The compleat herbal of physical plants containing all such English and foreign herbs, shrubs and trees as are used in physick and surgery ... : the doses or quantities of such as are prescribed by the London-physicians and others are proportioned : also directions for making compound-waters, syrups simple and compound, electuaries ... : moreover the gums, balsams, oyls, juices, and the like, which are sold by apothecaries and druggists are added to this herbal, and their irtues and uses are fully described / by John Pechey ...

Myrrh, in Latin Myr∣rha.

The best Myrrh is

the cleanest, which is rough, light, and breaks easily; smells sweet, tastes bitter and hot. It heats, disposes to Rest, and is good in cold Diseases of the Head. It conglutinates, and dries. It provokes the Courses, and hastens Delivery. 'Tis good for an old Cough, and Dif∣ficulty of Breathing, and for Pains of the Breast and Sides, and for a Loosness, and for the Bloody-Flux. It cures an Hoarseness, be∣ing held in the Mouth, and what dissolves of it being swallow'd down. It heals Wounds of the Head, and is frequently applied to Bones when they lie naked. It was much used former∣ly to preserve dead Bodies. Some say, it is good in a Dropsie. 'Tis excellent in a Gangrene, for Swellings and Wounds, especially in the Head. The Troches of Myrrh of the London-Dispensatory are made in the following manner: Take of Myrrh three Drams, of the Flower of Lupines five Drams, of the Roots of Madder, the Leaves of Rue, Wild Mint, Dittany of Crete, Cummin-seeds, Assafoetida, Sagape∣num, and Opoponax, each two Drams; dissolve the Gums in Wine wherein Mug-wort has been boyl'd, or Juniper-berries; add the rest, and make Troches with the Juice of Mug-wort. They move the Courses with ease, in such as use to have them with pain, a Dram of them be∣ing taken in some proper Liquor. 'Tis an Ingredi∣ent in the Elixir proprieta∣tis, which is made in the following manner: Take of Myrrh, Aloes and Saf∣fron, each half an Ounce; of Spirit of Wine rectified ten Ounces, of Spirit of Sulphure by the Bell half an Ounce; first draw a Tincture from the Saffron, in the Spirit of Wine, by digesting of it six or eight Days; then add the Myrrh and Aloes grosly beaten, and the Spirit of Sulphure; digest them in a long Viol, well stop'd, for the space of a Mouth; stop the Viol close, and shake it often; pour off the black Tincture from the Faeces, let it stand quiet a Night, then pour it out, and decant it so of∣ten

as you find any Faeces at the bottom. 'Tis hot and dry, Stomachick and Anodine, Uterine and Ale∣xipharmick. Two Drams of it will purge. It cures Tertian Agues, and is an Universal Medicine, fit for all Ages, for Men, Women and Children. It alters, evacuates, and strengthens, when you do not design Purging. The Dose is, six or twelve Drops, in Wine or Beer. Tincture of Myrrh is made in the fol∣lowing manner: Put what quantity you please of good Myrrh powder'd into a Bolt-head, and pour upon it Spirit of Wine four Fin∣gers high; stir the Matter, and set it in Digestion in warm Sand two or three Days, or until the Spirit of Wine is loaded with the Tincture of Myrrh; then separate the Liquor by In∣clination, and keep it in a Viol well stop'd. It may be used to hasten Delivery, and to bring down the Courses; also for a Palsie, Apoplexy, Lethargy, and for all Diseases that pro∣ceed from Corruption of Humours. 'Tis Sudorifick, and Aperitive. The Dose is, from six Drops to fif∣teen, in some proper Li∣quor. 'Tis commonly used in outward Applications, or mix'd with Tincture of A∣loes, to dissolve cold Tu∣mors, for Injections, and a Gangreen. Tho' Tinctures of Myrrh are daily drawn in Wine, yet the best that can be prepar'd is with Spi∣rit of Wine, because this Menstruum receives the more Oyly or Balsamick Part of the Myrrh. Some use to evaporate this Tin∣cture to the Consistence of an Extract, but then they lose the more Volatile Part of the Myrrh; wherefore 'tis better to use the Tin∣cture, as above describ'd. Oyl of Myrrh, per deli∣quium, is made in the fol∣lowing manner: Boyl Eggs until they be hard, then cutting them in two, sepa∣rate the Yolks, and fill the White with Myrrh pow∣der'd; set them on little Sticks plac'd conveniently on purpose, in a Plate, or Earthen Pan, in a Cellar, or some such moist place, and there will distil a Li∣quor to the bottom of the

Vessel; put it out, and keep it for use: This is call'd Oyl of Myrrh. 'Tis good to take away Spots and Blemishes in the Face, applied outwardly. Myrrh is a Gummy Juice, that di∣stils from a Thorny Tree, of a middle heighth, by In∣cisions that are made into it. This Tree grows common∣ly in Ethiopia and Arabia. The Ancients were wont to collect from the same Tree a Liquor that fell from it without Incision, which is called Stacten: 'Tis a li∣quid Gum, and, it is pro∣bable, has more Virtue than common Myrrh, because it is the more spirituous part which filtrates through the Pores of the Bark.