PLANTAIN. 227 



Chomel, praise the effects of the juice taken to the amount of 

 from two to four ounces in intermittent fevers. Bergius * 

 adds his testimony of the febrifuge qualities of the root. He 

 says, " I have tried from three to six drachms of the root in 

 autumnal tertian fevers without effect ; but in vernal fevers not 

 infrequently with success.'* Externally the leaves are com- 

 monly applied by country people to recent wounds and sores ; 

 they are also used in the form of a poultice to cleanse and heal 

 foul ulcers ; fomentations with the decoction are recommended 

 for the same purpose, likewise in prolapsus ani. Gargles have 

 been made with the root and leaves. 



The seeds in the dose of a drachm, boiled in milk or broth, 

 are reputed laxative f, and demulcent. The infusion and de- 

 coction of the root and leaves in the proportion of one to two 

 ounces to a pint of water may be taken ad libitum. Boyle re- 

 commends an electuary, made of fresh comfrey roots, juice of 

 plantain and sugar, as effectual in hcemoptysis, &c. The 

 powdered root J in the dose of four or five drachms, or a strong 

 infusion of the plant (and probably the extract) may be given 

 in agues at the commencement of the fit. According to Need- 

 ham §, plantain-juice either alone, or mixed with lemon-juice, 

 is an excellent diuretic. 



* Mat. Med. torn. i. p. 10. 



f Chomel, Usuelles ii. p. 291. 



$ Wedelius had an amulet which he wore fifty years, and considered a 

 preservation against the plague and all infection. It was composed of the 

 roots of plantain and colchicum, and flowers of lavender. See his Expert- 

 mentum curiosum de Colcho veneno, &c. Jenae, 1718. 



8 In Raii Hist. PI. 879. 



