Part 47

This herb was formerly thought to possess the power of dispelling demons, and was thus associated with the ceremonials of St. John's Eve, owning the name, on the Continent, of St. John's Herb, or St. John's Girdle. Both it, and the Mugwort were dedicated to Diana: [613] and Venus gave thereof (Ambrose) to AEneas. It bears the provincial name "old woman." The smell of common Wormwood is very refreshing, and its reviving qualities in heated Courts are almost equal to a change of air.

Dioscorides declared it a preventive of intoxication, and a remedy for the ill-effects of any such excess; for which reason the _poculum absinthiacum_ was a favourite beverage.

Gerard says: "The plant voideth away the worms, not only taken inwardly, but applied outwardly; it withstandeth all putrefactions, and is good against the stinking breath." It keepeth garments also from the moths--_A tineis tutam reddit qua conditur arcam_ (Macer); and Dr. W. Bulleyne says "it keepeth clothes from moths and wormes." This is the great preventive used by cloth manufacturers. "Furthermore," adds Gerard, "taken in wine it is good against the biting of the shrew mouse, and of the sea dragon. It may be applied against the Squincie, or inflammation of the throat, with honey and water: likewise, after the same manner, to dim eyes, and mattery ears."

The characteristic odour of the plant is due to a volatile oil which consists mainly of absinthol; and the intensely bitter taste resides in "absinthin."

The plant also contains tannin, resin, starch, succinic, malic, and acetic acids, with nitrate of potash, and other salts. In some districts it is popularly called "green ginger."

Wormwood is of benefit for strengthless flatulent indigestion. An infusion may be made of an ounce of the dried plant to a pint of boiling water, and given in doses of from one to two tablespoonfuls three times during the day.

[614] This infusion with a few drops of the essential oil will prevent the hair from falling off.

Absinthe, a liqueur concocted from Wormwood, is used largely in France, and the medical verdict pronounced there about its effects shows that it exercises through the pneumogastric nerve a painful sensation, which has been taken for that of extreme hunger. This feeling goes off quickly if a little alcohol is given, though it is aggravated by coffee, whilst an excessive use of absinthe from day to day is not slow in producing serious symptoms: the stomach ceases to perform its duty, there is an irritative reaction in the brain, and the effects of blind drunkenness come on after each debauch. The French Military call absinthe _un perroquet_. The daily taking even for a short while only of a watery infusion of Wormwood shows its bad effects by a general languor, with obscurities of the sight, giddiness, want of appetite, and painful indigestion.

When indulged-in as an appetiser by connoisseurs, absinthe, the "fairy with the green eyes," is modified by admixture with anisette, noted as an "agreeable and bronchitis-palliating" liqueur.

As a result of his experiments on animals, Dr. Maignan has come to the conclusion that absinthe (Wormwood) determines tremblings, dulness of thought, and epileptiform convulsions,--symptoms which alcohol alone will not produce. Hence it may be inferred that absinthe contains really a narcotic poison which should prevent its being employed as a liqueur, or as a homely medicament, to any excess.

Dogs are given to eat the Wormwood as a remedy for their ailments. Its medicinal and curative uses have been already partly discussed, together with those of _Mugwort_.

[615] WOUNDWORT.

The Hedge Woundwort (_Stachys sylvatica_) is a common Labiate plant in our hedges and woods, branched and hairy, with whorls of small dull purple flowers on a spike two feet high or more. There are other varieties of the herb, such as the Marsh (March) Woundwort, the Corn Woundwort, and the Downy Woundwort.

The Hedge Woundwort was named by Gerard, Clown's all heal, or the Husbandman's Woundwort, because a countryman who had cut his hand to the bone with a scythe, healed the wound in seven days with this plant.

It is called by some the Hedge Dead Nettle, from its nettle-like leaves, and the place of its growth.

"The leaves," says Gerard, "stampt (pounded) with hog's grease, and applied unto green wounds in the manner of a poultice, heal them in such short time and such absolute manner, that it is hard for anyone that hath not had the experience thereof to believe. For instance, a deep and grievous wound in the breast with a dagger, and two others in the abdomen (or nether belly), so that the fat commonly named the caul, issued forth, the which mortal wounds, by God's permission, and the virtues of this herb, I perfectly cured within twenty days--for the which the name of God be praised."

