"Turkeys, Carp, Hops, Pickerel, and Beer,
Came into England all in one year."
So writes old Izaak Walton! Before Hops were used for improving
and preserving beer our Saxon ancestors drank a beverage made
from malt, but clarified in a measure with Ground Ivy which is
hence named Ale-hoof. This was a thick liquor about which it was
said:--
"Nil spissius est dum bibitur; nil clarius dum mingitur,
Unde constat multas faeces in ventre relinqui."
The Picts made beer from heather, but the secret of its manufacture
was lost when they became exterminated, since it had never been
divulged to strangers. Kenneth offered to spare the life of a father,
whose son had been just slain, if he would reveal the method; but,
though pardoned, he refused persistently. The inhabitants of Tola,
Jura, and other outlying districts, now brew a potable beer by
mixing two-thirds of heath tops with one of malt. Highlanders think
it very lucky to [264] find the white heather, which is the badge of
the Captain of Clan Ronald.
At first Hops were unpopular, and were supposed to engender
melancholy. Therefore Henry the Eighth issued an injunction to
brewers not to use them. "Hops," says John Evelyn in his
_Pomona_, 1670, "transmuted our wholesome ale into beer, which
doubtless much altered our constitutions. This one ingredient, by
some suspected not unworthily, preserves the drink indeed, but
repays the pleasure with tormenting diseases, and a shorter life."
Hops, such as come into the market, are the chaffy capsules of the
seeds, and turn brown early in the autumn. They possess a heavy
fragrant aromatic odour, and a very bitter pungent taste. The yellow
glands at the base of the scales afford a volatile strong-smelling oil,
and an abundant yellow powder which possesses most of the virtues
of the plant. Our druggists prepare a tincture from the strobiles with
spirit of wine, and likewise a thickened extract.
Again, a decoction of the root is esteemed by some as of equal
benefit with Sarsaparilla.
The lassitude felt in hot weather at its first access, or in early
spring, may be well met by an infusion of the leaves, strobiles and
stalks as Hop tea, taken by the wineglassful two or three times in
the day, whilst sluggish derangements of the liver and spleen may be
benefited thereby.
_Lupulin_, the golden dust from the scales (but not the pollen of the
anthers, as some erroneously suppose), is given in powder, and acts
as a gentle sedative if taken at bedtime. This is specific against
sexual irritability and its attendant train of morbid symptoms, with
mental depression and vital exhaustion. It contains [265] "lupulite,"
a volatile oil, and a peculiar resin, which is somewhat acrid, and
penetrating of taste.
Each of the Simples got from the Hop will allay pain and conduce to
sleep; they increase the firmness of the pulse, and reduce its
frequency.
Also if applied externally, Hops as a poultice, or when steeped in a
bag, in very hot water as a stupe, will relieve muscular rheumatism,
spasm, and bruises.
Hop tea, when made from the flowers only, is to be brewed by
pouring a pint of boiling water on an ounce of the Hops, and letting
it stand until cool. This is an excellent drink in delirium tremens,
and will give prompt ease to an irritable bladder. Sherry in which
some Hops have been steeped makes a capital stomachic cordial. A
pillow, _Pulvinar Humuli_, stuffed with newly dried Hops was
successfully prescribed by Dr. Willis for George the Third, when
sedative medicines had failed to give him sleep; and again for our
Prince of Wales at the time of his severe typhoid fever, 1871, in
conjunction then with a most grateful draught of ale which had been
heretofore withheld. The crackling of dry Hop flowers when put
into a pillow may be prevented by first sprinkling them with a little
alcohol.
Persons have fallen into a deep slumber after remaining for some
time in a storehouse full of hops; and in certain northern districts a
watery extract from the flowers is given instead of opium. It is
useful to know that for sound reasons a moderate supper of bread
and butter, with crisp fresh lettuces, and light home-brewed ale
which contains Hops, is admirably calculated to promote sleep,
except in a full-blooded plethoric person. _Lupulin_, the glandular
powder from the dried strobiles, will induce sleep without causing
constipation, or headache. The dose is from two to four grains at
bedtime [266] on a small piece of bread and butter, or mixed with a
spoonful of milk.
The year 1855 produced a larger crop of cultivated Hops than has
been known before or since. When Hop poles are shaken by the
wind there is a distant electrical murmur like thunder.
