SOME MEDICINAL WILDINGS 



ward to the Rockies, attaining a height at times of 

 thirty feet or so, with a trunk a foot in diameter. In 

 that region it goes by a number of names as Chittem- 

 wood, Wahoo and Bitter-bark. Other local names 

 are Pigeon-berry and Wild Coffee — the latter be- 

 cause of some superficial resemblance of the seeds 

 to coffee beans. The shrubby form, common in 

 Southern California and the Great Basin region, is 

 from a few to a dozen feet high, forming usually a 

 dense clump touching the ground. 



The medicinal value of the Cascara sagrada is in 

 the bark, which is regarded as one of the safest and 

 best laxatives in the world, especially valuable in 

 cases of chronic constipation. It acts, at the same 

 time, as a tonic and tends to improve the appetite. 

 For the best results the bark should be collected in 

 the autumn or early spring and at least a year before 

 being used. A small piece of the bark put into a 

 glass of cold water and allowed to soak over night 

 makes a useful tonic, drunk first thing in the morn- 

 ing. For a laxative, hot water should be poured 

 upon the bark in- the proportion of a teacupful to a 

 level teaspoonful of the finely broken bark, set away 

 to cool, and drunk just before bed-time. Country 

 people have told me that the fresh bark boiled sev- 

 eral hours is equally efficacious. The gathering of 



197 



