CHAPTER XII. 



USES OF WEEDS. 



THE descriptions of plants given by very early writers and 

 the old herbalists, as Dioscorides, 1 Pliny, 2 Gerarde 3 and 

 Parkinson, 4 lay special stress upon their medicinal values, 

 many of which, to our modern idea, are extremely fanciful 

 and far-fetched. The majority of wild plants then known 

 were used for medical purposes or for herb teas, but few 

 of these have retained their reputation to the present day. 

 The stitchwort gained its name because it was reckoned 

 " good against stitches and pains in the side ". l The creeping 

 buttercup was used to raise blisters on the wrists of those 

 attacked by ague, and the seeds of corn cockle were dried, 

 powdered and used as a cure for jaundice. 5 Kidney vetch 

 (AntkyUis vulnerarid) once had the reputation of being a good 

 cure for wounds, and hence received its specific namevulner- 

 aria? while the scarlet pimpernel, pounded to dust and drunk 

 in water, was regarded as a remedy for the bite of a mad dog. 1 

 Many other such ideas were rife, but all have passed away. 

 The mayweed was formerly much used for medical purposes, 

 but, curiously enough, after being practically neglected for 

 a long time it came back into use in connection with 

 homoeopathy. 6 The juice of the sun spurge (Euphorbia helio- 

 scopia) is still sometimes used for removing warts, 7 and when 

 rubbed on the skin behind the ear is said to be a cure for 

 toothache. 8 



The few weeds which are still commonly utilised in medi- 

 cine, as colchicum, hemlock, and poppy are treated in detail 



1 " Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England " (1864). 

 Collected and edited by Oswald Cockayne. (Includes Dioscorides, A.D. 100.) 



2 Pliny's " Natural Historic," Holland's Translation (1634). 



3 Gerarde, " The Herbal " (edited by T. Johnson), (1633). 



4 Parkinson, J. (1629), " Paradisi in Sole". 



5 Hogg, R., and Johnson, G. W. (1863), * Wild Flowers of Great Britain ". 



6 Wilson (1847), " Rural Cyclopedia "< 



7 Knapp, F. H. (1846), " Botanical Chart of British Flowering Plants ". 



8 Pratt, A., " Flowering Plants, Grasses, and Ferns of Great Britain," 



187 



