CHAP. 44.—METHODS OF FACILITATING DELIVERY.
The cast-off slough of a snake, attached to the loins, facilitates delivery; care must be taken, however, to remove it immediately after. It is administered, too, in wine, mixed with frankincense: taken in any other form, it is productive of abortion. A staff, by the aid of which a person has parted2871 a frog from a snake, will accelerate parturition. Ashes of the troxallis,2872 applied with honey, act as an emmenagogue; the same, too, with the spider that descends as it spins its thread from aloft; it must be taken, however, in the hollow of the hand, crushed, and applied accordingly: if, on the contrary, the spider is taken while ascending, it will arrest menstruation.
The stone aëtites,2873 that is found in the eagle’s nest, preserves the fœtus against all insidious attempts at producing abortion. A vulture’s feather, placed beneath the feet of the woman, accelerates parturition. It is a well-known fact, that pregnant women must be on their guard against ravens’ eggs, for if a female in that state should happen to step over one, she will be sure to miscarry by the mouth.2874 A hawk’s dung, taken in honied wine, would appear to render females fruitful. Goose-grease, or that of the swan, acts emolliently upon indurations and abscesses of the uterus.