44 



glutinous sticky material, which surrounds the seed, and which in 

 Europe is used in the preparation of bird-lime. The plant was con- 

 sidered sacred by the Druids of Britain. They looked upon the oak 

 as the residence of the Almighy. The fruit of the misletoe, a 

 parasite of the oak, was thought to contain divine virtue, and to be 

 the peculiar gift of heaven. It was sought for on the sixth day of 

 the moon with the greatest earnestness and anxiety, and when found 

 it was hailed with rapture and joy. As soon as the discovery was 

 made, the arch druid, attended by a crowd of people, ascended the 

 tree, dressed in a white robe, and, with a consecrated knife, cropped 

 the misletoe from its fixed support. Having secured the sacred 

 plant, he descended the tree ; bulls were sacrificed, and the deity 

 was invoked to bless his own gift and render it efficacious in those 

 diseases in which it should be administered. They esteemed it a 

 kind of panacea, a universal remedy in all diseases. 



The Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), is a shrub cultivated in the 

 gardens. Its leaves and fruit have a bitter and acid taste, and have 

 been used as a tonic and febrifuge. In some parts of France they 

 are employed by country people in intermittent fevers. 



The Canada Elder (Sambucus Canadensis) is a well known shrub' 

 and grows every where in the United States. The flowers are genty 

 excitant and sudorific, but are used only in the form of poultices, 

 fomentation and ointment. The berries have diaphoretic properties, 

 and have been employed in rheumatic and eruptive affections. The 

 inner bark is used in dropsical complaints. 



The Virginia Creeper (Ampelosis quinquefolia) is a running vine 

 which attaches itself by its rootlets to trees and walls. In autumn 

 its leaves turn bright crimson, and they have been used as an altera- 

 tive tonic and expectorant. The bark and twigs have been recently 

 recommended as a remedy in dropsy. 



The Arbor Vitze (Thuya occidentalis) is a beautiful ornamental 

 tree, indigenous in North Carolina, and is cultivated in all the 

 gardens in the United States. The leaves or small twigs have an 

 agreeable balsamic odor, especially when rubbed, and a strong cam- 

 phoi ous bitter taste. They have been used in the form of decoction 

 *n intermittent fever, and also in scurvy and rheumatism. A volatile 

 oil, obtained by distillation from the leaves, has been successfully 

 employed as a vermifuge. 



