The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 5 (of 6)

Chapter 607: CHAP. 40.—REMEDIES FOR BROKEN BONES.

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This volume catalogs remedies derived from forest trees and wild plants, presenting systematic entries for dozens of species with prescribed treatments and applications. It enumerates specific uses for resins, barks, leaves, berries, and sap, and gives instructions on preparation, dosage, and testing of potency. The text also records variations among species, regional observations on growth and harvesting, and anecdotes on how certain plants were discovered or associated with animals and human practices. Overall it functions as a practical herbal compendium combining botanical description with medicinal recipes and empirical notes.

CHAP. 40.—REMEDIES FOR BROKEN BONES.

For fractures of the joints, ashes of sheep’s thigh-bones are particularly useful, applied in combination with wax; and the remedy is all the more efficacious, if a sheep’s jaw-bones are burnt with the other ingredients, together with a deer’s antler, and some wax dissolved in oil of roses. For broken bones, a dog’s brains are used, spread upon a linen cloth, with wool laid upon the surface and moistened every now and then. The fractured bone will mostly unite in the course of fourteen days; and a cure equally expeditious may be effected by using the ashes of burnt field-mice, with honey, or of burnt earthworms; a substance which is extremely useful for the extraction of splintered bones.