Chap. 35.] CABBAGE- SFBOUTS. 239 



eaten with vinegar, it lias the effect of curing the last. Ap- 

 plied by itself, it heals contusions and other livid spots ; and 

 mixed with a hall of alum in vinegar, it is good as a liniment 

 for leprosy and itch- scabs : used in this way, too, it prevents 

 the hair from falling off. 



Epicharmus assures us that, applied topically, cabbage is 

 extremely beneficial for diseases of the testes and genitals, and 

 even better still when employed with bruised beans ; he says, 

 too, that it is a cure for convulsions ; that, in combination 

 with rue, it is good for the burning heats of fever and maladies 

 of the stomach ; and that, with rue-seed, it brings awa}' the 

 after-birth. It is of use, also, for the bite of the shrew-mouse. 

 Dried cabbage-leaves, reduced to a powder, are a cathartic both 

 by vomit and by stool. 



CHAP. 35. CABBAGE-SPKOUTS. 



In all varieties of the cabbage, the part most agreeable to 

 the taste is the cyma, 92 although no use is made of it in medi- 

 cine, as it is difficult to digest, and by no means beneficial to 

 the kidneys. At the same time, too, it should not be omitted, 

 that the water in which it has been boiled, 93 and which is so 

 highly praised for many purposes, gives out a very bad smell 

 when poured upon the ground. The ashes of dried cabbage- 

 stalks are generally reckoned among the caustic substances : 

 mixed with stale grease, they are einplo}*ed for sciatica, 

 and, used as a liniment, in the form of a depilatory, toge- 

 ther with silphium 94 and vinegar, they prevent hair that has 

 been once removed from growing again. These ashes, too, are 

 taken lukewarm in oil, or else by themselves, for convul- 

 sions, internal ruptures, and the effects of falls with violence. 



And are we to say then that the cabbage is possessed of no 

 evil qualities whatever ? Certainly not, for the same authors 

 tell us, that it is apt to make the breath smell, and that it is 

 injurious to the teeth and gums. In Eg) pt, too, it is never 

 eaten, on account of its extreme bitterness. 95 



92 " Sprout," or " Brussels sprout." See B. xix. c. 41. 



93 He is probably speaking of cabbage-water in general. 



94 See B. xix. c. 15. 



95 This bitter or pungent cabbage, Fee suggests, did not, probnbly, 

 belong to the genus Brassica. 



