Healing property of wool?

[M. Caecilius]

[quote]Unfortunately, if he says elsewhere what those "medicinal properties" are, I can't find them.

Columella, upon whom Pliny bases his discussion on wool according to the footnote at Perseus, suggests in VII.5 that "broken legs of cattle are not cured otherwise than those of men, being wrapped in wool, soaked in oil and wine."

It is also useful to check Celsus (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Ro.../home.html) and search for "wool" with CTRL-F. For instance, Celsus advises to use "greasy wool to which has been added oil with vinegar or wine, crushed dates, bran boiled in salt water or vinegar" to repress and mollify (II.33), for treatment of scabrous tongue and headache by wool soaked in rose oil and vinegar (III.10), and to agglutinate wounds (V.2); often, it seems to be used as a support for other medication (salves, liquids) rather than on its own: at VI.6. he treats eyes with wool or linen to spread a medication, claiming it does not really make a difference which one to use.