RUE.

The wild Rue is found on the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire,

being more vehement in smell and in operation than the garden Rue.

This latter, _Ruta graveolens,_ (powerfully redolent), the common

cultivated Rue of our kitchen gardens, is a shrub with a pungent

aromatic odour, and a bitter, hot, penetrating taste, having leaves of

a bluish-green colour, and remaining verdant all the year round. It is

first mentioned as cultivated in England by Turner, in his _Herbal_,

1562, and has since become one of the best known and most widely

grown Simples for medicinal and homely uses. The name _Ruta_ is

from the Greek _reuo_, to set free, because this herb is so efficacious

in various diseases. The Greeks regarded Rue as an anti-magical

herb, since it served to remedy the nervous indigestion and

flatulence from which they suffered when eating before strangers:

which infirmity they attributed to witchcraft. This herb was further

termed of old "Serving men's joy," because of the multiplicity of

common ailments which it was warranted to cure. It constituted a

chief ingredient of the famous antidote of Mithridates to poisons,

the formula of which [476] was found by Pompey in the satchel of

the conquered King. The leaves are so acrid, that if they be much

handled they inflame the skin; and the wild plant possesses this

acridity still more strongly.

Water serves to extract the virtues of the cultivated shrub better than

spirit of wine is able to do. The juice of Rue is of great efficacy in

some forms of epilepsy, operating for the most part insensibly,

though sometimes causing vomiting or purging.

Piperno, a Neapolitan physician, in 1625, commended Rue as a

specific against epilepsy and vertigo. For the former malady at one

time some of this herb was suspended round the neck of the

sufferer, whilst "forsaking the devil with all his works, and invoking

the Lord Jesus." Goat's Rue, _Galega_, is likewise of service in

epilepsy and convulsions.

If a leaf or two of Rue be chewed, a refreshing aromatic flavour will

pervade the mouth, and any nervous headache, giddiness, hysterical

spasm, or palpitation, will be quickly relieved. Two drachms of

powdered Rue, if taken every day regularly as a dose for a long

while together, will often do wonders. It was much used by the

ancients, and Hippocrates commended it. The herb is strongly

stimulating and anti-spasmodic; its most important constituent being

the volatile oil, which contains caprinic, pelargonic, caprylic, and

oenanthylic acids. The oxygenated portion is caprinic aldehyde. In

too full doses the oil causes aching of the loins, frequent urination,

dulness and weight of mind, flushes of heat, unsteadiness of gait,

and increased frequency of the pulse, but with diminished force.

Similar symptoms are produced during an attack of the modern

epidemical influenza; as like-wise by oil of wormwood, and some

other essential oils.

[477] Externally, Rue is an active irritant to the skin, the bruised

leaves blistering the hands, and causing a pustular eruption. Gerard

says, "The wild Rue venometh the hands that touch it, and will also

infect the face; therefore it is not to be admitted to meat, or

medicine." It stimulates the monthly function in women, but must

be used with caution.

The decoction and infusion are to be made from the fresh plant, or

(when this plant cannot be got), the oil may be given in a dose of

from one to five drops. Externally, compresses saturated with a

strong decoction of the plant when applied to the chest, have been

used beneficially for chronic bronchitis.

Rue is best adapted to those of phlegmatic habit, and of languid

constitutional energies. It is often employed in the form of tea. The

_Schola Salernitana_ says about this plant:--

"Ruta viris minuit venerem, mulieribus addit

Ruta facit castum, dat lumen, et ingerit astum

Coctaque ruta facit de pulicibus loca tuta."

"Rue maketh chaste: and eke preserveth sight;

Infuseth wit, and putteth fleas to flight."

The leaves promote the menses, being given in doses of from fifteen

to twenty grains. "Pliny," says John Evelyn, "reports Rue to be of

such effect for the preservation of sight that the painters of his time

used to devour a great quantity of it; and the herb is still eaten by

the Italians frequently mingled amongst their salads." With respect to

its use in epilepsy, Julius Caesar Baricellus said: "I gave to my own

children two scruples of the juice of Rue, and a small matter of

gold; and, by the blessing of God, they were freed from their fits."

The essential oil of Rue may be used for the same purpose, and in

like manner.

[478] Formerly this plant was thought to bestow second sight; and

so sacred a regard was at one time felt for it in our islands, that the

missionaries sprinkled their holy water from brushes made of the

Rue; for which cause it was named "Herb of Grace."

Gerard tells us: "The garden Rue, which is better than the wild Rue

for physic's use, grows most profitably (as Dioscorides said) under a

fig tree." Country people boil its leaves with treacle, thus making a

conserve of them. These leaves are curative of croup in poultry.

