1 Nor hill, nor vale, as far as ship could go,
2 Nor margin of the gravel-bottomed brook,
3 Escaped thy rifling hand ; from stubborn shrubs
4 Thou wrung’st their shy retiring virtues out,
5 And vexed them in the fire: nor fly, nor insect,
6 Nor writhy snake, escaped thy deep research.
7 Abelmoschus moschatus (Hibiscus) — is indigenous in
8 Hindostan; nevertheless, I could not procure the seeds in Lahore,
9 and had to order them from Calcutta. In Arabia they are
10 used for giving a perfume to Coffee. The Hakims attribute
11 cordial properties to them.
12 Abelmosch. moschat. sent. (I.)
13 Abrus precatorius — is a plant growing in the botanical
14 gardens of India, still better on the hills; it is therefore supposed
15 that it would vegetate in Europe in the open air. Its seeds, en-
16 closed in a pericarp, are of the size of small peas, exceedingly
17 hard, glossy, and of two colors, red and white, differing also in
18 quality; both are considered as stimulants. The Hakims rank
19 the white ones, which are the stronger, with arsenic ; and the
20 Midwives of the Punjab use them in combination with other
21 drugs to effect abortion, for which purpose they introduce them
22 into the womb as a suppository. The others, of a bright-scarlet
23 color with a black spot, formerly employed for necklaces and
24 rosaries, are said to be eaten like the seeds of other leguminous
25 plants, in Egypt. Linnaeus describes them as poisonous (probably
26 he means the white ones) and Gmelin, on the authority of Sloane,