The custom which prevailed in olden times of carrying a sprig of Rosemary in the hand at a funeral, took its rise from the notion of an alexipharmick or preservative powder in this herb against pestilential disorders; and hence it was thought that the smelling thereof was a powerful defence against any morbid effluvia from the corpse.
For the same reason it was usual to burn Rosemary in the chambers of the sick, just as was formerly done with frankincense, which gave the Greeks occasion to call the Rosemary _Libanotis_. In the French language of flowers this herb represents the power of rekindling lost energy. "The flowers of Rosemary," says an old author, "made up into plates (lozenges), with sugar, [474] and eaten, comfort the heart, and make it merry, quicken the spirits, and make them more lively." "There"s Rosemary for you--that"s for remembrance! Pray you, love, remember!" says Ophelia in _Hamlet_. The spirit of Rosemary is kept by all druggists, and may be safely taken in doses of from twenty to thirty drops with a spoonful or two of water.
Rosemary tea will soon relieve hysterical depression. Some persons drink it as a restorative at breakfast. It will help to regulate the monthly flow of women. An infusion of the herb mixed with poplar bark, and used every night, will make the hair soft, glossy, and strong.
In Northern Ireland is found the Wild Rosemary, or Marsh Tea (_Ledum pal.u.s.tre_), which has admirable curative uses, and from which, therefore, though it is not a common plant in England, a medicinal tincture (H.) is made with spirit of wine.
The herb belongs to the Rock Rose tribe, and contains citric acid, leditannic acid, resin, wax, and a volatile principle called "ericinol."
This plant is of singular use as a remedy for chilblains, as well as to subdue the painful effects of a sting from a wasp or bee; also to relieve gouty pains, which attack severely, but do not cause swelling of the part, especially as regards the fingers and toes. Four or five drops of the tincture should be taken for a dose with a tablespoonful of cold water, three or four times in the day; and linen rags soaked in a lotion made with a teaspoonful of the tincture added to half a tumblerful of cold water, should be kept applied over the affected part.
It equally relieves whitlows; and will heal punctured wounds, if arnica, or the Marigold, or St. John"s Wort is not indicated, or of use. When tested by provers in large doses, it has caused a widespread eruption of [475] eczema, with itching and tingling of the whole skin, extending into the mouth and air pa.s.sages, and occasioning a violent spasmodic cough. Hence, one may fairly a.s.sume (and this has been found to hold good), that a gouty, spasmodic cough of the bronchial tubes, attended with gouty eczema, and with pains in the smaller joints, will be generally cured by tincture or infusion of the Wild Rosemary in small doses of a diluted strength, given several times a day, the diet at the same time being properly regulated. Formerly this herb was used in Germany for making beer heady; but it is now forbidden by law.
RUE.
The wild Rue is found on the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire, being more vehement in smell and in operation than the garden Rue.
This latter, _Ruta graveolens,_ (powerfully redolent), the common cultivated Rue of our kitchen gardens, is a shrub with a pungent aromatic odour, and a bitter, hot, penetrating taste, having leaves of a bluish-green colour, and remaining verdant all the year round. It is first mentioned as cultivated in England by Turner, in his _Herbal_, 1562, and has since become one of the best known and most widely grown Simples for medicinal and homely uses. The name _Ruta_ is from the Greek _reuo_, to set free, because this herb is so efficacious in various diseases. The Greeks regarded Rue as an anti-magical herb, since it served to remedy the nervous indigestion and flatulence from which they suffered when eating before strangers: which infirmity they attributed to witchcraft. This herb was further termed of old "Serving men"s joy," because of the multiplicity of common ailments which it was warranted to cure. It const.i.tuted a chief ingredient of the famous antidote of Mithridates to poisons, the formula of which [476] was found by Pompey in the satchel of the conquered King. The leaves are so acrid, that if they be much handled they inflame the skin; and the wild plant possesses this acridity still more strongly.
Water serves to extract the virtues of the cultivated shrub better than spirit of wine is able to do. The juice of Rue is of great efficacy in some forms of epilepsy, operating for the most part insensibly, though sometimes causing vomiting or purging.
Piperno, a Neapolitan physician, in 1625, commended Rue as a specific against epilepsy and vertigo. For the former malady at one time some of this herb was suspended round the neck of the sufferer, whilst "forsaking the devil with all his works, and invoking the Lord Jesus." Goat"s Rue, _Galega_, is likewise of service in epilepsy and convulsions.
If a leaf or two of Rue be chewed, a refreshing aromatic flavour will pervade the mouth, and any nervous headache, giddiness, hysterical spasm, or palpitation, will be quickly relieved. Two drachms of powdered Rue, if taken every day regularly as a dose for a long while together, will often do wonders. It was much used by the ancients, and Hippocrates commended it. The herb is strongly stimulating and anti-spasmodic; its most important const.i.tuent being the volatile oil, which contains caprinic, pelargonic, caprylic, and oenanthylic acids. The oxygenated portion is caprinic aldehyde. In too full doses the oil causes aching of the loins, frequent urination, dulness and weight of mind, flushes of heat, unsteadiness of gait, and increased frequency of the pulse, but with diminished force.