The name _Stachys_ given to this herb, is from the Greek _stakos_, a bunch, because of the arrangement of the flowers. It contains a volatile oil, and a bitter principle undetermined.

The _Stachys Germanica_ (Downy Woundwort) is so called from its soft, downy leaves having been employed instead of lint as a surgical dressing to wounds. The plant grows on a chalky soil in Bedfordshire, [616] Berkshire, and Oxfordshire: being named also "Lamb's Ear."

This _Stachys lanata_ (Woolly Woundwort) is known as Saviour's blanket, in Sussex; also in Devonshire and Somersetshire, as Mouse's ear, Donkey's ear, and Lamb's tongue.

The Knights' Water Woundwort (_Statiotes aloides_) was supposed from its blade-like leaves, acting on the doctrine of signatures, to heal sword wounds.

YARROW.

The Yarrow, from _hiera_, holy herb (_Achillea millefolium_), or Milfoil, is so called from the very numerous fine segments of its leaves. It is a Composite plant very common on waysides and in pastures throughout Britain.

The name _Achillea_ has been bestowed thereupon because the Greek warrior, Achilles, is said to have disclosed its virtues which he had been taught by Chiron, the Centaur. This herb is the _Stratiotes chiliophullos _of the Greek botanists, by whom it was valued as an excellent astringent and vulnerary. But Gerard supposes it may have been the _Achillea millefolium nobile_, which grows with a thick root and longer leaves, on a fat and fruitful soil, a stranger in England, "and the very same with which Achilles cured the wounds of his soldiers." But, he adds, "the virtues of each sort of Milfoil are set to be both alike."

The flowers of the Common Yarrow or Nosebleed are white or pink; those of the _Nobile_ are yellow.

The popular name of Nosebleed has been given to the Yarrow because the hairy filaments of the leaves, when put up the nose, provoke an exudation of blood, and will thus afford relief to headache, caused by a passive fulness of the vessels. Parkinson says "if it be [617] pat into the nose, assuredly it will stay the bleeding of it," which mast be the' effect of action according to similars. Or if using Yarrow in the same way as a love charm, the following lines were repeated:--

"Green arrow! green arrow! You bear a white blow; If my love love me My nose will bleed now."

The leaves have a somewhat fragrant smell, and a bitterish taste. The odour of the flowers, when rubbed between the fingers, is aromatic. In consequence of this pungent, volatile principle, the herb has proved useful in hysteria, flatulence, heartburn, colic, and epilepsy; also, it is employed in Norway for the cure of rheumatism, and sometimes chewed for toothache.

Yarrow is one of the few aboriginal English plants, having held the primitive title, _Gearwe_. Greek botanists seem to have known the identical species which we now possess, and to have used it against haemorrhagic losses. It yields, chemically, a dark-green volatile oil, and achilleic acid, which is said to be identical with aconitic acid; also resin, tannin, gum; and earthy ash consisting of nitrates, phosphates, and chlorides of potash and lime.

For preparing an infusion of the plant, half an ounce should be boiled down in half a pint of water to six ounces; one tablespoonful for a dose.

Sir John Hill says the best way of giving Yarrow is in a strong decoction of the whole plant. A hot infusion of the herb taken freely on going to bed at night seldom fails to make short work of a cold.

A medicinal tincture (H.) is prepared from the whole plant with spirit of wine. This, when employed in a diluted form of the first or third decimal strength, and [618] in small doses of from five to ten drops in a tablespoonful of cold water, will act admirably in arresting nocturnal losses in the male; likewise bleeding from the lungs, the kidneys, or the nose, especially in florid, hectic subjects. It has been found by healthy provers that stronger, and larger doses of any preparation of the herb will induce or aggravate one or another of these bleedings.

The fresh juice of the plant may be had, a dessert-spoonful three times in the day; or of the volatile essential oil, from three to five drops for a dose. These medicines greatly stimulate and promote the appetite. "For ague," says Parkinson, "drink a decoction of the herb warm before the fit, and so for two or three fits together."

