104 



ELECAMPANE. 



of the flowers promotes expectoration and perspiration, and 

 they give a peculiar flavour to vinegar. The flov/ers are 

 reported to be fatal to turkeys, and the berries to poultry in 

 general. No quadruped will eat the leaves of this tree; 

 notwithstanding it has its ow^n phcdcena and aphis. The 

 wood is used by the turner and mathematical instrument 

 maker ; and is made into skevvers for butchers, tops, an- 

 gling rods, and needles for weaving nets." — Loudon, 



Wiilich says, The leaves are eaten by sheep, to which 

 it is of great service, when diseased with the rot; for, if 

 placed in a situation where they can easily reach the bark 

 and young shoots, they will speedily cure themselves." 



The expressed juice of elder leaves, it is said, will kill 

 skippers in cheese, bacon, &c. ; and strong decoctions of it, 

 poured or sprinkled over plants, are said to be fatal to insects. 



In Europe, this shrub is sometimes propagated, but in 

 this country, to destroy it is commonly an object of more 

 consequence to the cultivator. It was remarked by the 

 Rev. Dr. Jared Elliot, in his Essays on Field Husbandry^ that 



Elder bushes are stubborn and hard to subdue, yet I know 

 by experience that mowing them five times a year will kill 

 them." 



To make elder-berry wine. — One bushel, when picked from 

 the stalks, produces three gallons, or upwards, of berries ; 

 put these to seven gallons of soft water ; after standing forty- 

 eight hours, put them into the copper, let them boil one 

 hour, then press the juice through a coarse cloth ; then put 

 the liquor into your copper again, with twenty pounds of 

 raw sugar, half a pound of Jamaica ginger, bruised, one 

 ounce of cloves, and one ounce of allspice. Boil the whole 

 together one hour, then put it into a tub, and, when cold 

 enough, add some good yest spread on a toast, and in tw^o 

 days put it all into a cask, and lay the bung lightly on for 

 tw^o months ; then add one quart of brandy ; this wine w^ill 

 keep for several years. 



ELECAMPANE.— Ma.— This plant is found wild in 

 moist pastures, both in Europe and America. It may be 

 propagated either by seeds, sown in October, or oflsets, 

 which, if carefully taken from the old roots, with a bud or 

 eye to each, will take root freely. M^Mahon directs to set 

 such offsets in rows, about a foot asunder, and the same 

 distance plant from plant in the rows. They will be fit for 

 use after two years' growth, but will abide many years if 

 permitted to stand. But young roots are preferable to thosa 

 v/hich are old, as they become tough and stringy by age. 



