laxative; but during Autumn they are
hurtful. In Italy where herb soups are in high favour, "herb knodel"
(or round balls made like a dumpling in size and consistency) of
Nettles are esteemed as nourishing and medicinal. The greater
Nettle (_Urtica dioica_), and the lesser Nettle (_Urtica urens_)
possess stinging properties in common.

A crystalline alkaloid which is fatal to frogs in a dose of one
centigramme, has been isolated from the common Stinging Nettle.
The watery extract has but little effect on mammals: but in the frog
it causes paralysis, beginning in the great nervous centres and
finally stopping the action of the heart. If planted in the
neighbourhood of beehives, the Nettle will serve to drive away
frogs.

The expressed seeds yield an oil which may be used for burning in
lamps. Nettle leaves, rubbed into wooden vessels, such as tubs, &c.,
will prevent their leaking. The juice of the leaves coagulates, and
fills up the [387] interstices of the wood. When dried the leaves will
often relieve asthma and similar bronchial troubles by inhalation,
although other means have failed. Eight or ten grains should be
burnt, and the fumes inspired at bedtime.

The _Lamium album_ (white dead Nettle), a labiate plant, though
not of the stinging Nettle order, is likewise of special use for
arresting haemorrhage, as in spitting of blood, dysentery, and female
fluxes. Its name _Lamium_ is got from the Greek _laimos_, the
throat, because of the shape of its corollae. If the plant be macerated
in alcohol for a week, then cotton wool dipped in the liquid is as
efficacious for staying bleeding, when applied to the spot, as the
strongly astringent muriate of iron. Also, a tincture of the flowers is
made (H.) for internal use in similar cases. From five to ten drops of
this tincture should be given for a dose with a tablespoonful of cold
water. The Red Nettle, another _Lamium_, is also called Archangel,
because it blossoms on St. Michael's day, May 8th. If made into a
tea and sweetened with honey, it promotes perspiration, and acts on
the kidneys. The white dead Nettle is a degenerate form of this
purple herb as shown by still possessing on its petals the same
brown markings. Nevertheless, having disobeyed the laws of its growth,
it has lost its original colour, and, like the Lady of Shalott, it
is fain to complain "the curse has come upon me." Count Mattaei's
nostrum _Pettorale_ is thought to be got from the _Galeopsis_
(hemp