Chapter 5

115. CRATAEGUS Oxyacantha. THE QUICKSET, or WHITE-THORN.--This is in great request for making fences, and is the best plant we know for such purposes if properly managed. It is readily propagated by sowing the hips, or fruit, which does not readily grow the first season; it is therefore usual to bury them mixed with saw-dust, or sand, one year, and then to sow them in beds.

116. DAPHNE Laureola. SPURGE- or WOOD-LAUREL.--Is used in medicine; which see.

We have many species of Daphne which are very ornamental to our shrubberies and green-houses: these are propagated principally by grafting; and the Wood-Laurel being hardy and of ready growth forms the stock principally used. It is readily propagated by seeds, which in three years will make plants large enough for this purpose.

The plant in all its parts is excessively acrid. I remember a man being persuaded to take the leaves reduced to powder, as a remedy for Syphilis, and he died in consequence in great agony in a few hours.

117. DAPHNE Mezerium. MEZERION.--Is a very beautiful shrub, and is one of the earliest productions of Flora, often exhibiting its brilliant scarlet flowers in January and February. We have also a white variety of this shrub in the gardens. The bark and roots are extremely acrimonious, and are used in medicine.

118. ERICA vulgaris. THE COMMON HEATH, HEATHER, or LING.---This spontaneous produce of most of our sandy waste lands is of much usin rural oeconomy.

It is of considerable value for making brooms, and affords food to sheep, goats, and other animals; particularly to the grouse and heath-cock. The branches of heath placed upright in a wooden frame form the couch of repose to the brave Highlander. It is also stated that an excellent beverage was brewed from the tops of this plant, but the art of making it is now lost. This is the most common of the species, but all the others have similar properties. They are very ornamental plants. A numerous variety of heaths are brought from the Cape of Good Hope, and afford great pleasure to the amateur of exotic plants, being the greatest ornaments to our green-houses.

119. EUONYMUS europaeus. SPINDLE-TREE.--An ornamental shrub. The wood is in great request for making skewers for butchers, as it does not impart any unpleasant taste to the meat.

120. FAGUS Castanea. THE SPANISH CHESNUT.--This tree produces timber similar to oak in point of durability, and the bark also contains a considerable quantity of tannin. The Chesnut was in greater plenty in this country many years ago than at the present day; large forests are represented to have been in the neighbourhood of London; and we are led to believe such may have been the case, as many of the old buildings when examined have been found to be built of this timber. The fruit is used as a dainty at table; but the variety which is brought from Portugal and Spain is much larger than what are grown in this country. The large kind imported from those countries is grafted, and kept on purpose for the fruit. It is an improvement to graft this variety by taking the scions from trees in bearing, and they will produce fruit in a few years and in a dwarf state.

121. FAGUS sylvatica. THE BEECH.--The timber of the Beech is valuable for making wheels, and is applied to many other useful purposes in domestic oeconomy. The seeds of the Beech are very useful for fattening hogs.

This tree affords many beautiful varieties in foliage, the handsomest of which is the Copper Beech, whose purple leaves form a fine contrast in colour with the lively green of the common sort.

123. FRAXINUS excelsior. THE ASH.--The wood of the Ash is considered the best timber for all purposes of strong husbandry utensils. The wheels and axle-trees of carriages, the shafts for carts, and the cogs for mill-work, are principally made of this timber. The young wood when gown in coppices is useful for hop-poles, and the small underwood is said to afford the best fuel of any when used green. Coppice-land usually sells for a comparatively greater price according as this wood prevails in quantity, on account of its good quality as fuel alone.

124. HEDERA Helix. IVY.--A common plant in woods, and often planted in shady places to hide walls and buildings. The leaves are good food for deer and sheep in winter. The Irish Ivy, which was brought from that country, is a fine variety with broad leaves. It was introduced by Earl Camden.

125. HIPPOPHAE Rhamnoides. SEA BUCKTHORN.--This is a scarce shrub; but is very useful as a plant for forming shelter on the hills near the sea-coast, it having been found to stand the sea-breeze better than any plant of the kind that is indigenous to this country.