Hop tea in the leaf is now sold by grocers, made from a mixture of
the Kentish and Indian plants, so as to combine in its infusion, the
refreshment of the one herb with the sleep-inducing virtues of the
other. The hops are brought direct from the farmers, just as they are
picked. They are then laid for a few hours to wither, after which
they are put under a rolling apparatus, which ill half-an-hour makes
them look like tea leaves, both in shape and colour. They are finally
mixed with Indian and Ceylon teas.
The young tops of the Hop plant if gathered in the spring and
boiled, may be eaten as asparagus, and make a good pot-herb: they
were formerly brought to market tied up in small bundles for table
use.
A popular notion has, in some places, associated the Hop and the
Nightingale together as frequenting the same districts.
Medicinally the Hop is tonic, stomachic, and diuretic, with
antiseptic effects; it prevents worms, and allays the disquietude of
nervous indigestion. The popular nostrum "Hop Bitters" is thus
made: Buchu leaves, two ounces; Hops, half-a-pound; boil in five
quarts of water, in an iron vessel, for an hour; when lukewarm add
essence of Winter-green (_Pyrola_), two ounces, and one pint of
alcohol. Take one tablespoonful three times in the day, before
eating. White Bryony root is likewise used in making the Bitters.
[267] HOREHOUND (White and Black).
The herb Horehound occurs of two sorts, white and black, in our
hedge-rows, and on the sides of banks, each getting its generic
name, which was originally Harehune, from _hara_, hoary, and
_hune_, honey; or, possibly, the name Horehound may be a
corruption of the Latin _Urinaria_, since the herb has been found
efficacious in cases of strangury, or difficult making of water.
The White Horehound (_Marrubium_) is a common square-stemmed
herb of the Labiate order, growing in waste places, and of
popular use for coughs and colds, whether in a medicinal form, or as
a candied sweetmeat. Its botanical title is of Hebrew derivation,
from _marrob_, a bitter juice. The plant is distinguished by the
white woolly down on its stems, by its wrinkled leaves, and small
white flowers.
It has a musky odour, and a bitter taste, being a much esteemed
Herbal Simple, but very often spuriously imitated. It affords
chemically a fragrant volatile oil, a bitter extractive "marrubin,"
and gallic acid.
As a homely remedy it is especially given for coughs accompanied
with abundant thick expectoration, and for chronic asthma. In
Norfolk scarcely a cottage garden can be found without its
Horehound corner; and Horehound beer is much drunk there by the
natives. Horehound tea may be made by pouring boiling water on
the fresh leaves, an ounce to a pint, and sweetening this with honey:
then a wineglassful should be taken three or four times in the day.
Or from two to three teaspoonfuls of the expressed juice of the herb
may be given for a dose.
Candied Horehound is best made from the fresh plant by boiling it
down until the juice is extracted, [268] and then adding sugar before
boiling this again until it has become thick enough of consistence to
pour into a paper case, and to be cut into squares when cool. Gerard
said: "Syrup made from the greene fresh leaves and sugar is a most
singular remedy against the cough and wheezing of the lungs. It
doth wonderfully, and above credit, ease such as have been long
sicke of any consumption of the lungs; as hath been often proved by
the learned physicians of our London College."
When given in full doses, an infusion of the herb is laxative. If the
plant be put in new milk and set in a place pestered with flies, it
will speedily kill them all. And according to Columella, the Horehound
is a serviceable remedy against the Cankerworm in trees: _Profuit et
plantis latices infundere amaros marrubii_.
The Marrubium was called by the Egyptian Priests the "Seed of
Horus" or "the Bull's Blood" and "the Eye of the Star." It was a
principal remedy in the Negro Caesar's Antidote for vegetable
poisons.
The Black Horehound (_Ballota nigra_), so called from its dark
purple-coloured flowers, is likewise of common growth about our
roadsides and waste places. Its botanical title comes from the Greek
_ballo_, to reject, because of its disagreeable odour, particularly
when burnt. The herb is sometimes known as Madwort, being
supposed to act as an antidote to the bite of a mad dog. In Beaumont
and Fletcher's _Faithful Shepherdess_, we read of:--
"Black Horehound, good
For Sheep, or Shepherd bitten by a wood-dog's venomed tooth."
If its leaves are applied externally as a poultice, they will relieve
the pain of gout, and will mollify angry [269] boils. In Gotha the
plant is valued for curing chronic skin diseases, particularly of a
fungoid character, such as ringworm; also for diseases of cattle.
"This," says Meyrick "is one of those neglected English herbs which are
possessed of great virtues, though they are but little known, and still
less regarded. It is superior to most things as a remedy in hysteria,
and for low spirits." Drayton said (_Polybion_, 1613):--
"For comforting the spleen and liver--get for juice,
Pale Horehound."
