“A daughter, ycleapt Dowsabel, A maiden fair and free, And for she was her father’s heir, Full well she was ycond the leir, Of mickle courtesy. The silk well couth she twist and twine And make the fine march-pine, And with the needle-work; And she couth help the priest to say His mattins on a holy day And sing a psalm in kirk.... The maiden in a morn betime, Went forth when May was in the prime. To get sweet setywall, The honeysuckle, the harlock, The lily and the ladysmock, To deck her summerhall.”
[Illustration: A FIELD OF ENGLISH ACONITE]
The summary of Dowsabel’s education is so delightful, that though it was irrelevant, I could not refrain from quoting it. Aconite, Wolfsbane, or Monkshood (_Aconitum Napellus_) was held in wholesome terror by the old herbalists, who described it as being most venomous and deadly. Gerarde says, “There hath beene little heretofore set downe concerning the virtues of the Aconite, but much might be said of the hurts that have come thereby.” Parkinson chiefly recommends it to “hunters of wild beastes, in which to dippe the heads of their arrows they shoote, or darts they throw at the wild beastes which killeth them that are wounded speedily”; but, he says, it may be used in outward applications. Aconite was first administered internally by Stoerck, who prescribed it for rheumatism, with good results, and it is now known to be sedative to the heart and respiratory organs, and to reduce temperature.
Other English-grown plants in the Pharmacopœia are: Anise, Artemisia maritima (Wormwood), Uvæ Ursi (Bearberries), Coriander, Caraway, Dill, Fennel, Flax (Linseed), Henbane, Wych-Hazel, Horse-Radish, Liquorice, Lavender, Mint, Mezereon, Musk, Mustard, Arnica, Pyrethrum, Rosemary, Squills, Saffron and Winter-green. In the making of Thymol, a preparation in common hospital use, _Monarda punctata_ (Bergamot), Oil of Thyme and _Carum copticus_ are used.
The following plants are not yet to be found in the Pharmacopœia, which includes those only that have been tried by very long experience, but leading physicians have prescribed these drugs with success. _Convalleria_, from Lily of the Valley; _Salix nigra_, from the Willow; _Savin_, Juniper; _Rhus_, Sumach; _Aletris_, Star-Grass; _Lycopodium_, Club-Moss; _Grindelia_; from Larkspur, Oil of _Stavesacre_; and from Broom, _Spartein_.