y 



183 FAMILY HERBAL. 



r 



Wifliin there aretwen(y or thirty seeds ; ta^y are 

 of the bigness of a small nutmeg, when ^\ve see 

 them : they are roundish, and very rough upou 



the surface : each is of a woody substance, and 

 when i^i^i^A, is of the flavour of citron seeds, but 



extremely bitter and nauseous- The colour is of 

 al? crev or brownish. 



These seeds are what we use in medicine, and 

 callthe St. Ignatius's bean. It is a medicine io be 

 ^iven with great caution, but li has many virtues : 

 the most powerful remedies, when in ill hands, are 

 naturally the most dangerous ; the powder giyen 

 in a small dose, occasions vomiting and purging, 

 and often \^ the constitution be tender, conyulsions ; 

 if is much better io give it in tincture, when no 

 such effects happen from it. ^Tis of 



agai 



\i will cutt the 



falling sickness, given in proper doses, and con- 

 tinued for a long time : the tincture is best for this 

 purpose. Some have given the powder in very 

 small quantities against worms, and that with suc- 

 cess ; its extreme bitter makes it very disagree- 

 able, and the taste continues in the throat a long 

 time, whence it occasions vomiting. We neglect 

 \i very much at present, because of its roughness ; 

 but it would be better we found the wav of ffivins: 

 it with safety. There are gentler medicines, 6ut 

 none of them so efficacious : it will do service in 

 cases that the common methods do not reach. 



St. JoHi^'s Wort. Hi/pcricum, 



A ROBUST and pretty plant, frequent in our 

 pastures, and other dry places. The height is a 

 foot and a half. The stalk is round, thick, Grin, 

 and very upright, and divided towards the top 

 into several branches. The leaves are short and 