The Water Horehound (_Lycopus_), or Gipsy wort, which grows
frequently in our damp meadows and on the sides of streams, yields
a black dye used for wool, or silk, and with which gipsies stain their
skins, as well as with Walnut juice. "This is called Gipsy Wort,"
says Lyte, "because the rogues and runagates, which name
themselves Egyptians, do colour themselves black with this herbe."
Each of the Horehounds is a labiate plant; and this, the water
variety, bears flesh coloured flowers, whilst containing a volatile
oil, a resin, a bitter principle, and tannin. Its medicinal action is
astringent, with a reduced frequency of the pulse, and some gentle
sedative effects, so that any tendency to coughing, etc., will be
allayed. Half-an-ounce of the plant to a pint of boiling water will
make the infusion.
HORSE RADISH (_Radix_, a Root).
The Horse Radish of our gardens is a cultivated cruciferous plant of
which the fresh root is eaten, when scraped, as a condiment to
correct the richness of our national roast beef. This plant grows wild
in many parts of the country, particularly about rubbish, and the
sides of ditches; yet it is probably an introduction, [270] and not a
native. Its botanical name, _Cochlearia armoracia_, implies a
resemblance between its leaves and an old-fashioned spoon,
_cochleare_; also that the most common place of its growth is _ar_,
near, _mor_, the sea.
Our English vernacular styles the plant "a coarse root," or a "Horse
radish," as distinguished from the eatable radish (root), the
_Raphanus sativus_. Formerly it was named Mountain Radish, and
Great Raifort. This is said to be one of the five bitter herbs ordered
to be eaten by the Jews during the Feast of the Passover, the other
four being Coriander, Horehound, Lettuce, and Nettle.
Not a few fatal cases have occurred of persons being poisoned by
taking Aconite root in mistake for a stick of Horse radish, and eating
it when scraped. But the two roots differ materially in shape, colour,
and taste, so as to be easily discriminated: furthermore the leaves of
the Aconite--supposing them to be attached to the root--are not to be
mistaken for those of any other plant, being completely divided to
their base into five wedge-shaped lobes, which are again sub-divided
into three. Squire says it seems incredible that the Aconite
Root should be mistaken for Horse Radish unless we remember that
country folk are in the habit of putting back again into the ground
Horse Radish which has been scraped, until there remain only the
crown and a remnant of the root vanishing to a point, these bearing
resemblance to the tap root of Aconite.
The fresh root of the Horse radish is a powerful stimulant by reason
of its ardent and pungent volatile principle, whether it be taken as a
medicament, or be applied externally to any part of the body. When
scraped it exhales a nose-provoking odour, and possesses [271] a
hot biting taste, combined with a certain sweetness: but on exposure
to the air it quickly turns colour, and loses its volatile strength;
likewise, it becomes vapid, and inert by being boiled. The root is
expectorant, antiscorbutic, and, if taken at all freely, emetic. It
contains a somewhat large proportion of sulphur, as shown by the
black colour assumed by metals with which it comes into touch.
Hence it promises to be of signal use for relieving chronic
rheumatism, and for remedying scurvy.
Taken in sauce with oily fish or rich fatty viands, scraped Horse
radish acts as a corrective spur to complete digestion, and at the
same time it will benefit a relaxed sore throat, by contact during the
swallowing. In facial neuralgia scraped Horse radish applied as a
poultice, proves usefully beneficial: and for the same purpose some
of the fresh scrapings may be profitably held in the hand of the
affected side, which hand will become in a short time bloodlessly
benumbed, and white.
When sliced across with a knife the root of the Horse radish will
exude some drops of a sweet juice which may be rubbed with
advantage on rheumatic, or palsied limbs. Also an infusion of the
sliced root in milk, almost boiling, and allowed to cool, makes an
excellent and safe cosmetic; or the root may be infused for a longer
time in cold milk, if preferred, for use with a like purpose in view.
Towards the end of the last century Horse radish was known in
England as Red cole, and in the previous century it was eaten
habitually at table, sliced, with vinegar.
