part II. The Materia Medica, 169

Purging flax, or mill-mountain ; a warm tafte, and a fragrant fmell

the leaves [£'.] not unlike that of ftorax height-

This is a very fmall plant, not ened with a little ambergris. It

above four or five inches high, was formerly of great ufe as a per-

found wild upon chalky hills, fume, but is at prefeht a ftranger

and in dry palture grounds. Its to the fhops.virtue is exprefl'ed in its title ; an

infufion in water or whey of a LITHARGYRUS [£. E.~\

handful of the frefh leaves, or a Litharge ; a preparation of lead,

dram of them in fubftance when ufually in form of foft flakes, of a

dried, ."ire laid to purge without yellowifh reddilh colour. If cal-

inconvenience. cined lead be urged with a hafty

fire, it melts into the appearance

LINI VULGARIS ft men : of oil, avid on cooling concretes

Lini fati 11 C. R. Common flax; into litharge. Greatell part of the

the feed, calied linfeed [L. £.] litharge met with in the fhops, is

Linked yields to the prels a produced in the purification of

confiderable quantity of oil; and filver from lead, and the refining

boiled in water, a ftrong muci- of gold and iilver by means of this

lage : thefe are occafionally made metal : according to the degree of

ufe of for 1 he fame purpofes as fire and otheV circumftances, it

other fubflances of that clals ; and proves of a pale or deep colour ;

fometiipes the feeds themfelves in the firft has been commonly called

emollient and maturating cata- litharge of iilver, the other li-

plafni?. They have alfo been em- tharge of gold. See the article

ployed in Afia, and, in times of Plumbum.fcarcity, in Europe, as food ; but

are not agreeable, or in general L1THOSPERMI, feu Mill foils,

wholefome. Tragus relates, that femen : Lilha/}ermi majoris ercHi

thofe wjio fed on thefe feeds, in C. B. Cromwell : the feed[£ ]

Zealand, had the hypochondres This is found wild in dry fields

much diflended, and the face and and hedges. Its feeds are round-

other parts (welled, in a very fhort ilh, hard, of a whitifh colour, like

time ; and that not a few died of little pearls ; and from thefe cir-

thefe complaints. The cxpreffed cumftances have been iuppofed pe-

oil is an officinal preparation [L. culiarly ferviceable in calculous dif-

£.] : the cake, remaining after the orders. Their tafte is merely fa-

e.vpreflion of the oil, is an ingre- rinaceous.dient in the fuppurating cataplafm,

and the feeds liiemfelvcs in the ne- LOTI URBANjE folia, femen :

phritic decoftion [£.] Leti bortenjit clone C. B. Sweet

trefoil ; the leaves and feeds.

LIQUID AMBRA [£.] Liqui- The flowers of this plant are

dainbar ; a refinous juice which ftronger in fmell than the other

flows from a large tree growing in parts : thefe have been recom-

New Spain, Virginia, and other mended for diaphoretic, alexi-

provinces of South America. This pharmac, anodyne, and other vir-

juice is at firll about the confidence tues ; but their effefts have not

of turpentine, but by long keep- been found confiderable enough to

ing hardens in;o a relin : it is of continue them in praftice.a yellow colour inclining to red,

LUJUL^E