68 FAMILY HERBAL 



Catmint should be gathered just when the 

 flower are opening, and dried. It is an excellent 

 woman's medicine ; an infusion of it is good against 

 hysteric complaints, vapours, and fits, and it mode- 

 rately promotes the menses : it is also good to pro- 

 mote tiie evacuations after delivery. 



Great Celandine Chelidonium majus. 



A COMMON wild plant with large leaves, and 

 yellow flowers : which, when broken in any part, 

 stalk, or leaves, emits a yellow juice. It grows 

 three feet high, but the stalks are not very robust, 

 they are round, green, and naked, with thick joints. 

 The leaves stand two at each joint ; they are large, 

 long, and deeply divided at the edges, and are of 

 a yellowish green. The flowers are small, but of 

 a beautiful yellow, and they stand on long foot- 

 stalks several together. 



Celandine should be used fresh, for it looses the 

 greatest part of its virtue in drying. The juice 

 is the best way of giwng it ; and this is an excel- 

 lent medicine in the jaundice : it is also good 

 against ail obstructions of the viscera, and if con- 

 tinued a time, will do great service against the 

 scurvy. The juice also is used successfully for 

 sore eyes. 



Little Celandine. Chelidonium minus. 



THE ^reat and the little celandine, are plants 

 so perfectly different, that it is hard to conceive 

 what could induce the old writers to call them 

 both bv the same name. They hardly agree in 

 anv thing, except it be that they have both yellow 

 flowers. The great celandine approaches to the 

 nature of the poppy ; the sural! celandine to thai 



