In other parts of the world, instead of this juice a decoction of it is employed for closing wounds; an effect equally produced by the plant itself, which is beaten up for the purpose and attached to the part affected, thereby preventing inflammation. To the decoction wine and honey are added, and in some cases, frankincense, pepper, and myrrh, in the proportion of one third of each ingredient; after which it is boiled again in a copper vessel, when required for tooth-ache or defluxions of the eyes. A decoction of the roots, in wine, is curative of griping pains in the bowels, strangury, and ulcerations of the bladder, and it disperses calculi. The seed is still more powerful as a diuretic,[439] arrests looseness and vomiting, and is particularly useful for wounds inflicted by dragons.[440] There are some authorities which give the following prescription for the cure of scrofulous sores and inflamed tumours:—From one, two, or three stems, as many as nine joints must be removed, which must then be wrapped in black wool with the grease in it. The party who gathers them must do so fasting, and must then go, in the same state, to the patient’s house while he is from home. When the patient comes in, the other must say to him three times, “I come fasting to bring a remedy to a fasting man;” and must then attach the amulet to his person, repeating the same ceremony three consecutive days. The variety of this plant which has seven[441] joints is considered a most excellent amulet for the cure of head-ache. For excruciating pains in the bladder, some recommend a decoction of gramen, boiled down in wine to one half, to be taken immediately after the bath. CHAP. 119.—DACTYLOS; FIVE REMEDIES. There are some authorities who mention three varieties of the pointed gramen. That which has at the extremity five[442] points at the utmost, is called “dactylos.” Twisting these points together, persons introduce them into the nostrils and then withdraw them, with the view of preventing hæmorrhage. The second kind, which, resembles aizoön,[443] is employed with axle-grease for whitlows and hangnails, and for fleshy excrescences upon the nails: this also is called “dactylos,” because it is so useful as a remedy for diseases of the fingers. The third[444] kind, which is also known as “dactylos,” is more diminutive, and is found growing upon walls or tiles. It has certain caustic properties, and arrests the progress of serpiginous ulcers. By placing a wreath of gramen round the head, bleeding at the nose is stopped. In Babylonia, it is said, the gramen[445] which grows by the wayside is fatal to camels. CHAP. 120.—FENUGREEK OK SILICIA: THIRTY-ONE REMEDIES.