This section is from the book "An Experimental History Of The Materia Medica", by William Lewis.
Lupulus Pharm. Paris. Lupulus mas & semina C. B. Lupulus salictarius Ger. Humulus Lupulus Linn. Hop: a rough plant, with very long, angular, climbing hollow stalks, and broad serrated leaves, cut generally into three or five sharp-pointed sections, and fet in pairs at the joints: on the tops grow loose scaly heads, with small fat seeds among them. It is found wild in hedges and at the bottoms of hills, in England and other parts of Europe, but commonly cultivated in large plantations. It is perennial, and ripens in August or September its leafy heads, which are cured by drying with a gentle heat on kilns made for that purpose.
Hops have a very bitter taste, less ungrateful than most of the other strong bitters, accompanied with some degree of warmth and aromatic flavour. They give out their virtue by maceration without heat, both to rectified and proof spirit; and, by warm infusion, to water: to cold water they impart little, though macerated in it for many hours. The extracts obtained both by watery and spirituous menstrua, particularly by the latter, are very elegant bal-samic bitters, and promise to be applicable to Valuable purposes in medicine; though the hop is at present scarcely regarded as a medicinal article, and scarcely otherwise used than for the preserving of malt liquors; which by the super-addition of this balsamic, aperient, diuretic bitter, become less mucilaginous, more detergent, more disposed to pass off by urine, and in general more salubrious.
 
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