‘The Ufeful Family Herbal. 265 
fmall Quantity of Rhubarb, it is the beft of all 
Remedies againft Purgings. E 
O. 
The Oak. 
~~ QUERCUS. 
4 wy Noble and ftately Tree, Native of our Coun- 
_ ©” try, and no where growing to fo great Per- 
 feétion. It is very tall, and though irregular in the 
_ Difpofition of its Branches, that very Irregularity 
has its Beauty, the Trunk is very thick; the Bran- 
ches are alfo thick, and often crooked: The Bark 
is brown and rough: The Leaves are large, ob- 
long, broad, and deeply cut in at the Edges, and 
they are of a fhining Green. The Flowers are 
Inconfiderable. The Fruit is the Acorn well 
‘Known. Galls are produced upon the Oak, not 
as Fruit, but from the Wounds made by an Infect. . 
_~ The Bark of the Oak is a very powerful Aftrin- 
gent, it ftops Purgings, and Overflowings of the | 
Menfes. Given in Powder, a Decoétion of it is 
excellent for the falling down of the Uvula, or as” 
it is called the falling of the Palate of the Mouth. 
_ Whenever a very powerful Aftringent is required, 
Oak Bark demands the Preference over every 
-thing: If it were brought from the Ea/-Indies, 
it would be held ineftimable, 
e 
