AND COMPLETE HERBAL, 211 
boiled ia hops lard, and applied, helpeth to preferve the hair from falling, and 
eafeth the pain of a fcald or burn ; or the bruifed leaves, laid'to any green wound, 
{peedily heal the fame: The root baked in embers, wrapped in pafte, or wet pa- 
pers, or in a wet double cloth, anda fuppofitory made thereof and applied to the 
fundament, doth very effectually help the piles or hemorrhoids ; alfo the diftilled> 
water of the herb and root is ufed with good effect for all the aforefaid purpofes, 
either. taken inwardly’ or applied outwardly, efpecially as a wath for wounds and 
punctures, and particularly ulcers occafioned by the venereal difeafe, 
. JOHN’s WORT. 
DEscripTION. THE common St. John’ s wort fhooteth forth brownifh, up- 
right, hard, round, ftalks, two feet high, fpreading many branches from the fides 
Up to the top, with two {mall dark-green leaves fet one againft another, fomewhat 
like thofe of the leffer centaury, but narrower, and full of {mall holes, which can 
fearcely be difcerned unlefs held up towards the light. At the tops of the ftalks 
and branches ftand yellow flowers, each compofed of five leaves, with many yellow 
threads in the middle, which, being bruifed, yield a reddifh juice like blood ; thefe 
are fucceeded by {mall round heads containing {mall blackith feed, {melling like 
rozin. The root is hard and woody, with many ftrings and fibres at it, and ad a 
brownifh colour ; they live many years, fhooting afrefh yearly. 
Piace. It groweth in woods and coppices, as well thofe that are fhady as thofe 
that are open and expofed to the fun. 
Time. They flower about midfummer, and their feed is ripe in the latter end of 
July and Augutt. 
GovernMENT AND Virtues. It is under the celeftial fign Leo, and governed by 
the Sun. It is by no means the leaft valuable for its efficacy in the cure of wounds, 
hurts, or bruifes, by being boiled in wine and drunk, if the complaint is inwardly, 
or, if outwardly, by converting it into an oil, ointment, bath, or lotion. It openeth 
ebftructions, diffolves {wellings, clofes up the lips of wounds, and {trengthens the 
parts that are weak and feeble. The decoétion of the herb and flowers, (though thae 
of the feed is preferable,) taken in wine, or the feed made into powder and drunk 
with the j juice of knotgrafs, helpeth all manner of vomiting and fpitting of blood, 
occafioned by the burfting of a vein, bruifes, falls, &c. It likewife helpeth thofe - 
_ who are bitten or ftung by any venomous creature, alfo eafeth the pain of the 
ftone, and when applied provoketh women’s courfes. Two drachms of the feed of — 
this herb, beaten to powder and drunk in a little broth, gently expel choler Or _ = a 
Congealed blood from the ftomach, The decoction of the leaves and feeds, — being 
Se 3K Hn - drunk 
. 
Pa © ea 
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