THE TEASEL. 51 



there with diuers hooked sharp prickles, and spaced or 

 seuered by ioints, and at euery of the sayd ioints grow two 

 great long- leauee, the which at the lower endes be so closely 

 joined and fastened together round about the stalke, that it 

 holdeth the water, falling either by raine or dewe, so sure 

 as a dish or bason. At the top of the branches grow long, 

 roiigh, and prickle heads set full of hookes; out of the same 

 knops or heads grow small purple flowers placed in eels and 

 cabbins, like the honie-combe, in which chambers or eels 

 (after the falling away of the flower) is found a seed-like 

 fenil. The knops or heads are holow within, and for the 

 most part hauing worms in them, the which you shall find 

 in cleaning the heads. The small wormes that are founde 

 within the kuops of teasels do cure and heale the quartaine 

 ague, to be worue or tied about the necke or arme." 

 Gerarde, in his " Historic of Plants," tells us his own 

 experience in this latter matter. It would appear from 

 this that the theoretical remedy would not bear the rough 

 strain of actual use. He shall, however, speak for himself 

 in his own refreshingly quaint way : " It is needlesse here 

 to alledge those things that are added touching the little 

 wormes, or magots, found in the heads of the Teasell, 

 which are .to be hanged about the necke, for they are, 

 nothing else but most vaine and trifling toies, as my selfe 

 haue proued a little before the impression hereof, hauing 

 a most grieuous ague, and of long continuance : notwith- 

 standing physicke charmes, these wormes hanged about 

 my neck, spiders put into a walnut-shell, and divers such 

 foolish toies that I was constrained to take by phantasticke 

 people's procurement ; notwithstanding, I say, my helpe 

 came from God himselfe, for these medicines, and all other 

 such things, did me no good at all." 



