_ar_,
near, _mor_, the sea.

Our English vernacular styles the plant "a coarse root," or a "Horse
radish," as distinguished from the eatable radish (root), the
_Raphanus sativus_. Formerly it was named Mountain Radish, and
Great Raifort. This is said to be one of the five bitter herbs ordered
to be eaten by the Jews during the Feast of the Passover, the other
four being Coriander, Horehound, Lettuce, and Nettle.

Not a few fatal cases have occurred of persons being poisoned by
taking Aconite root in mistake for a stick of Horse radish, and eating
it when scraped. But the two roots differ materially in shape, colour,
and taste, so as to be easily discriminated: furthermore the leaves of
the Aconite--supposing them to be attached to the root--are not to be
mistaken for those of any other plant, being completely divided to
their base into five wedge-shaped lobes, which are again sub-divided
into three. Squire says it seems incredible that the Aconite
Root should be mistaken for Horse Radish unless we remember that
country folk are in the habit of putting back again into the ground
Horse Radish which has been scraped, until there remain only the
crown and a remnant of the root vanishing to a point, these bearing
resemblance to the tap root of Aconite.

The fresh root of the Horse radish is a powerful stimulant by reason
of its ardent and pungent volatile principle, whether it be taken as a
medicament, or be applied externally to any part of the body. When
scraped it exhales a nose-provoking odour, and possesses [271] a
hot biting taste, combined with a certain sweetness: but on exposure
to the air it quickly turns colour, and loses its volatile strength;
likewise, it becomes vapid, and inert by being boiled. The root is
expectorant, antiscorbutic, and, if taken at all freely, emetic. It
contains a somewhat large proportion of sulphur, as shown by the
black colour assumed by metals with which it comes into touch.
Hence it promises to be of signal use for relieving chronic
rheumatism, and for remedying scurvy.

Taken in sauce with oily fish or rich fatty viands, scraped Horse
radish acts as a corrective spur to complete digestion, and at the
same time it will benefit a relaxed sore throat, by contact during the
swallowing. In facial neuralgia scraped Horse radish applied as a
poultice, proves usefully beneficial: and for the same purpose some
of the fresh scrapings may be profitably held in the hand of the
affected sid