The t.i.tle St. John"s Wort is given, either because the plant blossoms about St. John"s day, June 24th, or because the red-coloured sap which it furnishes was thought to resemble and signalise the blood of St. John the Baptist. Ancient writers certainly attributed a host of virtues to this plant, especially for the cure of hypochondriasis, and insanity. The red juice, or "red [288] oil," of _Hyperic.u.m_ made effective by hanging for some months in a gla.s.s vessel exposed to the sun, is esteemed as one of the most popular and curative applications in Europe for excoriations, wounds, and bruises.
The flowers also when rubbed together between the fingers yield a red juice, so that the plant has obtained the t.i.tle of _Sanguis hominis_, human blood. Furthermore, this herb is _Medicamentum in mansa intus sumptum_, "to be chewed for its curative effects."
And for making a medicinal infusion, an ounce of the herb should be used to a pint of boiling water. This may be given beneficially for chronic catarrhs of the lungs, the bowels, or the urinary pa.s.sages, Dr. Tuthill Ma.s.sy considered the St. John"s Wort, by virtue of its healing properties for injuries of the spinal cord, and its dependencies, the vulnerary "arnica" of the organic nervous system.
On the doctrine of signatures, because of its perforated leaves, and because of the blood-red juice contained in the capsules which it bears, this plant was formerly deemed a most excellent specific for healing wounds, and for stopping a flow of blood:--
"Hypericon was there--the herb of war, Pierced through with wounds, and seamed with many a scar."
For lacerated nerves, and injuries by violence to the spinal cord, a warm lotion should be employed, made with one part of the tincture to twenty parts of water, comfortably hot. A salve compounded from the flowers, and known as St. John"s Wort Salve, is still much used and valued in English villages. And in several countries the dew which has fallen on vegetation before daybreak on St. John"s morning, is gathered with great care. It is thought to protect the eyes from all harm throughout the ensuing year, and the Venetians [289]
say it renews the roots of the hair on the baldest of heads. Peasants in the Isle of Man, are wont to think that if anyone treads on the St.
John"s Wort after sunset, a fairy horse will arise from the earth, and will carry him about all night, leaving him at sunrise wherever he may chance to be.
The plant has a somewhat aromatic odour; and from the leaves and flowers, when crushed, a lemon-like scent is exhaled, whilst their taste is bitter and astringent. The flowers furnish for fabrics of silk or wool a dye of deep yellow. Those parts of the plant were alone ordered by the London _Pharmacopoeia_ to be used for supplying in chief the medicinal, oily, resinous extractive of the plant.
The juice gives a red colour to the spirit of wine with which it is mixed, and to expressed oils, being then known as the _Hyperic.u.m_ "red oil" mentioned above. The flowers contain tannin, and "_Hyperic.u.m_ red."
Moreover, this _Hyperic.u.m_ oil made from the tops is highly useful for healing bed sores, and is commended as excellent for ulcers. A medicinal tincture (H.) is prepared with spirit of wine from the entire fresh plant, collected when flowering, or in seed, and this proves of capital service for remedying injuries to the spinal cord, both by being given internally, and by its external use. It has been employed in like manner with benefit for lock-jaw. The dose of the tincture is from five to eight drops with a spoonful of water two or three times a day.
This plant may be readily distinguished from others of the Hypericaceous order by its decidedly two edged stem. Sprigs of it are stuck at the present time in Wales over every outer door on the eve of St. John"s day; [290] and in Scotland, milking is done on the herb to dispel the malignant enchantments which cause ropy milk.
Among the Christian saints St. John represents light; and the flowers of this plant were taken as a reminder of the beneficent sun.
Tutsan is a large flowered variety (_Hyperic.u.m androsoemum_) of the St. John"s Wort, named from the French _toute saine_, or "heal all," because of its many curative virtues; and is common in Devon and Cornwall. It possesses the same properties as the perforate sort, but yields a stronger and more camphoraceous odour when the flowers and the seed vessels are bruised. A tincture made from this plant, as well as that made from the perforate St. John"s Wort, has been used with success to cure melancholia, and its allied forms of insanity. The seed-capsules of the Tutsan are glossy and berry-like; the leaves retain their strong resinous odour after being dried.
