Obolus, 38. 
ihalfe a 
Scriptule or 
Seruple. 
- 
__<) ¢The ewentieth Book’e of 
adh pare on 3s Meena they preffe the faid juice forth, dnd receive 
it in raine water, wheteinit ferleth :arid afterwards, when it is driedih the Sunne, they fieke it yp 
into Trochifques.. And certaine thefe Tfochifques are foveraigne for many purpose’; to the 
great good and benefit of'mankind : For firltandforemoft, it curety the dinanefle and other 
defects or imperie&tions of the eyes: it healetiralfo the ulcers of thecielids. Ir is fa id moreover, 
that ifa man rub never folitele of this juice upon vine roots, there will no birds come neareto 
pecke or once touchthe grapesthat fhallhangrhereon, . ee 
, $ 
us WT. ie ek te oa 
oiled in vinegre andthade into a liningent, and fo 
6 % 
Theroot of this wild Cucumber, if it beb 
% 
ach, The tootbeing dried and incotpotat with rofin,cureth the tingworme,tetrar,andwild feab 
or skurfe,which fome call Pfora and Lichenes :it difeuffeth and healeth, the {welling kernels be- 
hind che eare ;the angrie pufhesalfo afidbiles in other Emunétories called Pani:and reduceth 
the ftooles or skars leit after any fore and other skartes, to their freth and native colouragaine, 
& 
applied, is fingular good for all kinds of gout; but the juice of the {aid roothelpeth the tooth, 
The juice of the leaves dropped with vinegreintothe ears, isa remedie for deafenefle. As for _ 
the liquor concrete of this Cucumber,named Elaterium,the right feafon of making it,is in A u- 
- tumne: neither isthere a drug thatthe Apothecarie hath, which Jaftech longerthan it doth: 
g P ’ g 
howbeit,before it be three yeeres old, it beginneth not to be in force for any purpofe thataman 
fhallufeiit: & yet if one would occupie itfreth & new before that time, he mult corned the fore- 
faid Trofches with vinegre,diffolving them therin,oyera foft fire, in.a new earthen pot never oc- 
cupied before: but the elder they be,thembetter 8 more effeCtuallthey are; infomuch as (by the 
report of Theophraftws) Elaterium hath beenkept and.continued gead 200 yeers, And for fiftie © 
yeeresit is fo {trong and full of vertue,that it wilhput out the light of a.candle or lampe:for this 
is thetriall and proofeefgood Elaterium, if being fer near therero, before that it puttethout the 
light,itcaufe the candleto{parkle upward. and downward. That whichis pale of color,8{mooth, 
is better than that which is of a greenith graffe color. & rough in the hand; the fame alfo is fom- 
what bitter withal]. Moreover, itis faid,that ifa woman defire to have children,& do carie about 
her the fruit of this wild Cucumber faft tied to her bodie, the fhall the fooner conceive & prove 
with:child; provided alwaies,that in the gathering ,the faid Cucumber touched notthe ground 
in any cafe, Alfo,ifit be lapped within the wooll of aRam,and bee bound tothe loins ofa woman 
intravaile- of childbirth}{fo that fhe be not her felfe ware thereof, fhe hall have the better {peed 
and eafter deliverance: but then, fo fooneas the infant and the mother bee parted, the faid Cu- 
cumber muft bee had out of the houfe in all haft, where the woman lyeth. Thofe writers who’ 
magnifie thefe wild Cucumbers,and fet great ftore by them,affirme, That the beft kind of them 
groweth in Arabia; and the next about Cyrenz: but others fay, That the principall be in Arca- 
dia ; Thacthe plane refembleth Turnfoll; That between the leaves and braunches thereof there 
groweth the fruit,as big as. a Wallnut, with a white raile turning up backeward in manner of a 
Scorpions taile : whereupon fome there bee, who give it the name of the Scorpion Cucumber, 
True itisindeed,thatas wel the fruit it felfe as the juicetherof called Blacerium,be moft effectual 
againft the pricke or fting of the Scorpion : as alfo that it isa medicine purgative of the bellie, 
butefpecially cleanfeth the wombe or matrice of women. The ordinarie Dofeis from halfe an 
Obolus toa Solid [#, adram';] according tothe ftrength of the Patient. A greatetreceit than 
one Obolus, killeth him or her that taketh it: but beeing taken within that quantitie above na- 
med, in fome broth or convenient liquor, it is pafling good for the dropfie, yea and to evacuate 
thofe filthie humors thatengender the lowfie difeafe. Beeing tempered with honie and old oile, 
and fo reduced into a thin ointment or liniment,itcureth the Squinancie,and fuch difeafes inci- 
dent to the windpipes. 
Cuap ih 
OS Of the Serpentine Cucumber, called otherwife the Wandering Cucumber : alfa of 
REIT the Garden Cucumbers, Melons ey Pompious, =~ : 
; * 
fq Any there be of opinion, thatthe Serpentine Cucumber among us, which others call 
» f the Wandring Cucumber, isthe fame thatthe former Cucumber which yeelceth Ela. 
‘ 
‘iy! terium.ThedecoGion whereof is.of that vertue, that whatfoever is befprinkled there- _ 
withjtio myce will comeneare to touch it. The fame being fodden in vinegre and brought to the 
slaicies yaar: jit ae confiftence 
wa 
\ 
2 
