XVI. Funeral Trees and Plants (part 1 of 3)

XVI. Funeral Trees and Plants (part 1 of 3)

The association of certain trees and plants with death and its gloomy surroundings dates from a period remote and shadowy in its antiquity. Allusions to it are found in the most ancient writings and records, and through one of these (the Sanscrit Mahâbhârata) we learn that Pitâ Mahâ, the great Creator, after having created the world, reposed under the tree Salmalî, the leaves of which the winds cannot stir. One of the Sanscrit names applied to this tree is Kantakadruma, Tree of Thorns; and on account of the great size and strength of its spines, it is stated to have been placed as a tree of punishment in the infernal regions, and to have been known as the Tree of Yama (the Hindu god of death). Yama is also spoken of as the dispenser of the ambrosia of immortality, which flows from the fruit of the celestial tree in Paradise (Ficus Indica), and which is known in India as the tree dear to Yama. As king of the spirits of the departed, Yama dwells near the tree. Hel, the Scandinavian goddess of death, has her abode among the roots of Yggdrasill, by the side of one of the fountains. Mîmir, who, according to Scandinavian mythology, gives his name to the fountain of life, is also a king of the dead. The ancients entertained the belief that, on the road traversed by the souls of the departed, there grew a certain tree, the fruit of which was the symbol of eternal life. In the Elysian Fields, where dwelt the spirits of the virtuous in the gloomy regions reigned over by Pluto, whole plains were covered with Asphodel, flowers which were placed by the Greeks and Romans on the graves of the departed as symbolic of the future life. In France, at the beginning of the Christian era, the faithful, with some mystical idea, were wont to scatter on the bottom of coffins, beneath the corpses, seeds of various plants--probably to typify life from the dead.

The belief in a future existence doubtless led to the custom of planting trees on tombs, especially the Cypress, which was regarded as typical both of life and death. The tree growing over the grave, one can easily imagine, was looked upon by the ancient races as an emblem of the soul of the departed become immortal. Evelyn remarks, on this point, that trees and perennial plants are the most natural and instructive hieroglyphics of our expected resurrection and immortality, and that they conduce to the meditation of the living, and the removal of their cogitations from the sphere of vanity and worldliness. This observant writer descants upon the predilection exhibited by the early inhabitants of the world for burial beneath trees, and points out that the venerable Deborah was interred under an Oak at Bethel, and that the bones of Saul and his three sons were buried under the Oak at Jabesh-Gilead. He tells us also that one use made by the ancients of sacred groves was to place in their nemorous shades the bodies of their dead: and that he had read of some nations whose people were wont to hang, not only malefactors, but also their departed friends, and those whom they most esteemed, upon trees, as being so much nearer to heaven, and dedicated to God; believing it far more honourable than to be buried in the earth. He adds that “the same is affirmed of other septentrional people;” and points out that Propertius seems to allude to some such custom in the following lines:--

“The gods forbid my bones in the high road Should lie, by every wand’ring vulgar trod; Thus buried lovers are to scorn expos’d, My tomb in some bye-arbor be inclos’d.”

The ancients were wont to hang their criminals either to barren trees, or to those dedicated to the infernal gods; and we find that in Maundevile’s time the practice of hanging corpses on trees existed in the Indies, or, at any rate, on an island which he describes as being called Caffolos. He gives a sketch of a tree, probably a Palm, with a man suspended from it, and remarks that “Men of that Contree, whan here Frendes ben seke, thei hangen hem upon Trees; and seyn, that it is bettre that briddes, that ben Angeles of God, eten hem, than the foul Wormes of the Erthe.”

We have, in a previous chapter, seen that among the Bengalese there still exists the practice of hanging sickly infants in baskets upon trees, and leaving them there to die. Certain of the wild tribes of India--the Puharris, for example--when burying their infants, place them in earthen pots, and strew leaves over them: these pots they deposit at the foot of trees, sometimes covering them over with brushwood. Similar burial is given to those who die of measles or small-pox: the corpse is placed at the foot of a tree, and left in the underwood or heather, covered with leaves and branches. In about a year the parents repair to the grave-tree, and there, beneath its boughs, take part in a funeral feast.

Grotius states that the Greeks and Romans believed that spirits and ghosts of men delighted to wander and appear in the sombre depths of groves devoted to the sepulture of the departed, and on this account Plato gave permission for trees to be planted over graves--as Evelyn states, “to obumbrate and refresh them.” Since then the custom of planting trees in places devoted to the burial of the dead has become universal, and the trees thus selected have in consequence come to be regarded as funereal.

As a general rule, the trees to which this funereal signification has been attached are those of a pendent or weeping character, and those which are distinguished by their dark and sombre foliage, black berries and fruits, and melancholy-looking blossoms. Others again have been planted in God’s acre on account of the symbolical meaning attached to their form or nature. Thus, whilst the Aloe, the Yew, and the Cypress are suggestive of life, from their perpetual verdure, they typify in floral symbology respectively grief, sorrow, and mourning. The Bay is an emblem of the resurrection, inasmuch as, according to Sir Thomas Browne, when to all outward appearance it is dead and withered, it will unexpectedly revive from the root, and its dry leaves resume their pristine vitality. Evergreen trees and shrubs, whose growth is like a pyramid or spire, the apex of which points heavenward, are deemed emblematic of eternity, and as such are fitly classed among funereal trees: the Arbor Vitæ and the Cypress are examples. The weeping Birch and Willow and the Australian Casuarina, with their foliage mournfully bending to the earth, fitly find their place in churchyards as personifications of woe.

The Yew-tree has been considered an emblem of mourning from a very early period. The Greeks adopted the idea from the Egyptians, the Romans from the Greeks, and the Britons from the Romans. From long habits of association, the Yew acquired a sacred character, and therefore was considered as the best and most appropriate ornament of consecrated ground. Hence in England it became the custom to plant Yews in churchyards, despite the ghastly superstition attached to these trees, that they prey upon the dead who lie beneath their sombre shade. Moreover our forefathers were particularly careful in preserving this funereal tree, whose branches it was at one time usual to carry in solemn procession to the grave, and afterwards to deposit therein under the bodies of departed friends. The custom of planting Yew trees singly in churchyards is also one of considerable antiquity. Statius, in his sixth Thebaid, calls it the solitary Yew. Leyden thus apostrophises this funeral tree:--

“Now more I love thee, melancholy Yew, Whose still green leaves in silence wave Above the peasant’s rude unhonoured grave, Which oft thou moistenest with the morning dew. To thee the sad, to thee the weary fly; They rest in peace beneath thy sacred gloom, Thou sole companion of the lonely tomb; No leaves but thine in pity o’er them sigh: Lo! now to fancy’s gaze thou seem’st to spread Thy shadowy boughs to shroud me with the dead.”

The Mountain Ash is to be found in most Welsh churchyards, where it has been planted, not as a funeral tree, but as a defence against evil spirits. In Montgomeryshire, it is customary to rest the corpse on its way to the churchyard under one of these trees of good omen.

William Cullen Bryant, the American poet, has left us a graceful description of an English churchyard:--

“Erewhile on England’s pleasant shores, our sires Left not their churchyards unadorned with shades Or blossoms; and, indulgent to the strong And natural dread of man’s last home--the grave! Its frost and silence, they disposed around, Too sadly on life’s close, the forms and hues Of vegetable beauty. Then the Yew, Green even amid the snows of Winter, told Of immortality; and gracefully The Willow, a perpetual mourner, drooped; And there the gadding Woodbine crept about; And there the ancient Ivy.”

The Walnut-tree, of which it is said that the shadow brings death, is in some countries considered a funeral tree. In India they call the Tamarisk, Yamadutika (Messenger of Yama, the Indian god of death), and the Bombax Heptaphyllum, Yamadruma, the tree of Yama.

The Elm and the Oak, although not strictly funeral trees, are connected with the grave by reason of their wood being used in the construction of coffins, at the present day, just as Cypress and Cedar wood used to be employed by the ancients.

“And well the abounding Elm may grow In field and hedge so rife; In forest, copse, and wooded park, And ’mid the city’s strife; For every hour that passes by Shall end a human life.”--Hood.

Brambles are used to bind down graves. Ivy, as an evergreen and a symbol of friendship, is planted to run over the last resting-place of those we love.

In Persia, it is the Basil-tuft that waves its fragrant blossoms over tombs and graves. In Tripoli, Roses, Myrtle, Orange, and Jasmine are planted round tombs; and a large bouquet of flowers is usually fastened at the head of the coffins of females. Upon the death of a Moorish lady of quality every place is filled with fresh flowers and burning perfumes, and at the head of the body is placed a large bouquet. The mausoleum of the royal family is filled with immense wreaths of fresh flowers, and generally tombs are dressed with festoons of choice blossoms. The Chinese plant Roses, a species of Lycoris, and the Anemone on their graves. The Indians attribute a funereal character to the fragrant flowers of the sacred Champak (Michelia Champaca).

The ancients planted the Asphodel around the tombs of the deceased, in the belief that the seeds of this plant, and those of the Mallow, afforded nourishment to the dead.

The Greeks employed the Rose to decorate the tombs of the dead, and the floral decorations were frequently renewed, under the belief that this bush was potent to protect the remains of the departed one. Anacreon alludes to this practice in one of his odes:--

“When pain afflicts and sickness grieves, Its juice the drooping heart relieves; And after death its odours shed A pleasing fragrance o’er the dead.”

The Romans, also, were so partial to the Rose, that we find, by old inscriptions at Ravenna and Milan, that codicils in the wills of the deceased directed that their tombs should be planted with the queen of flowers--a practice said to have been introduced by them into England. Camden speaks of the churchyards in his time as thickly planted with Rose-trees; Aubrey notices a custom at Ockley, in Surrey, of planting Roses on the graves of lovers; and Evelyn, who lived at Wotton Place, not far distant, mentions the same practice. In Wales, White Roses mark the graves of the young and of unmarried females; whilst Red Roses are placed over anyone distinguished for benevolence of character.

All nations at different periods seem to have delighted to deck the graves of their departed relatives with garlands of flowers--emblems at once of beauty and quick fading into death.

“With fairest flowers While summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, I’ll sweeten thy sad grave. Thou shalt not lack The flower that’s like thy face, pale Primrose; nor The azured Hare-bell, like thy veins; no, nor The leaf of Eglantine, which, not to slander, Out-sweetened not thy breath.”

Shakspeare (Cymbeline, Act IV.).

The flowers strewed over graves by the Greeks were the Amaranth, Myrtle, and Polyanthus. The practice was reprobated by the primitive Christians; but in Prudentius’s time they had adopted it, and it is expressly mentioned both by St. Ambrose and St. Jerome. The flowers so used were deemed typical of the dead: to the young were assigned the blossoms of Spring and Summer: to middle-age, aromatic herbs and branches of primeval trees.

Amaranthus was employed by the Thessalians to decorate the grave of Achilles; and Electra is represented as uttering the complaint that the tomb of her father Agamemnon had not been adorned with Myrtle:--

“With no libations, nor with Myrtle boughs, Were my dear father’s manes gratified.”

Virgil, when recounting the sorrow of Anchises at the loss of Marcellus, causes him to exclaim:--

“Full canisters of fragrant Lilies bring, Mix’d with the purple Roses of the Spring. Let me with fun’ral flowers his body strew.”

In Germany, and in the German Cantons of Switzerland, the custom of decking graves is very common. The Dianthus is a favourite flower for this purpose in Upper Germany. In the beautiful little churchyard at Schwytz, almost every grave is entirely covered with Pinks.

The cemetery of Père la Chaise, near Paris, exhibits proofs of the extent to which the custom of decking graves is preserved even by a metropolitan population and among persons of some rank. Numerous shops in the neighbourhood of this cemetery are filled with garlands of Immortelles or Everlasting Flowers, which are purchased on fête days and anniversaries, and placed on the graves. The branches of Box, or Bois béni, which are used in the place of Palms and Palm-leaves, are frequently stuck over graves in France.

“Fair flowers in sweet succession should arise Through the long, blooming year, above the grave; Spring breezes will breathe gentlier o’er the turf, And summer glance with mildest, meekest beam, To cherish piety’s dear offerings. There Rich sounds of Autumn ever shall be heard,-- Mysterious, solemn music, waked by winds To hymn the closing year! And when the touch Of sullen Winter blights the last, last gem, That bloomed around the tomb--O! there should be The polished and enduring Laurel--there The green and glittering Ivy, and all plants, All hues and forms, delicious, that adorn The brumal reign, and often waken hopes Refreshing. Let eternal verdure clothe The silent fields where rest the honoured dead, While mute affection comes, and lingers round With slow soft step, and pensive pause, and sigh, All holy.”--Carrington.

In Egypt, Basil is scattered over the tombs by the women, who repair to the sepulchres of the dead twice or thrice every week, to pray and weep over the departed. In Italy, the Periwinkle, called by the peasantry fior di morto, or Death’s flower, is used to deck their children who die in infancy. In Norway, branchlets of Juniper and Fir are used at funerals, and exhibited in houses in order to protect the inhabitants from the visitation of evil spirits. The Freemasons of America scatter sprays of Acacia (Robinia) on the coffins of brethren. In Switzerland, a funeral wreath for a young maiden is composed of Hawthorn, Myrtle, and Orange-blossom. In the South of France, chaplets of white Roses and Orange-blossom are placed in the coffins of the young.

The Greeks and Romans crowned the dead with flowers, and the mourners wore them at the funeral ceremonies. It should be mentioned that the Romans did not generally bury their dead before the time of the Antonines. The bodies of the dead were burnt, and the ashes placed in an urn.

The funeral pyre of the ancients consisted of Cypress, Yew, Fir, and other trees and shrubs. The friends of the deceased stood by during the cremation, throwing incense on the fire and libations of wine. The bones and ashes were afterwards collected, cleansed, mixed with precious ointments, and enclosed in funeral urns. Agamemnon is described by Homer in the ‘Odyssey,’ as informing Achilles how this ceremony had been performed upon him:--

“But when the flames your body had consumed, With oils and odours we your bones perfumed, And wash’d with unmixed wine.”

Virgil, in describing the self-sacrifice, by fire, of Dido, speaks thus of the necessary preparations:--

“The fatal pile they rear Within the secret court, exposed in air. The cloven Holms and Pines are heaped on high; And garlands in the hollow spaces lie. Sad Cypress, Vervain, Yew, compose the wreath, And every baleful flower denoting death.”

The repast set apart by custom for the dead consisted of Lettuces and Beans. It was customary among the ancients to offer Poppies as a propitiation to the manes of the dead. The Romans celebrated festivals in honour of the spirits of the departed, called Lemuria, where Beans were cast into the fire on the altar. The people also threw black Beans on the graves of the deceased, or burnt them, as the smell was supposed to be disagreeable to the manes. In Italy, at the present day, it is customary to eat Beans and to distribute them among the poor on the anniversary of a death.

The practice of embalming the bodies of their dead, which was universal among the ancient Egyptians, had its origin, according to Diodorus, in the desire of the wealthy to be able to contemplate, in the midst of luxurious appointments, the features of their ancestors. Several times a year the mummies were brought out of the splendid chambers where they were kept; incense was burnt over them, and sweet-scented oil was poured over their heads, and carefully wiped off by a priest called in expressly to officiate. Herodotus has given us a description of the Egyptian method of embalming:--The brains having first been extracted through the nostrils by means of a curved iron probe, the head was filled with drugs. Then, with a sharp Ethiopian stone, an incision was made in the side, through which the intestines were drawn out; and the cavity was filled with powdered Myrrh, Cassia, and other perfumes, Frankincense excepted. Thus prepared, the body was sewn up, kept in natron (sesquicarbonate of soda) for seventy days, and then swathed in fine linen, smeared with gum, and finally placed in a wooden case made in the shape of a man. This was the best and most expensive style of embalming. A cheaper mode consisted in injecting oil of Cedar into the body, without removing the intestines, whilst for the poorer classes the body was merely cleansed; subjecting it in both cases to a natron bath, which completely dried the flesh. The Jews borrowed the practice of embalming from the Egyptians; for St. Mark records that, after the death of our Saviour, Nicodemus “brought a mixture of Myrrh and Aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of Jews is to bury.”

Old English Funeral Customs.

In England, there long prevailed an old custom of carrying garlands before the bier of youthful beauty, which were afterwards strewed over her grave, In ‘Hamlet,’ the Queen, scattering flowers over the grave of Ophelia, says:--

“Sweets to the sweet. Farewell! I hoped thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid, And not have strewed thy grave.”

The practice of planting and scattering flowers over graves is noticed by Gay, who says:--

“Upon her grave the Rosemary they threw, The Daisy, Butter-flower, and Endive blue.”

Rosemary was considered as an emblem of faithful remembrance. Thus Ophelia says: “There’s Rosemary for you, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love, remember.” Probably this was the reason that the plant was carried by the followers at a funeral in former days: a custom noticed by the poet in the following lines:--

“To show their love, the neighbours far and near Follow’d with wistful look the damsel’s bier; Sprigg’d Rosemary the lads and lasses bore, While dismally the parson walked before.”

It is still customary in some parts of England to distribute Rosemary among the company at a funeral, who frequently throw sprigs of it into the grave.

Wordsworth introduces in one of his smaller poems an allusion to a practice which still prevails in the North of England:--

“The basin of Box-wood, just six months before, Had stood on the table at Timothy’s door; A coffin through Timothy’s threshold had passed, One child did it bear, and that child was his last.”

It is stated in a note that--“In several parts of the North of England, when a funeral takes place, a basin full of sprigs of Box-wood is placed at the door of the house from which the coffin is taken up; and each person who attends the funeral ordinarily takes a sprig of this Box-wood, and throws it into the grave of the deceased.” Pepys mentions a churchyard near Southampton, where, in the year 1662, the graves were all sown with Sage.

Unfortunate lovers had garlands of Yew, Willow, and Rosemary laid on their biers; thus we read in the ‘Maid’s Tragedy’:--

“Lay a garland on my hearse Of the dismal Yew; Maidens, Willow branches bear; Say that I died true. My love was false, but I was firm From my hour of birth. Upon my buried body lie Lightly gentle earth.”

It was an old English custom, at the funeral of a virgin, for a young woman to precede the coffin in the procession, carrying on her head a variegated garland of flowers and sweet herbs. Six young girls surrounded the bier, and strewed flowers along the streets to the place of burial. It was also formerly customary to carry garlands of sweet flowers at the funeral of dear friends and relatives, and not only to strew them on the coffin, but to plant them permanently on the grave. This pleasing practice, which gave the churchyard a picturesque appearance, owed its origin to the ancient belief that Paradise is planted with fragrant and beautiful flowers--a conception which is alluded to in the legend of Sir Owain, where the celestial Paradise, which is reached by the blessed after their passage through purgatory, is thus described:--

“Fair were her erbers with floures; Rose and Lili divers colours, Primros and Parvink, Mint, Feverfoy, and Eglenterre, Columbin and Mother-wer, Than ani man may bithenke It berth erbes of other maner, Than ani in erth groweth here, Though that is best of priis; Evermore thai grene springeth, For Winter no sooner it us cloyeth, And sweeter than licorice.”

In South Wales, the custom of planting and ornamenting graves is noticed by Brand in his ‘Popular Antiquities,’ as being very common. He tells us that, in Glamorgan, many churchyards have something like the splendour of a rich and various parterre. Besides this, it is usual to strew the graves with flowers and evergreens (within the church as well as out of it) at least thrice a year, on the same principle of delicate respect as the stones are whitened. No flowers or evergreens are permitted to be planted on graves but such as are sweet-scented: the Pink and Polyanthus, Sweet Williams, Gilliflowers and Carnations, Mignonette, Thyme, Hyssop, Camomile, and Rosemary make up the pious decoration of this consecrated garden. Turnesoles, Peonies, the African Marigold, the Anemone, and some other flowers, though beautiful, should never be planted on graves, because they are not sweet-scented.

The prejudice against old maids and old bachelors subsists among the Welsh in a very marked degree, so that their graves have not unfrequently been planted, by some satirical neighbours, not only with Rue, but with Thistles, Nettles, Henbane, and other noxious weeds.

In Glamorganshire, the old custom is still retained of strewing the bed whereon a corpse rests with fragrant flowers. In the South of England a chaplet of white Roses is borne before the corpse of a maiden by a young girl nearest in age and resemblance to the deceased, and afterwards hung up over her accustomed seat at church.

Plants as Death Portents.

Though scarcely to be characterised as “funereal,” there are some plants which have obtained a sinister reputation as either predicting death themselves, or being associated in some manner with fatal portents. Mannhardt tells us of a gloomy Swiss tradition, dating from the fifteenth century, which relates that the three children of a bootmaker of Basle having each in their garden a favourite tree, carefully studied the inflorescence during Lent. As the result of their close observation, the two sisters, Adelaide and Catherine, saw from the characteristics of the blossoms that they were predestined to enter a convent; whilst the boy Jean attentively watched the development of a red Rose, which predicted his entry into the Church and his subsequent martyrdom: as a matter of fact, it is said he was martyred at Prague by the Hussites.

The Greeks regarded Parsley as a funereal herb, and were fond of strewing the tombs of their dead with it: hence it came in time to be thought a plant of evil augury, and those who were on the point of death were commonly spoken of as being in need of Parsley. Something of this association of Parsley with death is still to be found in Devonshire, where a belief exists that to transplant Parsley is an offence against the guardian spirit who watches over the Parsley-beds, surely to be punished, either by misfortune or death, on the offender himself or some member of his family within a year.

In the Siebenbürgen of Saxony, the belief exists that at the moment when an infant dies in the house, Death passes like a shadow into the garden, and there plucks a flower.

In Italy, the red Rose is considered to be an emblem of an early death, and it is thought to be an evil omen if its leaves are perchance scattered on the ground. An apt illustration of this belief is found in the tragic story of poor Miss Ray, who was murdered at the Piazza entrance of Covent Garden Theatre, by a man named Hackman, on April 7th, 1779. Just prior to starting with her friend Mrs. Lewis for the theatre, a beautiful Rose fell from her bosom to the ground. She stooped to regain it, but at her touch the red leaves scattered themselves on the carpet, leaving the bare stalk in her hand. The unfortunate girl, who had been depressed in spirits before, was evidently affected by the incident, and said nervously, “I trust I am not to consider this as an evil omen!” Soon rallying, however, she cheerfully asked Mrs. Lewis to be sure and meet her after the theatre--a request the fulfilment of which was prevented by her untimely fate.

Shakspeare has recorded that the withering of the Bay was looked upon as a certain omen of death; and it is an old fancy that if a Fir-tree be struck, withered, or burnt with lightning, the owner will soon after be seized with a mortal illness.

Herrick, in his ‘Hesperides,’ alludes to the Daffodil as being under certain circumstances a death portent.

“When a Daffodill I see Hanging down her head t’wards me, Guess I may what I must be: First, I shall decline my head; Secondly, I shall be dead; Lastly, safely buried.”

In Northamptonshire, a belief exists that if an Apple-tree blooms after the fruit is ripe, it surely portends death:--

“A bloom upon the Apple-tree when the Apples are ripe, Is a sure termination to somebody’s life.”

In Devonshire, it is considered very unlucky to plant a bed of Lilies of the Valley, as the person who does this will in all probability die before twelve months have expired; and in the same county, a plentiful season for Hazel-nuts is believed to portend unusual mortality: hence the saying--

“Many Nits [Nuts], Many pits [graves].”

Sloes are also sometimes associated with this portent, as another version of the rhyme runs--

“Many Slones [Sloes], many groans, Many Nits, many pits.”

It is thought very unlucky in Sussex to use green brooms in May, and an old saying is current in the same county that--

“If you sweep the house with Broom in May, You’ll sweep the head of that house away.”

In West Sussex, there exists the strange idea that if anyone eats a Blackberry after Old Michaelmas Day (October 10th), death or disaster will alight either on the eater or his kinsfolk before the year is out.

In some parts of England a superstition exists that if in a row of Beans one should chance to come up white, instead of green, a death will occur in the family within the year.

In certain English counties there is a superstitious dread that if a drill go from one end of the field to the other without depositing any seed, some person on the farm will die either before the year is out or before the crop then sown is reaped.

There is a very ancient belief that if every vestige of the Christmas decorations is not removed from the church before Candlemas Day (February 2nd), there will be a death during the year in the family occupying the pew where perchance a leaf or a berry has been left. Herrick has alluded to this superstitious notion in his ‘Hesperides’:--

“Down with the Rosemary, and so Down with the Baies and Mistletoe: Down with the Holly, Ivy, all Wherewith ye dress the Christmas hall; That so the superstitious find Not one least branch left thar behind For look, how many leaves there be Neglected there (maids, trust to me) So many goblins you shall see.”

[Tailpiece]

Part the Second.

[Headpiece]

ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF PLANTS.

=ACACIA.=--In the deserts of Arabia the finest tree is the Acacia Seyal, which is reputed to be the Shittah tree of the Old Testament. The timber of this tree was termed Shittim, translated by some as “incorruptible wood.” In Exodus xxv. it is recorded that the Ark of the Lord was made of Shittim wood, overlaid within and without with pure gold, and having a crown of gold round about it; and in chapter xxvi. we read that the staves were made of the same wood, as were also the boards of the Tabernacle and the woodwork of the Altar on which the offerings were presented. From this same Acacia is obtained a fragrant and highly-prized gum which is employed as incense in religious ceremonials.----Tradition affirms that this Acacia--the Nabkha of the Arabians--was the tree from which was fabricated the Saviour’s crown of thorns. It has many small sharp spines, and the leaves resemble those of the Ivy with which the Roman Emperors were crowned, thus making the mockery bitterly complete.----The Buddhists make use of the wood of the Sami (Acacia Suma) to light the fire on their altars: this is done by striking it with the Asvattha, or Peepul--the act symbolising generation. This Acacia is one of the sacred trees of India, and yields an astringent or preservative substance.----The tree usually known in England by the name of Acacia is the Robinia pseudo-Acacia, or Locust-tree of America, named by Linnæus after the two Robins, herbalists to Henri IV., who introduced it into France in 1640. This tree would appear to have somewhat of a funeral character, since we find the American Freemasons make a practice of dropping twigs of it on the coffins of brethren. A sprig of Acacia is one of the emblems specially revered by Freemasons.----“It is curious,” says Mr. Reade, in ‘The Veil of Isis,’ “that Houzza, which Mahomet esteemed an idol--Houzza so honoured in the Arabian works of Ghatfan, Koreisch, Renanâh, and Salem--should be simply the Acacia. Thence was derived the word Huzza! in our language, which was probably at first a religious exclamation like the Evoke! of the Bacchantes.”----The English newspapers lately gave an account of a singular species of American Acacia, stated to be growing at Virginia, Nevada, and exhibiting all the characteristics of a sensitive plant. At the commencement of 1883 the Acacia was reported to be about eight feet high, and growing rapidly. When the sun sets, its leaves fold together and the ends of the twigs coil up like a pig-tail; and if the latter are handled, there is evident uneasiness throughout the plant. Its highest state of agitation was reached when the tree was removed from the pot in which it was matured into a larger one. To use the gardener’s expression, it went very mad. It had scarcely been planted in its new quarters before the leaves began to stand up in all directions, like the hair on the tail of an angry cat, and soon the whole plant was in a quiver. At the same time it gave out a most sickening and pungent odour, resembling that of a rattlesnake when teased. The smell so filled the house, that it was necessary to open all the doors and windows, and it was a full hour before the plant calmed down and folded its leaves in peace.

=ACANTHUS.=--The Acanthus was a favourite plant amongst both the Greeks and Romans, who employed it for decorative purposes: its leaves form the principal adornment of the Corinthian capital, which was invented by Callimachus. How the idea was suggested to the architect is told us by Vitruvius. A young Corinthian damsel fell ill and died. After her interment, her nurse gathered her trinkets and ornaments into a basket, and lest they should be injured by the weather, she covered the basket with a tile, and placed it near her young mistress’s tomb over the root of an Acanthus, the stalks and leaves of which burst forth in the Spring, and spreading themselves on the outside of the basket, were bent back again at the top by the corner of the tile. Callimachus happening to pass by, was charmed with the beauty and novelty of this accidental arrangement, and took from it the idea of the Corinthian chapter. Both Greeks and Romans made use of the Acanthus mollis in the form of garlands, with which they adorned their buildings, their furniture, and even their clothing. Theocritus speaks of a prize cup as having “a crust of soft Acanthus.” Virgil narrates that the plant formed the basis of a design embroidered on the mantle of Helen of Troy; and tells us that the handles of Alcimedon’s cup were enwreathed with what he elsewhere terms “Smiling Acanthus.”----Old English names for this plant were Brank-ursine and Bear’s-breech.----Acanthus is stated by astrologers to be under the dominion of the Moon.

=ACHYRANTHES.=--The Apamarga, an Indian variety of this plant, has given the name to the sacrificial rite called Apâmârga Homa, because at daybreak they offer a handful of flour made from the seeds of the Apamarga (Achyranthes aspera). According to a legend quoted by De Gubernatis, Indra had slain Vriitra and other demons, when he encountered the demon Namuchi and wrestled with him. Vanquished, he made peace with Namuchi on the understanding that he should never kill anything with a solid body, nor with a liquid body, neither by night nor by day. So Indra gathered a vegetable, which is neither solid nor liquid, and comes during the daybreak, when the night is past, but the day has not yet come. Then with the vegetable he attacked the monster Namuchi, who complained of this treachery. From the head of Namuchi sprang the plant Apâmârga. Indra afterwards destroyed all the monsters by means of this plant. As may be supposed after such a marvellous origin, the plant was soon looked upon as a powerful talisman. According to the Atharvaveda, it should be held in the hand, and invoked against the malady Kshetriya, and against witches, monsters, and nightmares. They call it the Victor, having in itself the strength of a thousand, destroying the effects of maledictions, and especially of those inimical to generation, which produce hunger, thirst, and poverty. It is also called the Lord of salutary plants, son of Vibhindant, having received all its power from Indra himself. The Hindus believe that the plant is a security against the bites of scorpions.

ACONITE.--See Monkshood.

=ACORUS.=--This aromatic Reed, or Sweet Flag, is absurdly said to have been called Acorus, from the Greek koré, pupil, because it was esteemed good for diseases of the eye. The sacred oil of the Jews--the “oil of holy ointment”--used to anoint the tabernacle, the ark of the testimony, the altar of burnt offerings, the altar of incense, the candlesticks, and all the sacred vessels, has the oil of Acorus as one of its ingredients. It is the “Sweet Calamus” mentioned in Exodus xxx.----The Acorus is a plant of the Moon.

=ADDER’S TONGUE.=--The Adder’s Tongue, or to give it its old Latin name, Christ’s Spear (Ophioglossum vulgatum), was formerly much prized as a remedy for wounds. Gerarde declared that boiled in olive oil it produced “a most excellent greene oyle, or rather a balsam for greene wounds comparable to oyle of St. John’s wort, if it doth not far surpasse it.” A preparation called the “green oil of charity” is still in request; and Adder’s Spear ointment (a compound of Adder’s Tongue Fern, Plantain, and sundry herbs) is well known in country places as a vulnerary. In olden times an Adder’s Tongue was reputed to be a wondrous cure for tumours, if plucked at the falling of the Moon, and applied with the accompaniment of an incantation.----Witches highly esteemed Adder’s Tongue as a plant to be employed in their spells. Astrologers class it as a herb of the Moon.

