FAMILY HERBAL. 1!^ 



I 



J 



mercury, distinguished like this poisonous kinil, 

 into male and female, he says, ^that (he male kind 



*^ conduces to the generation of boys, and the female 

 ^ of girls/ Such is the matter, that a superiority 

 in one of these authors over the other, qualified 

 him to add to his book : such are the English 

 books that are extant upon this subject ; and such 

 the direction offered to the charitable, confounding 

 eatable herbs with poisons. This has been on^, 

 great reason of writing the present book, that there 

 may be one guide and direction at least, to be de- 

 pended upon ; and this its author has thonj^ht pro- 

 per to s^ay at large upon the innncdiate occasion, 

 rather than in a preface ; because there it must 

 have been accompanied with a needless repetition, 

 and perha-ps would not have been observed by munv. 

 who may have recourse to the book. 



DoG'TooTH, Dens caninns. 



A VERY pretty little plant> with two broad 

 leaves and a large drooping flower ; common in 

 Italy and Germany, and frequent in our gardens. 

 It is five or six inches high. The stalk is round, 

 slender, weak, and greenish towards the top ; often 

 white at the bottom. The leaves stand a little 

 height above the ground : they are oblong, some- 

 what broad, of a beautiful (^reen, not at all dented 

 at the edjres, and blunt at the end : thev inclosfj 

 the stalk at the base. The flower is large and white, 

 but with a tinge of reddish; it hangs down, and 

 is long, hollow, and very elegant. The root is 

 roundish, siid has some fibres growing ffon:i itj 

 bottom ; it is full of a slimyjuice. 



The fresh gathered roots are used ; for they dry 

 very i 11^ and generally lose their virtues entirely. 



They are good ag 



