We have already[135] made some mention of the virtues possessed by the ash as an antidote to the venom of serpents. The seed of it is enclosed in follicules, which are good for diseases of the liver, and, in combination with wine, for pains in the sides: they are employed also for drawing off the water in dropsy. They have the property, too, of diminishing obesity, and of gradually reducing the body to a state of comparative emaciation,[136] the follicules being pounded in wine and administered in proportion to the bodily strength; thus, for instance, to a child, five of them are given in three cyathi of wine, but for persons in more robust health, seven are prescribed, in five cyathi of wine. We must not omit to state that the shavings and saw-dust of this wood are of a highly dangerous nature, according to some. CHAP. 31.—THE MAPLE: ONE REMEDY. The root of the maple,[137] beaten up in wine, is extremely efficacious as a topical application for pains in the liver. CHAP. 32.—THE POPLAR: EIGHT REMEDIES. We have already[138] mentioned, when speaking of the unguents, the use that is made of the berries[139] of the white poplar. A potion prepared from the bark is good for sciatica and strangury, and the juice of the leaves is taken warm for ear-ache. So long[140] as a person holds a sprig of poplar in his hand, there is no fear of[141] chafing between the thighs. The black poplar which grows in Crete is looked upon as the most efficacious of them all. The seed of it, taken in vinegar, is good for epilepsy. This tree produces a resin also to a small extent, which is made use of for emollient plasters. The leaves, boiled in vinegar, are applied topically for gout. A moisture that exudes from the clefts of the black poplar removes warts, and pimples caused by friction. Poplars produce also on the leaves a kind of sticky[142] juice, from which bees prepare their propolis:[143] indeed this juice, mixed with water, has the same virtues as propolis. CHAP. 33.—THE ELM: SIXTEEN REMEDIES. The leaves, bark, and branches of the elm[144] have the property of filling up wounds and knitting the flesh together: the inner membrane[145] too, of the bark, and the leaves, steeped in vinegar, are applied topically for leprosy. The bark, in doses of one denarius, taken in one hemina of cold water, acts as a purgative upon the bowels, and is particularly useful for carrying off pituitous and aqueous humours. The gum also which this tree produces is applied topically to gatherings, wounds, and burns, which it would be as well to foment with the decoction also. The moisture[146] which is secreted on the follicules of the tree gives a finer colour to the skin, and improves the looks. The foot-stalks of the leaves that first appear,[147] boiled in wine, are curative of tumours, and bring them to a head:[148] the same, too, is the effect produced by the inner bark.