26 General Hi/lory o/DRUGGS.

It may be given either in Powder, from ba» tings of all other Serpents,a Dram to a Dram, or in any Cordial Draughcor Bole.

i. Of Virginia Snake-Root.

Pomet.

'"THIS Snake-Root, which is call'd■*■ by fome Dittany , by others,Ctmtraycrva of Virginia, &c. is a Plant whichgrows there, and feveral other Parts of theNorthern America, and which is us'd fuccefs-fully by the Englifo againft all Sorts of Poi-»fons, and the biting of venemous Creatures ;and is alfo very pr per againft all Epidemi-cal Difeafes. Monfieur D'Aquin, fir ft Phy-fician, made choice of this Root, as one ofthe principal Ingredients in the new Refor-mation of Venice-Treacle, fet down in Mon-fieur Charat % Royal Galenical and ChymicalPharmacopceia. As to the Goodnefs of this,you ought to chufe fuch as is frefli and new,the Root thick and well-fed, of a ftrong Smell,Very much like Spike or Lavender.

There are feveral Kinds of thisLemery, Root, as the greateft, the Jefs, andthe leaft, together with Parkin-fon's Po'yrrhi^ot Virginiana : The leaft onlyis that which is fold in our Shops, which isa fmall fibrous or ftringy Root, of a Kind ofA'h-Colour, with a fpicy or aromatical Smell, HTHE Rhubarb of the Levant is theand a ftrong, hot, bitter Tafte, and is brought ■* Root of a Plant, of which I

as well as otherpoilonous and venemous Beafts whatfoever,and alfo the Biting of Mad Dogs , andWounds made with poifon'd Atrows , forwhich Things 'tis to be efteem'd as one of themod valuable Druggs-yet difcover'd.

It is a known, and often-approv'd Reme-dy againft the Malignity of the Mcajlcs,Small-Pox, Spitted Fever, and the very Plague-it felf, as alfo againft all manner of Burningand Pep Hernial Fevers, not only preventingthe Infection befoie it has fpread it felf, butcuring the Difeafe after the Infection hasfeiz'd ; for which Purpofe, there is no Ve-getable,or any other Remedy that I know of,equal to it, in the whole Courfe of Medicine.The Experience of this Part of the Worldmay juftly recommend the Virtues of thisSimple every where, as good againft Faint-ings, Swoonings, Sicknefs, and all Difaf-fe&ions from the Heart. It is us'd in a De-coition by the Indians. We commonly giveit in Powder from Six Grains to a Scruple; inan Infufion as ftrong as Wine, Brandy, orWater will extract, from a Spoonful to four,(go.

4. Of the feveral Sorts e/Rhubarb-.

to us from Virginia, Maryland, New Jerfey,Penfylvania, and Carolina; but that whichcomes from Carolina, St. Auguflines, and otherthe moft Southern Places of the Floridan Con-tinent, is much the better, inafmuch as thofeClimes are hotter : That which is clear inColour, clean and freeft from Duft and Sand,and very ftrong in the Scent, is the beft. Itis one of the greateft Alexiteric\s in the World:Is is known to cure the Biting of the Rattle-Snake upon the Spot, which, without thisRemedy, is, for the moft part, prefent Death.The Power, Maligni-y, and Volatility of thePoifon, is not fo fwift and great, but theSubtilcy, piercing Qualities, and Altxifhar-mack. Virtues of this Medicine yet exceeds it,difappointing all the ill Effe&s of the ViperinePoifon, if given in due Time. And, with-out doubt, if it will cure the Biting of theRattle-Snake, the moft malignant and daR-jerous of alt Serpents, it will cure the Bi-

Pomet.

know not pofit vely the true Placewhere it grows, any more than the Figure ofthe Plant : For this Reafon I was oblig'd totake the Impieffion which is represented byDodonaus, it not being poflible otherwife toget the true Figure of the Leaves, and theManner how they are difpos'd. For the Flow-ers, I have had a good Quantity of them pre-sented to me by a Friend.

Dalechamp, in the 558th Page of his Se-cond Volume of the Hijlory of Plants, makesa large Difcourfe of this Rhubarb, and of thePlace from whence it is brought to us ; buthe, and other Authors that write about it,fpeak fo varioufly there is nothing to be de-pended on : But I fhall give you an Accountof what was writ to me from Marfei/les the25th of July 1692. ' The Hjiubarh that' comes from Perfia, fome fay grows there ;' others will have it that it comes from the* Side of Mufcovy ; but the moft common

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