FAMILY HERBAL. 15 



head, which we see at table, owes much of its big- 

 ness and fleshiness to culture. The leaves are large, 

 and divided into many parts, and often they are 

 prickly. The stem is robust and striated, and the 

 head is formed of large scales ; the flowers are of the 

 thistle-kind, and the seeds are, as in the thistles, 

 winged with down. 



The root fresh gathered, sliced, and boiled in wa- 

 ter, six ounces to a quart of the water, makes a de- 

 coction, which works by urine, and I have known it 

 alone cure a jaundice. 



Asarabacca. Asarum. 



A very little and low plant found wild in many 

 parts of Europe, and common in our gardens. 

 The roots creep about the surface of the ground, 

 the leaves grow singly from them, and there is no 

 stem or stalk. Each leaf has its separate foot- 

 stalk three or four inches long, and the leaf itself 

 is roundish, of a dark green, and fleshy : the flowers 

 small and of a dusky colour, and they stand near the 

 ground. 



The roots are the most valuable part ; the. 

 juice of them may be given in small doses, or 

 they may be dry and given in powder or infusion, 

 It works very powerfully by urine, and is good in 

 obstructions of the menses, and in jaundices and 

 dropsies. 



The Ash. Fraxinus. 



A common tree in our hedges and woods. The 

 bark of the branches is grey, and the leaves 

 are winged ; the small ones of which they are 

 composed are oblong and dented. The flowers 

 are of a whitish green, and come before the leaves. 



