Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/404

372]  that frequently torment infants, and which there is great reason to fear, have carried many helpless victims of indulgence to an untimely grave.—Parents, therefore, cannot be too watchful in this respect; and it were much to be wished, that the pernicious practice of gilding ginger-bread might be prohibited, by public authority.  GINSENG, or Panax quinquefolium, L. is an exotic plant growing wild in North America.

The dried root of ginseng, as imported into this country, has a mucilaginous, sweetish taste, similar to that of liquorice, but accompanied with some degree of bitterness, and a slight aromatic warmth, with very little odour. The Chinese ascribe extraordinary virtues to this plant, and consider it as a sovereign remedy in almost every disease to which they are subject. No proofs, however, of its wonderful efficacy have occurred in Europe. Nevertheless, it is often used as a tonic, antispasmodic and stimulant, in doses from 20 to 60 grains, in powder.—Nor do we believe that the celebrated ginseng tea possesses any peculiar properties, excepting those of a nauseous taste and loathing, while the warm water swallowed with it debilitates the stomach.  . See.  , or Gladdon. See Stinking.  GLANDERS, a disorder in horses, which manifests itself by a corrupt slimy matter running from the nose: according to the degree of malignity, or the continuance of the infection, the discharge is either white, yellow, green, or black, and sometimes tinged with blood.

The cause of the glanders is variously attributed, by some to an infection; by others, to a diseased state of the lungs, the spleen, or the brain. When the distemper has continued till the evacuated matter is of a blackish colour (which usually happens in the last period), it is conjectured to proceed from the spine: in this case, it is called the mourning of the chine.

Unless timely remedies be applied on its first appearance, the disorder becomes incurable. With a view, therefore, to prevent rather than to cure it, we shall briefly state the most likely methods of obviating the symptoms of this malady, on their first appearance.

If the lungs be the seat of the disease, as is the case when horses are first attacked with coughs, we cannot recommend a better treatment to be pursued than that pointed out, p. 82, in the article. But, if a swelling arise beneath the ears, jaws, or about the root of the tongue, proper and immediate applications should be made to procure a discharge and suppuration of the matter. When cough, difficulty of breathing, or a great degree of inflammation, accompanies such swelling, it will be adviseable to draw a little blood from a distant vein, in order to mitigate those symptoms: and, when the swellings about the parts have acquired an evident prominence, they should be fomented twice in twenty-four hours, for two or three days, with flannels dipped in the following decoction:—Let a handful of chamomile, and a similar quantity of wormwood, marsh-mallows, and elder-flowers, be boiled in three quarts of water, for fifteen minutes, at the end of which they are to be strained. The liquor is to be used hot; and the herbs