f 1104 ) 
ThePlant of which Monfieur Marehand fpake is none of 
the lealt curious Difcovencs that, has been made of this 
nature. The firrt thar brought it into reputation was a 
Portugueze ^mgeon^ who havirig hved- many years in Bra- 
%il difcQvered th<^' Virtues of this P)ant,atter returning into 
Vortugd with a di^fign to raife a great Trade with it, he 
fent feveral Specimens of it every where. He called the 
Vlmt lqustaia, and anributed to it no lefs Virtues than the 
tmc dt Apop!':^xj/Sj, Pleuri/ks and Intermitting Fevers. He 
added one thing-, which tho more psirticular, yet leemed 
more probable, which was, that the Leaves intus'd with 
Sennet took frora it, its difagreeable tafte and fmell without 
altering any thing of its Purgative quality. The Samples 
that he fent were not in fufBcienc*quaiid;y to make experi- 
ment on the Diftempers, he faid, ir was proper for.^ but 
there was enough to try whether they had the virtue to 
correft the tafte and (inell of Senna, Therefore there was 
infus'd two Dr acmes of it with as much Senna in a Chopine 
of Water, and the experiment confirmed the matter t)f taft, 
being defirous to know what Species of Plant it was, and 
it being impolEble to difcover it-by the Leaves the Portn- 
gueje Surgeon hzAidikQU fa much care to cat thm very fmall. 
Monfieur Hamkrg, who had fome of it fent him, per- 
ceived fome Seeds f vvimming on the Water, in which they 
were infus'd, and taking up as many as he could of thefe 
Seeds, gave them to MonJ/eur Marehand^ whofowed them, 
from Vv/hence grew* up a Plant, which (God be tliank* 
ed) we need not go to Brazil cofeek, it grows in Europe^ 
nor need we go out of France to find it 5 nay, more, we 
may have it all rcuncl: Par^ ^ 'tis the Scrophularia aquatica. 
To be the more certain of it, there was lome of o\xx Scro- 
phularia fowed on a Bed, and fome of the other feed on 
another,and there was obfcrved but fome fmall differences, 
which may be well attnbutrd to the different Culture and 
Soil: There was likewifetryed the Vertue of our dcrophu* 
lariay and it was found to have the fame cffed, in taking 
away 
