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tree which the Planters obseruing they presently cutt down the tree and
take out the said substance and preserue the same wth very great Esteem
being of soe soueraine a virtue besides its other vses for kindling
fire wch. it does /catches/ most Readily. the way of vsing it is thus as soon as
the patient findes himself bitten he immediately takes his flint & steel &
some of this punk which they always carry about them, and kindle it &
immediatly apply the burning punk to the place bitten (which presently
after the biting growes mortifyed & senselesse) and there keep the same
burning till they feel the fire (which they will not presently doe because
the part bitten will immediately after grow mortifyed & senselesse) and soe
continue the same as long as they will Indure which will certainly cure
them wthout any other after symptomes; which if the Remedy be not
Presently applyed are very terrible and oftimes very fatall. In confor
mation of which Last circumstance the same Person had informed him
that he knew a man that had been bitten by one of those Rattle Snakes
in his finger, whilst he was hunting a hare in the woods hauing thrust
his hand into a hollow tree where by the baying of his Dog he supposed a
hare had sheltered it self. this person being bitten immediatly found his
hand & arm mightily swollen wth. great paine and then the whole wood
seemd to him to turn round and presently after to be all in a flame
vpon which he fell down & remembred nothing further but being wthin
a short space found by some of his freinds by means of his Dog he was car
ryed home on a Ladder senselesse and by the help of a chirurgion not
farr Distante he was soe orderd that he recouerd wthout the losse
of his Life but it was three quarters of a year before he was well
and had Lost his Hair ^ /&/ Nayles and his skin peeled off wth many
other Dreadfull symptomes

mr. Hooke also mentiond, that he had been informd by mr. Hodges of
moorfeilds that he had known a man that had cured himself of the
paines and swelling of the Gout by applying vpon the place quick
Lime stones whilest they were slacking -

mr Hooke vpon occasion mentio of the growing of the spunk wthin the
body of a tree sayd that it seemd somewt to resemble the Rott in a tooth
which he had taken notice of to haue a certaine black substance wch
couerd the superficies of the hollownesse thereof which began generally
from a small hole in the outside thereof and soe spread it self
like a mushrome into the more spongy substance wthin the outward
hard crust. + to haue a head somwt. like an eel -
mr. Henshaw supposed it to be rather a worme which hauing corroded
the outward crust continued to corrode the inside also thereof, and in
confirmation hereof added that he had seen a woeman . . . fetch out
wormes /from/ of hollow teeth by the help of a sharpned quill.
other mentiond that the same thing was Done by the help of Henbane
the fumes of Henbane seeds taken into the mouth whereby the saliua fal
ling into a Bason of water held vnderneath would Discouer seuerall
small Liuing wormes supposed to Issue either from the Gumms or teeth
mr. melling produced a small worme he had found in new Riuer water about 6 inches Long of the
bignesse of a horse hair and supposed to be nothing else but a horse hair animated. It was viewd
by seuerall small single microscopes of his own making, and found to be aliue & +

Ref: CELL/RS/HF_234  © Centre for Editing Lives and Letters