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Show BRi T PSH The 262 and fharpedges: they are largeft near the bafe, H BPRB AYL. The. C. Bauhine calls it Lepidium latifolium. Others fimply, Lepidium. inted. , confiderPrk ftalk is round, firm, upright ably branched, andthree feet high. and they The leaves on this are numerous, flender are placed irregularly : they have Jong, and theyrefootftalks, like thofe from the root; fmaller. femble themin fhape, but they are the tops The flowers ftand in great numbersat he ftalk of the numerous branches into whicht white. divides ; and theyare fmall and the The feed-veflels are fmall and fwelled: brown. feeds are numerous, very little, and and in Tt is commonin our northern counties, in July. fome other places, and flowers pains, The women give a flight decoction of it to promote delivery ; but it is not greatly to be Sciatica Crefs. In this form alfo it is no indifferent medicine again{t {eorbutic complaints. The root is long, flender, and furnifhed with many fibres. The firft leaves are numerous, fmall, obJong, and of a pale green. They rife in a thick Narrow-leaved Dittander, angupifolum. LEB 3 The root is compofed of numerous thickfibres. The firft leaves are very long and narrow: they grow in a large tuft, and are of a bluifh green colour, and not at all indented at the edges. The ftalk is round, upright, firm, fcarce at all branched, andtwofeet and ahalf high. The leaves on this are numerous, andftandir- GasekungNnal SPEC LES. Una S VIL HE flower is compofed of four extremely {mall petals, of an inverted oval figure, difpofedcrofsways, and having very fmall bottoms. The cup is compofedoffour little leaves, which are o and hollow, and fall with the flower. The feed-veffel is {mall and flatted, andis fharp at the edge: the feeds are numerous andfimail. Linnzus places this among the tetradynamia filiculofa ; but he has difpofed the plant itfelf in a very injudicious manner, and veryidly played with its generical namie. “The plant commonly known by the word ideris he has placed among the xafurtiums, which he has called by a newnar pidium, taking that alfo from the plant to whichit properly belongs: and in the fame clafs he other genus of plants, among which many ofthe ¢h/a/pis are introduced under the name of ibe the properierisitfelf is in another. This is a fort of confufion that, to the young ftudent, will appear inextricable ; andit is in itlelf extremely wrong. The planti which he has without reafon put out of the genus called after its name, he might, upon-the foundationofhis fyftem, have removed altogether out ofthis clafs, for it has not fix threads, as the reft, four longer and two fhorter, whence the name of the clafs tetradynamia ; but only two: it js therefore in abfolute violation of his eftablithed fyftem, that the iberis comes among thefe plants, At the fametime it is very plain, that the ideris is’one of the filiculofe herbs 3 and therefore, that the diftin¢tion of four longer and two fhorter threads is not an abfolate chara@ter of that clafs, This is one of thofe numerous inftances we have recited occafionally, as the fubje&ts occurred, to Shew that the fyftem of this author, though recommended by its novelty to weak minds, and byits difficulty to thofe who are ambitious of underftanding abftrufe things, is not founded in nature, reafon, or truth. The diflingtions of thefe filiquofe and filiculofe plants are lefs accurate in nature than thofe of any others; wherefore endlefs cayils may be raifed againft any generical difpofition of them that eve fhall be propofed. The moft ufeful method of treatin ig themis therefore to keep as near the eftablifhed tract as a tolerably nice diftin@tion will admit, Authors have not feen the caufe of this difficulty; but it is plainly this: the cruciform podded Seadsaieabemcaeend: co ae ErOpenly but two genera, the filiquofe making 5 ut i ag like thofe from the root ; but thofe on the branches, and on the upper part ofthe ftalk, are narrow, and undivided at the edges, and of a paler green. The flowers ftand in great numbers onthe tops of the branches, and they are fimall and white. The feed-veffel is fmall and broad, and the It is frequent in the fouthern parts of England, though lefs commonin other places. It flowers in July. DBE RO I. 8, hee eh at the bafe, and broadeft toward the end; and they are indented at the edges. The ftalk is round, upright, and divided into many branches: it is of a pale green colour, and about teninches high. The leaves on the main ftalk, toward its lower part, are oblong, broad, and fharply ferrated, feeds are numerous and minute. SCIATICA