AND COMPLETE HERBAL. 203 
grow wild in ‘England, two of whicht fhall here mention ; viz, The fick j isa low 
fmooth plant, not quite a foot high, of a very bitter tafte, compoied of many 
fquare ftalks, diverfly branched from the bottom to the top; it has many joints, 
fhooting forth at each two fimall leaves, thefe are rather. broader at the bottom than 
at the top, a little dented on the edges, of a fad green colour, and full of veins. 
The flowers ftand alfo at the joints, being of a fair purple colour with white {pots, 
and made very much like thofe of dead-nettle ; the feed is fmall and_yellew, and 
the roots fpread much under ground. 
The fecond feldom grows more than half a foot high, : Ahéoting forth feve- 
ral fmall branches, whereon grow many fimall leaves fet one againft the other, 
fomewhat broad, but very fhort; the flowers are not much unlike the former in 
fhape, but of a pale reddifh colour; the feed is {mall and yellowifh, and the root 
fpreadeth like that of the firft. | 
Prace. They grow in wet low ee and by idee, and the latter fort 
may be found amongft the bogs on Hampftead Heath. ~ 
Time. They generally flower in June, Julyy: and Augutt, and oR fed ripens 
prefently after. 3 
-GoveRNMENT AND Virtues, They ate’ snide de dieses of ieee They 
are very unfafe to take inwardly, unlefs well rectified by an Alchymift, and only 
_ the purity of them given, as they are violent purgers, efpecially of choler and phlegm. 
~ Being prepared, they are very good for the dropfy, gout, and fciatica; externally 
applied in ointments, or the belly anointed therewith, will deftroy worms therein, 
: a is an excellent remedy for old and filthy fores. 3 
[BEF BUACK HELLEBORE, A ae 
IT is called alfo fetter-wort, fetter-grafs, bear’s-foot, Saaptsaeinhs aack Chrift. 
mas-flower, 
- Description. . It hath many fair green leaves rifing Gam ‘he root, each of them 
| ftanding about a fpan high from the ground; the leaves are all divided into feven, 
eight, or nine parts, dented from the middle to the point on both fides, and’ remain. 
‘Green all the winter. About Chriftmas time, if the weather is iomewhat temperate, — 
‘the flowers appear upon footftalks, each composed of five large, round, white leaves, 
which are fometimes purple toward the edges, with many pale ycllow thrumbs ip 
the middle, The feed is divided into feveral cells, fomewhat like thofe of colum- — 
bines, but'rather larger, the feed is long and round, and of a black colour, T. he oe 
Foot confifts of numberlefs blackifi ftrings, all united, into one head, There islikee ae 
s wile, another Species of black hellebore which frequently grows in woods oe | 
