Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/386

4l GAL 35 not acquainted with a better appli- cation ; but, in the latter case, the painful parts ought to be previous- ly covered with linen rags moisten- ed in lime water, before the tinc- ture is dropped upon them. GALE, the Sweet, Sweet "Willow, or Dutch Myrtle, Myrica gale, L. is an indigenous low plant, growing abundantly on bogs, in gravelly soils, and flower- ing in the month of May. — It is eaten by horses and goats, but not relished by sheep and cows. This plant was ibrmerly, by the northern nations, used as a sub- stitute for hops ; but unless it be boiled for a considerable time, it is apt to occasion the head-aeh. — Dr. Withering is of opinion, that from the catkins of this vegetable, if gathered in sufficient quantities, good candles might be manufac- tured ; as, upon boiling those parts in water, a waxy scum may be perceived to rise to the surface. — In the currying of leather, espe- cially the softer kinds, this shrub is of the greatest utility. When reduced to powder, it affords a grateful perfume in the composi- tion ot ointments ; andBecasTEiN .isserts, that it is likewise service- able for the expulsion of molhsfrom <lothes. — The Norwegians smoke the leaves mixed with tobacco, which they are supposed greatly to improve. — A decoction of the plant is used for the. destruction of bugs and other vermin. — In dye- ing, the bruised flower-buds and seeds yield a yellow colour. — Lastly, an odoriferous css< ntial oil may be distilled from this aromatic shrub. The sweet gale may be propa- gated either by seed, or, more s])« f Jilv, by the divided roots, which thrive in almost every kind GAL of soil, if it be sufficiently wa- tered. There is another species of the gale, namely, the myrica cerifera* from which the inhabitants of Loui- siana prepare myrtle candies ; it is also used for tanning calf-skins. — It may be reared in gardens by the seed, which produces numerous sprigs ; but, as the stems are apt to decay, they ought to be changed, at least once in ten years, by new root-stalks. GALL, in natural history, sig- nifies any protuberance, or tumor, produced by the punctures of h>- secls on plants and trees of various kinds : but especially the (jmrcus, or oak ; cistus, or rock-rose ; «7e- cltoma hederacea, or ground-ivy ; sa/ix, or willow ; hieraceum, or hawkweed ; salvia, or clary - } ?v- ronica, or speedwell, Sec. Insects deposit their eggs in the leaves or tender branches of plants, the juice of which exudes, and in a short time forms tumors around the punctures or holes. The ex- ternal coat of this excrescence is dried by the air, and during the winter affords a secure shelter to the inclosed insect, while the soft inner pulp furnishes it with sus- tenance till the spring approaches, when the fly perforates the shell or rind, and departs. The best of these galls are those found on oak-trees, and which are thence called oak-galls ; they are deposited by the cynips quereus gemrucB, or oak-bud cynips. — A small portion of galls infused in a weak solution of vitriol in water, imparts to it a purple or violet tint; which, after the whole of the colouring matter is extracted, becomes perfectly black. Consi- derable quantities of this drug are used in Britain, for the making of iuk,