312 Snap Dragon. 



elevated parts of the grounds, where, in large clumps it produ- 

 ces a showy effect from the end of spring until autumn. The 

 use of eating oil not being very general, checks the cultivation of 

 these plants that could afford a good substitute for olive oil. 

 Most of the continental European countries consume a great 

 deal of oil, which they consider indispensable in their diet, and 

 hence they seek plants whose seeds yield the best oil ; and in 

 Russia the Snap Dragon is sown for the sake of the seeds, 

 which produces by expression an oil little inferior to that 

 obtained from olives. 



Antirrhinum Linaria — Toad Flax. Specific characters 

 are : — leaves, lanceolate, linear, crowded. Stem, erect. 

 Spikes, terminal, sessile. Flowers, imbricate. This species 

 is also a native of Europe, but so long naturalized in this 

 country as to be considered by some indigenous. It is a well 

 known and very common plant. The stem is smooth, generally 

 rising to the height of two feet ; the leaves numerous, narrow, 

 and pointed, and like the stem, quite smooth. The branches 

 rise from the angle formed by the leaves and stem, and bear 

 tufts of leaves. The spike is long, crowded with yellow 

 flowers that so closely simulate the Snap-Dragon, as to render 

 another description unnecessary. It is a perennial plant, 

 flowering in July and August. The leaves have a bitterish 

 and somewhat saltish taste, giving out when rubbed between 

 the fingers, a smell that considerably resembles that emitted 

 by the Elder. They are said to be diuretic and cathartic, in 

 both of which to act powerfully, and consequently have been 

 held in great repute, and much used in dropsies and other 

 disorders requiring powerful evacuations. Dr. Wolpole, we 

 are told, was the first physician who used it in haemorrhoidal 

 affections, and the ointment which he made with it, was emi- 

 nently successful in curing and alleviating that painful disease, 

 the piles. The Landgrave of Hesse, to whom he was physi- 

 cian, tried for a long time to induce him to discover the ingre- 

 dients of his preparation which he had hitherto kept secret 

 but could not prevail till the prince subdued his obstinacy by 

 the promise of a fat ox annually. 



Antirrhinum Canadense — Canada Snap Dragon, is a 

 delicate plant, annual in its duration, and not often more than 



