. AND ENGLISH PHYSICIAN ENLARGED. 45 
humours, and helps the sciatica; it opens 
obstructions of the liver, gall, and spleen, 
helps the jaundice, and eases the pains in 
the sides and hardness of the spleen, used 
outwardly, and is given with very good 
effect in agues. It helps those that have 
the dropsy, or the green-sickness, being 
much used by the Italians in powder for 
that purpose. It kills the worms in the 
belly, as is found by experience. The 
decoction thereof, viz. the top of the stalks, 
with the leaves and flowers, is good against 
the cholic, and to bring down women’s 
courses, helps to avoid the dead birth, and 
eases pains of the mother, and is very ef- 
fectual in all old pains of the joints as the 
gout, cramps, or convulsions. A dram of 
the powder taken in wine, is a wonderful 
good help against the biting and poison of 
of an adder. The juice of the herb with 
a little honey put to it, is good to clear the 
eyes from dimness, mists and clouds that 
offend or hinder sight. It is singularly 
good both for green and fresh wounds, as 
also for old ulcers and sores, to close up the 
one, and cleanse the other, and perfectly to 
cure them both, although they are hollow 
or fistulous; the green herb especially being 
bruised and laid thereto. The decoction 
therefore dropped into the ears, cleanses 
_ them from worms, cleanses the foul ulcers 
and spreading scabs of the head, and takes 
_ away all freckles, spots, and marks in the 
_ skin, being washed with it, the herb is so 
safe you cannot fail in the using of it, only 
giving it inwardly for inward diseases. 
| "Tis very wholesome, but not very tooth- 
_ some, 
| There is beside these, another small 
_ Centaury, which bears a yellow flower; in 
_ all other respects it is like the former, save 
_ that the leaves are bigger, and of a darker 
_ green, and the stalks pass through the midst 
of them, as it does the herb Thorowan. 
They are all of them, as I told you, under 
4 the government of the Sun; yet this, if 
you observe it, you shall find an excellent 
truth; in diseases of the blood, use the red 
Centaury; if of choler, use the yellow; but 
if phlegm or water, you will find the white 
best. 
THE CHERRY-TREE. 
I suppose there are few but know this 
tree, for its fruit’s sake; and therefore I 
shall spare writing a description thereof. 
Place.| For the place of its growth, it 
is afforded room in every orchard. 
Government and virtues.| It is a tree of 
Venus. Cherries, as they are of different 
tastes, so they are of different qualities. 
The sweet pass through the stomach and 
the belly more speedily, but are of little 
nourishment; the tart or sour are more 
pleasing to an hot stomach, procure appe- 
tite to meat, and help to cut tough phlegm, 
and gross humours; but when these are 
dried, they are more binding to the belly 
than when they are fresh, being cooling in 
hot diseases, and welcome to the stomach, 
and provoke urine. The gum of the Cherry- 
Tree, dissolved in wine is good for a cold, 
cough, and hoarseness of the throat; mends 
the colour in the face, sharpens the eye- 
sight, provokes appetite, and helps to break 
and expel the stone, and dissolved, the 
water thereof is much used to break the 
stone, and to expel gravel and wind. 
WINTER-CHERRIES. 
Descript.}| Tue Winter Cherry has a 
running or creeping root in the ground, of 
the bigness many times of one’s little finger, 
shooting forth at several joints in several 
places, whereby it quickly spreads a great 
compass of ground. The stalk rises not 
above a yard high, whereon are set many ~ 
broad and long green leaves, somewhat — 
like nightshades, but larger; at the joints _ 
whereof come forth whitish flowers made 
of five leaves a piece, which afterwards — 
