CHAP. 26.—TEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CAMEL.

A camel's[1] brains, dried and taken in vinegar, are a cure, they say, for epilepsy: the same, too, with the gall, taken with honey; which is a remedy also for quinzy. A camel's tail dried, it is said, is productive of diarrhœa, and ashes of burnt camel's dung, mixed with oil, make the hair curl. These ashes, applied topically, are very useful for dysentery, as also taken in drink, the proper dose being a pinch in three fingers at a time; they are curative also of epilepsy. Camel's urine it is said, is very useful to fullers, and is good for the cure of running sores. Barbarous nations, we are told, are in the habit of keeping it till it is five years old, and then taking it as a purgative, in doses of one semisextarius. The hairs of the tail, it is said, plaited and attached to the left arm, are a cure for quartan fevers.

1. Pliny has omitted the milk of the camel, which, according to Tavernier, is an excellent cure for dropsy.