Externally, a strong decoction of the leaves has been used as an injection into the nostrils to stay bleeding from the nose. It is similarly of service for piles, and for female floodings, because exerting a special local action on the organs within the middle trunk. The bruised herb, or an ointment made from it, is applied by rustics to heal fresh cuts and contusions.

Even in ancient times it was famous as a topical remedy for piles. It is further of benefit for sore nipples as a lotion, and for a relaxed sore throat as a gargle: also as a hair wash.

The leaves were applied in former days as a poultice to wounds; and because of its healing and astringent virtues when so used, the plant gained the names Sanguinary, Thousand leaf, Old Man's pepper, Soldiers' Woundwort. Other local names for it are Staunch grass, Carpenters' weed, and Bloodwort: also, "Old Man's Mustard," "Bad Man's Plaything," and "Devil's Plaything." In Gloucestershire and some other parts, the double-flowered Yarrow is brought to a wedding by [619] bridesmaids as "seven years' love." In Cheshire, children draw the herb across the face to produce a tingling sensation, and they call it "Devil's nettle."

Culpeper spoke of the same as a profitable herb in cramps, and therefore called _Militaris_.

Yarrow, worn in a little bag over the stomach, was the secret (confided to Boyle) of a great lord against ague. A famous physician had used it with strange efficacy.

Similarly a charmed packet containing dried Yarrow has been credited with bringing success to its bearer, if at the same time he were admitted to the knowledge of a traditional secret (only whispered to the initiated) that this was the first herb our Saviour had put into His hand when a child.

Again, Elspeth Reoch, in 1616, when tried for witchcraft, acknowledged to having employed the Yarrow in her incantations. She "plucked one herbe called Meleflower, sitting on her right knee, and pulling it betwixt the mid-finger and thumbe, and saying: _In nominee Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti_." The Meleflower is the _Achilloea Ptarmica_ or Sneezewort.

By the plant so gathered, she was enabled to cure distempers, and to impart the faculty of prediction.

YEW.

Although the Yew--a Conifer--which is so thoroughly English a tree, is known to be highly poisonous as regards its leaves to the humans subject, and as concerning its loppings or half-dead branches, to oxen, horses, and asses, yet a medicinal tincture (H.) is made from the young shoots, which has distinct and curative uses. Both the Yew and the Ivy were called _abiga_, because [620] causing abortion. From which word when corrupted was formed _iua_; and under this latter name, says Dr. Prior, the Ivy and the Yew became inextricably mixed up.

Moreover, the red berries, or their coloured fleshy cups, are not poisonous when taken in moderation, but rejecting the seeds.

Gerard says: "When I was yong, and went to schoole, divers of my school-fellows and likewise myself, did eat our fils of the berries of this tree, and have not only slept under the shadow thereof, but among the branches also, without any hurt at all, and that not one time, but many times."

Yet Leo Grindon says, much more recently: "Though the juice and pulp of the sweet and viscid berries are not harmful, still the _seeds_ of the Yew, and the _leaves_ are deadly poison."

In the _Herbal_ of 1578, Lyte tells us the Yew is altogether venomous, and against man's nature. "Such as do but only sleep under the shadow thereof become sick, and sometimes they die;" and, "the extract of yew is used by ignorant apothecaries to the great peril and danger of the poor diseased people."

The Yew tree (_Taxus baccata_) occurs in mountainous woods and rocky glens about Britain, but is rare as of native growth. Its name, Taxus, is a corruption of toxos, an arrow, since arrows in the old time were poisoned with the juice of yew.

The tree was planted frequently by our forefathers in churchyards, because of its value in the manufacture of bows. It is exceedingly long lived, and often attains great magnitude of girth.

A ghastly superstition was attached to the Yew when thus growing in a churchyard, that it would prey upon [621] the dead bodies lying beneath its sombre shade. So Tennyson writes (_In Memoriam_):--

"Old Yew! which graspest at the stones That name the underlying dead, Thy fibres net the dreamless head, Thy roots are wrapped about the bones."

The juice of the tree and of its leaves is a rapidly fatal poison, the symptoms corresponding in a very remarkable way with those which follow the bites of venomous snakes.