Tutsan is called also provincially "Woman"s Tongue," once set g(r)owing it never stops; and by country folk in Ireland the "Rose of Sharon." Its botanical name Androsoemum, _andros aima_, man"s blood, derived from the red juice and oil, probably suggested the popular t.i.tle of Tutsan, "heal all," often corrupted to "Touchen leaf."
Gerard gives a receipt, as a great secret, for making a compound oil of _Hyperic.u.m_, "than which," he says, "I know that in the world there is no better; no, not the natural balsam itself." "The plant," he adds, "is a singular remedy for the sciatica, provided that the patient drink water for a day or two after purging." "The leaves laid upon broken shins and scabbed legs do heal them."
The whole plant is of a special value for healing [291] punctured wounds; and its leaves are diuretic. It is handsome and shrubby, growing to a height of two or three feet.
JUNIPER.
The Juniper shrub (Arkenthos of the ancients), which is widely distributed about the world, grows not uncommonly in England as a stiff evergreen conifer on heathy ground, and bears bluish purple berries. These have a sweet, juicy, and, presently, bitter, brown pulp, containing three seeds, and they do not ripen until the second year. The flowers blossom in May and June. Probably the shrub gets its name from the Celtic _jeneprus_, "rude or rough." Gerard notes that "it grows most commonly very low, like unto our ground furzes." Gum Sandarach, or Pounce, is the product of this tree.
Medicinally, the berries and the fragrant tops are employed. They contain "juniperin," sugar, resins, wax, fat, formic and acetic acids, and malates. The fresh tops have a balsamic odour, and a carminative, bitterish taste. The berries afford a yellow aromatic oil, which acts on the kidneys, and gives cordial warmth to the stomach.
Forty berries should yield an ounce of the oil. Steeped in alcohol the berries make a capital _ratafia_; they are used in several confections, as well as for flavouring gin, being put into a spirit more common than the true geneva of Holland. The French obtain from these berries the _Genievre_ (_Anglice_ "geneva"), from which we have taken our English word "gin." In France, Savoy, and Italy, the berries are largely collected, and are sometimes eaten as such, fifteen or twenty at a time, to stimulate the kidneys; or they are taken in powder for the same [292] purpose. Being fragrant of smell, they have a warm, sweet, pungent flavour, which becomes bitter on further mastication.
Our British _Pharmacopoeia_ orders a spirit of Juniper to be made for producing the like diuretic action in some forms of dropsy, so as to carry off the effused fluid by the kidneys. A teaspoonful of this spirit may be taken, well diluted with water, several times in the day. Of the essential oil the dose is from two to three drops on sugar, or with a tablespoonful of milk. These remedies are of service also in catarrh of the urinary pa.s.sages; and if applied externally to painful local swellings, whether rheumatic, or neuralgic, the bruised berries afford prompt and lasting relief.
An infusion or decoction of the Juniper wood is sometimes given for the same affections, but less usefully, because the volatile oil becomes dissipated by the boiling heat. A "rob," or insp.i.s.sated juice of the berries, is likewise often employed. Gerard said: "A decoction thereof is singular against an old cough." Gin is an ordinary malt spirit distilled a second time, with the addition of some Juniper berries. Formerly these berries were added to the malt in grinding, so that the spirit obtained therefrom was flavoured with the berries from the first, and surpa.s.sed all that could be made by any other method. At present gin is cheaply manufactured by leaving out the berries altogether, and giving the spirit a flavour by distilling it with a proportion of oil of turpentine, which resembles the Juniper berries in taste; and as this sophistication is less practised in Holland than elsewhere, it is best to order "Hollands," with water, as a drink for dropsical persons. By the use of Juniper berries Dr.
Mayern cured some patients who were deplorably ill with [293] epilepsy when all other remedies had failed. "Let the patient carry a bag of these berries about with him, and eat from ten to twenty every morning for a month or more, whilst fasting. Similarly for flatulent indigestion the berries may be most usefully given; on the first day, four berries; on the second, five; on the third, six; on the fourth, seven; and so on until twelve days, and fifteen berries are reached; after this the daily dose should be reduced by one berry until only five are taken in the day; which makes an admirable "berry-cure.""
