Family Herbal - Electric Scotland

FAMILY HERBAL. 287
astringent, and may be given in powder against
fluxes. They are said to work by urine, but expe-
rience does not warrant this.
Damask Rose. Rosa damasccna.
A common shrub in our gardens, very much
resembling that in our hedges last mentioned. It
grows five or six feet high,
but the stalks are not
very strong, or able to support themselves. They
are round, and beset with sharp prickles. The
leaves are each composed of two or three pairs of
smaller ones, with an odd one at the end : they are
whitish, hairy, and broad, and are indented at the
edges. The flowers are white and very beautiful,
of a pale red colour, full of leaves, and of an extremely
sweet smell ; the fruit is like the common
hip.
The flowers are used. The best way of giving
them is in a syrup thus made. Pour boiling wa-
ter upon a quantity of fresh gathered damask roses,
just enough to cover them ; let them stand four
and twenty hours, then press off the liquor, and
add to it twice the quantity of sugar ; melt this,
and the syrup is completed : it is an excellent purge
for children and there is not a better medicine
for grown people, who are subject to be costive.
A little of it taken every night will keep the body
open continually ; medicines that purge strongly,
bind afterwards. Rose water is distilled from this
kind.
White Rose. Rosa alba.
A common shrub also in our gardens. li
grows ten or twelve feet high, but is not very able
to support itself upright. The stalks are round,