32 
plint's katueal history. 
[Book XXIV. 
CHAP. 45. THE PRIVET : EIGHT BEMEDIES. 
The ligustrum, or privet, if it is the same tree as the cyprus^'"^ 
of the East, has also its own medicinal uses in Europe. The 
juice of it is used for affections of the sinews and joints, and 
for sudden chills ; and the leaves are universally employed, 
with a sprinkling of salt, for the cure of inveterate sores and 
of ulcerations of the mouth. The berries are curative of 
phthiriasis and chafings between the thighs, for which last 
purpose the leaves also are employed. The berries are made 
use of for the cure of pip in poultry. 
CHAP. 46. — THE alder: one remedy. 
The leaves of the alder, steeped in boiling water, are an 
undoubted remedy for tumours. 
chap. 47. the several varieties op the ivy : thirty-nine 
remedies. 
"We have already enumerated some twenty varieties of the 
ivy. The medicinal properties of them all are of a doubtful 
nature ; taken in considerable quantities they disturb the 
mental faculties and purge the brain. Taken internally they 
are injurious to the sinews,^^ but applied topically they are 
beneficial to those parts of the body. Ivy possesses properties 
similar^^ to those of vinegar. All the varieties of the ivy are 
of a refrigerative nature, and taken in drink they are diuretic. 
The softer leaves, applied to the head, allay head-ache, acting 
more particularly upon the brain and the membrane which 
envelopes that organ. For this purpose the leaves are bruised 
with vinegar and oil of roses and then boiled, after which some 
more rose-oil is added. The leaves too are applied to the fore- 
93 See B. xii. c. 51. The botanical characteristics, Fee says, and the 
medicinal properties of the privet, differ essentially from those of the Cypros 
or Lawsonia inermis. The leaves of the privet are bitter and astringent. 
9* Fee says, that on reading this passage it is impossible to preserve one's 
gravity. 
^5 In B. xvi. c. 62. The ivy is but little used for any of the purposes 
of modern medicine. It is said by some authorities that a decoction of the 
leaves will kill vermin, and that the berries are purgative and emetic. 
96 4'Nervis." 
9^ Fee states that in reality no such similarity exists ; but that acetic acid 
is sometimes developed by the rapid fermentation of the juices of a great 
number of vegetable substances. 
