culpepkr's complktk herbal. 269 



which come the fruit, either great or small, long or short, 

 round or square, as the kind is, either standing upright or 

 hanging down, as their flowers show themselves ; the seeds 

 are numerous, kidney-shaped, and a little compressed ; the 

 root annual and tibrous spreading plentifully in the ground, 

 but perishing after it has ripened all its fruit. 



Place. — It is a native of India, but will bear our climate, 

 and ripen its fruit if brought forward in a hot bed in spring, 

 and afterwards planted out in the open ground. 



Time. — In India it flowers in August, and the seed-pods 

 ripen in November, where it lives throughout the year, 

 but in this country the seed-pods ripen in the hottest part 

 of summer, and perish with the first frost if not housed. 



OovemmerU and Virtiies. — All kinds of Guinea Pepper are 

 under Mara, and are of a fiery, sharp, biting taste, and of a 

 temperature hot and dry ; they are so hot tnat they raise a 

 in a of blister in the mouth and throat, or other part of the 

 skin if the seed or husks be used alone ; the vapour from 

 them occasions sneezing, coughing, and even vomiting, and 

 if the hands touch the nose or eyes after handling them, in- 

 flammation of those parts will follow : but though danger- 

 ous, they have great medicinal properties. Take the husks, 

 dry them with flour in an oven, cleanse them from the flour 

 and beat them very small, to every ounce put a pound of 

 flour, with yeast, bake them into cakes, then beat the 

 cakes \o a fine powder, and sift ; this powder is good to 

 season meat, broth, soup, stew, &c. Put m the diet it drives 

 away wind and helps flatulency, taken into a cold stomach 

 with the meat, it gives great relief, causing phlegm to be 

 voided ; it helps digestion, gives appetite, provokes urine ; 

 if taken with saxifrage water it expels the stone in the kid- 

 neys and the phlegm that breeds it, and takes away dimness 

 of the sight if used in meats. Taken with PUlvJas Aleop- 

 hangincBy it helps dropsy ; the powder, taken for three d^xys 

 together in the decoction of penny -royal expels the dead- 

 birth, the powder, taken fasting, for three or four days, with 

 a little fennel seed, will ease all the pains of the mother. If 

 made up with a little powder of gentian and oil of bays, into 

 a pessary, with some cotton wool, it will bring down the 

 ooarses ; the same mixed with an electuary will help an in- 

 Teterate cough ; mixed with honey it helps quiusey. If ap- 

 plied to the throat ; and mado up with turpentine, and laid 

 on bard knots or kernels in any part of the body, it will dis. 

 •olTe them; applied with m%^% it takes away freckles, spots, 



