KRYNGO. 287 



eaten as a sweetmeat ; the more in request because of its sup- 

 posed restorative and stimulant qualities, and for which it was 

 much celebrated in the days of Shakspeare *. Eryngo roots 

 were first candied at Colchester, about the beginning of the 

 seventeenth century, by Robert Burton, apothecary f. Ample 

 directions how to " condite Eringos " are given by Gerard |. 

 According to Linnaeus, the young shoots prepared like aspara- 

 gus are grateful to the taste, and very nutritious and restora- 

 tive. The roots have a sweet agreeable taste, and an aromatic 

 odour which they yield completely to water. They appear very 

 similar in qualities to the Angelica root. The aqueous infusion 

 after it has stood a while becomes slightly mucilaginous, but its 

 constituent principles have not been examined. 



Medicinal Properties and Uses. — The root, or rather the 

 bark of the root, is the part used in medicine. Dioscorides §, 

 with other of the ancients, considered it a valuable promoter of 

 the menses when obstructed, and also administered it in tormina, 

 liver- complaints, and oth^r disorders. Boerhaave esteemed it 

 the principal of the aperient roots, and he usually prescribed 

 it as a diuretic and antiscorbutic jj ; but by later practitioners 

 its aperient properties are esteemed as very gentle, calculated, 

 indeed, only as an adjunct to the aperient decoctions intended 

 for delicate or pregnant females. Ettmuller, Geoffrey, and 

 most of the ancient writers, speak of this medicine as a certain 

 though gentle aphrodisiac. It is principally, however, in 

 affections of the chest, that it has been employed with success ; 

 and even in consumption it has been found greatly to relieve 

 the cough and promote an easy expectoration. For this purpose 

 the candied root is the most pleasant and the best form, as all 

 the virtues of the root are preserved by the sugar. Ettmuller 

 recommends a conserve of it with the same intentions ; and this 

 is worth keeping, as it admits of combination with other 

 medicines. 



♦ Thus FalstafF exclaims, " Let the sky hail kissing-comfits and snow 

 eringoes." — Merry Wives of Windsor^ Act v. Sc. 5. 

 -|- Moraut's Colchester, p. 92. 

 X Herbal, ed. Johnson, p. 1163. 

 § Lib. iii. c. 24. 

 II Boerh. Hist. Plant, t. i. p. 194. 



