30 THE NEW ZEALAND FAMILY HERB DOOTOR, 
BISTORT ROOT (Potyeonvum Bistorta), 
(Also called Sapentary, Dragonwort, Osterick, and Passions), 
It is a wild plant, growing in most places in the old country ; 
it flowers in northern latitudes about May; it grows about a foot 
and a half high, the leaves are large like the dock, of a blush 
green colour, the flowers are of a bright red colour and grow on 
thetop of the stalk, the bottom part of which is round, with little 
leaves on it; the spike on which the flower grows is about the 
size of a man’s thumb, its roots are short and knobbed, 
outwardly black, but when dried and broken it has a pale 
colour between a pink and brown. We have not seen it in the 
colonies, but no doubt it will soon be introduced here, as it 
is a valuable plant, and most useful as a tanning agent on 
account of its great astringency. Dr. Robertson says it is the 
most powertul astringent in the world, and has a powerful 
faculty to resist poison. It is useful in all discharges and 
bleedings ; like the others of this class it can be used in 
powder, decoction, and tincture, in similar doses; it is also 
good in whites in females. Asa gargle in sore and ulcerated 
throats it will be found in our compounds, and as one in our 
family medicine chest. 
RASPBERRY LEAVES (Rusus Srricosvs). 
The foregoing are powerful astringents, too strong for 
some cases, but we have an abundant supply of milder ones. 
One of the best and most common is the raspberry leaf. 
Nearly all Herbal authors describe it as the red variety, but 
the pale is now so uncommon that it it is hardly needful to 
point this out. The delicious fruit which this shrub yields 
makes it a favourite with housewives and jam-makers, and we 
might add jam-eaters. It is a question which is the more 
valuable—the fruit or the leaves. We are inclined to vote 
for the latter, but it is safe to set them down as both being 
good. Simple as this old wife’s remedy may seem, yet it has 
been a blessing to many, which we can easily prove. It 
is valuable in sore mouths of infants; combined with 
gum myrrh it has a beneficial effect on scald heads, and 
