Each plant derives its name, _lactuca_, from its milky juice; in Latin _lactis_; and in Greek, _galaktos_ (taking the genitive case). This juice, when withdrawn from the cut or incised stalks and stems of the wild Lettuce, is milky at first, and afterwards becomes brown, like opium, being then known (when dried into a kind of gum) as _lactucarium_. From three to eight grains of this gum, if taken at bedtime, will allay the wakefulness which follows over-excitement of brain. A similar _lactucarium_, got from the dried milk of the cultivated garden Lettuce, is so mild a sedative as to be suitable for restless infants; and two grains thereof may be safely given to a young child for soothing it to sleep.
The wild Lettuce is rather laxative; with which view a decoction of the leaves is sometimes taken as a drink [308] to remedy constipation, and intestinal difficulties, as also to allay feverish pains. The plant was mentioned as acting thus in an epigram by Martial (_Libr. VI., Sq_.).
"Prima tibi dabitur ventro lactuca movendo Utilis, et porris fila resecta suis."
Gerard said: "Being in some degree laxative and aperient, the cultivated Lettuce is very proper for hot bilious dispositions;" and Parkinson adds (1640): "Lettuce eaten raw or boyled, helpeth to loosen the belly, and the boyled more than the raw." It was known as the "Milk Plant" to Dioscorides and Theophrastus, and was much esteemed by the Romans to be eaten after a debauch of wine, or as a sedative for inducing sleep. But a prejudice against it was entertained for a time as _venerem enervans_, and therefore _mortuorum cibi_, "food for the dead."
Apuleius says, that when the eagle desires to fly to a great height, and to get a clear view of the extensive prospect below him, he first plucks a leaf of the wild Lettuce and touches his eyes with the juice thereof, by which means he obtains the widest perspicuity of vision.
"Dic.u.n.t aquilam quum in altum volare voluerit ut prospiciat rerum naturas lactucoe sylvaticoe folium evellere et succo ejus sibi oculos tangere, et maximam inde claritudinem accipere."
After the death of Adonis, Venus is related to have thrown herself on a bed of lettuces to a.s.suage her grief. "In lactuca occultatum a Venere Adonin--cecinit Callimachus--quod allegorice interpretatus Athenoeus illuc referendum putat quod in venerem hebetiores fiunt lactucas vescentes a.s.sidue."
The Pythagoreans called this plant "the Eunuch"; and there is a saying in Surrey, "O"er much Lettuce in [309] the garden will stop a young wife"s bearing." During the middle ages it was thought an evil spirit lurked among the Lettuces adverse to mothers, and causing grievous ills to new-born infants.
The Romans, in the reign of Domitian, had the lettuce prepared with eggs, and served with the last course at their tables, so as to stimulate their appet.i.tes afresh. Martial wonders that it had since then become customary to take it rather at the beginning of the meal:--
"Claudere quae caenas lactuca solebat avorum Dic mihi cur nostras inchoat illa dapes."
Antoninus Musa cured Caesar Augustus of hypochondriasis by means of this plant.
The most common variety of the wild Lettuce, improved by frequent cultivation, is the Cabbage Lettuce, or Roman, "which is the best to boil, stew, or put into hodge-podge." Different sorts of the Cos Lettuce follow next onwards. The _Lactuca sylvatica_ is a variety of the wild Lettuce producing similar effects. From this a medicinal tincture (H.) is prepared, and an extract from the flowering herb is given in doses of from five to fifteen grains. No attempt was made to cultivate the Lettuce in this country until the fourth year of Elizabeth"s reign.
When bleached by gardeners the lettuce becomes tender, sweet, and succulent, being easily digested, even by dyspeptic persons, as to its crisp, leafy parts, but not its hard stalk. It now contains but little nutriment of any sort, but supplies some mineral salts, especially nitre. In the stem there still lingers a small quant.i.ty of the sleep-inducing principle, "lactucarin," particularly when the plant is flowering. Galen, when sleepless from [310] advanced age and infirmities, with hard study, took decoction of the Lettuce at night; and Pope says, with reference to our garden sort:--
"If you want rest, Lettuce, and cowslip wine:--"probatum est.""
But if Lettuces are taken at supper with this view of promoting sleep, they should be had without any vinegar, which neutralises their soporific qualities. "Sleep," said Sir Thomas Brown, "is so like death that I dare not trust it without my prayers."
Some persons suppose that when artificially blanched the plant is less wholesome than if left to grow naturally in the garden, especially if its ready digestibility by those of sensitive stomachs be correctly attributed to the slightly narcotic principle. It was taken uncooked by the Hebrews with the Paschal lamb.
John Evelyn writes enthusiastically about it in his _Book of Sallets_: "So harmless is it that it may safely be eaten raw in fevers; it allays heat, bridles choler, extinguishes thirst, excites appet.i.te, kindly nourishes, and, above all, represses vapours, conciliates sleep, and mitigates pain, besides the effect it has upon the morals-- temperance and chast.i.ty."
