198 THE BOOK OF HERBS 



desirable result it had to be "gathered fasting, and 

 with the left hand, without looking back, when it was 

 being plucked." ^ Gervase Markham mentions a curious 

 evil among cattle. He says if a shrew-mouse run over 

 a beast " it feebleth his hinder parts and maketh him 

 unable to go. The cure is to draw him under, or beat 

 him with a Bramble, which groweth at both ends in the 

 furrowes of corne lands." Markham was a noted 

 authority on Husbandry and Farriery in the early part of 

 the seventeenth century, and he gives advice for the 

 various ills afflicting horses. For nightmare he pre- 

 scribed balls composed of Aniseed, Liquorice and Garlic, 

 and other ingredients. For toothache. Ale or Vinegar, 

 in which Betony has been seethed ; and loose teeth are 

 to be rubbed with the leaves of Elecampane, which will 

 "fasten" them. Stubwort (wood-sorrel), " lapped in red 

 Dock leafe and roasted in hot cinders, will eat away the 

 dead flesh in a sore," and any " splint, iron, thorne or 

 stub " may be drawn out by an application of Yarrow, 

 Southernwood, Cummin-seed, Fenugreek and Ditany, 

 bruised with black soap. Horse Mint, "Wormwood and 

 Dill are other herbs recommended by this author. 



Gerarde says that the leaves of Arsmart (Persicaria) 

 rubbed on the back of a tired horse, and a " good handfuU 

 or two laid under the saddle, will wonderfully refresh 

 him ; " and Z,e petit Albert gives a recipe for making a 

 horse go further in one hour than another would go in 

 eight. You must begin by mingling a handful of 

 " Satyrion " in his oats, and anointing him with the fat 

 of a deer ; then when you are mounted and ready to 

 start " vous lui tournerez la tete du cote de soleil levant 

 et vous penchant sur son oreille gauche vous pronon^erez 

 trois fois a voix basse les paroles suivantes et vous 

 partirez aussi tot : Caspar, Melchior, Merchisard. T'ajonte 

 a cecy que si vous suspenderez au col du cheval les 



^ Timbs. 



