116 
THE COMPLETE HERBAL 
and in Essex, as also in Huntingdonshire, 
and in other places, but most usually in 
corn fields, in corners of meadows. 
Time.| It flowers in June and July, and 
is ripe quickly after. 
Government and virtues.] Mellilot,boiled 
in wine, and applied, mollifies all hard 
tumours and inflammations that happen in 
the eyes, or other parts of the body, and 
sometimes the yolk of a roasted egg, or fine 
flour, or poppy seed, or endive, is added 
unto it. It helps the spreading ulcers in 
the head, it being washed with a lye made 
thereof. It helps the pains of the stomach, 
being applied fresh; or boiled with any of 
the aforenamed things; Also, the pains of 
the ears, being dropped into them; and 
steeped in vinegar, or rose water, it miti- 
gates the head-ache. The flowers of Melli- 
lot or camomile are much used to be put 
together in clysters to expel wind, and ease 
pains; and also in poultices for the same 
purpose, and to assuage swelling tumours 
in the spleen or other parts, and helps in- 
flammations in any part of the body. The 
juice dropped into the eyes, is a singular 
_ good medicine to take away the film or skin 
that clouds or dimns the eye-sight. The 
head often washed with the distilled water 
of the herb and flower, of a lye made there- 
with, is effectual for those that suddenly 
lose their senses; as also to strengthen the 
memory, to comfort the head and brain, and 
to preserve them from pain, and the apo- 
plexy. 
FRENCH AND DOG MERCURY. 
Descript.| Tuts rises up with a square 
green stalk full of joints, two feet high, or 
thereabouts, with two leaves at every joint, 
and the branches likewise from both sides of 
_ the stalk, set with fresh green leaves, some- 
_ what broad and long, about the bigness of 
the leaves of Basil, finely dented about the 
. edges; towards the tops of the stalk and 
branches, come forth at every joint in the | 
male mercury two small, round green 
heads, standing together upon a short 
foot stalk, which growing ripe, are seeds 
not having flowers. The female stalk is 
os 
longer, spike-fashion, set round about with — 
small green husks, which are the flowers, 
made like small bunches of grapes, which 
give no seed, but abiding long upon the 
stalks without shedding. The root is com- 
posed of many small fibres, which perishes 
every year at the first approach of Winter, 
and rises again of its own sowing; and if 
once it is suffered to sow itself, the ground 
i IR . 
will never want afterwards, even both sorts — 
of it, 
DOG MERCURY. 
Havine described unto you that which | 
is called French Mercury, I come now to 
shew you a description of this kind also. 
Descript.] This is likewise of two kinds, 
male and female, having many stalks slen- 
der and lower than Mercury, without any 
branches at all upon them, the root is set 
with two leaves at every joint, somewhat 
greater than the female, but more pointed — 
and full of veins, and somewhat harder in 
handling; of a dark green colour, and less 
dented or snipped about the edges. At the 
joints with the leaves come forth longer — 
stalks than the former, with two hairy 
round seeds upon them, twice as big 35 — 
those of the former Mercury. The taste 
hereof is herby, and the smell somewhat — 
strong and virulent. The female has much — 
harder leaves standing upon longer foot — 
stalks, and the stalks are also longer; from _ 
the joints come forth spikes of flowers like — 
the French Female Mercury. The roots of 
them both are many, and full of small fibres — 
which run under ground, and mat them — 
selves very much, not perishing as the for _ 
mer Mercuries do, but abiding the Wintel, _ 
and shoot forth new branches every yea) _ 
for the old lie down to the ground. | 
Place.] The male and female French 
