2 I. VEGETABLES 



otherwise ordered. They, as well as woods and barks, are the 

 better for being fresh, although many will keep a long time with- 

 out any perceptible decay. Many kinds of roots may be kept 

 fresh in dry sand in a cellar. 



Roots to be dried should be rubbed in water to get rid of the 

 dirt, and also some of the mucous substance that would otherwise 

 render them mouldy. The larger are then to be cut, split, or 

 peeled : but in most aromatic roots, as those of the umbelliferous 

 plants, the odour residing in the bark, they must not be peeled. 

 They are then to be spread on sieves or hurdles, and dried in a 

 heat of about 120 deg. Fahr. either on the top of an oven, in a 

 stove, or a steam-closet, taking care lo shake them occasionally to 

 change the surfaces exposed to the air. Thick and juicy roots, as 

 those of rhubarb, briony, piony, water lily, &c., are cut in slices, 

 strung upon a thread, and hung in garlands in a heat of about 

 90 to 100 deg. Fahr. We may here observe that it is not always 

 the same part of the root which it is desirable to preserve: in 

 some, as Ai'ctium lappa, &c., it is the bark which is to be retained, 

 and the meditullium to be rejected; this is done by splitting up 

 the root, and cutting out the inert portion ; in others, as the 

 Althsea officinalis, the bark is to be removed, and the meditullium 

 retained. 



The drying of woods requires little attention ; but the silver 

 grain is liable to the attack of insects. Buffon advised trees 

 intended for timber to be barked a year before they were felled, 

 as in that time the silver grain becomes as hard as the heart of 

 the wood. Timber for ship-building is sometimes soaked in a 

 solution of arsenic, to hinder it from affording a lodgment to 

 marine worms. By floating timber for some time in water, it 

 loses part of its extractive and saccharine juices, and becomes 

 harder, so as to be less liable to be attacked by insects or worms : 

 by soaking in alum-water, it is rendered less combustible. 



Dried harks^ for medical purposes, require the outer skin to be 

 peeled off, as it is usually coarse and inefficacious. The ordinary 

 heat of the atmosphere is in general sufficient. 



Herhs^ for medical purposes, ought to be collected when they 

 begin to flower, and gathered on a dry day, as soon as the dew is 

 off; they should be spread thin, dried as quickly as possible by a 

 gentle heat, and kept in a dry dark place. 



Topsy leaves, or whole herbs, should be cleansed from discoloured 

 and rotten leaves, screened from earth or dust, placed on hurdles, 

 covered with blotting-paper, and exposed to the sun or the heat 

 of a stove, in a dry airy place. The quicker they are dried the 

 better, as they have less time to ferment or grow mouldy ; hence 

 they should be spread thin, and frequently turned : when dried, 

 they should be shaken in a large-meshed sieve to get rid of the 



