rse-hele, or Horse-heel, through a double,
blunder, the word _inula_ being misunderstood for _hinnula_, a
colt; and the term _Hellenium_ being thought to have something
to do with healing, or [173] heels; and solely on this account the
Elecampane has been employed by farriers to cure horses of scabs
and sore heels. Though found wild only seldom, and as a local
production in our copses and meadows, it is cultivated in our
gardens as a medicinal and culinary herb. The name _inula_ is
only a corruption of the Greek _elenium_; and the herb is of
ancient repute, having been described by Dioscorides. An old
Latin distich thus celebrates its virtues: _Enula campana reddit
proecordia sana_--"Elecampane will the spirits sustain." "Julia
Augusta," said Pliny, "let no day pass without eating some of the
roots of _Enula_ condired, to help digestion, and cause mirth."

The _inula_ was noticed by Horace, _Satire_ viii., 51:--

"Erucos virides inulas ego primus amaras
Monstravi incoquere."

Also the _Enula campana_ has been identified with the herb Moly
(of Homer), "_apo tou moleuein_, from its mitigating pain."

Prior to the Norman Conquest, and during the Middle Ages, the
root of Elecampane was much employed in Great Britain as a
medicine; and likewise it was candied and eaten as a sweetmeat.
Some fifty years ago the candy was sold commonly in London, as
flat, round cakes, being composed largely of sugar, and coloured
with cochineal. A piece was eaten each night and morning for
asthmatical complaints, whilst it was customary when travelling
by a river to suck a bit of the root against poisonous exhalations
and bad air. The candy may be still had from our confectioners,
but now containing no more of the plant Elecampane than there is
of barley in barley sugar.

Gerard says: "The flowers of this herb are in all [174] their
bravery during June and July; the roots should be gathered in the
autumn. The plant is good for an old cough, and for such as cannot
breathe freely unless they hold their necks upright; also it is of
great value when given in a loch, which is a medicine to be licked
on. It voids out thick clammy humors, which stick in the chest and
lungs." Galen says further: "It is good for passions of the
huckle-bones, called sciatica." The root is thick and substantial,
having, when sliced, a fragrant aromatic odour.

Chemically, it contains a crystalline principle, resembling
camphor, and called "helenin"; also