336 FAMILY HERBAL, 



astringent^ and it is restorative and strengthening ; 

 this should be drank with cream^ but witli only 

 a moderate quantity of sugar. 



Teazle. Dipsacus sjjlvesiris 



A TALL and stately plant, common by road 

 sides, with large burr-Iikc heads, and little red 

 flowers growing out of them. It is six fret high : 

 the stalk is single, thick, white, and \ery strong. 

 The leaves grow two together, encompassing the 

 stalk at their base, and make a hollow there which 

 will hold water : they arc prickly on the under 

 part along the rib. The heads are as big as aa 

 apple, and somewhat oblong : they are of a pale 

 coIoOr. The root is long. 



The root is used ; it is bitter, and given ia 

 infusion, strengthens the stomach and creates au 

 appetite. It is also good against obstructions of 

 the liver, and the jaundice ; people have an opinion 

 of the water that stands in the hollow of the leave* 

 teing good to takeaway freckles. 



There is another kind of teazle, called the ma- 

 nured teazle. The heads are used in dressing of 

 clot?i ; the virtues are the same, and they differ 

 "very little in their general form. 



Blessed Thistle. Carduus henedictus. 



APLANToDCC in great esteem, and at present 

 not altogether neglected. It is a native of the 

 warmer countries, and is raised with us in gardens. 

 It is two feet high ; the stalk is reddish, slender, 

 and weak ; very much branched, and scarce able 

 to keep upright under the weight of leaves and 

 neada. The leaves arc long, narrow, cut in on 

 both sides, and of an obscure green. The flow- 