AFFADYL.--See Narcissus.

=AGNUS CASTUS.=--The “Chaste Tree” (Vitex Agnus Castus), a species of Willow, derives its name from the Greek hagnos, and Latin castus, both meaning chaste. The name was given to it, according to Pliny, from the custom of the Athenian matrons to strew their beds with it during the festival of the Thesmophora, held in honour of Ceres, when the strictest chastity was enjoined. At the same festival young girls adorned themselves with blossoms of the shrub and slept on its leaves in order to guard their innocence and purity.----Agnus Castus was consecrated to Æsculapius, and also, in the isle of Samos, to Juno. Prometheus was crowned with it. At Grecian weddings, the bride and groom carried crowns of it. It was also employed as a preservative against poisoning.----The seed of this shrub in later years acquired the name of Piper Monachorum, and in explanation it is said that, following the example of the matrons of Athens, who had discovered that the odour of branches of Agnus Castus combatted unchaste thoughts and desires, certain Christian monks made themselves girdles of the flexible boughs of the tree, by wearing which they professed to expel from their hearts all passions that love could excite.----Some of the old herbalists affirm that the seeds of Agnus Castus had a very powerful effect in arresting generation. Gerarde says “Agnus Castus is a singular medicine and remedy for such as would willingly live chaste, for it withstandeth all uncleanness or desire to the flesh, consuming and drying up the seed of generation, in what sort soever it bee taken, whether in pouder onely, or the decoction drunke, or whether the leaves be carried about the body; for which cause it was called castus, that is to say, chaste, cleane, and pure.” The leaves, burnt or strewn about, were reputed to drive away serpents; and, according to Dioscorides, a branch of the shrub, carried in the hand, would keep wayfarers from weariness.----Agnus Castus is held to be under the dominion of Mars in Capricorn.

ALBESPYNE.--See Hawthorn.

=AGRIMONY.=--The Agrimony or Egrimony (Agrimonia Eupatoria) was a herb much in vogue among the old herbalists, who attributed extraordinary virtues to it. Dioscorides prescribes it as a cure for the bitings and stingings of serpents. Gerarde says it is “good for them that have naughty livers,” and in fact it was at one time known as Liver-wort. Culpeper tells us that it will draw forth “thorns and splinters of wood, nails, or any other such thing gotten into the flesh,” and recommends it further as “a most admirable remedy for such whose lives are annoyed either by heat or cold.” Sore throat, gout, ague, colic, ear-ache, cancers, and ulcers are among the numerous complaints the herbalists professed to cure by means of syrups and salves made of Agrimony, a plant which has formed an ingredient in most of the herb teas which have been from time to time introduced.----The astrological government and virtues of Agrimony appear to the uninitiated somewhat complicated. If we may believe Culpeper, it is a herb under Jupiter and the sign Cancer, and strengthens those parts under the planet and sign, and removes diseases in them by sympathy; and those under Saturn, Mars, and Mercury by antipathy, if they happen in any part of the body governed by Jupiter, or under the signs Cancer, Sagittarius, or Pisces.----Michael Drayton, in his ‘Muse’s Elysium,’ thus refers to Agrimony, among other herbs dear to simplers:--

“Next these here Egrimony is, That helps the serpent’s biting; The blessed Betony by this, Whose cures deserving writing.

“This All-heal, and so named of right, New wounds so quickly healing; A thousand more I could recite Most worthy of revealing.”

=ALDER.=--The origin of the Alder is to be found in the following lines from Rapin’s poem on Gardens:--

“Of watery race Alders and Willows spread O’er silver brooks their melancholy shade, Which heretofore (thus tales have been believed) Were two poor men, who by their fishing lived; Till on a day when Pales’ feast was held, And all the town with pious mirth was filled, This impious pair alone her rites despised, Pursued their care, till she their crime chastised: While from the banks they gazed upon the flood, The angry goddess fixed them where they stood, Transformed to sets, and just examples made To such as slight devotion for their trade. At length, well watered by the bounteous stream, They gained a root, and spreading trees became; Yet pale their leaves, as conscious how they fell, Which croaking frogs with vile reproaches tell.”

In Germany, Alders have often a funereal and almost diabolic character. It is a popular belief that they commence to weep, to supplicate, and to shed drops of blood if there is any talk of cutting them down.----A legend of the Tyrol narrates how a boy who had climbed a tree, overlooked the ghastly doings of certain witches beneath its boughs. They tore in pieces the corpse of a woman, and threw the portions in the air. The boy caught one, and kept it by him. The witches, on counting the pieces afterwards found that one was missing, and so replaced it by a scrap of Alder-wood, when instantaneously the dead came to life again.----Of the wood of the Alder, Virgil tells us, the first boats were made:--Tunc Alnos primum fluvii sensere cavatas.----The Alder, or Aller, is said to be a tree of Venus, under the celestial signs of either Cancer or Pisces.

ALECOST.--See Costmary.

ALEHOOF, Ground-Ivy.--See Ivy.

=ALMOND.=--According to an ancient tradition mentioned by Servius, the origin of the Almond-tree is to be traced to Phyllis, a beautiful Thracian queen, who became enamoured of Demophoon, the son of Theseus and Phædra, and was wedded to him. Demophoon, who, whilst returning from the Trojan war, had been cast by a storm on the coast of Thrace soon after his marriage with the Queen, was recalled to Athens by his father’s death. He promised faithfully to return to his royal bride at the expiration of a month, but failed to do so, and Phyllis, distracted at his continued absence, after several futile visits to the sea-shore, expired of grief, and was transformed into an Almond-tree, which is called Phylla by the Greeks. Some time after this metamorphosis the truant consort returned, and upon hearing of the untimely fate of Phyllis, he ran and clasped the tree in remorseful embrace. Loving even in death, his beautiful queen seems to have acknowledged his repentance, for the Almond-tree into which she had been transformed, although at that time stripped of its leaves, suddenly shot forth and blossomed, as if eager to show how unchangeable was poor Phyllis’s love.----A second account of the origin of the Almond-tree states that it sprang from the blood of the monster Agdistis, the offspring of Jupiter. This fable further narrates that the daughter of the river Sangarius fell in love with the beautiful tree, and after gathering its fruit, gave birth to a son named Atys.----A third account relates how Io, daughter of King Midas, was forsaken by Atys, whom she loved; and how Agdistis, on the death of Atys, mutilated his body, from which sprang the bitter Almond-tree, the emblem of grief.----Virgil made the flowering of the Almond a presage of the crop of Wheat.

“With many a bud if flowering Almonds bloom, And arch their gay festoons that breathe perfume, So shall thy harvest like profusion yield, And cloudless suns mature the fertile field.”

The Hebrew word Shakad, from which the Almond derives its name, means to make haste, or to awake early, given to the tree on account of its hasty growth and early maturity. Aaron’s rod, which budded and brought forth fruit in the Tabernacle during one day, was of an Almond-tree: “It budded and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded Almonds.” (Numbers xvii., 8). Among the Hebrews, the Almond-tree was regarded as the symbol of haste and vigilance, because of the suddenness of its blossoming, which announced the Spring. The Mahommedans consider its flowers typical of hope, because they bloom on the bare branches.----Romanists assign the blossoming Almond-tree to the Madonna, as Queen of Heaven.----In Tuscany, and other countries, a branch of the Almond-tree is employed to discover hidden treasures. It is carried to the place where the treasure is supposed to be concealed, and, according to popular superstition, its point will turn towards the exact spot. In the nuptial ceremonies of the Czechs, Almonds are distributed amongst the wedding guests.----Pliny considered Almonds a most powerful remedy against inebriation, and Plutarch relates an anecdote of a notorious wine-bibber, who, by his habitual use of bitter Almonds, used to escape being intoxicated.----The Almond-tree is under Jupiter. To dream of eating Almonds portends a journey: if they taste sweet, it will be a prosperous one; if bitter, the contrary.

=ALOE.=--The Hebrews appear to have entertained a great respect for the Aloe (Ahaloth). In the Bible it is frequently referred to in commendatory terms, and its use as a perfume is of very great antiquity. King David, in the Psalms, says: “All thy garments smell of Myrrh, and Aloes, and Cassia.” Solomon, in the Canticles, mentions Aloes as one of the chief spices; and in Proverbs (vii., 17) refers to it as a scent. Aloes is one of the spices mentioned by St. John as having been brought by Nicodemus to embalm the body of our Lord.----There are two trees which yield this fragrant wood, viz., Aloexylum Agallochum, a native of the mountains of Hindostan, and Aquilaria Malaccensis, which grows in Malacca: the wood of these aromatic trees forms the principal ingredient in the scented sticks burned by the Hindus and Chinese in their temples. The heart of the Chinese Aloe, or Wood Aloes, is called Calambac, or Tambac-wood, which is reckoned in the Indies more precious than gold itself: it is used as a perfume; as a specific for persons affected with fainting fits or with the palsy; and as a setting for the most costly jewels. Both the name and the plant of the aromatic Aloe are of Indian origin, and it must not be confounded with the common Aloes, most of which have an offensive smell and a bitter taste.----In Wood’s Zoography we read: “The Mahommedans respect the Aloe as a plant of a superior nature. In Egypt, it may be said to bear some share in their religious ceremonies, since whoever returns from a pilgrimage to Mecca hangs it over his street door as a proof of his having performed that holy journey. The superstitious Egyptians believe that this plant hinders evil spirits and apparitions from entering the house, and on this account whoever walks the streets in Cairo will find it over the doors of both Christians and Jews.”----The Arabic name of the Aloe, Saber, signifies patience, and in Mecca at the end of most graves, facing the epitaph, is planted an Aloe, as an allusion to the patience required by those awaiting the arrival of the great day of resurrection. Most Eastern poets, however, speak of the Aloe as the symbol of bitterness; and the Romans seem to have been well acquainted with this qualification, judging from the allusion to it in Juvenal:--“Plus Aloes quam mellis habere.” “As bitter as Aloes” is a proverbial saying of considerable antiquity, derived doubtless from the acrid taste of the medicines obtained from the plant, and made principally from the pulp of the fleshy leaf of the Succotrine Aloe, the leaves of which have a remarkable efficacy in curing scalds and burns.----Not only, however, for its medicinal properties is the Aloe esteemed, for in some countries, particularly Mexico, the poor derive from it almost every necessary of life. The ancient manuscripts of Mexico are chiefly inscribed upon paper made from the fibres of the pité, or pith. Of the points of the leaves of the Aloe are made nails, darts, and awls, and with these last the Indians pierce holes in their ears when they propose to honour the Devil with some peculiar testimonies of their devotion.

=ALYSSUM.=--This plant was regarded by the Neapolitans as possessing magic qualities, and was suspended in their houses as a charm against the Evil Eye. Its name Alyssum is derived from the Greek a, not, and lussa, madness. In England, the plant was called Alisson and Madwort, because, as Gerarde says, it is “a present remedie for them that are bitten of a mad dog.”

=AMARANTH.=--In Spenser’s ‘Fairy Queen’ is to be found the following allusion to the mythological origin of the Amaranth:--

“And all about grew every sort of flower, To which sad lovers were transformed of yore; Fresh Hyacinthus, Phœbus’ paramour, Foolish Narciss, that likes the watery shore: Sad Amaranthus, made a flower but late, Sad Amaranthus, in whose purple gore Me seems I see Aminta’s wretched fate, To whom sweet poets’ verse hath given endless date.”

The Amaranth was a sacred plant among the Greeks and Romans: from the former it received its name, which means “never-fading,” on account of the lasting nature of its blossoms. Hence it is considered the emblem of immortality. The Amaranth was also classed among the funeral flowers. Homer describes the Thessalians as wearing crowns of Amaranth at the funeral of Achilles; and Thessalus decorated the tomb of the same hero with Amaranth-blossoms. Philostratus records the custom of adorning tombs with flowers, and Artemidorus tells us that the Greeks were accustomed to hang wreaths of Amaranth in most of the temples of their divinities: and they regarded the Amaranth as the symbol of friendship. Milton crowns with Amaranth the angelic host assembled before the Deity:--

“With solemn adorations down they cast Their crowns, inwove with Amaranth and gold-- Immortal Amaranth, a flower which once In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom, but soon for man’s offence To heaven removed, where first it grew.”

The same poet, as well as Spenser, classes the Amaranth amongst “those flowers that sad embroidery wear.”----In Sumatra, the people of the Batta country lead in times of peace a purely pastoral life, and are accustomed to play on a kind of flute crowned with garlands of Amaranth and other flowers.----At the Floral Games at Toulouse, a golden Amaranth was awarded for the best lyric composition.----In modern times, the Amaranth has given its name to an order instituted by Queen Christiana of Sweden, in the year 1633, at an entertainment given in honour of Don Antonio Pimentel, the Spanish Ambassador. On this occasion she appeared in a dress covered with diamonds, attended by a suite nobles and ladies. At the conclusion of the ball she stripped her attire of the diamonds, and distributed them among the company, at the same time presenting the new order of knighthood, consisting of a ribbon and medal, with an Amaranth in enamel, encircled with the motto Dolce nella memoria.----In Roman Catholic countries, more especially in Portugal, the species of the flower known as the Globe Amaranth, Prince’s Feathers, and Cock’s Comb, are much cultivated for church decoration at Christmas time and during the Winter. The Amaranth is also selected as one of the flowers peculiarly appropriate to Ascension Day.----The species of Amaranth which we know as Love-lies-bleeding, has, in France, the singular name of Discipline des religieuses, the Nun’s Scourge.----The Amaranth was formerly known as Flower Gentle, Flower Velure, Floramor, and Velvet Flower. It is said to be under Saturn, and to be an excellent qualifier of the unruly actions of Venus.

=AMBROSIA.=--The Ambrosia-tree, or tree bearing immortal food, is one of the most popular guises of the Hindu world-trees. The Paradise of Indra had five trees, under the refreshing shade of which the gods reclined and enjoyed life-inspiring draughts of Ambrosia or Amrita. The chief of these trees was the Pârijâta (usually identified with the Erythrina Indica), and this was deemed the Ambrosia-tree.----The Greeks knew a herb which they named Ambrosia, the food of immortals, and it was so called by the ancients because they believed that a continued use of it rendered men long-lived, just as the ambrosia of the gods preserved their immortality. The Moors to this day entertain a belief in the existence of such a plant. The old English name given to this herb was Ambrose, which was applied to the Chenopodium Botrys; but the ancients seem to have applied the name of Ambrosia to the Field Parsley, the Wild Sage, and the Chenopodium ambrosioides. The plant known as Ambrosia at the present day belongs to the Wormwood family.

=AMELLUS.=--This plant is believed to be a species of Starwort. Virgil, in the Fourth Book of his Georgics, states that at Rome it was employed to decorate the altars of the gods. Gerarde says that the Starwort having a blue or purple flower is that referred to by Virgil as the Amellus in the following lines:--

“In meads there is a flower Amello named, By him that seeks it easy to be found, For that it seems by many branches framed Into a little wood: like gold the ground Thereof appears; but leaves that it beset Shine in the colour of the Violet.”

=AMORPHOPHALLUS.=--The gigantic Aroid, Amorphophallus campanulatus, or Carrion Plant of Java, is regarded with repugnance as a plant of ill-omen. Previous to the sudden bursting, about sunset, of the spathe containing the spadix, there is an accumulation of heat therein. When it opens, it exhales an offensive odour that is quite overpowering, and so much resembles that of carrion, that flies cover the club of the spadix with their eggs.

=ANDHAS.=--The luminous plant of the Vedic Soma. The plant is also called in general Arjunî, that is to say, Shining. From Andhas it is supposed the Greek word anthos was derived.

=ANDROMEDA.=--This shrub owes its classical appellation to Linnæus, who gave it the name of Andromeda after the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiope. Ovid, in his ‘Metamorphoses,’ has sung how, lashed to a rock, she was exposed to a sea monster, sent by Neptune to ravage her father’s country, and how she was at last rescued by Perseus, and became his bride. Linnæus thus explains why he gave the Marsh Cistus the name of the classical princess:--“As I contemplated it, I could not help thinking of Andromeda, as described by the poets--a virgin of most exquisite beauty and unrivalled charms. The plant is always fixed in some turfy hillock in the midst of the swamps, as Andromeda herself was chained to a rock in the sea, which bathed her feet as the fresh water does the root of the plant. As the distressed virgin cast down her blushing face through excessive affliction, so does the rosy-coloured flower hang its head, growing paler and paler till it withers away. At length comes Perseus, in the shape of Summer, dries up the surrounding waters, and destroys the monster.” The leaves of this family of plants have noxious properties, and the very honey is said to be poisonous.

=ANEMONE.=--The origin of the Anemone, according to Ovid, is to be found in the death of Adonis, the favourite of Venus. Desperately wounded by a boar to which he had given chase, the ill-fated youth lay expiring on the blood-stained grass, when he was found by Venus, who, overcome with grief, determined that her fallen lover should hereafter live as a flower.

“Then on the blood sweet nectar she bestows; The scented blood in little bubbles rose; Little as rainy drops, which flutt’ring fly, Borne by the winds, along a lowering sky. Short time ensued till where the blood was shed A flower began to rear its purple head. Such as on Punic Apples is revealed, Or in the filmy rind but half concealed, Still here the fate of lovely forms we see, So sudden fades the sweet Anemone. The feeble stems to stormy blasts a prey, Their sickly beauties droop and pine away. The winds forbid the flowers to flourish long, Which owe to winds their names in Grecian song.”--Congreve.

The Greek poet, Bion, in his epitaph on Adonis, makes the Anemone the offspring of the tears of the sorrowing Venus.

“Alas the Paphian! fair Adonis slain! Tears plenteous as his blood she pours amain, But gentle flowers are born and bloom around From every drop that falls upon the ground. Where streams his blood, there blushing springs the Rose, And where a tear has dropped, a Wind-flower blows.”

Rapin, in his poem, gives a somewhat similar version of the origin of the Anemone. He says:--

“For while what’s mortal from his blood she freed, And showers of tears on the pale body shed, Lovely Anemones in order rose, And veiled with purple palls the cause of all her woes.”

In Wiffen’s translation of the Spanish poet Garcilaso, we find the red colour only of the Anemone attributed to the blood of Adonis:--

“His sunbeam-tinted tresses drooped unbound, Sweeping the earth with negligence uncouth; The white Anemones that near him blew Felt his red blood, and red for ever grew.”

Rapin recounts another story, according to which the Anemone was originally a nymph beloved by Zephyr. This is, perhaps, an explanation of the name of the flower, which is derived from Anemos, the wind.

“Flora, with envy stung, as tales relate, Condemned a virgin to this change of fate; From Grecian nymphs her beauty bore the prize, Beauty the worst of crimes in jealous eyes; For as with careless steps she trod the plain, Courting the winds to fill her flowing train, Suspicious Flora feared she soon would prove Her rival in her husband Zephyr’s love. So the fair victim fell, whose beauty’s light Had been more lasting, had it been less bright: She, though transformed, as charming as before, The fairest maid is now the fairest flower.”

The English name of Wind-flower seems to have been given to the Anemone because some of the species flourish in open places exposed to the wind, before the blasts of which they shiver and tremble in the early Spring. Pliny asserts that the flower never blooms except when the winds blow.----With the Egyptians, the Anemone was the emblem of sickness. According to Pliny, the magicians and wise men in olden times were wont to attribute extraordinary powers to the plant, and ordained that everyone should gather the first Anemone he or she saw in the year, the while repeating, with due solemnity--“I gather thee for a remedy against disease.” The flower was then reverently wrapped in scarlet cloth, and kept undisturbed, unless the gatherer became indisposed, when it was tied either around the neck or arm of the patient. This superstition extended to England, as is shown by the following lines in a ballad:--

“The first Spring-blown Anemone she in his doublet wove, To keep him safe from pestilence wherever he should rove.”

The Anemone was held sacred to Venus, and the flower was highly esteemed by the Romans, who formed it into wreaths for the head.----In some countries, people have a strong prejudice against the flowers of the field Anemone: they believe the air to be so tainted by them, that those who inhale it often incur severe illness. Shakspeare has given to the Anemone the magical power of producing love. In ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Act 2), Oberon bids Puck place an Anemone-flower on the eyes of Titania, who, on her awakening, will then fall in love with the first object she sees.----A once famed Parisian florist, named Bachelier, having procured some rare Anemones from the East, would not part with a root, either for love or money. For ten years he contrived to keep the treasures to himself, until a wily senator paid him a visit, and, walking round the garden, observed that the cherished Anemones were in seed. Letting his robe fall upon the plants as if by accident, he so swept off a number of the little feathery seeds, which his servant, following close upon his heels, brushed off his master’s robe and secretly appropriated; and before long the niggardly florist had the mortification of seeing his highly-prized “strain” in the possession of his neighbours and rivals.----The Anemone is held to be under the dominion of Mars.

=ANGELICA.=--The strong and widely-diffused belief in the manifold virtues of this plant is sufficient to account for its angelic name, although Fuchsius was of opinion that it was called Angelica either from the sweet scent of its root, or its value as a remedy against poisons and the plague. Its old German name of Root of the Holy Ghost is still retained in some northern countries. The Laplanders believe that the use of it strengthens life, and they therefore chew it as they would do Tobacco; they also employ it to crown their poets, who fancy themselves inspired by its odour.----Parkinson says that “it is so goode an herbe that there is no part thereof but is of much use.”----Du Bartas wrote--

“Contagious aire ingendering pestilence Infects not those that in their mouths have ta’en Angelica, that happy counterbane Sent down from heav’n by some celestial scout, As well the name and nature both avowt.”

Sylvester’s trans., 1641.

Angelica was popularly believed to remove the effects of intoxication; according to Fuchsius, its roots, worn suspended round the neck, would guard the wearer against the baneful power of witches and enchantments; and Gerarde tells us that a piece of the root held in the mouth, or chewed, will drive away pestilential air, and that the plant, besides being a singular remedy against poisons, the plague, and pestilent diseases in general, cures the biting of mad dogs and all other venomous beasts. Regarding its astrological government, Culpeper observes that it is a “herb of the Sun in Leo. Let it be gathered when he is there, the moon applying to his good aspect; let it be gathered either in his hour, or in the hour of Jupiter; let Sol be angular.”

=ANTHYLLIS.=--The English names of this plant are Kidney Vetch, Lamb Toe, Lady’s Fingers, Silver Bush, and Jupiter’s Beard (from the thick woolly down which covers the calyxes of a species growing in the South of Europe). It was formerly employed as a vulnerary, and was recommended by Gesner as useful in staunching the effusion of blood: hence its old English names of Staunch and Wound-Wort. Clare says of it:--

“The yellow Lambtoe I have often got Sweet creeping o’er the banks in sunny time.”

=ANTIRRHINUM.=--Columella alludes to this flower as “the stern and furious lion’s gaping mouth.” Its English names are Snap Dragon, Lion’s Snap, Toad’s Mouth, Dog’s Mouth, and Calf’s Snout.----In many rural districts the Snap Dragon is believed to possess supernatural powers, and to be able to destroy charms. It was formerly supposed that when suspended about the person, this plant was a protection from witchcraft, and that it caused a maiden so wearing it to appear “gracious in the sight of people.”

=APPLE.=--Whether the Apple, the Orange, the Pomegranate, the Fig, the Banana, or the Grape was the actual fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which tempted Eve in Paradise, will possibly never be settled; but it is certain that not only is the Apple mystical above all the fruits of the earth, but it is the supreme fruit. To it has been given the Latin name Pomona, which is the generic name of fruit, just as Pomona is the goddess of all the fruit trees.

The Scandinavian goddess Iduna is in a measure identified with the Tree of Immortality, which was an Apple-tree. Iduna religiously guarded in a box the Apples which the gods, when they felt old age approaching, had only to taste the juice of to become young again. The evil genius, Loki, having been instrumental in the abduction of Iduna and her renovating Apples, the gods became old and infirm, and were unable properly to govern the world; they, therefore, threatened Loki with condign punishment unless he succeeded in bringing back Iduna and her mystic Apples: this he fortunately succeeded in doing.

The golden Apples which Juno presented to Jupiter on the day of their nuptials were placed under the watchful care of a fearful dragon, in the garden of the Hesperides; and the obtaining of some of these Apples was one of the twelve labours of Hercules. By stooping to pick up three of these golden Apples presented by Venus to Hippomenes, Atalanta lost her race, but gained him as a husband. The fatal Apple--inscribed DETUR PULCHRIORI--thrown by the malevolent Discordia into the assembly of the gods, and which Paris adjudged to Venus, caused the ruin of Troy and infinite misfortune to the Greeks.

The Apple was sacred to Venus, who is often represented with the fruit in her hand. The Thebans worshipped Hercules, under the name of Melius, and offered Apples at his altar, the custom having, according to tradition, originated as follows:--The river Asopus being once so swollen as to prevent some youths from bringing across it a sheep destined to be sacrificed to Hercules, one of them recollected that the Apple was called by the same name--Mêlon. In this emergency, therefore, it was determined to offer an Apple, with four little sticks stuck in it to resemble legs, as a substitute for a sheep; and it being deemed that the sacrifice was acceptable, the Apple was thenceforth devoted to Hercules. The god Apollo was sometimes represented with an Apple in his hand.

The Celtic “Isle of the Blest,” the “fair Avalon,” is the “Island of Apples,”

“Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow, Nor ever wind blows loudly, but it lies Deep-meadowed, happy, fair with orchard lawns, And bowery hollows crowned with Summer sea.”

It has been attempted to localise the Island of Apples either at Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, or at Aiguilon, in Brittany. A Gaelic legend which asserts the claims of an island in Loch Awe to be identified as the Isle of the Blest, changes the mystic Apples into the fruit of the Pyrus cordata, a species of wild Pear, indigenous both to the Scotch island and to Aiguilon.

The Druids highly reverenced the Apple-tree, partly on account of its fruit, but chiefly because they believed that the Mistletoe thrived on it and on the Oak only. In consequence of its reputed sanctity, therefore, the Apple was largely cultivated by the early Britons, and Glastonbury was known as the “Apple Orchard,” from the quantity of fruit grown there previous to the Roman invasion. The Druids were wont to cut their divining-rods from the Apple-tree.

The Saxons highly prized the Apple, and in many towns established a separate market for the fruit. The following sentence from their Coronation Benediction shows with what importance it was regarded:--“May the Almighty bless thee with the blessing of heaven above, and the mountains and the valleys, with the blessings of the deep below, with the blessing of Grapes and Apples. Bless, O Lord, the courage of this Prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by Thy blessing may this land be filled with Apples, with the fruit and dew of heaven, from the top of the ancient mountains, from the Apples of the eternal hills, from the fruits of the earth and its fulness.”

The old Saxon chronicles relate that before the battle of Senlac, King Harold pitched his camp beside the “hoar Apple-tree”--evidently a well-known object, that had doubtless preserved its quondam sacred character. Saint Serf, when on his way to Fife, threw his staff across the sea, from Inch Keith to Culross, and this staff, we are told, straightway took root and became the Apple-tree called Morglas.

Many ancient rites and ceremonies connected with this mystic tree are still practised in certain parts of the country, whilst others have of late become obsolete. In remote districts, the farmers and peasantry in Herefordshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall still preserve the ancient customs of saluting the Apple-trees on Christmas Eve. In some places, the parishioners walk in procession visiting the principal orchards in the parish. In each orchard one tree is selected as the representative of the rest; this is saluted with a certain form of words, which have in them the air of an incantation, and then the tree is either sprinkled with cider, or a bowl of cider is dashed against it, to ensure its bearing plentifully the ensuing year. In other places, the farmer and his servants only assemble on the occasion, and after immersing cakes in cider, they hang them on the Apple-trees. They then sprinkle the trees with cider, and encircling the largest, they chant the following toast three times:--

“Here’s to thee, old Apple-tree, Whence thou may’st bud, and whence thou may’st blow; And whence thou may’st bear Apples enow. Hats full! caps full! Bushel, bushel, sacks full! And my pockets full, too! Huzza! Huzza!”

After this the men dance round the tree, and retire to the farm-house to conclude, with copious draughts of cider, these solemn rites, which are undoubtedly relics of paganism.

In Sussex, the custom of “worsling” or wassailing Apple-trees still exists. Formerly it took place, according to the locality, some time between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Day. The most popular wassail rhyme was similar to the above, but others were sung by the “howlers.” At Chailey this verse is used:--

“Stand fast root, bear well top, Pray that God send us a good howling crop. Every twig, Apples big. Every bough, Apples enow. Hats full, caps full, Full quarters, sacks full.”

In West Sussex, during Christmas, the farmers’ labourers assemble for the purpose of wassailing the Apple-trees. A trumpeter sounds blasts on a bullock’s horn, and the party proceed to the orchard, where they encircle a tree or group of trees, and chant sonorously--

“Stand fast at root, bear well top, Every twig, bear Apple big, Every bough, bear Apple enow.”

A loud shout completes the ceremony, which is repeated till all the trees in the orchard have been encircled; after which the men proceed to the homestead, and sing at the owner’s door a song common for the occasion. They are then admitted, and partake of his hospitality.

At West Wickham, in Kent, a curious custom used to prevail in Rogation week. The young men went into the orchards, and, encircling each tree, said:--

“Stand fast, root, bear well, top, God send us a youling sop; Every twig, Apple big; Every bough, Apple enow.”

Cider was formerly not the only drink concocted from the Apple; another famous potation was called “Lambswool,” or more correctly, lamasool, the derivation of the word being the Celtic lámaesabhal--the day of Apple fruit. This appellation was given to the first day of November, dedicated in olden times to the titular saint of fruit and seeds. The Lambswool was composed of ale and roasted Apples, flavoured with sugar and spice; and a bowl of this beverage was drunk, with some ceremony, on the last night of October. Roasted Apples formed an important item in the composition of the famed wassail-bowl. Shakspeare probably alludes to this beverage in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ where we find the mischievous Puck saying,

“Sometimes I lurk in a gossip’s bowl, In very likeness of a roasted Crab.”

In Sussex, the wassail-bowl was formerly made at Christmas time; it was compounded of ale, sugar, Nutmeg, and roasted Apples, the latter being called Lambswool. On St. Clement’s day, in East Sussex, the custom exists of going round from house to house asking for Apples and beer: this is called Clemmening. A similar custom prevails on St. Catherine’s Day, when the children sing a rhyme commencing--

“Cattern’ and Clemen’ be here, here, here, Give us your Apples and give us your beer.”

In Lowland Scotland, there is an old charm still practised by village maidens on Hallow-e’en. It is to go alone into a room, and eat an Apple in front of a looking-glass, when the face of the future husband will appear looking over the maid’s shoulder.

In Scotland, on Hallow-e’en, Apples are thrown into a tub of water, and you endeavour to catch one in your mouth as they bob around in provoking fashion. When you have caught one, you peel it carefully, and pass the long strip of peel thrice sunwise round your head, after which you throw it over your shoulder, and it falls to the ground in the shape of the initial letter of your true love’s name.

In some places, on this mystic night, a stick is suspended horizontally from the ceiling, with a candle at one end and an Apple at the other. While it is made to revolve rapidly, the revellers successively leap up, and endeavour to grasp the Apple with their teeth (the hands must not be used); if they fail, the candle generally swings round in time to salute them disagreeably. Another amusement is to dive for Apples in a tub of water.

