CHAP. 16.—SPONDYLIUM: SEVENTEEN REMEDIES.
At the same time we have also spoken[73] of spondylium; an infusion of which is poured upon the head in cases of phrenitis and lethargy, and of head-ache of long standing. Combined with old oil, it is taken in drink for affections of the liver, jaundice, epilepsy, hardness of breathing, and hysterical suffocations, maladies for which it is equally serviceable in the shape of a fumigation. It relaxes the bowels, and with rue it is applied to ulcers of a serpiginous nature. The juice which is extracted from the blossom is a most useful injection for suppurations of the ears; but the moment it is extracted it should be covered up, as flies and other insects of a similar nature are remarkably fond of it.
Scrapings of the root, introduced into the interior of fistulas, have a caustic effect upon their callosities; and they are sometimes used, in combination with the juice, as an injection for the ears. The root itself also is prescribed for jaundice, and for diseases of the liver and uterus. If the head is rubbed with the juice, it will make the hair curl.[74]
CHAP. 17.—SPHAGNOS, SPHACOS, OR BRYON: FIVE REMEDIES.
Sphagnos, sphacos, or bryon, grows, as we have already[75] stated, in Gaul. A decoction of it, employed as a sitting-bath, is useful for affections of the uterus: mixed with nasturtium, and beaten up in salt water, it is good for the knees and for swellings in the thighs. Taken in drink with wine and dried resin, it acts very powerfully as a diuretic. Pounded in wine with juniper berries, and taken in drink, it draws off the water in dropsy.
CHAP. 18.—THE TEREBINTH: SIX REMEDIES.
The leaves and root of the terebinth[76] are used as applications for gatherings; and a decoction of them is strengthening to the stomach. The seed of it is taken in wine for head-ache and strangury: it is slightly laxative to the bowels, and acts as an aphrodisiac.
CHAP. 19.—THE PITCH-TREE AND THE LARCH: EIGHT REMEDIES.
The leaves of the pitch-tree[77] and the larch,[78] beaten up and boiled in vinegar, are good for tooth-ache. The ashes of the bark are used for excoriations and burns. Taken in drink this substance arrests diarrhœa, and acts as a diuretic; and used as a fumigation, it reduces the uterus when displaced. The leaves of the pitch-tree are particularly good for the liver, taken in doses of one drachma in hydromel.
It is a well-known fact that forests planted solely with trees from which pitch and resin are extracted, are remarkably beneficial for patients suffering from phthisis,[79] or who are unable to recover their strength after a long illness: indeed it is said, that in such cases to breathe the air of localities thus planted, is more beneficial even than to take a voyage to Egypt,[80] or to go on a summer’s journey to the mountains to drink the milk there, impregnated with the perfumes of plants.