Similar symptoms are produced during an attack of the modern epidemical influenza; as like-wise by oil of wormwood, and some other essential oils.
[477] Externally, Rue is an active irritant to the skin, the bruised leaves blistering the hands, and causing a pustular eruption. Gerard says, "The wild Rue venometh the hands that touch it, and will also infect the face; therefore it is not to be admitted to meat, or medicine." It stimulates the monthly function in women, but must be used with caution.
The decoction and infusion are to be made from the fresh plant, or (when this plant cannot be got), the oil may be given in a dose of from one to five drops. Externally, compresses saturated with a strong decoction of the plant when applied to the chest, have been used beneficially for chronic bronchitis.
Rue is best adapted to those of phlegmatic habit, and of languid const.i.tutional energies. It is often employed in the form of tea. The _Schola Salernitana_ says about this plant:--
"Ruta viris minuit venerem, mulieribus addit Ruta facit castum, dat lumen, et ingerit astum Coctaque ruta facit de pulicibus loca tuta."
"Rue maketh chaste: and eke preserveth sight; Infuseth wit, and putteth fleas to flight."
The leaves promote the menses, being given in doses of from fifteen to twenty grains. "Pliny," says John Evelyn, "reports Rue to be of such effect for the preservation of sight that the painters of his time used to devour a great quant.i.ty of it; and the herb is still eaten by the Italians frequently mingled amongst their salads." With respect to its use in epilepsy, Julius Caesar Baricellus said: "I gave to my own children two scruples of the juice of Rue, and a small matter of gold; and, by the blessing of G.o.d, they were freed from their fits."
The essential oil of Rue may be used for the same purpose, and in like manner.
[478] Formerly this plant was thought to bestow second sight; and so sacred a regard was at one time felt for it in our islands, that the missionaries sprinkled their holy water from brushes made of the Rue; for which cause it was named "Herb of Grace."
Gerard tells us: "The garden Rue, which is better than the wild Rue for physic"s use, grows most profitably (as Dioscorides said) under a fig tree." Country people boil its leaves with treacle, thus making a conserve of them. These leaves are curative of croup in poultry.
In the early part of the present century it was customary for judges, sitting at a.s.size, to have sprigs of Rue placed on the bench of the dock, as defensive against the pestilential infection brought into court from gaol by the prisoners. The herb was supposed to afford powerful protection from contagion.
At the present time the medicinal tincture (H.) is used for the treatment of rheumatism when developed in the membranes which invest the bones. If bruised and applied, the leaves will ease the severe pain of sciatica. The expressed juice taken in small quant.i.ties is a noted remedy for nervous nightmare. A quaint old rhyme says of the plant:--
"n.o.bilis est ruta quia lumina reddit acuta."
"n.o.ble is Rue! it makes the sight of eyes both sharp and clear; With help of Rue, oh! blear-eyed man I thou shalt see far and near."
This is essentially the case when the vision has become dim through over exertion of the eyes. It was with "Euphrasy and Rue" the visual nerve of Adam was purged by Milton"s Angel.
As a preserver of chast.i.ty Ophelia was made by Shakespeare to give Rue to Hamlet"s mother, the Queen of Denmark.
[479] RUSHES.
The true Rushes (_Juncaceoe_) include the Soft Rush (_effusus_); the Hard Rush (_glaucus_); and the Common Rush (_conglomeratus_).
The Bulrush (Pool Rush) is a Sedge; the Club Rush is a Typha; and the flowering Rush, a Butomus. "Rish" was the old method of spelling the name.
A medicinal tincture is made (H.) from the fresh root of the _juncus effusus_. It will be found helpful against spinal irritability, with some crampy tightness felt in the arms and legs, together with headache and flatulent indigestion. Four or five drops should be given for a dose, with a spoonful of water, three or four times in the day.
This, the Soft Rush, is commonly used for tying the bines of hops to the poles; and, as these bines grow larger in size, the rushes wither, setting the bines free in a timely fashion. To find a green-topped Seave, or Rush, and a four-leaved Clover, is, in rural estimation, equally lucky.
The generic t.i.tle, _Juncus_, has been applied because Rushes are _in conjunction_ when planted together for making cordage.
The common Rush is found by roadsides in damp pastures, and is readily known by its long, slender, round, naked stem, containing pith, and showing about the middle of July a dense globular bead of brown flowers. Rushes of this sort were employed by our remote ancestors for strewing, when fresh and green, about the floor of the hall after discontinuing its big fire at Eastertide. Shakespeare says in _Romeo and Juliet:_--
"Wantons, light of heart, Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels."
