THE ENGLISH PHYSICIAN ENLARGED. 119 



The Elder Tree, and Dwarf Elder. ? . (temp. d. 2.) 



I Hold it needless to write any description of this, since 

 every body tiiat plays with a pop-gun will not mistake 

 another tree instead of Elder. 1 shall therefore in this 

 place only describe the Dwarf Elder, called also Dead- 

 wort, and Wall-wort. 



Descript.'] This is but an herb every year, dying with 

 his stalks to the ground, and rising fresh every Spring, and 

 is like unto the Elder both in form and quality, rising up 

 with a square rough hairy stalk, four feet high, or more 

 sometimes. The winged leaves are somewhat narrower 

 than the Elder, but else like them. The flowers are 

 white with a dash of purple, standing in umbels, very like 

 the Elder also, but more sweet in scent ; after which, 

 come small blackish berries, full of juice while they are 

 fresh, wherein is small hard kernels, or seed. The root 

 doth creep under the upper crust of the ground, springing 

 in divers places, being of the bigness of one's finger or 

 thumb sometimes. 



Place.'] The Elder-tree groweth in hedges, being planted 

 there to strengthen the fences and partitions of ground, 

 and to hold the banks by ditches and water-courses. 



The Dwarf Elder growing wild in many places of 

 England, where being once gotten into a ground, it is 

 not easily gotten forth again. 



Time.'\ Most of the Elder Trees flower in June, and 

 their fruit is ripe for the most part in August. But the 

 Dwarf Elder, or Waliwort, llowereth somewhat later, 

 and his fruit is not ripe until September. 



Government and Virtues.'] Both Elder Tree and D?varf 

 are under the dominion of Venus. The first shoots of 

 the common Elder boiled like asparagus, and the young 

 leaves and stalks boiled in fat broth, doth mightily carry 

 forth phlegm and choler. The middle or inward bark 

 boiled in water, and given in drink, worketh much 

 more violently, and the berries, either green or dry, ex- 

 pel the same humour, and are often given with good 

 success to help the dropsy ; the bark of the root boiled 

 in wine, or the juice thereof drank, worketh the same 

 eflfedlSj but more powerfully than either [the leaves or 

 fruit. The juice of the root taken, doth mightily pro- 



