380 MEALS MEDICINAL. 
of each of the stiff hairs; and wrtication, or flogging with Nettles, 
is an old external remedy which has been long practised for 
chronic rheumatism, and loss of muscular power. A tea made 
from young Nettle tops is a Devonshire cure for nettlerash. But 
such a decoction, when brewed too strong, and drunk too freely, 
has produced a severe burning over the whole body, with general 
redness of the skin, and a sense of being stung; the features 
became swollen, and minute vesicles broke out, which presently 
burst, and discharged a limpid fluid. Again, Nettle tea will 
promote the extrication from the body of gouty gravel through 
the kidneys; and fresh Nettle-juice, given in doses of from one 
to two tablespoonfuls, is a most serviceable remedy for losses 
of blood, whether from the nose, the lungs, or some other internal 
organ. If a leaf of the herb be put upon the tongue, and pressed 
against the roof of the mouth, it will stop a bleeding from the 
nose. 
For a bee-sting the immediate application of a Dock leaf 
tubbed-in is a familiar, and popular remedy, as antidotal 
to the formic acid of the bee venom. It is the same formic 
acid which causes smarting, and swelling from being stung 
by Nettles, with their lance-like leaves having at the base 
of each lance a diminutive sac which ejects a tiny drop of the 
formic acid into the wound inflicted. Such formic acid is, 
nevertheless, necessary to the well-being of our blood; it is 
found in the muscles of all flesh, and is believed to be an antidote 
against the uric acid of rheumatism, insomuch that to be stung 
purposely by bees is commended for uric acid rheumatic patients. 
Nettle-stinging will answer equally well on the same principle, 
whether by external application, or by eating young Nettles 
{of the stinging species) cooked in their own juices, or with only 
a lettuce leaf added for moisture. The cottage wife makes 
Nettle-beer, and considers it a cure for the gouty old folk: she 
does not know why, but only makes use of the knowledge handed 
<own to her by past experience from her predecessors. It's 
the formic acid in the Nettle, with the phosphates, and the trace 
oi iron, which constitute it such a valuable medicinal food. 
A crystallized alkaloid (which is fatal to frogs in a dose of 
one centigramme) has been isolated from the common Stinging 
Nettle. If planted in the neighbourhood of beehives the Nettle 
will serve to drive away frogs. In Italy, where herb soups are 
much in favour, the “herb knodel” of Nettles made into round 
