VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 455 



the manner of making vinegar from many of these substances. 

 The corrective and condimental uses of vinegar are fully dis- 

 cussed in the Penfsao, and as it is the only acid with which 

 the Chinese have had any definite acquaintance, its solvent and 

 oxidizing properties are also referred to. It is believed to spoil 

 the teeth and to make people thiu. The reviving effects of the 

 fumes of vinegar, as in parturition, are understood by the 

 Chinese. It is believed to be cooling, astringent, antidotal, 

 stomachic, alterative, anti-emetic, and discutient. It is especial- 

 ly recommended as a wash in foetid exudation in the axillae and 

 groin, where hot-water and soap would probably be more 

 efficacious. It is also used in insect bites of all kinds, and to 

 aid in the expulsion of a dead foetus or retained placenta. 



VIOLA PATRINIL— ^ fg % T (Tzu-hua-ti-ting), 1272, 

 141 1. See Finn aria officinalis. 



VIOLA PINNATA.— ^Ml^(Hu-chin-ts'ao). This wild 

 violet resembles the Viola sylvestris^ has a purple flower, and 

 the plant is often used as a pot-herb, having a slighly acid 

 taste. It is considerered nourishing, purifying to the blood, 

 and anodyne. Bruised and applied to ulcers and foul sores, it is 

 considered cleansing, and is mixed with turpentine, olibanum, 

 ashes from burnt hair, charcoal from mulberry twigs, and made 

 into a pill for use in dispersing cancerous tumors. 



VIOLA SYLVESTRIS.— ^ % (Chin-ts'ai). In the 

 Pentsao this is confounded with Apiiim gravcoletis^ being 

 considered to be a sort of wild celery. The plant is considered 

 to be counter-poisonous, and is used as an application in horse 

 bites, reptile bites, and cancerous sores. Its ingestion is also 

 thought to benefit in tubercular troubles and cholera. This 

 same character H (Chin) is used for Aconite^ Sambiiciis 

 chinensis^ and Ranunailus sccleratiis. 



VISCUM.— ^ ± ^ ^ (Sang-shang-chi-sheng), 1067, ^ 

 ■m. (Sung-lo), ^ ^ (Chi-sheng), 58, %^ ^ (Tsa-chi-sheng), 

 1320. These terms usually refer to loranthaceous plants, 

 although all kinds of epiphytes and parasitic plants are really 



