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CHAP. 61.—THE HERB SAVIN: SEVEN REMEDIES.

Of the herb savin, known as "brathy" by the Greeks,1 there are two varieties, one of them2 with a leaf like that of the tamarix, the other3 with that of the cypress; for which reason some persons have called this last the Cretan cypress. It is used by many for fumigations, as a substitute for frankin- cense;4 employed in medicine, it is said to have the same effect as cinnamon, if taken in doses twice as large. It reduces gatherings, disperses corrosive sores, acts as a detergent upon ulcers, and, used as a pessary and as a fumigation, brings away the dead fœtus.5 It is employed as a topical application for erysipelas and carbuncles, and, taken with honey in wine, is curative of jaundice.

The smoke of this plant, they say, cures the pip in all kinds of poultry.6

1 So called from the Greek βραδύ, "slow," according to some authorities; by reason of the slowness of its growth.

2 Identified by Fée with the Sabina vulgatior of Lobelius, or Juniperus Sabina, variety β, of Lamarck.

3 The Sabina baceifera of J. Bauhin, the male savin, the type of the plant.

4 See Ovid's Fasti, B. i. 1. 341, as to this custom, and Virgil's "Culex," 1. 403.

5 It is still a common notion, though Fée says an ill-founded one, that it produces abortion. Indeed we find Galen stating to the same effect.

6 Fée ridicules this notion with considerable zest.

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