---+--+--+--+
|768|192 |128|32|16| 2| Modius 1 0 0 7·68
+---+----+---+--+--+--+---------------------------------------
_Of the Arabian Measures._ The knowledge of the Arabian measures is
necessary for those who read the Arabian physicians, such as Avicenna,
Rhases, Serapion, Mesue, and Haly Abbas.
_Dorach_, equal to the Roman amphora.
_Aldorach_, equal to 2 xestæ.
_Johem_, equal to the congius of the Romans.
_Kist_, equal to a Roman sextarius.
_Korboni_, equal to the hemina.
_Kiliathi_, equal to one half of the cotyla.
_Kestuf_, equal to the acetabulum.
_Cuathum_, equal to the cyathus.
_Falgerin_, equal to the cochleare parvum.
_Briala_, a measure of uncertain capacity.
_Mustarum_, the greater equal to ⅓ hemina, the lesser equal to ½ cyathus.
A corruption of the Greek μύστρον.
_Decimal Tables._
Roman Measures for things Dry.
Hemina 0·5074 pint.
Sextarius 1·0148 pints.
Modius 1·0141 pecks.
Attic Measures for things Dry.
Ξέστης 0·9903 pint.
Χοῖνιξ 1·486 pints.
Μέδιμνος 1·0906 bushels.
Roman Measures for things Liquid.
Hemina 0·59759 pint.
Sextarius 1·19518 pints.
Congius 7·1712 pints.
Urna 3·5857 gallons.
Amphora 7·1712 gallons.
Culeus 2·27 hogsheads.
Attic Measures for things Liquid.
Κοτύλη 0·5742 pint.
Ξέστης 1·1483 pints.
Χοῦς 6·8900 pints.
Μετρητής 10·335 gallons.
A Table of the more usual Characters of Weights and Measures used by the
Greek and Roman Authors. From Paucton, ‘Métralogie,’ p. 95.
_NOTES pondérales des Romains._
[Illustration]
_NOTES pondérales des Grecs._
[Illustration]
_NOTES mensurales des Romains._
[Illustration]
_NOTES mensurales des Grecs._
[Illustration]
_The end of the Commentary on PAULUS ÆGINETA._
GENERAL INDEX.
Abrong, an article in the Arabian Materia Medica, vol. iii, p. 471.
Abrotanum, see Southernwood.
Abscess, on the nature and general treatment of, ii, 54-9;
surgical treatment of, 305-8;
of the womb, and treatment thereof, 385-6.
Absinthium, varieties of, and their uses in medicine, iii, 63, 64.
Acacia, its medicinal properties, iii, 26.
Acallis, its properties in medicine, iii, 26.
Acanthium, its medicinal properties, iii, 28.
Acanthus, its medicinal properties, iii, 27.
Acarus, its medicinal properties, iii, 29.
Acetabulum, one of the ancient measures. See Measures.
Achates, or Agate, its medicinal powers, iii, 221, 223.
Achores, an eruptive disease of the scalp, i, 346, 348.
Acinus, account of, and its properties as a medicine, iii, 28.
Aconite, symptoms and treatment of poisoning by, ii, 220;
its uses in medicine, iii, 29.
Acopa, or Restorative Ointments, on the composition of, iii, 581-9.
Acorns, sometimes used as articles of food by the ancients, i, 137.
Acrochordones, description and general treatment of, ii, 48;
surgical treatment of, 276.
Actual cautery, application of, to the head, ii, 248, 250.
Adarce, probably a species of zoophyte, iii, 22;
its uses in medicine, ibid.
Adhesion of the eyelids, surgical treatment of, ii, 273, 274.
Ægilops, symptoms and nature of the disease, with general treatment,
i, 413, 427;
surgical treatment of, ii, 285-8;
an article in the Mat. Med., iii, 24.
Ærugo, or Verdigris, nature of, and its uses in medicine, iii, 142.
Æs, or Copper, see Copper.
Æthiopis, its properties as a medicine, iii, 25.
Affusion of cold water, its use in tetanus, i, 404, 406, 407.
Agallochum, its properties as a medicine, iii, 18.
Agaric, its uses in medicine, iii, 19.
Ageratum, its uses in medicine, iii, 20.
Agglutinants, list of used in the treatment of ulcers, ii, 101 et seq.
Agrostis, or Grass, its properties as a medicine, iii, 20.
Airs, on the different kinds of, i, 161.
Alauda, or Lark, its uses in medicine, iii, 190.
