Directions for making of Si/rups, Sfc. 361 



pie that are ignorant in physic, for whose sake I write this, 

 it is thus done : 



Bruise those herbs, flowers, or roots, you will make an oint- 

 ment of, and to two handfuls of your bruised herbs add a pound 

 of hog's grease dried, or cleansed from the skins, beat them very 

 well together in a stone mortar \vilh a wooden pestle, then put 

 it into a stone pot, cover it with a paper, and set it either in the 

 sun, or somie other warm place, three, four, or five days, that it 

 may melt ; then lake it out and boil it a little, then whilst it is; 

 hot strain it out, pressing it very hard in a presr, ; to this grease 

 add as many more herbs bruised as before, let them stand in like 

 manner as long, then boil them as you did before. If you think 

 your ointment not strong enough, you may do it the third and 

 fourth time; yet this I will tell you, the fuller of juice the herbs 

 are, the sooner will your ointment be strong: the last time you 

 boil it, boil it so long till your herbs be crisp, and the juice con- 

 sumed, then strain it, pressing it hard in a press, and to every 

 pound of ointment add two ounces of turpentine, and as 

 much wax, because grease is offensive to wounds, as well as 

 oil. 



2. Ointments are vulgarly known to be kept io pots, and will 

 last above a year, some above two years. 



CHAP. XL Of Plaisiers. 



1. THE Greeks made their plaisters of divers simples, and put 

 metals into most of them, if not all ; for, having reduced their 

 metals into powder, they mixed them with that fatty substance 

 whereof the rest of the plaister consisted, whilst it was yet hot, 

 continually stirring it up and down, lest it should sink to the 

 bottom ; so thev continually stirred it till it was stiff; then they 

 made it up in rolls, which when they needed for use, they could 

 melt by tire again. 



2. The >Vrabians made up theirs with oil and fat, which ncedv 

 elh not so long boiling. 



3. The Greeks em))laisters consisted of these ingredients, me- 

 tal'^, stones, divers sorts of earth, faeces, juices, liquors, seeds, 

 roots, herbs, excrements of creatures, wax, rosin, gums. <• 



CHAP. Xn. Of Poultices. 



POULTICES are those kind of things which the Latins call 

 Cafaplasmata, and our learned fellows, that if they can read 

 English, that's all, call them Cataplasms, because 'tis a crabbed 

 word few understand ; its indeed a very fine kind o/ medicine to 

 ripen sores. 



2. They are made of herbs and roots, fitted for the disease and 

 members afflicted, being chopped small, and boiled in water al- 

 xnost to a jelly ; thea adding a little barley-meaj, or meal of lu. 



R 



