OCR Text |
Show 324 ELDER. stance, they offend the stomach. ELDER. For the market they are ga- thered indiscriminately from the Sambucus nigra and ebulus; a very venial fraud, as their effects are exactly the same. They are, however, easily distinguished, by the latter, when bruised, staining the fingers of a red colour, and the former of the colour of a withered leaf. MEDICAL USE. Aninfusion of the inner green bark of the trunk in wine, or the expressed juice of the berries in the dose of half an ounce or an ounce, is said to purge moderately, and in small doses to prove anefficacious deobstruent, capable of: promoting all the fluid secretions. ‘The expressed juice, inspissated to the consistence of a rob, proves an useful aperient medicine, promotes the natural evacuations, and, if continued for a sufficient length of time, does considerable service in various chronical disorders. The young leaf buds are strongly purgative, and act with so much violence, as to be deservedly accounted unsafe. The flowers are very different in quality: these have an agreeable aromatic flavour, which they yield in distillation to water, and impart, by infusion, to vinous andspirituous liquors. PREPARATIONS, InspissAteD Juice oF ELprEr BERRIES, COMMONLY CALLED Exper Rog. (Succus Spissatus Sambuci Nigri, vulgo Rob Sambuci. E.) Take of juice of ripe elder berries, five pounds ; double refined sugar, one pound: Kvaporate, with a gentle heat, to the consistence of pretty thick honey. : These inspissated juices contain the virtues of the respective vegetables in a yery concentrated state. Those of the elder, black currant, and lemon, are acidulous, cooling, and laxative, and may be used in considerable quantities. Exper Ointment. (Unguentum Sambuci. L.) Take of elder flowers, four pounds ; mutton suet, prepared, three pounds; olive oil, one pint: Boil the flowers in the suet and oil till they be almost crisp; then strain with expression. Dub. Take of fresh elder flowers, three pounds; prepared hogs lard, four pounds ; mutton suet, two pounds: Boil the flowers in the lard until they become crisp; then strain with expression ; lastly, add the wax, and melt them together. Compositions of this kind were formerly very frequent; but vegetables, by boiling in oils, impart to them nothing but little mucilage, which changes the greasy oils to dryin g oils, and any resin they may contain ; but that also is never in such quantity as to affect the nature of the oil. We theref ore do not suppose that this ointment possesses any properties differ ent from a simple ointment of the same consistence, except its fragrancy. Perhaps on this account it is found to be a pleasa nt ointment to apply to the piles when outward; and the colour and smell give the patient a degree of faith, which is an excell ent stimulus in painful diseases, which are apt to produce great depression of spirits, Exper Wine. Pick your berries when quite ripe, put them into a stone jar, and set them in an oven, or in a kettle of boilin g water, till the jar is hot through ; them take them out, and strain them through 4 coarse sieve ; squeeze the berries, and put the juice into a clean kettle. To every quart of juice put a pound of fine Lisbon sugar; let it boil, and skim it well. When clear and fine, pour it into a cask. To every ten gallons of wine add an ounce of isinglass dissolved in cider, and six whole eggs. Close it up, let it stand six months, andthen bottle it. Another Way.—Take twenty-five pounds of Malag araisins, and rub them small; then boil five gallons of water an hour, i let it stand till milk warm: put it into an earthen stein with your raisins, and let them steep ten days, stirring them twice a day ; pass the liquor througha hair sieve, and havein Teadiness five pints of the juice of elder berries , drawn off as you do jelly of currants; mix it cold with the liquor, stir it Well together, and put it in a cask. Let it stand in a warm place; and when it has done working, stop it close and bottle it, |