C 1 N 



This army of licvbnlifts obferved the following order : af- 

 ter they had divided a certain tract of land among their feve- 

 ral companies, each company, to the nunihcr of a hundred 

 perfons, fpread itfclf out in a right line, to a certain lix.-d 

 place, every ten of them keeping at a dillaiice from the 

 reft. 



Then they f.archcd carefully for the plant, gomg on ki- 

 X'.irely in the fame order ; and in this manner, in a certain 

 number of days, they run over the ^^hole fpace of ground 

 appointed them. 



When the time was expired, the mandarins, who were en- 

 camped in their tents in fuch places as were proper for the 

 fubfirtence of their horfes, fent to view encli troop, to give 

 them frefli orders, and to inform themfelves if their number 

 ■was complete 



If any one of them was wanting, as it often Iiap- 

 pened, cither by wandering out of liie way, or being 

 attacked by wild beads, they always looked for him a 

 day or two, and then returned again to tlieir labonr as be- 

 fore. 



Gin-feng was formerly fuppofed to grow only in Ciiinefc 

 Tartar)-, affecting mountainous lituations, fliaded by clofe 

 woods, but it has nov been long known that this plant is 

 alTo a native of North America, whence M. Sarrafm tranf- 

 mitted fpecimons of it to Paris in the year 1 704 ; and the 

 gin-feng fmce difcowred in Canada, Pennfylvania, and Vir- 

 ginia, by Lafiteau, Kalm, Bartram, and others, has been 

 found to correfpond exadly with the Tartarian fpccits, and 

 its roots are now regularly purchafed by the Chinefe, 

 who confider them to be the fame with thofe of eaftern 

 growth, which are known to undergo a cfi'tain preparation 

 above-mentioned, by which they affume a fomewhat differ- 

 ent appearance. This plant was firll introduced into Eng- 

 land in 1740 by that induflrious naturalift, Peter CoUin- 

 fon. The dried root of gin-feng, as it is imported here, is 

 fcarcely as thick as the little finger, about three or four inches 

 • loiinr, frequently forked, tranfveriely wrinkled, of a horny 

 texture, and both internally and externally of a yellowifli 

 white colour. To the tatte, fays Lewis (Mat. Med.), it 

 difcovei-s a mucilaginous fweetnefs, approaching to that of 

 liquorice, accompanied with fome degree of bitteriflinefs, and 

 a iiight aromatic warmth, with little or no fmell. It is far 

 Tweeter, and of a more grateful fmell, than the roots of fen- 

 nel, to which it has by fome been fuppofed fimilar ; and 

 differs hkevife remarkably from thofe roots, in the nature 

 and pharmaceutic properties of its aftive principles : the 

 fweet matter of the gin-feng being procured entire in the 

 watery as well as the fpirituous extraft, whereas that of 

 fennel-roots is deftroycd or diflipatcd in the infplflation of the 

 watery tinCliire. The (light aromatic impregnation of the 

 gin-feng is likewife in good meafure retained in the watery 

 fxtraft, and pci-fettly in the fpirituous. 



The gin-feng, we have obferved, is an ingredient in mod 

 of the medicines which the Chinefe phyficians prefcribe to 

 the better fort of patients : they affirm, that it is a fove- 

 reign remedy for all wcaknefTes occnfioned by exceffive fa- 

 tigues, either of body or mind ; that it attenuates and car- 

 ries off pituitous humours ; cures weaknefs of the lungs and 

 th; pleurify ; ftop", vomitings ; llrengthens the fton-.ach, and 

 helps the appetite ; difperfes fumes or vapours ; fortifies the 

 breaft ; is a remedy for fhort and weak breathing ; ftrength- 

 ens the vital fpirits, and is good againll dizzinefs of the 

 head and dimnefs of fight ; and that it prolongs life to ex- 

 treme old age. Nobody can imagine, that the Chinefe and 

 Tartars would fet fo high a value upon this root, if it did 

 not conftantly produce a good eflefl : thofe that are in 

 kcalth often make ufe of it to render themfelves more vigo- 



G I O 



rous and ftrong. And I am pcrfuaded, adds father JartotixS 

 above-mentioned, it would prove an excellent mediciise in the 

 hands of any European who underllands pharmacy, if he 

 had but a fnflicicnt quantity of it to make fuch trials as are 

 ni'ceflary to examine the nature of it chemically, and to a])- 

 ply it in' a proper quantty, according to the nature of the 

 difeafe for which it may be beneficial. 



