cucumber in early spring
Might please a sated Caesar,
Rapture asparagus can bring,
And dearer still green peas are:
Oh! far and wide, where mushrooms hide,
I'll search, as wide and far too
For watercress; but all their pride
Must stoop to thee,--Tomato!"

[573] TORMENTIL.

The Tormentil (_Potentilla Tormentilla_) belongs to the tribe of
wild Roses, and is a common plant on our heaths, banks, and dry
pastures. It is closely allied to the _Potentilla_, but bears only four
petals on its flowers, which are of bright yellow. The woody roots
are medicinally useful because of their astringent properties.
Sometimes the stem is trailing, making this the _Tormentilla
Reptans_, but more commonly it ascends. The name comes from
_tormina_, which signifies such griping of the intestines as the herb
will serve to relieve, as likewise the twinges of toothache. The root
is employed both for tanning leather, and for dyeing it by the
thickened red juice. Furthermore through its astringency this root is
admirable for arresting bleedings. Vesalius considered it to be as
useful against syphilis as Guiacum, and Sarsaparilla. A decoction of
Tormentil makes a capital gargle, and will heal ulcers of the mouth
if used as a wash. If a piece of lint soaked therein be kept applied to
warts, they will wither and disappear. Chemically the herb contains
"_Tormentilla Red_," identical with that of the Horse Chestnut, also
tannic, and kinoric acids. The decoction should be made with four
drams to half-a-pint of water boiled together for ten minutes, adding
half a dram of Cinnamon stick at the end of boiling; one or two
tablespoonfuls will be the dose, or of the powdered root (dried) the
dose will be from five to thirty grains.

"_In fluxu sanguinis, fluore albo, et mictu involuntario Tormentilla
valet_." Dr. Thornton (1810) tells of a labouring botanist who learnt
the powers of this root, and by its decoction, sweetened with honey,
cured intractable agues, severe diarrhoeas, and scorbutic ulcers
(which had been turned out of hospitals as inveterate), [578] also
many fluxes. Lord William Russell heard about this, and allowed
the poor man a piece of his park in which to cultivate the herb,
"_Non est vegetabile quod in fluxionibus alvi efficacius est_." The
root is so rich in tannin that it may be used instead of oak bark.

TURNIP.

The Turnip (_Brassica Rapa_) belongs to the Cruciferous Cabbage