AND, COMPLETE, HERBAL, 67 
{weet in {mell, refembling nardus,. but. more when they are dry, than green, and.of 
afharp, but not unpleafant tafte. 
Prace,. It groweth frequently in gardens. 
Tims. They keep their leaves green all the winter, but fhoot forth new in the 
fpring, and with them-come forth thofe heads or flowers which give ripe feed about 
midfuminer, dr fomewhat after. | 7 
GOVERNMENT! AND. VIRTUES. Tis a plant under the dominion of Mars, and 
therefore inimical to nature. This herb being,drank, not only provoketh vomiting, 
but purgeth downward, and by urine alfo, purgeth both choler and phlegm: if you 
add to it fome fpikenard with the whey of goat’s milk, or honeyed water, it is made 
more flrong, but it purgeth ‘phlegm more manifeftly than choler, and therefore 
doth much help: pains in theships and other parts, It being boiled in whey, 
wonderfully helpeth the obftructions of the liver and fpleen, and therefore pro- 
fitable for the dropfy and jaundice being fteeped in wine and drank. It helps 
thofe continual agues that come by the plenty of ftubborn humours: an oil made 
thereof by fetting it in the fun, with fome laudanum added to it, provoketh {weating, 
the ridge of the back being anointed therewith, and thereby driveth away the fhaking 
fits of the ague. It will not abide any Jong boiling, for it loofeth its chief ftrength 
thereby; nor much beating, for the finer powder doth provoke vomits and urine, 
and the courfer purgeth downwards. The common ule hereof, is to take the juice of 
five or feven leaves in a little drink to caufe vomitings; the roots have alfo the fame 
virtue though they do not operate fo forcibly, yet they are very effectual againit 
the biting of ferpents, and therefore is put as an ingredient both into mithridate 
and Venice treacle. The leaves and roots being boiled in lye, and the head often | 
wafhed therewith while it is warm, comforteth the head and brain that is ill affetted 3 
by taking cold, and helpeth the memory. 
-I fhall defire ignorant people to forbear the ufe of the leaves: the roots purge | 
more gently, and may prove beneficial in fuch as have cancers, or old putrified 
ulcers, or fiftulas upon their bodies, to take a dram of them in powder in a quarter-of 
a pint of white wine in the morning. The truth is, I fancy purging and vomiting 
medicines as little as any man breathing, for they weaken nature, nor fhall never 
advife them to be ufed unlefs upon urgent neceffity. Ifa phyfician be nature’s fer- 
vant, it is his duty to ftrengthen his midis as much as he can, and weaken her 
wc, may be. 
@ 
ASPARAGUS, SPARAGUS, or SPERAGE, 
Description. IT rifeth up. at firft with divers white green fcaly heads, very, rit- ~ 
: ted to break while they are young, which afterwards rife ssi in very wns 
