88T 



" Tender handed, touch the nettle, 



And it stings you for your pains j , , 



Grasp it like a man of mettle, 

 And it soft as silk remains. 

 Thus it is with common natures : 

 Treat them kindly, they rebel ; 

 But be rough as nutmeg graters, 

 And the rogues obey you well." 



93. Urtica pumila, vel adesia. Water nettle ; stingless nettle. The 

 footstalks of the leaves and of the stem of the plant are filled with 

 water so as to make them transparent. Bind the leaves upon scro- 

 fulous sores, and they allay the irritation. They are said to be ex- 

 cellent for wounds, and also for eruptions. 



94. Humulus. Six species; 21, 5, L. 



Humulus lupulus. Hop. Off. The properties of this well- 

 known narcotic and sedative are now as well known as opium or 

 cicuta. My late friend, Dr. A. W. Ives, of New York, first directed 

 the attention of the faculty to the farina of the plant, which he 

 named lupuline. 



ORDER 88. EUPHORBIACE^. 



95. Euphorbia. One-hundred and fifty-five species ; 19, 3, L. 

 Euphorbia maculata. Spotted spurge; Bowman's root; emetic 



weed. The properties of the Euphorbias are generally diaphoretic, 

 astringent, emetic, cathartic, rubefacient, blistering, and stimulant, 

 according to the different species. By many, some of the species 

 are considered equivalent to ipecacuanha. For cathartic operation 

 they are considered equal to jalap or scammony, and it requires but 

 half the quantity to purge that these famous medicines do. They 

 deserve the further consideration of physicians. 



96. Acalypha. Thirty-nine species; two in the United States; 

 20, 16, L. 



Acalypha Virginiea. Three-seeded mercury; mercury weed. This 

 species is found in all the States in the Union. It has been found 

 by Dr. Atkins to possess diuretic and expectorant properties, and it 

 has been used in various species of dropsy, and in asthma. The 

 quacks at the South use it extensively for various purposes, according 

 to Elliott, the southern botanist. 