[480] In obedience to a bequest (1494); Rushes are still strewn about the pavement of Redcliff Church at Bristol every Whit-Sunday. The common phrase, "not worth a Rush," took its origin from this general practice. Distinguished guests were honoured in mediaeval times with clean fresh Rushes; but those of inferior rank had either the Rushes left by their superiors, or none at all.
The sweet-scented "Flag," or Rush (_Acorus calamus_), was always used by preference where it could be procured. It is a native of this country, growing on watery banks, and very plentiful in the river"s of Norfolk, from whence the London market is supplied. The roots have a warm, bitter taste, and the essential oil is highly aromatic, this being used for preparing aromatic vinegar. In Norfolk the powdered dry rhizome is given for ague. With sugar it makes an agreeable cordial conserve. (See _Flag (Sweet)_, _page_ 201 ). For preserving the aromatic qualities within the dried rhizome; or root, it should be kept in stock unpeeled. This contains "oleum calami," and the bitter principle "acorin." Some of the root may be habitually chewed for the relief of chronic indigestion. The odorous delights of a pastoral time pa.s.sed near these sweetly-fragrant plants have been happily alluded to in the well-known lines of idyllic verse:--
"Green grow the Rushes, oh!
Green grow the Rushes, oh!
The sweetest hours that e"er I spent Were spent among the la.s.ses, oh!"
"Virent junci fluviales, Junci prope lymphas: Ah! quain ridet quoe me videt Hora inter Nymphas!"
[481] The old saying, "As fit as Tib"s Rush for Tom"s fore-finger,"
alludes to an ancient custom of making spurious marriages with a ring constructed from a Rush. Tom and Tib were vulgar epithets applied in Shakespeare"s time to the rogue, and the wanton.
The Bulrush (_Scirpus lacustris_) is a tall, aquatic plant, which belongs to the Sedge tribe. It name was formerly spelt "Pole Rush,"
and was given because this grows in pools of water, and not like other Rushes, in mire. Bottoms of chairs are frequently made with its stems. Its seed is prepared medicinally, being astringent and somewhat sedative; "So soporiferous," says Gerard, "that care must be had in the administration thereof, lest in provoking sleep you induce a drowsiness, or dead sleep." Street hawkers, in Autumn, offer as Bulrushes the tall, round spikes of the Great Reed Mace, which is not a true Rush. Artists are responsible in the first instance for the mistake--notably Paul De la Roche, in his famous picture of "The Finding of Moses." The future great leader of the Israelites is there depicted in an ark amid a forest of Great Cat"s-tail Reeds.
The flowering Rush, or water gladiole, which grows by the banks of rivers is called botanically "butomus," from the Greek, _bous_, an ox, and _temno_, to cut, because the sharp edges of the erect three-cornered leaf-blades wound the cattle which come in contact with them, or try to eat them. Its root is highly esteemed in Russia for the cure of hydrophobia, being regarded by the doctors as a specific for that disease. Its flowers are large, and of a splendid rose colour. The seeds promote the monthly flow in women, act on disordered kidneys, prove astringent against fluxes, and serve to woo sleep in nervous wakefulness. Gerard tells that "the seed [482] of Rushes drieth the overmuch flowing of women"s termes."
The Reed Mace, or Cat"s-tail, is often incorrectly called Bulrush, though it is a typha (_tuphos_, marsh) plant.
The Bog Asphodel (_Narthecium ossifragum_) grows in bogs, and bears a spike of yellow, star-like flowers. Its second nominative was given to signify its causing the bones of cattle which feed thereon to become soft; but probably this morbid state is incurred rather through the exhalations arising from the bogs where the cattle are pastured. To the same plant has been given also the name "Mayden heere," because young damsels formerly used it for making their hair yellow.
The Great Cat"s-tail (_Typha pal.u.s.tris_), or Great Reed Mace, a perennial reed common in Great Britain, affords by the tender white part of its stalks when peeled near the root, a crisp, cooling, pleasant article of food. This is eaten raw with avidity by the Cossacks. Aristophanes makes mention of the Mace in his comedy of frogs who were glad to have spent their day skipping about _inter Cyperum et Phleum_, among Galingale and Cat"s-tail. Sacred pictures which represent our Saviour wearing the crown of thorns, place this reed in His hands as given Him in mockery for a kingly Mace. The same _Typha_ has been further called "Dunse-down,"
from making persons "dunch," or deaf, if its soft spikes accidentally run into the ears. "_Ejus enim paniculoe flos si aures intraverit, exsurdat_." It is reasonable to suppose that, on the principle of similars, a preparation of this plant, if applied topically within the ear, as well as taken medicinally, will be curative of a like deafness.
Most probably the injury to the hearing caused by the spikes at first is toxic as well as of the nature of an injury. The Poet Laureate sings of "Sleepy breath made sweet [483] with Galingale" (_Cyperus longus_). Other names again are, "Chimney-sweeper"s brush"; "Blackheads" until ripe, then "Whiteheads"; and "Water torch,"
because its panicles, if soaked in oil, will burn like a torch.