64 FAMILY HERBAL. 



accnunfs, though we are very well acquainted 

 with the hark of its young branches. What we 

 have been told of it is, that the branches are nu- 

 merous, and spread irregularly ; that the leaves 

 are oblong, green on the upper side, and whi- 

 tish underneath ; and the flowers smalls fragrant, 

 and placed in a sort of clusters. 



The bark which our drug-gists sell, is greyish on 

 the outside, brown within, and is of an agree- 

 able smell : when burnt they call it Eleutherian 

 hark, and bastard Jesuit's bark: it is cordial and 

 astringent. It is very properly given in fevers 

 attended with purging. And many have a cus- 

 tom of smoking it among tobacco, as a remedy 

 for head-achs, and disorders of the nerves : it also 

 does good in pleurisies and pcripneumonies : some 

 have recommended it as a sovereign remedy in those 

 cases, but that goes too far. 



The Cassia Fistula Tree. Cassia fistula. 



THIS is a large tree, native of the East, and 

 a very beautiful one when in flower. It grows 

 twenty or thirty feet high, and is very much 

 branched. The" leaves are large, and of a deep 

 green, and each is composed of three or four 

 pairs of smaller, with an odd one at the end. 

 The flowers are of a greenish yellow, but they 

 are very bright, and xcyy numerous, so that they 

 make a fine Appearance, when the tree is full of 

 them: the pods follow these, they are two feet 

 long, black, and woody, having within a black, 

 soft, pulpy matter and the seeds. 



This pulpy matter is the only part used in 

 medicine. It is a gentle aid excellent purge, the 

 lenitive electuary owes its virtues to it. It never 



