Ficus.
The fleshy receptacle of Ficus Carica, Linné bearing fruit on its inner surface. (Nat. Ord. Moraceae.) Persia and Asia Minor; cultivated in all mild latitudes.
Common Name: Fig.
Action and Therapy.—External. Emollient. A roasted, boiled, or raw fig is exceedingly efficient to hasten suppuration in gum boil, boils in the nose or ears and elsewhere, and in buboes and carbuncles. The great surgeon, Billroth, employed a poultice of dried figs and milk to overcome the stench of cancerous and fetid ulcers.
Internal. Nutritive, demulcent, and aperient. Figs are frequently resorted to by individuals inclined to constipation. An elegant aperient confection is employed by the laity under the homely name of "fruitcake." It is prepared by pounding together in a mortar equal quantities of figs, dates, raisins, prunes, and senna leaves. This is wrapped in tinfoil, and sliced off and eaten according to the requirements of the individual.
