188 The foureand twentieth Booke 
As for Broome, it ferveth alfo very well to make halters andcords of. The foweérs pleafe Bees G 
pafling well.I am in doubt and not able to fay, Whether this Genifta or Broome,be thatwhich 
the auncient Greek writers called Sparton ; for I have fhewed, that they ufed therof to make their 
fifhing nets : and I wot not well whither Homer meant it, when he faid, That the fhip-{parts were 
untwilted and loofe.For this is certaine,that neither the {part of Afftick,ne yet the Spanith {part 
was as yet in any ufe :and at what time as bargesand veflels were {owed together with feames, it 
is well known, that che ftitches were made with linnen thred,8 not with fpart. The feed that it bea- 
* Forthey call reth,which the *Greeks give one and the fame name unto, growing within {mall codsin manner 
vchesdke Of Phafcols,is as {trong a purgative [of Melancholic ]as Ellebore sif it bee taken when oneis fa- 
plant, {ting to the weight of a dram and halfe,in foure cyaths of honied water. Thebranchesandleaves 
(fuch as they be)of Genifta or Broome, being ftamped after they have lien many daiesinfufedin H 
vinegte, yeeld a certaine juice fingular good for the Sciatica, if itbee drunketo the quantitie of . 
one cyath, Some chufe rather to fteepe it in feawater,and todraw forth the juice, and fominifter 
it with a clyftre for the {aid purpofe. The faid juice incorporat with oile, ferveth for an ointment 
alfo to be applied outwardly for the Sciatica,sSome ufe the feed for the ftrangurie. The fubftance 
of Broome itamped with Swines greafe,he]peth the ach or painein the knees. . 
To come nowto Tamariske,which the Greekes cal] Myrice, Lenews aftirmeth, That itis ufed 
in manner of the Amerian Willow for beefomes: and more than fo,that if it be fodden in wine, 
ftamped and reduced intoa liniment with honey, it healeth cankerous ulcers. And in very truth, 
fome hold, That the Myrice and Tamariske bee both one, But doubileffe, fingular itis for the 
{pleene,in cafe the patient drinke the juice prefled outof it,in wine, And by report,there is that J 
wonderfull antipathie and contrarietie in Nature betweene Tamariske and this one part alone 
of all the other bowels, that if the troughs out of which Swine drinke their {will,bee made of this 
wood, they will be found when they are opened, altogether withouta fpleen. And therfore fome 
Phyficians doe prefcribe untoa man or womanalfo difeafed in the {pleene,and {ubjeét to the opt- 
lations therof,both do drink out of cups and cans of Tamariske, and alfo to eat their meat out of 
fuch treen difhes as be made of that wood. One renowmed writer above the reft, and for know- 
ledge in great credit and authoritie among Phyficians,hath affirmedand avouched conftantly, 
That atwig of Tamariske flipped ot broken from the plant, fo as it touched neither the ground, 
nor any yron toole,affuageth all bellie-ach, incafe the patient weareit about him fo, as that his 
girdle and coat hold it fatt and clofe to the bodie, The common people call it The unluckie tree, K 
as Ihave heretofore faid,becaufe it beareth no fruit,& is never with us fet or planted.InCorinth = 
and all the cerritorie or region round about, they name it Brya, and make two kinds thereof ; to 
wit,the wild,which is altogether barren,and that which is of amore tame and gentle nature, This 
Tamariske in Aigypt and Syria beareth in great plentie a certain fruit, in fubftance hard & woo- 
~ die¢,in quantitie bigger than the Gall-nut,of an unpleafant and harfhtaft which the Phyficians 
doe ufe in ftead of the Gall-nut, and put into thofe compofitions which they name Antheras, 
Howbeit,the very wood of this plant,the flower, leaves,and barke alfo,bee ufed tothe fame pur. 
pofe,alchough they bee not fo {trong in operation as the {aid fruit. The rind or barke beaten to 
pouder,is given with good fuccefle to them that caft up bloud : alfo;to women who have a great 
thift of their fleurs: I:kewife to fuch as bee troubled with a continuall flux, occafioned by the L 
imbecilitie ofthe ftomacke, Théfame bruifed and applied aS acataplafme, repreffeth and fmi- 
teth backe all impoftumations a breeding. The juice prefled out of theleaves, is good for the 
fame infirmities:moreover,they ufe to boile the leaves in wine, for the fame intent-But of them- 
{elves alone being broughtintoa liniment with fome honey among, they are good to be appli- 
ed unto gangrenes, The forefaid deco@ion of the leaves beeing drunke in wine, or the leaves ap- 
plied with oile of Rofes andwax, mitigat the faid gangrenes,namely,when the flefh tendeth to 
mortification. And in this manner they cure the night-foes or chilblanes . Their decoétion is _ 
holefome for the paine of teeth or cares : for which purpofeferveth the root likewife &the leaves, 
Over and befides, the leaves have this propertie, Thatif they be brought into the forme of a.ca- 
taplafme with Barley groats andfo applied,they keepe downe and reftraine corrofive ulcers. The 
feed, if it be taken ro the weight of adram in drinke,is a prefervativeand counterpoyfon againft — 
{piders,and namely thofe which be called Phalangia.And ifthe fame be ineorporat with the tal- - 
low or greafe of any fatlings or beafts, kept up in ttall, ftie,or mow, intoaliniment, itisfingular 
good for any uncom or fellon, Of great eflicacicitisalfo againft the fting of allferpents,except 
me 
Sle 
