181. _The FOX-GLOVE_ (Digitalis purpurea) _is a stately British plant,
with long, erect spikes of large, purple, and somewhat bell-shaped
flowers, marked internally with dark spots in whitish rings, and
containing four stamens, with large yellow anthers._
_The calyx, or flower-cup, has five pointed divisions. The extremity of
the blossom is divided into five segments; and the seed-vessel is
egg-shaped, and contains many seeds. The leaves are large, wrinkled, and
somewhat downy beneath._
The gravelly or sandy hedge-banks or hills of all the midland counties of
England are adorned, in the later months of summer, with this, one of the
most beautiful, most dangerous, and yet, if properly applied, one of the
most useful of all our wild plants. For its medicinal virtues it has long
been esteemed. The Italians have an adage which implies that "the fox-glove
heals all sores:" hence it is said, that they apply the bruised leaves, and
the juice of the leaves, in the healing of different kinds of wounds, and
particularly for the removal of scrophulous swellings.
The _juice_ of this plant has a bitter and nauseous taste; and, when taken
internally, acts violently on the stomach and bowels, and brings on stupor
and drowsiness; notwithstanding which, in careful hands, it may be rendered
a valuable medicine in dropsy, consumption, and epilepsy. It is given in
powder, tincture, and infusion of the dried leaves; and such is its
strength, that Dr. Woodville states, the dose of the dried leaves, in
powder, should not exceed from one to three grains per day.
182. _The CALABASH-TREE_ (Crescentia cujeta) _is a production of the West
Indies and America, about the height and dimensions if an apple-tree,
with crooked horizontal branches, wedge-shaped leaves, pale white flowers
on the trunk and branches, and a roundish fruit, from two inches to a
foot in diameter._
The uses to which the _fruit_ of the calabash tree is applied are very
numerous. Being covered with a greenish yellow skin, which encloses a thin,
hard, and almost woody shell, it is employed for various kinds of domestic
vessels, such as water cans, goblets, and cups of almost every shape and
description. So hard and close-grained is the calabash, that, when it
contains any kind of fluid, it may even be put on the fire without injury.
When intended for ornamental purposes, the vessels that are made of the
shell of this fruit are sometimes highly polished, and have figures
engraven upon them, which are variously tinged with indigo and other
colours. The Indians make musical instruments with the calabash.
The calabash contains a pale, yellow, juicy _pulp_, of unpleasant taste,
which is esteemed a valuable remedy in several disorders, both external and
internal.
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