WORMWOOD. 



stimulating to the system. It is now, however, 

 entirely laid aside by modern physicians, and is 

 prized chiefly on account of its fragrant odour. 



Wormwood (artimisia ahsinthiwn.) This 

 belongs to the same family as the foregoing. The 

 root is perennial, the stem is ligneous, downy, 

 and grows to the height of two or three feet. 

 The leaves are compound, and divided into many 

 blunt segments, and downy on the under side. 

 The flowers are brownish yellow, and placed in 

 numerous spikes. It grows wild in this country 

 about rocks and rubbish. The leaves have a 

 strong disagreeable smell, their taste is nauseous, 

 and so intensely bitter, as to be proverbial. The 

 flowers are more aromatic and less bitter than 

 the leaves, and the roots have an aromatic 

 warmth, without any bitterness. Linnaeus says, 

 that the plant communicates a bitter taste to the 

 milk and even flesh of cows and sheep that feed 

 on it ; and that the milk of a woman who took 

 the extract became extremely bitter. The leaves 

 and flowers yield the bitter both to water and 

 spirits. The flowers form the most agreeable 

 and grateful tincture. This plant is supposed to 

 be the absintMvm penticum of Dioscorides and 

 Pliny. Besides its strictly tonic powers, for 

 which it has been used by the moderns, it is also 

 supposed to possess certain narcotic qualities, 

 which act on the nerves of the stomach, and those 

 of the head. It is used to form an ingredient 

 of a kind of ale called purl, and this drink was 

 found to affect the head much more quickly and 

 strongly than malt liquor alone. Its power of 

 destroying worms is not more than the ordinary 

 class of bitter substances. It is now rarely used 

 as a medicine. 



May Wort (artimisia vulgaris). This plant 

 is also common in Britain, and resembles the 

 former in its general properties and appearance. 

 The leaves have a light agreeable smell, espe- 

 cially when rubbed, but scarcely any taste. The 

 flowery tops are somewhat stronger than the 

 leaves. This plant is rarely used now, although 

 it was much employed by Hippocrates, Dios- 

 corides and Galen, in uterine complaints, in 

 which it is employed by the Chinese of the pre- 

 sent day. 



Moxa is a substance prepared in Japan from 

 the dry tops and leaves of May wort, by beating 

 and rubbing them between the hands till only 

 the fine woolly fibres of the inside remain, 

 which are then combed, and formed into little 

 cones. Those used as cauteries are greatly 

 celebrated in Eastern countries for the cure of 

 many disorders. The manner of applying the 

 moxa is very simple. The part aff^ected being 

 previously moistened, a cone of the moxa is 

 laid, which being set on fire at the apex, gradu- 

 ally burns down to the skin, where it produces 

 a dark-coloured spot ; by repeating the process 

 several times, an eschar is formed of any desired 



527 



extent, and this on separation leaves an ulcer, 

 which may be kept open as long as required. 

 It is said that the use of the moxa was originally 

 introduced by the Jesuits, but it is probably of 

 greater antiquity. Hippocrates, for a similar 

 purpose, used flax, and also a species of fungus ; 

 and the Laplanders to this day use the agaric in 

 a similar way. The Egyptians employed cotton 

 or linen for a similar purpose. 



The Chinese also manufacture a paper and 

 a kind of cloth, from the down of the artimisia. 



H Yssop (hyssopus officinalis) . Natural family 

 lahiatce; didynamia, gymnospermia, of Linnaeus. 

 This is a perennial, shrubby plant, which rises 

 to the height of two feet. Tlie leaves are long, 

 narrow, and elliptical, of a deep green colour, 

 and stand in pairs without footstalks. The 

 flowers are produced chiefly on one side, in short 

 verticeUated spikes terminating the branches, 

 and are of a blue colour. It is a native of 

 Siberia and the mountainous parts of Austria, 

 and flowers from June till September. This is 

 not supposed to be the hyssop mentioned in the 

 Old Testament; nor, indeed, is it at all ascer- 

 tained what is the esof of the Hebrews, or the 

 hyssopus of the Greeks. It appears to have 

 been one of the smallest plants, and "grew out 

 of the wall;" hence some have conjectured it to 

 be one of the mosses. 



Hyssop was first introduced and cultivated in 

 England by Gerard, in 1696, and is now common 

 in gardens. The leaves have an aromatic smell, 

 and a bitterish, moderately warm taste. They 

 give out their action both to water and spirits, 

 but more perfectly to the latter. The spirituous 

 extract possesses little of the flavour of the 

 plant, but has a warm aromatic taste, like 

 camphor. The watery distillation of the fresh 

 herb yields an essential oil, having the flavour 

 of the plant. Its medicinal properties were held 

 in some estimation by the older physicians, but 

 it has now fallen into disuse. Dr Cullen reckons 

 it aromatic and stimulating; and it was used in 

 asthma and other affections of the chest, as an 

 expectorant : for this purpose an infusion of the 

 leaves is drunk as tea. Externally, decoctions 

 of the leaves are used in bruises and indolent 

 swellings. 



Rue (ruta graveolens). Natural family 

 rutacece; decandria, monogynia, of Linnjeus. 

 The root sends forth several shrubby stalks, 

 which, towards the bottom, are strong, woody, 

 and covered with a rough, gray, striated bark. 

 The upper or young branches are smooth, and 

 of a pale green colour; the leaves are compound, 

 consisting of double sets of irregular pinnte 

 minutely notched, oval shaped, and of a glau- 

 cous blue colour. The flowers are numerous, 

 the petals, consisting of four or five, are yellow. 

 This shrub is a native of the south of Europe, 

 and flowers in June and September. 



