880 



57. Malva. Sixty-two species ; 17, L. 

 Malva sylvestris. High mallows. Off. 



58. Malva crispa. Curled mallows. 



59. Malva rotundifolia. Bound mallows. All the species of 

 mallows are mucilaginous and emollient, and are useful in catarrhal 

 affections, dysentery, and in all the affections of the urinary organs. 

 Both the high and the low mallows are much used as emollient 

 enemas. They are also used in emollient poultices for tumours and 

 inflammations. They are of service in gonorrhoea, and in sore- 

 throat and lungs. 



60. Sida dbutilon. Indian mallows. This plant is also emol- 

 lient and diuretic. 



ORDER 25. TILIACE.E. 



61. Tilia Americana. Bass-wood, or Linn ; 13, 13, L. 



This is one of the most valuable trees we possess, not only on 

 account of the lumber it produces, but on account of its medicinal 

 properties. Withering says it makes the best charcoal for gun- 

 powder, drawing, &c. I have long wondered why it has not been 

 adopted into our materia medica as an officinal. Dr. Walmsley 

 first called the attention of the public to it as a remedy in burns, in 

 a letter to Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, of Philadelphia, as early at 

 least as 1803, and it was published in his admirable Medical and 

 Physical Journal. The part of the bark made use of by Dr. 

 Walmsley is the liber or inner bark. He generally used it freshly 

 taken from the tree ; but it answers very well when carefully dried. 

 In either case, it is cut into small pieces and macerated in cold water, 

 frequently stirring it about: In a short time, the water becomes 

 extremely viscid, and with this the injured part is kept constantly 

 wetted. In addition to its mucilaginous properties, it is also slightly 

 astringent. I agree with Dr. Walmsley, from whom I first derived 

 my information on the subject, that I have found more benefit from 

 it in cases of burns than from any other remedy which I have ever 

 employed. I more frequently make it into a poultice by boiling the 

 inner bark in milk and water, to the consistence of a mucilage, and 

 make a thin poultice by the addition of a little wheat or rye bran, 

 and apply it to the affected part. It is much more soothing than 

 any other application I have ever tried, giving relief when topical 



