FAMILY HERBAL. 195 



These leaves are the part used, we have them 

 dried at the drnggists, but they commonly keep them 

 till they are decayed. It i*s an aromatic medicine, 

 it strengthens the stomrach, and is good in nervous 

 disorders. 



Lentil. Lena. 



A kind of little pulse, sown in fields in some 

 parts of England. It grows a foot and a half high, 

 but does not stand very upright. The stalk is an- 

 gulated, of a pale green, and branched ; the leaves 

 are like those of the common pea : they consist each 

 of several pairs of small ones, set on a rib, and there 

 h a tendril in place of an odd leaf at the end. These 

 small leaves are of a pale green colour, and oval 

 shape. The flowers are white and small, but in 

 shape like a pea blossom, they stand singly on long 

 stalks. The fruit is a pod of a flatfish shape, in 

 which there generally are two seeds also a little 

 flatted, and of the bigness of a small pea. 



The fruit is used ; it is ground to powder to 

 make into pultices for swellings, but it is not much 

 regarded 



Lettice. Lacluca* 



A common plant in our kitchen gardens, which 

 we eat raw. When it rises to flower it is two feet 

 and a half high. The stalk is round, thick, very 

 upright, and of a pale green. The leaves are 

 oblong, broad, and somewhat waved at the edges : 

 the flowers stand on die tops of the stalks, and are 

 of a pale yellow ; the seed is winged with a light white 

 down. 



The juice of lettice is a good medicine to pro- 

 cure sleep, or tlie thick stalk eaten will serve the 