In Sussex, on this eve, every person present fastens an Apple on a string, and hangs and twirls it before the fire. The owner of the Apple that first falls off is declared to be upon the point of marriage; and as they fall successively, the order in which the rest of the party will attain to matrimonial honours is clearly indicated, single blessedness being the lot of the one whose Apple is the last to drop.

The custom of throwing the peel of an Apple over the head, marriage or celibacy being foretold by its remaining whole or breaking, is well known, as is also that of finding in a peel so cast the initial of the coming sweetheart.

Mr. Dyer, in his ‘English Folk-lore,’ details a form of divination by means of an Apple-pip. “In Lancashire,” he says, “in order to ascertain the abode of a lover, the anxious inquirer moves round in a circle, at the same time squeezing an Apple-pippin between his finger and thumb. This, on being subjected to pressure, flies from the rind, in the supposed direction of the lover’s residence. Meanwhile, the following rhyme is repeated:--

‘Pippin, pippin, paradise, Tell me where my true love lies; East, west, north, and south, Pilling brig or Cocker mouth.’”

It was formerly customary for Apples to be blessed by priests on July 25th; and in the manual of the Church of Sarum is preserved an especial form for this purpose. In Derbyshire, there is a saying that if the sun shines through the trees on Christmas Day, it ensures a good crop. In Northamptonshire, if the Apple-tree should bloom after the fruit is ripe, it is regarded as a sure omen of death. In the Apple-growing districts, there is an old saying that if it rains on St. Swithin’s Day, it is the Saint christening the Apples.

De Gubernatis, in his Mythologie des Plantes, gives several curious customs connected with the Apple, which are still extant in foreign countries. In Serbia, when a maiden accepts from her lover an Apple, she is engaged. In Hungary, a betrothed maiden, after having received from her lover the “engaged” ring, presents him with an Apple, the special symbol of all nuptial gifts. Young Greek girls never cease to invoke, upon marriage, the golden Apple. In Sicily, when a young man is in love, he presents the object of his affections with a love Apple. At Mount San Giuliano, in Sicily, on St. John’s Day, every young girl throws from the window of her room an Apple into the street, and watches to see who picks it up: should a woman do so, it is a sign that the maiden will not be married during the year; if the Apple is only looked at and not touched, it signifies that the maiden, after her marriage, will soon become a widow: if the first person passing is a priest, the young girl will die a virgin. In Montenegro, the mother-in-law presents an Apple to the young bride, who must try and throw it on the roof of her husband’s house: if the Apple falls on the roof, the marriage will be blest, that is to say there will be children. At Taranto, in Southern Italy, at the wedding breakfast, when the Apples are introduced, each guest takes one, and having pierced it with a knife, places a piece of silver money in the incision: then all the Apples are offered to the young bride, who bites each, and takes out the money.

In a Roumanian legend, the infant Jesus, in the arms of the blessed Virgin, becomes restless, will not go to sleep, and begins to cry. The Virgin, to calm the Holy Child, gives Him two Apples. The infant throws one upwards, and it becomes the Moon; He then throws the second, and it becomes the Sun. After this exploit, the Virgin Mary addresses Him and foretells that He will become the Lord of Heaven.

In old pictures of St. Dorothea, the virgin martyr is represented with a basket containing Apples and Roses: this is in allusion to the legend of her death, which tells that as Dorothea was being led forth to martyrdom, Theophilus, a lawyer, mockingly bade her send him fruits and flowers from Paradise. Dorothea, inclining her head, said, “Thy request, O Theophilus, is granted!” Whereat he laughed aloud with his companions, but she went on cheerfully to death. Arrived at the place of execution, she knelt down and prayed; and suddenly there appeared at her side a beautiful boy, with hair bright as sunbeams. In his hand he held a basket containing three Apples and three fresh-gathered and fragrant Roses. She said to him, “Carry these to Theophilus, and say that Dorothea hath sent them, and that I go before him to the garden whence they came, and await him there.” With these words she bent her neck, and received the death-stroke. Meantime, the angelic boy sought Theophilus, and placed before him the basket of celestial fruit and flowers, saying, “Dorothea sends thee these,” and vanished. Struck by the marvellous incident, Theophilus tasted of the heavenly fruit, and commenced a new life, following in Dorothea’s footsteps, and eventually obtaining the crown of martyrdom.

Mr. Dyer quotes the following from ‘Notes and Queries’:--“In South-east Devon and the neighbourhood, a curious legend is, we learn, current among the farmers respecting St. Dunstan and the Apple-trees. It is said that he bought up a quantity of Barley, and therewith made beer. The Devil, knowing that the Saint would naturally desire to get a good sale for his beer, which he had just brewed, went to him and said, that if he would sell himself to him, then he (the Devil) would go and blight the Apple-trees, so that there should be no cider, and, consequently there would be a far greater demand for beer. St. Dunstan, naturally wishing to drive a brisk trade in his beer, accepted the offer at once; but stipulated that the trees should be blighted in three days, which days fell on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of May. In the almanacs, the 19th is marked as St. Dunstan’s Day, and, as about this time the Apple-trees are in blossom, many anxious allusions are generally made to St. Dunstan; and should, as is sometimes the case, a sharp frost nip the Apple-blossoms, they believe they know who has been at the bottom of the mischief. There seems to be several versions of this legendary superstition. According to some, on a certain night in June, three powerful witches pass through the air, and if they drop certain charms on the blossoming orchards, the crops will be blighted. In other parts of the country, this is known as ‘Frankum’s Night,’ and the story is, that long ago, on this night, one Frankum made ‘a sacrifice’ in his orchard, with the object of getting a specially fine crop. His spells were answered by a blight; and the night is thus regarded as most critical.”

In a Polish legend, derived doubtless from the myth of the Hesperides, the hawk takes the place of the dragon. A young princess, through magic, is shut up in a golden castle situated on a mountain of ice: before the castle she finds an Apple-tree bearing golden Apples. No one is able to come to this castle. Whenever a cavalier ascends the side of the ice mountain in order to release the princess, the hawk darts down and blinds his horse, and both horse and rider are precipitated down the abyss. At length the appointed hero arrives, slays the hawk, gathers the golden Apples, and delivers the princess.

According to a Hanoverian legend, a young girl descends to the infernal regions by means of a staircase, which she discovers under an Apple-tree growing at the back of the house. She sees a garden, where the sun seems to shine more brightly than on earth; the trees are blossoming or are loaded with fruit. The damsel fills her apron with Apples, which become golden when she returns to earth.

In the popular tales of all countries, the Apple is represented as the magical fruit par excellence. The Celtic priests held the Apple sacred, and in Gaelic, Norse, German, and Italian stories it is constantly introduced as a mysterious and enchanted fruit. Mr. Campbell, in the introduction to his Tales of the West Highlands, points out that when the hero wishes to pass from Islay to Ireland, he pulls out sixteen Apples and throws them into the sea one after another, and he steps from one to the other. When the giant’s daughter runs away with the king’s son, she cuts an Apple into a mystical number of small bits, and each bit talks. When she kills the giant, she puts an Apple under the hoof of the magic filly, and he dies, for his life is the Apple, and it is crushed. When the byre is cleansed, it is so clean, that a golden Apple would run from end to end and never raise a stain. There is a Gruagach who has a golden Apple, which is thrown at all comers, who, if they fail to catch it, die. When it is caught and thrown back by the hero, Gruagach an Ubhail, dies. There is a certain game called cluich an ubhail--the Apple play--which seems to have been a deadly game. When the king’s daughter transports the soldier to the green island on the magic table-cloth, he finds magic Apples which transform him, and others which cure him, and by which he transforms the cruel princess, and recovers his magic treasures. When the two eldest idle king’s sons go out to herd the giant’s cattle, they find an Apple-tree whose fruit moves up and down as they vainly strive to pluck it; in fact, in all Gaelic stories, the Apple when introduced has something marvellous about it.

So, in the German, in the ‘Man of Iron,’ a princess throws a golden Apple as a prize, which the hero catches three times, and carries off, and wins. In ‘Snow White,’ where the poisoned comb occurs, there is a poisoned magic Apple also. In the ‘Old Griffin,’ the rich princess is cured by rosy-cheeked Apples. In the ‘White Snake,’ a servant who understands the voice of birds, helps creatures in distress, gets them aid, and procures golden Apples from three ravens which fly over the sea to the end of the world, where stands the tree of life. When he had got the Apple, he and the princess eat it and marry. Again, in the ‘Wonderful Hares,’ a golden Apple is the gift for which the finder is to gain a princess; and that Apple grew on a tree, the sole one of its kind.

In Norse it is the same: the princess on the glass mountain held three golden Apples in her lap, and he who could ride up the hill and carry off the Apples was to win the prize; and the princess rolled them down to the hero, and they rolled into his shoe. The good girl plucked the Apples from the tree which spoke to her when she went down the well to the underground world; but the ill-tempered step-sister thrashed down the fruit; and when the time of trial came, the Apple-tree played its part and protected the poor girl.

In a French tale, a singing Apple is one of the marvels which Princess Belle Etoile and her brothers and her cousin bring from the end of the world. In an Italian story, a lady when she has lost her husband goes off to the Atlantic Ocean with three golden Apples; and the mermaid who has swallowed the husband shows first his head, then his body to the waist, and then to the knees, each time for a golden Apple. Then, finally, in the ‘Arabian Nights,’ there is a long story, called the Three Apples, which turns upon the theft of one, which was considered to have been of priceless value. The Apple-blossom is considered to be an emblem of preference. To dream of Apples betokens long life, success in trade, and a lover’s faithfulness.

=APPLE OF SODOM.=--The Solanum Sodomeum is a purple Egg-plant of which the fruit is naturally large and handsome. It is, however, subject to the attacks of an insect (a species of Cynips), which punctures the rind, and converts the interior of the fruit into a substance like ashes, while the outside remains fair and beautiful. It is found on the desolate shores of the Dead Sea, on the site of those cities of the plain the dreadful judgment on which is recorded in sacred history. Hence the fruit, called the Apple of Sodom, has acquired a sinister reputation, and is regarded as the symbol of sin. Its first appearance, it is said, is always attended with a bitter north-east wind, and therefore ships for the Black Sea take care to sail before the harbinger of bad weather comes forth. The fruit is reputed to be poisonous. Josephus, the Jewish historian, speaks of them as having “a fair colour, as if they were fit to be eaten; but if you pluck them with your hand, they vanish into smoke and ashes.” Milton, describing an Apple which added new torments to the fallen angels, compares it to the Apples of Sodom:--

“Greedily they pluck’d The fruitage fair to sight, like that which grew Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flamed. This mere delusion, not the touch but taste Deceived; they fondly thinking to allay Their appetite with gust, instead of fruit Chewed bitter ashes.”

Henry Teonge, who visited the country round the Dead Sea in 1675, describes it as being “all over full of stones which looke just like burnt syndurs, and on some low shrubbs there grow small round things which are called Apples, but no witt like them. They are somewhat fayre to looke at, but touch them and they smoulder all to black ashes, like soote both for looks and smell.”--The name Apple of Sodom is also given to a kind of Gall-nut, which is found growing on various species of dwarf Oaks on the banks of the Jordan.--Dead Sea Apples is a term applied to the Bussorah Gall-nut, which is formed on the Oak Quercus infectoria by an insect, and being of a bright ruddy purple, but filled with a gritty powder, they are suggestive of the deceptive Apple of Sodom.

“Dead Sea fruits, that tempt the eye, But turn to ashes on the lips.”

APPLE OF PARADISE, OR ADAM’S APPLE.--See Banana.

APPLE, LOVE.--See Solanum.

APPLE, MAD.--See Solanum.

=APRICOT.=--According to Columella, the Persians sent the Peach to Egypt to poison the inhabitants; and a species of Apricot is called by the people of Barbary, Matza Franca, or the “Killer of Christians.” The Persians call the Apricot of Iran, the “Seed of the Sun.” The ancients appear to have regarded it as a prophetical or oracular tree.----It was in the solitude of a grove of Apricot-trees that Confucius, the venerated Chinese sage, completed his commentaries on the King or ancient books of China, and beneath this shade he erected an altar, and solemnly thanked Heaven for having permitted him to accomplish his cherished task.----The name has undergone curious transformations: it is traceable to the Latin præcoqua, early; the fruit being supposed by the Romans to be an early Peach. The Arabs (although living near the region of which the tree is a native) took the Latin name, and twisted it into al burquq; the Spaniards altered its Moorish name into albaricoque; the Italians reproduced it as albicoces; the French from them got abricot; and we, in England, although taking the name from the French, first called it Abricock, or Aprecock, and finally Apricot.----The Apricot is under the dominion of Venus. To dream of this fruit denotes health, a speedy marriage, and every success in life.

=ARBOR VITÆ.=--This tree, otherwise known as Thuja, is called by Pliny, Thya (from thyon, a sacrifice). The resin of the Eastern variety is, in certain localities, frequently used instead of incense at sacrifices. How the tree acquired the name of Arbor Vitæ is not known, unless from some supposed virtue of its berries. Gerarde, who had only seen the Canadian variety, says of it that, of all the trees from that country, the Arbor Vitæ, or Thya, was “the most principall, and best agreeing unto the nature of man, as an excellent cordial, and of a very pleasant smell.” He also tells us that it was sometimes called Cedrus Lycia, and that it is not to be confounded with the Tree of Life mentioned in Genesis.

=ARBUTUS.=--The Arbutus, or Strawberry-tree (Arbutus unedo), was held sacred by the Romans. It was one of the attributes of Cardea, a sister of Apollo, who was beloved by Janus, guardian of gates and avenues. With a rod of Arbutus--virga Janalis--Cardea drove away witches and protected little children when ill or bewitched. The Romans employed the Arbutus, with other symbolic trees and flowers, at the Palilia, a festival held in honour of the pastoral goddess Pales. It was a Roman custom to deposit branches of the Arbutus on coffins, and Virgil tells us that Arbutus rods and Oak twigs formed the bier of young Pallas, the son of Evander. Horace, in his Odes, has celebrated the shade afforded by the Arbutus. Ovid speaks of the tree as “the Arbutus heavy with its ruby fruit,” and tells us that, in the Golden Age, the fruit afforded food to man. This fruit is called unedo, and Pliny is stated to have given it that name became it was so bitter that he who ate one would eat no more.----The Oriental Arbutus, or Andrachne, bears fruit resembling a scarlet Strawberry in size and flavour. In Greece, it has the reputation of so affecting serpents who feed upon it, that they speedily cease to be venomous. The water distilled from the leaves and blossom of the Arbutus was accounted a very powerful agent against the plague and poisons.

=ARCHANGEL.=--The name of Archangel is applied to the Angelica archangelica; the Red Archangel, Stachys sylvatica; the White Archangel, Lamium album; and the Yellow Archangel, L. Galeobdolon. Nemnich says, the plant originally obtained its name from its having been revealed by an angel, in a dream. Parkinson considers it was so called on account of its heavenly virtues. Gerarde remarks of it, that “the flowers are baked with sugar, as Roses are, which is called Sugar Roset: as also the distilled water of them, which is used to make the heart merry, to make a good colour in the face, and to refresh the vitall spirits.”

=ARECA.=--The Areca Catechu is one of the sacred plants of India, producing the perfumed Areca Nuts, favourite masticatories of the Indian races. So highly is this nut esteemed by the natives, that they would rather forego meat and drink than their precious Areca Nuts, which they cut into narrow pieces, and roll up with a little lime in the leaves of the Pepper, and chew. The Areca Palm is known in Hindostan as Supyari, and in Japan as Jambi. The Hindus adorn their gods with these Nuts, and forbid respectable women to deck either their heads or bosoms with them. According to Indian tradition, Devadamani, subduer of the gods, once appeared at the court of King Vikramâditya, to play with him, clothed in a robe the colour of the sky, having in his hand and in his mouth an Areca Nut enveloped in a leaf of the Kalpa-tree. This probably explains the Indian custom of presenting an Areca Nut to guests, which is eaten with the leaf of the Betel. In China, a similar custom prevails, but the Nut given there is the Betel Nut.

=ARISTOLOCHIA.=--The old English name of this plant was Birth-wort, derived from its reputed remedial powers in parturition--probably first suggested by the shape of the corolla--whence also its Greek name, from aristos, best, and locheia, delivery. According to Pliny, if the expectant mother desired to have a son, she employed Aristolochia, with the flesh of an ox.----Certain of the species are renowned, in some European countries, for having a wonderful influence over fishes and serpents. A. Serpentaria is reputed to be so offensive to the serpent tribe, that they will not only shun the place where it grows, but will even flee from any traveller who carries a piece of the plant in his hand. The snake jugglers of Egypt are believed to stupefy these reptiles by means of a decoction distilled from the plant, and it is asserted that a few drops introduced into the mouth of a serpent will so intoxicate it as to render it insensible and harmless.----Apuleius recommends the use of Aristolochia against the Evil Eye.----The Birth-wort is under the dominion of Venus.

=ARKA.=--This is the Indian name of the Calotropis gigantea, also called Arkapatra and Arkaparna (the lightning-leaved), the leaves of which present the cuneiform symbols of lightning. Arka, says De Gubernatis, is also the name of the Sun, and this explains why the Brahmins employed the leaf of the Calotropis on the occasion of sacrificing to the Sun. In each part of the Arka it is stated that a portion of the human body can be distinguished. Notwithstanding its grand name, and its beautiful appearance, people have a dread of approaching it, lest it should strike them blind. The origin of this superstition is to be found in the word Arka, which means both the sun and the lightning.

=ARTEMISIA.=--The genus of plants known as Artemisia was so called after the goddess Artemis (who was regarded by the Romans as identical with Diana, or the Moon), by reason of some of its species being used in bringing on precocious puberty. On this account, also, it is one of the plants specially under the influence of the Moon.--(See SOUTHERNWOOD and WORMWOOD).

=ARUNDHATI.=--This is the Brahminical name of a climbing plant of good omen, and to which, according to De Gubernatis, the Atharvaveda attributes magical properties against diseases of the skin. It gives milk to sterile cows, it heals wounds, it delivers men from sickness, it protects those who drink its juices. It is the sister of the water and of the gods; the night is its mother; the mist, the horse of Yama, its father; Aryaman its grandfather. It descends from the mouth of the horse of Yama.

=ARUM.=--The Germans call the Arum Aronswurzel, and entertain the notion that where this flourishes, the spirits of the wood rejoice. The majestic Ethiopian species of the Arum (Calla Æthiopica) is commonly called the Horn-flower, from the shape of its large white calyx. In tropical climates, the plant is a deadly poison. The Arum of English hedgerows, a flower of a very much humbler character, is known by a variety of quaint names, viz., Aaron, Cuckoo-pint, Cuckoo-pintle, Wake Robin, Friar’s Cowl, Priest’s-pintle, Lords-and-Ladies, Cows-and-Calves, Ramp, Starchwort, and, in Worcestershire, Bloody Men’s Fingers (from the red berries that surround the spadix). These blood-red spots have caused the plant to received in Cheshire the name of Gethsemane, because it is said to have been growing at the foot of the Cross, and to have received some drops of our Saviour’s blood.

“Those deep inwrought marks, The villagers will tell thee, Are the flower’s portion from the atoning blood On Calvary shed. Beneath the Cross it grew.”

This flower, the Arum maculatum, is the English Passion-flower: its berries are highly poisonous, and every part of the plant is acrid; yet the root contains a farinaceous substance, which, when properly prepared, and its acrid juice expressed, is good for food, and is indeed sold under the name of Portland Sago.----Starch has been made from the root, and the French use it in compounding the cosmetic known as Cypress powder. A drachm weight of the spotted Wake Robin, either fresh or dry, was formerly considered as a sure remedy for poison and the plague. The juice of the herb swallowed, to the quantity of a spoonful, had the same effect. Beaten up with Ox-dung, the berries or roots were believed to ease the pains of gout.----Arum is under the dominion of Mars.

=ASOKA.=--The Saraca Indica, or Jonesia Asoka, is one of the sacred plants of India, which has from remotest ages been consecrated to their temple decoration, probably on account of the beauty of its orange-red blossoms and the delicacy of its perfume, which in the months of March and April is exhaled throughout the night. The tree is the symbol of love, and dedicated to Kâma, the Indian god of love. Like the Agnus Castus, it is reported to have a certain charm in preserving chastity: thus Sîtâ, the wife of Râma, when abducted by the monster Râvana, escapes from the caresses of the monster and finds refuge in a grove of Asokas. In the legend of Buddha, when Mâyâ is conscious of having conceived the Bodhisattva, under the guise of an elephant, she retires to a wood of Asoka trees, and then sends for her husband. The Hindus entertain the superstition that a single touch of the foot of a pretty woman is sufficient to cause the Asoka to flourish. The word asoka signifies that which is deprived of grief, and Asoka, or the tree without grief, is also one of the names of the Bodhidruma, the sacred tree of Buddha.

=ASPEN.=--A legend referring to the tremulous motion of this tree (Populus tremula--see POPLAR) is to the following effect:--“At the awful hour of the Passion, when the Saviour of the world felt deserted in His agony, when earth, shaken with horror, rang the parting knell for Deity, and universal nature groaned: then, from the loftiest tree to the lowliest flower, all felt a sudden thrill, and trembling bowed their heads, all save the Aspen, which said: ‘Why should we weep and tremble? The trees and flowers are pure and never sinned!’ Ere it ceased to speak, an involuntary trembling seized its every leaf, and the word went forth that it should never rest, but tremble on until the Day of Judgment.” An old saying affirmed that the leaves of the Aspen were made from women’s tongues, which never ceased wagging; and allusion is made to this in the following rhyme by Hannay, 1622:--

“The quaking Aspen, light and thin, In the air quick passage gives; Resembling still The trembling ill Of tempers of womankind, Which never rest, But still are prest To wave with every wind.”

The Bretons have a legend that the Saviour’s cross was made of Aspen wood; and that the ceaseless trembling of the leaves of this tree marks the shuddering of sympathetic horror. The Germans preserve an ancient tradition that, during their flight into Egypt, the Holy Family came to a dense forest, in which, but for an angelic guide, they must have lost their way. As they entered this wilderness, all the trees bowed themselves down in reverence to the infant God; only the Aspen, in her exceeding pride and arrogance, refused to acknowledge Him, and stood upright. Then the Holy Child pronounced a curse against her, as He in after life cursed the barren Fig-tree; and at the sound of His words the Aspen began to tremble through all her leaves, and has not ceased to tremble to this day. Mr. Henderson, in his ‘Folk-lore of the Northern Counties,’ states that this tradition has been embodied in a little poem, which may be thus translated:--

“Once as our Saviour walked with men below, His path of mercy through a forest lay; And mark how all the drooping branches show, What homage best a silent tree may pay!

“Only the Aspen stands erect and free, Scorning to join the voiceless worship pure; But see! He casts one look upon the tree, Struck to the heart she trembles evermore!”

The Kirghises, who have become almost Mussulmans, have nevertheless preserved a profound veneration for the sacred Aspen.----Astrologers hold that the Aspen is a lunar tree.

=ASPHODEL.=--The Asphodel is the flower which flourished in the Elysian Fields. Orpheus, in Pope’s ‘Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day,’ conjures the infernal deities--

“By the streams that ever flow; By the fragrant winds that blow O’er the Elysian flowers; By those happy souls who dwell In yellow meads of Asphodel, Or Amaranthine bowers.”

Homer tells us that, having crossed the Styx, the shades passed over a long prairie of Asphodel; and Lucian makes old Charon say:--“I know why Mercury keeps us waiting so long. Down here with us there is nothing to be had but Asphodel, and libations and oblations, and that in the midst of mist and darkness: but up in heaven it is all bright and clear, and plenty of ambrosia there, and nectar without stint.” The fine flowers of this plant of the infernal regions produced grains which were believed by the ancients to afford nourishment to the dead. Accordingly we find that the Greeks planted Asphodel and Mallows round graves. The edible roots of the Asphodel were also wont to be laid as offerings in the tombs of the departed, and, according to Hesiod, they served as food for the poor. The Asphodel was held sacred to Bacchus, probably because he visited the infernal regions, and rescued his mother Semele from the kingdom of the departed. Wreaths of the Asphodel were worn by Bacchus, Proserpine, Diana, and Semele. Asphodels were among the flowers forming the couch of Jupiter and Juno, and Milton has named them as put to the same use by Adam and Eve.

“Flowers were the couch, Pansies, and Violets, and Asphodel, And Hyacinth, earth’s freshest, softest lap.”

Dr. Prior says that the Asphodel root was, under the name of cibo regio (food for a king), highly esteemed in the middle ages, but, however improved by cultivation, it is likely to have been troublesome by its diuretic qualities, and has probably on that account gone out of fashion. Rapin, in his poem, refers to the Asphodel as forming an article of food--

“And rising Asphodel forsakes her bed, On whose sweet root our rustic fathers fed.”

=ASTER.=--The old English name of the Aster is Star-wort. Rapin says of this flower--

“The Attic star, so named in Grecian use, But called Amellus by the Mantuan Muse In meadows reigns near some cool streamlet’s side, Or marshy vales where winding currents glide. Wreaths of this gilded flower the shepherds twine, When grapes now ripe in clusters load the vine.”

The Aster is thus identified with the Amellus, of the Greek and Latin poets, and, according to Virgil, the altars of the gods were often adorned with wreaths of these flowers. In his Fourth Georgic the poet prescribes the root of the Italian Star-wort (Aster Amellus) for sickly bees. (See AMELLUS). The leaves of the Attic Star-wort (when burnt) had the reputation of driving away serpents. In Germany, the Star-wort is used by lovers as an oracle, to decide whether their love is returned or not. The person consulting it repeats the words--

“_Er liebt mich von Herzen Mit Schmerzen, Ja--oder Nein._”

At the recurrence of the words ja and nein a leaf is pulled out, and the answer depends on which of these words is pronounced as the last of the leaves is plucked. Göthe introduces this rustic superstition in his tragedy of ‘Faust,’ where the luckless heroine consults the floral oracle as to the affection entertained for her by Faust. The French call the Italian Star-wort, or Amellus, l’Œil de Christ, and the China Aster la Reine Marguerite----The Aster is considered to be a herb of Venus.

=ASH.=--This tree (Fraxinus excelsior), called, on account of its elegance, the Venus of the forest, and from its utility, the husbandman’s tree, was regarded by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Scandinavians as a sacred tree, and as one of good omen. In the Teutonic mythology, the Ash is the most venerated of trees, and the Scandinavian Edda, the sacred book of the Northmen, furnishes a detailed account of the mystic Ash Yggdrasill, or mundane tree, beneath whose shade was the chief or holiest seat of the gods, where they assembled every day in council. (See YGGDRASILL.) According to the old Norse tradition, it was out of the wood of the Ash that man was first formed; and the Greeks entertained a similar belief, for we find Hesiod deriving his brazen race of men from it. The goddess Nemesis was sometimes represented with an Ashen wand. Cupid, before he learnt to use the more potent Cypress, employed Ash for the wood of his arrows. At the Nuptials of Peleus and Thetis, Chiron appeared with a branch of Ash, from which was made the lance of Peleus, which afterwards became the spear of Achilles. Rapin writes of this tree--

“But on fair levels and a gentle soil The noble Ash rewards the planter’s toil. Noble e’er since Achilles from her side Took the dire spear by which brave Hector died; Whose word resembling much the hero’s mind, Will sooner break than bend--a stubborn kind.”

There exists an old superstition, that a serpent will rather creep into the fire than over a twig of the Ash-tree, founded upon the statements of Pliny with respect to the magical powers of the Ash against serpents. It was said that serpents always avoided the shade of the Ash; so that if a fire and a serpent were placed within a circle of Ash-leaves, the serpent, to avoid the Ash, would even run into the midst of the fire. Cowley, enumerating various prodigies, says:--

“On the wild Ash’s tops, the bats and owls, With, all night, ominous and baleful fowls, Sate brooding, while the screeches of these droves Profaned and violated all the groves.

* * * * *

But that which gave more wonder than the rest, Within an Ash a serpent built her nest, And laid her eggs; when once to come beneath The very shadow of an Ash was death.”

There exists a popular belief in Cornwall, that no kind of snake is ever found near the “Ashen-tree,” and that a branch of the Ash will prevent a snake from coming near a person. There is a legend that a child, who was in the habit of receiving its portion of bread and milk at the cottage door, was found to be in the habit of sharing its food with one of the poisonous adders. The reptile came regularly every morning, and the child, pleased with the beauty of his companion, encouraged the visits. So the babe and the adder thus became close friends. Eventually this became known to the mother (who, being a labourer in the fields, was compelled to leave her child all day), and she found it to be a matter of great difficulty to keep the snake from the child whenever it was left alone. She therefore adopted the precaution of binding an Ashen-twig about its body. The adder no longer came near the child; but, from that day forward, the poor little one pined away, and eventually died, as all around said, through grief at having lost the companion by whom it had been fascinated.

On the subject of the serpent’s antipathy to the Ash, we find Gerarde writing as follows:--“The leaves of this tree are of so great vertue against serpents, that they dare not so much as touch the morning and evening shadowes of the tree, but shun them afar off, as Pliny reports (lib. 16, c. 13). He also affirmeth that the serpent being penned in with boughes laid round about, will sooner run into the fire, if any be there, than come neare the boughes of the Ash; and that the Ash floureth before the serpents appeare, and doth not cast its leaves before they be gon againe. We write (saith he) upon experience, that if the serpent be set within a circle of fire and the branches, the serpent will sooner run into the fire than into the boughes. It is a wonderfull courtesie in nature, that the Ash should floure before the serpents appeare, and not cast his leaves before they be gon againe.” Other old writers affirm that the leaves, either taken inwardly, or applied outwardly, are singularly good against the biting of snakes or venomous beasts; and that the water distilled from them, and taken every morning fasting, is thought to abate corpulence. The ashes of the Ash and Juniper are stated to cure leprosy.

The pendent winged seeds, called spinners or keys, were believed to have the same effect as the leaves: in country places there is to this day an opinion current, that when these keys are abundant, a severe Winter will follow. A bunch of Ash-keys is still thought efficacious as a protection against witchcraft.

In marshy situations, the roots of the Ash will run a long way at a considerable depth, thus acting as sub-drains: hence the proverb, in some parts of the country, “May your foot-fall be by the root of the Ash.” In the Spring, when the Ash and Oak are coming into leaf, Kentish folk exclaim:--“Oak, smoke; Ash, squash.” If the Oak comes out first, they believe the Summer will prove hot; if the Ash, it will be wet.

“If the Oak’s before the Ash, You will only get a splash; If the Ash precedes the Oak, You will surely have a soak.”

Gilbert White tells us of a superstitious custom, still extant, which he thinks was derived from the Saxons, who practised it before their conversion to Christianity. Ash-trees, when young and flexible, were severed, and held open by wedges, while ruptured children, stripped naked, were pushed through the apertures, under a persuasion that they would be cured of their infirmity. The operation over, the tree was plastered up with loam, and carefully swathed. If the severed parts coalesced in due course, the babe was sure to be cured; but if not, the operation would probably be ineffectual. The same writer relates another extraordinary custom among rustics: they bore a deep hole in an Ash-tree, and imprison a live shrew mouse therein: the tree then becomes a Shrew-Ash, whose twigs or branches, gently applied to the limbs of cattle, will immediately relieve the cramp, lameness, and pain supposed to attack the animal wherever a shrew mouse has crept over it.

