Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure — John Shaqi
Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of CureFernie, William Thomas
History
Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure
Fernie, William Thomas
Botany, Medical
maxim teaches that:--
"To eat an Apple going to bed
Will make the doctor beg his bread."
[29] There was concocted in Gerard's day an ointment with the
pulpe of Apples, and swine's grease, and rosewater, which was
used to beautifie the face, and to take away the roughnesse of the
skin, and which was called in the shops "pomatum," from the
apples, "poma," whereof it was prepared. As varieties of the
Apple, mention is made in documents of the twelfth century, of
the pearmain, and the costard, from the latter of which has come
the word costardmonger, as at first a dealer in this fruit, and now
applied to our costermonger. Caracioli, an Italian writer, declared
that the only ripe fruit he met with in Britain was a _baked_ apple.
The juices of Apples are matured and lose their rawness by
keeping the fruit a certain time. These juices, together with those
of the pear, the peach, the plum, and other such fruits, if taken
without adding cane sugar, diminish acidity in the stomach rather
than provoke it: they become converted chemically into alkaline
carbonates, which correct sour fermentation. It is said in
Devonshire that apples shrump up if picked when the moon is on
the wane. From the bark of the stem and root of the apple, pear
and plum trees, a glucoside is to be obtained in small crystals,
which possesses the peculiar property of producing artificial
diabetes in animals to whom it is given.
The juice of a sour Apple, if rubbed on warts first pared away to
the quick, will serve to cure them. The wild "Scrab," or Crab
Apple, armed with thorns, grows in our fields and hedgerows,
furnishing verjuice, which is rich in tannin, and a most useful
application for old sprains. In the United States of America an
infusion of apple tree bark is given with benefit during
intermittent, remittent, and bilious fevers. We likewise prescribe
Apple water as a grateful cooling drink for [29] feverish patients.
Francatelli directs that it should be made thus: "Slice up thinly
three or four Apples without peeling them, and boil them in a very
clean saucepan, with a quart of water and a little sugar until the
slices of apple become soft; the apple water must then be strained
through a piece of muslin, or clean rag, into a jug, and drank when
cold." If desired, a small piece of the yellow rind of a lemon may
be added, just enough to give it a flavour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account