FAMILY HERBAL. 159 



spleen, and is good in jaundice, the rheumatism, 

 and most of the chronic disorders. 



Groundsel. En'gcron sive scneclo. 



A common weed in our gardens, and upon walls, 

 with little yellow {lowers, and downy seeds ; it 

 "rows eight inches high : the stalk i= round, fleshy, 

 tolerably upright, and green or purplish : the leaves 

 are oblong, broad, blunt, and divided at the edges. 

 The (lowers are small and yellow ; they grow in 

 a sort of long cups at the tops of the stalks and 

 branches. 



The juice of this herb is a gentle and very good 

 emetic. It causes vomiting without any great 

 irritation or pain ; and it is also good for cutaneous 

 foulnesses applied outwardly. 



Guaiacum Tree. Guaiacum. 



A grfat tree, native of the West Indies, and 

 to be seen in some of our curious gardens. The 

 fruit is very large, and ihe branches are numerous ; 

 the leaves ;ire small, each is composed of two or 

 three pair of smaller ones, with no odd leaf at the 

 end of the rib. These are short, broad, roundish, 

 and of a dusky green colour. The {lowers are 

 small and yellow, but they grow in large clusters 

 together, so that the tree when in bloom makes a 

 very pretty appearance. 



The bark and wood are the only parts of the tree 

 used ; they are given in decoction, to promote '.weat, 

 and so cleanse the blood ; they are excellent against 

 the rheumatism, scurvy, and all other disorders, 

 which arise from what is commonly called foulness 

 of the blood, but they must be taken for a consider- 



