36 



THE COMPLETE HERBAL 



THE BURDOCK. 



cording to the soil where it grows, and be- r 



fore the stalk with the flowers have abiden ( 



a month above ground, it will be witnered } They are also called Personata, and 



and gone, and blow away svith the wind, j Loppy-major, great Burdock and Clod-bur, 



and the leaves will begin to spring, which j It is so well known, even by the little boys, 



being full grown, are very large and broad, \ who pull off the burs to throw and stick 



being somewhat thin and almost round, ; upon each other, that I shall spare to wiite 



whose thick red foot stalks above a foot | any description of it. 



long, stand towards the middle of the leaves. j PlaceJ] They grow plentifully by ditches 



The lower part being divided into two round j and water-sides, and by the highways al- 



parts, close almost one to another, and are j most every where through this land. 



of a pale green colour; and hairy under- 

 neath. The root is long, and spreads under 

 ground, being in some places no bigger than 

 ones finger, in others much bigger, blackish 

 on the outside, and whitish within, of a 

 bitter and unpleasant taste. 



Place and Time.'] They grow in low and 

 wet grounds by rivers and water sides. 



Government and virtues.'] Venus chal- 

 lenges this herb for her own, and by its leat 

 or seed you may draw the womb which 

 way you please, either upwards by applying 

 it to the crown of the head, in case it falls 

 out ; or downwards in fits of the mother, 

 by applying it to the soles of the feet ; or 

 if you would stay it in its place, apply it to 



Their flower (as is said) rising and decaying j the navel, and that is one good way to stay 

 in February and March, before their leaves, j the child in it. The Burdock leaves are 

 which appear in April. : cooling, moderately drying, and discussing 



Government and virtues.^ It is under the 

 dominion of the Sun, and therefore is a 

 great strengthener of the heart, and clearer 

 of the vital spirits. The roots thereof are 

 by long experience found to be very avail- 

 able against the plague and pestilential 



withal, whereby it is good for old ulcers and 

 sores. A dram of the roots taken with 

 Pine kernels, helps them that spit foul, 

 mattery, and bloody phlegm. The leaves 

 applied to the places troubled with the 

 shrinkingof the si news or arteries, give much 



fevers by provoking sweat ; if the powder ease. The juice of the leaves, or rather 

 thereof be taken in wine, it also resists the ! the roots themselves, given to drink with 

 force of any other poison. The root hereof i old wine, doth wonderfully help the biting 

 taken with Zedoary and Angelica, or without \ of any serpents : And the root beaten with 

 them, helps the rising of the mother. The \ a little salt, and laid on the place, suddenly 

 decoction of the root in wine, is singularly I eases the pain thereof, and helps those that 

 good for those that wheese much, or are \ are bit by a mad dog. The juice of the 

 short winded. It provokes urine also, and j leaves being drank with honey, provokes 

 women's courses, and kills the flat and urine, and remedies the pain of the bladder. 



broad worms in the belly. The powder of 

 the root doth wonderfully help to dry up 

 the moisture of the sores that are hard to be 

 cured, and takes away all spots and 

 blemishes of the skin. It were well if 

 gentlewomen would keep this root preserved, 

 to help their poor neighbours. It is fit the 

 rich should help the poor, for the poor cannot 

 help fhemselves . 



The seed being drank in wine forty days 

 together, doth wonderfully help the sciatica. 

 The leaves bruised with the white of an egg, 

 and applied to any place burnt with fire, 

 takes out the fire, gives sudden ease, and 

 heals it up afterwards. The decoction of 

 them fomented on any fretting sore or 

 canker, stays the corroding quality, which 

 i must be afterwards anointed with an oint- 



