BITTER-SWEET. 79 



eases. Linnaeus* and Carrere-j- employed it with advantage in 

 chronic rheumatism. Bergius gave from five to ten grains of 

 the extract twice or thrice a day, in gout ; and other eminent 

 practitioners, have recommended it in incipient phthisis, pleurisy, 

 asthma, jaundice, and dropsy ; also in uterine obstructions and 

 suppression of the lochia. The best effects, however, have 

 been obtained from it, in some obstinate cutaneous affections^. 

 Dr. Bateman considers it one of the most effectual remedies for 

 leprosy under all its varieties. Herpetic eruptions have been 

 known to yield to its internal and external use, and it has been 

 recommended by Linnaeus in some of the secondary forms of 

 syphilis. 



The twigs are the part employed in medicine, and for this 

 purpose they should be gathered in autumn after the leaves 

 have fallen. The decoction is thus made. 



Take of Stalks of Woody Nightshade, sliced .... An ounce. 



Water A pint and a half. 



Boil to a pint, and strain. Dose, from one to three ounces. " The addi- 

 tion of a little cinnamon renders the decoction less apt to oflFend the 

 stomach." — Bigelow. 



The external use of the leaves is now nearly forgotten, but in 

 rustic practice they are sometimes applied externally, in form of 

 poultice or fomentation, by beating up the leaves and stalks 

 with a little hot water, or by making a strong decoction of 

 them. These preparations are deemed of service in all hard 

 and painful swellings, especially those of the knee-joint, or in 

 the female breast ; also in all contusions and bruises, for pro- 

 moting the absorption of extravasated blood, by which means 

 the blackness is speedily removed. 



* Dissertatio de Dulcamara, in Amaen. acad. Vol. VIII. 



f Memoire sur les vertus de la Douce-amere, p. 53. 



+ The women of Etruria, according to Matthiolus, employed the juice 

 of the berries as a cosmetic ; and a decoction of the stems is said to render 

 the skin smooth and pleasant. 



