PLANTATION OF POPPIES (P. Somniferum)

No ear hath heard, no tongue can tell,
The virtues of the pimpernel.

This most popular plant, amongst other uses, is put into poultices. Bacon mentions it as a weather prophet. “There is a small red flower in the stubble-fields, which country people call the wincopipe, which if it open in the morning, you may be sure of a fine day to follow.”[96] The virtues of Betony are set forth by the “Poor Phytologist,” and he is quite right in saying that it was once esteemed a most sovereign remedy for all troubles connected with the brain. It was, in fact, so far extolled that an adage was once current:--

“Sell your coat and buy betony.”

In Italy there are two modern sayings, one a pious aspiration, “May you have more virtues than Betony”; and the other an allusion, “Known as well as Betony.” Though the reputation of this plant has quite withered, that of horehound is in a more flourishing state, and it is still, I believe, considered of real use for coughs. Violet leaves are now becoming a fashionable remedy in the hands of amateur doctors, who prescribe them for cancer. In the Highlands, it is said, they were used for the complexion, and a recipe is translated from the Gælic, “Anoint thy face with goat’s milk in which violets have been infused, and there is not a young prince on earth who will not be charmed with thy beauty.” The Greater Celandine was once dedicated to the sun, and it is still recommended as being good for the eyes, though not by members of the faculty. The following advice was given me by an old Cornish woman, but I am almost sure the flower she spoke of was the Lesser Celandine. This probably arose from a confusion of the two flowers, as I have never heard or seen the Lesser Celandine elsewhere commended for this purpose. “Take celandines and pound them with salt. Put them on some rag, and lay it on the inside of the wrist on the side of whichever eye is bad. Change the flowers twice a day, and go on applying them till the eye is well. Put enough alum to curdle it, into some scalded milk. Bathe the eyes with the liquid and apply the curds to the place.”

[96] “Natural History.” Cent. IX.

Green Oil made after the following recipe has often proved beneficial for slight burns and scalds, and smells much nicer than the boracic ointment usually ordered for such injuries. It is also recommended for fresh wounds and bruises. “Take equal quantities of sage, camomile, wormwood and marsh-mallows, pick them clean and put them into sweet oil and as much of it as will cover the herbs; if a quart add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and so on in proportion. Let them stand a week without stirring, then put them into the sun for a fortnight, stir them every day. Strain them with a strong cloth very hard, and set it on a slow fire with some red rose-buds and the young tops of lavender, let them simmer on a slow fire for two hours, strain off the oil, and put to it a gill of brandy. (If some hog’s lard be poured upon the herbs, they will keep and make an excellent poultice for any kind of sore.)

The oil should be applied immediately to any kind of bruise or burn. It will prevent all inflammation and heal the wound. The time to begin making it is when the herbs are in full vigour, which depends much on the season being early; in general the middle of May is about the time, as the rose-buds and lavender would not be ready sooner than the middle of June.

Mrs Milne Home gives the ingredients of the Tisane de Sept Fleurs, which, she says, is often prescribed by French doctors for colds and sleeplessness—

“Bouillon blanc.Mullein.
Tilleul.Lime.
Violette.Violet.
Coquelicot.Poppy.
Pied de chat.Tussilago.
Guimauve.Mallow.
Mauve.Another sort of mallow.”