Lightfoot says that, in the Highlands, at the birth of an infant, the nurse takes a green Ash stick, one end of which she puts into the fire; and, while it is burning, receives in a spoon the sap that oozes from the other, which she administers to the child as its first food: this custom is thought to be derived from the old Aryan practice of feeding young children with the honey-like juice of the Fraxinus Ornus. The sap of the Ash, tapped on certain days, is drunk in Germany as a remedy for the bites of serpents.

In Northumberland, there is a belief that if the first parings of an infant’s nails are buried under an Ash, the child will turn out a “top singer.” In Staffordshire, the common people believe that it is very dangerous to break a bough from the Ash. In Leicestershire, the Ash is employed as a charm for warts. In the month of April or May, the sufferer is taken to an Ash-tree: the operator (who is provided with a paper of new pins) takes a pin, and having first struck it through the bark, presses it through the wart until it produces pain; the pin is then taken out and stuck into the tree, where it is left. Each wart is similarly treated, a separate pin being used for each. The warts will disappear in a few weeks. It is a wide-spread custom to stroke with a twig from an Ash-tree, under the roots of which a horse-shoe has been buried, any animal which is supposed to have been bewitched.

An Ashen herding stick is preferred by Scotch boys to any other, because in throwing it at their cattle it is sure not to strike in a vital part, and so kill or injure the animal, a contingency which may occur, it seems, with other sticks. It is worthy of note that the lituus of the Roman Augur--a staff with a crook at one end--was formed of an Ash-tree bough, the crook being sometimes produced naturally, but more often by artificial means.

In many parts of England, the finding of an even Ash-leaf is considered to be an augury of good luck; hence the old saying, so dear to tender maids--

“If you find an even Ash or a four-leaved Clover, Rest assured you’ll see your true-love ere the day is over.”

In Cornwall, this charm is frequently made use of for invoking good luck:--

“Even Ash I thee do pluck, Hoping thus to meet good luck. If no good luck I get from thee, I shall wish thee on the tree.”

In Henderson’s ‘Northern Folk-lore,’ occur the following lines regarding the virtues of even Ash-leaves:--

“The even Ash-leaf in my left hand, The first man I meet shall be my husband. The even Ash-leaf in my glove, The first I meet shall be my love. The even Ash-leaf for my breast, The first man I meet’s whom I love best. The even Ash-leaf in my hand, The first I meet shall be my man.”

“Even Ash, even Ash, I pluck thee, This night my true love for to see; Neither in his rick nor in his rear, But in the clothes he does every day wear.”

It is a tradition among the gipsies that the cross our Saviour was crucified upon was made of Ash.

In Devonshire, it is customary to burn an Ashen faggot at Christmastide, in commemoration of the fact that the Divine Infant at Bethlehem was first washed and dressed by a fire of Ash-wood.

The Yule-clog or -log which ancient custom prescribes to be burnt on Christmas Eve, used to be of Ash: thus we read in an old poem:--

“Thy welcome Eve, loved Christmas, now arrived, The parish bells their tuneful peals resound, And mirth and gladness every breast pervade. The ponderous Ashen-faggot, from the yard, The jolly farmer to his crowded hall Conveys with speed; where, on the rising flames (Already fed with store of massy brands), It blazes soon; nine bandages it bears, And, as they each disjoin (so custom wills), A mighty jug of sparkling cider’s brought With brandy mixt, to elevate the guests.”

Spenser speaks of the Ash as being “for nothing ill,” but the tree has always been regarded as a special attractor of lightning, and there is a very old couplet, which says:--

“Avoid an Ash, It courts the flash.”

Its character as an embodiment of fire is manifested in a remarkable Swedish legend given in Grimm’s ‘German Mythology.’ Some seafaring people, it is said, received an Ash-tree from a giant, with directions to set it upon the altar of a church he wished to destroy. Instead, however, of carrying out his instructions, they placed the Ash on the mound over a grave, which to their astonishment instantly burst into flames.

There is an old belief that to prevent pearls from being discoloured, it is sufficient to keep them shut up with a piece of Ash-root.

Astrologers appear to be divided in their opinions as to whether the Ash is under the dominion of the Sun or of Jupiter.

=ASVATTHA.=--The Indian Veda prescribes that for the purpose of kindling the sacred fire, the wood of an Asvattha (Ficus religiosa), growing upon a Sami (Mimosa Suma), should be employed. The idea of a marriage suggested by such a union of the two trees is also developed in the Vedas with much minuteness of detail. The process by which, in the Hindu temples, fire is obtained from wood resembles churning. It consists in drilling one piece of wood (the Asvattha, symbolising the male element) into another (the Sami, representing the female element). This is effected by pulling a string tied to it, with a jerk, with one hand, while the other is slackened, and so alternately until the wood takes fire. The fire is received on cotton or flax held in the hand of an assistant Brahman. This Indian fire-generator is known as the “chark.” (See also SAMI and PEEPUL).

=AURICULA.=--The old Latin name of this plant was Auricula ursi, from the shape of the leaves resembling a bear’s ear. It is thought to be the Alisma of Dioscorides. Matthiolus and Pena call it Sanicula Alpina, from its potency in healing wounds. Old herbalists have also named it Paralytica on account of its being esteemed a remedy for the palsy. Gerarde calls it Bear’s-ear, or Mountain Cowslip, and tells us that the root was in great request among Alpine hunters, for the effect it produced in strengthening the head and preventing giddiness and swimming of the brain overtaking them on high elevations. The plant is reputed to be somewhat carnivorous, and cultivators place juicy pieces of meat about the roots, so that they may absorb the blood.----In Germany, the Auricula is considered emblematical of love of home.

=AVAKA.=--The Avaka or Sîpâla is an India aquatic plant, which plays an important part in their funeral ceremonies. It is placed in a cavity made, according to their custom, to the north-east of the sacred fire Ahavanîya, and it is believed that the soul of the deceased person passes into this cavity, and thence ascends with the smoke to heaven. The Avaka or Sîpâla forms the food of the Gandharvas, who preside over the India waters.

AVENS.--See Herb Bennett.

=AZALEA.=--This handsome shrub is narcotic and poisonous in all its parts. Xenophon, in his narrative of the ‘Retreat of the Ten Thousand,’ in Asia, after the death of Cyrus, tells how his soldiers became temporarily stupefied and delirious, as if intoxicated, after partaking of the honey of Trebizond on the Black Sea. The baneful properties of this honey arose from the poisonous nature of the blossoms of the Azalea Pontica, from which the bees had collected it.

=BACCHARIS.=--This plant is the Inula Conyza, and was called Baccharis after the god Bacchus, to whom it was dedicated. Virgil speaks of Baccharis as being used for making garlands, and recommends it as a plant which is efficacious as a charm for repelling calumny--

“_Bacchari frontem Cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro._”

Its English name is the Ploughman’s Spikenard; and it was highly esteemed by the old herbalists on account of the sweet and aromatic qualities of its root, from which the ancients compounded an ointment which was also known as Baccharis.

BACHELOR’S BUTTONS.--See Ranunculus.

=BALBAGA.=--The Indian Grass, Eleusine Indica, had, according to De Gubernatis, the Vedic name of Balbaja: and, as a sacred herb, was employed in Indian religious festivals for litter, in ceremonials connected with the worship of the sacred Cow.

=BALDMONEY.=--According to Gerarde, the Gentian was formerly called Baldmoyne and Baldmoney; but Dr. Prior considers that the name appertains to Meum athamanticum, and that it is a corruption of the Latin valde bona, very good. The Grete Herball, speaking of Sistra, he says, gives the following explanation:--“Sistra is Dyll, some call it Mew; but that is not so. Howbeit they be very like in properties and vertue, and be put eche for other; but Sistra is of more vertue then Mew, and the leaves be lyke an herbe called Valde Bona, and beareth smaller sprigges as Spiknarde. It groweth on hye hylles” (See FELDWODE).

=BALIS.=--This herb was believed by the ancients to possess the property of restoring the dead to life. By its means Æsculapius himself was said to have been once resuscitated; and Pliny reports that, according to the Greek historian Xanthus, a little dog, killed by a serpent, was brought back to life by this wonderful herb Balis.

=BALSAM.=--The seed vessel of this plant contains five cells. When maturity approaches, each of these divisions curls up at the slightest touch, and darts out its seeds by a spontaneous movement: hence its generic name Impatiens, and its English appellation Noli me tangere--Touch me not. Gerarde calls it the Balsam Apple, or Apple of Jerusalem, and tells us that its old Latin name was Pomum Mirabile, or Marvellous Apple. He also states that the plant was highly esteemed for its property of alleviating the pains of maternity, and that it was considered a valuable agent to remove sterility--the patient first bathing and then anointing herself with an oil compounded with the fruit.----The Turks represent ardent love by this flower.----Balsam is under the planetary influence of Jupiter.

=BALM.=--The Melissa, or Garden Balm, was renowned among the Arabian physicians, by whom it was recommended for hypochondria and affections of the heart, and according to Paracelsus the primum ens Melissa promised a complete renovation of man. Drunk in wine, it was believed to be efficacious against the bitings of venomous beasts and mad dogs. A variety called Smith’s or Carpenter’s Balm, or Bawm, was noted as a vulnerary, and Pliny describes it of such magical virtue, that Gerarde remarks, “though it be but tied to his sword that hath given the wound, it stancheth the blood.” On account of its being a favourite plant of the bees, it was one of the herbs directed by the ancients to be placed in the hive, to render it agreeable to the swarm: hence it was called Apiastrum.----The astrologers claimed the herb both for Jupiter and the Sun.----In connection with the Garden Balm, Aubrey relates a legend of the Wandering Jew, the scene of which he places in the Staffordshire moors. When on the weary way to Golgotha, Jesus Christ, fainting and sinking beneath the burden of the cross, asked the Jew Ahasuerus for a cup of water to cool his parched throat, he spurned the supplication, and bade him speed on faster. “I go,” said the Saviour, “but thou shalt thirst and tarry till I come.” And ever since that hour, by day and night, through the long centuries, he has been doomed to wander about the earth, ever craving for water, and ever expecting the Day of Judgment, which alone shall end his frightful pilgrimage. One Whitsun evening, overcome with thirst, he knocked at the door of a Staffordshire cottager, and craved of him a cup of small beer. The cottager, who was wasted with a lingering consumption, asked him in and gave him the desired refreshment. After finishing the beer, Ahasuerus asked his host the nature of the disease he was suffering from, and being told that the doctors had given him up, said, “Friend, I will tell thee what thou shalt do; and by the help and power of Almighty God above, thou shalt be well. To-morrow, when thou risest up, go into thy garden, and gather there three Balm-leaves, and put them into a cup of thy small beer. Drink as often as you need, and when the cup is empty, fill it again, and put in fresh Balm-leaves every fourth day, and thou shalt see, through our Lord’s great goodness and mercy, that before twelve days shall be past, thy disease shall be cured and thy body altered.” So saying, and declining to eat, he departed and was never seen again. But the cottager gathered his Balm-leaves, followed the prescription of the Wandering Jew, and before twelve days were passed was a new man.

=BALM OF GILEAD.=--The mountains of Gilead, in the east of the Holy Land, were covered with fragrant shrubs, the most plentiful being the Amyris, which yielded the celebrated Balm of Gilead, a precious gum which, at a very early period, the Ishmaelites or Arabian carriers trafficked in. It was to a party of these merchants that Joseph was sold by his brethren as they came from Gilead, with their camels, bearing spicery, and Balm, and Myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt (Gen. xxxvii., 25). There were three productions from this tree, all highly esteemed by the ancients, viz.: Xylobalsamum, a decoction of the new twigs; the Carpobalsamum, an expression of the native fruit; and the Opobalsum, or juice, the finest kind, composed of the greenish liquor found in the kernel of the fruit. The principal quantity of Balm has, however, always been produced by excision. The juice is received in a small earthen bottle, and every day’s produce is poured into a larger, which is kept closely corked. So marvellous were the properties of this Balm considered, that in order to test its quality, the operator dipped his finger in the juice, and then set fire to it, expecting fully to remain scathless if the Balm was of average strength. The Balm of Gilead has always had a wonderful reputation as a cosmetic among ladies. The manner of applying it in the East is thus given by a traveller in Abyssinia:--“You first go into the tepid bath, till the pores are sufficiently opened; you then anoint yourself with a small quantity, and as much as the vessels will absorb: never-fading youth and beauty are said to be the consequences.” By the Arabs, it is employed as a stomachic and antiseptic, and is believed by them to prevent any infection of the plague.----Tradition relates that there is an aspic that guards the Balm-tree, and will allow no one to approach. Fortunately, however, it has a weakness--it cannot endure the sound of a musical instrument. As soon as it hears the approaching torment, it thrusts its tail into one of its ears, and rubs the other against the ground, till it is filled with mud. While it is lying in this helpless condition, the Balm-gatherers go round to the other side of the tree, and hurry away with their spoil.----Maundevile says that the true Balm-trees only grew in Egypt (near Cairo), and in India. The Egyptian trees were tended solely by Christians, as they refused to bear if the husbandmen were Saracens. It was necessary, also, to cut the branches with a sharp flint-stone or bone, for if touched with iron, the Balm lost its incomparable virtue. The Indian Balm-trees grew “in that desert where the trees of the Sun and of the Moon spake to King Alexander,” and warned him of his death. The fruit of these Balm-trees possessed such marvellous properties, that the people of the country, who were in the habit of partaking of it, lived four or five hundred years in consequence.

=BAMBOO.=--The Bambusa Arundinaceæ is one of the sacred plants of India: it is the tree of shelter, audience, and friendship. As jungle fires were thought to be caused by the stems of Bamboos rubbing together, the tree derived from that fact a mystic and holy character, as an emblem of the sacred fire.----Indian anchorites carry a long Bamboo staff with seven nodes, as a mark of their calling. At Indian weddings, the bride and bridegroom, as part of the nuptial ceremony, get into two Bamboo baskets, placed side by side, and remain standing therein for some specified time. The savage Indian tribe called Garrows possess neither temples nor altars, but they set up a pillar of Bamboo before their huts, and decorate it with flowers and tufts of cotton, and sacrifice before it to their deity. In various parts of India there is a superstitious belief that the flowering and seeding of various species of Bamboo is a sure prognostication of an approaching famine.----Europeans have noticed, as an invariable rule, in Canara, that when the Bamboos flower and seed, fever prevails. At the foot of the Ghauts, and round Yellapûr, it has been observed that when the Bamboos flowered and seeded, fever made its appearance, few persons escaping it. During blossom, the fever closely resembles hay fever at home, but the type becomes more severe as the seeds fall.----The poor, homeless fishermen of China, to supply themselves with vegetables, have invented a system of culture which may move with them, and they thus transport their gardens wherever they may go. This they do by constructing rafts of Bamboo, which are well woven with weeds and strong grass, and then launched on the water and covered with earth. These floating gardens are made fast to the stern of their junks and boats, and towed after them.

=BANANA.=--The Banana (Musa sapientum) and the Plantain (M. paradisiaca) are so closely related, as to be generally spoken of together. The Banana has been well designated the king of all fruit, and the greatest boon bestowed by Providence on the inhabitants of hot countries. According to Gerarde, who calls it in his Herbal, Adam’s Apple Tree, it was supposed in his time by the Grecians and Christians inhabiting Syria, as well as by the Jews, to be that tree of whose fruit Adam partook at Eve’s solicitation--the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, planted by the Lord Himself in the midst of the Garden of Eden. It has also been supposed that the Grapes brought by the Israelites’ spies to Moses out of the Holy Land, were in reality the fruit of the Banana-tree.----In the Canary Islands, the Banana is never cut across with a knife because it then exhibits a representation of the Crucifixion. Gerarde refers to this mark, remarking that the fruit “pleaseth and entiseth a man to eate liberally thereof, by a certaine entising sweetnesse it yields; in which fruit, if it be cut according to the length, oblique, transverse, or any other way, whatsoever, may be seene the shape and forme of a crosse, with a man fastened thereto. My selfe have seene the fruit, and cut it in pieces, which was brought me from Aleppo, in pickle: the crosse, I might perceive, as the form of a spred-Egle in the root of Ferne; but the man I leave to be sought for by those which have better eies and judgement than my selfe.”----A certain sect of Brahmans, called Yogis, place all their food in the leaves of the Plantain, or Apple of Paradise, and other large leaves; these they use dry, never green, for they say that the green leaves have a soul in them; and so it would be sinful.

=BANYAN TREE.=--The Indian Fig-tree (Ficus Indica), of which one of the Sanscrit names is Bahupâda, or the Tree of Many Feet, is one of the sacred trees of India, and is remarkable for its vast size and the singularity of its growth: it throws out from its lateral branches shoots which, as soon as they reach the earth, take root, till, in course of time, a single tree extends itself to a considerable grove. Pliny described the Banyan with great accuracy, and Milton has rendered his description almost literally:

“Branching so broad along, that in the ground The bending twigs take root, and daughters grow About the mother tree; a pillared shade, High over-arched, with echoing walks between. There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds At loop-holes cut through thickest shade.”

The Banyan rarely vegetates on the ground, but usually in the crown of Palms, where the seed has been deposited by birds. Roots are sent down to the ground, which embrace, and eventually kill, the Nurse-Palm. Hence, the Hindus have given the Banyan the name of Vaibâdha (the breaker), and invoke it in order that it may at the same time break the heads of enemies.----In the Indian mythology, the Banyan is often confounded with the Bo-tree, and hence it is given a place in heaven, where an enormous tree is said to grow on the summit of the mountain Supârsva, to the south of the celestial mountain Meru, where it occupies a vast space. Beneath the pillared shade of the Banyan, the god Vishnu was born. His mother had sought its shelter, but she was sad and fearful lest the terrible Kansa should put to death her seventh babe, Vishnu, as he had already done her first six. Yasodâ, to console the weeping mother, gave up her own infant daughter, who was at once killed by Kansa’s servants; but Vishnu was saved. It is, says De Gubernatis, at the foot of a gigantic Banyan, a Bhândîra, near Mount Govardhana, that the Buddhist Vishnu plays with his companions, and, by his presence, illuminates everything around him. The Banyan of the Vedas is represented as being peopled with Indian parroquets, who eat its fruit, which, however, does not exceed a Hazel-nut in size. The Chinese Buddhists represent that Buddha sits under a Banyan-tree, turned towards the East, to receive the homage of the god Brahma. Like the sacred Bo-tree, the Banyan is regarded not only as the Tree of Knowledge, but also as the tree of Indian seers and ascetic devotees. Wherever a Bo-tree or a Banyan has stood, the place where it formerly flourished is always held sacred.----There is in India a Banyan-tree that is the object of particular veneration. It grows on the banks of the Nerbudda, not far from Surat, and is the largest and oldest Banyan in the country. According to tradition, it was planted by the Seer Kabira, and is supposed to be three thousand years old. It is said to be the identical tree visited by Nearchus, one of the officers of Alexander the Great. The Hindus never cut it or touch it with steel, for fear of offending the god concealed in its sacred foliage. De Gubernatis quotes the following description of this sacred tree given by Pietro Della Valle at the commencement of the seventeenth century:--“On one side of the town, on a large open space, one sees towering a magnificent tree, similar to those which I had noticed near Hormuz, and which were called Lul, but here were known as Ber. The peasants of this country have a profound veneration for this tree, both on account of its grandeur and its antiquity: they make pilgrimages to it, and honour it with their superstitious ceremonies, believing that the goddess Pârvatî, the wife of Mahâdeva, to whom it is dedicated, has it under her protection. In the trunk of this tree, at a little distance from the ground, they have roughly carved what is supposed to be the head of an idol, but which no one can recognise as bearing any semblance to a human being; however, like the Romans, they paint the face of the idol red, and adorn it with flowers, and with leaves of a tree which they call here Pan, but in other parts of India Betel. These flowers and leaves ought to be always fresh, and so they are often changed. The pilgrims who come to visit the tree receive as a pious souvenir the dried leaves which have been replaced by fresh ones. The idol has eyes of gold and silver, and is decorated with jewellery offered by pious persons who have attributed to it the miraculous cure of ophthalmic complaints they have suffered from.... They take the greatest care of the tree, of every branch, nay, of every leaf, and will not permit either man or beast to damage or profane it. Other Banyan or Pagod trees have obtained great eminence. One near Mangee, near Patna, spread over a diameter of three hundred and seventy feet, and it required nine hundred and twenty feet to surround the fifty or sixty stems by which the tree was supported. Another covered an area of one thousand seven hundred square yards; and many of almost equal dimensions are found in different parts of India and Cochin-China.”----In the Atharvaveda mention is made of an all-powerful amulet, which is a reduction, on a small scale, of a Banyan-tree, possessing a thousand stems, to each of which is attributed a special magical property.

=BAOBAB.=--The leviathan Baobab (Adansonia) is an object of reverential worship to the negroes of Senegal, where it is asserted that some of these trees exist which are five thousand years old. It is reputed to be the largest tree in the world, and may readily be taken at a distance for a grove: its trunk is often one hundred feet in circumference; but its height is not so wonderful as its enormous lateral bulk. The central branch rises perpendicularly, the others spread out in all directions, and attain a length of sixty feet, touching the ground at their extremities, and equalling in bulk the noblest trees. The wood is spongy and soon decays, leaving the trunks hollow. In these hollow trunks the negroes suspend the dead bodies of those who are refused the honour of burial; and in this position the bodies are preserved without any process of embalming. The magnificent snowy blossoms are regarded with peculiar reverence at the instant they open into bloom. The leaves are used medicinally, and as a condiment; dried and powdered, they constitute Lalo, a favourite article with the Africans, who mix it daily with their food, to prevent undue perspiration; a fibre is obtained from the bark that is so strong as to have given rise in Bengal to the saying, “As secure as an elephant bound with a Baobab rope.” The gourd-like fruit, called Monkey-bread and Ethiopian Sour Gourd, is also eaten, and is prized for its febrifugal qualities.

=BARBERRY.=--The Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) was formerly called the Pipperidge-bush, and was regarded with superstitious dislike by farmers, who believed that it injured Wheat crops, even if growing a hundred yards off, by imparting to the Corn the fungus which causes rust.----In Italy, the Barberry is looked upon as the Holy Thorn, or the plant which furnished the crown of Thorns used at our Lord’s crucifixion: it seems to be so regarded because its Thorns grow together in sets of three at each joint of the branch.----The Barberry is under the dominion of Venus.

=BARLEY.=--Barley is a symbol of riches and abundance. The God Indra is called “He who ripens Barley,” and in many of their religious ceremonies the Indians introduce this cereal, viz., at the birth of an infant, at weddings, at funerals, and at certain of their sacrificial rites.----Barley is claimed by astrologers as a notable plant of Saturn.

=BAROMETZ.=--The Barometz, or Scythian Lamb (Polypodium Barometz), is a name given to a Fern growing in Tartary, the root of which, says Prof. Martyn, from the variety of its form, is easily made by art to take the form of a lamb (called by the Tartars Borametz), “or rather that of a rufous dog, which the common names in China and Cochin-China imply, namely, Cau-tich and Kew-tsie.” The description given of this strange Fern represents the root as rising above the ground in an oblong form, covered all over with hairs: towards one end it frequently becomes narrower and then thicker, so as to give somewhat of the shape of a head and neck, and it has sometimes two pendulous hairy excrescences resembling ears; at the other end a short shoot extends out into a tail. Four fronds are chosen in a suitable position, and are cut off to a proper length, to represent the legs: and thus a vegetable lamb is produced. Loureiro affirms that the root, when fresh cut, yields a juice closely resembling the blood of animals.----Kircher has given a figure of the Tartarian Lamb, in which the lamb is represented as the fruit of some plant on the top of a stalk.----Parkinson, in the frontispiece to his Paradisus Terrestris, has depicted this Lamb-plant as growing in the Garden of Eden, where it appears to be browsing on the surrounding herbage.----Scaliger has given a detailed account of the Barometz, which he calls “a wondrous plant indeed among the Tartars.” After remarking that Zavolha is the most considerable of the Tartar hordes, he proceeds:--“In that province they sow a seed not unlike the seed of a Melon, except that it is not so long. There comes from it a plant which they call Borametz, that is to say, a lamb; and, indeed, the fruit of that plant has exactly the shape of a lamb. We see distinctly all the exterior parts--the body, the feet, the hoofs, the head, and the ears; there wants, indeed, nothing but the horns, instead of which it has a sort of wool that imitates them not amiss. The Tartars fleece it, and make themselves caps of the skin. The pulp that is within the fruit is very much like the flesh of crabs. Cut it, and the blood gushes out, as from a wounded animal. This lamb feeds itself upon all the grass that grows around it, and when it has eaten it all up, it dries and dies away. But what perfects the similitude between the Borametz and a lamb is that the wolves are very greedy of this fruit, which no other animals ever care for.”----The elder Darwin, in his poem on ‘The Loves of the Plants,’ makes the following allusion to the Barometz:--

“Cradled in snow and fanned by Arctic air, Shines, gentle Barometz! thy golden hair; Rooted in earth, each cloven hoof descends, And round and round her flexile neck she bends; Crops the gray coral Moss and hoary Thyme, Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime, Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam, Or seems to bleat, a vegetable Lamb.”

=BASIL.=--The English name of the Ocymum basilicum is derived from the Greek basilikon, royal, probably from its having been used in some royal unguent, bath, or medicine.----Holy Basil, or Tulasî (Ocymum sanctum), is by the Hindus regarded as a most sacred herb, and they have given one of its names to a sacred grove of their Parnassus, on the banks of the Yamuna. This holy herb is grown in pots near every temple and dwelling of devout Hindus. It is sacred to Vishnu, Kushna, and Lakshmi, but all the gods are interested in it. Narada, the celestial sage, has sung the praises of the immortal plant, which is perfection itself, and which, whilst protecting from every misfortune those who cultivate it, sanctifies and guides them to heaven. For this double sanctity it is reared in every Hindu house, where it is daily watered and worshipped by all the members of the household. Perhaps, also, it was on account of its virtues in disinfecting and vivifying malarious air that it first became inseparable from Hindu houses in India as the protecting spirit or Lar of the family. The pious Hindus invoke the divine herb for the protection of every part of the body, for life and for death, and in every action of life; but above all in its capacity of ensuring children to those who desire to have them. Among the appellations given to the Tulasî are--“propitious,” “perfumed,” “multi-leaved,” “devil-destroying,” &c. The root is made into beads, which are worn round the neck and arms of the votaries of Vishnu, who carry also a rosary made of the seeds of the Holy Basil or the Sacred Lotus. De Gubernatis has given some interesting details of the Tulasî cultus:--“Under the mystery of this herb,” he says, “created with ambrosia, is shrouded without doubt the god-creator himself. The worship of the herb Tulasî is strongly recommended in the last part of the Padmapurâna, consecrated to Vishnu; but it is, perhaps, no less adored by the votaries of Siva; Krishna, the popular incarnation of the god Vishnu, has also adopted this herb for his worship; from thence its names of Krishna and Krishnatulasî. Sîtâ, the epic personification of the goddess Lakshmî, was transformed, according to the Râmâyana, into the Tulasî, from whence the name of Sitâhvayâ given to the herb.” Because of the belief that the Tulasî opens the gates of heaven to the pious worshipper, Prof. De Gubernatis tells us that “when an Indian dies, they place on his breast a leaf of Tulasî; when he is dead, they wash the head of the corpse with water, in which have been dropped, during the prayer of the priest, some Flax seeds and Tulasî leaves. According to the Kriyâyogasâras (xxiii.), in religiously planting and cultivating the Tulasî, the Hindu obtains the privilege of ascending to the Palace of Vishnu, surrounded by ten millions of parents. It is a good omen for a house if it has been built on a spot where the Tulasî grows well. Vishnu renders unhappy for life and for eternity infidels who wilfully, or the imprudent who inadvertently, uproot the herb Tulasî: no happiness, no health, no children for such! This sacred plant cannot be gathered excepting with a good and pious intention, and above all, for the worship of Vishnu or of Krishna, at the same time offering up this prayer:--‘Mother Tulasî, be thou propitious. If I gather you with care, be merciful unto me, O Tulasî, mother of the world, I beseech you.’”----Like the Lotus, the Basil is not only venerated as a plant sacred to the gods, but it is also worshipped as a deity itself. Hence we find the herb specially invoked, as the goddess Tulasî, for the protection of every part of the human frame, from the head to the feet. It is also supposed that the heart of Vishnu, the husband of the Tulasî, is profoundly agitated and tormented whenever the least sprig is broken of a plant of Tulasî, his wife.----In Malabar, sweet Basil is cultivated as a sacred plant, under the name of Collo, and kept in a little shrine placed before the house.----In the Deccan villages, the fair Brahminee mother may be seen early every morning, after having first ground the corn for the day’s bread and performed her simple toilet, walking with glad steps and waving hands round and round the pot of Holy Basil, planted on the four-horned altar built up before each house, invoking the blessings of heaven on her husband and his children. The herb is planted largely on the river banks, where the natives bathe, as well as at the entrance to their temples. They believe that the deities love this herb, and that the god Ganavedi abides in it continually. When travelling, if they cannot obtain the herb, they draw the form of the plant on the ground with its root.----It is difficult to understand why so sacred and so fragrant a herb as Sweet Basil should have become the symbol of Hatred, unless it be because the ancients sometimes represented Poverty by the figure of a female clothed in rags, and seated by a plant of Basil. The ancient Greeks thought that when Basil was sown, the act should be accompanied by abuse, without which it would not flourish. Pliny also records that it throve best when sown with cursing and railing. This explains the French saying, “Semer le Basilic,” equivalent to slandering.----The plant has a decided funereal symbolism. In Persia, where it is called Rayhan,

“the Basil-tuft, that waves Its fragrant blossom over graves,”

is usually found in cemeteries. In Egypt, the same plant is scattered over the tombs by the women who go twice or oftener a week to pray and weep at the sepulchres of the dead. In Crete, the Basil is considered a symbol of the Evil One, although it is to be found on every window-ledge. It is unfortunate to dream of Basil, for it is supposed to betoken grief and misfortune. It was probably these sinister and funereal associations of the plant that induced Boccaccio to make the unhappy Isabella conceal her murdered lover’s head by planting Basil in the pot that contained it; although it is surmised that the author of the ‘Decameron’ obtained the idea from Grecian sources.----It is, however, satisfactory to find that in Italy the Basil is utilised for other than funereal purposes. De Gubernatis tells us that in some districts pieces of Basil are worn by maidens in their bosoms or at their waists, and by married women in their hair: they believe also that the perfume of Basil engenders sympathy, from which comes its familiar name, Bacia-nicola--Kiss me, Nicholas! Rarely does the young peasant girl pay a visit to her sweetheart without affixing behind her ear a sprig of Basil, which she takes special care not to part with, as that would be a token of scorn. In Turkey, they call Basil, Amorino. In Moldavia, the Basil is regarded as an enchanted flower, whose spells can stop the wandering youth upon his way, and make him love the maiden from whose hand he shall accept a sprig.----In the East, Basil seeds are employed to counteract the poison of serpents: in India the leaves are used for the same purpose, as well as for the cure of several diseases. Gerarde says that “they of Africke do also affirme that they who are stung of the scorpion, and have eaten of it, shall feele no paine at all.” Orisabius likewise asserts that the plant is an antidote to the sting of those insects; but, on the other hand, Hollerius declares that it propagates scorpions, and that to his knowledge an acquaintance of his, through only smelling it, had a scorpion bred in his brain.----Lord Bacon, in his Natural History, states that if Basil is exposed too much to the sun, it changes into Wild Thyme, although the two herbs seem to have small affinity. Culpeper quaintly remarks: “Something is the matter; this herb and Rue will never grow together--no, nor near one another; and we know the Rue is as great an enemy to poison as any that grows.” Gerarde, however, tells us that the smell of Basil is good for the heart and for the head.----The plant is a paradox:--sacred and revered, yet dedicated to the Evil One; of happy augury, yet funereal; dear to women and lovers, yet emblem of hatred; propagator of scorpions, yet the antidote to their stings.----Astrologers rule that Basil is a herb of Mars, and under the Scorpion, and therefore called Basilicon.