126. ILEX aquifolium. HOLLY.--A well-known evergreen of singular beauty, of which we have many varieties, both striped, and of different colours in the leaf. Birdlime is made from the inner bark of this tree, by beating it in a running stream and leaving it to ferment in a close vessel. If iron be heated with charcoal made of holly with the bark on, the iron will be rendered brittle; but if the bark be taken off, this effect will not be produced. Ray's Works and Travels by Scott.

127. JUNIPERUS communis. JUNIPER.--An evergreen shrub, very common on waste lands. The berries are used in preparing the well-known spiritous liquor gin, and have been considered of great use in medicine.

128. LIGUSTRUM vulgare. PRIVET.--A shrub of somewhat humble growth, very useful for forming hedges where shelter is wanted more than strength. It bears clipping, and forms a very ornamental fence. There is a variety of this with berries, and another nearly evergreen.

129. MESPILUS germanica. THE MEDLAR.--Is cultivated for its fruit, and of which we have a variety called the Dutch Medlar; it is larger than our English one, but I do not think it better flavoured.

130. PINUS sylvestris. THE SCOTCH FIR.--A very useful tree in plantations for protecting other more tender sorts when young. It is also now very valuable as timber:--necessity, the common parent of invention, has taught our countrymen its value. When foreign deal was worth twenty pounds per load, they contrieved to raise the price of this to about nine or ten pounds, and it was then thought proper for use; before which period, and when it could be bought for little money, it was deemed only fit for fuel. On the South Downs I know some plantations of this tree, which have been sold, after twenty-five years growth, at a price which averaged a profit of twenty shillings per annum per acre, on land usually let for sheep-pasture at one shilling and six-pence.

131. POPULUS alba. WHITE POPLAR. This is a very ornamental tree. The leaves on the under surface are of a fine white, and on the reverse of a very dark green; and when growing on large trees are truly beautiful, as every breath of air changes the colour as the leaves move. The wood of all the species of poplar is useful for boards, or any other purposes if kept dry. It is much in demand for floor-boards for rooms, it not readily taking fire; a red-hot poker falling on a board, would burn its way through it, without causing more combustion than the hole through which it passed.

132. POPULUS monilifera. CANADA POPLAR.--This is also known by the name of BLACK ITALIAN POPLAR, but from whence it had this name I do not know. This species, which is the finest of all the kinds, grows very commonly in woods and hedges in many parts of Worcestershire and Herefordshire, where it reaches to prodigious sizes. Perhaps no timber is more useful than this; it is very durable, and easy to be converted to all purposes in building. The floors of a great part of Downton Castle, the seat of R. Payne Knight, Esq. are laid with this wood, which have been used forty years and are perfectly sound. Trees are now growing on his estate which are three and four feet in diameter. I have one growing in my Botanic garden which is eight years old, and measures upwards of six cubic feet of timber. The parent of this tree which grew at Brompton I converted into boards. It was nineteen years growing; and when cut down it was worth upwards of fourteen pounds, rating it at the then price of deal, for which it was a good substitute. Some fine specimens of this tree are also to be seen at Garnins, the seat of Sir J. G. Cotterell, Bart. the present worthy member for the county of Hereford.

133. PRUNUS domestica. THE COMMON PLUM-TREE.--This is the parent of our fruit of this name.

134. PRUNUS Cerasus. WILD CHERRY-TREE.--Is the parent of our fine cherries. It is cultivated much in Scotland for the timber, which is hard, and of use for furniture and other domestic purposes. It is the best and most lasting stock for grafting on. Persons who are about to plant this fruit would do well to inquire into the nature of the stock, as no fruit-tree is so liable to disease and become gummy as cherries are, and that is often much owing to the improved kinds being sown for stocks, which are of a more tender texture and of course less hardy than this.

135. PRUNUS insititia. SLOE-TREE.--Is of little use except when it occurs in fences. The fruit is a fine acid, and is much used by the common people, mixed with other fruits less astringent and acid, to flavour made wines. It is believed that much Port wine is improved by the same means.

