170 



The general cure-all qualities ascribed to some of the plants 

 suggest a modern patent medicine advertisement; and the recipes 

 call so often for wine and beer as to suggest that then, as to-day, 

 not a little of the invigorating effect was due to the alcohol used. 



The book consists of nearly seven hundred pages and contains 

 descriptions of three hundred forty-three plants, which not only 

 cure such human ills as the hichet (hiccough) and the loosening 

 of the teeth, stay hunger, and prevent weariness, but serve 

 various other useful purposes, such as making hens lay, keeping 

 puppies small, and increasing public revenues. 



Each plant is described under five headings, the names, the 

 kinds, the form, the places and time, and the virtues or the 

 signature and virtues. By signature, is meant the sign put upon 

 the plant by an all-wise Creator to show man its uses, such as 

 thorns to indicate its thorn- or splinter-drawing power, an ear- 

 shaped leaf to point out its ability to cure deafness, and sticky or 

 slimy juice to show that it should be used to " glue together " 

 cuts and wounds. 



The extracts given below include a few of the plants com- 

 monly known to-day in America. The aim has been to present 

 for these well-known plants typical descriptions and recipes, 

 preserving so far as possible the leisurely style and naivete so 

 characteristic of the whole book. Useless repetition has been 

 avoided by the frequent omission of entire sections (such as 

 names, form, and signature) ; when part of a section has been 

 omitted it is indicated by asterisks in the usual way. 



Other striking differences between Adam in Eden and the 

 books of to-day are the closely-printed title page, lavishly adorned 

 with red ink; the effusive dedication and lengthy introduction, 

 enlivened by several poems dedicated to the author himself ; and 

 the conclusion, most naive of all, where Mr. Coles openly asks 

 for encouragement, laments the lack of time as " a thing I have 

 much wanted ever since I undertook this business ", and with a 

 pun bids farewell to the gentle and apprehensive reader. 



