Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Cow-parsnip

COW-PARSNIP, or Hog-weed, the Heracleum, L. a native genus of plants, producing two species.

1. The Sphondylium, or Common Cow-parsnip, which is found in hedges, meadows and pastures. It is biennial, and bears whitish flowers, which blow in the month of July: its stalks grow from three to four feet high. In Poland and Lithuania, the peasants prepare a liquor from the leaves of this plant, which, after undergoing fermentation, is brewed, and drank instead of beer. As this beverage is perfectly harmless, it might with advantage be substituted for some kinds of ale, in which the most pernicious substances are infused, with a view to give it a head.—The inhabitants of Kamtschatka peel the roots, which afford a nutritious and wholesome food. An ardent spirit is also distilled by the Russians and Poles from the medullary substance of the stalks, and sometimes from the whole branches, which are first fermented in water with the great bilberries (see vol. i. p. 255), from which they obtain a liquor of considerable strength. It is more agreeable to the palate than the ardent spirits distilled from corn; though we must observe, on the authority of Dr. Böhmer, that it is a still more intoxicating and pernicious liquor than whisky.—Hogs, rabbits, and asses, are extremely fond of the leaves, which are also eaten by cows, goats, and sheep, but not relished by horses.

2. The Angustifolium, or Narrow-leaved Cow-parsnip, which is found in woods, and flowers in July. It has no peculiar properties.