SORREL THISTLE. 193 



entering the skin, forces up from the bag into the wound a corrosive 

 liquor which excites inflammation and a blister. They have been 

 used to restore, sensation in paralytic limbs; also in syrup as a styptic 

 medicine, in jaundice, scurvy, gout, &c. The flowers and seeds have 

 also been used efficaciously as a substitute far Peruvian bark in agues. 

 A leaf put on the tongue and pressed against the roof of the mouth 

 is said to stop bleeding at the nose. The leaves are the food of the 

 caterpillars of 3 of the most beautiful butterflies. The juice of the 

 nettle, or that of the dock is a remedy for the sting. 4 species are 

 generally known. The race of nettles is much more difficult to de- 

 stroy than to raise. Attention has lately been called to the Canadian 

 thistle to prevent its growth by penal enactment, it being one of the 

 greatest pests of the farmer ; but, cannot cordage or paper be formed 

 of it to advantage ? 



SOW THISTLE, Souchus, C. 19. O. 1. Composite, sp. 25-40. 

 Dh. ft. l-6 from hollow or soft, in allusion to the softness of its 

 stems. It has similar properties with the dandelion and succory. It 

 is a favorite food with sheep and rabbits. The young leaves are 

 boiled and eaten as greens ; and the smooth variety, boiled like spinach, 

 is superior to most others. 



S. floridanus, of Florida, is used for the bite of the rattlesnake in 

 the same way as Prenanthus serpentaria. It is called in the country 

 gall of the earth. It is a native of the U. S. 5 sp. N. A. 



SORREL, Rumex acetosa, sp. 17-79. P. ft. This is found grow- 

 ing wild in this country and Europe in grassy pastures. It is used as 

 a pot-herb, as a green sauce for roast meat, veal and pork, and as a 

 substitute for apple-sauce in winter. It is, like spinach, put into a sauce- 

 pan without water, except that on the leaves when washed, boiled 

 slowly, then beat up with a piece of butter, eggs and cream, and stew- 

 ed like spinach. The leaves are boiled, and the milk of the rein deer 

 added to the water by the Laplanders. The Irish eat them with milk 

 and fish. There are 2 or 3 varieties, but the French is the best for 

 culinary purposes, it having larger leaves than the common. The use 

 of sorrel as food and medicine was well known to the ancients. A 

 decoction is cooling, diuretic, grateful to the stomach, allays heat in 

 fevers, quenches thirst, and is an excellent antiscorbutic. A good drink 

 for spring and in inflammatory and febrile fevers, is made with a 

 handful of sorrel boiled in a pint of whey. No remedy, indeed, is bet- 

 ter for the scurvy, if eaten green, or the juice is drunk. The wood- 

 sorrel is best for these purposes. Soups and sauces in France are 

 mostly made with sorrel. It is a species of the Dock. 2 or 3 varieties 

 are cultivated. The seeds are sown in a bed or border early in spring, 

 raked in, and the plants trimmed and transplanted in rows. They are 

 supplied well with water, and the leaves are cut last of summer; they 

 continue for many years. The parted roots, planted out, are best. 

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