OF HERBS AND BEASTS 191 



on purpose to observe what Plants they chiefly fed 

 upon ; and of those Simples compos'd an excellent Electu- 

 ary of extraordinary Effects against those Infirmities. 



" Thus we are told, that the Vertue of the Cophee was 

 discover'd by marking what the Goats so greedily brutted 

 upon. So jEsculapius is said to have restor'd dismem- 

 ber'd Hippolitus by applying some simples, he observ'd 

 a Serpent to have us'd another dead Serpent." The last 

 instance sounds mythical! But goats have really more 

 than once led mankind to some useful bit of knowledge. 

 There is a Chilian plant, Boldo, a tincture of the leaves 

 of which are frequently administered in France for 

 hepatic complaints, and this is the history of the discovery 

 of its virtues. "The goats in Chili had been for many 

 years subject to enlargement of the liver, and the owners 

 of the flocks had begun to despair of them as a source 

 of revenue, until it was observed that certain flocks 

 were exempt from the complaint, whilst others in ad- 

 jacent districts continued subject to it. It was ultimately 

 discovered that the goats browsing in fields where Boldo 

 grew were never a prey to hepatic diseases, and the 

 herb became gradually known and used, first by South 

 American and then by French druggists." Boldo is little 

 used in England. 



Sheep seek Dandelions ; and Miss Anne Pratt quotes 

 an agricultural report, describing how some weakly 

 lambs were moved into a field full of Dandelions 

 in flower, and how rapidly the conspicuous blossoms 

 were devoured. Finally, as the flowers grew fewer 

 and fewer, the lambs were seen pushing one another 

 away from the coveted plants, and in this field they 

 speedily gained in health and strength. Valerianella 

 Olitaria is said to be a favourite food of lambs, and so 

 gains its name of Lambs' Lettuce. Shepherds and flocks 

 have always been favourite subjects for poetry, and 

 Drayton touches them very prettily: — 



