244

The Materia Medlca.

Part II.

to the firft, which is confider-ably the ftrongeft, and lofes ofits quality, if tranfplanted intofuch foils as the other naturallydelights in. The roots, produc-ed in low watery grounds, havea remarkably faint fmell in com-parifon of the others, and fome-times fcarce any at all. Wild va-lerian is a medicine of great ufe innervous diforders, and is particu-larly ferviceable in epilepfies pro-ceeding from a debility of the ner-vous fyftem. It was firlt broughtinto efteem in thefe cafes by FabiusColumna, who by taking the pow-dered root, in the dofe of half afpoonful, was cured of an invete-rate epilepfy after many other me-dicines had been tried in vain.Repeated experience has lince con-firmed its efficacy in this diforder;and the prefent praftice lays con-fiderable ftrefs upon it. The com-mon dofe is from a fcruple to adram ; in infulion from one to twodrams. Its unpleafant flavour ismolt effectually concealed by afuitable addition of mace.

A tin&ure of valerian in prooffpirit and in volatile fpirit arekept in the fhops [£.] This rootgives name alfo to a compoundwater [£.] and is an ingredientin the cephalic tindlure [£.] epi-leptic powder [£.] mithridate andtheriaca' [Z-„]

VERATRUM, vide H elle-corvs albus.

VERBASCUM, vide Tapsus

barbatus.

VERBENA folia radix : Vcr-iena communis fore ceruheo C. B.Common wild vervain ; the leavesand root [£.]

This is one of the medicineswhich we owe to the fuperftitionef former ages; the virtues it has

been celebrated for, both as an in-ternal medicine and externally asan amulet, are extremely nume-rous: and poffibly it has an equaltitle to them all: to the talle andfmell it appears almoll fimply her-baceous.

VERONICA FCEMINA, v?deElatine.

VERONICA MARIS, feu Be-tonicie Pauli folia : Vironic re mariiJupin.-r et uulgartijfima: C. B. Malefpeedwell; the leaves [£.]

This is one of the veroniczewhich produce their flowers incluflers at the joints of the ftalks:it is a rough procumbent plant,not unfrequently met with on drycommons, and in fandy grounds.In taile, fmell, and medical vir-tues, it is fimilar to the betonica,of which in its place : though theveronica is commonly fuppofed tohave more of an aperient and pec-toral virtue, and betony to be ra-ther nervine and cephalic. Hoff-man and Joh. Francus have writ-ten exprefs treatife's on this plant,recommending infufions of it,drank in the form of tea, as veryfalubrious in many diforders, parr-tic ularly thofe of the breaft.

VIN C ET O XICI, Afclep iadis, feuHirundinari# radix: Aflepiadiifore alio C. B. Swallow-wort, Oftame poifon ; the root [£.]

This is a native of the warmerclimates: it is fometimes met within our gardens, but rarely perfe&sits feeds. It is reckoned by bo-tanifts, a fpecies of apocynum, ordogfbane; from all the poifon-ous forts of which it may be di-flinguilhed, by yielding a limpidjuice, wiulft that of the others ismilky. The root has a flrongfmell, efpecially when frefh, ap-proaching to that of valerian, or

nard;