Ill 



MEN 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



MEN 



July. Native of Virginia, Canada, and Siberia. This and 

 the next species are easily propagated by laying down the 

 branches in autumn. They will have made good roots by the 

 following autumn, when they may be separated from the old 

 plant, and transplanted where they are designed to remain. 

 Their branches oeing slender and weak, require support. 

 They thrive better near trees than in an open situation. 



2. Menispermum Virginicum; Virginian Moon-seed. Up- 

 per leaves undivided ; lower peltate, cordate-lobed. This 

 differs from the preceding in the shape of the leaves, which 

 are angular, and sometimes heart-shaped, but not peltate, 

 having the footstalk at the base. The stems become woody, 

 and ris,e nearly as. high as those of that first sort. The flowers 

 and berries do not differ. Native of Virginia, &c. 



3. Menispermum Japonicum; Japanese Moon-seed. Leaves 

 .peltate, rounded-ovate,, entire. Stems herbaceous, twining, 

 Striated with several angles, smooth in all parts, simple. 

 Native of Japan. 



,4. .Menispermum Carolinum; Carolina Moon-seed. Leaves 

 cordate, villose underneath. This differs from the second 

 species in the branches not becoming woody as in that ; steins 

 herbaceous. Native of Carolina. It may be propagated by 

 .parting the foots, which spread out on one side, so that the 

 re st of them may be cut off every other year; the best time for 

 doing this is in the spring, a little before the plants begin to 

 shoot; these should be 'planted, in a warm situation, and have 

 a light soil, for in strong land, where the wet is detained in 

 winter, the roots are apt to rot; therefore if they are planted 

 close to a wall exposed to the soujh .or west, their stalks may 

 be fastened against the wall to prevent their trailing upon the 

 ground; and in this situation the plants .will flower frequently, 

 and by having a little shelter in severe frost, their stalks may 

 be preserved from injury. 



,>., Menispermurn Cocculus ; Jaygcd Moon-seed. Leaves 

 cordate, retuse, mucronate; stem jagged. The twisting stems 

 arp, .usually tj)e thickness of the human arm, or thicker, irre- 

 gular, ,a#d covered vyith a thick, lacerated, wrinkled bark; 

 the branches, terminate ,jn strong, simple tendrils; bunches of 

 flowers a. foot and ha,lf Jong, dividing into several lateral ours; 



.jje^als six, whit^,, reflex; fruit in bunches like grapes, but 



.ma||er, ...first w|iite, then red, and finally blackish purple; 

 usually ,\\vo, pf;. three, seldom four together, on a thickish, 

 pyramidal, wrjnkled pe,dunple.; pulp soft; stone round, like 

 tha,t pf a cherry, but a , Ijttle, larger, wrinkled, and granulated, 

 havirjg a fissure or aperture on one side, arid a while bifid 

 kernel within. In the East Indies, where this plant is a 

 native, Uie berries are used to intoxicate fish, birds, &c. in 

 order to, take them, being made into a paste for that purpose. 



.; ju,,Ei)gland, the brewers have gof , into a practice of putting 

 these berries into malt liquors to Increase their strength ; and 

 these, with many oflfer, , equally, noxious ingredients, are in- 

 troduced jnto die London porter ; whiph from a .highly 

 nutr.itjous an.d wholesome beverage, )ias, through such vile 

 practices latterly degenerated into u deleterious and stupify- 



.jftg liquor; towards which the British farmer and the hop- 

 merchant, contribute nothing, in comparison with the nujnerqus 



liiftporters .ojf foreign drugs. See the latter part of the article 



. Hop, under Huraulus Lupulus. Vol. l.p. 715. Hill observes; 



, that the berries are of a poisonous, nature, and, taken inter- 

 nally in considerable doses, wpuld l^e attended with fatal 

 effects : reduced to powder, and strewed on children's 

 heads, -they destroy vermin the most .effectually, of any 

 thing. Made into a paste) with flour and water, with the 

 addition of a little, red lead, .to give it a colour, and thrown 

 in little pellets, in.to ppnds,,.^q. wjicre there ar,e .fish kept, 

 they will take it greedily, arid be so intoxicated in a short 



time after, as to swim on the surface of the water with their 

 bellies upwards, and suffer themselves to be taken out with 

 the hands. 



