Chap. 6.J " MISTLETOE. 5 



wounds with vinegar ; and in combination with water it is 

 dropt into tha eyes in cases of defluxion of those organs or 

 of ecchymosis. There grows also in most parts of Attica, and 

 in Asia, a berry of this description, which becomes transformed 

 with great rapidity into a diminutive worm, owing to which 

 circumstance the Greeks have given it the name of " sco- 

 lecion :"-^ it is held, however, in disesteem. The principal 

 varieties of this berry have been previously-^ described. 



CHAP. 5. GALL-NUTS ! TWENTY-THREE REMEDIES. 



And no fewer are the varieties of the gall-nut which we 

 have described :^^ we have, for instance, the full-bodied gall- 

 nut, the perforated one, the white, the black, the large, the 

 small, all of them possessed of similar properties ; that, how- 

 ever, of Commagene is generally preferred. These substances 

 remove fleshy excrescences on the body, and are serviceable for 

 affections of the gums and uvula,^^ and for ulcerations of the 

 mouth. Burnt, and then quenched in wine, they are applied 

 topically in cases of ccBliac aifectious and dysentery, and with 

 lioney, to whitlows, hang-nails, malformed nails, running ulcers, 

 condylomatous swellings, and ulcerations of the nature known as 

 phagedsenic.^^ A decoction of them in wine is used as an injection 

 for the ears, and as a liniment for the eyes, and in combination 

 with vinegar they are employed for eruptions and tumours. 



The inner part of the gall, chewed, allays tooth-ache, and is 

 good for excoriations between the thighs, and for burns. Taken 

 unripe in vinegar, they reduce the volume of the spleen ; and, 

 burnt and then quenched in salt and vinegar, they are used as 

 a fomentation for excessive menstruation and procidence of 

 the uterus. All varieties of the gall-nut stain the hair black. 



CHAP. 6. MISTLETOE *. ELEVEN REMEDIES. 



^Ye have already ^^ stated that the best mistletoe is that 

 which grows on the robur,^* and have described the manner in 



are bj'pothetical. It is no longer used in medicine, at least to any re- 

 cognized extent. 



-8 Hence the Latin word " vermiculum," from which our word " ver- 

 milion" is derived. 



29 In B. xvi. 0. 12. ^^ In B. xvi. c. 9. 



3^ They might be used advantageously, Fee. thinks, in the shape of a 

 decoction, for procidence of the uviila and uterus. 



^- " Eating," or "corrosive." ^^ See B. xvi. cc. 11, 93, 94. 



21 SeeB. xvi. cc, 10, 11. 