"Galen (whose beloved sallet it was) says it breeds the most laudable blood. No marvel, then, that Lettuces were by the ancients called _sanoe_ by way of eminency, and were so highly valued by the great Augustus that, attributing to them his recovery from a dangerous sickness, it is reported he erected a statue and built an altar to this n.o.ble plant." Likewise, "Tacitus, spending almost nothing at his frugal table in other dainties, was yet so great a friend to the Lettuce that he used to say of his prodigality in its purchase, _Summi se mercari_ [311] _illas sumitus effusione_."
Probably the Lettuce of Greece was more active than our indigenous, or cultivated plant.
By way of admonition as to care in preparing the Lettuce for table, Dr. King Chambers has said (_Diet in Health and Disease_), "The consumption of Lettuce by the working man with his tea is an increasing habit worthy of all encouragement. But the said working man must be warned of the importance of washing the material of his meal. This hint is given in view of the frequent occurrence of the large round worm in the labouring population of some agricultural counties, Oxfordshire for instance, where unwashed Lettuce is largely eaten." Young Lettuces may be raised in forty-eight-hours by first steeping the seed in brandy and then sowing it in a hot-house.
The seeds of the garden Lettuce are emollient, and when rubbed up with water make a pleasant emulsion, which contains nothing of the milky, laxative bitterness furnished by the leaves and stalk. This emulsion resembles that of almonds, but is even more cooling, and therefore a better medicine in disorders arising from acrimony and irritation.
From the _Lactuca virosa_, or strong-scented wild Lettuce, a medicinal tincture (H.) is prepared, using the whole plant. On the principle of treating with this tincture, when diluted, such toxic effects as too large doses of the juice would bring about, a slow pulse, with a disposition to stupor, and sleepy weakness, are successfully met by its use. Also a medicinal extract is made by druggists from the wild Lettuce, and given in doses of from three to ten grains for the medicinal purposes which have been particularised, and to remove a dull, heavy headache.
"The garden Lettuce is good," as Pliny said, "for [312] burnings and scaldings if the leaves be laid thereon, with salt (_sic_), before the blisters do appear." "By reason," concludes Evelyn, "too, of its soporiferous quality, the Lettuce ever was, and still continues, the princ.i.p.al foundation of the universal tribe of Sallets, which cools and refreshes, besides its other properties, and therefore was held in such high esteem by the ancients, that divers of the Valerian family dignified and enn.o.bled their name with that of _Lactucinii_." It is botanically distinguished as the _Lactuca sativa_, "from the plenty of milk," says "Adam in Eden" (W. Coles), "that it hath, and _causeth_."
Lambs" Lettuce, or Corn Salad, is a distinct plant, one of the Valerian tribe, which was formerly cla.s.sed as a Lettuce, by name, _Lactuca agnina_, either because it appears about the time when lambs (_agni_) are dropped, or because it is a favourite food of lambs.
The French call this _salade de Pretre_, "monks" salad," and in reference thereto an old writer has said: "It certainly deserves a place among the _penitential_ herbs, for the stomach that admits it is apt to cry _peccavi_."
The same plant is also known by the t.i.tle of the White Pot Herb, in contrast to the _Olus atrum_, or Black Pot Herb. It grows wild in the banks of hedges and waste cornfields, and is cultivated in our kitchen gardens as a salad herb, the Milk Gra.s.s, being called botanically the _Valerianella olitoria_, and having been in request as a spring medicine among country folk in former days. By genus it is a _Fedia_, and bears diminutive white flowers resembling gla.s.s.
Gerard says: "We know the Lambs" Lettuce as _Loblollie_; and it serves in winter as a salad herb, among others none of the worst." In France it goes by the names _manche_ and _broussette_. A medicinal tincture is made (H.) from the fresh root.
[313] The black pot-herb--so called from the dark colour of its fruit--is an umbelliferous plant, (_Smyrnium olusatrum_) or Alexanders, often found in the vicinity of abbeys, and probably therefore held in former repute by the Monks. Its names are derived from _Smyrna_, myrrh, in allusion to the odour of the plant; and from _Macedonic.u.m_, or the parsley of Macedon, Alexander"s country. The herb was also known as Stanmarch. It grows on waste places by rivers near the sea, having been formerly cultivated like celery, which has now supplanted it. When boiled it is eaten with avidity by sailors returning from long voyages, who happen to land at the South Western corner of Anglesea.
LILY OF THE VALLEY.
The Lily of the Valley grows wild in many of our English woods, and possesses special curative virtues, which give it, according to modern knowledge, a just place among Herbal Simples of repute.
This is the parent flower of our graceful, sweet-scented scape of pendent, milk-white little floral bells, enshrined within two broad leafy blades of dark green, and finding general favour for the _jardiniere_, or the b.u.t.ton-hole.
Its name _Convallaria majalis_ is derived from _convallis_, "a valley," and _majalis_, "belonging to the month of May," when this Lily comes into flower.
Rustics corrupt the double t.i.tle to "Liry Confancy," and provincially the plant is known as "Wood Lily," "May Lily," and "May Blossom." Also it bears the name of Mugget, and is said to have grown up after the b.l.o.o.d.y combat of St. Leonard with the Dragon.