6. Menispermum Crispum; Curled Moon-seed. Leaves 

 cordate; stem quadrangular, curled. Native of Bengal. 



7. Menispermum Acutum ; Sharp-leaved Moon-seed. Leaves 

 cordate, behind angular, acuminate; stem round, striated. 

 Native of Japan. 



8. Menispermum Orbiculatum; Round-leaved Moon-seed. 

 Leaves orbicular, villose underneath; stem round, twining, 

 with alternate branches like the stem ; flowers axillary, pani- 

 cled, dicecous. Native of the East Indies and Japan. 



9. Menispermum Hirsutum ; Hairy-leaved Moon-seed. 

 Branch-leaves ovate stem-leaves cordate, villose, tomentose 

 underneath. Native jf the East Indies. 



10. Menispermum Edule; Eatable Moon-seed. Leaves 

 oblong, smooth; flowers six-stamined. This much resembles 

 the preceding. Native of Arabia. 



11. Menispermum Myosotoides. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 

 hirsute. Native of the East Indies. 



12. Menispermum Trilobum. Leaves three-lobed; stem 

 twining. Native of China and Japan. 



13. Menispermum Fenestratum. Drupe berried, obovate, 

 solitary, pubescent, hoary. Native of Ceylon. 



14. Menispermum Lyoni. Leaves cordate, palmate-lobate, 

 with very long footstalks; racemes simple; flowers hexapeta- 



,lous, dodecaridrous ; berries large, black, one-seeded ; stem 

 climbing to the height of twenty feet. Grows in Kentucky 

 and Tennessee, and flowers in June and July. 



Mentka; a genus of the class Didynamia, order Gymno- 

 spermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, tubular, upright, five-toothed, equal, permanent. 

 Corolla: one-petalled; petals upright, tubular, a little longer 

 than the calix ; border four-parted, almost equal ; the upper 

 segment wider, emargiriate. Stamina: filamenta four, awl- 

 shaped, upright, distant, the two nearest longer ; antherse 

 roundish. Pistil: germen four-cleft; style filiform, upright, 

 longer than the corolla; stigma bifid, spreading. Pericarp: 

 none; calix upright, with the seeds in the bottom. Seeds: 

 four, small. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: almost 

 equal, four-cleft, the broader segments emarginate. Stamina: 

 upright, distant. All the plants of this genus are easily pro- 

 pagated by parting their roots in spring, or by planting cut- 

 tings during any of the summer months, but they should 

 have a moist soil ; and after the cuttings are planted, if the 

 season should prove dry, they must be often watered until 

 they have taken root ; after which they will require no farther 

 care but to keep them clear from weeds : they should be 

 planted in beds about four feet wide, allowing a path about 

 two feet broad between the beds, to water, weed, and cut the 

 plants. The distance they should be set is four or five inches 

 or more, because they spread very much at their roots ; for 

 which reason, the beds should not stand longer than three 

 years before you plant them again, for by that time the roots 

 will be matted so closely as to rot and decay each other, if 

 permitted to stand longer. Some persons are very partial to 

 mint-salad in winter and spring; in order to obtain which, 

 they take up the roots before Christmas, and plant them upon 

 a moderate hot-bed, pretty close, covering them with rim: 

 earth about an inch thick, and cover the beds either with 

 mats or frames of glass. In these beds the Mint will come 

 up in a month's time, and will soon after be lit to cut. When 

 the herb is wanted for medicinal use, it should be cut in a 

 very dry season, just when it is in flower; for if it stand 

 longer, it will not be, so well tasted; and if it be cut when it 

 is wet, it will change black, and be little" worth : trnV should 



