Rice.
Oryza.
A very common plant in the East, sown in the fields for the sake of the seed or grain, it grows four feet high; the stalk is round, hollow, and jointed; the leaves are long and grassy, and of a pale green colour, but they are broader than those of any of our kinds of corn. The flowers are inconsiderable; the seeds or grains are contained in bushes of a brown colour, each having a long beard to it, usually curled at the bottom, and divided at the top into two parts.
We eat rice as a food rather than medicine; but it is excellent for those who have habitual purgings or loosenesses; it is to be eaten any way for thispur pose, only it must be continued, and it will do more than all the medicines in the world. The ricemilk is excellent for this purpose.
