FAMILY HERBAL. 313 



he figure of a bag;, or pouch, and are divided a 

 little at the end. Tke seeds are small and yellow- 

 ish, and the roots white. 



The juice of Shepherd's purse is cooling and 

 astringent ; it is good against purging!*, with sharp 

 and bloody stools ; against the bleeding of the piles, 

 and the overflowing of the menses. 



Skirret. Siscirum. 



A plant kept in our kitchen gardens. It 

 grows three or four feet high. The stalk is round, 

 hollow, striated, and somewhat branched : the leaves 

 are each composed of three or five smaller, two or 

 four set opposite and one at the end ; they are ob- 

 long, serrated at the edges, and sharp pointed ; the 

 end leaf is longer than the others. The {lowers are 

 little : they stand in round Clusters on the tops of 

 the branches. The root is of a singular form ; it; 

 is composed of several long parts like carrots, i hey 

 are of a good taste, and some people eat them at 

 their tables. 



A decoction of thorn works by urine, and is good 

 against the gravel. The roots boiled in milk, are 

 an excellent restorative to people who have suffered 

 long illnesses. 



Sloe Tree. Primus sylvestris. 



The common low shrub in our hedges, which 

 we call the blackthorn. It is a plum-tree in 

 miniature. It grows five or six feet high ; the trunk 

 and branches are all covered with a dark purplish or 

 blackish bark. The leaves are roundish, and of a 

 good green, elegantly dentated about the edges. 

 The (lowers arc small and white. The fruit is a 



8 S 



