Juniper tree ("Juniperus phoenicea") is applied in dotted patterns on bisque drinking cups. Gitran makes the water more fragrant and is said to be good for the teeth. Some Indigenous peoples, such as the Dineh, have traditionally used juniper for diabetes. Native Americans have also used juniper berries as a female contraceptive. The 17th Century herbalist physician Nicholas Culpeper recommended the ripened berries for conditions such as asthma and sciatica, as well as to speed childbirth. The plant was long used as an arbortifacient and was known as 'bastard killer' in the UK. Juniper is one of the plants used in
Things Ain't What They Used to Be Things Ain't What They Used to Be "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons. In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington was a member. Because of the strike he could not air his songs on the radio. Instead, he used songs written by his son Mercer and pianist Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn's compositions of this time include "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge" and "Day Dream". Mercer wrote "Things Ain't What They Used to