Rue.
Ruta
A pretty little shrub, frequent in our gardens. It grows three or four feet high. The stem is firm, upright, and woody; very tough, and covered with a whitish bark. The branches are numerous, and the young shoots are round, green, and smooth; the leaves are composed of many smaller divisions; they are of a blue green colour and fleshy substance; and each division is short, obtuse, and roundish. The flowers are yellow, not large, but very conspicuous; they have a quantity of threads in the center, and they are succeeded by tough seed-vessels.
Rue is to be used fresh gathered, and the tops of the young shoots contain its greatest virtue. They are to be given in infusion: or they may be beaten up into a conserve with three times their weight of sugar, and taken in that form. The infusion is an excellent medicine in fevers; it raises the spirits, and promotes sweat, drives any thing out, and is good against headaches, and all other nervous disorders which attend certain fevers. The conserve is good against weaknesses of the stomach, and pains in the bowels. It is pleasant, and may be taken frequently by people subject to hysteric dis orders with great advantage.
