erysipelas; being taken inwardly, and
drunk with water, it is a comfortable medicine to a weak stomach.'
Gerarde speaks of it under the name of hindeberry, as inferior to the
blackberry. The wild raspberry, which is the stock whence we get the
garden red raspberry, grows freely in many parts of England. It is
found in Wilts, Somerset, Devonshire, and other counties, but is most
abundant in the north. Except in size, it is little inferior to the
cultivated kinds, and possesses the same colour, scent, and flavour.
This fruit, and the strawberry, are especially suitable for invalids,
as they do not engender acetous fermentation in the stomach. In
dietetic and medicinal qualities, these fruits are also much alike.
The bramble, which grows everywhere, creeping on every hedge, and
spreading on the earth in all directions, abounds in useful
properties, most parts of the plant being good for use. The berries
make very tolerable pies, and are much in request for such purposes,
and for making jam in farmhouses and cottages, where they are often
mixed with apples to correct thereby the rather faint and vapid
flavour that they possess when used by themselves. This jam, as well
as the raw fruit, is considered good for sore throats, and for
inflammation of the gums and tonsils. We are also told, that the young
green shoots, eaten as salad, will fix teeth which are loose; probably
(if it be so) it is from the astringent qualities in the juice
strengthening and hardening the gums. The leaves pounded, are said to
be a cure for the ringworm; and they are also made into tea by some of
the cottagers, which is very useful in some ailments; and the roots
boiled in honey, are said to be serviceable in dropsy. The green twigs
are used to dye silk and woollen black; and silk-worms will feed on
them, though the silk produced by those so fed is not equal to that of
those fed on the mulberry. The long trailing shoots are important to
thatchers for binding thatch, and are also used for binding
straw-mats, beehives, &c.; and even the flowers were anciently
supposed to be remedies against the most dangerous serpents. Loudon
says: 'The berries, when eaten at the moment they are ripe, are
cooling and grateful; a little before, they are coarse and
astringent; and a little after, disagreeably flavoured or putrid.' He
adds: 'Care is requisite in gathering the fruit, for one berry of the
last sort will spoil a whole pie.' Great quantities of them are
coll