MAIDENHAIR. 103 



Qualities. — Maidenhair has an agreeable though feeble 

 aroma, and a slightly bitter styptic taste. Water abstracts its 

 virtues completely, and the infusion or decoction yields, when 

 evaporated, an astringent, bitterish, mucilaginous extract. Al- 

 cohol takes up the odour and flavour of the leaves, and but little 

 of the mucilage : the tincture has a fine green colour. 



Medicinal Properties and Uses. — The medicinal virtues of 

 this plant are not very obvious ; nevertheless, as an ordinary 

 demulcent and expectorant, it may be given in catarrh, dry 

 cough, and other pulmonary affections. A syrup of Maiden- 

 hair is imported from France in large quantities, under the 

 name of Capillaire. This syrup, freely diluted with water, 

 makes a very agreeable drink for invalids, and in its pure state, 

 taken in small and repeated doses, it frequently lessens the 

 tightness and violence of chronic coughs, and it is not without 

 effect in allaying that uneasy sense of tearing in the larynx and 

 pharynx to which some persons are liable. 



The following may be conveniently substituted for the foreign 

 preparation : — 



SYRUP OF MAIDENHAIR*. 



Take of Leaves of Maidenhair six ounces ; 



Liquorice root two ounces ; 



Boiling water two pints. 



Infuse for an hour, then pour off the clear liquor, and add 



Refined sugar four pounds ; 



Orange-flower water two ounces. 



Gently boil, until of a proper consistence. 



Dose, from two drachms to an ounce. 



The simple infusion of the plant in water, sweetened in the 

 manner of tea, may be used for the same purposes as the syrup 

 of Maidenhair. 



* This syrup is said to be imitated by fraudulent persons, by mixing 

 mucilage of gum arabic with sugared water. 