=BAUHINIA.=--The leaves of the Bauhinia or Ebony-tree are two-lobed, or twin--a character, which suggested to Plumier the happy idea of naming the genus after the two famous brothers, John and Caspar Bauhin, botanists of the sixteenth century.

=BEANS.=--Among the ancients, there appears to have been a superstitious aversion to Beans as an article of food, arising from the resemblance of the fruit to a portion of the human body. The Egyptians, among whom the Sacred Bean was an object of actual worship, would not partake of it as food, probably on that account; because by so doing they would be fearful of eating what they considered was human, and of consuming a soul. By some nations the seed was consecrated to the gods.----The eating of Beans was interdicted to the Jewish High Priest on the Day of Atonement from its decided tendency to bring on sleep.----The goddess Ceres, when bestowing her gifts upon mankind, expressly excluded Beans. The unhappy Orpheus refused to eat them; Amphiaraus, the diviner, in order to preserve a clear vision, always abstained from them; the Flamines, Roman priests, instituted by Numa, would neither touch nor mention them; and the Grecian philosopher Pythagoras, who lived only on the purest and most innocuous food, invariably declined to partake of Beans of any description, giving as his reason that, in the Bean, he recognised blood, and consequently an animal, which, as a vegetarian, he could not consume. According to tradition, the great philosopher, being pursued by his enemies, was overtaken and killed, solely because, having in his flight reached a field of Beans, he would not cross it for fear of trampling upon living beings, the souls of the dead, who had entered temporarily, into the vegetable existence. Cicero considered that the antipathy to Beans as an article of food arose from their being considered impure, inasmuch as they corrupted the blood, distended the stomach, and excited the passions. Hippocrates considered them unwholesome and injurious to the eyesight. They were also believed to cause bad dreams, and, moreover, if seen in dreams, were deemed to portend evil.----One of the Greek words for Bean is Puanos, and at the festival of Puanepsia, held in the month of October, at Athens, in honour of Apollo, Beans and Pulse, we are told, were sodden. The Romans offered Beans to their goddess Carna on the occasion of her festival in the month of June.----The Lemures, or evil spirits of those who had lived bad lives, according to a Roman superstition, were in the habit, during the night-time, of approaching houses, and then throwing Beans against them. The Romans celebrated festivals in their honour in the month of May, when the people were accustomed to throw black Beans on the graves of the deceased, or to burn them, as the smell was supposed to be disagreeable to the manes. This association of Beans with the dead is still preserved in some parts of Italy, where, on the anniversary of a death, it is customary to eat Beans and to distribute them to the poor. Black Beans were considered to be male, and white female, the latter being the inferior.----De Gubernatis relates several curious customs connected with Beans. In Tuscany, the fire of St. John is lighted in a Bean-field, so that it shall burn quickly. In Sicily, on Midsummer Eve, Beans are eaten with some little ceremony, and the good St. John is thanked for having obtained the blessings of a bountiful harvest from God. At Modica, in Sicily, on October 1st, a maiden in love will sow two Beans in the same pot. The one represents herself, the other the youth she loves. If both Beans shoot forth before the feast of St. Raphael, then marriage will come to pass; but if only one of the Beans sprouts, there will be betrayal on the part of the other. In Sicily and Tuscany, girls who desire a husband learn their fate by means of Beans, in this fashion:--They put into a bag three Beans--one whole, another without the eye, a third without the rind. Then, after shaking them up, they draw one from the bag. The whole Bean signifies a rich husband; the Bean without an eye signifies a sickly husband; and the Bean without rind a husband without a penny.----The French have a legend, of one Pipette, who, like our Jack, reaches the sky by means of a Bean-stalk. In France, some parts of Italy, and Russia, on Twelfth Night, children eat a cake in which has been baked a white Bean and a black Bean. The children to whose lot fall the portions of cake containing the Beans become the King and Queen of the evening.----An old English charm to cure warts is to take the shell of a broad Bean, and rub the affected part with the inside thereof; the shell is then to be buried, and no one is to be told about the matter; then, as the shell withers away, so will the wart gradually disappear. It is a popular tradition that during the flowering of the Bean more cases of lunacy occur than at any other season. In Leap Year, it is a common notion that broad Beans grow the wrong way, i.e., the seed is set in the pods in quite the contrary way to what it is in other years. The reason given is that, because it is the ladies’ year, the Beans always lie the wrong way--in reference to the privilege possessed by the fair sex of courting in Leap Year. There is a saying in Leicestershire, that if you wish for awful dreams or desire to go crazy, you have only to sleep in a Bean-field all night.----Beans are under the dominion of Venus. To dream of them under any circumstances means trouble of some kind.

=BEDSTRAW.=--Our Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) filled the manger on which the infant Jesus was laid. In a painting of the Nativity by N. Poussin, this straw is introduced. From its soft puffy stems and golden flowers, this grass was in bygone times used for bedding, even by ladies of rank,--whence the expression of their being “in the straw.”----Galium was formerly employed to curdle the milk in cheese-making, and was also used before the introduction of Annatto, to give a rich colour to Cheshire cheese. The old herbalists affirmed that the root stirred up amorous desires, if drunk in wine, and that the flowers would produce the same effect if smelt long enough. Robert Turner says: “It challenges the preheminence above Maywort, for preventing the sore weariness of travellers: the decoction of the herb and flowers, used warm, is excellent good to bath the surbated feet of footmen and lackies in hot weather, and also to lissome and mollifie the stiffness and weariness of their joynts and sinews.”----In France, Galium is considered to be a remedy in cases of epilepsy.----Lady’s Bedstraw is under the dominion of Venus.

=BEECH.=--Vieing with the Ash in stateliness and grandeur of outline, the Beech (Fagus) is worthily given by Rapin the second place among trees.

“Mixt with huge Oaks, as next in rank and state, Their kindred Beech and Cerris claim a seat.”

According to Lucian, the oracles of Jupiter at Dodona were delivered not only through the medium of the sacred Oaks in the prophetic grove surrounding the temple, but also by Beeches which grew there. A large part, if not the whole, of the Greek ship Argo was built of Fagus, or Beech timber, and as certain beams in the vessel gave oracles to the Argonauts, and warned them against the approach of calamities, it is probable that some, at least, of these prophetic beams were hewn from the Dodonæan Beeches. It was from the top of two Beech-trees that Minerva and Apollo, in the form of vultures, selected to watch the fight between the Greeks and the Trojans.----The connection of the tree with the god Bacchus appears to have been confined to its employment in the manufacture of bowls for wine in the happy time when “No wars did men molest, and only Beechen bowls were in request.” Cowley alludes to this in the words--

“He sings the Bacchus, patron of the Vine, The Beechen bowl foams with a flood of wine.”

Virgil notices the use of its smooth and green bark for receiving inscriptions from the “sylvan pen of lovers;” and Ovid, in his epistle from Œnone to Paris, refers to the same custom, gracefully noting that the name of the fair one would grow and spread with the growth of the tree:--

“The Beeches, faithful guardians of your flame, Bear on their wounded trunks Œnone’s name, And as their trunks, so still the letters grow; Spread on, and fair aloft my titles show.”

According to a French tradition, a blacksmith, who was one day beating a bar of red-hot iron on his anvil, raised such a shower of sparks, that some of them reached the eyes of God himself, who forthwith, in His wrath, condemned the man to become a bear, with the condition that he might climb at his pleasure all the trees excepting the Beech. Changed into a bear, the man was for ever afterwards cogitating how to uproot the tree. In this legend, the Beech, which is generally considered a tree of good augury, becomes a specially favoured or privileged tree. Pliny wrote that it should not be cut for fuel. Gerarde says of it: “The wood is hard and firme, which being brought into the house there follows hard travail of child and miserable deaths, as it is reported; and therefore it is to be forborne, and not used as fire wood.” The Beech-tree is believed to be exempt from the action of lightning, and it is well known that Indians will seek its shelter during a thunderstorm. It is the Danish symbol.--Astrologers rule the Beech to be under the dominion of Saturn.

=BELINUNCIA.=--Under the appellation of Kêd, or Ceridwen, the Druids worshipped the Moon, who was believed to exercise a peculiar influence on storms, diseases, and certain plants. They consecrated a herb to her, called Belinuncia, in the poisonous sap of which they dipped their arrows, to render them as deadly as those malignant rays of the Moon which were deemed to shed both death and madness upon men.

=BEL-TREE.=--The Ægle Marmelos, Bilva (Sanscrit), or Bel-tree, is held sacred in India. Belonging to the same natural order as the Orange, its leaves, which are divided into three separate leaflets, are dedicated to the Hindu Trinity, and Indians are accustomed to carry one of them folded in the turban or sash, in order to propitiate Siva, and ensure safety from accidents. The wood is used to form the sacrificial pillars.----The Hindu women of the Punjab throw flowers into a sacred river, by means of which they can foretell whether or not they are to survive their husbands: but a much more ingenious rite is practised by the Newars of Nepaul. To obviate the terrible hardships to a young Hindu girl of becoming a widow, she is, in the first instance, married to a Bel-fruit, which is then cast into a sacred river. Should her future husband prove distasteful to her, this rite enables her to obtain a divorce; and should the husband die, she can still claim the title of wife to the sacred Bel-fruit, which is immortal; so that she is always a wife and never a widow.

BELL-FLOWER.--See Blue-bell, and Campanula.

=BETEL.=--According to Indian traditions, the Betel was brought from heaven by Arjuna, who, during his journey to Paradise, stole a little bough of the sacred tree, which, upon his return to earth, he carefully planted. In remembrance of this celestial origin of the tree, and of the manner of its introduction to earth, Indians who desire to plant the Betel invariably steal a few young shoots.----The Betel, or Pepper-tree (Piper betle), is most highly esteemed by the Indian races, who attribute to its leaves no less than thirty properties or virtues, the possession of which, even by a plant of heavenly origin, can scarcely be credited. It is the leaf of the Betel which serves to enclose a few slices of the Areca Nut (sometimes erroneously called the Betel Nut); and these, together with a little Chunam or shell-lime, are what the natives universally chew to sweeten the breath and strengthen the stomach. The poor, indeed, employ it to keep off the pangs of hunger. In certain parts of the East, it is not considered polite to speak to a superior without some of the Betel and Areca compound in the mouth. At Indian marriage ceremonies, the bride and bridegroom exchange between themselves the same Areca Nut, with its accompanying Betel-leaf.----In Borneo, a favoured lover may enter the house of the loved one’s parents, at night, and awaken her, to sit and eat Betel Nut and the finest of Sirih-leaves from his garden.

=BETONY.=--The ‘Medicinal Betony,’ as Clare calls it, is Betonica officinalis, and of all the simples praised by old herbalists, both English and foreign, none (the Vervain excepted) was awarded a higher place than Wood Betony. Turner, in his ‘Brittish Physician’ (1687), writes:--“It would seem a miracle to tell what experience I have had of it. This herb is hot and dry, almost to the second degree, a plant of Jupiter in Aries, and is appropriated to the head and eyes, for the infirmities whereof it is excellent, as also for the breast and lungs; being boiled in milk, and drunk, it takes away pains in the head and eyes. Probatum. Some write it will cure those that are possessed with devils, or frantic, being stamped and applied to the forehead.” He gives a list of between twenty or thirty complaints which Betony will cure, and then says, “I shall conclude with the words I found in an old manuscript under the virtues of it: ‘More than all this have been proved of Betony.’” Gerarde gives a similar list, and adds, that Betony is “a remedy against the bitings of mad dogs and venomous serpents, being drunk, and also applied to the hurts, and is most singular against poyson.” There is an old saying that, when a person is ill, he should sell his coat, and buy Betony.----The Romans were well acquainted with the medicinal properties of this herb. Pliny wrote of the marvellous results obtained from its use, and also affirmed that serpents would kill one another if surrounded by a ring composed of Betonica. Antonius Musa, physician to Augustus, wrote a treatise on the excellencies of Betonica, which he affirmed would cure forty-seven different ailments. Franzius went so far as to assert that the wild beasts of the forest, aware of its surpassing virtues, availed themselves of its efficacy when they were wounded.----At a time when a belief in witchcraft was rife in England, it was generally understood that the house where Herba Betonica was sown, was free from all mischief. In Yorkshire, the Water Betony was formerly called Bishop’s Leaves. In Italy, at the present day, there are several proverbs relating to the virtues of Betony, one of which is, “May you have more virtues than Betony;” and another, “Known as well as Betony.”

=BIGNONIA.=--One of the native names of the Bignonia Indica, or Indian Trumpet-flower, is Kâmadûti, or the Messenger of Love. Under the name of Patala, the Bignonia suaveolens is specially consecrated by the Indians to the god Brahma. The name of Patala, however, is given in the Sanscrit to Durgâ, the wife of Siva, probably on account of the colour of her idols, which assimilate to the colour of the flowers of the Bignonia.

=BILBERRY.=--The origin of the Bilberry or Whortleberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus), according to the mythology of the ancients, is as follows:--Œnomaüs, father of the lovely Hippodamia, chose for his attendant the young Myrtillus, son of Mercury. Proud of his skill, he stipulated that all his daughter’s suitors should compete for the prize in a chariot race with him. Pelops, who was eager to obtain the beautiful Hippodamia, promised Myrtillus a large reward if he would take out the linch-pin of his master’s chariot. Myrtillus was not proof againt the offer: in consequence, the chariot was overturned, and Œnomaüs mortally injured; but as he expired, he implored Pelops to avenge him, which he did by throwing the treacherous attendant into the sea. The waters having borne back his body to the shore, Mercury changed it to the shrub called after his name, Myrtillus, a name formerly given to the plant producing the Myrtle-berry, a fruit largely imported in the middle ages, and used in medicine and cookery--of the same genus as the English Bilberry, which is often found growing on the sea-shore. The Scotch name of this shrub is Blaeberry, the praises of which are often sung in Northern ballads.

“Will ye go, lassie, go to the braes of Balquhidder, Whare the Blaeberries grow ’mong the bonny blooming Heather?”

Bilberries are held by the astrologers to be under Jupiter. (See also WHORTLEBERRY.)

=BIRCH.=--According to Scandinavian mythology, the Birch (Betula alba) was consecrated to the god Thor, and symbolised the return of Spring. The Greeks and Romans had not much knowledge of the tree, but the latter seem to have regarded it with a feeling of dread in consequence of the fasces of the magistracy being composed of it, as now, says Evelyn, “are the gentler rods of our tyrannical pedagogues for lighter faults.” According to Pliny, the celebrated books which Numa Pompilius composed seven hundred years before Christ, and which were buried with him, were written on the bark of the Birch-tree.----It is in the northern countries of Europe that the Birch flourishes, and it is there the tree is held in the highest esteem. The Russians have a proverb that the Birch excels in four qualities:--It gives light to the world (with Birch-boughs torches are made); it stifles cries (from Birch they extract a lubricant which they apply to the wheels of carriages); it cleanses (in Russian baths, to promote perspiration, they scourge the body with branches of Birch); it cures diseases (by incision they obtain a liquor stated to have all the virtues of the spirit of salt, and from which a wine is distilled, excellent as a cordial and useful in cases of consumption). Moreover, in Russia, the oil of the Birch is used as a vermifuge and a balsam in the cure of wounds. In fact, to the peasants of the North, the Birch is as beneficent as is the Palm to the Indians. No wonder, then, that the Russians are very fond of the Birch, and surround their dwellings with it; believing, as they do, that this tree is never struck by lightning.----On the Day of Pentecost, it is a custom among young Russian maidens to suspend garlands on the trees they love best, and they are careful to tie round the stems of the Birch-trees a little red ribbon as a charm to cause them to flourish and to protect them from the Evil Eye. De Gubernatis quotes from a Russian author named Afanassief, who tells us of a Birch that showed its appreciation of the kindly attentions of a young girl in decking its stem, by protecting her from the persecutions of a witch, who had become her step-mother; and the same author makes mention of a certain white Birch, which grew in the island of Buian, on the topmost of whose branches it was currently believed the Mother of God might be seen sitting.----Grohmann, a German writer, recounts the legend of a young shepherdess, who was spinning in the midst of a forest of Birch-trees, when suddenly the Wild Woman of the forest accosted her. The Wild Woman was dressed in white, and had a garland of flowers upon her head: she persuaded the shepherdess to dance with her, and for three days kept up the dance until sunset, but so lightly that the grass under her feet was neither trampled upon nor bent. At the conclusion of the dance, all the yarn was spun, and the Wild Woman was so satisfied, that she filled the pocket of the little shepherdess with Birch-leaves, which soon turned into golden money.----Professor Mannhardt, says De Gubernatis, divulges to us the means employed by the Russian peasants to evoke the Lieschi, or Geni of the forest. They cut down some very young Birch-trees, and arrange them in a circle in such a manner that the points shall be turned towards the middle: they enter this circle, and then they call up the spirit, who forthwith makes his appearance. They place him on the stump of one of the felled trees, with his face turned towards the East. They kiss his hand, and, whilst looking between his legs, they utter these words:--“Uncle Lieschi, show yourself to us, not as a grey wolf, not as a fierce fire, but as I myself appear.” Then the leaves of the Aspen quiver and tremble, and the Lieschi shows himself in human form, and is quite disposed to render no matter what service to him who has conjured him--provided only that he will promise him his soul.----De Gubernatis relates one other anecdote respecting the Birch, which he says to the Esthonian is the living personification of his country. It is related that an Esthonian peasant noticed a stranger asleep beneath a tree at the moment when it was struck by lightning. He awoke him. The stranger, thanking him for his good offices, said: “When, far from your native country, and feeling sorrowful and home-sick, you shall see a crooked Birch, strike and ask of it: ‘Is the crooked one at home?’” One day the peasant, who had become a soldier, and was serving in Finland, felt dispirited and unhappy, for he could not help thinking of his home and the little ones he had left behind. Suddenly he sees the crooked Birch! He strikes it, and asks: “Is the crooked one at home?” Forthwith the mysterious stranger appears, and, calling to one of his spirits, bids him instantly transport the soldier to his native country, with his knapsack full of silver.----The Swedes have a superstition that our Saviour was scourged with a rod of the dwarf Birch, which was formerly a well-grown tree, but has ever since that day been doomed to hide its miserable and stunted head. It is called Láng Fredags Ris, or Good Friday rod.----In France, it was in mediæval times the custom to preserve a bough of the Birch as a sacred object. In the country districts around Valenciennes, it is an old custom for lovers to hang a bough of Birch or Hornbeam over the doorway of his lady-love. In Haute Bretagne, as a charm to strengthen a weakly infant, they place in its cot Birch-leaves, which have been previously dried in an oven. There is an old English proverb, “Birchen twigs break no bones,” which has reference to the exceedingly slender branches of the tree.----In former days, churches were decked with boughs of the Birch, and Gerarde tell us that “it serveth well to the decking up of houses and banqueting-rooms, for places of pleasure, and for beautifying of streets in the crosse and gang [procession] weeke, and such like.” According to Herrick, it was customary to use Birch and fresh flowers for decorative purposes at Whitsuntide:--

“When Yew is out, then Birch comes in, And many flowers besides; Both of a fresh and fragrant kinne, To honour Whitsontide.”

The Scotch Highlanders think very highly of the Birch, and turn it to all sorts of uses. With Burns, the budding Birch was a prime favourite in the Spring-time. The Scotch proverb, which says of a very poor man that he is “Bare as a Birk at Yule e’en,” probably refers to an old custom of stripping the bark of the tree prior to converting it into the yule log. The tree known in the Highlands as the Drooping Birk is often grown in churchyards, where, as Scott says, “Weeps the Birch of silver bark with long dishevell’d hair.” In Scottish ballads, the Birch is associated with the dead, and more especially with the wraiths or spirits of those who appear to be living after death. The following is a good example:--

“I dreamed a dreary dream last nicht; God keep us a’ frae sorrow! I dreamed I pu’d the Birk sae green Wi’ my true love on Yarrow.

“I’ll redde your dream, my sister dear, I’ll tell you a’ your sorrow; You pu’d the Birk wi’ your true love; He’s killed, he’s killed on Yarrow.”

The Birch-tree is held to be under the dominion of Venus.

BITTER-SWEET.--See Solanum.

=BITTER VETCH.=--The Orobus, or Bitter Vetch, is supposed to represent the herb mentioned in a passage in Pulci, which relates how an enchanter preserves two knights from starvation, during a long journey, by giving them a herb which, being held in the mouth, answers all the purposes of food.----The Scotch Highlanders have a great esteem for the tubercles of the Orobus root (which they call Corr or Cormeille); they use them as masticatories, to flavour their liquor. They also affirm that by the use of them they are enabled to repel hunger and thirst for a considerable time. In times of scarcity, the roots have served as a substitute for bread, and many think that the Bitter Vetch is the Chara, mentioned by Cæsar, as affording food to his famished soldiers at the siege of Dyrrhachium. The seeds, ground and tempered with wine, were applied to heal the bitings of dogs and venomous beasts.

BLACK-THORN.--See Thorn.

BLAEBERRY.--See Bilberry and Whortleberry.

=BLUE-BELL.=--The Blue-bells of Scotland have long since become household words. The flower (Campanula latifolia) is the finest and most stately of the species, and although common enough on its native hills, is scarce in England. It is associated with the feast of St. George. (See CAMPANULA.)

BLUE-BOTTLE and BLUET.--See Centaury.

BO-TREE.--See Peepul.

=BORAGE.=--In former days, Borage (Borago officinalis) was noted as one of the four “cordial flowers” most deserving of esteem for cheering the spirits--the other three being the Rose, Violet, and Alkanet. Pliny called Borage Euphrosynum, because it made men merry and joyful: and to the same purport is the old Latin rhyme, “Ego Borago gaudia semper ago.” All the old herbalists praise the plant for its exhilarating effects, and agree with Pliny that when put into wine the leaves and flowers of Borage make men and women glad and merry, driving away all sadness, dulness, and melancholy. The “cool tankard” of our forefathers was a beverage composed of the young shoots and blossoms of Borage mingled with wine, water, lemon, and sugar. Lord Bacon was of opinion that “if in the must of wine or wort of beer, while it worketh, before it be tunned, the Burrage stay a short time, and be changed with fresh, it will make a sovereign drink for melancholy passion.”----Borage, astrologers tell us, is one of Jupiter’s cordials.

=BOX.=--The evergreen Box (Buxus semperviva) was specially consecrated by the Greeks to Pluto, the protector of all evergreen trees, as being symbolical of the life which continues through the winter in the infernal regions, and in the other world.----A curious superstition existed among the ancients in regard to the Box: although it very much resembles the Myrtle, which was held sacred to Venus, yet they carefully refrained from dedicating the Box to that goddess, because they were afraid that through such an offering they would lose their virility. They also, according to Bacon, entertained the belief that the Box produced honey, and that in Trebizonde the honey issuing from this tree was so noxious, that it drove men mad. Corsican honey was supposed to owe its ill repute to the fact that the bees fed upon Box. The Box is referred to by the Prophet Isaiah in his description of the glory of the latter days of the Church: “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the Fir-tree, the Pine-tree, and the Box-tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary.” It is thought, also, to be the Ashur-wood of the Scriptures, and to be referred to by Ezekiel when, in describing the splendour of Tyre, he alludes to the benches of the rowers as made of Ashur wood, inlaid with ivory. That the ancients were accustomed to inlay Box-wood with ivory we know from Virgil and other writers, who allude to this practice.----The Jews employ branches of Box in erecting their tents at the Feast of Tabernacles.----Boughs of Box were used formerly for decorative purposes, instead of the Willow, on Palm Sundays. According to Herrick, it was once a time-honoured custom on Candlemas Day to replace the Christmas evergreens with sprigs of Box, which were kept up till Easter Eve, when they gave place to Yew.

“Down with the Rosemary and Bays, Down with the Mistletoe; Instead of Holly now upraise The greener Box for show.”

Box-boughs were also in olden times regularly gathered at Whitsuntide for decking the large open fire-places then in vogue.----In several parts of the North of England, when a funeral takes place, a basin full of sprigs of Box is placed at the door of the house from which the coffin is taken up, and each mourner is expected to take a sprig, and afterwards cast it on the grave of the deceased.----In Turkey, it is a practice with widows, who go weekly to pray at their husbands’ tomb, to plant a sprig of Box at the head of the grave. The monastery of St. Christine, in the Pyrenees, assumes the arms of the Knights of St. Christine, viz., a white pigeon with a cross in its beak, to which is attached the following legend:--The workmen who were employed to build the monastery had the greatest difficulty in finding a suitable foundation. After several ineffectual attempts, they one morning perceived a white pigeon flying with a cross in its beak. They pursued the bird, which perched on a Box-tree, but though it flew away on their near approach, they found in the branches the cross which it had left: this they took as a good omen, and proceeded successfully to lay the foundation on the spot where the Box-tree had stood, and completed the edifice.----To dream of Box denotes long life and prosperity, also a happy marriage.

=BRACKEN FERN.=--There was formerly a proverb respecting the Pteris aquilina, or common Brake Fern, popular in the country:--

“When the Fern is as high as a spoon, You may sleep an hour at noon; When the Fern is as high as a ladle, You may sleep as long as you’re able; When the Fern begins to look red, Then milk is good with brown bread.”

In Ireland, the Bracken Fern is called the Fern of God, from an old belief that if the stem be cut into three pieces, there will be seen on the first slice the letter G, on the second O, and on the third D,--the whole forming the sacred word God. There is still a superstition in England, probably derived from some holy father, that in the cut stem of the Bracken Fern may be traced the sacred letters I.H.S. In Kent, and some other counties, these letters are deciphered as J.C. In other parts of the country, the marks are supposed to delineate an Oak, and to have first grown there in memory of the tree in which King Charles sought shelter during his flight.----An old legend is yet told, that James, the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, after the battle of Sedgemoor, was able to lie concealed for some days beneath the dense Bracken Ferns; but one day, emerging from his retreat, he sat down and began cutting some of the Fern-stems which had sheltered him. Whilst doing this, he was seen by some peasants, who noticed the flash of a diamond ring on one of his fingers. When, therefore, a reward was offered soon afterwards for the Duke’s capture, they recalled the circumstance, and sought for him where he lay concealed among the Brakes.----Connected with this figure of an Oak in the Bracken-stem, there is a saying, that if you cut the Bracken slantwise, you’ll see a picture of an Oak-tree; the more perfect, the luckier your chance will be. In Germany, the figure portrayed in the stem is popularly recognised as the Russian Double Eagle. Of still more ancient origin, however, is the opinion that the figure in the Brake Fern-stem is that of an eagle, from whence it derived its name of Eagle Fern. In Henderson’s ‘Folk Lore of the Northern Counties,’ we read that witches detest the Bracken Fern because it bears on its root the letter C, the initial of the holy name of Christ, which may be plainly seen on cutting the root horizontally. It has, however, been suggested that the letter intended is not the English C, but the Greek Χ, the initial letter of the word Christos, which resembles closely the marks on the root of the Bracken. These marks, however, have been also stated to represent Adam and Eve standing on either side of the Tree of Knowledge, and King Charles in the Oak. In some parts, lads and lasses try to discover in the Bracken-stem the initials of their future wife or husband.----Astrologers state that the Bracken Fern is under the dominion of Mercury.

=BRAMBLE, or BLACKBERRY.=--The Bramble or Blackberry-bush (Rubus fruticosus) is said to be the burning bush, in the midst of which Jehovah appeared to Moses. It is the subject of the oldest apologue extant. We read in Judges ix., 8-15, how Jotham, when bitterly reproaching the men of Shechem for their ingratitude to his father’s house, narrated to them, after the Oriental fashion, the parable of the trees choosing a king, in which their choice eventually fell upon the Bramble. According to some accounts, it was the Bramble that supplied the Thorns which were plaited into a crown, and worn by our Saviour just prior to the Crucifixion.----On St. Simon and St. Jude’s Day (October 28th) tradition avers that Satan sets his foot on the Bramble, after which day not a single edible Blackberry can be found. In Sussex, they say that, after Old Michaelmas Day (10th October), the Devil goes round the county and spits on the Blackberries. In Scotland, it is thought that, late in the Autumn, the Devil throws his cloak over the Blackberries, and renders them unwholesome. In Ireland, there is an old saying, that “at Michaelmas the Devil put his foot on the Blackberries;” and in some parts of that country the peasants will tell their children, after Michaelmas Day, not to eat the Grian-mhuine (Blackberries); and they attribute the decay in them, which about that time commences, to the operation of the Phooka, a mischievous goblin, sometimes assuming the form of a bat or bird, at other times appearing as a horse or goat.----The ancients deemed both the fruit and flowers of the Bramble efficacious against the bites of serpents; and it was at one time believed that so astringent were the qualities of this bush, that even its young shoots, when eaten as a salad, would fasten teeth that were loose. Gerarde, however, for that purpose recommends a decoction of the leaves, mixed with honey, alum, and a little wine, and adds that the leaves “heale the eies that hang out.”----In Cornwall, Bramble-leaves, wetted with spring water, are employed as a charm for a scald or burn. The moistened leaves are applied to the burn whilst the patient repeats the following formula:--

“There came three angels out of the East, One brought fire, and two brought frost; Out fire and in frost; In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.”

A similar incantation to the above is used as a charm for inflammatory disease. The formula is repeated three times to each one of nine Bramble-leaves immersed in spring water, passes being meanwhile made with the leaves from the diseased part. A cure for rheumatism is to crawl under a Bramble, which has formed a second root in the ground; and to charm away boils, the sufferer should pass nine times, against the Sun, under a Bramble-bush growing at both ends. In Devonshire, a curious charm for the cure of blackhead or pinsoles consisted in creeping under an arched Bramble. The person affected by this troublesome malady has to creep on hands and knees under or through a Bramble three times, with the Sun--that is, from east to west. The Bramble must be of peculiar growth, forming an arch rooting at both ends, and if possible reaching into two proprietors’ lands; so that a Bramble is by preference selected, of which the original root is in the hedge of one owner, and the end of the branch forming the arch is rooted in the meadow of another.----The Bramble has funereal associations, and its young shoots have long been used to bind down the sods on newly-made graves in village churchyards. Jeremy Taylor, when commenting on mortality, says, referring to this custom: “The Summer gives green turf and Brambles to bind upon our graves.”----The Moat of Moybolgue, in the County of Cavan, is a sacred place in Ireland, where St. Patrick ministered. According to a legend, Honor Garrigan, one Sunday during the saint’s lifetime, rode up the hill to church; but espying a bunch of ripe Blackberries, she dismounted in order to gather them. Her servant lad remonstrated upon the wickedness of her breaking her fast before receiving the Holy Communion, but in vain; his mistress ate the Blackberries, and then her hunger increased to famine pitch, and she ate the boy and then the horse. St. Patrick, alarmed by the cries of his congregation, who were afraid the wicked woman would devour them also, shot her with his bow and arrow--her body separating into four sections, which were buried in a field outside the churchyard; St. Patrick prophesying to the terrified crowd that she would lie quiet till nine times nine of the name of Garrigan should cross the stream which separated the roads from the churchyard. When that took place, she would rise again, and devour all before her; and that would be the way she would be destroyed. The water of the stream has ever since been held sacred, and effects miraculous cures.----The Bramble is said to be a plant of Mars. To dream of passing through places covered with Brambles, portends troubles; if they prick you, secret enemies will do you an injury with your friends; if they draw blood, expect heavy losses in trade. To dream of passing through Brambles unhurt, denotes a triumph over enemies.

