144 
THE COMPLETE HERBAL 
strong. The wood is smooth, tough, and 
white, and easy to be cloven: On both these 
trees grows a sweet kind of musk, which in 
former times was used to put into sweet 
ointments. 
Place.| They grow in moist woods, and 
by water-sides in sundry places of this land; 
yet the White is not so frequent as the other. 
Time.| Their time is likewise expressed 
before: The catkins coming forth before 
the leaves in the end of Summer. 
Government and virtues.] Saturn hath 
dominion over both, white Poplar, saith 
Galen, is of a cleansing property: The 
weight of an ounce in powder of the bark 
thereof being drank, saith Dioscorides, is 
a remedy for those that are troubled with 
the sciatica, or the stranguary. The juice 
of the leaves dropped warm into the ears, 
eases the pains in them. The young 
clammy buds or eyes, before they break 
out into leaves, bruised, and a little honey 
put to them, is a good medicine for a dull 
sight. The Black Poplar is held to be more 
cooling than the White, and therefore the 
leaves bruised with vinegar and applied, 
help the gout. The seed drank in vinegar, 
is held good against the falling-sickness. 
The water that drops from the hollow 
places of this tree, takes away warts, 
pushes, wheals, and other the like break- 
ings-out of the body. The young Black 
Poplar buds, saith Matthiolus, are much 
used by women to beautify their hair, bruis- 
ing them with fresh butter, straining them 
after they have been kept for some time 
in the Sun. The ointment called Populneon, 
which is made of this Poplar, is singularly 
good for all heat and inflammations in any 
part of the body, and tempers the heat of 
wounds. It is much used to dry up the milk 
of women’s breasts, when they have weaned 
- oeieie children: 
POPPY. 
| Or this I shall describe three kinds, viz. 
the White and Black of the Garden, and 
the Erratic Wild Poppy, or Corn Rose. 
Descript.| The White Poppy hath at 
first four or five whitish green leaves lying 
upon the ground, which rise with the stalk, 
compassing it at the bottom of them, and 
are very large, much cut or torn on the 
edges, and dented also besides: The stalk, 
which is usually four or five feet high, hath 
sometimes no branches at the top, and 
usually but two or three at most, bearing 
every one but one head wrapped up in 4 
thin skin, which bows down before it is 
ready to blow, and then rising, and being 
broken, the flower within it spreading itself 
open, and consisting of four very large, 
white, round leaves, with many whitish 
round threads in the middle, set about 4 
small, round, green head, having a crown, 
or star like cover at the head thereof, which 
growing ripe, becomes as large as a great 
apple, wherein are contained a great num- 
ber of small round seeds in several pat- 
titions or divisions next unto the shell, the 
middle thereof remaining hollow, and 
empty. The whole plant, both leaves, 
stalks, and heads, while they are fresh, 
young, and green, yield a milk when they 
are broken, of an unpleasant bitter taste, 
almost ready to provoke casting, and of @ 
strong heady smell, which being condensate, 
is called Opium. The root is white and 
woody, perishing as soon as it hath given 
ripe seed. 
The Black Poppy little differs from the 
former, until it bears its flower, which is 
somewhat less, and of a black purplish 
colour, but without any purple spots in the 
bottom of the leaf. The head of the seed 
is much less than the former, and opens 
itself a little round about the top, under 
the crown, so that the seed, which is very 
black, will fall out, if one turn the head 
thereof downward. 
The wild Poppy, or Corn rose, hath long — 
and narrow leaves, very much cut in on the — 
