AND ENGLISH PHYSICIAN ENLARGED. 



167 



over a piece of leather, and applied to the 

 navel, kills the worms in the belly, helps 

 scabs and itch, running sores, cankers, tet- 

 ters, and ringworms ; and being applied to 

 the place, may haply cure venereal sores. 

 This I thought good to speak of, as it may 

 be safely used outwardly, for inwardly it 

 cannot be taken without manifest danger. 



THE COMMON WHITE SAXIFRAGE. 



Descript] THIS hath a few small red- 

 dish kernels of roots covered with some 

 skins, lying among divers small blackish 

 fibres, which send forth divers round, faint 

 or yellow green leaves, and greyish under- 

 neath, lying above the grounds, unevenly 

 dented about the edges, and somewhat 

 hairy, every one upon a little foot-stalk, 

 from whence rises up round, brownish, 

 hairy, green stalks, two or three feet high, 

 with a few such like round leaves as grow 

 below, but smaller, and somewhat branched 

 at the top, whereon stand pretty large white 

 flowers of five leaves a-piece, with some 

 yellow threads in the middle, standing in a 

 ong crested, brownish green husk. After 

 the flowers are past, there arises sometimes 

 a round hard head, forked at the top, 

 wherein is contained small black seed, but 

 usually they fall away without any seed, 

 and it is the kernels or grains of the root 

 which are usually called the White Saxi- 

 frage-seed, and so used. 



Place] It grows in many places of our 

 land, as well in the lower-most, as in the 

 upper dry corners of meadows, and grassy 

 sand y places. It used to grow near Lamb's 

 conduit, on the backside of Gray's Inn. 



Time] It flowers in May, and then 

 gathered, as well for that which is called 

 the seed, as to distil, for it quickly perishes 

 down to the ground when any hot weather 

 comes. 



Government and virtues] It is very ef- 

 fectual to cleanse the reins aad bladder, 

 and to dissolve the ttone engendered in 



them, and to expel it and the gravel by 

 urine ; to help the stranguary ; for which 

 purpose the decoction of the herb or roots 

 | in white wine, is most usual, or the powder 

 | of the small kerneliy toot, which is called 

 the seed, taken in white wine, or in the 

 same decoction made with white wine, is 

 most usual. The distilled water of the 

 \ whole herb, root and flowers, is most fami- 

 | liar to be taken. It provokes also women's 

 : courses, and frees and cleanses the stomach 

 I and lungs from thick and tough phlegm 

 | that trouble them. There are not many 

 $ better medicines to break the stone than 

 I this. 



! 



BURNET SAXIFRAGE. 



I 



Descript] THE greater sort of our 

 English Burnet Saxifrage grows up with 

 divers long stalks of winged leaves, set 

 | directly opposite one to another on both 

 {sides, each being somewhat broad, and a 

 I little pointed and dented about the edges, 

 ! o a sad green colour. At the top of the 

 alks stand umbels of white flowers, after 

 | which come small and blackish seed. The 

 I root is long and whitish, abiding long. Our 

 i lesser Burnet Saxifrage hath much finer 

 I leaves than the former, and very small, and 

 \ set one against another, deeply jagged 

 | about the edges, and of the same colour as 

 j the former. The umbels of the flowers are 

 | white, and the seed very small, and so is 

 i the root, being also somewhat hot and quick 

 in taste. 



Place] These grow in moist meadows 

 \ of this land, and are easy to be found being 

 I well sought for among the grass, wherein 

 many times they lay hid scarcely to be dis- 

 cerned. 



Time] They flower about July, and 

 i their seed is ripe in August. 



Government and virtues] They are both 

 | of them herbs of the Moon. The Saxi- 

 frages are hot as pepper ; and Tragus saith, 

 by his experience, that they are wholesome 

 x x 



