64 WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS. 



Beyond this aquatic garden lie beds of Wild Rice {Zizanla aquaticd) 

 with floating leaves of emerald green, and waving grassy flowers of 

 straw-colour and purple — while nearer to the shore the bright rosy tufts 

 of the AVater Persicaria (Polygonum ainpJubium), with dark-green leaves 

 and crimson stalks, delight the eyes of the passer-by. 



Spikenard — Aralia racemosa (L.) 



This valuable plant is distinguished by its heart-shaped, five-foliate, 

 pointed and serrated leaves ; wide-branching, herbaceous stem ; long, 

 white, aromatic, astringent root ; greenish- white flowers and racemose 

 branching umbels of small, round, purple berries, about the size and 

 colour of the purple-berried elder. It affects a rich, deep soil, the long, 

 tough roots sometimes extending to a yard or more in length ; forking 

 and branching repeatedly. The plants are often seen growing on large 

 boulders where there is a sufficiency of soil, the roots penetrating into 

 the crevices, or extending horizontally over the surface. Another 

 favourite place for this plant is on the earth adhering to large upturned 

 roots, the seed having been left by the birds. The root has an aromatic 

 taste, and smells like Aniseed or Caraway. It is a most valuable domestic 

 medicine, safe and simple ; its curative properties, in cases of obstinate 

 dysenterical disorders, deserve to be widely known. 



It was from an old Canadian settler that I learned the virtue of the 

 Sptgnet-root, for it is by that name it is known in country places. I 

 have tested its efficiency in many cases of that common and often fatal 

 disorder, to which young children are subject during the hot summer 

 months in Canada. For the benefit of anxious mothers I give the 

 following preparation from this valuable root : 



Recipe. — Take the long roots, which are covered with a wrinkled 

 brown skin, wash them well and remove the outer bark ; then scrape 

 down the white fibrous part, which is the ])ortion of the root that is to 

 be made use of, throwing aside the inner, hard, central heart, which is 

 not so good. 



A large table-spoonful of the scraped root may be boiled in a pint 

 of good milk, till the quantity is reduced to one-half; a small stick of 

 Cinnamon, and a lump of white sugar, boiled down with the milk improve 

 the flavour, add to its astringent virtue, and make the medicine quite 

 palatable. The dose for an infant is a tea-spoonful, twice a day ; for an 

 adult, a dessert-spoonful twice or thrice a day, till the disorder is checked. 



The months of August and September are the best time to obtain 

 the roots, which have then come to perfection. 



