em 
of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 
A of the gout.The decoétion of the leaves & barke boiled in wine. is paffing holefome to foment 
thenerves withall. The bloumes or chattons of the Willow, ttamped together with the leaves, 
cleanfe thebrannie skales that appeare in the face, The leaves of the Willow punned and taken 
in drinke,doe coole them that are given too much unto lafciviousluft, and over-hote in the aGti- 
on of Yenus : and if they ufeto take the fame often, they will difable them altogether for the aét of 
generation. The feed ofthe blacke Oifter or Willow called Amerina,mixed in like weight with 
white litharge of filver,and brought intoa liniment,is'a depilatorie,andfetcheth offthe haire,if 
the place be annointed therewith prefently after the baine. 
Thereisa kind of treenamed Vitex, not much different ftom the Willow, in regard of the 
ufe thatthe twigs bee put unto, as alfo of the leaves which refemble thofe of the Willow in our- 
watd fhew, but that their fmell is more pleafant and odoriferous: the Grecks,fome call ir Lygos 
others Agnos, #.chaft; forthatthe dames of Athens, during the feafts of the goddefle Ceres, 
which were named Thefmophoria , made their pallets and beds with the leaves thereof, to 
coole the heat of luft,and tokeep themfelves chaft for the time. And'two forts there be of it. The 
greater rifeth up to a tree inmanner of a Willow: the other,which is lefle and lower,brancheth 
thicke,bearing white leaves,and thofe full of downe andcotten. The former of thefe two,which 
iscalled the white Agnus Caftus, putteth forth white flowers & purple one with another: wher- 
as contrariwife,all the flowers of the lefle, which is called the blacke, be purple onely. Both the 
one andthe other love to grow in plaines and moores. The feed of Agnus Cattus, if it be taken in 
drinke,hath a certaine rellith ortaft of wine, and itiscommonly thought that it cureth feavers : 
and whofoever is anointed therewith, beeing incorporat into aliniment with oile, fhall foone 
{weat :and by thatmeanes it is good to rid away wearinefle. Agnus Caftus,as well the one asthe 
other,provoketh urine andthe monthly termes of women.Both of chem fumeup’into the head 
as wine doth: and no marvell,for they have the very {mell of wine. They bee fingular to fendall 
_ ventofities downeward. They {top the flux of the bellie, and be excellent good for thofé who are’ 
in adropfie, or troubled with the {pleen. They have this {pecial! propertie befides,to breed good 
fore of milke in milch nources. Adverfethey be toa!] poyfons of ferpents,fuch efpecially as do 
mifcheefe by their cold qualitie, The lefle is more effectuall again{tferpents. And for this pur- 
pofe they ufe to give either one dram of thefeed to drinke in wine or Oxycrat, which is vinegre 
and water; or els two drams of the moft tender leaves. There is neither of them both, but aswell 
the feed as the leaves, reduced into a liniment,bee fingular good for the pricke of {piders, And 
there is not any venomous creature that will come neare thofe who are but annointed therwith: 
nay they will flie from the very perfume thereof, or the couch which is made of the leaves. They 
abate the heat of wanton Juft:and inthat regard efpecially they bee contrarieto the venomous 
fpiders Phalangia,which by their {ting doe pricke a man forward that way, and caufe his flefh to 
rife, The flowers and yong tendrils of Agnus Caftus,incorporat in oile rofat,do allay the head- 
ach, occafioned by drinking overliberally Butit the faid headach be exceeding great,it is good 
to foment the head with a decodtion of the feed of the faid Agnus: for it willrefolve and difpatch 
the extremitie thereof. The fame likewife by way either of fuftumigation or catapla{me, mundifi- 
ethand cleanfeth the matrice, And being taken asa drinke with peniroyall and honey, itis a pure 
gativesand fcoureth the bellie. Mixed with Barley meale,and applied pultiffe-wife, it mollifieth 
thofe botches and biles which hardly growto ripenefle. The feed tempered with falt-petre and 
vinegre,healeth tettars,ringwormes,and red pimples : and with hony cureth the cankers or fores 
in the mouth,yea,and any whealesand breaking forth whatfoever. The fame reduced intoa lini- 
ment with butter and vine leaves,warifheth the infirmities incident to the cods :and if the feat be 
annointed with it and water medled together, it taketh away the chaps and fiffures in chat part. 
Brovghtinto a cerot with falc nitre,and wax, itis fingular good for ail diflocations.Both the feed 
and leaves of A gnus,enter into many cataplafmes or mollitive plaftres,devifedforthefinewsand 
the guts. The feed boiled in wine,maketh a good decoction which ifit be dropped upon the head 
by way of embracation, is rightfoveraigne for lethargie and phrenfie both, ltis{aid, that who- 
_ foever beareth inhishand a twig of Agnus, or gird himfelfe about the middle therewith, fhall 
not be galled or fretted betweene the legs, 
Astouching Heath or Lings,which the Greekes call Erice,itis a fhrub not much different 
from Tamariske, in colour and torme of leafe, fuch as it is, refembling Rofemarie. Theleafe of 
this plant(they fay)is an enemic to ferpents, A 
} S 