No known poison but the Yew produces the lazar-like ulcerations upon the body, on which Marlowe lays such stress--(Jew of Malta):--

"In few, the blood of Hydra--Herne's bane, The juice of _Hebron_, and Cocytus' breath, And all the poisons of the Stygian pool."

The witches in _Macbeth_ include it in their accursed brew:--

"Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and _Slips of Yew_."

The Yew tree is called "Hebon" by Spencer, and "Jew of Malta" by other writers of Shakespeare's time. The leaves are bitter, nauseous, and acrid. The succulent covering of the fruit is soft and slimy, mawkishly sweet, and mucilaginous. The leaves have a dangerous effect on the circulation of the heart, and when taken with any freedom are as fatal as the Foxglove.

Before the new Shakespeare Society, 1882, it was contended and proved to the satisfaction of the Society, that "the cursed Hebena," the "leperous distilment poured into the chambers of mine ears," told of, so pathetically, by the sad ghost of Hamlet's father, was the [622] poison of the Yew, and identical with Marlow[e]'s juice of Hebron.

Ray mentions that a gardener employed in clipping a Yew tree at Pisa, could not proceed with his work for more than half-an-hour at a time without being seized with a violent pain in the head. Nevertheless, deer, sheep, and goats can eat the foliage with impunity.

The fresh leaves were administered to three children near Manchester for worms. Yawning and listlessness came on, and the eldest vomited a little, but neither of them complained of any pain. They all died within a few hours of each other.

Because being then green, on the Sunday next before Easter, the branches of the Yew tree have been used as a substitute for the Palms which symbolise the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

The symptoms induced by provings of the leaves and juice in toxic quantities, have been sick headache, with giddiness, feeble, faltering pulse, coldness of the extremities, diarrhoea, and general prostration. So that for this combination of symptoms, as in severe biliousness, or as in the auditory vertigo of Meniere's disease, small doses of the diluted tincture are found to give prompt and effectual relief. The leaves contain a volatile oil, tannin, and a bitter principle "taxina," which is also furnished by the seeds. An extract of Yew has been pronounced a useful narcotic by more than one physician of repute: and in some parts of Germany a decoction of the wood is a well-known remedy against hydrophobia.

A jelly prepared from the berries has been given for chronic bronchitis, and the leaves have been used for epilepsy; likewise they have been taken by ignorant persons to induce abortion, but with serious injury to the experimenter. In some rural districts the berries [623] are known as "Snots"; whilst the wood and roots are "Wire thorn."

By an old statute of Edward the First, trees were required to be placed in churchyards to defend the church from high winds, the clergy being allowed to cut them down for repairing the chancel when necessary. Perhaps, partly for this reason, the Yew was commonly planted by the side of a newly-built church. That its wood was certainly employed for making bows, we learn from Shakespeare:--

"Thy very beadsmen learn to bend their bows Of double-fatal Yew against thy state."

It was "double-fatal," because the leaves and fruit seeds are poisonous, and the bows made from its branches, as well as arrows armed with its deadly juice, were instruments of death.

Against the maladies which have been specified as indicating the tincture of Yew for their cure, from five to ten drops of the third decimal tincture should be given, with a spoonful of water, every two, three, or four hours, whilst required. In Switzerland the Yew is known as William's tree, in memory of Tell. Formerly the name was spelt "Eugh," "Yeugh," and "Ewgh."

Spenser says:--

"The Eugh--obedient to the bender's will."

In olden times the Olitory, or Herb-garden, formed an important annex to all demesnes having any pretensions to completeness, and was under "My Lady's" [624] special charge. In fact, the culture and preparing of Simples formed a part of every lady's education. "My Lord's" retainers and tenants, when out of sorts, were treated with these wholesome remedies, and were directed to find in Simples the cure for all ordinary ailments.