BREAKSTONE.--See Saxifrage.

=BROOM.=--The English royal line of Plantagenet undoubtedly derived its name from the Broom (Planta genista), the Gen of the Celts, the Genêt of the French, and from time immemorial the badge of Brittany. According to Skinner, the house of Anjou derived the name of Plantagenet from Fulke, the first earl of that name, who, it is said, having killed his brother in order that he might enjoy his principality, afterwards, touched by remorse, undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem as a work of atonement; and being there soundly scourged with Broom-twigs, which grew plentifully on the spot, he ever after took the surname of Plantagenet, and bore the Genêt as his personal cognisance, which was retained by his noble posterity. Another legend, however, relates that this badge was first adopted by Gefroi, Earl of Anjou, the father of Henry II., and husband of Matilda, Empress of Germany. Passing on his way to the battle-field through a rocky pathway, on either side of which bushes of yellow Broom clung firmly to the boulders, or upheld the crumbling earth, Gefroi broke off a branch and fixed it as a plume in his cap, saying, “Thus shall this golden plant ever be my cognisance--rooted firmly among rocks, and yet upholding that which is ready to fall.” He afterwards took the name of Plantagenet (Planta genista) and transmitted it to his princely posterity. His son Henry was called the Royal Sprig of Genista, and the Broom continued to be the family device down to the last of the Plantagenets, Richard III. It may be seen on the great seal of Richard I., its first official heraldic appearance.----In 1234, St. Louis of France established a new order of Knighthood, called l’Ordre du Genest, on the occasion of his marriage with Queen Marguerite. The Knights of the Genest wore a chain composed of blossoms of the Genêt (Broom) in gold alternately with white enamelled Fleurs de Lis, from which was suspended, a gold cross with the motto “Deus exaltat humiles.” One hundred Knights of the Order of the Genest acted as a body-guard to the King. The order was long held in high esteem, and one of its recipients was Richard II.----The Broom may well be symbolic of humility, for, according to a Sicilian legend, it was accursed for having made such a noise in the garden of Gethsemane during the time that Jesus Christ was praying there, that His persecutors were thus enabled to surprise Him. Hemmed in by His enemies, Jesus, turning towards the traitorous shrub, pronounced on it this malediction: “May you always make as much noise when you are being burnt.”----In England, the Broom has always been held as one of the plants beloved by witches. In Germany, the Broom is the plant selected for decorations on Whit-Sunday: it is also used as a charm. When a limb has been amputated, the charmer takes a twig from a Broom, and after pressing the wound together with it, wraps it in the bloody linen, and lays it in a dry place, saying:

“The wounds of our Lord Christ They are not bound; But these wounds they are bound In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

In Tuscany, on the day of the Fête-Dieu, it is often employed. In England, it is considered that if the Broom has plenty of blossoms, it is the sign of a plentiful grain harvest. In Suffolk and Sussex, there is a saying that--

“If you sweep the house with blossomed Broom in May, You are sure to sweep the head of the house away.”

By the old herbalists the Broom was considered a panacea for a multiplicity of disorders, and Gerarde tells us that no less a personage than “that worthy Prince of famous memory, Henry VIII., of England, was wont to drink the distilled water of Broome-floures, against surfets and diseases thereof arising.”----Broom is under the planetary influence of Mars.

=BRIONY.=--The poisonous fruit or berries of the Black Briony (Tamus) are supposed to remove sunburns, freckles, bruises, black eyes, and other blemishes of the skin. Another name of this wild Vine is Our Lady’s Seal. The root of the White Briony may be made to grow in any shape by placing it when young in an earthenware mould. In olden times, designing people by this means obtained roots of frightful forms, which they exhibited as curiosities, or sold as charms. The anodyne necklace, which was a profitable affair for one Doctor Turner in the early part of the present century, consisted of beads made of white Briony-root: it was believed to assist in cutting the teeth of infants, around whose neck it was hung.----Briony is under the dominion of Mars.

=BUCKTHORN.=--Of one variety of Buckthorn (Rhamnus palinurus) it is said that Christ’s Crown of Thorns was composed. Of another variety (R. Frangula) the Mongols make their idols, selecting the wood on account of its rich hue.----The Buckthorn is under the dominion of Saturn.

=BUGLOSS.=--The Bugloss (Anchusa) has been made the emblem of Falsehood, because the roots of one of its species (A. tinctoria) are used in making rouge for the face. In the wilds of America, the Indians paint their bodies red with the root of a Bugloss (Anchusa Virginica) indigenous to their country. Galen notices the use of the Bugloss as a cosmetic in his time, and the rouge made from the roots of this plant is said to be the most ancient of all the paints prepared for the face.----Pliny says that the Anchusa was used by the Romans for colouring and dyeing; and adds, that if a person who has chewed this plant should spit in the mouth of a venomous creature, he would kill it.----The Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare) derives its name from its seed being like the head of a viper, and, according to Matthiolus, was celebrated for curing its bites. Nicander also speaks of the Viper’s Bugloss as one of those plants which cure the biting of serpents, and especially of the viper, and that drive serpents away. Dioscorides, as quoted by Gerarde, writes, “The root drunk with wine is good for those that be bitten with serpents, and it keepeth such from being stung as have drunk of it before: the leaves and seeds do the same.”----Bugloss is reputed to be under the dominion of Jupiter.

=BULRUSH.=--King Midas, having preferred the singing of Marsyas, the satyr, to that of Apollo, the god clapped upon him a pair of ass’s ears. The king’s barber saw them, and, unable to keep the secret, buried it at the foot of a cluster of Bulrushes. These Reeds, shaken by the wind, continually murmured, “King Midas has ass’s ears.” Both the Scirpus lacustris and Typha latifolia (the Reed Mace) are popularly known as the Bulrush (a corruption of Pole Rush or Pool Rush). The Typha is depicted by Rubens, and the earlier Italian painters, as the Reed put into the hands of Jesus Christ upon His crucifixion. The same Reed is, on certain days, put into the hands of the Roman Catholic statues of our Saviour. Gerarde calls this Reed Cat’s-tail, and points out that Aristophanes makes mention of it in his ‘Comedy of Frogs,’ “where he bringeth them forth, one talking with another, being very glad that they had spent the whole day in skipping and leaping among Galingale and Cat’s-tail.”----The Bulrushes, among which the infant Moses was placed on the banks of the Nile, were Reeds not unlike the Typha. The ark in which he was laid was probably a small canoe constructed with the same Reed--the Papyrus Nilotica, which, according to Egyptian belief, was a protection from crocodiles. Gerarde says: “It is thought by men of great learning and understanding in the Scriptures, and set downe by them for truth, that this plant is the same Reed mentioned in the second chapter of Exodus, whereof was made that basket or cradle, which was daubed within and without with slime of that country, called Bitumen Judaicum, wherein Moses was put, being committed to the water, when Pharaoh gave commandment that all the male children of the Hebrews should be drowned.”----Boats and canoes formed of the Papyrus are common in Abyssinia. In South America, a similar kind of Bulrush is used for a like purpose.----The Bulrush is under the dominion of Saturn.

=BURDOCK.=--Everyone is acquainted with the prickly burs of the Arctium Lappa, or Burdock, which, by means of their hooks, are apt to cling so tenaciously to the passer-by. There exists an old belief among country lads, that they can catch bats by throwing these burs at them. The plant is also known by the names of Great-bur, Hur-bur, and Clot-bur, and has an ancient reputation for curing rheumatism.----It was under the great leaf of a Burdock that the original Hop-o’-my-Thumb, of nursery-rhyme celebrity, sought refuge from a storm, and was, unfortunately, swallowed, enclosed in the leaf, by a passing hungry cow.----In Albania, there is a superstitious belief that, if a man has been influenced by the demons of the forest, the evil spirit must be exorcised by the priest; a portion of the ceremony consisting of the steeping of bread in wine, and spreading it on the broad leaves of a Burdock.----Venus is the planet under whose rule astrologers place Burdock.

=BURITI.=--The Buriti Palm (Mauritia vinifera) attains, in Brazil, gigantic proportions, and its rich red and yellow fruit, “like quilted cannon balls,” hang in bunches five feet long. From it flour, wine, and butter are made, whilst the fibre of the leaves supplies thread for weaving, &c. Another species, M. flexuosa, flourishes in the valleys and swamps of South America, where the native Indians regard it with great reverence, living almost entirely on its products; and, what is very remarkable, building their houses high up amongst its leaves, where they live during the floods.

=BURNET.=--The Burnet Saxifrage (Pimpinella Saxifraga) appears to be considered a magical plant in Hungary, where it is called Châbairje, or Chaba’s Salve, from an old tradition that King Chaba discovered it, and cured the wounds of fifteen thousand of his soldiers after a sanguinary battle fought against his brother.----In a work on astrology, purported to be written by King Solomon, and translated from the Hebrew by Iroé Grego, it is stated that the magician’s sword ought to be steeped in the blood of a mole and in the juice of Pimpinella.----In Piedmont, the Pimpinella is thought to possess the property of increasing the beauty of women.----Burnet is a herb of the Sun.

=BUTCHER’S BROOM.=--A species of Butcher’s Broom, Ruscus hypoglossum, was the Alexandrian Laurel of the Romans, who formed of this shrub the so-called Laurel crowns worn by distinguished personages. It is the Laurel generally depicted on busts, coins, &c.----The name of Butcher’s Broom was given to this plant because in olden times butchers were in the habit of sweeping their blocks with hand brooms made of its green shoots. In Italy, branches of the plant, tied together, are commonly employed as besoms for sweeping houses; and hucksters place boughs of it round bacon and cheese to defend them from the mice. The Ruscus aculeatus, besides its ordinary name of Butcher’s Broom, is called Knee-holme, Knee-pulver, Knee-holly, Pettigree, and sometimes Jews’ Myrtle, because it is sold to the Jews for use during the Feast of the Tabernacles. In combination with Horse-radish, the plant, boiled for a decoction, is said to be serviceable in cases of dropsy; and its boughs are often used in this country for flogging chilblains.----Butcher’s Broom has been used and claimed by the Earls of Sutherland as the distinguishing badge of their followers and clan. The present Duke retains it, and every Sutherland volunteer still wears a sprig of Butcher’s Broom in his bonnet on field days.----Butcher’s Broom is under the dominion of Mars.

BUTTERCUPS.--See Ranunculus.

=CABBAGE.=--A Grecian legend recounts that the Cabbage (Brassica) sprang from the tears of Lycurgus, Prince of Thrace, whom Dionysus had bound to a Vine-stock as a punishment for the destruction of Vines of which the Prince had been guilty. Perhaps this ancient legend may account for the belief that the Cabbage, like the Laurel, is inimical to the Vine; and it may also have given rise to the employment by the Egyptians and the Greeks of this vegetable as a most powerful remedy for the intoxication produced by the fruit of the Vine. Bacon, in his Sylva Sylvarum, says: “So the Colewort (Cabbage) is not an enemy (though that were anciently received) to the Vine onely; but it is an enemy to any other plant, because it draweth strongly the fattest juyce of the earth.” He also tells us that “it is reported that the shrub called Our Ladie’s Seal (which is a kinde of Briony) and Coleworts, set neare together, one or both will die.” Gerarde says that the Greeks called the Cabbage Amethustos, “not onely because it driveth away drunkennesse, but also for that it is like in colour to the pretious stone called the Amethyst.”----The ancient Ionians, in their oaths, invoked the Cabbage. Nicander calls the Cabbage a sacred plant.----In Scotland, young women determine the figure and size of their future husbands by drawing Cabbages, blindfolded, on Hallowe’en.----In some country places, the housewife considers it a lucky omen if her Cabbages grow “double,” i.e., with two shoots from one root; or “lucker,” that is, with the leaves spreading open.----A Cabbage stalk or stump is a favourite steed upon which the “good people,” or fairies, are wont to travel in the air. Mr. Croker, in his ‘Fairy Legends of Ireland,’ relates that at Dundaniel, a village near Cork, in a pleasant outlet called Blackrock, there lived not many years ago a gardener named Crowley, who was considered by his neighbours as under fairy control, and suffered from what they termed “the falling sickness” resulting from the fatigue attendant on the journeys which he was compelled to take; being forced to travel night after night with the good people on one of his own Cabbage-stumps.----The Italian expressions, “Go among the Cabbages,” and “Go hide among the Cabbages,” mean to die. In the North, however, children are told that “Baby was fetched out of the Cabbage-bed.”----In Jersey, the Palm Cabbage is much cultivated, and reaches a considerable height. In La Vendée, the Cæsarean Cow Cabbage grows sixteen feet high. Possibly these gigantic Cabbages may have given rise to the nursery tales of some of the continental states, in which the young hero emulates the exploits of the English Jack and his Bean-stalk, by means of a little Cabbage, which grows larger and larger, and finally, becoming colossal, reaches the skies.----In England, there is a nursery legend which relates how the three daughters of a widow were one day sent into the kitchen garden to protect the Cabbages from the ravages of a grey horse which was continually stealing them. Watching their opportunity, they caught him by the mane and would not be shaken off; so the grey horse trotted away to a neighbouring hill, dragging the three girls after him. Arrived at the hill, he commanded it to open, and the widows’ daughters found themselves in an enchanted palace.----A tradition in the Havel country, North Germany, relates that one Christmas Eve a peasant felt a great desire to eat Cabbage, and having none himself, he slipped into a neighbour’s garden to cut some. Just as he had filled his basket, the Christ Child rode past on his white horse, and said: “Because thou hast stolen on the holy night, thou shalt immediately sit in the moon with thy basket of Cabbage.” The culprit was immediately wafted up to the moon, and there, as the man in the moon, he is still undergoing his penalty for stealing Cabbages on Christmas Eve.----To dream of cutting Cabbages denotes jealousy on the part of wife, husband, or lover, as the case may be. To dream of anyone else cutting them portends an attempt by some person to create jealousy in the loved one’s mind. To dream of eating Cabbage implies sickness to loved ones and loss of money.----Cabbages are plants of the Moon.

=CACTUS.=--The Cacti are for the most part natives of South America, where their weird and grotesque columns or stems, devoid of leaves, dot with green the arid plains of New Barcelona or the dark hillsides of Mexico and California. They often attain the height of fifty feet, and live to such an age as to have gained the name of “imperishable statues.” Standing for centuries, they have been selected to mark national boundaries, as for instance, between the English and French possessions in the Island of St. Christopher, West Indies, and they are also employed as hedges to lanes and roadways. In the arid plains of Mexico and Brazil, the Cacti serve as reservoirs of moisture, and not only the natives, by probing the fleshy stems with their long forest knives, supply themselves with a cool and refreshing juice, but even the parched cattle contrive to break through the skin with their hoofs, and then to suck the liquid they contain. The splendid colours of the Cactus flowers are in vivid contrast with the ugly and ungainly stems.----There are sundry local legends and superstitions about these plants of the desert. A certain one poisons every white spot on a horse, but not one of any other colour. Another, eaten by horses, makes them lazy and imbecile.----The number of known genera is eighteen, and there are six hundred species, two of which are specially cultivated, viz., Opuntia Cochinellifera (Nopal plant), largely grown in Mexico, as the food plant of the Cochineal insect (Coccus Cacti), which produces a beautiful crimson dye; and C. vulgaris, or Prickly Pear, which is cultivated for its grateful Gooseberry-like fruits in barren rocky parts of North Africa and Southern Europe.----Peruvian sorcerers make rag dolls, and stick the thorns of Cactus in them, or hide these thorns in holes under or about houses, or in the wool of beds and cushions, that those they wish to harm may be crippled, maddened, or suffocated.

CALF’S-SNOUT.--See Antirrhinum.

=CAMELLIA.=--The flower of the beauteous Rose of Japan (Camellia Japonica) has been well described as--

“The chaste Camellia’s pure and spotless bloom, That boasts no fragrance and conceals no Thorn.”

The tree was introduced into Europe in 1639, and is named after G. J. Kamel, or Camellus, a Moravian Jesuit, and traveller in Asia, who, returning to Spain from the Isle of Luzon, sought an audience of Queen Maria Theresa, and presented her with a mother-o’-pearl vase, in which grew a small shrub with glossy green leaves, bearing two flowers of dazzling whiteness. Plucking the fair bloom, she ran to the king’s chamber, which he was pacing in one of his periodical fits of melancholy. “Behold the new flower of the Philippines,” she cried, as her husband welcomed her with a fond embrace; “I have kept the best for you; the other you shall present to-night to Rosalez, who plays so well in Cinna, at the Theatre del Principe.” Ferdinand pronounced the flower of which his wife was so enraptured to be “beautiful but scentless,” but spite of the latter defect, the plant was assiduously cultivated in the hothouses of El Buen Retiro, and called after the giver, the Camellia.----In Japan, the Camellia is a large and lofty tree, greatly esteemed by the natives for the beauty of its flowers and evergreen foliage, and grown everywhere in their groves and gardens: it is also a native of China, and figures frequently in Chinese paintings. The Camellia Sasanqua, the Cha-Hwa of the Chinese, has fragrant flowers, and its dried leaves are prized for the scent obtained from them; a decoction is used by the ladies of China and Japan as a hair-wash.----This shrub so resembles the Tea-plant, both in leaf and blossom, that they are not readily distinguished: the leaves are mixed with Tea to render its odour more grateful.

=CAMPANULA.=--One of the chief favourites in the family of Campanulaceæ, or Bell-flowers, is Campanula Speculum, or Venus’s Looking-glass. The English name was given to this little plant probably because its brilliant corollas appear to reflect the sun’s rays, although some authorities state that it is so called from the glossiness of the seeds. Still another derivation is the resemblance of the flower’s round-shaped bloom to the form of the mirror of the ancients, which was always circular; and the plant being graceful and extremely pretty, it was appropriated to the Goddess of Beauty. The classics, however, ignore all these derivations, and give us the following account of the origin of the

“Floral bough that swingeth And tolls its perfume on the passing air.”

In one of her rambles on earth, Venus accidentally dropped a certain mirror which she was carrying, and which possessed the quality of beautifying whatever it reflected. A shepherd picked it up; but no sooner had he gazed upon its wondrous reflecting surface, than he forgot forthwith his favourite nymph, and it is to be presumed himself as well; for, like another Narcissus, he became enamoured of his own visage, and could do nothing but admire his own charms. Cupid, who had discovered his mother’s loss, and found out how matters stood with the foolish shepherd, became fearful of the consequences of such a silly error; he, therefore, broke the magic mirror, and transformed the glittering fragments into those bright little flowers, which have ever since been called Venus’s Looking-glass.----Miller mentions seventy-eight kinds of Campanula, the best known of which are the Canterbury-bells, Coventry-bells, the Heath-bell, and the Giant Throat-wort, a flower mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in his poem of ‘Rokeby’:--

“He laid him down, Where purple Heath profusely strown, And Throat-wort, with its azure bell, And Moss, and Thyme, his cushion swell.”

(See also CANTERBURY BELLS).

=CAMPHOR.=--The Camphire or Camphor-tree (Laurus Camphora) is principally found in China and Japan. Camphor is obtained by boiling the wood of this tree, in which the gum exists, ready formed. The Arabians at a very early period were acquainted with the virtues of the Camphor-trees of Sumatra and Borneo, the produce of which is known as Native Camphor.

CAMPION.--See Lychnis, and Ragged Robin.

=CANDY-TUFT.=--The Iberis, or, as we call it in English, Candy-tuft (from Candia, whence we first received the plant), is singularly devoid of any poetical or traditional lore. Old Gerarde tells us that Lord Edward Zouche sent him some seeds which he sowed in his garden, and reared in due course. He calls it Candie Mustard, Thlaspi Candiæ, the latter being one of the names by which the plant was known in France. In that country, more importance seems to have been attached to the flower, or, at any rate, more notice was taken of it by poets and literati, for we find that one of the species was distinguished as being the emblem of architecture, from the fact that its flowers are disposed in stories from the base to the summit of the stalk, resembling in some little degree the open columns of one of the most delicate orders of architecture. Rapin, the French Jesuit poet, alludes to this flower in his poem on Gardens, and briefly gives the mythology of Thlaspis in the following lines:--

“Now, on high stems will Matricaria rear Her silver blooms, and with her will appear Thlaspis, a Cretan youth, who won the fair: Happy if more auspicious Hymen’s rites Had with pure flames adorned their nuptial lights.”

=CANNA.=--The Burmese esteem as sacred the Bohdda Tharanat (Canna Indica, or Indian Shot), so named from its seeds, which are used for the beads of the rosary. The flowers are red, or sometimes white. The Burman believes that it sprang from Buddha’s blood; and the legend relates that his evil-minded brother-in-law and cousin Dewadat, enraged that he was not allowed to have a separate assembly of his own, went to the top of a hill, and rolled down a huge stone, intending to destroy the most excellent payah. But the boulder burst into a thousand pieces, and only one little piece bruised Buddha’s toe, and drew a few drops of blood, whence sprang the sacred flower, the Bohdda Tharanat. The renowned physician Zaywaku healed the great teacher’s wound in a single day. The earth soon afterwards opened and swallowed up the sacrilegious Dewadat.

=CANTERBURY BELLS.=--The Nettle-leaved Bell-flower, Campanula Trachelium, was so called by Gerarde from growing plentifully in the low woods about Canterbury, and possibly in allusion to its resemblance to the hand-bells which were placed on poles, and rung by pilgrims when proceeding to the shrine of Thomas à Becket--St. Thomas, of England. There is, however, a tradition extant that the name of Canterbury Bells was given to the Campanula in memory of St. Augustine.

=CARDAMINE.=--The faint sweet Cuckoo-flower, common in meadows and by brook sides, is the Cardamine pratensis. It was so called, says Gerarde, because it flowers in April and May, “when the cuckoo doth begin to sing her pleasant notes without stammering.” The flower is also called Lady’s Smock, and Our Lady’s Smock, from the resemblance of its pale flowers to little smocks hung out to dry, as they used to be once a year, at that season especially. Shakspeare alludes to it in these lines:--

“When Daisies pied and Violets blue, And Lady-smocks all silver white, And Cuckoo-buds of yellow hue, Do paint the meadows with delight. When shepherd’s pipe on oaten straws, And maidens bleach their Summer smocks,” &c.

The Cuckoo-buds here alluded to are supposed to be a species of Ranunculus; and, perhaps, as the Cardamine pratensis is rather a pale blue than a silver-white flower, Shakspeare alluded in these lines to C. amara, whose brilliantly-white blossoms might well be taken for linen laid out to bleach. The plant derives its name Cardamine from its taste of Cardamoms. It is also called Meadow Cress. For some reason, if this flower was found introduced into a May-day garland, it was torn to pieces immediately on discovery. Our Lady’s Smock is associated by the Catholics with the Day of the Annunciation.----The Cardamine is a herb of the Moon.

=CARDINAL-FLOWER.=--Of the extensive Lobelia family the L. Cardinalis, or Cardinal’s Flower, is, perhaps, the most beautiful. Its blossoms are of so brilliant a scarlet, as to have reminded the originator of its name of the scarlet cloth of Rome, while its shape is not altogether dissimilar to the hat of the Romish dignitary. Alphonse Karr, remarking on the vivid hue of the Cardinal’s Flower, says that even the Verbena will pale before it.

=CARLINE THISTLE.=--The white and red Carline Thistles (Carlina vulgaris) derive their name from Charlemagne, regarding whom the legend relates that once--“a horrible pestilence broke out in his army, and carried off many thousand men, which greatly troubled the pious Emperor. Wherefore, he prayed earnestly to God; and in his sleep there appeared to him an angel, who shot an arrow from the cross-bow, telling him to mark the plant upon which it fell, for that with that plant he might cure his army of the pestilence. And so it really happened.” The plant upon which the arrow alighted was the Carline Thistle, and, as Gerarde tells us, Charlemagne’s army was, through the benefit of the root delivered and preserved from the plague.--The Carline Thistle is under the dominion of Mars.

=CARNATION.=--The Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) is generally supposed to have obtained its name from the flesh-colour of its flowers; but it was more correctly spelt by old writers, Coronation, as representing the Vetonica coronaria of the early herbalists, and so called from its flowers being used in the classic coronæ or chaplets. Thus Spenser, in his ‘Shepherd’s Calendar’ says: “Bring Coronations and Sops-in-wine, worn of paramours.” From Chaucer we learn that the flower was formerly called the Clove Gilliflower, and that it was cultivated in English gardens in Edward the Third’s reign. In those days, it was used to give a spicy flavour to wine and ale, and from hence obtained its name of Sop-in-wine:--

“Her springen herbes, grete and smale, The Licoris and the Setewales, And many a Clove Gilofre, --------to put in ale, Whether it be moist or stale.”

The name Gilliflower (formerly spelt Gyllofer and Gilofre) is a corruption of the Latin Caryophyllum, a Clove (Greek, Karuophullon); and has reference to the spicy odour of the flower, which was used as a substitute for the costly Indian Cloves in flavouring dainty dishes as well as liquors. The Gilliflower was also thought to possess medicinal properties. Gerarde assures us, that “The conserve made of the flowers of the Clove Gilloflower and sugar is exceeding cordiall, and woonderfully above measure doth comfort the heart, being eaten now and then.” It was, also, thought good against pestilential fevers.----A red Carnation distinguishes several of the Italian painters. Benvenuto Tisio was called “Il Garofalo,” from his having painted a Gilliflower in the corner of his pictures.----The Carnation is under the dominion of Jupiter. (See also GILLIFLOWER).

=CAROB.=--The Carob-tree, or St. John’s Bread (Ceratonia Siliqua) flourishes in the East, and in Palestine (to quote from Gerarde) there is “such plenty of it, that it is left unto swine and other wilde beasts to feed upon, as our Acorns and Beech-mast.” Hence it has long been supposed by many that the shells of the Carob-pod were the husks which the Prodigal Son was fain to feed upon, although they were what “the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him’ (Luke xv., 16).----In Germany, as in England, the Carob obtained the name of St. John’s Bread, from the popular belief that the Baptist fed upon it whilst in the wilderness. Gerarde says: “This is of some called Saint John’s Bread, and thought to be that which is translated Locusts, whereon Saint John did feed when he was in the wildernesse, besides the wilde honey whereof he did also eat; but there is small certainty of this; but it is most certain that the people of that country doe feed on these pods.” By others it has been supposed that the Locusts on which John the Baptist fed were the tender shoots of plants, and that the wild honey was the pulp in the pod of the Carob, whence it derived the name of St. John’s Bread.----According to a Sicilian tradition, the Carob is a tree of ill-repute, because it was on one of this species that the traitor Judas Iscariot hung himself.----In Syria and Asia Minor, the Carob, venerated alike by Christian and Mussulman, is dedicated to St. George, whose shrines are always erected beneath the shadow of its boughs.

=CARROT.=--The wild Carrot (Daucus Carota) is also called Bird’s-nest or Bee’s-nest, because, in its seeding state, the umbel resembles a nest.----In the reign of James the First, ladies adorned their head-dresses with Carrot-leaves, the light feathery verdure of which was considered a pleasing substitute for the plumage of birds.----The ancient Greeks called the Carrot Phileon, because of its connection with amatory affairs. We read in Gerarde in what this consisted. He remarks that the Carrot “serveth for love matters; and Orpheus, as Pliny writeth, said that the use hereof winneth love; which things be written of wilde Carrot, the root whereof is more effectual than that of the garden.” According to Galen, the root of the wild Carrot possessed the power of exciting the passions. The seed was administered to women under the belief that it induced and helped conception.----To dream of Carrots signifies profit and strength to them that are at law for an inheritance, for we pluck them out of the ground with our hand, branches, strings, and veins.----Carrots are held to be under Mercury.

=CASHEW.=--The nuts of the Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) are supposed by the Indians to excite the passions. The negroes of the West Indies say a branch of the Cashew-tree supplied the crown of Thorns used at our Saviour’s crucifixion, and that, in consequence, one of the bright golden petals of the flower became black and blood-stained.

=CASSAVA.=--The South American Cassava (Jatropha Manihot) is also known as the edible-rooted physic-nut, and in Brazil it bears the name of Mandioc. There are two kinds of Cassavas--the bitter and the sweet. From the roots of both bread is made, the tubers being first peeled and then ground into farina, and a poisonous juice expressed. Should this juice be drunk by cattle or poultry, they will become speedily much swollen, and die in convulsions; but if the same liquid is boiled with meat, and seasoned, it forms a favourite soup, called by the Brazilians Casserepo. The juice is used by the Indians for the poisoning of arrows: it is sometimes fermented, and converted into an intoxicating liquor in great favour with the Indians and negroes. Tapioca is a kind of starch prepared from the farina of Cassava roots.

=CASSIA.=--The Cassia mentioned by Moses in Exodus xxx., 24 (called in Hebrew Kidda, the bark), was a sweet spice commanded to be used in the composition of the holy oil employed in the consecration of the sacred vessels of the Tabernacle. It is supposed to have been the bark of an aromatic tree, known by the ancients as Costus, preparations of the bark and root of which were sometimes burnt on the pagan altars. There were three sorts of Costus--the Arabian, the Indian, and the Syrian; the root of the first of these was most esteemed for its aromatic properties: it had a fragrant smell similar to the perfume of Orris or Violets, and was called Costus dulcis or odoratus.

=CASSIA-TREE.=--The Cassia, or Senna-tree, belongs to a genus numerous in species, which are generally diffused in warm countries: among them is the Moon-tree of the Chinese, and this Cassia is considered by them to be the first of all medicaments. They have a saying, “The Cassia can be eaten, therefore it is cut down,” which probably explains their belief that in the middle of the Moon there grows a Cassia-tree, at the foot of which is a man who is endeavouring continually to fell it. This man is one Kang Wou, a native of Si-ho. Whilst under the tuition of a Geni, he committed a grave fault, for which he was condemned from henceforth to cut down the Cassia-tree. They call the Moon, therefore, the Kueïlan, or the disk of the Cassia. The Chinese give other reasons for associating the Cassia with the Moon. They say that it is the only tree producing flowers with four petals which are yellow--the colour of a metal, an element appertaining to the West, the region where the Moon appears to rise. Then the Cassia-flower opens in Autumn, a period when sacrifices are offered to the Moon; and it has, like the Moon, four phases of existence. During the seventh Moon (August) it blossoms. At the fourth Moon (May) its inflorescence ceases. During the fifth and sixth Moon (June and July) its buds are put forth, and after these have opened into leaf, the tree again bears flowers. Anglo-Indians call the Cassia Fistula, or Umultuss-tree, the Indian Laburnum: its long cylindrical pods are imported into England, and a sugary substance extracted from the pulp between the seeds is commonly used as a laxative. Gerarde says this pulp of Cassia Fistula, when extracted with Violet water, is a most sweet and pleasant medicine, and may be given without danger to all weak people of what age and sex soever. Lord Bacon writes in his Natural History:--“It is reported by one of the ancients, that Cassia, when it is gathered, is put into the skins of beasts, newly flayed, and that the skins corrupting, and breeding wormes, the wormes doe devoure the pith and marrow it, and so make of it hollow; but meddle not with the barke, because to them it is bitter.”

