AND ENGLISH PHYSICIAN ENLARGED. 



45 



and drank, purges choleric and gross 

 humours, and helps the sciatica; it opens 

 obstructions of the liver, gall, and speen, 

 helps the jaundice, and eases the pains in 

 the sides and hardness of the spleen, used 

 outwardly, and is given with very good 

 effect in agues. It helps those that have 

 the dropsy, or the green-sickness, being 

 much used by the Italians in powder for 

 that purpose. It kill the worms in the 

 belly, as is found by experience. The 

 decoction thereof, viz. the tops of the stalks, 

 with the leaves and flowers, is good against 

 the cholic, and to bring down women's 

 courses, helps to avoid the dead birth, and 

 eases pains of the mother, and is very ef- 

 fectual in all pains of the joints, as the 

 gout, cramps, or convulsions. A dram of 

 the powder taken in wine, is a wonderful 

 good help against the biting and poison of 

 an adder. The juice of the herb with 

 a little honey put to it, is good to clear the 

 eyes from dimness, mists and clouds that 

 offend or hinder sight. It is singularly 

 good both for green and fresh wounds, as 

 also for old ulcers and sores, to close up the 

 one and cleanse the other, and perfectly to 

 cure them both, although they are hollow 

 or fistulousjthe green herb especially, being 

 bruised and laid thereto. The decoction 

 thereof dropped into the ears, cleanses 

 them from worms, cleanses the foul ulcers 

 and spreading scabs of the head, and takes 

 away all frickles, spots, and marks in the 

 skin, being washed with it ; the herb is so 

 safe you cannot fail in the using of it, only 

 giving it inwardly for inward diseases. 

 It is very wholesome, but not very tooth- 

 some. 



There is beside these, another small 

 Centaury, which bears a yellow flower ; in 

 all other respects it is like the former, save 

 that the leaves are larger, and of a darker 

 green, and the stalks pass through the midst 

 of them, as it does in the herb Thorowan. 

 They are all of them, as I told you, under 



the government of the Sun ; yet this, if 

 you observe it, you shall find an excellant 

 truth ; in diseases of the blood, use the red 

 Centaury; if of choler, use the yellow; 

 but if phlegm or water, you will find the 

 white best. 



THE CHERRY-TREE. 



I SUPPOSE there are few but know this 

 tree, for its fruit's sake ; and therefore 

 I shall spare writing a description thereof. 



Place.~\ For the place of its growth, it 

 is ofForded room in every orchard. 



Government and virtues^} It is a tree of 

 Venus. Cherries, as they are of different 

 tastes, so they are of different qualities. 

 The sweet pass through the stomach and 

 the belly more speedily, but are of little 

 nourishment; the tart or sour are more 

 pleasing to an hot stomach, procure appe- 

 tite to meat, to help and cut tough phlegm, 

 and gross humours; but when these are 

 dried, they are more binding to the belly 

 than when they are fresh, being cooling in 

 hot diseases, and welcome to the stomach, 

 and provokes urine. The gum of the Chery- 

 tree, desolved in wine is good for a cold, 

 cough, and horseness of the throat ; mends 

 the colour in the face, sharpens the eye- 

 sight, provokes appetite, and helps to break 

 and expel the stone, and dissolved, the 

 water thereof is much used to break the 

 stone, and to expel gravel and wind. 



WINTER-CHERRIES. 



DescriptJ] THE Winter Cherry has a 

 running or creeping root in the ground, of 

 the bigness many times one's little finger, 

 shooting forth at several joints in several 

 places, whereby it quickly spreads a great 

 compass of ground. The stalk rises not 

 above a yard high, whereon are set many 

 broad and long green leaves, somewhat 

 like nightshades, but larger ; at the joints, 

 whereof come forth whitish flowers made 

 of five leaves a piece, which afterward* 