Infused in wine the root stimulates the whole nervous system, and
promotes perspiration, whilst acting likewise as a diuretic. For
rheumatic neuralgia [272] it is almost a specific, and for palsy it has
often proved of service. Our druggists prepare a "compound spirit of
Horse radish," made with the sliced fresh root, orange peel, nutmeg,
and spirit of wine. This proves of effective use in strengthless,
languid indigestion, as well as for chronic rheumatism; it stimulates
the stomach, and promotes the digestive secretions. From one to two
teaspoonfuls may be taken two or three times in the day, with half a
wineglassful of water, at the end of a principal meal, or a few
minutes after the meal. An infusion of the root made with boiling
water and taken hot readily proves a stimulating emetic. Until cut or
bruised the root is inodorous; but fermentation then begins, and
develops from the essential oil an ammoniacal odour and a pungent
hot bitter taste which were not pre-existing.
Chemically the Horse radish contains a volatile oil, identical with
that of mustard, being highly diffusible and pungent by reason of its
"myrosin." One drop of this volatile oil will suffice to odorise the
atmosphere of a whole room, and, if swallowed with any freedom, it
excites vomiting. Other constituents of the root are a bitter resin,
sugar, starch, gum, albumen, and acetates.
A mixture of the fresh juice, with vinegar, if applied externally,
will prove generally of service for removing freckles.
Bergius alleges that by cutting the root into very small pieces
without bruising it, and then swallowing a tablespoonful of these
fragments every morning without chewing them, for a month, a cure
has been effected in chronic rheumatism, which had seemed
otherwise intractable.
For loss of the voice and relaxed sore throat the [273] infusion of
Horse radish makes an excellent gargle; or it may be concentrated in
the form of a syrup, and mixed for the same use--a teaspoonful, with
a wine-glassful of cold water.
Gerard said of the root: "If bruised and laid to the part grieved with
the sciatica, gout, joyntache, or the hard swellings of the spleen and
liver, it doth wonderfully help them all." If the scraped root be
macerated in vinegar, it will form a mixture (which may be
sweetened with glycerine to the taste) very effective against
whooping cough. In pimply acne of the skin, to touch each papula
with some of the Compound Spirit of Horse Radish now and again
will soon effect a general cure of the ailment.
HOUSE LEEK (Crassulaceoe).
The House Leek (_Sempervivum tectorum_), or "never dying"
flower of our cottage roofs, which is commonly known also as
Stone-crop, grows plentifully on walls and the tops of small
buildings throughout Great Britain, in all country districts. It is
distinguished by its compact rose-shaped arrangement of seagreen
succulent leaves lying sessile in a somewhat flattened manner, and
by its popularity among country folk on account of these bland juicy
leaves, and its reputed protective virtues. It possesses a remarkable
tenacity of life, _quem sempervivam dicunt quoniam omni tempore
viret_, this being in allusion to its prolonged vitality; for which
reason it is likewise called Ayegreen, and Sengreen (_semper_,
green).
History relates that a botanist tried hard for eighteen months to dry a
plant of the House Leek for his herbarium, but failed in this object.
He afterwards restored it to its first site when it grew again as if
nothing had interfered with its ordinary life.
[274] The plant was dedicated of old to Thor, or Jupiter, and
sometimes to the Devil. It bore the titles of Thor's beard, Jupiter's
eye, Joubarb, and Jupiter's beard, from its massive inflorescence
which resembles the sculptured beard of Jove; though a more recent
designation is St. George's beard.
"Quem sempervivam dicunt quoniam viret omni
Tempore--'Barba Jovis' vulgari more vocatur,
Esse refert similem predictoe Plinius istam."
_Macer_.
The Romans took great pleasure in the House Leek, and grew it in
vases set before the windows of their houses. They termed it
_Buphthalmon_, _Zoophthalmon_, and _Stergethron_, as one of the
love medicines; it being further called _Hypogeson_, from growing
under the eaves; likewise _Ambrosia_ and _Ameramnos_. The plant
is indigenous to the Greek Islands, being sometimes spoken of as
"Imbreke" and "Home Wort."
It has been largely planted about the roofs of small houses
throughout the country, particularly in Scotland, because supposed
to guard against lightning and thunderstorms; likewise as protective
against the enchantments of sorcerers; and, in a more utilitarian
spirit, as preservative against decay. Hence the House Leek
is known as Thunderbeard, and in Germany _Donnersbart_ or
_Donderbloem_, from "Jupiter the thunderer."
The English name House Leek denotes _leac_ (Anglo-Saxon) a
plant growing on the house; and another appellation of its genus,
sedum, comes from the Latin _sedare_, to soothe, and subdue
inflammations, etc.
The thick leaves contain an abundant acidulous astringent juice,
which is mucilaginous, and affords malic acid, identical with that of
the Apple. This juice, in a dose of from one to three drams, has
proved [275] useful in dysentery, and in some convulsive diseases.