=CATCH-FLY.=--The Silene, or Catch-fly, received its English name from its glutinous stalk, from which flies, happening to light upon it, cannot disengage themselves. Gerarde gives the plant the additional name of Limewort, and adds, that in his time they were grown in London gardens, “rather for toies of pleasure than any virtues they are possessed with.”

=CAT MINT.=--Gerarde, probably copying from Dodoens, says of Cat Mint or Cat Nep, that “cats are very much delighted herewith, for the smell of it is so pleasant unto them, that they rub themselves upon it, and swallow or tumble in it, and also feed on the branches very greedily.” There is an old proverb respecting this herb--

“If you set it, the cats will eat it; If you sow it, the cats won’t know it.”

According to Hoffman, the root of the Cat Mint, if chewed, will make the most gentle person fierce and quarrelsome; and there is a legend of a certain hangman who could never find courage to execute his task until he had chewed this aromatic root. Nep or Cat Mint is considered a herb of Venus.

=CEDAR.=--Numerous are the allusions made in the Bible to the Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani), the tree which Josephus says was first planted in Judea by Solomon, who greatly admired this noble tree, and built himself a palace of Cedar on Lebanon itself. The celebrated Temple of Solomon was built of hewn stone, lined with Cedar, which was “carved with knops and open flowers; all was Cedar, there was no stone seen.” Since King Solomon’s time, the Cedar forest of Lebanon has become terribly reduced, but Dr. Hooker, in 1860, counted some four hundred trees, and Mr. Tristram, a more recent traveller in the Holy Land, discovered a new locality in the mountains of Lebanon, where the Cedar was more abundant. Twelve of the oldest of these Cedars of Lebanon bear the title of “Friends of Solomon,” or the “Twelve Apostles.” The Arabs call all the older trees, saints, and believe an evil fate will overtake anyone who injures them. Every year, at the feast of the Transfiguration, the Maronites, Greeks, and Armenians go up to the Cedars, and celebrate mass on a rough stone altar at their feet.----The Cedar is made the emblem of the righteous in the 92nd Psalm, and is likened to the countenance of the Son of God in the inspired Canticles of Solomon. Ezekiel (xxxi., 3-9) compares the mighty King of Assyria to a Cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and says, as a proof of his greatness and power, that “the Cedars in the garden of God could not hide him.” In the Romish Church, the Cedar of Lebanon, because of its height, its incorruptible substance, and the healing virtues attributed to it in the East, is a symbol of the Virgin, expressing her greatness, her beauty, and her goodness.----The Jews evidently regarded the Cedar as a sacred tree: hence it was used in the making of idols. According to a very old tradition, the Cedar was the tree from which Adam obtained the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. The ancient legend relating how the Cross of Christ was formed of a tree combining in itself the wood of the Cypress, Cedar, and Pine, will be found under the heading CYPRESS. Another tradition states that of the three woods of which the Cross was composed, and which symbolised the three persons of the Holy Trinity, the Cedar symbolised God the Father.----Pythagoras recommended the Cedar, the Laurel, the Cypress, the Oak, and the Myrtle, as the woods most befitting to honour the Divinity.----The Shittim wood of the Scriptures is considered by some to have been a species of Cedar, of which the most precious utensils were made: hence the expression Cedro digna signified “worthy of eternity.”----The Cedar is the emblem of immortality.----The ancients called the Cedar “life from the dead,” because the perfume of its wood drove away the insects and never-dying worms of the tombs. According to Evelyn, in the temple of Apollo at Utica, there was found Cedar-wood nearly two thousand years old; “and in Sagunti, of Spain, a beam, in a certain oratory consecrated to Diana, which had been brought from Zant two hundred years before the destruction of Troy. The statue of that goddess in the famous Ephesian Temple was of this material also, as was most of the timber-work in all their sacred edifices.” In a temple at Rome there was a statue of Apollo Sosianus in Cedar-wood originally brought from Seleucia. Virgil states that Cedar-wood was considered to be so durable, that it was employed for making images of the gods, and that the effigies of the ancestors of Latinus were carved out of an old Cedar. He also informs us that Cedar-wood was used for fragrant torches.----Sesostris, King of Egypt, is reported to have built a ship of Cedar timber, which, according to Evelyn, was “of 280 cubits, all gilded without and within.”----Gerarde says that the Egyptians used Cedar for the coffins of their dead, and Cedar-pitch in the process of embalming the bodies.----The books of Numa, recovered in Rome after a lapse of 535 years, are stated to have been perfumed with Cedar.----The Chinese have a legend which tells how a husband and wife were transformed into two Cedars, in order that their mutual love might be perpetuated. A certain King Kang, in the time of the Soungs, had as secretary one Hanpang, whose young and beautiful wife Ho the King unfortunately coveted. Both husband and wife were tenderly attached to one another, so the King threw Hanpang into prison, where he shortly died of grief. His wife, to escape the odious attentions of the King, threw herself from the summit of a high terrace. After her death, a letter was discovered in her bosom, addressed to the King, in which she asked, as a last favour, to be buried beside her dear husband. The King, however, terribly angered, would not accede to poor Ho’s request, but ordered her to be interred separately. The will of heaven was not long being revealed. That same night two Cedars sprang from the two graves, and in ten days had become so tall and vigorous in their growth, that they were able to interlace their branches and roots, although separated from one another. The people henceforth called these Cedars “The trees of faithful love.”----Tchihatcheff, a Russian traveller, speaks of vast Cedar forests on Mount Taurus in Asia Minor: the tree was not introduced into England till about Evelyn’s time, nor into France till 1737, when Bernard de Jussieu brought over from the Holy Land a little seedling of the plant from the forests of Mount Lebanon. A romantic account is given of the difficulty this naturalist experienced in conveying it to France, owing to the tempestuous weather and contrary winds he experienced, which drove his vessel out of its course, and so prolonged the voyage, that the water began to fail. All on board were consequently put on short allowance; the crew having to work, being allowed one glass of water a day, the passenger only half that quantity. Jussieu, from his attachment to botany, was reduced to abridge even this small daily allowance, by sharing it with his cherished plant, and by this act of self-sacrifice succeeded in keeping it alive till they reached Marseilles. Here, however, all his pains seemed likely to be thrown away, for as he had been driven, by want of a flower-pot, to plant his seedling in his hat, he excited on landing the suspicions of the Custom-house officers, who at first insisted on emptying the strange pot, to see whether any contraband goods were concealed therein. With much difficulty he prevailed upon them to spare his treasure, and succeeded in carrying it in triumph to Paris, where it flourished in the Jardin des Plantes, and grew until it reached one hundred years of age, and eighty feet in height. In 1837 it was cut down, to make room for a railway.----According to the ancient Chaldean magicians, the Cedar is a tree of good omen--protecting the good and overthrowing the machinations of evil spirits.----M. Lenormant has published an Egyptian legend concerning the Cedar, which De Gubernatis has quoted. This legend recites that Batou having consented to incorporate his heart with the Cedar, if the tree were cut the life of Batou would at the same time be jeopardised; but if he died his brother would seek his heart for seven years, and when he had found it, he would place it in a vase filled with divine essence, which was to impart to it animation, and so restore Batou to life.... Anpou, in a fit of rage, one day enters Batou’s house, and slays the shameless woman who had separated him from his brother. Meanwhile Batou proceeds to the valley of Cedars, and places, as he had announced, his heart in the fruit of the tree at the foot of which he fixes his abode. The gods, not desiring to leave him solitary, create a woman, endowed with extraordinary beauty, but carrying evil with her. Falling madly in love with her, Batou reveals to the woman the secret of his life being bound up with that of the Cedar. Meantime the river becomes enamoured of Batou’s wife; the tree, to pacify it, gives it a lock of the beauty’s hair. The river continues its course, carrying on the surface of its waters the tress, which diffuses a delicious odour. It reaches at last the king’s laundress, who carries it to his majesty. At the mere sight and perfume of the tress, the king falls in love with the woman to whom it belongs. He sends men to the vale of Cedars to carry her off; but Batou kills them all. Then the king despatches an army, who at last bring him the woman whom the gods themselves had fashioned. But while Batou lives she cannot become the wife of the king; so she reveals to him the secret of her husband’s twofold life. Immediately workmen are despatched, who cut down the Cedar. Batou expires directly. Soon Anpou, who had come to visit his brother, finds him stretched out dead beside the felled Cedar. Instantly he sets out to search for Batou’s heart; but for four years his search is fruitless. At the end of that period the soul of Batou yearns to be resuscitated: the time has arrived when, in its transmigrations, it should rejoin his body. Anpou discovers the heart of his brother in one of the cones of the tree. Taking the vase which contains the sacred fluid, he places the heart in it; and, during the day, it remains unaffected, but so soon as night arrives, the heart becomes imbued with the elixir. Batou regains all his members; but he is without vigour. Then Anpou gives to him the sacred fluid in which he had steeped the heart of his young brother, and bids him drink. The heart returns to its place, and Batou becomes himself again. The two brothers set out to punish the unfaithful one. Batou takes the form of a sacred bull. Arrived at the Court, Batou, metamorphosed into the bull, is welcomed and fêted. Egypt has found a new god. During one of the festivals he takes the opportunity of whispering into the ear of her who had formerly been his wife: “Behold, I am again alive--I am Batou! You plotted and persuaded the king to fell the Cedar, so that he might occupy my place at your side when I was dead. Behold, I am again alive--I have taken the form of a bull!” The queen faints away at hearing these words; but speedily recovering herself, she seeks the king and asks him to grant her a favour--that of eating the bull’s liver. After some hesitation, the king consents, and orders that a sacrifice shall be offered to the bull, and that then he shall be killed; but at the moment the bull’s throat is cut, two drops of blood spirt out: one falls to the ground, and forthwith two grand Perseas (the Egyptians’ tree of life) shoot forth. The king, accompanied by his wife, hastens to inspect the new prodigy, and one of the trees whispers in the queen’s ear that he is Batou, once more transformed. The queen, relying on the doting affection which the king entertains for her, asks him to have this tree cut down for the sake of the excellent timber it will afford. The king consents, and she hastens to superintend the execution of his orders. A chip struck from the tree whilst being felled, falls into the mouth of the queen. Shortly she perceives that she has become enceinte. In due course she gives birth to a male infant. It is Batou, once more entering the world by a novel incarnation!”

=CELANDINE.=--The Great or Major Celandine (Chelidonium major) is also called Swallow-wort and Tetter-wort, and is thought to be efficacious in the cure of warts and cutaneous disorders. It derives its name from the Greek Chelidon, a swallow--not, says Gerarde, “because it first springeth at the coming in of the swallowes, or dieth when they go away, for as we have saide, it may be founde all the yeare, but because some holde opinion that with this herbe the dams restore sight to their young ones, when their eies be put out.” This magical property of the Celandine was first propounded by Aristotle, and afterwards repeated by Pliny, Dodoens, Albert le Grand, Macer, and most of the old botanical writers. Coles fully believed the wonderful fact, and remarks: “It is known to such as have skill of nature, what wonderful care she hath of the smallest creatures, giving to them a knowledge of medicine to help themselves, if haply diseases annoy them. The swallow cureth her dim eyes with Celandine; the wesell knoweth well the virtue of Herb Grace; the dove the Verven; the dogge dischargeth his mawe with a kinde of grasse,” &c. Lyte also, in his ‘Herbal,’ fully supported the ancient rustic belief that the old swallows used Celandine to restore sight to their young. He says the plant was called Swallow-herb, because “it was the first found out by swallowes, and hath healed the eyes and restored sight to their young ones that have had harme in their eyes or have been blinde.” Celandine has long been popular among village simplers as a remedy when diluted with milk against thick spots in the eye.----It is said that the lack of medical knowledge among the ancients induced the belief in the magical properties of Celandine. They saw in the Chelidonium a Cœli donum, and hence were anxious to endow it with celestial properties.----The red and violet Celandines, or Horned Poppies, are mentioned by Ben Jonson among the plants used by witches in their incantations.

The Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria) is perhaps better known as the Pile-wort, a name given to it in allusion to the small tubers on the roots, which, on the doctrine of plant signatures, indicated that the plant was a remedial agent in this complaint.----Astrologers assign Celandine to the Sun, and the Pile-wort to Mars.

=CENTAURY.=--This flower, the well known Blue-bottle of the cornfields, is fabled to have derived its name from Chiron, a centaur, who is stated to have taught mankind the use of plants and medicinal herbs. According to Pliny, Chiron cured himself with this plant from a wound he had accidentally received from an arrow poisoned with the blood of the hydra. M. Barthelemy writes how, when Anacharsis visited the cave of Chiron, the centaur, on Mount Pelion, he was shown a plant which grew near it, of which he was informed that the leaves were good for the eyes, but that the secret of preparing them was in the hands of only one family, to whom it had been lineally transmitted from Chiron himself.----Mythology has another origin for the Centaurea Cyanus. According to this account, the flower was called Cyanus, after a youth so named, who was so enamoured of Corn-flowers, that his favourite occupation was that of making garlands of them; and he would scarcely ever leave the fields, whilst his favourite blue flowers continued to bloom. So devoted was his admiration, that he always dressed himself in clothes of the same brilliant hue as the flower he loved best. Flora was his goddess, and of all the varied gifts, her Corn-flower was the one he most appreciated. At length he was one day found lying dead in a cornfield, surrounded with the blue Corn-flowers he had gathered: and soon after the catastrophe, the goddess Flora, out of gratitude for the veneration he had for her divinity, transformed his body into the Centaurea Cyanus, the Blue-bottle of English cornfields.----In Lucan’s ‘Pharsalia,’ the Centaury is one of the plants named as being burned with the object of driving away serpents.

“Beyond the farthest tents rich fires they build, That healthy medicinal odours yield: There foreign Galbanum dissolving fries, And crackling flames from humble Wallwort rise; There Tamarisk, which no green leaf adorns, And there the spicy Syrian Costos burns: There Centaury supplies the wholesome flame, That from Thessalian Chiron takes its name; The gummy Larch-tree, and the Thapsos there, Woundwort and Maidenweed perfume the air: There the long branches of the long-lived Hart, With Southernwood their odours strong impart, The monsters of the land, the serpents fell, Fly far away, and shun the hostile swell.”

The Corn-flower is called in Russia Basilek (the flower of Basil), and attached to it is a legend that a handsome young man of this name was enticed away by a nymph named Russalka, allured into the fields, and transformed into the Corn-flower.----Plants have always been a favourite means of testing the faith of lovers; and the Centaury or Bluet of the cornfields was the flower selected by Margaret as the floral oracle from which to learn the truth respecting Faust.

“There is a flower, a purple flower, Sown by the wind, nursed by the shower, O’er which love breathed a powerful spell, The truth of whispering hope to tell. Now, gentle flower, I pray thee tell, If my lover loves me, and loves me well: So may the fall of the morning dew Keep the sun from fading thy tender blue.”

The Centaury is known as the Hurt-sickle, because it turns the edges of the reapers’ sickles: its other familiar names are Blue-bottle, Blue-blow, Bluet, and Corn-flower.----It is held by astrologers to be under Saturn.

=CEREUS.=--The crimson-flowered Cereus (Cereus speciosissimus), belonging to the natural order Cactaceæ, is generally known in England as the Torch Thistle, and is fabled to have been the torch borne by Ceres in the daytime. Cereus flagelliformis is the pink-flowered creeping Cereus, the long round stems of which hang down like cords. Cereus grandiflorus is the night-blowing Cereus, which begins to open its sweet-scented flowers about eight o’clock in the evening; they are fully blown by eleven, and by four o’clock next morning they are faded and droop quite decayed. The Old Man’s Head, or Monkey Cactus, Cereus senilis, is another member of this family.

=CHAMELÆA.=--The Spurge-Olive or Chamelæa (Cneorum tricoccum) is a humble shrub, whose three-leaved pale-yellow flowers were consecrated to the god Janus. The month of January, placed under the protection of Janus, was represented in the guise of an old man, who held in his hand a flower of the Chamelæa. After flowering, the shrub produces three-cornered berries, which are at first green, then red, and finally brown. The plant in England was formerly called the Widow-wail, for what reason we know not, but Gerarde says, “quia facit viduas.”

=CHAMOMILE.=--According to Galen, the Egyptians held the Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) in such reverence, that they consecrated it to their deities: they had great faith in the plant as a remedy for agues. Gerarde tells us that Chamomile is a special help against wearisomeness, and that it derives its name from the Greek Chamaimelon, Earth-Apple, because the flowers have the smell of an Apple.----In Germany, Chamomile-flowers are called Heermännchen, and they are traditionally supposed to have once been soldiers, who for their sins died accursed.----The Romans supposed the Anthemis to be possessed of properties to cure the bites of serpents.----Chamomile is considered to be a herb of the Sun.

=CHAMPAK.=--The Champa or Champak (Michelia Champaca) is one of the sacred plants of India. The blue Champak-flower is of the greatest rarity, and is regarded as being the principal ornament of Brahma’s heaven. It is, in fact,

“That blue flower which Brahmins say Blooms nowhere but in Paradise,”

for the earthly sort has yellow blossoms with which the Hindu maidens are fond of ornamenting their raven hair. The tree is sacred to Vishnu, and is, therefore, an object of reverential regard on the part of the Hindus, who cultivate it for the fragrance of its flowers, which is so strong that the bees, fearful of being overcome, will scarcely ever alight upon them. The Hindus apply to the Champak-flowers the most flattering appellations, which celebrate its wondrous delicacy and form, its glittering golden hue, and its voluptuous perfume.

=CHERRY.=--About the year 70 B.C., Lucullus, after his victory over Mithridates, brought from Cerasus, in Pontus, the Cherry-tree, and introduced it into Italy. It was planted in Britain a century later, but the cultivated sorts disappeared during the Saxon period. “Cherries on the ryse,” or on the twigs, was, however, one of the street cries of London in the fifteenth century. These Cherries were, perhaps, the fruit of the native wild Cherry, or Gean-tree, as the cultivated Cherry was not re-introduced till the reign of Henry VIII., whose fruiterer brought it from Flanders, and planted a Cherry orchard at Teynham.----An ancient legend records that, before the birth of our Saviour, the Virgin Mary longed extremely to taste of some tempting Cherries which hung upon a tree high above her head; so she requested Joseph to pluck them. Joseph, however, not caring to take the trouble, refused to gather the Cherries, saying sullenly, “Let the father of thy child present thee with the Cherries if he will!” No sooner had these words escaped his lips, than, as if in reproof, the branch of the Cherry-tree bowed spontaneously to the Virgin’s hand, and she gathered its fruit and ate it. Hence the Cherry is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. There is a tradition that our Saviour gave a Cherry to St. Peter, cautioning him at the same time not to despise little things.----The ancient Lithuanians believed that the demon Kirnis was the guardian of the Cherry. In Germany and Denmark there is a tradition that evil spirits often hide themselves in old Cherry-trees, and delight in doing harm to anyone who approaches them. The Albanians burn branches of the Cherry-tree on the nights of the 23rd and 24th of December, and the nights of the 1st and 6th of January--that is to say on the three nights consecrated to the new sun; and they preserve the ashes of these branches to fertilise their Vines. They say that in so doing they burn the evil spirits hidden in the trees, who are destructive to vegetation.----At Hamburg, there is an annual festival called the Feast of the Cherries, when children parade the streets, carrying boughs laden with the fruit. This observance dates from the year 1432, when the Hussites threatened the immediate destruction of Hamburg. The inhabitants, in despair, dressed all the children in black, and despatched them to the Hussite leader, P. Rasus, to plead with him. The warrior, touched at the sight of so many little helpless ones, promised that he would spare the city, and after feasting the children with Cherries, sent them back rejoicing and waving in their hands the Cherry-boughs.----There is an old proverb current in Germany, France, and Italy, that you should never eat Cherries with the rich, because they always choose the ripest, or, even worse, eat the luscious fruit, and throw the stones and stalks to their companions.----The gum which exudes from the Cherry-tree is considered equal in value to gum-arabic. Hasselquist relates that during a siege upwards of one hundred men were kept alive for nearly two months, without any other nutriment than that obtained by sucking this gum.----The Cherry is held by astrologers to be under the dominion of Venus.----To dream of Cherries denotes inconstancy and disappointment in life.

=CHESNUT.=--The Chesnut (Fagus Castanea) was classed by Pliny among the fruit trees, on account of the value of the nut as an article of food. He states that the tree was introduced from Sardis in Pontus, and hence was called the Sardian Acorn. The Chesnuts of Asia Minor supplied Xenophon’s whole army with food in their retreat along the borders of the Euxine. Once planted in Europe, the Chesnut soon spread all over the warm parts. It flourished in the mountains of Calabria, and is the tree with which Salvator Rosa delighted to adorn his bold and rugged landscapes.----The Castagno dei cento cavalli (Chesnut of the hundred horses) upon Mount Etna is probably the largest tree in Europe, being more than 200 feet in circumference.----Chesnuts are included in the list of funereal trees. In Tuscany, the fruit is eaten with solemnity on St. Simon’s Day. In Piedmont, they constitute the appointed food on the eve of All Souls’ Day, and in some houses they are left on the table under the belief that the dead poor will come during the night and feast on them. In Venice, it is customary to eat Chesnuts on St. Martin’s Day, and the poor women assemble beneath the windows and sing a long ballad, or, after expressing their good wishes towards the inmates of the house, ask for Chesnuts to appease their hunger. (See also HORSE-CHESNUT.)

=CHOHOBBA.=--The Mexicans regard with peculiar sanctity and reverence a herb which grows in their country, and which they call Chohobba. If they wish an abundant crop of Yucca or Maize, if they wish to know whether a sick chief will recover or die, if they desire to learn whether a war is likely to occur, or, in fact, if they desire any important information, one of their chiefs enters the building consecrated to their idols, where he prepares a liquid obtained from the herb Chohobba, which can be absorbed through the nose: this fluid has an intoxicating effect, and he soon loses all control over himself. After awhile, he partly recovers, and sits himself on the ground, with head abased, and hands beneath his knees, and so remains for some little time. Then he raises his eyes, as if awaking from a long sleep, and gazes upwards at the sky, at the same time muttering between his teeth some unintelligible words. No one but his relatives approaches the chief, for the people are not allowed to assist at the rite. When the relatives perceive that the chief is beginning to regain consciousness, they return thanks to the god for his recovery, and ask that he may be permitted to tell them what he has seen whilst in his trance. Then the half-dazed chief relates what the god has told him regarding the particular matters he had wished to enquire about.

=CHOKE PEAR.=--The fruit of the Wild Pear, Pyrus communis, is so hard and austere as to choke: hence the tree has been called the Choke Pear. It is supposed to have been a Pear of this description that caused the death of Drusus, a son of the Emperor Claudius. He caught in his mouth, and swallowed, a Pear thrown into the air, but owing to its extreme hardness, it stuck in his throat and choked him.

CHRISTMAS ROSE.--See Hellebore.

=CHRIST’S HERB.=--The Black Hellebore is called Christ’s Herb or Christmas Herb (Christwurz), says Gerarde, “because it floureth about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (See HELLEBORE.)

=CHRIST’S LADDER.=--In the fourteenth century, the Erythræa Centaurium was called Christ’s Ladder (Christi scala), from the name having been mistaken for Christ’s Cup (Christi schale), in allusion to the bitter draught offered to our Lord upon the Cross.

=CHRIST’S PALM.=--The Ricinus communis is commonly known as Palma Christi, or Christ’s Palm. The same plant is also reputed to have been Jonah’s Gourd.

=CHRIST’S THORN.=--Gerarde, in his Herbal, calls the Paliurus, Christ’s Thorn or Ram of Libya; and he writes: “Petrus Bellonius, who travelled over the Holy Land, saith, that this shrubby Thorne Paliurus, was the Thorne wherewith they crowned our Saviour Christ, his reason for the proofe hereof is this, That in Judea, there was not any Thorne so common, so pliant, or so fit for to make a crown or garland of, nor any so full of cruell sharpe prickles. It groweth throughout the whole countrey in such abundance, that it is there common fuell to burn; yea, so common with them there as our Gorse, Brakes, and Broome is here with us. Josephus (lib. 1, cap. 2 of his Antiquities) saith, That this Thorne hath the most sharp prickles of any other; wherefore that Christ might bee the more tormented, the Jews rather tooke this than any other.” The shrub still abounds in Judea, and has pliable branches armed with sharp spines. (See THORN.)

=CHRYSANTHEMUM.=--The leaf and flower of the Chrysanthemum Indicum were long ago adopted as, and are still, the special emblem and blazon of Mikados of Japan. One of the most popular of the Japanese festivals is that held in honour of the golden Chrysanthemum, or Kiku. The Japanese florists display their Chrysanthemums built up into the forms of their gods or heroes; thus, in their exhibitions, are to be seen effigies of Benkei, the Hercules of Japan, gorgeously apparelled in white, purple, and yellow Pompons; the Sun Goddess, decked in golden blooms; Jimmu Tenno, a popular hero, and endless groups of gods and goddesses, and mythological heroes and heroines.----The Chrysanthemum was first introduced into England in 1764 by Miller, who received a Kok fa, or Chrysanthemum Indicum from Nîmpu, and cultivated it at the botanical garden at Chelsea. In the seventeenth century a Chrysanthemum was grown in Dantsic.----Three Chrysanthemums (the Corn Marigold, the Ox-eyed Daisy, and the Fever-few) are natives of England, but as they bloom in summer when flowers are plentiful, and not in November, as our garden varieties do, it has not been so well worth while to bestow care in raising and improving them. The Autumn Chrysanthemums are descended from either the Chinese or the Indian varieties, the former of which have white flowers and the latter yellow. The Pompon varieties are derived from the Chusan Daisy, introduced into England from China by Mr. Fortune in 1846. In their wild state they are all, indeed, even the Japanese forms of the Chinese flowers, much like Daisies, with a yellow disc surrounded by rays of florets, but by cultivation the disc-florets are assimilated to those of the ray, and the flower assumes a homogeneous appearance only faintly suffused with yellow towards the centre.

=CINCHONA.=--The Cinchona, or Jesuit’s Bark-tree (Cinchona officinalis), is a native of Peru. The famous bark was introduced into Europe through the medium of Ana de Osorio, Countess Cinchon, and Vice-Queen of Peru, after whom the powdered bark was called “Countess’s Powder.” The use of the bark was first learned from the following circumstances:--Some Cinchona-trees being thrown by the winds into a pool, lay there until the water became so bitter that everyone refused to drink it, till one of the inhabitants of the district being seized with violent fever, and finding no water wherewith to quench his thirst, was forced to drink of this, by which means he became perfectly cured; and afterwards, relating his cure to others, they made use of the same remedy.

=CINNAMON.=--Bacon, in his ‘Natural History,’ speaks thus of the Cinnamon (Laurus Cinnamomum):--“The ancient Cinnamon was of all other plants, while it grew, the dryest; and those things which are knowne to comfort other plants did make that more sterill: for, in showers, it prospered worst: it grew also amongst bushes of other kindes, where commonly plants doe not thrive; neither did it love the Sunne.” Solomon, in his Canticles, mentions Cinnamon among the precious spices; and Moses was commanded to use “sweet Cinnamon” in the preparation of the holy oil used to anoint the Tabernacle and the sacred vessels, and to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the priesthood. The Emperor Vespasian was the first to take chaplets of Cinnamon to Rome, wherewith to decorate the temples of the Capitol and of Peace. It is related, that Alexander the Great, whilst at sea, perceived he was near the coast of Arabia, from the scent of Cinnamon wafted from the still distant shore.----The Mahometans of India used to have a curious belief that the Cinnamon-tree is the bark, the Clove the flower, and the Nutmeg the fruit, of one and the same tree; and most of the writers of the Middle Ages thought that Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, and Nutmegs were the produce of one tree.----Gerarde tells us, that there was formerly much controversy concerning the true Cinnamon and Cassia of the ancients, but he considered the tree whose bark is Cassia to be a bastard kind of Cinnamon. The Cinnamon, he says, has pleasant leaves and fair white flowers, which turn into round black berries, the size of an Olive, “out of which is pressed an oile that hath no smell at all untill it be rubbed and chafed between the hands: the trunk or body, with the greater arms or boughs of the tree, are covered with a double or twofold barke, like that of the Corke-tree, the innermost whereof is the true and pleasant Cinnamon, which is taken from this tree and cast upon the ground in the heate of the sun, through whose heate it turneth and foldeth itselfe round together.” The tree thus peeled, recovered itself in three years, and was then ready to be disbarked again.----Tradition states that the ancient Arabian priests alone possessed the right of collecting the Cinnamon. The most patriarchal of them would then divide the precious bark, reserving the first bundle for the Sun. After the division had taken place, the priests left to the Sun itself the task of lighting the sacred fire on the altar where the high priest was to offer a sacrifice.----Theophrastus narrates that the Cinnamon flourished in the valleys frequented by venomous serpents; and that those who repaired thither to collect it were compelled to wear bandages on their hands and feet. After the Cinnamon was collected, it was divided into three portions, of which one was reserved for the Sun, which, with glowing rays, quickly came and carried it off.----Herodotus says, that Cinnamon was gathered from the nest of the Phœnix.----An old writer affirms that the distilled water of the flowers of the Cinnamon-tree excelled far in sweetness all the waters whatsoever. The leaves yield oil of Cloves; the fruit also yields an oil, which was formerly, in Ceylon, made into candles, for the sole use of the king; the root exudes an abundance of Camphor; and the bark of the root affords oil of Camphor, as well as a particularly pure species of Camphor.

=CINQUEFOIL.=--In former days, Cinquefoil (Potentilla) much prevailed as an heraldic device; the number of the leaves answering to the five senses of man. The right to bear Cinquefoil was considered an honourable distinction to him who had worthily conquered his affections and mastered his senses. In wet weather the leaves of the Cinquefoil contract and bend over the flower, forming, as it were, a little tent to cover it--an apt emblem of an affectionate mother protecting her child. Cinquefoil was formerly believed to be a cure for agues; four branches being prescribed for a quartan, three for a tertian, and one for a quotidian.----Cinquefoil is deemed a herb of Jupiter.