In the early part of the present century it was customary for judges,

sitting at Assize, to have sprigs of Rue placed on the bench of the

dock, as defensive against the pestilential infection brought into

court from gaol by the prisoners. The herb was supposed to afford

powerful protection from contagion.

At the present time the medicinal tincture (H.) is used for the

treatment of rheumatism when developed in the membranes which

invest the bones. If bruised and applied, the leaves will ease the

severe pain of sciatica. The expressed juice taken in small quantities

is a noted remedy for nervous nightmare. A quaint old rhyme says

of the plant:--

"Nobilis est ruta quia lumina reddit acuta."

"Noble is Rue! it makes the sight of eyes both sharp and clear;

With help of Rue, oh! blear-eyed man I thou shalt see far and

near."

This is essentially the case when the vision has become dim through

over exertion of the eyes. It was with "Euphrasy and Rue" the visual

nerve of Adam was purged by Milton's Angel.

As a preserver of chastity Ophelia was made by Shakespeare to give

Rue to Hamlet's mother, the Queen of Denmark.

[479] RUSHES.

The true Rushes (_Juncaceoe_) include the Soft Rush (_effusus_);

the Hard Rush (_glaucus_); and the Common Rush (_conglomeratus_).

The Bulrush (Pool Rush) is a Sedge; the Club Rush is a Typha;

and the flowering Rush, a Butomus. "Rish" was the old method

of spelling the name.

A medicinal tincture is made (H.) from the fresh root of the _juncus

effusus_. It will be found helpful against spinal irritability, with

some crampy tightness felt in the arms and legs, together with

headache and flatulent indigestion. Four or five drops should be

given for a dose, with a spoonful of water, three or four times in the

day.

This, the Soft Rush, is commonly used for tying the bines of hops to

the poles; and, as these bines grow larger in size, the rushes wither,

setting the bines free in a timely fashion. To find a green-topped

Seave, or Rush, and a four-leaved Clover, is, in rural estimation,

equally lucky.

The generic title, _Juncus_, has been applied because Rushes are _in

conjunction_ when planted together for making cordage.

The common Rush is found by roadsides in damp pastures, and is

readily known by its long, slender, round, naked stem, containing

pith, and showing about the middle of July a dense globular bead of

brown flowers. Rushes of this sort were employed by our remote

ancestors for strewing, when fresh and green, about the floor of the

hall after discontinuing its big fire at Eastertide. Shakespeare says

in _Romeo and Juliet:_--

"Wantons, light of heart,

Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels."

[480] In obedience to a bequest (1494); Rushes are still

strewn about the pavement of Redcliff Church at Bristol every

Whit-Sunday. The common phrase, "not worth a Rush," took its origin

from this general practice. Distinguished guests were honoured in

mediaeval times with clean fresh Rushes; but those of inferior rank

had either the Rushes left by their superiors, or none at all.

The sweet-scented "Flag," or Rush (_Acorus calamus_), was always

used by preference where it could be procured. It is a native of this

country, growing on watery banks, and very plentiful in the river's

of Norfolk, from whence the London market is supplied. The roots

have a warm, bitter taste, and the essential oil is highly aromatic,

this being used for preparing aromatic vinegar. In Norfolk the

powdered dry rhizome is given for ague. With sugar it makes an

agreeable cordial conserve. (See _Flag (Sweet)_, _page_ 201 ). For

preserving the aromatic qualities within the dried rhizome; or root, it

should be kept in stock unpeeled. This contains "oleum calami," and

the bitter principle "acorin." Some of the root may be habitually

chewed for the relief of chronic indigestion. The odorous delights of

a pastoral time passed near these sweetly-fragrant plants have been

happily alluded to in the well-known lines of idyllic verse:--

"Green grow the Rushes, oh!

Green grow the Rushes, oh!

The sweetest hours that e'er I spent

Were spent among the lasses, oh!"

"Virent junci fluviales,

Junci prope lymphas:

Ah! quain ridet quoe me videt

Hora inter Nymphas!"

[481] The old saying, "As fit as Tib's Rush for Tom's fore-finger,"

alludes to an ancient custom of making spurious marriages with a

ring constructed from a Rush. Tom and Tib were vulgar epithets

applied in Shakespeare's time to the rogue, and the wanton.

