JOHN PARKINSON 157 



beard to grow or hair on a bald head, and yarrow is almost 

 as good; garden spurge, elder flowers, broom, madder, rue, 

 gentian, scabious, betony, elecampane, Solomon's Seal, the 

 great hawkweed and lupin are all excellent to " cleanse the 

 skinne from freckles, sunburn and wrinkles." ^ The French 

 women " account the distilled water of pimpernell mervailous 

 good to dense the skinne from any roughnesse deformity or 

 discolouring thereof and to make it smooth neate and cleere." ^ 

 The Italian dames, however, " doe much use the distilled water 

 of the whole plant of Solomon's Seal." ^ Lupin seems to have 

 the most remarkable virtue, for not only will it take away all 

 smallpox marks, but it will also make the user " look more 

 amiable " ! Many women, therefore, " doe use the meale of 

 Lupines mingled with the gall of a goate and some juyce of 

 Lemons to make into a forme of a soft ointment." * Parkinson 

 is the only herbalist who gives recipes to enable people to get 

 thin and also to look pale. " The powder of the seedes of elder ^ 

 first prepared in vinegar and then taken in wine halfe a dramme 

 at a time for certaine dayes together is a meane to abate and 

 consume the fat flesh of a corpulent body and to keepe it leane." 

 For those who like to look pale he recommends cumin seed 

 and bishopsweed.^ And " for a sweet powder ' to lay among 

 linnen and garments and to make sweet waters to wash hand- 

 gloves or other things to perfume them " he recommends the 

 roots of the sweet-smelling flag. 



It is, however, the curious out-of-the-way pieces of informa- 

 tion on all sorts of matters which are so interesting in Parkin- 

 son's Herbal. He teUs us that three several sorts of colours 

 are made from the berries of the purging thorn ; that the yellow 

 dye is used by painters, " and also by Bookbinders to colour 

 the edges of Bookes and by leather dressers to colour leather " ; 

 that the green dye is " usually put up into great bladders tyed 



^ Theatrum Botanicum, pp. 135, 191, 210, 233, 275, 408, 492, 613, 652, 693, 

 700, 790, 1075. 2 H)id,, p. 559. 3 Ibid., p. 700. * Ibid., p. 1075. 



^ Ibid., p. 210. ^ Ibid., pp. 888 and 913. ' Ibid., p. 144. 



