Latin Texts & Translations

Many authors are of opinion that the wild cucumber is identical with the plant known among us as the "anguine," and by some persons as the "erratic" ^[Note] cucumber. Objects

sprinkled with a decoction of this plant will never be touched by mice. The same authors ^[Note] say, too, that a decoction of it in vinegar, externally applied, gives instantaneous relief in cases of gout and diseases of the joints. As a remedy, too, for lumbago, the seed of it is dried in the sun and pounded, being given in doses of twenty denarii to half a sextarius of water. Mixed with woman's milk and applied as a liniment, it is a cure for tumours which have suddenly formed.

Elaterium promotes the menstrual discharge; but if taken by females when pregnant, it is productive of abortion. It is good, also, for asthma, and, injected into the nostrils, for the jaundice. ^[Note] Rubbed upon the face in the sun, it removes freckles ^[Note] and spots upon the skin.