68 
THE COMPLETE HERBAL 
sweet in scent; after which come small 
blackish berries, full of juice while they are 
fresh, wherein is small hard kernels, or 
seed. The root doth creep under the upper 
crust of the ground, springing in divers 
places, being of the bigness of one’s finger 
or thumb sometimes. 
Place.| The Elder tree grows in hedges, 
being planted there to strengthen the fences 
and partitions of ground, and to hold the 
banks by ditches and water courses. 
The Dwarf Elder grows wild in many 
places of England, where being once gotten 
into a ground, it is not easily gotten forth 
again. 
Time.| Most of the Elder Trees, flower 
in June, and their fruit is ripe for the most 
part in August. But the Dwarf Elder, or 
Wall-wort, flowers somewhat later, and his 
fruit is not ripe until September. 
Government and virtues.] Both Elder 
and Dwarf Tree are under the dominion of 
Venus. The first shoots of the common 
Elder boiled like Asparagus, and the young 
leaves and stalks boiled in fat broth, doth 
mightily carry forth phlegm and choler. 
The middle or inward bark boiled in water, 
and given in drink, works much more 
violently ; and the berries, either green or 
dry, expel the same humour, and are often 
given with good success to help the dropsy ; 
the bark of the root boiled in wine, or the 
juice thereof drank, works the same effects, 
but more powerfully than either the leaves 
or fruit. The juice of the root taken, doth 
mightily procure vomitings, and purges the 
watery humours of ths dropsy. The de- 
coction of the root taken, cures the biting 
of an adder, and biting of mad dogs. It 
molifies the hardness of the mother, if 
women sit thereon, and opens their veins, 
__ and brings down their courses: The berries 
_ boiled in wine perform the same effect; 
_ and the hair of the head washed therewith 
_ 3s made black. The juice of the green 
leaves applied to the hot inflammations of 
the eyes, assuages them; the juice of the 
leaves snuffed up into the nostrils, purges 
the tunicles of the brain; the juice of the 
berries boiled with honey and dropped 
into the ears, helps the pains of them; the 
decoction of the berries in wine being 
drank provokes urine; the distilled water 
of the flowers is of much use to clean the 
skin from sun-burning, freckles, morphew, 
or the like; and takes away the head-ache, 
coming of a cold cause, the head being 
bathed therewith. The leaves or flowers 
distilled in the month of May, and the legs 
often washed with the said distilled water, 
it takes away the ulcers and sores of them. 
The eyes washed therewith, it takes away 
the redness and bloodshot; and the hands 
washed morning and evening therewith, 
helps the palsy, and shaking of them. 
The Dwarf Elder is more powerful than 
the common Elder in opening and purging 
choler, phlegm, and water; in helping the 
gout, piles, and women’s diseases, colours 
the hair black, helps the inflammations of 
the eyes, and pains in the ears, the biting of 
serpents, or mad dogs, burnings and scald- 
ings, the wind cholic, cholic, and stone, the 
difficulty of urine, the cure of old sores and 
fistulous ulcers. Either leaves or bark of 
Elder, stripped upwards as you gather it, 
causes vomiting. Also Dr. Butler, in @ 
manuscript of his, commends Dwarf Elder 
to the sky for dropsies, viz to drink it, 
being boiled in white wine; to drink the 
decoction, I mean, not the Elder. 
THE ELM TREE. 
Tuts tree is so well known, growing 
generally in all counties of this land, that it 
is needless to describe it. 
Saturnine plant. The leaves thereof bruised 
and applied, heal green wounds, being 
Government and virtues.] It is a cold and — 
bound thereon with its own bark. The | 
leaves or the bark used with vinegar, cures | 
| Scurf and leprosy very effectually: The — 
a 
