FAMILY HERBAL. 113 



mercury, distinguished like this poisonous kind, 

 into male and female, he says, ' that the male kind 

 ' conduces to the generation of boys, and the female 

 c of girls.' Such is the matter, that a superiority 

 in one of these authors over the other, qualified 

 him to add to his book : such are the English 

 books that are extant upon this subject ; and such 

 the direction offered to the charitable, confounding 

 eatable herbs with poisons. This has been one 

 great reason of writing the present book, that there 

 may be one guide and direction at least, to be de- 

 pended upnn ; and this ifs author has thought pro- 

 per to say at large upon the immediate occasion, 

 rather than in a preface ; because there it must 

 have been accompanied with a needless repetition, 

 and perhaps would not have been observed by many.. 

 who may have recourse to the book. 



Dog Tooth. Dens caninus. 



A VERY pretty little plant, with two broad 

 leaves and a large drooping flower ; common in 

 Italy and Germany, and frequent in our gardens. 

 It is five or six inches high. The stalk is round, 

 slender, weak, and greenish towards the top ; often 

 white at the bottom. The leaves stand a little 

 height above the ground : they are oblong, some- 

 what broad, of a beautiful green, not at ail dented 

 at the edges, and blunt at the end : they inclose 

 the stalk at the base. The flower is large and white, 

 but with a tinge of reddish; it hangs down, and 

 is long, hollow, and very elegant. The root is 

 roundish, and has some fibres growing from its 

 bottom ; it is full of a slimy juice. 



The fresh gathered roots are used ; for they dry 

 very ill, and generally lose their virtues entirely. 

 They are good against worms in child ion, ar.d ;;.'>; 



