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xiT, INTRODUCTION. 



woods which we use are best kept in the block, 

 and shaved off as thej are wanted ; for being 

 kept in shavings, thej lose llieir virtue: and in 

 the same manner as to the foreign woods, it is 

 best to keep a block of sassafras, and of lignum 

 Tfitec in the house^ and cut them as they are 



wanted. 



As to the excrescences, such as galls of the 

 oak^ and the burr upon the wild briar, they 



liirally so dry, that tliey only require to be ex 



posed a few days to the air, upon a table, and 



then they may be put up with safety, and will 

 keep a long time. 



Lastly, the funguses, such as Jew^s ears and 



Ihe like, are to be gathered \yhen they are full 



grown, and strung upon a line, that Ihcy may 

 dry leisurely, for else they spoil : they must be 

 Yery well dried before they are put up, else 

 they will grow mouldy in damp weather ; and 

 if oucc that happen^ no art can recoyer their 

 "virtues. 



Thus may a druggist's shop of a new kind 

 be filled, and it will consist of as many articles 

 as those which receive their furniture from abroad ; 

 ^nd there will be this advantage in having every 

 thing ready ; that when custom has made the vir- 

 tues of the several things familiar, the lady may 

 do from her judgment as the physician in his pre- 

 scription, mix several things of like virtue to- 

 gether, and not depend upon the virtues of any 

 one singly, when the case requires something of 

 power. These roots and barks powdered, will 

 make as handsome and as efficacious boluses an<i 

 mixtures, as any furnished by the apothecary. 



