110 THE COMPLETE HERBAL 



and in Essex, as also in Huntingdonshire, male Mercury two small, round green 

 and in other places, but most usually in : heads, standing together upon a short 

 corn fields, in corners of meadows. foot stalk, which growing ripe, are seeds, 



TimeJ] It flowers in June and July, and 

 is lipe quickly after. 



not having flowers. The female stalk is 

 longer, spike-fashion, set round about with 



Government and virtues?] Melilot, boiled j small green husks, Avhich are the flowers, 

 in wine, and applied, mollifies all hard 5 made small like bunches of grapes, which 

 tumours and inflammations that happen in \ give no seed, but abiding long upon the 

 the eyes, or other parts of the body, and \ stalks without shedding. The root is corn- 

 sometimes the yolk of a roasted egg, or fine | posed of many small fibres, which perishes 

 flour, or poppy seed, or endive, is added j every year at the first approach of Winter, 

 unto it. It helps the spreading ulcers inland rises again of its own sowing; and if 

 the head, it being washed with a lye made j once it is suffered to sow itself, the ground 

 thereof. It helps the pains of the stomach, ; will never want afterwards, even both sorts 

 being applied fresh , or boiled with any of* of it. 

 the aforenamed things; also, the pains of- : 

 the ears, being dropped into them ; and j 



steeped in vinegar, or rose water, it miti-5 HAVING described unto you that which 

 gates the head-ache. The flowers of Melli- ' is called French Mercury, I come now to 

 lot or Camomile are much used to be put j shew you a description of this kind also, 

 together in clysters to expel wind, and ease j Descript."] This is likewise of two kinds, 

 pains; and also in poultices for the same tmaleand Female, having many stalks slender 

 purpose, and to assuage swelling tumours \ and lower than Mercury, without any 

 in the spleen or other parts, and helps in- j branches at all upon them, the root is set 



flammations in any part of the body. The 

 juice dropped into the eyes, is a singularly 

 good medicine to take away the film or 



with two leaves at every joint, somewhat 

 greater than the female, but more pointed 

 and full of veins, and somewhat harder in 



skin that clouds or dimns the eye-sight, j handling : of a dark green colour, and less 

 The head often washed with the distilled | denied or snipped about the edges. At 

 water of the herb and flower, or a lye made : the joints with the leaves come forth longei 

 therewith, is effectual for those that sud- 1 stalks than the former, with two hairy 

 denly lose their senses; as also to strengthen ! round seeds upon them, twice as big as 

 the memory, to comfort the head and brain, > those of the former Mercury. The taste 

 and to preserve them from pain, and the | hereof is herby, and the smell somewhat 

 apoplexy. | strong and virulent. The female has much 



! harder leaves standing upon longer foot- 



FRENCH AND DOG MERCURY. , ^^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ j j^. . ^ 



De.icriptJ] THIS rises up with a square i the joints come forth spikes of flowers like 

 green stalk full of joints, two feet high, or \ the French Female Mercury. The roots of 

 thereabouts, with two leaves at every joint, | them both are many, and full of small 

 and the branches likewise from both sides of | fibres Avhich run under ground, and mat 

 the stalk, set with fresh green leaves, some- i themselves very much, not perishing as the 

 what broad and long, about the bigness of! former Mercuries do, but abide the Win- 

 the leaves of Bazil, finely dented about the j ter, and shoot forth new branches every 

 edges ; towards the tops of the stalk and j year, for the old lie down to the ground, 

 branches, come forth at every joint in the j P/oce.] The male and female French 



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