136. PYRUS communis. PEAR-TREE.--This is the parent of all our fine varieties of this fruit, and is used as the stock for propagating them; these are raised from seeds for that purpose. The wood of the Peartree is in great esteem for picture frames, it receiving a stain better than almost any other timber known.

137. PYRUS Malus. CRAB-TREE.--A tree of great account, as being the parent of all our varieties of apples, and is the stock on which the fine varieties are usually grafted. A dwarf variety of this tree, called the Paradise Apple, is used for stocks for making dwarf apple trees for gardens.

The juice of the Crab is called verjuice, which is in considerable demand for medicinal and other purposes.

138. QUERCUS robur. THE OAK.--Is a well known tree peculiar to Great Britain, and of the greatest interest to us as a nation. It is of very slow growth; but the timber is very strong and lasting, and hence it is used for building our shipping. The bark is supposed to contain more tannin than that of any other tree, and is valuable on that account. The acorns, or fruit, are good food for hogs, which are observed to grow very fat when turned into the forests at the season when they are ripe. The tree is raised from the acorn, which grows very readily.

We have accounts of Oak trees growing to great ages, and to most enormous sizes. One instance is mentioned by Evelyn, of one growing at Cowthorp, near Weatherby, in 1776, which within three feet of the ground was sixteen yards in circumference, and its height about eighty-five feet. Hunter's Evelyn's Sylva, p. 500.

139. ROSA rubiginosa. SWEET-BRIAR.--Is a very fragrant shrub, for which it has long been cultivated in the gardens. There are several varieties in the nurseries; as the Double-flowering, Evergreen, &c. which are much esteemed.

140. RUBUS Idaeus. THE RASPBERRY.--Produces a well known fruit in great esteem, and of considerable use both as food and for medicine.

141. RUBUS fruticosus. BRAMBLE.--Produces a black insipid fruit, but which is used by the poor people for tarts and to form a made wine: when mixt with the juice of sloes it is rendered very palatable.

142. RUBUS caesius.--Is a dwarf kind of bramble, and produces fruit of a pleasant acid, and where it grows in plenty it is used by the poor people for pies and other purposes of domestic oeconomy.

143. SALIX Russelliana. THE WILLOW.--No trees in this country are of more use than the species of this genus: many are grown for basket-makers in form of osiers, and other larger sorts serve for stakes, rails, hop-poles, and many other useful purposes. The bark of several species has been considered as useful for tanning leather. The charcoal of the Willow is also much in demand for making gunpowder.

144. SALIX viminalis. THE OSIER.--These are cultivated in watery places for making baskets, which are become a profitable article, and are the shoots of one season's growth cut every winter. The species best adapted to this purpose, besides the common osier, are

The Salix vitellina. Golden Willow. The Salix monandria. Monandrous Willow. The Salix triandria. Triandrous Willow. The Salix mollissima. Silky-leaved Willow. The Salix stipularis. Auriculated Osier. The Salix purpurea. Bitter Purple Willow. The Salix Helix. Rose Willow. The Salix Lambertiana. Boyton Willow. The Salix Forbyana. Basket Osier. The Salix rubra. Green Osier. The Salix nigricans. Dark Purple Osier.

145. SAMBUCUS nigra. ELDER.--The timber of the Elder is useful for making musical instruments, and the berries made into wine and fermented make a useful and valuable beverage. A variety with green berries is much esteemed for wine also.

146. SORBUS Aucuparia. QUICKEN-TREE, or MOUNTAIN-ASH.--In this part of Britain we usually find this tree in plantations, where it is very ornamental; and the berries, which are of a fine scarlet, are the food of many species of birds. The wood is also useful for posts, &c. and is considered lasting.

147. SORBUS domestica. TRUE SERVICE.--Produces a fruit much like the Medlar, and when ripe is in great esteem. The only tree in this country in a wild state, is growing in Bewdley Forest, Worcester-shire.

