e woman to lie upon her back upon it, and if she feel
the scent thereof in her nose, it is a sign of her being fruitful.

Culpepper and others also give a great deal of credit to the following
experiment. Take a handful of barley, and steep half of it in the urine
of a man, and the other half in the urine of the woman, for the space of
twenty-four hours; then take it out, and put the man's by itself, and
the woman's by itself; set it in a flower-pot, or some other thing,
where let it dry; water the man's every morning with his own urine, and
the woman's with hers, and that which grows first is the most fruitful;
but if they grow not at all, they are both naturally barren.

_Cure_. If the barrenness proceeds from stoppage of the menstrua, let
the woman sweat, for that opens the parts; and the best way to sweat is
in a hot-house. Then let the womb be strengthened by drinking a draught
of white wine, wherein a handful of stinking arrach, first bruised, has
been boiled, for by a secret magnetic virtue, it strengthens the womb,
and by a sympathetic quality, removes any disease thereof. To which add
also a handful of vervain, which is very good to strengthen both the
womb and the head, which are commonly afflicted together by sympathy.
Having used these two or three days, if they come not down, take of
calamint, pennyroyal, thyme, betony, dittany, burnet, feverfew, mugwort,
sage, peony roots, juniper berries, half a handful of each, or as many
as can be got; let these be boiled in beer, and taken for her drink.

Take one part of gentian-root, two parts of centaury, distil them with
ale in an alembic after you have bruised the gentian-roots and infused
them well. This water is an admirable remedy to provoke the terms. But
if you have not this water in readiness, take a drachm of centaury, and
half a drachm of gentian-roots bruised, boiled in posset drink, and
drink half a drachm of it at night going to bed. Seed of wild navew
beaten to powder, and a drachm of it taken in the morning in white wine,
also is very good; but if it answers not, she must be let blood in the
legs. And be sure you administer your medicines a little before the full
of the moon, by no means in the wane of the moon; if you do, you will
find them ineffectual.

If barrenness proceed from the overflowing of the menstrua, then
strengthen the womb as you were taught before; afterwards anoint the
veins of the back with oil of roses, oil of myrtle and oil of q