To give a description of a tree so well known to every body that keep it in his garden, were needless. They prosper very well in our English gardens, yet are fitter for medicine than for any other profit which is gotten by the fruit of them.
Government and virtues.] The tree is under the dominion of Jupiter. The milk that issues out from the leaves or branches where they are broken off, being dropped upon warts, takes them away. The decoction of the leaves is excellently good to wash sore heads with: and there is scarcely a better remedy for the leprosy than it is. It clears the face also of morphew, and the body of white scurf, scabs, and running sores. If it be dropped into old fretting ulcers, it cleanses out the moisture, and brings up the flesh; because you cannot have the leaves green all the year, you may make an ointment of them whilst you can. A decoction of the leaves being drank inwardly, or rather a syrup made of them, dissolves congealed blood caused by bruises or falls, and helps the bloody flux. The ashes of the wood made into an ointment with hog’s grease, helps kibes and chilblains. The juice being put into an hollow tooth, eases pain: as also pain and noise in the ears, being dropped into them; and deafness. An ointment made of the juice and hog’s grease, is an excellent remedy for the bitten of mad dogs, or other venomous beasts as most are. A syrup made of the leaves, or green fruit, is excellently good for coughs, hoarseness, or shortness of breath, and all diseases of the breast and lungs; it is also extremely good for the dropsy and falling sickness. They say that the Fig Tree, as well as the Bay Tree, is never hurt by lightning; as also, if you tie a bull, be he ever so mad, to a Fig Tree, he will quickly become tame and gentle. As for such figs as come from beyond sea, I have little to say, because I write not of exoticks.
THE YELLOW WATER-FLAG, OR FLOWER-DE-LUCE.
Descript.] This grows like the Flower-de-luce, but it has much longer and narrower sad green leaves, joined together in that fashion; the stalk also growing oftentimes as high, bearing small yellow flowers shaped like the Flower-de-luce, with three falling leaves, and other three arched that cover their bottoms; but instead of the three upright leaves, as the Flower-de-luce has, this has only three short pieces standing in their places, after which succeed thick and long three square heads, containing in each part somewhat big and flat seed, like those of the Flower-de-luce. The root is long and slender, of a pale brownish colour on the outside, and of a horseflesh colour on the inside, with many hard fibres thereat, and very harsh in taste.
Place.] It usually grows in watery ditches, ponds, lakes, and moor sides, which are always overflowed with water.
Time.] It flowers in July, and the seed is ripe in August.
Government and virtues.] It is under the dominion of the Moon. The root of this Water-flag is very astringent, cooling, and drying; and thereby helps all lasks and fluxes, whether of blood or humours, as bleeding at the mouth, nose, or other parts, bloody flux, and the immoderate flux of women’s courses. The distilled water of the whole herb, flowers and roots, is a sovereign good remedy for watering eyes, both to be dropped into them, and to have cloths or sponges wetted therein, and applied to the forehead: It also helps the spots and blemishes that happen in and about the eyes, or in any other parts: The said water fomented on swellings and hot inflammations of women’s breasts, upon cancers also, and those spreading ulcers called Noli me tangere, do much good: It helps also foul ulcers in the privities of man or woman; but an ointment made of the flowers is better for those external applications.
FLAX-WEED, OR TOAD-FLAX.
Descript.] Our common Flax-weed has divers stalks full fraught with long and narrow ash-coloured leaves, and from the middle of them almost upward, stored with a number of pale yellow flowers, of a strong unpleasant scent, with deeper yellow mouths, and blackish flat seed in round heads. The root is somewhat woody and white, especially the main downright one, with many fibres, abiding many years, shooting forth roots every way round about, and new branches every year.
Place.] This grows throughout this land, both by the way sides and in meadows, as also by hedge-sides, and upon the sides of banks, and borders of fields.