The French call it _Muguet_, or "little musk." The taste of the flowers is acrid and bitter; they have been [314] employed with benefit, when dried and powdered, as snuff, for headache, and giddiness arising from weakness. A tincture of the plant is made, and can be procured from any leading druggist. The active medicinal principle is "convallarin," which slows the disturbed action of a weak, irritable heart, whilst at the same time increasing its power. Happily the remedy is a perfectly safe one, and no harm has been known to occur from taking it experimentally in full and frequent doses; so that, in this respect, it is far preferable to the Fox Glove, which is apt to acc.u.mulate in the blood with poisonous results. To make the tincture of _Convallaria_, one part of the flowers is treated with eight parts of spirit of wine (proof); and the dose is from five to fifteen drops, with a tablespoonful of water, three times in the twenty-four hours.
Also an infusion may be made with boiling water poured over the whole plant-root, stems, and flowers; and this infusion may be given continuously for from five to ten days; but it should be left off for a time as soon as the irritability of the heart is subdued, and the pulse steady and stronger. If taken during an attack of palpitation and laboured breathing from a weak heart, the benefit of the infusion in tablespoonful doses is felt at once.
Ten grains of the dried flowers may be infused in six ounces of boiling water; and a tablespoonful of this be given three times a day with perfect safety, and with a most soothing effect for a weak, sensitive, palpitating heart; but it does not suit a fatty heart equally well. Nevertheless, even for insufficiency of the valves, when dangerous, or distressing symptoms of heart disease have set in, an infusion of the flowers has proved very helpful. The _rhizome_, root, exhales a pleasant odour, [315] different from that of the flowers; it tastes sweet at first but afterwards bitter.
A fluid extract is further prepared, and may be mixed in doses of from five to twenty drops with water. The Russian peasants have long employed the Lily of the Valley for certain forms of dropsy, when proceeding from a faulty heart.
In the summer, when the flowers are in bloom, two drachms, by weight, of the leaves should be steeped in a pint of water, either cold or boiling; and the whole of this may be taken, if needed, during the twenty-four hours. It will promote a free flow of urine. Culpeper commended the Lily of the Valley for weak memory, loss of speech, and apoplexy; whilst Gerard advised it for gout. In Devonshire it is thought unlucky to plant a bed of these Lilies, as the person who does so will probably die within the next twelve months.
In the _Apocrypha_, Canticles ii, I, "I am the Lily of the Valley,"
this flower is apparently brought under notice, but some other plant must be intended here, because the Lily Convally does not grow in Palestine. The word Lily is used in Oriental languages for a flower in general.
Distilled water from the flowers was formerly in great repute against nervous affections, and for many troubles of the head, insomuch that it was treasured in vessels of gold and silver. Matthiolus named it _Aqua aurea_, "golden water"; and Etmuller said of the virtues of the plant, _Quod specifice armabit impotentes maritos ad bellum veneris_.
A spirit made from the petals is excellent as an outward embrocation for rheumatism and sprains; and in some parts of Germany, a wine is prepared from the flowers mixed with raisins.
Old Gerard adopted an [316] unaccountable method for extracting these virtues of the Lilies. He ordered that, "The flowers being close stopped up in a gla.s.s vessel, should be put into an ant hill, and taken away again a month after, when ye shall find a liquor in the gla.s.s which, being outwardly applied, will help the cure of the gout."
After the blossom has fallen off a berry is formed, which a.s.sumes in the autumn a bright scarlet colour, and proves attractive to birds.
LIME TREE, Flowers of (_Tiliaceoe_).
Though not a native of Great Britain, yet, because of its common growth in our roadways and along the front of terraced houses, and in suburban avenues, the Lime Tree has become almost indigenous.
In the old _Herbals_ it is called Lyne or Line, Tillet, Till tree, and Tilia, each of these names bearing reference to the bast or inner bark of the tree, which is used in the North for cordage. Others say the name is an alteration of Telia, from _telum_, a dart, alluding to the use of the wood. Tilia is more probably derived from _ptilon_, a feather, because of the feathery appearance of the floral leaves.
Shakespeare says:--
"Now, tell me thy name, good fellow," said he, "Under the leaves of lyne."
The "n" in later writers has been changed into "m."
Its sweet-smelling and highly fragrant flowers blossom in May, and are much sought after by bees, because abounding with honied nectar. A medicinal tincture (H.) is made from them with spirit of wine; and when given in doses of from five to ten drops with water, three times in the day, it serves to relieve sick [317] bilious giddiness, with depression of spirits, and a tendency to loose bowels, with nervous headache. The sap of the Lime Tree (_Tilia Europoea_) abounds in mucilage, from which sugar can be elaborated.
A tea made from the blossoms and leaves with boiling water, is admirable for promoting perspiration. It is because of a long established reputation for giving relief in chronic epilepsy or the falling sickness, and of curing epileptiform headaches, whilst proving of indisputable usefulness in allied nervous disorders, that the flowers and leaves of the Lime or Linden Tree occupy a true place among modern medicinal Simples. Gilbert White made some Lime-blossom tea, and p.r.o.nounced it a very soft, well-flavoured, pleasant saccharine julep, much resembling the juice of liquorice.