10 



cles for the seed, again the seed itself, or young plants, or even buds 

 which served the purpose of reproduction. 



Gleditsch, Scopoli and Linne believed that the apothecia were 

 the male reproductive organs, while the soredia were the female re- 

 productive organs. Necker 1 held the opposite opinion. Haller 2 ac- 

 cepted the theory of Micheli with regard to the functions of the 

 apothecia and soredia. It scarcely need be stated that these various 

 and varied opinions were based upon purely hypothetical assump- 

 tions and not upon direct observations. 



In the pages devoted to the previous periods mention has been 

 made of some of the uses to which lichens had been put in medicine 

 and in the arts. In this period further efforts were made to widen 

 their range of supposed usefulness. From the fact that scarcely any- 

 thing was known of their anatomy and chemical composition, it is 

 evident that many erroneous opinions must have been entertained in 

 regard to their usefulness. Mead 3 recommended Pcltigcra canina 

 as a cure for hydrophobia. Dried and finely powdered thalli of P. 

 canina, mixed with finely powdered red pepper, formed the noted 

 " pulvis antilyssus " (anti-hydrophobia powder) of the London 

 Pharmacopoeia (1721 to 1788). In the history of the Royal Society 

 it is recorded that several mad dogs, belonging to the Duke of York, 

 were saved by this powder. The following is Dr. Mead's treat- 

 ment in the case of hydrophobia. "The patient is bled and 

 ordered to take a dose of powder in warm milk for four consecutive 

 mornings ; thereafter he must take a cold bath every morning for a 

 month, and for two weeks subsequently three times a week." 

 Usnea barbata was a favorite remedy for whooping cough ; it was 

 also recommended as an anodyne. (Dioscorides states that it 

 was employed in certain diseases.) From its appearance it was sup- 

 posed to promote the growth of hair. The yellow Xanthoria 

 parietina was recommended in jaundice. The tonic and astringent 

 properties of Cetraria Islandica were highly lauded by Ebeling. 4 

 Physicians and apothecaries of Iceland and Denmark recommended 

 it in haemoptysis and phthisis. As an article of diet it had been 

 long in use, not only for man, but also for domestic animals. " Ice- 

 land scurvy " was said to have been prevented by consuming a suffi- 

 cient quantity of this lichen. 



1 Necker, N. J. Physiologia Muscorum. Mannheim. 1774. 



2 Haller, A. Historia Stirpium Indigenarum. Helvetiae Bernae. 1768. 



3 Mead, R. Poisons, 5th ed. 1818. 



4 Ebeling. Du Quassia et Cetraria Islandica. Glasgow. 1779. 



