"Elecampane," writes William Coles, "is one of the plants
whereof England may boast as much as any, for there grows none
better in the world than in England, let apothecaries and
druggists say what they will." It is a tall, stout, downy plant,
from three to five feet high, of the Composite order, with broad
leaves, and bright, yellow flowers. Campania is the original
source of the plant (Enula campana ), which is called also Elf-
wort, and Elf-dock. Its botanical title is Helenium inula , to
commemorate Helen of Troy, from whose tears the herb was thought
to have sprung, or whose hands were full of the leaves when
Paris carried her off from Menelaus. This title has become
corrupted in some districts to Horse-heal, or Horse-hele, or
Horse-heel, through a double blunder, the word inula being
misunderstood for hinnula , a colt; and the term Hellenium being
thought to have something to do with healing, or heels; and
solely on this account the Elecampane has been employed by
farriers to cure horses of scabs and sor