VEGETABLES* 



293 



Mv€ sublimate in water applied to the parts ; or a 

 wash of spirits of sal ammoniac diluted with water, 

 or of lead water* 



Cassine^ or youp^om A very useful shrub of the 

 United States. It is highly diuretic, and possessed 

 of emetic and purgative qualities. It is highly 

 esteemed by the southern Indians, who annually 

 visit the sea-side to drink the watery infusion of it. 

 According to the editors of the Medical Repository, 

 almost all the southern coasters who frequent the 

 port of New York, are in the constant use of youpon 

 tea made from this vegetable. They employ it as 

 a gentle astringent, giving strength to the stomach, 

 and guarding the constitution against the intermittent 

 and other fevers which reign among the swamps, 

 ponds, and marshes of that low and foggy region. 

 It is also used for the purpose of correcting the bad 

 quality of the water. Near the bays and sounds 

 which indent this curiously diversified coast, the 

 well-water is so disagreeable, as to be scarcely fit 

 to drink, without something to disguise its flavour, 

 or to correct its noxious qualities, and the good sense 

 and experience of the people have convinced them 

 that youpon is a better ingredient for this purpose 

 than rum, whiskey, or any kind of ardent spirits. 

 It is used also in diet, like the teas of China ; and 

 many of those who consume it, prefer it to souchong, 

 and even to coffee. A Carolinian, therefore, who 

 drinks the infusion of the ilex cassine, accomplishes 

 three good objects at once; for while he corrects 

 thereby the faults of the water, he renders that very 

 water a remedy to the diseases induced by the cli- 