The Bulrush (_Scirpus lacustris_) is a tall, aquatic plant, which

belongs to the Sedge tribe. It name was formerly spelt "Pole Rush,"

and was given because this grows in pools of water, and not like

other Rushes, in mire. Bottoms of chairs are frequently made with

its stems. Its seed is prepared medicinally, being astringent and

somewhat sedative; "So soporiferous," says Gerard, "that care must

be had in the administration thereof, lest in provoking sleep you

induce a drowsiness, or dead sleep." Street hawkers, in Autumn,

offer as Bulrushes the tall, round spikes of the Great Reed Mace,

which is not a true Rush. Artists are responsible in the first instance

for the mistake--notably Paul De la Roche, in his famous picture of

"The Finding of Moses." The future great leader of the Israelites is

there depicted in an ark amid a forest of Great Cat's-tail Reeds.

The flowering Rush, or water gladiole, which grows by the banks of

rivers is called botanically "butomus," from the Greek, _bous_, an

ox, and _temno_, to cut, because the sharp edges of the erect

three-cornered leaf-blades wound the cattle which come in contact with

them, or try to eat them. Its root is highly esteemed in Russia for the

cure of hydrophobia, being regarded by the doctors as a specific for

that disease. Its flowers are large, and of a splendid rose colour. The

seeds promote the monthly flow in women, act on disordered

kidneys, prove astringent against fluxes, and serve to woo sleep in

nervous wakefulness. Gerard tells that "the seed [482] of Rushes

drieth the overmuch flowing of women's termes."

The Reed Mace, or Cat's-tail, is often incorrectly called Bulrush,

though it is a typha (_tuphos_, marsh) plant.

The Bog Asphodel (_Narthecium ossifragum_) grows in bogs, and

bears a spike of yellow, star-like flowers. Its second nominative was

given to signify its causing the bones of cattle which feed thereon

to become soft; but probably this morbid state is incurred rather

through the exhalations arising from the bogs where the cattle are

pastured. To the same plant has been given also the name "Mayden

heere," because young damsels formerly used it for making their

hair yellow.

The Great Cat's-tail (_Typha palustris_), or Great Reed Mace, a

perennial reed common in Great Britain, affords by the tender white

part of its stalks when peeled near the root, a crisp, cooling,

pleasant article of food. This is eaten raw with avidity by the

Cossacks. Aristophanes makes mention of the Mace in his comedy of

frogs who were glad to have spent their day skipping about _inter

Cyperum et Phleum_, among Galingale and Cat's-tail. Sacred

pictures which represent our Saviour wearing the crown of thorns,

place this reed in His hands as given Him in mockery for a kingly

Mace. The same _Typha_ has been further called "Dunse-down,"

from making persons "dunch," or deaf, if its soft spikes accidentally

run into the ears. "_Ejus enim paniculoe flos si aures intraverit,

exsurdat_." It is reasonable to suppose that, on the principle of

similars, a preparation of this plant, if applied topically within the

ear, as well as taken medicinally, will be curative of a like deafness.

Most probably the injury to the hearing caused by the spikes at first

is toxic as well as of the nature of an injury. The Poet Laureate sings

of "Sleepy breath made sweet [483] with Galingale" (_Cyperus

longus_). Other names again are, "Chimney-sweeper's brush";

"Blackheads" until ripe, then "Whiteheads"; and "Water torch,"

because its panicles, if soaked in oil, will burn like a torch.

SAFFRON (Meadow and Cultivated).

The Meadow Saffron (_Colchicum autumnale_) is a common wild

Crocus found in English meadows, especially about the Midland

districts. The flower appears in the autumn before the leaves and

fruit, which are not produced until the following spring. Its corollae

resemble those of the true Saffron, a native of the East, but long

cultivated in Great Britain, where it is sometimes found apparently

wild. They are plants of the Iris order.

From the Meadow Saffron is obtained a corm or bulb, dug up in the

spring, of which the well-known tincture of colchicum, a specific

for rheumatism, is made; and from the true Saffron flowers are

taken the familiar orange red stigmata, which furnish the fragrant

colouring matter used by confectioners in cakes, and by the

apothecary for his syrup of Saffron, etc.

The flower of the Meadow Saffron rises bare from the earth, and is,

therefore, called "Upstart" and "Naked Lady." This plant owes its

botanical name _Colchicum_, to Colchis, in Natalia, which

abounded in poisonous vegetables, and gave rise to the fiction about

the enchantress Medea. She renewed the vitality of her aged father,

AEneas, by drawing blood out of his veins and refilling them with

the juices of certain herbs. The fabled origin of the Saffron plant ran

thus. A certain young man named Crocus went to play at quoits in a

field with Mercurie, when the quoit of his companion happened by

misfortune to hit him on the head, whereby, before long, he died, to

the great sorrow of [484] his friends. Finally, in the place where he

had bled, Saffron was found to be growing: whereupon, the people,

seeing the colour of the chine as it stood, adjusted it to come of the

blood of Crocus, and therefore they gave it his name. The medicinal

properties of Colchicum have been known from a very early period.

