112 Para پارا, or پارد Parud, (as it is called in Sanscrit,) Mercury. It is hot, gives strength to the eyesight, is useful in Juzam, and is vermifuge. A. Zeebuck. P. Seemab. It is very generally used throughout India, in many ways, both in its native and prepared state; but in the latter we ought to be very cautious, for it is seldom sufficiently killed, or removed from its native state, in which it is a dangerous drug. One grain or two grains, or even a little more, is taken for a dose, and in some cases with success. Cups are also made of it, from which milk is drank; they possess this virtue, that a greater quantity of milk may be taken in this way than in any other. It is said, that if a little Mercury be tied up in a cloth, and boiled in milk, that the milk will have an aphrodisiac property. Should any one have taken live Mercury, and the result be, that he is attacked with Juzam, or other leprous affection, let him take the whole of an Indigo plant, and cutting it in small pieces, let it be boiled in a large quantity of water; then straining it, drink a cupful of the water very frequently, till all is taken, and till then eat no food. All the Mercury will in the course of the day be evacuated per urethra, and if the whole does not make its escape the first day, the treatment must be repeated. If the urine be received into a brass vessel, or any other with a polished surface, the Mercury will be detected; many people having been in this predicament, have followed this advice, and found the result to be as I have stated it.
In a state of calcination, if it is mixed with strong vinegar, or lime juice, and afterwards dried, if no live Mercury appears it is good; otherwise it is dangerous. Others have said, that if mixed and rubbed with the juice of the radish leaf, till they are incorporated, and then a little lime juice poured over it, and again rubbed and dried, it will be fit for use; and the less live Mercury that is perceptible, the less dangerous it is.
To make cups and balls of Mercury, triturate the Mercury well with pounded bricks, in an iron pot, moistening the mixture with water; wash the whole in water, and strain through a moderately fine cloth, till the Mercury becomes perfectly clear like a looking glass. Take equal parts of this purified quicksilver, rock salt, and sulphate of copper, and put them into an iron pot, with strong vinegar or lime juice, and let the whole be well triturated for 7 or 8 hours, when the compound will appear like butter; wash this well in water, that the salt and sulphate be carried off, and the Mercury left behind; take this Mercury and coat over the outside of an unburnt earthen vessel or cup, till it shall be well covered and appear like Mercury; place this in a dish filled with lime juice, and let it remain for a week, then take it out and place it in the sun to dry and harden; when quite hard, it may be used in this way, or it may be filled with water and kept so, till the clay becomes soft enough to be separated from the quicksilver. Milk drank from this cup will have an aphrodisiac quality, and will increase appetite. For the formation of this cup, 9 or 10 tolahs of quicksilver will be requisite, and for the balls one tolah.
The Balls.—When the ingredients above-mentioned have, from long trituration, acquired the consistence of butter, balls may be formed of the composition in a fine cloth, and allowed to remain for 7 days in lime juice; then take them out and throw them into a boiling decoction of the Dhatura leaves, allowing it to be well boiled. The balls are then to be taken out of the cloth and preserved for use.
In the Maadentezerrubad it is said, that if a small parcel of Mercury be boiled in soup, made from the Bis-Copra, it will become hard.
113 Baboona بابونة, or Marehtee: Anthemis Chamomile; a common flower, Akhgwan.
114 Bans بانس.—A. Russub. P. Ney. Its leaves like those of the Joowar, when they are young; it is cool and a little astringent, beneficial in dysuria, gonorrhæa, piles, in stomach complaints, bilious disorders, and those of the blood, in cholicky pains from flatulence. Some say, that it increases the secretion of bile. A preserve is made from the young shoots which is much esteemed, and is useful in promoting appetite and giving tone to the stomach, correcting an increased secretion of bile or phlegm. The young shoots are first cut into small pieces, and steeped in salt and water; then dried, and afterwards put into the vinegar or other acid, in which it is to be preserved. The root of the bamboo in equal parts, with Judwár (Zedoary), and Suronjan (Hermodactylis), applied externally, I have found very effectual in removing pains from the joints. The oil expressed from the fresh joints of the plants, is also very beneficial in pains of the joints and other rheumatic affections. Mention is made of this oil in the Hajul Umeer and Ejale naáf, works written by me.
The joints of the bamboo are very useful as a diuretic, and they also are effectual in producing abortion, and made into a decoction with Cassia fistula, are recommended for recorrecting and stopping the discharge after such an occurrence.
115 Badgan Khutay بادگان خطى.—No account having been given of this in any of the Yunani works, it is left for me to give a description of it. It is a seed of a dark red color, the capsule resembles the stone of the tamarind, but is more thin and pointed, and a little open; it is used as an infusion with tea; it is hot, strengthens the stomach; is discutient, removes flatulence, and the tea corrects any bad effects that it may possess.
116 Baremoo بارمو.—A name for Dookoo.