Her War

Interpreting Women's Lives during the American Civil War

Herbs W

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Wormwood
It is cultivated for the tops or extremities of the branches.  Its properties are tonic, diuretic, and it is a vermifuge.  The dried leaves steeped in vinegar are a very useful application to fresh bruises, for which it is well worth cultivating.  It is also usefully employed in antiseptic fomentations.

[Thomas Stuart McFarland, a farmer near Belgrade, Newton County, in southeast Texas, reported that he had wormwood in his garden as April 16, 1840.]