148. SPARTIUM Scoparium. BROOM.--Is a very ornamental plant, and is used for making besoms. It was once considered as a specific in the cure of dropsy, but is now seldom used for medicial purposes.

149. STAPHYLEA pinnata. BLADDER-NUT.--This is not a common plant in this country. I know of no other use to which it is applied, but its being cultivated in nurseries and sold as an ornamental shrub. The seed-vessel, from whence it takes its name, is a curious example of the inflated capsule.

150. TAMARIX gallica. A shrub of large growth; and being less affected by the sea breeze than any others, is useful to form a shelter in situations where the bleak winds will not admit of trees of more tender kinds to flourish.

151. TAXUS baccata. THE YEW.--Was formerly much esteemed for making bows: but since those instruments of war and destruction have given place to the more powerful gun-powder, it is not so much in request. The wood is very hard and durable, and admits of a fine polish. The foliage of Yew is poisonous to cattle, who will readily eat it, if cut and thrown in their way in frosty weather.

152. TILIA europaea. THE LIME or LINDEN-TREE.--Is a very ornamental tree in plantations, and from its early putting forth its leaves is much esteemed. The flowers emit a very fine scent, and the inhabitants of Switzerland make a favourite beverage from them. The wood is very soft, though white and beautiful. It is much used for the ornamental boxes, &c. so well known by the name of Turnbridge-ware.

153. VACCINIUM uliginosum. GREAT BILBERRY. Vaccinium Vitis Idaea, RED WHORTLE-BERRY, and Vaccinium Oxycoccos, CRANBERRY, are all edible fruits, but do not grow in this part of the kingdom. Great quantities of Cranberries are imported every winter and spring from Russia; they are much esteemed by the confectioners for tarts, &c. and are sold at high prices. These three kinds grow only in wet boggy places. A species which is native of America, called Vaccinium macrocarpon, has been very successfully cultivated at Spring Grove by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. and which has also been attempted in various other places, but not with the same success. The fruit of this species is larger and of better flavour than either of the other kinds.

154. VACCINIUM Myrtillus. WHORTS, or BILBERRIES.--To a common observer this would appear to be a very insignificant shrub; it is not uncommonly met with on our heaths: but it is only in particular places where it fruits in abundance, and in such districts it is of considerable value.

The waste lands on Hindhead and Blackdown in Surry and Sussex are noticed for producing this fruit, which is similar to Black Currants. They are gathered in the months of August and September, and sold at the neighbouring markets.

In a calculation of the value of this plant with an intelligent nurseryman in that county, we found that from 500 l. to 700 l. were earned and realized annually by the neighbouring poor, who employed their families in this labour, and who are in the habit of travelling many miles for this purpose. The fruit is ripe in August, and at that season is met with in great plenty in all the neighbouring towns.

155. VISCUM album. MISSELTO.--A parasitical plant well known, and formerly of much repute in medicine, but wholly disregarded in the present practice. Birdlime is made from the berries.

Dr. Pulteney in tracing the history of Botanic science quotes Pliny for an account of the veneration in which this plant was held by the Druids, who attributed almost divine efficacy to it, and ordained the collecting it with rites and ceremonies not short of the religious strictness which was countenanced by the superstition of the age. It was cut with a golden knife, and when the moon was six days old gathered by the priest, who was clothed with white for the occasion, and the plant received on a white napkin, and two white bulls sacrificed. Thus consecrated, Misselto was held to be an antidote to poison, and prevented sterility. Query, Has not the custom of hanging up Misselto at merry-makings, and the ceremony so well known among our belles, some relation to above sacrifice?

156. ULEX europaeus. COMMON FURZE.--The culture of this shrub is given in the Agricultural Plants, being good for feeding cattle; its principal use however is for fuel, and it is frequently grown for such purposes. It is common on most of our waste lands. It also forms good fences, but should always be kept short and young, otherwise it becomes thin, especially in good land where it grows up and makes large bushes.

157. ULMUS campestris. THE ELM.--We have a number of varieties of the Elm; the most esteemed is that with the smooth bark. The timber has been long in request for water-pipes, and for boards, which are converted into various uses in domestic oeconomy.

