History.—Chicory is a native of Europe, but cultivated in this country, where it grows in grass-fields and along roadsides, bearing large, elegant blue flowers in July and August. The root is quite bitter, and imparts its virtues to water. The young leaves are used as a salad. The plant is extensively cultivated for its root, which is used as a substitute for coffee, or for adulterating it; it is dried, roasted, and ground.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—Tonic, diuretic, and laxative. The decoction, used freely, is said to have proved efficient in jaundice, engorgement of the liver, and other chronic visceral diseases, as well as in cutaneous eruptions, gout, hectic fever, etc. An ounce of the root to a pint of water forms a good decoction. It is used as an adulterant of coffee.
Related Species.—Cichorium Endivia, Linné. Garden endive, a native of the Mediterranean countries, is said, by some French physicians, to be a remedy for jaundice. It is also cultivated and eaten as a salad.
History is transcribed to the end of its fourth sentence; the rest describes chemical tests that tell chicory from coffee.