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FAMILY HERBAL.

a close vessel, without any diminution of their virtue, for years: Itmay be taken in doses of two drachms to half an ounce twice or thricea-day.

Senna : A pod-bearing papilionaceous plant, growing in Egypt and theEast—part used, The leaves—sens. prop. Smell, ungrateful; taste,nauseous and bitterish—med. virt. Purgative—mode of exhib. Extract; powder; infusion; tincture. To cover the taste of senna,coriander seeds are employed ; but to prevent its griping, the warmeraromatics, such as cardamom seeds, or ginger, are more effectual. Thedose of the extract is from half a drachm to two drachms; it may begiven in the form of pills, but the extract is a weak cathartic, and oc-casions more griping pain in the bowels, unless joined with an aromatic,than the tincture drawn from the leaves, probably because that ismingled with carminatives.

Simarouba: A tree growing in Guinea. The bark which is simply bit-ter, is the part used. It is a tonic that has been much celebrated inobstinate diarrhoea, dysentery, indigestion, and intermittent fevers. Itis given in infusion or decoction. Two drachms of the bark boiled intwo pints of water to one pint, may be drank in cupfuls in the courseof a day. When this bark cannot be had, an infusion of camomileflowers, with or without four or five drops of the tincture of opium ineach dose, may be employed for the same intentions.

Sloes: The fruit of the common black thorn which grows in hedges, havea rough, austere, astringent taste. A conserve of sloes is kept in theshops; it is a cooling astringent in doses of a drachm or two: dis-solved in the decoction of cinchona bark, it makes an efficacious gar-gle for relaxed tonsils. The powdered bark of this bush cures agues;and a handful of the flowers infused in whey is a pleasant laxative.

Snake-Root, Virginia: A plant growing in North America—part used,The root—sens. prop. Smell, aromatic; taste, warm and bitterish—tned. virt. Stimulant, tonic, antiseptic, diaphoretic—mode of exhib.Powder; infusion; tincture. Snake-root was at first recommended asa medicine of extraordinary power in counteracting the poisonous ef-fects of the bites of serpents. Both this and contrayerva are foundvery useful medicines in typhus fever and hi putrid diseases, also ineruptive fevers, to determine the disease to the skin and promote theeruptive process. In cases of gangrene, and in obstinate intermittentfevers, the snake-root is an excellent auxiliary to the cinchona bark.Externally, it is used as a gargle in the putrid sore throat.

Sorrel, Common: An herbaceous plant, growing wild, and cultivated mgardens. The acidulous herb is cooling, aperient, antiscorbutic. It iseaten crude, and a decoction of it in whey is refrigerant in febrileheats, and cases of bilious and scorbutic acrimony.

Sorrel, Wood: Wood-sorrel is a small perennial plant, growing wild.The leaves are gratefully acid, cooling and antiseptic; they are eatencrude: sometimes the expressed juice is taken as a tonic aud antis-corbutic. The London College of Physicians order a conserve oiwood-sorrel to be kept in the apothecaries' shops, which is given toquench thirst, and to cool the mouth, fauces, and primse viae, in bilious remitting fevers.

Southernwood: A shrubby compound-flowered plant, cultivated in