Page:A Short History of Aryan Medical Science.djvu/139

VII.] off, is said to be an insecticide, and possesses several healing properties.

(cobweb) of a house-spider is a useful application for stopping haemorrhage.

(leeches) are applied for bloodletting.

(living creatures), such as Matkuna (bed-bug), is alleged to cure quartan fever if swallowed. Similarly, a fly is swallowed to cause vomiting.

(hair) of a man when burnt and reduced to ashes, is applied to sores on the skin. The burning of hair is also resorted to for driving away serpents.

(lac) is used in menorrhagia.

(the secretion that flows from an elephant's temples when in rut) has its medicinal use in exciting sexual desire. Similarly, Kasturi (musk) is used in hysterical disorders and other nervous affections.

(honey) is demulcent and laxative, and is used both internally and externally. Hindoo writers describe eight kinds of honey, viz. : — Makshika, secreted by big tawny bees, and considered to be the best, is recommended in jaundice. Bhramara is white and cures scurvy. Kshaudra is secreted by small tawny bees and is