158. ULMUS montana. BROAD-LEAVED ELM.--This has not been considered of so great value as the common sort, but it is of much more free growth; and I have been informed that in the West of England the timber has been found to be good and lasting.

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SECT. VII.--PLANTS USEFUL IN MEDICINE.

The initial letters in this class distinguish the Pharmacopoeia in which each plant is inserted.

"By the wise and unchangeable laws of Nature established by a Being infinitely good and infinitely powerful,--not only man, the lord of the creation, 'fair form who wears sweet smiles, and looks erect on heaven,' but every subordinate being becomes subject to decay and death: pain and disease, the inheritance of mortality, usually accelerate his dissolution. To combat these, to alleviate when it has not the power to avert, Medicine, honoured art! comes to our assistance.

"It will not be expected that we should here give a history of this ancient practice, or draw a parallel betwixt the success of former physicians and those of modern times: all that concerns us to remark is, that the ancients were infinitely more indebted to the vegetable kingdom for the materials of their art than the moderns. Not so well acquainted with the oeconomy of nature, which teaches us that plants were chiefly destined for the food of various animals, they sought in every herb some latent healing virtue, and frequently endeavoured to make up the want of efficacy in one by the combination of numbers: hence the extreme length of their farraginous prescriptions. More enlightened ideas of the operations of medicine have taught the moderns greater simplicity and conciseness in practice. Perhaps there is a danger that this simplicity may be carried to far, and become finally detrimental to the practice."

The above is quoted from the Preface to a Catalogue of Medicinal Plants published by my predecessor in 1783: and it may be observed, that the medical student has, at the present season, a still less number of plants to store up in memory, owing, probably, to the great advances that chemistry has made in the mean time, through which mineral articles in many instances have superseded those of the vegetable kingdom. But, nevertheless, as Dr. Woodville has justly observed, "it would be difficult to show that this preference is supported by any conclusive reasoning drawn from a comparative superiority of the former;" or that the more general use of them has led to greater success in the practice of the healing art. It is however evident, that we have much to regret the almost total neglect of the study of medical botany by the younger branches of the professors of physic, when we are credibly informed that Cow-parsley has been administered for Hemlock, and Foxglove has been substituted for Coltsfoot [Footnote: See the account of a dreadful accident of this nature, in Gent. Mag. for Sept. 1815.], from which circumstance, some valuable lives have been sacrificed. It is therefore high time that those persons who are engaged in the business of pharmacy should be obliged to become so far acquainted with plants, as to be able to distinguish at sight all such as are useful in diet or medicine, and more particularly such as are of poisonous qualities.

The medical student has so many subjects for his consideration, that it is not desirable he should have a greater number of vegetables to consult than are necessary. And we cannot help lamenting the difficulty he has to struggle with in consequence of the great difference of names which the Pharmacopoeias of the present day exhibit. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, in many instances, enforce the necessity of learning a different term in each for the same thing, and none of which are called by the same they were twenty years ago. Surely it would be the means of forwarding the knowledge of drugs, if each could be distinguished by one general term.

The candidate for medical knowledge, however, is not the only one who has at times to regret this confusion of names. The Linnaean system is an easy and delightful path to the knowledge of plants; but, like all other human structures, it has its imperfections, and some of which have been modified by judicious alterations. Yet the teachers of this science, as well as the students, have often to deprecate the unnecessary change in names which has been made by many writers, though., in many cases, no more reason appears for it than there generally would be to change Christian and surnames of persons.

In the following section, I shall enumerate and describe those plants which are contained in the lists of the three colleges; and afterwards a separate list of those which, although they have been expunged, are still sometimes used by medical men.

I shall also endeavour to give such descriptions as are concise, at the same time sufficient for general knowledge, and for which reason I have taken Lewis's Materia Medica for my text, unless where improvements have been made in certain subjects I have consulted more modern authorities. It should be observed, that writers on medical plants, with few exceptions, have copied from one another: or with a little alteration as to words only.