Galen extolled it as a capital application for erysipelas and shingles.
Dioscorides praised it for weak and inflamed eyes, but in large
doses it is emetic and purgative.
In rural districts the bruised leaves of the fresh plant or its juice
are often applied to burns, scalds, contusions, and sore legs, or to
scrofulous ulcers; as likewise for chronic skin diseases, and
enlarged or cancerous lymphatic glands. By the Dutch the leaves are
cultivated with a dietetic purpose for mixing in their salads.
With honey the juice assuages the soreness and ulcerated condition
within the mouth in thrush. Gerard says: "The juice being gently
rubbed on any place stung by nettles, or bees, or bitten by any
venomous creature, doth presently take away the pain. Being
applied to the temples and forehead it easeth also the headache and
distempered heat of the brain through want of sleep."
The juice, moreover, is excellently helpful for curing corns and
warts, if applied from day to day after they have been scraped. As
Parkinson teaches, "the juice takes away cornes from the toes and
feet if they be bathed therewith every day, and at night emplastered
as it were with the skin of the same House Leek."
The plant may be readily made to cover all the roof of a building by
sticking on the offsets with a little moist earth, or cowdung. It bears
purple flowers, and its leaves are fringed at their edges, being
succulent and pulpy. Thus the erect gay-looking blossoms, in
contrast to the light green foliage arranged in the form of full blown
double roses, lend a picturesque appearance to the roof of even a
cow-byre, or a hovel.
[276] The House Leek (_Sedum majus_), and the Persicaria Water-pepper
(Arsmart), if their juices be boiled together, will cure a
diarrhoea, however obstinate, or inveterate. The famous empirical
_anti-Canceroso nostrum_ of Count Mattaei is authoritatively said to
consist of the _Sedum acre_ (Betony stone-crop), the _Sempervivum
tectorum_ (House Leek), _Sedum telephium_ (Livelong), the
_Matricaria_ (Feverfew), and the _Nasturtium Sisymbrium_ (Water-cress).
The _Sedum Telephium_ (Livelong, or Orpine), called also
Roseroot and Midsummer Men, is the largest British species of
Stone-crop. Being a plant of augury its leaves are laid out in pairs
on St. John's Eve, these being named after courting couples. When
the leaves are freshly assorted those which keep together promise
well for their namesakes, and those which fall apart, the reverse.
The special virtues of this _Sedum_ are supposed to have been
discovered by Telephus, the son of Hercules. Napoleon, at St.
Helena, was aware of its anti-cancerous reputation, which was
firmly believed in Corsica. The plant contains lime, sulphur,
ammonia, and (perhaps) mercury. It remains long alive when hung
up in a room. The designation Orpine has become perversely
applied to this plant which bears pink blossoms, the word having
been derived from _Orpin_, gold pigment, a yellow sulphuret of the
metal arsenic, and it should appertain exclusively to yellow flowers.
The Livelong _Sedum_ was formerly named Life Everlasting. It
serves to keep away moths.
Doctors have found that the expulsive vomiting provoked by doses
of the _Sedum acre_ (Betony stone-crop), will serve in diphtheria to
remove such false membrane clinging in patches to the throat and
tonsils, [277] as threatens suffocation: and after this release
afforded by copious vomiting, the diphtheritic foci are prevented
from forming again.
The _Sedum Acre_ (or Biting Stone-crop) is also named Pepper
crop, being a cyme, or head of flowers, which furnishes a pungent
taste like that of pepper. This further bears the names of Ginger (in
Norfolk), Jack of the Buttery, Gold Dust, Creeping Tom, Wall
Pepper, Pricket or Prick Madam, Gold Chain, and Biting Mouse
Tail. It was formerly said "the savages of Caledonia use this plant
for removing the sloughs of cancer."
The herb serves admirably to make a gargle for scurvy of the gums,
and a lotion for scrofulous, or syphilitic ulcers. The leaves are thick
and very acrid, being crowded together. This and the _Sedums
album_ and _reflexum_ were ingredients in a famous worm-expelling
medicine, or _theriac_ (treacle), which conferred the title
"Jack of the Buttery," as a corruption of "_Bot. theriaque_."
The several Stone-crops are so named from _crop_, a top, or bunch
of flowers, these plants being found chiefly in tufts upon walls or
roofs. From their close growth originally on their native rocks they
have acquired the generic title of _Sedum_, from _sedere_ (to sit).