172 
_ farmers or horse-owners any concern. The prac- 
tice of administering calomel and other mercu- 
rials as vermifuges is very bad; the administer- 
ing of turpentine can be serviceable mainly or 
only in the case of tape-worm ; and, in general, 
the use of vermifuges of any kind for horses and 
cattle, except in bad cases of ascarides and lum- 
bricus, may be regarded as doing twenty fold more 
harm than good. 
WORMWOOD,—botanically Artemisia. A di- 
versified genus of plants, of the chamomile divi- 
sion of the composite order. Six species are na- 
tives of Britain, about one hundred have been 
introduced from other countries, and a good many 
moreare known. A few of the species in Britain 
are hardy annuals and biennials, the great ma- 
jority are hardy annual-stemmed perennials, three 
or four are hardy deciduous shrubs, and upwards 
of twenty are evergreen shrubs, some of them 
hardy and the rest requiring either frame or 
greenhouse protection. The stems of some are 
simple, and those of others are branched; the 
foliage of some is smooth, and that of others is 
hoary or pubescent; the leaves of some are en- 
tire, those of others are palmate, and those of most 
are either pinnate, bipinnate, pinnatifid, or bipin- 
natifid ; the flowers of a few are white or brown 
or purple, and those of the vast majority have a 
yellowish-green or herbaceous colour; the habit 
and foliage and general appearance of some are 
uninteresting, and those of others are more or 
less highly ornamental. A few of the species 
possess medicinal, fragrant, or culinary pro- 
perties; and a number have been described in 
our articles Moxa, SourHernwoop, and Muc- 
WORT. 
The common wormwood, Artemisia absinthi- 
um, is an indigenous, perennial-rooted, annual- 
stemmed herb, inhabiting road-sides, heaps of 
rubbish, and dry waste places; and it is culti- 
vated in gardens for medicinal and culinary pur- 
poses. Its root is branched and somewhat woody ; 
its stems are branched, angled, furrowed, nearly 
erect, panicled at the summits, and from 18 to 
36 inches high ; its lower leaves are bipinnate ; 
its upper leaves are pinnatifid or digitated; its 
leaflets are entire, oblong, and obtuse; and its 
flowers grow in erect racemes, andare pedicellated, 
hemispherical, nodding, and of a brownish-yellow 
colour, and bloom from July till September. 
This plant emits a strong odour, -which some 
persons reckon fragrant, and others reckon 
very disagreeable; it has an intensely bitter, 
slightly pungent, nauseous taste; it acts inter- 
nally as a tonic and @m anthelmintic, and exter- 
nally as a discutient and an antiseptic, and it 
acts beneficially in cases of dyspepsy and hypo- 
chondria, and has been extensively used also in 
cases of gout, scurvy, dropsy, and intermittent 
fever. It contains an essential oil which pos- 
sesses narcotic properties; and it is freed from 
this by decoction. The plant loves a dry soil in 
a shady border ; and may be raised either from 
WORMWOOD. 
seeds sown in spring, or from slips or cuttings 
planted in June or August. 
The sea wormwood, or drooping sea worm- 
wood, Artemisia maritima, is a perennial-rooted, 
annual-stemmed indigen of the sea-shores of 
Britain ; and is cultivated in gardens for the 
same purposes as the common wormwood. Its 
stems are branched and about 12 or 18 inches 
high ; its leaves are pinnate and hoary; and its 
flowers have a brown colour, and bloom in Au- | 
gust and September. It will thrive in any ordi- 
nary garden soil, and may be raised in the same 
manner as the common species.— The French 
wormwood, Artemisca gallica, inhabits the mud- 
dy shores of Britain, and is very similar to the 
sea wormwood, but about twice as tall. 
The Santonica or Siberian wormwood, or Tar- 
tarian southernwood, Artemisia santonica, is a 
native of Siberia, Tartary, and Persia, and was 
introduced to Britain toward the close of the 
16th century, and is cultivated in gardens for 
the same purposes and in the same way as the 
common wormwood. Jt has the habits of in- 
digenous field southernwood, but is erect. Its 
stem is panicled, rather hoary, and from 12 to 
24 inches high; its branches are wand-like; its 
lower leaves are pinnate, much cut, linear, and 
hoary ; its upper or branch leaves are undivided, 
linear, and very small; and its flowers are soli- 
tary, cylindrical, and of a herbaceous colour, and 
bloom from September till November. 
The Roman or Pontine wormwood, Artemisia 
pontica, is a native of Austria, and was intro- 
duced to Britain in 1570, and is also cultivated 
in gardens for the same purposes and in the 
same way as the common wormwood. Its root 
is perennial ; its stems are branched and about 
3 or 4 feet high; its leaves are bipinnate and 
pubescent; and its flowers are yellow and bloom 
in September. 
The Tarragon wormwood, or simply Tarragon, | 
Artemisia dracunculus, is a native of the South 
of Europe, and was introduced to Britain about 
the middle of the 16th century, and is cultivated 
in gardens as a fine aromatic herb for improving 
the flavour of soups and salads. Its root is per- 
ennial ; its stems are herbaceous and about 2 or 
3 feet high; its leaves are undivided ; and its 
flowers have a herbaceous colour, and bloom in 
July and August. This plant thrives in any 
common garden soil, but requires a shady bor- 
der; and it is raised from bottom offsets in 
spring, and from cuttings of the stems in May 
and June. 
The tree wormwood or arborescent wormwood, 
Artemisia arborescens, is a native of the countries 
round the Mediterranean, and was introduced to 
Britain in 1640. It is an ornamental evergreen 
shrub, and has long claimed a place among the 
denizens of shrubberies and pleasure-grounds. 
Its stem is upright, and from 6 to 12 feet high; 
its leaves constitute its chief recommendation, 
‘and are of two or three sorts, some very much 
