se of gravel in the kidneys,
five drops of the tincture on sugar every five minutes will
promptly relieve, as likewise when albumen is found by analysis
in the urine.

A noted modern nostrum belauds the virtues of the Barberry as
specific against bile, heartburn, and the black jaundice, this being
a remedy which was "discovered after infinite pains by one who
had studied for thirty years by candle light for the good of his
countrymen." In Gerard's time at the village of Ivor, near
Colebrooke, most of the hedges consisted solely of Barberry
bushes.

[44] The following is a good old receipt for making Barberry
jam:--Pick the fruit from the stalks, and bake it in an earthen pan;
then press it through a sieve with a wooden spoon. Having mixed equal
weights of the prepared fruit, and of powdered sugar, put these
together in pots, and cover the mixture up, setting them in a dry
place, and having sifted some powdered sugar over the top of each
pot. Among the Italians the Barberry bears the name of Holy
Thorn, because thought to have formed part of the crown of thorns
made for our Saviour.

BARLEY.

Hordeum Vulgare--common Barley--is chiefly used in Great Britain
for brewing and distilling; but, it has dietetic and medicinal
virtues which entitle it to be considered among serviceable
simples. Roman gladiators who depended for their strength and
prowess chiefly on Barley, were called Hordearii. Nevertheless,
this cereal is less nourishing than wheat, and when prepared as
food is apt to purge; therefore it is not made into bread, except
when wheat is scarce and dear, though in Scotland poor people eat
Barley bread. In India Barley meal is made into balls of dough for
the oxen and camels. Pearl Barley is prepared in Holland and
Germany by first shelling the grain, and then grinding it into round
white granules. The ancients fed their horses upon Barley, and we
fatten swine on this grain made into meal. Among the Greeks beer
was known as barley wine, which was brewed without hops, these
dating only from the fourteenth century.

A decoction of barley with gum arabic, one ounce of the gum
dissolved in a pint of the hot decoction, is a very useful drink to
soothe irritation of the bladder, [45] and of the urinary passages.
The chemical constituents of Barley are starch, gluten, albumen,
oil, and hordeic acid. From the earliest times it has been employed
to prepare drinks for the sick, especially in feverish disorders, and