Good George Herbert, of Country Parson celebrity, taught, 1620:-- "In the knowledge of Simples, wherein the manifold wisdom of God is wonderfully to be seen, one thing should be carefully observed, which is, to know what herbs may be used instead of drugs of the same nature, and to make the garden the shop; for, home-bred medicines are both more easy for the Parson's purse, and more familiar for all men's bodies. So where the Apothecary useth either for loosing, Rhubarb, or for binding, Bole Armena; the Parson useth Damask, or White Roses for the one, and Plantain, Shepherd's Purse, or Knotgrass for the other: and that with better success. As for Spices, he doth not only prefer home-bred things before them, but condemns them for vanities, and so shuts them out of his family, esteeming that there is no spice comparable of herbs to Rosemary, Thyme, Savory, Mints: and of seeds to Fennel and Carraway. Accordingly for salves his wife seeks not the city, but prefers her garden and fields, before all outlandish gums. And, surely, Hyssop, Valerian, Mercury, Adder's tongue, Yarrow, Melilot, and St. John's Wort, made into a salve, and Elder, Camomile, Mallows, Comphrey, and Smallage, made into a poultice have done great, and rare cures!"

[625] INDEX.

AGE, Old, to Promote. Agrimony, Hemp . . . 19 Apples . . . 27-31 Chamomile . . . 86 Chervil . . . 101 Cider . . . 81 Elder . . . 168 Fennel . . . 182 Fig . . . 196 Honey . . . 258 Lemon . . . 303 Mountain Ash . . . 350 Oat drink . . . 397 Orchis Salep . . . 405 Sage . . . 490 Sago . . . 155 Sea Holly (Eryngo) . . . 499 Sugar . . . 257

AGUE, and Intermittent Fever. Agrimony, Hemp . . . 19 Chestnut, Horse . . . 102 Cinquefoil, Creeping . . . 515 Cloves oil . . . 396 Feverfew . . . 193 Flag, Sweet . . . 202 Lemon . . . 302 Mercury, Dog's . . . 332 Nettle . . . 385 Parsley seed . . . 409 Parsnip, Wild . . . 414 Plantain, Ribwort . . . 435 Rush, sweet-scented . . . 480 Sage . . . 492 Skullcap, Greater . . . 517 Sunflower . . . 547-549 Verbena-vervain . . . 588 Woodsorrel . . . 611 Yarrow . . . 618

ALBUMINURIA, _see_ URINE.

ANEURISM of Heart. Club moss . . . 115

ANTISEPTIC and Germ Destroying. Agrimony . . . 19 Angelica . . . 24 Camphor . . . 338 Carrot . . . 88 Centaury . . . 97 Cinnamon bark . . . 390 Clove . . . 395 Currant, Red, juice . . . 138 Elecampane . . . 173 Garlic . . . 215 Hop . . . 266 Juniper . . . 294 Mountain Ash jelly . . . 350 Mustard flour . . . 377 Onion tribe . . . 211 Orange . . . 403 Peppermint . . . 340 Rosemary . . . 473 Rue . . . 478 Sage . . . 490 Sorrel . . . 161 Tamarind . . . 551 Tansy . . . 554 Tar . . . 582 Thistle, Sow . . . 558 --Carline . . . 558 Thymol . . . 563 Tomato . . . 569 Wormwood . . . 355,612

[626] APPETITE, to Improve. Asafetida (Garlic) . . . 220 Lettuce . . . 309 Orange . . . 403 Parsnip . . . 414 Samphire . . . 497 Sorrel . . . 161 Yarrow . . . 618

ASTHMA. Anise . . . 26 Bee propolis . . . 260 Cabbage, Red . . . 75 Coltsfoot (to smoke) . . . 118 Elder . . . 166 Elecampane candy . . . 173 Garlic . . . 215 Horehound, white . . . 267 Hyssop . . . 278 Mace . . . 395 Mullein . . . 361 Mustard, Hedge . . . 382 Nettle . . . 387 Onion tincture . . . 212 Pine, yellow (pillow) . . . 577 Primrose, Evening (with diarrhoea) . . . 450 Rosemary, wild (gouty) . . . 475 Sow Thistle . . . 559 Speedwell . . . 528 Vernal grass (Hay) . . . 241

ATROPHY and Wasting. Acorn (of children) . . . 16 Daisy (from youthful indiscretions) . . . 144 Dandelion . . . 151 Iceland Moss . . . 501 Truffle . . . 371 Vine (of young women) . . . 588

BACK, Injury to Spine. Saint John's Wort . . . 289