324 
PLINT's IfATUEAL HISTORY. [Book XXVIII. 
CHAP. 36. OXYGALA I OIHE EEMEDY. 
Oxygala, too, is prepared another way, sour milk being 
added to the fresh milk which is wanted to curdle. This pre- 
paration is extremely wholesome to the stomach : of its pro- 
perties we shall have occasion to speak in another place. 
CHAP. 37. THE VARIOUS ITSES OF FAT AISTD OBSERVATIONS UPON 
IT, FIFTY-TWO IN NUMBER. 
Among the remedies common to living creatures, fat is the 
substance held in the next highest esteem, that of swine in 
particular, which was employed by the ancients for certain 
religious purposes even : at all events, it is still the usage for 
the newly- wedded bride, when entering her husband's house, 
to touch the door-posts with it. There are two methods of 
keeping hogs' lard, either salted or fresh ; indeed, the older it 
is, the better. The Greek writers have now given it the name 
of axungia,"^' or axle-grease, in their works. JSTor, in fact, 
is it any secret, why swine's fat should be possessed of such 
marked properties, seeing that the animal feeds to such a great 
extent upon the roots of plants — owing too, to which, its dung 
is applied to such a vast number of purposes. It will be as 
well, therefore, to premise, that I shall here speak only of the 
hog that feeds in the open field, and no other ; of which kind 
it is the female that is much the most useful — if she has never 
farrowed, more particularly. Eut it is the fat of the wild boar 
that is held in by far the highest esteem of all. 
The distinguishing properties, then, of swine* s-gi-ease, are 
emollient, calorific, resolvent, and detergent. Some physicians 
recommend it as an ointment for the gout, mixed with goose- 
grease, buil-suet, and wool- grease : in cases, however, where 
the pain is persistent, it should be used in combination with 
wax, myrtle, resin, and pitch. Hogs' lard is used fresh for 
the cure of burns, and of blains, too, caused by snow : with 
ashes of burnt barley and nutgalls, in equal proportions, it is em- 
ployed for the cure of chilblains. It is good also for excoriations 
of the limbs, and for dispelling weariness and lassitude arising 
from long journeys. For the cure of chronic cough, new 
lard is boiled down, in the proportion of three ounces to three 
He has forgotten to do so, however. 
87 From the Latin ''axis," an "axle," and "ungo," "to anoint." 
