THE USES OF LICHENS. 23 



to feed upon. The wolves eat of tliis and die. Accord- 

 ing to Fabricius, nux vomica^ and not powdered glass, 

 "was mixed with (he lichen, which seems more probable. 

 Tlie dog-lichen {Peltigera canina) formed the basis 

 of the noted " anti-hydrophobia powder " (pulvis anti- 

 lyssns or pulvis contra rabiem) of the London Phar- 

 macopoea (1721 to 1788). In the history of the 

 Royal Society (London) it is recorded that several 

 mad dogs belonging to the Duke of York were cured 

 by this powder. Dr. Mead recommends the following 

 treatment in a case of hydrophobia : " The patient is 

 bled and ordered to take a dose of the powder (equal 

 parts of the lichen and red pepper powdered) in warm 

 milk for four consecutive mornings ; thereafter he 

 must take a cold bath every morning for a month and 

 for two weeks subsequently three times a week." 

 Dioscorides recommended Usnea harhata, known as 

 the " beard moss," in certain diseases peculiar to 

 women. Later it was very highly prized as a remedy 

 for whooping-cough, epilepsy and as an anodyne. It also 

 formed the main ingredient in powders recommended 

 to promote the growth of hair. The yellow Physcia 

 parietina was considered a specific in jaundice and 

 ■was also used as a substitute for quinine. During the 

 Napoleonic wars (1809-1815) fevers of all kinds 

 raged in the military hospitals. Quinine, which was 

 then the popular remedy for fever, became very scarce, 

 on account of its rapid consumption and because of the 

 commercial blockade which prevented its importation. 

 Tlie Austrian government therefore offered a prize 

 of five hundred ducats for the discovery of a cheap 



