The agrifolia,281 pounded, with the addition of salt, is good for diseases of the joints, and the berries are used in cases of excessive menstruation, cœliac affections, dysentery, and cholera; taken in wine, they act astringently upon the bowels. A decoction of the root, applied externally, extracts foreign bodies from the flesh, and is remarkably useful for sprains and tumours.

The tree called “aquifolia,” planted282 in a town or country-house is a preservative against sorceries and spells. The blossom of it, according to Pythagoras, congeals283 water, and a staff284 made of the wood, if, when thrown at any animal, from want of strength in the party throwing it, it falls short of the mark will roll back again285 towards the thrower, of its own accord—so remarkable are the properties of this tree. The smoke of the yew kills286 rats and mice.