The herball or Generall historie of plantes. Gathered by Iohn Gerarde of London Master in Chirurgerie very much enlarged and amended by Thomas Iohnson citizen and apothecarye of London

¶ The Temperature and Vertues.

Touching the faculties of the leaues, barke, or berries, as there is nothing found among the old, [ A] so is there nothing noted among the later writers: but Pliny seemeth to make this wilde Ash like in faculties to the common Ash; for lib. 16. cap. 13. where he writes of both the Ashes, hee saith, that the common Ash is Crispa, and the mountaine Ash Spissa: and sorthwith he addeth this: The Grecians write, that the leaues of them do kill cattell, and yet hurt not those that chew their cud; which the old writers haue noted of the Yew tree, and not of the Ash tree. Pliny was deceiued by the ncerenesse of the words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the Yew tree, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the Ash tree: so that hee hath falsly attributed that deadly facultie to the Ash tree, which doth belong to the Yew tree.

The leaues of the wilde Ash tree boiled in wine are good against the paine in the sides, and the [ B] stopping of the liuer, and asswage the bellies of those that haue the tympanie and dropsie.

Benedictus Curtius Symphoryanus is deceiued in the historie of Ornus, when he thinketh out of Vir∣gils [ C] Georgicks, that Ornus hath the floure of the Peare tree; for out of Virgils verses no such thing at

all can be gathered: for he in intreateth not of the forms of trees, but of the graffing of diuers into others, vnlike and differing in nature; as of the graffing of the Nut tree into the Strawberry tree; the Apple into the Plane tree, the Beech into the Chestnut tree; the Peare into the wilde Ash or 〈◊〉〈◊〉-beame tree, the Oke into the Elme tree: and in this respect hee writeth, that the Plane tree bringeth forth an Apple, the Beech tree a Chestnut; the wilde Ash tree bringeth forth the white floure of the Peare tree, as is most manifest out of Virgils owne words, after this manner, in the second booke of his Georgicks:

Inseritur vero ex foetu nucis Arbutas horrida, Et steriles Platani malos gessere valentes, Castaneae Fagos: Ornus incanuit albo Flore Pyri, glandémque sues fregere sub Vlmis.

The Tree-Strawb'ry on Walnuts stocke doth grow, And barren Planes faire Apples oft haue borne; Chestnuts, Beech-Mast; the Quicken tree doth shew The Peares white floure; and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 oft times th' Acorn Haue gathered vnder Elmes. —