CRESS: G0 a violence to Naturein ereéting thefe genera into Weis neceffary, and in the higheft degree ufeful ; and this having been once done, fhould therefore have remained inviolable. There 263 Diofcorides fpeaks with great eatneftnefs of the Lberis. IL 30% 4 tuft: they have nofootftalks, but are narroweft regularly : they are long and narrow; but they are joined to the ftalk bya broadbate. The flowers ft at the tops of the branches, and theyare large and white. The feed-vefiel is fmali and brown, and the feeds are numerous and minute. It is a native of Germany, and flowersin June. C. Bauhine calls it Lepidiumglaftifolium. Others, | Lepidium anguftifolium, and L. ce 7h POR B Ap: There is no part of Linnzus’s conduct that will-in manys cafe bearlefs palliation than this. I have taken occafion thus far to explain here my reafons for differing from him, as the plant whichis coming under confideration -is initfelf, and in its proper name, one of the molt ftrik ng inftances of this fault. Of this plant, diftinguifhed by its proper characters, of which the extreme fmallnefs of the petals is the principal, there is but one fpecies. This is defcribed by the antients under the name iberis5 and has virtues attributed to it with juftice which belong to no otherplant in fo eminent a degree. This js a farther reafon for preferving its name, continuing it appropriated to the plant, and giving it to no other. recommended for that purpofe. A flight infufion of the frefh tops of the plant cut fmall, works powerfully byurine, and brings away gravel. PORE 1G N DaA-V iS) fO.N Lep: The whole plant has a violentlyacrid tatte, whence the commonpeople call it pepperwort, The leaves, chewed, bring water into the mouth, and cure the toothach. Externally it js good againft the {ciatica, and other ftubborn BR E-Ti I $x C. Bauhine calls it Jberis latiore folio. beris. Goo E Others, virtues ofthis plant againft the fciatica; and we readin other of the old Greeks, and in the Romans who copied them, the moft furprifing accounts ofits efficacy in the fame diforder. The mannerin which they ufed it was this. They bruifed a great quantity of the root ina mortar, and mixed in with it hogs lard. This ointment they rubbed well in, not only on the hip, but alfo up the fide, and all down the thigh ; and after this they covered the parts with ava{t plaifter ofit, fpread toa confiderable thicknefs, This application was fuffered to remain on four hours, or in tenderer bodies only three; and in this time it acted as a finapifm, heating and inflaming the fkin. It was then taken off, and the parts foftly anointed with oil and wine, and the perfon afterwards was put into a warm bath. Uponcoming out, the part was wrapt round with a good thicknefs of foft wool; andthis generally performed acure at once. If any pain remained, or the diforder threatened to return, the fame method tyvas repeated at the énd ofthree weeks, Our country-people in fome places ufe the bruifed herb for the fame purpofes, and with great fuccefs ; but itis not fo mych regarded as it deferves in the common courfe of practi INR SS. VIII. GOLD OF PLEASURE. MYAGRUM. HE flower is compofed of four petals, which open in a regularcrofs direCtion : theyare fmall, roundifh, and obtufe at the ends, and they have very narrow bottoms. The cupis compofedof four little leaves; they are oval, hollow, and ftand apart ; the whole cup is coloured, andfalls with the Hower: the feed-vefiel is fhort and fwelled, of a fomewhat heart-fafhioned form, and terminated by a firm point. Linneus places this among the ¢etradynamiafiliculofa; the flower having four longer andtwofhorter threads, andthe feed-veffel being a regular filicule. Healfo joins very properly under the fame name feyeral plants, improperly called by others {pecies of alum; a genus of verydifferent character. Delay 21,521 ONes 1. BRT TDS HM 1. Common Myagrum, Myagrum vulgare. OC 30. 5 The root is long, flender, white, and furnifhed with many fibres. The ftalk is round, firm, upright, a foot and half high, and divided into a great number of branches. The leaves are numerous, and they are placed with an agreeable regularity from its bottom to us top: they are oblong, narrow, and of a pale SPE CLE Ss: green: they adhere to the ftalk by a broad bafe, and are from thence fmaller to the extremity, where theyterminate in a point; and they are fharply ferrated at the edges, The flowersftand inlittle tufts at the tops of the branches, and are of a goldyellow. The feed-veffels are fhort and hard: the feeds are yellow. It is found in corn-fields in fome parts of Eng- land, and flowers in July. ‘ C. Bauhine |
