94 FAMILY HERBAL. 



to us the most common, and the most di*EeuIt to 

 be removed. Couch grass grows two ftct high, 

 and is a robust kind of grass : the stalk is round 

 and pointed ; the leaves are grassy, but broad, 

 and of a fresh green colour; the spike at the top 

 :'s like an ear of wheat, only thin and Hat. It 

 consists of ten rows of grains. The root is 

 white, slender, very long and jointed, and it takes 

 fresh hold at every joint ; so that if but a piece 

 id left in pulling it up, it grows and increases xqt 

 quickly. 



The roots are used, and they are to be fresh 

 taken up and boiled. The decoction is excellent 

 In the gravel and stone; it promotes urine strong- 

 ly, yet not forcibly or roughly. Taken for a 

 continuance, the same decoction is good against 

 obstructions of the liver, and will cure the jaun- 

 dice. 



Cowslip. Paralysis. 



A PRETTY wild plant in our meadows. The 

 leaves are broad, oblong, indented, rough, and 

 of a whitish green colour; the stalks are round, 

 upright, firm, thick, and downy ; they are six 

 or eight inches high, and are naked of leaves. 

 At the top of each stand a number of pretty yellow 

 flowers, each upon a separate foot-stalk, and in its 

 own separate cup. 



The flowers arc the part used. They have been 

 celebrated very much against apoplexies, palsies, 

 and other terrible diseases, but at present in such 

 cases we do not trust such remedies. They have 

 a tendency to procure sleep, and may be given in 

 tea or preserved in form of a conserve. 



