760 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



For a hard tumor or swelling, goat's flesh burned to ashes and 

 smudged on with water is found to be efficacious, as are also shavings 

 off the horn of a hart to disperse ill-humors and gatherings. "Wood- 

 ashes seethed in resin, or goat's horn burned and mingled with water, 

 or its dung dried and grated and mingled with lard, were all good 

 remedies for swellings. 



For erysipelas, the prescriptions are numerous. A plaster of earth- 

 worms, or of bullock's dung, still warm is recommended ; but, better 

 still, " For that ilk, take a swallow's nest, break it away altogether, 

 and burn it, with its dung and all ; rub it to dust, mingle with vine- 

 gar, and smear therewith." For pain of jowl, burn a swallow to dust, 

 and mingle him with field-bee's honey. Give the man that to eat fre- 

 quently. 



To the value of every portion of a fox not even the fairy-lore of 

 Japan can bear higher testimony. The man who has disease of the 

 joints is advised to take a living fox and seethe him till the bones 

 alone be left, and then bathe repeatedly in this foxy essence. And 

 every year he shall prepare himself this support, and let him add oil 

 thereto, when he seetheth him. Wonderfully it healeth ! 



For sore of ears and dimness of eyes, a fox's gall mingled with oil 

 or with honey is recommended, and " the fat of the fox's loin melted 

 and dropped in the ear also bringeth health. For oppressive, hard- 

 drawn breathing, a fox's lung sodden and put into sweetened wine 

 and administered, wonderfully healeth." A salve of fox's grease min- 

 gled with tar would heal all manner of sores, while his liver worked 

 cures quite as notable as those recorded in Japan. Shoes lined with 

 vixen-hide were recommended to those who suffered from foot-addle 

 i. e., gout. 



Next in value to the fox ranks the hare, whose brain drunk in 

 wine "wonderfully amendeth " an indolent tendency to oversleep. 

 Its lung, bound on the 6ore, healeth both eyes and feet. The hare's 

 gall, mingled with honey, brighteneth the eyes. The lung and liver, 

 mingled with myrrh and boiled in vinegar, cures giddiness. The sin- 

 ews swallowed raw are an antidote against bite of spiders ; and the 

 rennet administered in wine against that of serpents. The heart min- 

 gled with dust of frankincense heals various forms of disease, while 

 baldness is averted by smearing the head with oil in which have been 

 seethed portions of this poor little animal. " Then the hair holdeth 

 on, and the salve compels that it shall grow." 



If the gums of a child be frequently rubbed with a hare's brain 

 sodden, then shall its teeth wax without sore. The milk of a she- 

 wolf was held equally efficacious, but more difficult to obtain ! 



Next in order of merit comes the he-goat, whose liver pounded 

 with vinegar is found valuable as a styptic, as is also his blood dried 

 and reduced to dust ; goat's gall is a cosmetic which will remove all 

 unsightly spots and specks from off the face ; mingled with apple- 



