The BRITISH HERBAL. 
267 
The fbalks are very numerous: tliey are round, 
thick, brown, and tolerably iipilghc, except in 
the lower part, where they ulualty lean a little 
upon the ground, and they are fix inches high. 
The leaves on thefe are more numerous than on 
almoft any of the other kinds, and they perfectly 
rcfemble thofe from the root : they are fupported 
on long, flender footftiilks, and are three pointed 
as the others. 
The flowers are fmall and white : they n;and in 
little tufts at the tops of the ftalks. 
The feed-veflels are very fliort, and the feeds 
are numerous and fmall. 
It is found on the coaft of Lancafliire. 
Ray calls it Cochlearia marina folia angiilofo 
parvo. 
The earlier botanifls feem to have defcribed it, 
though they have referred it to a wrong genus. 
Lobel calls \i'Thlafpi hederaceum^ and our Gerard 
and Parkinfon from him Tblafpi hcderaceo folio. 
All thefe fpecies have the fame virtues, and 
they are very corifiderab'le. The firfl; and fecond 
kind here defcribed are mofl: ufed ; and of thefe, 
the preference given by cuftom to the firft, is due 
in reality to the fecond. 
, ■ It is fo eminent in the cure of the fcurvy, that 
it is thence named in our language. The juice is 
taken in fpring ; and no way is better. Some 
give the infufion, which has aifo a great deal of 
virtue \ but the method of brewing it in ale is alfo 
ufeful. 
A conferve of the frefh top is another very 
good method of taking it. 
The fcurvy, under various forms and appear- 
ances, is fo common in this kingdom, and the vir- 
tues of this plant are fo fovereign againfl it, that its 
ufe cannot be too much recommended. In fpring, 
when the herb is in feafon, the juice fhould be 
ufed; after this the conferve, fo i' ng as it re- 
tains its virtue i and, when it is not to be had 
in other forms, a weak beer brewed with it will 
be very fcrviceable. It is a method by no means 
to be ufed inftead of the others, but may have its 
effeifl when they cannot be had. To have any con- 
fiderable efficacy, the malt liquor mufl: be in itfelf 
fmal! : it mufl; be very ftrong of the herb, and ic 
mufl; be ufcd for the common drink. 
The frefh leaves of fairvygrafs, bruifed, and 
laid to the face for a few hours, are recommended 
to take ofi:'fpots and funburn ; and, when [hefkin 
can bear them, they will take this effeft : but thofe 
who have delicate complexions take moft care of 
them i and. fuch cannot bear it. 
DIVISION II. FOREIGN SPECIES, 
Purple-flowered Scurvygrafs. 
Cochlearia Jlorihtis purfurafcenlibus. 
The root is long, flender, and furniflied with 
many fibres. 
The firit leaves are very numerous, and are 
fupported on (hort, rcdith, tender footfl;alks : they 
are of a roundifh figure, but fomewhat oblong 
and finuated at the edges. 
The ftalk is round, upright, firm, and ten 
inches high. 
The leaves fl;3nd irregularly on it, and are of 
an oval figure, broad at the bafe, where they ad- 
here to the fl;alk, and fmaller to the end, where 
they terminate obtufely ; and they are varioufly 
and irregularly indented at the edges. 
Some of the leafl: leaves toward the top of the 
ftalk have only two notches. This gives them 
fome refemblance to the ivy-leaved kind jufl: de- 
fcribed ; but they are longer, and the whole plane 
is altogether difi-'crent. 
The flowers Hand in litde chifters at the tpps 
of the ftalks and branches : they are fmall ^ buc 
they are of a very beautiful pale purple. 
The feed-veflels are large and oval : the feeds 
are very numerous and brown. 
It is a native of Denmark, and flowers in 
April. 
Morifon calls it Cochlearia minima Armorica fore 
dilute viclaceo. 
Its virtues are the fame 35 thofe of the others. 
GENUS XI. 
CRESS. 
NASTURTIUM. 
'J'HE flower is compofcd of four petals, which expand crofs-ways : they are fmall and oblong, 
largeft at the top, where they terminate obtufely, and terminated by very narrow bottoms in 
the cup. The cup is formed of four, little leaves, which are of an oval figure, and hollowed, and ic 
falls with the flower : the feed-vefl"el is rounded, but flightly finuated at the top, fomewhat compref- 
fed, and fliarp at the edges : it is divided into two cells, and in each is a finsle feed. 
Linna:us places this among the tetradyiiamia fi'icuhfa ; the flower having four longer and two (borter 
threads, and the feed-veffel being a regular filicule : but he has introduced great°confufion into the 
fcience by Ms conduit and difpofinon of it. 
He takes away the name mfi, najSurtium, and calls all the plants belonging to it fpecies of kpidium. 
Tills has been rafllly done ; and he fcems fince to have perceived it ; for, at the end of the generical 
charaflcr, he adds, that the feed-yeflil of kpidium, commonly fo called, is not fliarp at the edges, or 
finuated at the top ; therefore lepidium is not properly a fpecies of this genus, though he has ufed its 
name tor the generical term. 
We 
