Chap. 39.] EEMEDIES rOR DISEASES OF THE EAES. 417 
effectual remedy for the most desperate maladies of the ears : 
the same, too, with an injection of earth-worms boiled with 
goose-grease. The red worms, also, that are found upon trees, 
beaten up with oil, are a most excellent remedy for ulcerations 
and ruptures of the ears. Lizards, which have been suspended 
for some time and dried, with salt in the mouth, are curative 
of contusions of the ears, and of injuries inflicted by blows : 
the most efficacious for this purpose are those which have iron- 
coloured spots upon the skin,^^ and are streaked with lines 
along the tail. 
Millepedes, known also as centipedes" or **multipedes," 
are insects belonging to the earth-worm genus, hairy, with 
numerous feet, forming curves as they crawl, and contracting 
themselves when touched : the Greeks give to this insect the 
name of "oniscos,"^^ others, again, that of '^tylos.'' Eoiled 
with leek-juice in a pomegranate rind, it is highly efficacious, 
they say, for pains in the ears ; oil of roses being added to 
the preparation, and the mixture injected into the ear opposite 
to the one affected. As for that kind which does not describe a 
curve when moving, the Greeks give it the name of ^'seps,'^ 
while others, again, call it scolopendra it is smaller than the 
former one, and is injurious. The snails which .are commonly 
used as food, are applied to the ears with myrrh or powdered 
frankincense ; and those with a small, broad, shell are employed 
with honey as a liniment for fractured ears. Old sloughs of 
serpents, burnt in a heated potsherd and mixed with oil of 
roses, are used as an injection for the ears, which is considered 
highly efficacious for all affections of those organs, and for 
offensive odours arising therefrom in particular. In cases 
where there is suppuration of the ears, vinegar is used, and it 
is still better if goat's gall, ox-gall, or that of the sea tortoise, is 
added. This slough, however, is good for nothing when more 
than a year old ; the same, too, when it has been drenched with 
Ajasson suggests that this may be tlie Lacerta coepium of Dandin, oi 
a reddish, brown colour, with two blackish Hues running longitudinally 
along the back. 
1^ This insect in reality is a woodlouse, whereas the millepedes previously 
described are evidently caterpillars. Woodlice are still swallowed alive by 
schoolboys, and old women are to be found who recommend them for con- 
sumption. Holland says that woodlice are good for pains in the ears. 
16 *'Perniciosam." 
VOL. v. 
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