FAMILY HERB At; 



tufts of it are often a foot long, and in the whole 

 two or three inches thick ; thej are composed 

 of a great quantity of stalks and branches^ the 

 largest not bigger than a large packthread ; these 

 are of a grey colour, and are composed of a soft 

 bark> and a firm white fibre within : this bark 

 is often cracked^ and the fibres appear jointed- , 

 the small fibrei of the plant resemble hairs : on 

 the larger grow^ at certain seasons, little hollow 

 brown bodies. These contain the seeds, but they 



are too minute 



The 



whole plant is dry, and sapless as it grows, and 

 has not the least appearance of leaves upon it. 



The powder of this moss is an excellent astrin- 

 gent ; it is to dried in an oven, and beat in a mor- 

 tar : the white fibres will remain, when the soft 

 part has gone through the sieve ; they are of no 

 use, the other has all the virtue. It it good against 



the 



of the menses, and 



bloody fluxes, and against spitting of blood : it 

 deserves to^be much more regarded than it is io 

 the plresent"practice. The dose is half a dram. 



Cup Moss. Muscus pi/xidatm, 



A COMMON little plant on ditch banks, by 

 wood sides, and in dry barren places. It consists 

 of a thin coat of a leafy matter, spread upon the 

 surface of the ground, and of a kind of a little cup« 

 rising from it. The leafy part is dry and without 

 juice, divided into several portions, and these 

 irregularly notched ; it is grey or greenish on tK6 

 upper side, and whitish underneath. The cups 

 are half an inch high. They have each a thick 

 item, and an open mouth, and rather resemble a 

 clumsy drinking glass, than a cnp. They are of 



grev colour, often with some odd mixture of 



a 



M h 



