BILBERRIES BIRCH, EUROPEAN. 27 



Distinctive character Leaves cordate below, oval, 

 tapering above, with 5-7 radiating ribs, 2^-3^ inches 

 long, and about 2 inches broad, dark green above, paler 

 below, with numerous transparent, minute, reddish 

 points due to oil cells. When chewed the leaves pro- 

 duce a flow of saliva. Taste, feebly aromatic. 



BILBERRIES. Vaccinium Myrtillus, Linn. 



N . O . V accinicicetf . 



Syn. Huckleberries, Whortleberries, Hurtleberries. 

 Part used Ripe fruits. 



Action Diuretic, refrigerant, astringent. The fruit 

 may be eaten by itself or with milk and sugar as a 

 cooling nutriment. The dried berries are used in 

 medicine and have proved of much benefit in dropsy 

 and gravel. A decoction of i ounce in a pint of boiling 

 water is used in tablespoonful to wineglassful doses in 

 diarrhoea, dysentery, and derangements of the bowels. 

 It has been found particularly useful during typhoid 

 epidemics in the following form : i pound Bilberries, 

 pound Cream of Tartar, i gallon water ; boil for twenty 

 minutes, strain and make up to i gallon with water. 

 Drink a teacupful several times a day. Externally 

 the decoction is used as a gargle, as a wash for sores, 

 wounds, and ulcers, and as an injection in leucorrhcea. 



Preparation Fluid extract : Dose, -2 drachms. 



Distinctive character Berries blue-black, globular, 

 with the calyx ring at the apex. Contains numerous 

 small oval seeds. Taste, sweet acidulous. Odour, 

 slightly valerianic. 



BIRCH, EUROPEAN. Betula alba, Linn. 



N.O. Bclulaceit. 

 Syn. White Birch. 



Parts used Bark and leaves. 



Action Bitter, astringent. The bark by destructive 

 distillation yields Birch Tar, which is used in preparing 