In the reign of James the First (1615), Sir Theodore Mayerne

administered the bulb to his majesty together with the powder of

unburied skulls. In France, it has always been a favourite specific

for gout; and during the reign of Louis the Fifteenth, it became very

fashionable under the name of _Eau Medicinale_; but the remedy is

somewhat dangerous, and should never be incautiously used.

Instances are on record where fatal results have followed too large a

medicinal dose, even on the following day, after taking sixty drops

of the wine of Colchicum overnight; and when given in much

smaller doses it sometimes acts as a powerfully irritating purgative,

or as an emetic. The medicine should not be employed except by a

doctor; its habitual use is very harmful.

The acrimony of the bulb may be modified in a measure if it, or its

seeds, are steeped in vinegar before being taken as a medicine.

The French designate the roots of the Meadow Saffron (_Colchicum_)

as "_Tue-chien_"; "_morte aux chiens_," "death to dogs."

Alexander of Tralles, a Greek physician of the sixth century, was

the first to advise Colchicum (_Hermodactylon_) for gout, with the

effect that patients, immediately after its exhibition, found

themselves able to walk. "But," said he, and with shrewd truth, "it

has this bad property, that it disposes those who take it curatively

for gout or rheumatism, to be afterwards more frequently attacked

with the disease than before."

[485] Our druggists supply an officinal tincture of Colchicum

(Meadow Saffron) made from the seeds, the dose of which is from

ten to thirty drops, with a spoonful of water; also a wine infused

from the bulb, of which the dose is the same as that of the tincture,

twice or three times a day; and an acetous extract prepared from the

thickened juice of the crushed bulbs, of which from half to two

grains may be given in a pilule, or dissolved in water, twice or three

times a day, until the active symptoms are subdued, and then less

often for another day or two afterwards. The most important

chemical constituent of the bulb, flowers, and seeds, is "Colchicin."

Besides this there are contained starch, gum, sugar, tannin, and

some fatty resinous matter. There is also a fixed oil in the seeds.

_Crocus vernus_, the True Saffron, grows wild about Halifax, and

in the neighbourhood of Derby; but for commercial uses the supply

of stigmata is had from Greece, and Asia Minor. This plant was

cultivated in England as far back as during the reign of Edward the

Third. It is said that a pilgrim then brought from the Levant to

England the first root of Saffron, concealed in a hollow staff, doing

the same thing at the peril of his life, and planting such root at

Saffron Walden, in Essex, whence the place has derived its name.

The stigmata are picked out, then dried in a kiln, over a hair cloth,

and pressed afterwards into cakes, of which the aromatic quality is

very volatile. The plant was formerly cultivated at Saffron Walden,

where it was presented in silver cups by the Corporation to some of

our sovereigns, who visited Walden for the ceremony. Five guineas

were paid by the Corporation for the pound of Saffron which they

purchased for Queen Elizabeth; and to constitute this quantity forty

[486] thousand flowers were required. The City Arms of Walden

bears three Saffron plants, as given by a Charter of Edward the

Sixth. Saffron Hill, in Holborn, London, belonged formerly to Ely

House, and got its name from the crops of saffron which were

grown there: "_Occult? Spolia hi Croceo de colle ferebant_" (Comic

Latin Grammar).

In our rural districts there is a popular custom of giving Saffron tea

in measles, on the doctrine of colour analogy; to which notion may

likewise be referred the practice of adding Saffron to the drinking

water of canaries when they are moulting.

In England, it was fashionable during the seventh century to make

use of starch stained yellow with Saffron; and in an old cookery

book of that period, it is directed that "Saffron must be put into all

Lenten soups, sauces, and dishes; also that without Saffron we

cannot have well-cooled peas." Confectioners were wont to make

their pastry attractive with Saffron. So the Clown says in

Shakespeare's _Winter's Tale_, "I must have Saffron to colour the

warden pies." We read of a Saffron-tub in the kitchen of Bishop

Swinfield, 1296. During the fourteenth century Saffron was

cultivated in the herbarium of the manor-house, and the castle.

Throughout Devonshire this product is quoted to signify anything

costly.

