422 CHINESE MATERIA MEDIC A. 



parturient woman will hold one of the seeds in her hand, on 

 the Of'd days in the right hand and on the even days in the left 

 hand, delivery will soon be accomplished. 



STACHYS ASPERA.— 7jc ^ (Shui-su). This is also 

 called ^ ^ (Hsiang-sn) and f| |f^ ^ ^'uj (Lung-nao-po-ho), 

 "camphor-mint.'* It is a common plant growing in moist 

 ground, and is sometimes eaten as a vegetable. It is some- 

 times confounded with Mosia grosseserrafa. The stalk and 

 leaves are used in mtedicine as a carminative, deodorizing, and 

 astringent remedy. Taken with hot spirits it is recommended 

 for colds, very much as hot mint-juleps have been recommend- 

 ed in domestic practice in the west. 



STACHYS SIEBOLDI, Stachys tuhcrifcra.—% 1^ E 

 (Ts'ao-shih-ts'an), % % (Ti-ts'an),' if ^ ■? (Kan-lu-tsu). 

 This tuber named "ground coccoon," and "sweet dew,*' is the 

 ''''Crosses''' of France and other parts of Europe. It was 

 first cultivated in Europe by Mr. A. Paillieux on his estate 

 "Crosnes," from tubers sent him from China by Brelschneider. 

 Kan-lu is used in the Bible to translate the word manna be- 

 cause the same characters ai-e used by the Chinese for antrita^ 

 the food of the devas ; but this product must not be confound- 

 ed with manna. The similarity of this plant to StacJiys aspera 

 is noted in the Pentsao. The tuber is soaked in wine and 

 taken for colds, and when dry and powdered is considered to 

 be anodyne. No matter how prepared it is considered to have 

 a beneficial influence upon the body. 



STEMONA TUBEROSA.— •§• ^ (Pai-pu), 958. It is 

 likened to Asparagtts liicidiis^ and is sometimes called wild 

 asparagus. The root, which is the part used in medicine, 

 consists of a central mass with ten or more tubers attached, 

 long, pointed, hollow, and sweet. The stetn is sometimes 

 eaten when young as a pot-herb. As sold in the shops, the 

 drug is in the shape of brown, dried, shrivelled pieces, from 

 two to four inches long. It is given in coughs, as a carmina- 

 tive, anthelmintic, and is used as an insecticide. Old coughs 

 of thirty years standing are reputed to be cured by it. 