Albaras, a term used by the Arabians for Lepra, ii, 21.
Alchemy, the ancient writers on medicine make no allusions to, iii,
17;
Firmicus the earliest writer on, ibid.
Alcæa, or Vervain-mallow, its medicinal uses, iii, 33.
Alcyonia, on the varieties of, and their medicinal properties, iii,
33, 34.
Ale, see Zythus.
Alica, a preparation from spelt, nearly the same as chondrus, i, 123.
Alkalies, their use in pneumonia, i, 481;
general properties in medicine, iii, 185. See further Lixivial.
Almonds, description of their dietetical properties, i, 136;
their uses in medicine, iii, 41.
Alabastrites, account of, and its uses in medicine, iii, 226.
Aloe, varieties of, and their medicinal properties, iii, 34.
Alopecia, see under Hair.
Alphos, description of, ii, 16, &c., 33-5;
the Lepra alphoides of modern nosologists, 23.
Alsine, or Chickweed, its medicinal properties, iii, 35.
Alsander, see under Smyrnium.
Althæa, or Marshmallow, its medicinal properties, iii, 32.
Alum, different kinds of, known to the ancients, and their uses, iii,
360, 361.
Alvine discharges, their characters in fevers, i, 222.
Alypon, its medicinal properties, iii, 35.
Alysson, or Madwort, its medicinal properties, iii, 36.
Amaracus, or Marjoram, its uses in medicine, iii, 36.
Amaranth, its medicinal properties, iii, 37.
Amaurosis, symptoms and treatment of, i, 421, 434.
Amber, see under Electrum, Ambergris, and Karabe.
Ambergris, its medicinal properties as given by the Arabians, iii,
426;
unknown to the Greeks and Romans, ibid.
Ambrosia, account of its medicinal properties, iii, 27.
Amenorrhœa, treatment of, i, 609-14.
Amethyst, account of the gem, and its medicinal properties, iii, 224.
Amiantus, its uses in medicine, iii, 228.
Aminæan Wine, used in the treatment of lientery, i, 521.
Ammi, or Bishop’s Weed, its medicinal properties, iii, 38.
Ammoniac, description of the different kinds of, and their uses, iii,
38, 39.
Amomum, discussion on the ancient, and its medicinal properties, iii,
42;
amomum grana paradisi, known to Ebn Baithar, 436.
Ampeloprasum, its uses in medicine, iii, 40.
Amphisbæna, treatment of persons stung by, ii, 180, 181.
Amphora, see under Weights.
Amputation of the extremities, ii, 409-414.
Amulets, their use in quartans, i, 248;
in epilepsy, 378, 381;
in gout, 670.
Amurca, or Lees of Oil, its medicinal properties, iii, 39.
Amygdalæ, see Almonds.
Amylum, or Starch, its medicinal uses, iii, 41.
Anabrochismus, description of the operation, ii, 270.
Anacardium, treatment of poisoning by, ii, 242;
its uses in medicine, iii, 450.
Anagallis, or Pimpernel, its uses in medicine, iii, 43.
Anagyrus, its medicinal uses, iii, 43.
Anchusæ, or Alkanets, their varieties and medicinal properties, iii,
21.
Anethum, or Dill, its medicinal properties, iii, 46.
Aneurism, surgical treatment of, ii, 312-6.
Angina, see Quinsy.
Angiology, description of the operation, ii, 254-6.
Animals, parts of, used as articles of food, i, 149.
Anisum, or Anise, its uses in medicine, iii, 46.
Ankle, on dislocations at, ii, 506-8.
Anonis, Ononis, or Rest-harrow, its uses in medicine, iii, 47.
Antirrinon, or Snapdragon, its medicinal uses, iii, 47.
Anthrax, or Carbuncle, treatment of the disease, ii, 78, 79;
the gem, its uses in medicine, iii, 221, 224.
Anthyllis, its medicinal powers, iii, 46.
Antiades, or Indurated Tonsils, treatment of, ii, 299.
Antimony, account of its medicinal uses, iii, 356.
Anus, on Imperforate, and the treatment thereof, ii, 405;
on fistulæ of, and their treatment, 399;
general diseases of, i, 600, 605.
Aphace, or Wild Vetch, its medicinal uses, iii, 62.
Aphronitrum, account of it, and its powers in medicine, iii, 62.
Apochyma, or Old Pitch, its medicinal uses, iii, 48.
