HERB ROBERT 145 



Wound, Cammock, Herb John, St. John's Wort, Penny John, Rosin 

 Rose, Touch and Heal. 



Leaves boiled in wine were supposed to cure and heal up wounds. 

 Perhaps also the perforations were thought to resemble wounds, when 

 by Doctrine of Signatures the plant would in the older days therefore 

 cure wounds. In the Netherlands the people gathered it before dawn, 

 and it was reputed to take away the ill effects of lightning. It was 

 believed that it revealed a witch, and on St. John's Eve, when they 

 were active, it was worn as a charm. For similar reasons they call it 

 Devil Chaser in Italy, and doorways and windows were decorated on 

 that day. The name Devil's Flight sums up the idea that it drives 

 away evil spirits. If one trod on it at night in the Isle of Man a fairy 

 horse would appear and carry one about all night. On Midsummer 

 Eve it was employed as a love charm. 



It is placed under the beams in the roof in Denmark for divination 

 by lovers, one for each, and if they grow together it is considered 

 a good omen. On St. John the Baptist's Day it was hung up over the 

 doors of houses, according to Stowe (Survey of London], to drive away 

 witches. The red pods are connected with John's beheadal as drops 

 of blood. It was dedicated to St. John. The plant was also called 

 Peterwort. In the Middle Ages they called it Fuga Dsemonum. It 

 formed one of the ingredients of " Save " of Chaucer's day, and was 

 used by knights for their wounds. It was used for wounds in the 

 same way as balsam. Red and yellow dyes are given by the plant. 

 Steeped in turpentine a red varnish is produced. An essential oil is 

 secreted in the perforations of the plant. Spirits and oils are tinged 

 purple by the flowers. It is bitter and astringent, and acts as a diuretic, 

 having been used for ulcerated kidneys. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



6 1. Hypericum perforatum, L. Stem erect, 2-angled, leaves 

 oblong, with pellucid dots, flowers yellow, sepals acute, erect, not 

 fringed, styles equalling the capsule, petals oblong. 



Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum, L.) 



None of the seed-bearing beds have produced seeds of Herb 

 Robert as yet. The North Temperate and Arctic Zones form the 

 limit of its range in Arctic Europe, North Africa, Siberia, Western 

 Asia, as far as N.W. India. It is found in every part of Great Britain, 

 as well as Ireland and the Channel Isles, and in Yorkshire it is found 

 at the height of 2000 ft. 



VOL. III. 40 



