72 fa:mily herbal 



I 



CiiERTiL. Ckxrefoliian. 



u 



A SALLAD herb cultivated in gardens, but 

 not without ifs medicinal virtue. It is like pars- 

 ley in its manner of growth, but the leaves arc 

 more divided, and of a paler colour. The stalks 

 are round, striated, hollow^ and of a pale green ; 

 thej divide into several branches, and are about 

 two feet high : the leaves on them are like those 

 from the roctj but smaller. The flowers are bitter 

 and white, they stand in large tufts at the tops ot 

 the branches. The seeds are large and smooth, 

 ^ The roots of chervil work by urine, but mode- 

 li^tely ; they should be given in decoction. 



The Chesnut Tree. Castanea. 



A TALL, spreading, and beautiful tree. The 

 bark is smooth and grey : the leaves long and 



moderately broad, deep, and beautifully indented 

 round the edges^ and of a fine strong green. The 

 flowers are a kind of catkins^ like those of willows, 

 long and slender, and 'of a yellowish colour; the 

 fruits are covered with a rough prickly shell, and, 

 ' under that, each particular chesnut has its firm 

 brown coat^, and a thin skin, of an austere taste^ 

 over the kernel. 



This thin skin is the part used in medicine ; it 

 is to be separated from the chesnut, not too ripe, 

 and dried : it is a very fine astringent ; it sfopt 

 purgings and overflowings of the menses. 



Eartii-Chesnut, or Earth-Nut. 



Bulbocastanum. 



A COMMON wild plant, wliicli has the name 

 from its root. This is of the bigness of a £hesniit. 