Apocynum, its deleterious effects, ii, 242. See also Brassica canina.
Apolinose, application of it to fistulæ and hemorrhoids, ii, 401, 403.
Apoplexy, symptoms and treatment of, i, 392.
Appetite, loss of, in fevers, and treatment thereof, i, 311.
Apples, their characters as articles of food, i, 134;
their uses in medicine, iii, 250.
Apricot, its characters as an article of food, i, 133.
Arabs, eulogium on the ancient, by Beckmann, iii, 479.
Arabian Stone, account of, and its powers in medicine, iii, 225.
Arbute, its characters in medicine, iii, 184.
Arcion, or Burdock, its medicinal powers, iii, 51.
Arctium, its medicinal powers, iii, 51.
Ardent Fevers, symptoms and treatment of, i, 260 et seq.
Arena, or Sand, its uses in medicine, iii, 38.
Argemone, or Prickly Poppy, its medicinal powers, iii, 49.
Arisarum, or Friar’s Cowl, its uses in medicine, iii, 49.
Aristolochia, or Birthwort, varieties of, and their medicinal powers,
iii, 50.
Armeniacum, or Armenium, account of, and its uses, iii, 52.
Arm, on fractures of, and their treatment, ii, 456-64.
Armpits, of fetid smells in the, i, 506.
Arnabo, difficulty of determining what it was, iii, 52.
Arsenic, treatment of poisoning by, ii, 235, 236;
kinds known to the ancients, 236; iii, 54;
its uses in medicine, iii, 53, 54. See also Sandarach.
Artamita, its virtues in medicine, iii, 457.
Artemisia, or Mugwort, its medicinal powers, iii, 52.
Arteriacs, on the nature and composition of, i, 473.
Arteriotomy, description of the operation, ii, 253.
Arthritis, symptoms and treatment of, i, 657 et seq.
Artichoke, not described by any of the ancients but Columella, i, 114.
Artologani, a species of bread, i, 122.
Arum, a plant resembling the dragon-herb, i, 114.
Arum, or Wakerobin, its medicinal powers, iii, 53.
Asarabacca, its properties as a medicine, iii, 55.
Asclepias, or Swallow-wort, its medicinal powers, iii, 56.
Ascyrron, a species of hypericum, its medicinal uses, iii, 57.
Ash, its virtues as a medicine, iii, 247.
Ashes, nature of the ancient, and their medicinal powers, iii, 372.
Asian Stone, its medicinal powers, iii, 221, 224.
Asp, treatment of persons stung by, ii, 187, &c.;
a variety of the common viper, 189.
Aspalathus, its medicinal powers, iii, 57. See Rosewood.
Asparagi, the young shoots of plants, i, 116;
uses of asparagus in medicine, iii, 58.
Asphaltos, or Bitumen, its medicinal powers, iii, 60.
Asphodel, or Kingspear, its uses in medicine, iii, 61.
Asplenium, or Spleenwort, its medicinal powers, iii, 58.
Ass, flesh of the wild, sometimes used as an article of food, i, 149.
Aster Atticus, account of, and its virtues in medicine, iii, 59.
Asthma, symptoms and treatment of, i, 475, &c.
Astragalus, or Wild Liquorice, its virtues in medicine, iii, 60.
Astragalus, on dislocations of the bone, ii, 507, 508.
Atheroma, description and general treatment of, ii, 94, 95;
surgical treatment of, 311, 312.
Atractylis, or Distaff-thistle, its uses in medicine, iii, 61.
Atramentum sutorium, sometimes used as a poison, ii, 242;
account of, and its uses in medicine, iii, 402.
Atriplex, or Orache, its medicinal powers, iii, 61.
Autopyrus, a coarse kind of bread, i, 122.
Azederach, introduced into the practice of medicine by the Arabs,
iii, 449.
Baccharis, or Ploughman’s Spikenard, its uses in medicine, iii, 66.
Baldness, treatment of, see under Hair.
Balaustium, or Flower of Pomegranate, its uses in medicine, iii, 66.
Balote, or Base Horehouud, its medicinal uses, iii, 67.
Balsamum, or Balsam-tree, its uses in medicine, iii, 67.
Bamboo-cane, sugar procured from, i, 319. See Sugar.
Barb, the fish, described by Ausonius, i, 161.
Barley, its character as an article of food, i, 123;
its medicinal uses, iii, 195.
Basil, as an article of food, i, 115;
its virtues in medicine, iii, 423.