CHAP. 5.—GALL-NUTS: TWENTY-THREE REMEDIES.
And no fewer are the varieties of the gall-nut which we have described:31 we have, for instance, the full-bodied gall-nut, the perforated one, the white, the black, the large, the small, all of them possessed of similar properties; that, however, of Commagene is generally preferred. These substances remove fleshy excrescences on the body, and are serviceable for affections of the gums and uvula,32 and for ulcerations of the mouth. Burnt, and then quenched in wine, they are applied topically in cases of cœliac affections and dysentery, and with honey, to whitlows, hangnails, malformed nails, running ulcers, condylomatous swellings, and ulcerations of the nature known as phagedænic.33 A decoction of them in wine is used as an injection for the ears, and as a liniment for the eyes, and in combination with vinegar they are employed for eruptions and tumours.
The inner part of the gall, chewed, allays tooth-ache, and is good for excoriations between the thighs, and for burns. Taken unripe in vinegar, they reduce the volume of the spleen; and, burnt and then quenched in salt and vinegar, they are used as a fomentation for excessive menstruation and procidence of the uterus. All varieties of the gall-nut stain the hair black.