The berries are to be well masticated, and the husks may be afterwards either rejected or swallowed.
Juniper oil, used officinally, is distilled from the full-grown, unripe, green fruit. The Laplanders almost adore the tree, and they make a decoction of its ripe berries, when dried, to be drunk as tea, or coffee; whilst the Swedish peasantry prepare from the fresh berries a fermented beverage, which they drink cold, and an extract, which they eat with their bread for breakfast as we do b.u.t.ter.
Simon Pauli a.s.sures us these berries have performed wonders in curing the stone, he having personally treated cases thus, with incredible success. Schroder knew a n.o.bleman of Germany, who freed himself from the intolerable symptoms of stone, by a constant use of these berries. Evelyn called them the "Forester"s Panacea,"
"one of the most universal remedies in the world to our crazy Forester." Astrological botanists advise to pull the berries when the sun is in Virgo.
We read in an old tract (London, 1682) on _The use of Juniper and Elder berries in our Publick Houses_: "The simple decoction of these berries, sweetened with a little sugar candy, will afford liquors so pleasant to the eye, so grateful to the palate, and so beneficial to the [294] body, that the wonder is they have not been courted and ushered into our Publick Houses, so great are the extraordinary beauty and vertues of these berries." "One ounce, well cleansed, bruised, and mashed, will be enough for almost a pint of water.
When they are boiled together the vessel must be carefully stopt, and after the boiling is over one tablespoonful of sugar candy must be put in."
From rifts which occur spontaneously in the bark of the shrubs in warm countries issues a gum resembling frankincense. This gum, as Gerard teaches, "drieth ulcers which are hollow, and filleth them with flesh if they be cast thereon." "Being mixed with oil of roses, it healeth chaps of the hands and feet." Bergius said "the lignum (wood) of Juniper is _diuretic.u.m, sudorific.u.m, mundificans_; the _bacca_ (berry), _diuretica, nutriens, diaph.o.r.etica_." In Germany the berries are added to _sauerkraut_ for flavouring it.
Virgil thought the odour exhaled by the Juniper tree noxious, and he speaks of the _Juniperis gravis umbra_:--
"Surgamus! solet esse gravis cantantibus umbra; Juniperis gravis umbra; nocent et frugibus umbrae."
_Eclog. X. v._ 75.
But it is more scientific to suppose that the growth of Juniper trees should be encouraged near dwellings, because of the balsamic and antiseptic odours which they constantly exhale. The smoke of the leaves and wood was formerly believed to drive away "all infection and corruption of the aire which bringeth the plague, and such like contagious diseases."
Sprays of Juniper are frequently strewn over floors of apartments, so as to give out when trodden down, their agreeable odour which is supposed to promote [295] sleep. Queen Elizabeth"s bedchamber was sweetened with their fumes. In the French hospitals it is customary to burn Juniper berries with Rosemary for correcting vitiated air, and to prevent infection.
On the Continent the Juniper is regarded with much veneration, because it is thought to have saved the life of the Madonna, and of the infant Jesus, whom she hid under a Juniper bush when flying into Egypt from the a.s.sa.s.sins of Herod.
Virgil alludes to the Juniper as Cedar:--
"Disce et odoratam stabulis accendere cedrum."
_Georgic_.
"But learn to burn within your sheltering rooms Sweet Juniper."
Its powerful odour is thought to defeat the keen scent of the hound; and a hunted hare when put to extremities will seek a safe retreat under cover of its branches. Elijah was sheltered from the persecutions of King Ahab by the Juniper tree; since which time it has been always regarded as an asylum, and a symbol of succour.
From the wood of the _Juniperus oxycoedrus_; an empyreumatic oil resembling liquid pitch, is obtained by dry distillation, this being named officinally, _Huile de cade_, or _Oleum cadinum_, otherwise "Juniper tar." It is found to be most useful as an external stimulant for curing psoriasis and chronic eczema of the skin. A recognised ointment is made with this and yellow wax, _Unguentum olei cadini_.
