cinerea), if procured in a prescribed manner and tied on the head, is said to cure intermittent fever, though as an ordinary medicine, when administered internally, it is an alterative and a bitter tonic, and its juice when applied externally is supposed to cure leprosy and chronic skin-diseases. It is under this belief that persons acquainted with the Prabhava, or efficacy of certain objects, as fruits or stones, wear them on their bodies as prophylactics against certain diseases. The ascetics of India, who prefer to be aloof from society and pass their time in the solitude of the jungles, are said to be familiar with the wonderful properties of rare drugs, which go not only to keep their bodies and souls together, but to prolong their lives to a considerable extent. Their knowledge of the Prabhava of the different herbs, combined with the practice of regulating their breathing, is supposed to give them a longevity quite beyond our comprehension. This knowledge is handed down from teacher to pupil, and forms no small volume of the unwritten and traditional lore on the subject of the nature and properties of the Indian curative agents.
The Materia Medica of India is acknowledged
