334 Pliny's natural history, [BookXXVlIT. 



preparations from the field weazel.^° But we will now return 

 to the other remedies, classified according to the various diseases. 



CHAr. 46. (11.) REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF TILE HEAD, AND 



FOR ALOPECY. 



Bears' grease, ^^ mixed with ladanum^^ and the plant adi- 

 antum,^^ prevents the hair from falling off ; it is a cure also 

 for alopecy and defects in the eyebrows, mixed with the fungus 

 from the wick of a lamp, and the soot that is found in the 

 nozzle. Used with wine, it is good for the cure of porrigo, a 

 .malady which is also treated with the ashes of deer's horns in 

 Avine : this last substance also prevents the growth of vermin 

 in the hair, For porrigo some persons employ goat's gall, in 

 combination with Cimolian chalk and vinegar, leaving the pre- 

 pration to dry for a time on the head. Sow's gall, too, mixed 

 with bull's urine, is employed for a similar purpose ; and when 

 old, it is an effectual cure, with the addition of sulphur, for 

 furfuraceous eruptions. The ashes, it is thought, of an ass's 

 genitals, will make the hair grow more thickly, and prevent it 

 from turning grey ; the proper method of applying it being to 

 shave the head and to pound the ashes in a leaden mortar with 

 oil. Similar eff'ects are attributed to the genitals of an ass's 

 foal, reduced to ashes and mixed with urine ; some nard being 

 added to render the mixture less offensive. In cases of alopecy 

 the part affected is rubbed with bull's gall, warmed with 

 Egyptian alum. Running ulcers of the head are successfully 

 treated with bull's urine, or stale human urine, in combination 

 with cyclaminos^^ and sulphur : but the most effectual remedy is 

 calf's gall, a substance which, heated with vinegar, has also the 

 effect of exterminating lice, Yeal suet, pounded with salt and 

 applied to ulcers of the head, is a very useful remedy : the fat, 

 too, of the fox is highly spoken of, but the greatest value is 

 set upon cats' dung, applied in a similar manner with mustard. 



Powdered goats' horns, or the horns reduced to ashes, those 

 of the he-goat in particular, with the addition of nitre, tama- 

 risk-seed, butter, and oil, are remarkably effectual for prevent- 

 ing the hair from coming off, the head being fii'st shaved for 

 the purpose. So too, the ashes of burnt goats' flesh, applied 



30 See B. xxix. c. 16. 



^^ This substance still maintains its reputation, as preservative of the 

 hair. 32 t^^,g £_ -^[[ ^ 37^ jjnj g ^^yi. c. 30, 



33 See B. xxii. c. 30. 3i ^^,^ 3. ^^y_ c. 67. 



