530 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



The wliole tree is very aromatic, and when in 

 blossom perfumes the whole neighbourhood. 

 The flowers dried and softened again in warm 

 water, have a fragrant odour, nearly approaching 

 to that of musk. The leaves have a strong smell 

 of laurel. The berries after having been some 

 time green, turn blue, and become at last of a 

 black glossy colour; and have a faint aromatic 

 taste and smell. They are, when ripe, fed upon 

 greedily by the wild pigeons in Jamaica, and 

 impart a peculiar flavour to their flesh. 



The canella was first introduced into Britain, 

 according to Clusius, in 1600. The canella of 

 commerce is the bark of the tree freed from its 

 outward covering, and dried in the shade. It is 

 brought to Europe in long quills, which are 

 about three-quarters of an inch in diameter; 

 somewhat thicker than cinnamon, and both exter- 

 nally and internally of a whitish or light brown 

 colour, with a yellowish hue; and commonly 

 intermixed with thicker pieces, which are pro- 

 bably obtained from the trunk of the tree. This 

 bark is moderately warm to the taste, and aro- 

 matic and bitterish. Its smell is agreeable, and 

 resembles that of cloves. Its virtues are extracted 

 most perfectly by proof spirits. In distillation 

 with water 'it yields an essential oil, of a dark 

 yellowish colour, of a thick tenacious consis- 

 tence, with difiiculty separable from the aqueous 

 fluid; in smell sufficiently grateful, though less 

 so than the bark itself. The remaining decoc- 

 tion, when evaporated, leaves a very bitter extract, 

 composed of resinous and gummy matter imper- 

 fectly mixed. Canella was frequently confounded 

 with Winter's bark, another somewhat similar 

 substance; but having more active qualities, the 

 canella is now generally used. It has been sup- 

 posed to possess a considerable share of active 

 medicinal powers, and was formerly employed as a 

 cure in scurvy. Now it is merely esteemed as 

 a pleasing aromatic bitter, and as a useful 

 adjunct in correcting more active, though nau- 

 seous medicines. The powder is given along 

 with aloes, as a stimulating purgative. The 

 negroes and Caribs are said to use it as a condi- 

 ment to their food. 



ToKMENTiL (tormentilla erecta). Natural 

 family rosacea?/ icosandria,polygyma, of Linnaeus. 

 This little plant is seen rearing its yellow flower 

 on our heaths and hills in great abundance. It 

 is perennial, with a thick, round, knobbed root, 

 of a dark brovni colour, the interior of whicli 

 has a reddish tinge. Its stems are about a span 

 high. The stalk leaves are divided into seven; 

 those of the branches into five parts; three of 

 them are larger than the others; and all are ellip- 

 tical and deeply serrated. The flowers stand 

 singly on long stalks, and have four small yellow 

 petals. 



The root is the only part which is used in 

 medicine. It has a strong styptic taste, but 



imparts no peculiar flavour. As a proof of its 

 powerful astringency, it has been substituted 

 for bark in the tanning of leather. It is still 

 used in the western islands of Scotland for this 

 purpose, and in the Orkneys. The roots are 

 boiled in water, and the skins steeped in the cold 

 liquor for a considerable time. In the islands of 

 Tirey and Coll, the inhabitants have destroyed 

 so much ground by digging them up, that they 

 have been prohibited the use of them. They 

 are also used for dyeing cloth of a red colour. 

 In Killarney they feed pigs with the roots. 



Tormentil was at one time in considerable 

 esteem as an astringent medicine, especially in 

 diarrhaea, although it has now fallen into dis- 

 use. Dr Cullen says it has been justly com- 

 mended for every virtue that is competent to 

 astringents. I myself, he adds, have had several 

 instances of its virtues in this respect, and par- 

 ticularly have found it, both alone and combined 

 with gentian, cure intermittent fevers; but it 

 must be given in substance, and in large quan- 

 tities. 



This dry root is given in powder, or a decoc- 

 tion may be made by boihng it in water, and 

 adding a Httle cinnamon. 



Arbutus, or Beakberry (arbutus uva ursij. 

 Natural family ericece; decandria, monogynia, of 

 Linnsus. This little plant is found in alpine 

 regions at a considerable height. The root is 

 perennial, long, branched, and fibrous. The 

 stems are numerous, procumbent, woody, and 

 scarcely a foot long, seldom divided into branches. 

 The leaves are small, oblong, obtuse, without 

 footstalks, of a dark green colour. The flowers 

 are flesh-coloured, and terminate the stems in 

 small clusters; the corolla is monopetalous; the 

 fruit is a pulpy, round, red berry. It is common 

 in the north of Scotland, and flowers in June. 

 There is reason to suppose that this plant was 

 used by Dioscorides and Galen, as a cure for 

 spitting of blood. 



The dry leaves are inodorous at first, though 

 bitter; but on keeping and being powdered, have 

 the flavour of hysson tea. They have been used 

 to dye an ash colour, and are also sometimes 

 employed in the tanning of leather. The 

 woa ursi, though employed by the ancients in 

 several diseases requiring astringent medicines, 

 had almost entirely fallen into disuse till about 

 the middle of last century, when its use was 

 revived as a medicine in diseases of the kidneys 

 and stone. 



In the years 1763 and 1764 it rose into fashion- 

 able notoriety, for the cure of gravelly com- 

 plaints, and, indeed, all affections of the urinary 

 organs; and was much lauded by the German, 

 French, and Spanish physicians. Time and 

 further experience, however, proved all these 

 encomiums to be exaggerated. The experiments 

 of Drs Alexander and Mui'ray show this sub- 



