Water-Cress.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 5, 4 December 1884, Page 4

Water-Cress.

« ' The Homoeopathic Wo> Id says : — Tn the vegetable kingdom there aye sevoal substances that possess tl>e double quality of food and mcc'iciae, ?.nd as such might l»e ussvully employed m tlierapeutics. Among ii\Q vegetables that possess the valuable property referred to is the Wtitei* cress. According to an analysis by jV?. Ch.it.in, Director of die Scliool of Pharmacy of Paris, and present President of the Academy ot Medicine, water -cre^s contains ; — 1. A snlpho-nitrogcKous oil; 2. A bitter extract; 8, lodine; 4. Iron ; o. Phosphates, water, and some other salts. As a medicine the watev-cress lias been vaunted fur its efficacy m all cases m which the digestive ovgaiis arc weak, m cachexi«j, m sciuvy, m scrofula, and Jymphatism; it has even been prescribed' as a cure for pbf.Lisis. Tije medicinal principles which it contains are moie or less abundant according to tire culture or maturity of the plant. Thus, when tbe plant is a flower they are m greater quantity iv tbe plant than before that condition — the essential oil increases according to the quality of the sun's rays it receives. Tbe proper culture of tbe plaiit develops m it the bitter and tonic principles, and the phosphates will be found m proportion to the manure employed. Finall'/, the quantity of iron will depend upon tbe richness of the water m winch tbe cress is planted. As food, water-cress ought to be used ill i«.s green or uncooked state, m the form of salad or without any seasoning. Where a large quantity is to be taken, (.lie juice alone of the fresh plant is recommended. This is obtained by expression m a mortar ; it is then filtered and administered m doses of thirty or foity ounces a day. Tbe juice contains all the active principles of the plant. M. Du>>ny r a pha«macien. keeps a supply of ihe juice m a concentrated form, and has obtained from the seeds of the waLcv-eress a resinous yellowish-looking su'oscance. towhich he lias given ihe Dame of * cresvine' This, however, is not yet introduced into practice, as it requires further study and experience before it can be classed among the immediate principles or other medical substances. Water-cress enters largely into the composition of the " sirop anliscorbutique " of French 4I Pharmacopoeia," which is .commonly pie^ scribed m scrofulous and scorbutic affections.