Henry the Eighth forbade persons to colour with Saffron the long

locks of hair worn then, and called Glibbes. Lord Bacon said, "the

English are rendered sprightly by a liberal use of Saffron in

sweetmeats and broth": also, "Saffron conveys medicine to the

heart, cures its palpitation, removes melancholy and uneasiness,

revives the brain, renders the mind cheerful, and generates

boldness." The restorative plant has been termed "_Cor hominis_;"

"_Anima_ [487] _pulmonum_," "the Heart of Man"; and there is an

old saying alluding to one of a merry temper, "_Dormivit in sacco

Croci_," "he has slept in a sack of Saffron." It was called by the

ancients "_Aurum philosophorum_," contracted to "_Aroph_." Also,

_Sanguis Herculis_, and _Rex Vegetabilium_, "being given with

good success to procure bodily lust." The English word Saffron

comes from the Arabian--_Zahafram_--whilst the name Crocus of

this golden plant is taken from the Greek_ krokee_--a thread--

signifying the dry thin stigmata of the flower. Old Fuller wrote "the

Crocodile's tears are never true save when he is forced where

Saffron groweth (whence he hath his name of _Croco-deilos_, or the

Saffron-fearer), knowing himself to be all poison, and it all

antidote." Frequently Marigold stigmata are cheaply used for

adulterating the true Saffron.

Homer introduces Saffron as one of the flowers which formed the

nuptial couch of Jupiter: and Solomon mentioned it as growing in

his garden: "Spikenard and saffron: calamus, and cinnamon"

(_Canticles_ iv., 14). Pliny states that wine in which Saffron was

macerated gave a fragrant odour to theatres about which it was

sprinkled. The Cilician doctors advised Cleopatra to take Saffron for

clearing her complexion.

The medicinal use of Saffron has always obtained amongst the

Orientals. According to a treatise, _Croco-logia_ (1670), by

Hartodt, it was then employed as a medicine, as a pigment, and for

seasoning various kinds of food. The colouring matter of Saffron is

a substance called polychroite, or crocin; and its slightly stimulating

properties depend upon a volatile oil.

Boerhaave said that Saffron possesses the power of liquefying the

blood; hence, "Women who use it too freely suffer from immoderate

menses." A tincture is [488] made (H.) from the Saffron of

commerce, which is of essential use for controlling female

haemorrhages. Four or five drops of the tincture may be given with a

spoonful of water every three or four hours for this purpose. The

same tincture is good for impaired vision, when there is a sense of

gauze before the eyes, which the person tries to wink, or wipe away.

Smelling strongly and frequently at the Hay Saffron of commerce

(obtained from Spain and France), will cause headache, stupor, and

heavy sleep; whilst, during its internal use, the urine becomes of a

deep yellow colour.

Of the syrup of Saffron, which is a slightly stimulating exhilarant,

and which possesses a rich colour, from one to two teaspoonfuls

may be given for a dose, with two tablespoonfuls of cold water. It

serves to energise the organs within the middle trunk of both males

and females; also to recruit an exhausted brain.

In Devonshire, Saffron used to be regarded as a most valuable

remedy to restore consumptive patients, even when far advanced in

the disease, and it was, therefore, esteemed of great worth:--

"Nec poteris croci dotes numerare, nec usus."

Saffron is such a special remedy for those that have consumption of

the lungs, and are--as we term it--at death's door, and almost past

breathing, "that it bringeth breath again, and prolongeth life for

certain days, if ten, or twenty grains at most, be given in new, or

sweet wine. It presently, and in a moment, removeth away difficulty

of breathing, which most dangerously and suddenly happeneth."

In Westphalia, an apple mixed with Saffron, on the doctrine of

signatures, is given on Easter Monday, against jaundice. Evelyn

tells us: "The German [489] housewives have a way of forming

Saffron into balls; by mingling it with a little honey, which, when

thoroughly dried, they reduce to powder, and sprinkle it over their

sallets for a noble cordial." Those of Spain and Italy, we know,

generally make use of this flower, mingling its golden tincture with

almost everything they eat. But, an excessive use of Saffron proves

harmful. It will produce an intense pain in the head, and imperil the

reason. Half-a-scruple, _i.e._, ten grains, should be the largest dose.

In fuller doses this tincture will provoke a determination of blood to

the head, with bleeding from the nose, and sometimes with a

disposition to immoderate laughter. Small doses, therefore, of the

diluted tincture, ought to relieve these symptoms when they occur as

spontaneous illness. The inhabitants of Eastern countries regard

Saffron as a fine restorative, and nuptial invitations are often

powdered by them with this medicament.

In Ireland women dye their sheets with Saffron to preserve them

from vermin, and to strengthen their own limbs.

"Green herbs, red pepper, mussels, _Saffron_,

Soles, onions, garlic, roach and dace;

All these you eat at Ferre's tavern

In that one dish of bouillabaisse."

--_Thackeray_.