It is certain, that it fubtili/.es, increafes the motion of, 

 and warms the blood, that it helps digeilion, and invigo- 

 rates in a very fenfible mannci'. 



A fter I had drfigned the root, he goes on, I obferved 

 the flate of my pulfe, and then took ualf of a root, raw as 

 it v,as, and UHprei)ared ; in an hour after I found my pulfe 

 much fuller and quicker ; I had an appetite, and perceived 

 myl'elf much more vigorous, and could bear labour better 

 and eafier than before. Four days after, finding myfelf fo 

 fatigued and weary, that I could fcarcely fit on horfcback, 

 a mandarin, who was in company with us, perceiving it, 

 gave mc one of thefe roots ; 1 took half of it immediately, 

 and an hour after I was not in the Icall ienlible of any 

 wearincfs. I have often made ufe of it fince, and always 

 with the fame fuccefs. I have obferved alfo, that the green 

 leaves, and cfpecially the fibrous part of them, chewed, 

 would produce nearly the fame effeft. The Tartars often 

 bring people the leaves of gin-ferg inflead of tea : and I 

 always find myfelf fo well afterwards, that I fliould 

 readily prefer them before the bed tea ; their decottion 

 is of a grateful colour, and, when one has taken it 

 twice or thrice, its tade and fmell become very agree- 

 able. 



As for the root, it is neccdary to boil it a little more tlian 

 tea, to allow time for extrafting its virtue, as is praflifed 

 by the Chinefe, when they give it to fick perfons ; on which 

 occafion they feldom ufe more than the fifth part of an ounce 

 of the dried root. 



To prepare the root for exhibition they cut it into thin 

 dices, and put it into an earthen pot well glazed, with about 

 half a pint of water : the pot is to be well covered, and fet 

 to boil over a gentle fire ; and, when the water is confumed 

 to the quantity of a cupful, a little fugar is to be mixed with 

 it, and to be drank ; immediately after this, as much more 

 water is to be put to the remainder, and to be boiled as be- 

 fore, to ex:ract all the juice, and what remains of the fpiri- 

 tuous part of the root. 



Thefe two doles are to be taken, the one in the morning, 

 and the other in the evening. Phil. Tranf. N" 337, or 

 Abridg. vol. iv. part ii. p. 314, &c. 



Gin-feng has been confidered by the Chinefe as a power- 

 ful aplirodifiac ; but a fadt to the contrary is alleged by 

 Dr. Cullen in his Mat. Med. v. ii. p. 261. Highly as the 

 virtues of this root have been extolled by the Chinefe, and 

 by others, upon their authority, we know of no proofs, 

 fays Dr. Woodville (Med. Bot.), of its efficacy in Europe, 

 and from its fenfible qualities, we judge it to po'lefs very 

 little power as a medicine. It is reconm-.ended in decoction, 

 I're. a dram of the root to be long boiled in a fufficient quan- 

 tity of water for one dofe ; but it has been omitted in the 

 lad edition of the London Pharmacoprtia. 



GIO, in Geography, a cape of Scotland, on the N. coaft 

 of tlie ifland Shapinlka. 



GiO, St., a town of Italy, in Eriuli ; 1 1 miles W. of Pal- 

 ma la Nuova. 



Gio di Ftort-i St., a town of Naples, in Calabria Citra ; 

 16 miles \V S.W. of Umbriatico. 



Gio In Pclago, St., aniQandin the gulf of Venice, near 

 the coad of Ulria. N. lat. 45" 15'. .E. long. 13 49'. 



GIOAR, in the Mcteria Medka of the ancient Arabians, 



a word 



