244 pliny's natural history. [Book XXVII. 



live, round, and hairy ; its branches are small, half a foot in 

 length, five or six in number, and covered with leaves from 

 the root upwards. It grows in corn-fields, and has a rough 

 flavour : hence it is found very useful for defluxions of the 

 eyes, the leaves being beaten up and applied with polenta ^^ iu 

 a linen pledget. A decoction of this plant with linseed, taken 

 in pottage, is good for dysentery. 



CH.1P. 5 1 . EMPETEOS, BY OUR PEOPLE CALLED CALCIFRAGA : FOUR 



REMEDIES. 



Empetros,^° by the people of our country called " calci- 

 fraga,"®^ grows on mountains near the sea, and is generally 

 found upon rocks : the nearer it grows to the sea the Salter it 

 is, acting as an evacuant of bile and pituitous secretions. That, 

 on the other hand, which grows at a greater distance and more 

 inland, is of a more bitter flavour. It carries off the aqueous 

 humours of the bodj-, being taken for that purpose in broth of 

 some kind, or else hydromel. When old, it loses its strength ; 

 but used fresh, either boiled in water or pounded, it acts as a 

 diuretic, and disperses urinary calculi. Authorities who wish 

 full credence to be given to this asserted property, assure us 

 that pebbles boiled with it will split asunder. 



CHAP. 52. — THE EPIPACTI8 OR ELLEBORINE I TWO REMEDIES. 



The epipactis,®' called " elleborine " by some, is a diminutive 

 plant with small leaves. Taken in drink, it is extremely use- 

 ful for diseases of the liver, and as an antidote to poisons. 



CHAP. 53. THE EPIMEDION : THREE REMEDIES. 



The epimedion^ consists of a stem of moderate size, with 

 ten or twelve leaves like those of ivy : it never flowers, and 



■^9 See ?>. xviii. c. 14. 



'^'^ Fee, with Sprengel, identifies it with the Salsola polychlonos of Lin- 

 Tia3us, Branchy saltwort or glasswort ; Bauliin witli the Passerina poly- 

 galifolia. The Crithnmm maritimum of Linnaeus, Sea samphire, has 

 been suggested l)y Desfontaines. Littre gives the Fraukenia pulverulenta 

 of Linnaeus. Holland suggests Saxifrage. 



'"' " Calculus-breaking," ^2 gge B. xiii. c. 35. 



•^3 Sprengel suggests the Marsilea quadrifolia of Linnaeus; Columna 

 tlie Botrychiura lunaria of Linnteus ; C. Bauhin the Ornitliogalura Nar- 

 bonense of Linnaeus, Narboncse star of Bethlehem ; and Talius the Caltha 

 palijstris of Linnaeus, the Marsh marigold. Fee considers its identification 

 impossible. 



