m FAMILY HERBAL. 



singly, not in pairs^ and are of a pale green co^ 

 lour. The flowers are of the breadth of a crown- 



_ w 



piece at the mouth, and narrower to the base, beil- 

 fashioned, and perfectly white. The root is long 

 and slender. 



In Northamptonshire the poor people use the root 

 of this plant fresh gathered and boiled in ale as a 

 purge; they save the expcnce of the apothecary, 

 and answer the purpose better than anj one tbinsf 

 would do for them. It would nauseate a delicate 

 stomach, but, for people of their strong constitution, 

 there is not a better purge. 



The Bii^LEERRY Bush. Vaccinia nigra. 



A LITTLE tough shrubby plant, common in 



our boggy woods, and upon wet heaths.* The 

 stalks are tough, angular, and green ; the leaves 

 are small; they stand singly, not in pairs, and 

 are broad, short, and indented about the edges. 

 The flowers are small but pretty, their colour 

 is a faint red, and they are hollow like a cup. 

 The berries are as large as the biggest pea, they 

 are of a blackish colour, and of a pleasant taste. 



A syrup made of the juice of billberries, when 

 not over ripe, is cooling and binding ; it is a plea- 

 sant and gentle medicine fur women whose menses 

 are apt to be too redundant, taken for a week before 



the time 



The Birch-Tree. Betula. 



A TALL and handsome tree, common in our 

 woods and hedges. The bark is smooth and 

 "white. The young shoots are reddish, and they 

 are small and long. The leaves are beautiful ; 

 they are short, roundish, of a line brisrht jrrecn. 



* 



^D*'"" to 



