122 6 Of the Hiftory of Plants. Lib. 2. J 
TtieT empcraiure and Vert ties. 
A Galen in his firft: booke of the Faculties of nourilhments faith, That men do altogether abftaine 
from thebitter Vetch, for it hath a very vnpleafant tafte, and naughty iuyee ; but Kine in Alia and 
in moft other countries do eate thereof, being made fweet by fteeping in water ; notwithftandino- 
men being compelled through neceflfitie ofgreat famine, as Hippocrates alfo hath written, do oftej£ 
times feed thereof • and we alfo dreifing them after the manner of Lupines, vfe the bitter Vetches 
with honey, as a medicine that purgeth thicke and groife humors out of the cheft and lungs. 
B Moreouer, among the bitter Vetches the white are not fo medicinable, but thofe which are 
neere to a yellow, or to the colour of Okar* and thofe that haue beene twice boy led, or fundrie 
times foked in water, lofc their bitter and vnpleafant tafte, and withall their clenfingand cutting 
quail tie, fothat there is onely left in them an earthy fubftance, which femes for nourishment that 
drieth withoutany manifeit bitternefle. 3 
C And in his booke of the Faculties of Ample medicines he faith, That bitter Vetch is dry in the 
later end of the fecond degree, and hot in the firft : moreouer, by how much it is bitter,by fo much 
it clenfeth, cuttetb, and remoueth ftoppings : but if it be ouermuch vfedit bringeth forth bloud 
by vrine. 
D Diojcerides writeth,that bitter Vetch caufeth head-ache arid heauy dulne(Fe,that it troubles the 
belly, and driueth forth bloud by vrine ; notwirhftanding being boyled it ferueth to fatten Kine 
E There is made of the feed a meale fit to be vfed in medicine, after this maner : the full and white 
graines are chofen out, and being mixed together they are fteeped' in water, and fuffered to lie till 
they be plumpe, and afterwards are parched till the skinne be broken; then are they ground and 
fearfed or fhaken thorow a meale fieue,and the meale referued. 
p This loofeth the belly, prouoketh vrine, maketh one well coloured .-being ouermuch eaten or 
drunkeit drawethbloud by the ftoole,with gripings,and alioby vrine 
G With honey it clenfeth vlcers, taketh away freckles, fun-burnes, blacke fpots in the skinne and 
maketh the whole body faire and cleane. 
H It ftayeth running vlcers or hard fwellings, and gangrens or mortified fores ; it fofteneth the 
hardnefle ofwomens breads, it taketh away and breaketh eating vlcers,carbuncles, and fores of the 
head : being tempered with wine and applied it healeth the bitings of dogs, and alfo of venomous 
beafts. 
I With vinegcr it is good againft the ftrangurie, and mitigateth paine that commeth thereof; 
K It is good for them that are not nourifhed after their meat, being parched and taken with honv 
mthequantitieofanut. 1 
L The decoffion of the fame helpeth the itch in the whole body, and taketh away kibes if they 
bewa(T)cd or bathed therewith. ’ 1 
M _ Cicer bovled in fountaine water with fome Orobus doth alfwage the fwelling of the yard and pri- 
me parts of man or woman, iftbey be vvalTied or bathed in the decoftion thereof; and the fubftance 
hereof may alfo be applied plaifterwife. 
N It is alio vied for bathing and wafhing ofvlcers and running fores, and is applied vnto the feurfe 
of the head with great profit. 
C h a p. 515. Of the Vetch or Fetch . 
If The Vcfcription. 
1 He V etch hath (lender and foure fquared ftalkcs almoft three foot long : the leaues be 
.. long, with clafping tendrcls at the end made vp of many littleleaues growing vpoa 
0I j e rh middle ftera ^ euer y one vvhereof is greater, broader, and thicker than that of the Len- 
■ 1 1 L lc f l,,e s ar e like to the floures ofthegarden beane,but of a blacke purple colour : the cods 
DC Droau, mall, and in euery one are contained fine or fix graines, not round,but flat like thofe of 
the Lentil, of colour blacke, and of an vnpleafant tafte. 
, t c 1 , ^' 1 ^ re ,^ anol: herofthiskinde which hath a creeping and liuingroot,from which it fen. 
' '. ortlcre ec ftalkes (bme cubit and halfe high: the leaues are winged, commonly a dozen 
growing vpon one rib. which ends in a winding tendrel .-each peculiar leafe is broader toward the 
r ome, ana 1 harper towards the top, which ends not flat, but fomewhat round. Out of the bo- 
omesot the leaues towards the tops of the ftalkes, on fhort foot-ftalkes grow two, three or more 
‘ a, yr c P ea ‘2-fafhioned blewifh purple floures, which arefucceeded by fuch cods as the for- 
cr, , at lomewhat Idler; which when they grow ripe become blacke, and fly open of themfelues, 
and 