In Italy stables are popularly thought to be protected by a sprig of Juniper from demons and thunderbolts, just as we suppose the magic horseshoe to be protective to our houses and offices.
[296] KNAPWEED (The Lesser).
Black Knapweed, the _Centaurea nigra_, is a common tough-stemmed composite weed growing in our meadows and cornfields, being well known by its heads of dull purple flowers, with brown, or almost black scales of the outer floral encas.e.m.e.nt. It is popularly called Hard heads, Loggerheads, Iron heads, Horse k.n.o.b, and Bull weed.
Dr. Withering relates that a decoction made from these hard heads has afforded at least a temporary relief in cases of diabetes mellitus, "by diminishing the quant.i.ty of urine, and dispelling the sweetness."
Its chief chemical const.i.tuent _enicin_, is identical with that of the Blessed thistle, and the Blue bottle, and closely resembles that of the Dandelion. It has been found useful in strengthless indigestion, especially when this is complicated with sluggish torpor of the liver.
From half to one ounce of the herb may be boiled in eight fluid ounces of water, and a small winegla.s.sful be taken for a dose twice or three times a day. In Bucks young women make use of this Knapweed for love divination:--
"They pull the little blossom threads From out the Knotweed"s b.u.t.ton beads, And put the husk with many a smile In their white bosoms for a while; Then, if they guess aright, the swain Their love"s sweet fancies try to gain, "Tis said that ere it lies an hour "Twill blossom with a second flower."
LAVENDER.
The Lavender of our gardens, called also Lavender Spike, is a well-known sweet-smelling shrub, of the l.a.b.i.ate order. It grows wild in Spain, Piedmont, and [297] the south of France, on waysides, mountains, and in barren places. The plant was propagated by slips, or cuttings, and has been cultivated in England since about 1568.
It is produced largely for commercial purposes in Surrey, Hertfordshire, and Lincoln. The shrub is set in long rows occupying fields, and yields a profitable fragrant essential oil from the flowering tops, about one ounce of the oil from sixty terminal flowering spikes. From these tops also the popular cosmetic lavender water is distilled. They contain tannin, and a resinous camphire, which is common to most of the mints affording essential oils. If a hank of cotton is steeped in the oil of Lavender, and drained off so as to be hung dry about the neck, it will prevent bugs and other noxious insects from attacking that part. When mixed with three-fourths of spirit of turpentine, or spirit of wine, this oil makes the famous _Oleum spicoe_, formerly much celebrated for curing old sprains and stiff joints. Lavender oil is likewise of service when rubbed in externally, for stimulating paralysed limbs--preferring the sort distilled from the flowering tops to that which is obtained from the stalks. Internally, the essential oil, or a spirit of Lavender made therefrom, proves admirably restorative and tonic against faintness, palpitations of a nervous sort, weak giddiness, spasms, and colic. It is agreeable to the taste and smell, provokes appet.i.te, raises the spirits, and dispels flatulence; but the infusion of Lavender tops, if taken too freely, will cause griping, and colic. In hysteria, palsy, and similar disorders of debility, and lack of nerve power, the spirit of Lavender will act as a powerful stimulant; and fomentations with Lavender in bags, applied hot, will speedily relieve local pains. "It profiteth them much," says Gerard, "that have the palsy if they be washed with the distilled water [298] from the Lavender flowers; or are anointed with the oil made from the flowers and olive oil, in such manner as oil of roses is used." A dose of the oil is from one to four drops on sugar, or on a small piece of bread crumb, or in a spoonful or two of milk. And of the spirit, from half to one teaspoonful may be taken with two tablespoonfuls of water, hot or cold, or of milk. The spirit of Lavender is made with one part of the essential oil to forty-nine parts of spirit of wine. For preparing distilled Lavender water, the addition of a small quant.i.ty of musk does much to develop the strength of the Lavender"s odour and fragrance. The essential oil of _Lavandula latifolia_, admirably promotes the growth of the hair when weakly, or falling off.