Laurus benzoin. 95 
dislodge worms, and that it is deemed an efficacious medicine in such 
cases. Of this I know nothing myself; but as the tea made by in- 
fusing the young branches is very pleasant, it would certainly be 
well to try it as a vermifuge. The Indians are said to esteem the 
spice-wood highly as a medicine; in what complaints they use it 
I have not been able satisfactorily to learn. Dr. Drake* mentions 
that the oil of the berries is used medicinally, and that it is sti- 
mulant. The dose of the infusion or decoction is about a pint in 
twenty-four hours. When the powdered bark is used, one drachm 
is given two or three times a day, in a glass of wine. I have known 
the flowers used for making tea, in the manner that sassafras blos- 
soms are, and taken as a gentle refreshing stimulant. 
CEcONOMICAL USE. 
The berries partake of the same spicy flavour which distinguishes 
the bark of the shrub; and we are informed, that during the late 
American war, the inhabitants of the United States used them dried 
and powdered as a substitute for allspice.t 
* Picture of Cincinnati. 
} Barton’s Collections. 
