FAMILY HERBAL. S0\> 



square^ and a little hairy ; the leaves stand in pairs 

 vpon iij hut there are seldom more than two or 

 three pair^ the great quantity of them rise imme- 

 diately from the root ; they are ohlong, broad, 

 blunt at the point, and not at all indented at the 

 edges. The flowers are small ; they stand in a 

 kind of short spikes or heads : the cups of them 

 are often purplish. The root is small and creep- 

 ingj and full of fibres. The juice of self-heal 

 is astringent; it is good against purgings, with 

 very sharp or bloody stools,, and against overflow- 

 ings of the menses. The dried herb made into 

 an infusion and sweetened with honey, is good 

 against a sore throat, and ulcers of the mouth. 



The Senna Shrub. Sena. 



A LITTLE shrub, three or four feet high, 

 native of the East. The trunk is covered with a 

 whitish and rough bark ; the leaves are composed 

 each of three pair of smaller, disposed on a com- 

 mon rib, with an odd one at the end : they are 

 oblong, narrow, and sharp pointed, of a smooth 

 surface^ a thick substance, of a pale green colour, 



and not indented at ^the edges. The flowers are 

 like a pea blossom in sh^e, but they are yellow, 

 marked with purple veins. The pods are short 

 and flat, and the seeds are small and brown. 



We have the dried leaves from the East, the 

 druggists keep them. They are given in iafusioji, 

 and arc an excellent purge, but' as they are apt to 

 gripe iii the working, the common method is to 

 throw in a few cardamom seeds, or some other 



warm medicine into the water. 



