General Biftory of DKUGGS.

River in Pcntus now call'd Volga; othersfrom the Arabian Word Raiwand; others fayit came from Barbantm, a City of India, a-bove the River Indus, and that Rjia Indicumand Barbaricum were all one. It is broughtfrom China to Turkey, and fo ro Venice byI and ; this lafis longer than what our Mer-chants bring by Sea, which corrupts fooner.It is a molt admirable Purge, expelling lharpgriping clammy and tarrarous Humoursfrom the Stomach and Bowels, it cures theGriping of the Guts, Colhck and fliarp Flux-es to a Miracle, (a that it may be allowed tobe one of the beft Specificks in the World :It cures all forts of Fluxes whatever by car-rying off the Caufe, and therefore is good a-gainft the bloody Flux, Dropfie, Jaundice,green Sicknefs, Rickets, Melancholy, and o-ther the like Difeafes. It is given in Pouderfrom a Scruple or two to a Dram, and aDram and half, or in an Infufion from aDram to two Drams, corrected with Cina-mon, and other Aromaticks, which may bequicken'd with Scammony, Jalap, &c. Schro-der mikes an Extract of it with Endive, Suc-cory or Agrimony Water, acuated with lomeDrops of Oil of Tartar per Diliquium. Dofeof this from a Scruple to a Dram. Likewileyou have a Syrup of Succory with Rhubarb ;Schroder Cays, Rhubarb Is' the moft lis'd of allPurges, and without Danger in all Ages, itmay be fafely given to Children and Womenwith Child, and is beft without Correctors,only two or three Drops of any of the Ef-• tial Oyls, as Anifeed, or the like.

Of Pontick Rhubarb,

Some Authors will have this to be the famewith the iormer, faving only the Climate andPlace of Growth, which may fomethingchange its Form and Goodnefs; others willhave it to be the longer and flender Part andBranches of the Indian Plant, became it is ve-ry like in Colour, Form,and Virtue to the trueRhubarb, others that it is the fame Plant, butgrowing m Pentus.and that this has the longerand letter Pieces, being not of fo folid andfirm a Subftance as the true, which i« bitterin Tafte, and of an aromatick Smell beingafrnng^nt and corroborating after Purging.It comes, from Rjiffla and Mufcwy, as aliofrom the Strain out oipontus and Turk,?, h

is of a frelh Colour, inclining ro yellow ar.dred, but that is the beft which comes neareftto the true Rhubarb, which is the Mark of Di-ftinclionyou ought to chufe it by. The Vir-tues and Preparations are the fame as the for-mer, only this will a.dmit of near a doubleDofe to the other.

Of Baftard Rhubard.

There are four feveral Kinds of this; ift,Hlppolapathum rotitndifolium, or Baftard RJju-barb, which is the gteat common round leaf-ed Dock, whofe Root is greater than thePatience or Monks Rhubarb,and without manyBranches or Fibres there it, yellow on theOut-fide, aud fomewhat a pale yellow with-in, with fotnedifcolour'd Veins thereinjike tothe true Rjhubarb, but much lefs than it, efpe-cially when dry, it then quite lofing its frelhColour, which the true always holdeth.2dly, Rhabarbarum Monachorum, Pitientia,Monk/ Rjmbarb,OT Patience ; this is the greatGarden Dock, bearing the Name of Rhubarbfor Come purging Quality therein ; this Rootis long, large and yellow, like the wild Dock,but a little redder, and when dried, fhews aletter Stock of difcolour'd Veins than theformer.

jdy, Rhabarbarum Americanum, or Rha-mericanum, Weft Indian Rj.ularb, this is cal-led by them R^ ubarb, being very like to theBaft Indian Kind, as 'tis roundifh, brown-ilh on the Out fide,and reddish whriin,whichbeing broke, has fome Whuenefs m ; x'd withit, and being chew'd colours the Spittle yel-low, like Saffron, and is bitteriih withal.The Baftard Rhubarb has almoft worn out theUfe of the Monks Rhubarb, it is now grownfo common and plentiful ; and it is indeedmuch the better of the two, though theirNatures and Properties are much the fame,the Baftard Rlmbarb works more cffedually,aDecoclrion thereof, or Infufion in Vinegar,eafes Pains in the Ear, gargling with it re-lieves the Tooth-acb, and the internal Ufa ofit is good in the Jaundice, Kings Evil, toprovoke Urine, expel Sand and Gravel, o-pen ObftrucTrions of the Spleen and Liverand cure Fluxes of all forts. Note, this Rim-barb is to be us'd in double the Quantity tothe true Indian. 4thly, Rhabarbarum Album

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