T R IBE. 1. 
The 7 beater of ^Plants. 
Chap.13. 35 
The VertHes. 
The garden Mints in general!, yet the fwe.ter forts, that is. the Speare Mint, and Hart Mint, are more ufually 
taken for all the ufes whereunto Mints doe lerve; 'Diofcorides faith it hath an heating,binding,and drying quality 
and therefore the juyce taken with vinegar ftayeth bleeding. 11 ftirreth up venery or bodily lull, and ashee faith 
killeththe round wormes, which hath not ufually becneknowne to take effect with any, two o’r three branches 
thereof taken with the j'uyce of fowre Pomegranats Claiech the hickock,vomitings,and allaieth choller.it diflfolveth 
impodumes being layed to with barly meale : it is good to repreflethe milkein womens breads when they are 
fwolne therewith, orotherwife, for fuch as have fwollen,flagging,or great breads, applyed with fait, it helpeth 
the byting of a mad Dogge, with Meade or honied water it ealetb the paines ofthe eares: applyed to the privie 
parts of a woman before the act of generation, hindreth conception, which is contradicted as you may read a few 
lines below, and rubbed upon the tongue,taketh away'the roughneffe thereof Tt fuffereth not mtlketo curdle in 
the ftomack, if the leaves hereof be lteeped or boyled in it before yee drinke it. Briefly,it is very profitable to the 
ftomack, and in meates is much accepted. It is of efpeciall ufe today the feminine corn fes when they come too 
fad, as alfo to day the whites, for which purpofe no other hearbe is more Cafe and powerfull, for by takiiw it of¬ 
ten it hath cured many. Applyed to the forehead or the temples.of the head it eafeth the paines thereof, his alfo 
good to wafh the heads of young children therewith,againd all manner of freaking out therein, whether fores or 
fcabs; and healeth the chaps ofthe fundament. It is profitable alfo againd the poifon ofvenemous creatures. The 
diddled water of Mints is available to all the purpofes aforefaid, yet more weakely: but if a fpirit thercofbee 
rightly aud chimically drawne.it is more powerfull than the hearbe it felfe, in regard the fpirit and dren rhof a 
great deale is brought into a lmall proportion ; foure ounces thereof taken as t Matthhim faith, doth day blee¬ 
ding at the nofe, which may be thought incredible to a great many.It is much commended to be available in vene- 
rcous caufes,although Tliny in his lib, 20 cap. 1 -y.doth write to the contrary: but Galen in his fixe Booke of Simples 
doth render a reafon ofthe faculty hereof very worthily, where he faith, fome doe call that CMentha odortta 
fweet Mint, which by others is called Hedyofmos : but there is another Mint which is not fiveet which 
they call CaUmmihn: both of them are fharpe in tade, and hot in quality, yea even in the third decree of heat but 
Mentha odorata is weaker and lefl'e heating, f 0 that I may well fay that the one feemeth to be as it* were the tame 
and the other the wild : wherefore by that humidity it hath gained by manuring, it provoketh to Venn y, which 
thing is common to all hearbes that have in them an humidity halfe digeded and windy : by reafon of which tem 
perature being mingled with Barley meale it is ufed to ripen impodumes, which you cannot doe with Calami,. • 
becaufe it heateth and digedeth more, then fuch things as (hould ripen impodumes doe require. It hath alfo in’ 
it a little bitterneffe.and fome tartneffe, by reafon of the bitterneffe it kille.h the long wormes ofthe belly and bv 
the tartneffe it dayeth the vomiting ofblood: while it is frefh, ifit bee taken with Oxycmum (which fome take 
t ; be fowermilke, and others tobeTofcd, thatis vineger and water mingled together.) Itisofasgreat tenuitv 
as any hearb whatfoever : thefe are Galens words ,Sirmw Sethi faith it helpeth a cold liver,anddrengtheneth the 
ftomack and belly, caufeth digeftion,ftayeth vomitings and the hickock.is good againd the °na wings of the heart 
and ftirreth up the appetite, it taketh away the obftruftions of the liver, and ftirreth up bodily lull; but thereof 
too much muft not be taken, becaufe it maketh the blood thin and whayifh, and turneth itintocho’ler, yea and 
caufeth the blood which is of very thin parts, after it is feparated, to become thick and melancholick : and There¬ 
fore cholerick perfons muft abftaine from it: it is a fafe medicine for the byting of a mad Do^e, bein'* bruifed 
with fait and laid on; the powder of it being dryed and taken after meate, helpeth digeftion fand’ thofe that are 
iplenetick, taken with wine it helpeth women in their hard and fore travels in child-bearing: it is alfo thought 
to be good for bleare eyes applyed to them; and that the decoftion of them being drunke.doth helpe the bleedings 
at the mouth fpeedily.or prefently. It is good again!!: the gravell and (lone in the kidneys and ftrangury. It is aho 
comfortable for the head and memory, not onely to be fuelled unto, but chiefly to be applyed unto the head and 
temples, and eafeth the head-ach : the decoflion thereof cureth the gums and mouth that is fore, if it bee "argled 
therewith, and mendeth an ill favoured breath, as alfo with Rue and Coriander, caufeth the uvula or palate of the 
mouth that is downe.toreturne toits place againe, the decoflion thereof being gargled and held in the mouth 
Ariftotle and other in the ancient times forbade Mints to be ufed of Souldiers in the time of warre, becaufe they 
thought it did fomuch incite to Venery, that it tooke a way, or at lead abated their animofity or courage rofwht 
Divers have held fortrue, that Cheefcs will not corrupt, ifthey becicher rubbed over with the juyce oi^the deco- 
aion of Mints,or they laid among them. And fome againe,that if the j'uyce of Mints be put into the milke where- 
ofyou.meane to make Cheefe, that although yee put rennet thereto, it will never draw to curds whereby to be¬ 
come Cheefe. The vertues ofthe wild Mints are more efpecially to diflolve windeinthe ftomack, to helpe the 
chollick and thofe that are (hort-winded, and are an efpeciall remedy for thofe that have venerous dreames and 
pollutions in thenight, ufed both inwardly,and the j'uyce being applyed outwardly to the tefticles or cods- the 
juyce thereofdropped into the eares eafeth the paines, and deftroyeth the wormes that breed in them- they are 
good againft the venemous bytings of Serpents, and as it is faid, killeth them by the fume thereof; or by the feent 
of them being layd in any place, the j'uyce laid on warme helpeth the Kings-evill, or kernels ofthe throat, the de¬ 
coflion, or the dillilled water helpeth a (linking breath, which proceeded! from the corruption ofthe teeth, and 
fnuffed up into the nofe purgeth the head. Pliny faith, that in the time of Great Pompey, it was found out by ex¬ 
perience of one.to cure the Lepry by eating the leaves, and applying fome of them to his face, and to helpe the 
leurte or dandroffe of the head ufed with vineger. 
I 
