Family Herbal - Electric Scotland

FAMILY HERBAL. 335
Tarragon. Dracunculus.
A common plant in our It is
gardens. two
feet high. The stalk is round, upright, firm, and
green ; the leaves are very numerous, and stand
irregularly. They are longish and very narrow,
and of a deep green colour ; the flowers are
little and greenish, in form like those of wormwood :
they stand in spikes at the tops of the stalks. The
whole plant has a strong smell, somewhat like
fennel.
An infusion of the fresh tops works by urine, and
gently promotes the menses.
Tea. Thea.
A ssirub, native of the East, and cherished there
with great care. It is six or seven feet high ; the
branches are slender ; the leaves are numerous,
oblong, serrated round the edges, and sharp pointed.
The flowers are as big as orange flowers, and white ;
the fruit is
dry, and
they stand in a very small cup :
of the bigness of a nut, containing one, two, or three
cells.
All the kinds of tea -are the leaves of this shrub ;
they only differ as they are gathered in ditferent
states : thebohea tea is gathered when the leaves are
in the bud, and more heat is used in drying it.
The several soils of green are got from the young
shoots or older branches, in spring, in summer, or in
autumn, and dried with different degrees of care, ac-
cording to their value.
Good green tea, drank moderately, strengthens
the stomach, and assists
digestion ; it is good
against sicknesses, and will prevent the coiic : but
when bad tea is drank, and a great deal of it,
nothing is more pernicious. Bohea tea is more