=CISTUS.=--The Cistus, according to Cassianus Bassus, derives its name from a Grecian youth named Kistos. Under this title is embraced a most extensive genus of plants celebrated all over the world for their beauty and fragility. Gerarde and Parkinson call them Holly Roses, a name which has become changed into Rock Roses.----From the Cistus Creticus (frequently called the Ladaniferous Cistus) is obtained the balsam called Ladanum, a kind of resin, prized for its tonic and stomachic properties, but more highly valued as a perfume, and extensively used in oriental countries in fumigations. This resin, which is secreted from the leaves and other parts of the shrub, is collected by means of a kind of rake, to which numerous leather thongs are appended instead of teeth. In olden times this resin was believed to have been gathered from the shrubs by goats who rubbed their beards against the leaves, and so collected the liquid gum; but Gerarde affirms this to have been a monkish tradition--a fable of the “Calohieros, that is to say, Greekish monkes, who, of very mockery, have foisted that fable among others extant in their workes.” Be this as it may, Bacon records the fact in his ‘Natural History,’ remarking: “There are some teares of trees, which are kembed from the beards of goats; for when the goats bite and crop them, especially in the morning, the dew being on, the teare cometh forth, and hangeth upon their beards: of this sort is some kinde of Ladanum.”

=CITRON.=--A native of all the warm regions of Asia, the Citron was introduced into Europe from Media, and hence obtained the name of Malus Medica. During the feast of the Tabernacles, the Jews in their synagogues carry a Citron in their left hand; and a conserve made of a particular variety of the fruit is in great demand by the Jews, who use it during the same feast. According to Athenæus, certain notorious criminals, who had been condemned to be destroyed by serpents, were miraculously preserved, and kept in health and safety by eating Citrons. Theophrastus says that Citrons were considered an antidote to poisons, for which purpose Virgil recommended them in his Georgics. Gerarde thus translates the passage:--

“The countrey Media beareth juices sad, And dulling tastes of happy Citron fruit, Than which no helpe more present can be had, If any time stepmothers, worse than brute, Have poyson’d pots, and mingled herbs of sute With hurtful charmes: this Citron fruit doth chase Black venome from the body in every place. The tree itselfe in growth is large and big, And very like in show to th’ Laurell-tree; And would be thought a Laurell leafe and twig, But that the smell it casts doth disagree: The floure it holds as fast as floure may be: Therewith the Medes a remedie do finde For stinking breaths and mouthes, a cure most kinde, And helpe old men which hardly fetch their winde.”

Della Valle, an Italian traveller of the seventeenth century, relates how, at Ikkeri, he saw an Indian widow, on her way to the funeral pyre, riding on horseback through the town, holding in one hand a mirror, in the other a Citron, and whilst gazing into the mirror she uttered loud lamentations. De Gubernatis thinks that perhaps the Citron was the symbol of the life become bitter since the death of her husband.----Rapin recommends the Citron for heart affections:--

“Into an oval form the Citrons rolled Beneath thick coats their juicy pulp unfold: From some the palate feels a poignant smart, Which though they wound the tongue, yet heal the heart.”

=CLAPPEDEPOUCH.=--The Capsella Bursa pastoris, or Shepherd’s Purse, was so called from the resemblance of its numerous flat seed-pouches to a common leather purse. Dr. Prior says that the Irish name of Clappedepouch was applied to the plant in allusion to the licensed begging of lepers, who stood at the crossways with a bell and a clapper. Hoffmann von Fallersleben, in his Niederländische Volkslieder, says of them: “Separated from all the world, without house or home, the lepers were obliged to dwell in a solitary, wretched hut by the roadside; their clothing so scanty that they often had nothing to wear but a hat and a cloak, and a begging wallet. They would call the attention of the passers-by with a bell or a clapper, and received their alms in a cup or a bason at the end of a long pole. The bell was usually of brass. The clapper is described as an instrument made of two or three boards, by rattling which they excited people to relieve them.” The lepers, Dr. Prior thinks, would get the name of Rattle-pouches, and this be extended to the plant, in allusion to the little purses which it hangs out by the wayside. The plant was also known by the names of Poor Man’s Parmacetie, and St. James’s Weed--the former in allusion to its medicinal virtues. (See SHEPHERD’S PURSE). It is considered a herb of Saturn.

=CLEMATIS.=--The Clematis vitalba, Gerarde informs us, was called Travellers’ Joy, “as decking and adorning waies and hedges when people travell.” It was also termed “Old Man’s Beard,” from the hoary appearance of its seeds; and Virgin’s Bower, out of compliment to Queen Elizabeth, and in allusion to its climbing habits. It became the emblem of Artifice because beggars, in order to excite compassion, were in the habit of making false ulcers in their flesh by means of its twigs, the result often being a real sore.----The Clematis flammula, or upright Virgin’s Bower, is an acrid plant, that inflames the skin. Miller says of it that if one leaf be cropped in a hot day in the summer season, and bruised, and presently put to the nostrils, it will cause a smell and pain like a flame.----Clematis integrifolia, or Hungarian Climber, is known in Little Russia as Tziganka (the Gipsy Plant). Prof. De Gubernatis has given in his Mythologie des Plantes the following legend connected with this plant:--The Cossacks were once at war with the Tartars. The latter having obtained the advantage, the Cossacks commenced to retreat. The Cossack hetman, indignant at the sight, struck his forehead with the handle of his lance. Instantly there arose a tempest, which whirled away the Cossack traitors and fugitives into the air, pounded them into a thousand fragments, and mingled their dust with the earth of the Tartars. From that earth springs the plant Tziganka. But the souls of the Cossacks, tormented by the thought of their bones being mixed with the accursed earth of the stranger, prayed to God that he would vouchsafe to disseminate it in the Ukraine, where the maidens were wont to pluck Clematis integrifolia to weave into garlands. God hearkened to their Christian prayers, and granted their patriotic desires. It is an old belief in Little Russia that if everybody would suspend Briony from his waistbelt behind, these unfortunate Cossacks would come to life again.

=CLOVE.=--The aromatic Clove-tree (Caryophyllatus aromaticus) is a native of the Moluccas, where its cultivation is carefully guarded by the Dutch. The islanders wear its white flowers as a mark of distinction. These flowers grow in bunches at the end of the branches, and are succeeded by oval berries, which are crowned with the calyx. It is these berries, beaten from the trees before they are half grown, and allowed to dry in the sun, which are the Cloves of commerce. The Clove is considered to be one of the hottest and most acrid of aromatics; its pungent oil (which is specifically heavier than water) has been administered in paralytic cases. Gerarde says, that the Portuguese women, resident in the East Indies, distilled from the Cloves, when still green, a certain liquor “of a most fragrant smell, which comforteth the heart, and is of all cordials the most effectual.”----There is an old superstition, still extant, that children can be preserved from evil influences and infantile disorders, by having a necklace of Cloves suspended as an amulet round the neck.

=CLOVER.=--The old English names for Clover were Trefoil and Honey-suckles.----The word Clover is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Clœfre. The club of Hercules was called by the Latins clava trinodis; and the “club” of our playing cards is so named from its resemblance to a Clover-leaf--a leaf with three leaflets (tria folia). Hence the herb’s generic name of Trifolium, or Trefoil.----Hope was depicted by the ancients as a little child standing on tiptoe, and holding a Clover-flower in his hand. Summer is also represented with the Trefoil.----In the Christian Church, the Trefoil is held to be the symbol of the Trinity; hence Clover is used for decorations on Trinity Sunday. It is often employed as an architectural emblem: the limbs of crosses are sometimes made to end in Trefoils, and church windows are frequently in the same form.----Clover possesses the power of vegetating after having existed in a dormant state for many years. If lime is powdered and thrown upon the soil, a crop of white Clover will sometimes arise where it had never been known to exist; this spontaneous coming-up of the flower is deemed an infallible indication of good soil.----Clover-grass is reputed always to feel rough to the touch when stormy weather is at hand; and its leaves are said to start and rise up, as if it were afraid of an assault.----The Druids held the Clover, or Trefoil, in great repute, and it is believed that they considered it a charm against evil spirits. Formerly the Clover was thought to be not only good for cattle, but noisome to witches, and so “the holy Trefoil’s charm,” was very generally prized as a protective.----A sprig of Clover with only two leaves on it is employed by the lads and lasses of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, as a charm to enable them to ascertain the names of their future wives and husbands:--

“A Clover, a Clover of two, Put it on your right shoe; The first young man [or woman] you meet, In field street, or lane, You’ll have him [or her] or one of his [or her] name.”

Gerarde says that the meadow Trefoil (especially that with the black half-moon upon the leaf), pounded with a little honey, “takes away the pin and web in the eies, ceasing the pain and inflammation thereof if it be strained and dropped therein.” The finding of a four-leaved Clover is considered especially fortunate, not only in England, but in France, Switzerland, and Italy. It is believed to almost ensure happiness, and in the case of young girls a husband very speedily. There is old couplet which records that--

“If you find an even Ash-leaf or a four-leaved Clover, You’ll be bound to see your true love ere the day be over.”

In Scotland, the possessor of a piece of four-bladed Clover is reputed to have a prescience when witchcraft is attempted to be practised upon him; and in the North of England this lucky leaf is placed in dairies and stables, to preserve them from the spells of witches.----There is a Cornish fairy tale which is intimately associated with the four-leaved Clover:--One evening a maiden set out to milk the cows later than usual: indeed, the stars had begun to shine before she completed her task. “Daisy” (an enchanted cow), was the last to be milked, and the pail was so full that the milk-maid could hardly lift it to her head. So to relieve herself, she gathered some handfuls of Grass and Clover, and spread it on her head in order to carry the milk-pail more easily. But no sooner had the Clover touched her head, than suddenly hundreds of little people appeared surrounding Daisy, dipping their tiny hands into the milk, and gathering it with Clover-flowers, which they sucked with gusto. Daisy was standing in the long Grass and Clover, so some of these little creatures climbed up the stalks and held out Buttercups, Convolvuluses, and Foxgloves, to catch the milk which dropped from the cow’s udder. When the astonished milk-maid, upon reaching home, recounted her wonderful experiences to her mistress, the goodwife at once cried out: “Ah! you put a four-leaved Clover on your head.”----To dream of seeing a field of Clover is of happy augury, indicating health, prosperity, and much happiness. To the lover it foretells success, and that his intended wife will have great wealth.----Clover is under the dominion of Venus.

=CLUB-MOSS.=--The Stag’s-horn, Fox’s-tail, or Club-Moss (Lycopodium clavatum), is used in the North of England, Sweden, and Germany, in wreaths worn on festive occasions. The powder or dust which issues from its spore cases, is highly inflammable, and is collected for fireworks and for producing stage lightning. It is the Blitz-mehl, or lightning-meal of the Germans. The Fir Club-Moss (L. Selago) is made by the Highlanders into an eye ointment. In Cornwall, the Club-Moss is considered good against all diseases of the eyes, provided only it is gathered in the following manner:--On the third day of the moon, when it is seen for the first time, show it the knife with which the Moss is to be cut, repeating the while--

“As Christ healed the issue of blood, Do thou cut what thou cuttest for good.”

Then, at sundown, the Club-Moss may be cut by the operator kneeling, and with carefully washed hands. The Moss is to be tenderly wrapped in a fair white cloth, and afterwards boiled in water procured from the spring nearest the spot where it grew. The liquor is to be applied as a fomentation. The Club-Moss may also be made into an ointment, with butter made from the milk of a new cow. These superstitious customs have probably a Druidic origin, and tend to identify the Selago or Golden Herb of the Druids with the Club-Moss, as the Selago was held sacred by them, and gathered with many mystic observances. (See SELAGO.)----In many parts of Germany, certain Fairy-folk, called Moss-women, are popularly believed to frequent the forests. In Thuringia, these little women of the wood are called Holzfrala, and in one of the legends of the Fichtelgebirge (a mountain-chain near the junction of Saxony, Bavaria, and Bohemia), we find it stated that there was a poor child whose mother lay sick of a fever. Going into the forest to gather Strawberries, the child saw a little woman entirely clothed with golden Moss--presumably Selago. The Moss-woman asked the child for some of the fruit, and her request having been readily acceded to, the Moss-woman ate her Strawberries and tripped away. When the child reached home, she found the fruit which she had carried in a jug was transformed to gold. The Moss dress of the little woman is described as being of a golden colour, which shone, when seen at a distance, like pure gold, but on close inspection lost all its lustre. It is thought that many of the stories about hidden treasure which are rife on the Fichtelgebirge are to be attributed to the presence there of this curious species of vegetation.

=COCOA-NUT PALM.=--The Cocos Nucifera (Sanscrit Nârikera), or Cocoa-Nut Palm is the most extensively-cultivated tree in the world, and its importance to myriads of the human race is almost beyond conception. George Herbert wrote truly of this Palm:--

“The Indian Nut alone Is clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can, Boat, cable, sail, mast, needle, all in one.”

A vigorous tree will grow one hundred feet high, and produce annually one hundred Nuts.----The Chinese call the Cocoa-Nut Yüe-wang-t’ou (head of Prince of Yüe) from a tradition that a certain Prince Lin-yi, who was at enmity with the Prince of Yüe, sent an assassin to cut off the head of his enemy. The deed was executed, and the severed head being caught in the branches of a Palm, it remained suspended there, and was transformed into a Cocoa-Nut, with two eyes in its shell.----The Portuguese are said to have given the name of Coco to the Nut because at one end of the Nut are three holes, resembling the head of a cat when mewing (Coca).----The Indians, when unable to recover the corpse of one of their people who has been slain, but whom they wish to honour, form an effigy of Reeds, and surmount it with a Cocoa-Nut, which is supposed to represent the head of the deceased. This sham corpse they cover with Dhak wood, after which they offer up prayers, and then burn it. The Cocoa-Nut is regarded by the natives of India as an oracle in cases of sickness. Thus, if an Indian has fallen ill, they spin a Cocoa-Nut on its end; if the Nut falls towards the west, he will die; if to the east, he will recover. The Deccan Indians never commence any building without first offering Cocoa-Nuts to their gods.----When a Fijian child is sick, and its friends want to know if it will live or die, they shake a bunch of dry Cocoa-Nuts: if all fall off, the little one will recover; if one remains, it will die. The Fijians also spin Cocoa-Nuts, and then prophecy of future events according to the direction in which the eye of the Nut lies when it rests still.

=COCKLE.=--The Corn Cockle, or Gith (Agrostemma Githago) is a troublesome weed, of which Gerarde says: “What hurt it doth among Corne, the spoile of bread, as well as in colour, taste, and unwholesomenesse, is better knowne than desired.” In the Book of Job, the Cockle coming up instead of the Barley is spoken of as a great misfortune; but it could not have been the Corn Cockle, which is unknown in Palestine and Arabia.----The plant is alluded to in an old English nursery rhyme, in which a garden allowed to run wild is said to be

“Full of weeds and Cockle seeds.”

=COFFEE.=--The Coffee-plant (Coffea Arabica) derives its name from the Kingdom of Caffa, in Africa, where it grows abundantly. The bloom of this tree is similar to the Jasmine in figure and fragrance, while its fruit has the appearance of a Cherry; the liquor prepared from the fruit or berry is said to have been drunk, in Ethiopia, from time immemorial. The Galla, a wandering nation of Africa, in their incursions in Abyssinia, being obliged to traverse immense deserts, and to travel swiftly, were accustomed to carry nothing with them to eat but Coffee roasted till it could be pulverised, and then mixed with butter into balls, and put into a leather bag. One of these, the size of a billiard ball, was said to keep them in strength and spirits during a whole day’s fatigue, better than bread or meat.----To dream of drinking coffee is a favourable omen, betokening riches and honour. To the lover it foretells a happy marriage.

COLCHICUM.--The Meadow Saffron, or Colchicum, derives its name from Colchis, a country on the eastern shore of the Euxine, where it once grew in such abundance as to have led Horace thus to allude to it:--

“Or tempered every baleful juice Which poisonous Colchian glebes produce.”

Colchicum was one of the herbs highly prized and made use of by the enchantress Medea. It is poisonous, and, according to Dioscorides, kills by choking, as do poisonous Mushrooms. Gerarde recommends anyone who has eaten Colchicum, to “drinke the milke of a cow, or else death presently ensueth.”----Colchicum is a herb of the Sun.

=COLTSFOOT.=--The shape of its leaves has given the Tussilago Farfara its English name of Colt’s-foot, although, as Gerarde points out, it might more appropriately be termed Cough-wort. The plant has its Latin name from tussis, a cough, and for many centuries has been used in pulmonary complaints. It formed the basis of Coltsfoot lozenges, long celebrated as a cure for coughs.----The Bavarian peasants make garlands of the sweet-scented Colt’s-foot on Easter Day, and cast them into the fire.----Colt’s-foot, or Foal’s-foot, is a herb of Venus.

=COLUMBINE.=--The English name of the Aquilegia is derived from the Latin columba, a pigeon, from the resemblance of its nectaries to the heads of pigeons in a ring round a dish, a favourite device of ancient artists. The generic name comes from aquila, an eagle, from the fancied resemblance of the same parts of the flower to the claw of the king of birds.----The plant was formerly sometimes called Herba leonis, from a belief that it was the favourite herb of the lion.----The Columbine is held to be under the dominion of Venus.

=CONJUGALIS HERBA.=--This herb, De Gubernatis considers to be, in all probability, the same as is known in Piedmont as Concordia (according to Gerarde, a kind of wild Tansy), concerning which M. Bernadotti had sent him the following particulars:--“In the valleys of Lanzo, when two lovers wish to assure themselves that their marriage will take place, they proceed to search for the plant called Concordia. They say that this plant is exceedingly scarce, and hence very difficult to find. Its root is divided into two parts, each representing a hand with five fingers. On finding this plant, it is necessary to uproot it in order to see if the two hands are united--a certain sign that the union will take place. If, on the contrary, the two hands are separated, the marriage will be broken off.” (See CONCORDIA.)

=CORIANDER.=--From a passage in the Book of Numbers, where Manna is likened to Coriander-seed, it would seem that “Coriander’s spicy seed” was commonly used by the Israelites. The bitter Coriander is one of the five plants mentioned by the Mishna as one of the “bitter herbs” ordained by God to be eaten by the Jews at the Feast of the Passover. It was esteemed as a spice by the Arabs, Egyptians, and Hindus. The plant’s foliage has a strong and offensive odour, but its little round fruit is pleasantly aromatic, and its seeds, when covered with sugar, form the well-known Coriander comfits. Robert Turner, in the ‘Brittish Physician,’ says that the powder of the seeds taken in wine, stimulate the passions; and Gerarde affirms that the juice of the green leaves, “taken in the quantity of four dragmes, killeth and poisoneth the body.”----Coriander is held to be under the planetary influence of Saturn.

=CORN.=--The generic name of Corn, which is applied to all kinds of grain, is one of several words, which being common to the widely-separated branches of the Indo-European race, prove the practice of tillage among our ancestors before they left their first home in Central Asia.----The Greeks worshipped Demeter, and the Romans Ceres, as the goddess of Corn, and she is supposed to have been the same deity as Rhea and Tellus, and the Cybele, Bona Dea, Berecynthia of the Phrygians, the Isis of the Egyptians, Atergates of the Syrians, and the Hera of the Arcadians. Ceres was generally represented as a beautiful woman, with a garland of ears of Corn on her head, a wheatsheaf by her side, and the cornucopia, or horn of plenty, in her hand. To commemorate the abduction of her daughter Proserpine by Pluto, a festival was held about the beginning of harvest, and another festival, lasting six days, was held in remembrance of the goddess’s search for her daughter, at the time that Corn is sown in the earth. During the quest for Proserpine, the earth was left untilled and became barren; but upon the return of Ceres, she instructed Triptolemus of Eleusis in all the arts appertaining to agriculture and the cultivation of Corn, and gave him her chariot, drawn by two dragons, wherein he might travel over the whole earth and distribute Corn to all its inhabitants. On his return to Eleusis, Triptolemus restored the chariot to Ceres, and established the famed Eleusinian festivals and mysteries in her honour. This festival, observed every fourth year, and dedicated to Demeter (Ceres) and Proserpine, was the most solemn of all the sacred feasts of Greece, and was so religiously observed, that anyone revealing its secret mysteries, or improperly taking part in the ceremonials, was put to an ignominious death. During the festival, the votaries walked in a solemn procession, in which the holy basket of Ceres was carried about in a consecrated cart, the people on all sides shouting Hail, Demeter!----In their sacrifices, the ancients usually offered Ceres a pregnant sow, as that animal often destroys the Corn and other crops. While the Corn was yet in grass they offered her a ram, after the victim had been thrice led round the fields.----Among the Romans, twelve priests named Arvales, supposed to have been descended from the nurse of Romulus, celebrated in April and July the festivals called Ambarvalia. These priests, who wore crowns composed of ears of Corn, conducted processions round the ploughed fields in honour of Ceres, and offered as sacrifices at her shrine a sow, a sheep, and a bull. The rites of the Arvales were founded specially on the worship of Corn.----It is believed that among the Greeks, the story of Proserpine brought back from the infernal regions by her mother Ceres, and finally adjudged to pass six months on earth, and six months in Hades, symbolises Corn as the seed of Wheat, and its condition during Winter and Summer.----De Gubernatis considers that the story of Proserpine has its Indian equivalent in the myth of the birth of Sîtâ, daughter of King Janaka, the Fecundator. Sîtâ was not born of a woman, but issued either from a furrow in the earth, or from the middle of an altar.----The Vishnupurâna mentions several species of grain which have been specially created by the gods; amongst them being Rice, Barley, Millet, and Sesamum. In the sacrifices of the Hindoos, they offer several sorts of Corn to ensure abundant harvests. Indra is the great husbandman of the heavens, which he renders fertile: he is also the divinity of the fields, and, like the Scandinavian god Thor, the presiding deity of Corn. It is he who fertilises the earth in his capacity of god of tempests and rain. The employment of Corn in sacrificial rites, was common in India of the Vedic period, in Greece, and in Rome; and in the same countries we find Corn used during nuptial ceremonies. Thus in Vedic India, it was customary to scatter two handfuls of Corn over the clasped hands of the bride and bridegroom, and a similar proceeding still takes place amongst the Parsees. An analogous custom existed amongst the Romans. At an Indian wedding, after the first night, the mother of the husband, with all the female relatives, come to the young bride, and place on her head a measure of Corn--emblem of fertility. The husband then comes forward and takes from his bride’s head some handfuls of the grain, which he scatters over himself. Similar usages exist at the present day in many parts of Italy, relics of the old Roman custom of offering Corn to the bride. In Gwalior, at one part of the marriage ceremony, the priests shout vociferously, only stopping now and then to cast over the bride and bridegroom showers of Corn, Millet, and Rice. In some parts of Central India, at the end of the rainy season, the people congregate on the banks of the lakes, and launch on the water, as an offering, pots of earth, containing sprouting Wheat.----On the banks of the Indus, there is believed to grow some miraculous Corn on the spot where formerly were burnt the remains of the Buddhist King Sivika, who sacrificed his life for a pigeon. The Chinese Buddhists made pilgrimages, during the middle ages, to the place where Sivika had lived and died; and here it was that the miraculous Wheat grew, which the sun had no power to scorch. A single grain of this Wheat kept its happy possessor from all ills proceeding from cold as well as from fever.----The Chinese, regarding Corn as a gift from heaven, celebrate with sacrifices, prayers, and religious rites, both seedtime and harvest. They also think that in the heavens there is a special constellation for Corn, composed of eight black stars, each of which has under its special protection one of the eight varieties of Corn, viz., Rice, Millet, Barley, Wheat, Beans, Peas, Maize, and Hemp. When this cereal constellation is clear, it is a sign that the eight kinds of Corn will ripen; but when, on the contrary, it is dim and obscured, a bad harvest is looked for. The Emperor Ven-ti, who reigned 179 years before Christ, is said to have incited his subjects to the more zealous cultivation of Corn, by ploughing with his own hands the land surrounding his palace.----The Chaldeans recognised a god of grain, called Sérakh; the Assyrians, a god of harvests, named Nirba; the Romans, a goddess, Segetia or Segesta, who was invoked by husbandmen, that their harvests might be plentiful. Among the Romans, indeed, the growth of Corn was under the special protection of different deities; hence the worship they paid to Seia, who protected Corn before it sprang up above the earth; to Occator, the god of harrowing; to Sarritor, the god of weeding; to Nodotus, the god who watched over the blade when it became knotty; and to Robigus, the god who protected the Corn from blights.----In the sepulchres of the Egyptian kings, which have of late years been opened, was discovered, carefully preserved in closed vessels, Corn, the grains of which retained both their pristine form and colour; when tested, this Corn was found, after several thousand years, still to retain its vitality. The matchless wealth of ancient Egypt was probably in great measure due to its Corn. The Bible history of Joseph, and the narrative of the ten plagues, set forth how famed the land of Egypt was in those days for its Wheat. The mode of culture in that country now is exceedingly simple: when the inundations of the Nile have subsided, the grain is thrown upon the mud; and if by chance it should be considered too hard, the seed is lightly ploughed in. No further care is bestowed until the ripening of the produce in the following April.----Corn was unknown among the Mexicans when their country was first visited by Europeans; the foundation of the vast Wheat harvests of Mexico is said to have been three or four grains, which a slave of Cortez discovered in 1530, accidentally mixed with some Rice.----Peru was indebted for the introduction of Corn to a Spanish lady, Maria de Escobar, who conveyed a few grains to Lima, cultivated them, and distributed the seed among the farmers. The first grains of Corn which reached Quito, were conveyed thither by Father Josse Rixi, a Fleming, who sowed them near the Monastery of St. Francis, where the monks still preserve and show, as a precious relic, the rude earthen vessel wherein the seeds first reached them.----Among the Arabs there is a tradition that when Adam was driven out of Paradise he took with him three plants,--an ear of Corn, chief of all kinds of food; a bunch of Dates, chief of fruits; and a slip of Myrtle, chief of sweet-scented flowers.----There is a curious custom which still survives in a few districts of Brittany, by which the good faith of lovers is sought to be proved. On St. John’s Eve, the men, wearing branches of green Wheat-ears, the women with Flax-blossoms, come to one of the pillar stones, or dolmens, still standing, dance around it, and then place their wreath upon it: if the wreath remain fresh for some time after, the lover is to be trusted; but should it shrivel up within a day or two, so will the love wither and fade away.----In some parts of Italy, there is a belief that on the night of the third of May the blessing of Heaven descends on the Corn in the form of a minute red insect, which remains on the Wheat only for two or three days.----In Piedmont, it is a custom in certain districts, on the last day of February, for the children to roam the meadows, crying, “March, March, arrive! and for every grain of Wheat let us receive a hundred.”----At Venice, on Midsummer Eve, young girls sow some Corn in a pot, which they then place in a position where the sun cannot enter; after eight days they remove the pot: the Corn has then sprouted; and if it is green and healthy, it is a token to the girl that she will have a rich and handsome husband; but if the sprout is yellow or white, it is a sign that the husband will be anything but a good one.----In Corsica, after a wedding, just before the feast, the men and children retire, and the women seat the bride on a measure full of Corn, from which they have each previously taken a handful. The women then commence saying an invocation, and during this each one scatters the handful of Corn over the bride’s head.----In English harvest-fields the prettiest girl present is chosen to cut the last handful of Corn.----In Sweden, if a grain of Corn be found under the table when sweeping on a New Year’s morn, it is believed to be a portent of an abundant crop that year.----A tuft of Corn or Grass was given by Eugène and Marlborough as a cockade to the German, Dutch, and English soldiers comprising the army. The faction of the Fronde opposed to Cardinal Mazarin wore stalks of Corn to distinguish them.----Corn and Grapes typify the Blessed Eucharist. An ear of Corn is a prominent emblem in Freemasonry, proving that the order did not originally confine their intellects or their labours to building operations, but also devoted themselves to agriculture.----Astrologers appear to be divided in their opinions as to whether Corn is under the dominion of Venus or the Sun.----In dreams, to pluck Corn-ears portends secret enemies; otherwise, dreams of Corn betoken good fortune, prosperity, and happiness.

CORN-FLOWER. See Centaury.

CORN-MARIGOLD. See Chrysanthemum.

=CORNEL.=--After Romulus had marked out the bounds of his rising city, he threw his javelin on the Mount Palatine. The weapon, made of the wood of the Cornel (Cornus mascula), stuck fast in the ground, took root, grew, threw out leaves and branches, and became a flourishing tree. This prodigy was considered as the happy presage of the power and duration of the infant empire.----According to some accounts, the Cornel, or Cornelian Cherry, is the tree which sprang from the grave of Prince Polydorus, who was assassinated by Polymnestor. The boughs of this tree dropped blood when Æneas, journeying to Italy, attempted to tear them from the tree.----The Greeks consecrated the Cornel to Apollo; and when, in order to construct the famed wooden horse during the siege of Troy, they felled, on Mount Ida, several Cornelian-trees in a grove, called Carnea, dedicated to the god, they provoked his anger and indignation: to expiate this sacrilege, the Greeks instituted the festival called Carnea.----The Cornel is under Venus.

CORONATION-FLOWER.--See Carnation.

=COSTMARY.=--This plant, the Balsamita vulgaris, owes its name of Costmary to the Greek Kostos, an unknown aromatic plant, and to the fact of its being dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. A variety of the plant is also called, after her, Maudlein, either in allusion to her box of scented ointment or to its use in the uterine affections over which, as the special patroness of unchaste women, she presided. In old times, the plant was known as Herba Sanctæ or Divæ Mariæ.----The Costmary is held to be under Jupiter.

=COSTUS.=--The Costus speciosus, an Indian swamp tree, celebrated for its sweet fruit, is a sacred tree, and in the Hindu mythology figures as Kushtha, one of the trees of heaven. It is a magical tree, curing fevers, and is looked upon as the first of medicinal plants. It is represented as the friend and companion of Soma, the god of Ambrosia. It is called the Revealer of Ambrosia, inasmuch as its fruit grew on the summit of Mount Himavant at the moment when the golden boat of the gods touched its summit, and by its illuminating powers enabled them to find the Ambrosia.

=COTTON-PLANT.=--The Cotton-plant (Gossypium) was first cultivated in the East, whence were procured the finest muslins (so named from Mosul, in Mesopotamia, where it was first made), calico (from Calicut, in India), and Nankeen (from Nankin, in China, where the yellow Cotton-plants grow). Now the Cotton-plant gives employment to millions of people, sends thousands of ships across the sea, and binds together the two great Anglo-Saxon nations. Although so useful, the Cotton is not one of the sacred plants of India: in an Indian poem, however, the plant is noticed favourably:--“We love the fruits of the Cotton because, although tasteless, they have the property of concealing that which ought to be concealed” (in allusion to the use of cotton as clothing). The Khonds, whenever founding a new settlement, always plant first a Cotton-plant, which they hold sacred and religiously preserve.----M. Agassiz, in his work on Brazil, recounts a strange legend respecting the Gossypium Brazilianum. Caro Sacaibu, the first of men, was a demi-god. His son, Rairu, an inferior being, obeyed the instructions of his father, who, however, did not love him. To get rid of him, Sacaibu constructed an armadillo, and buried it in the earth, leaving visible only the tail, rubbed with Mistletoe. Then he ordered his son to bring him the armadillo. Rairu obeyed, but scarcely had he touched the tail, when, aided by Sacaibu, it dragged Rairu to the bottom of the earth. But thanks to his wit, Rairu contrived to make his way to the surface again, and told Sacaibu that in the subterranean regions lived a race of men and women, who, if transported to earth, would cultivate it. Sacaibu allowed himself to be convinced of this, and accordingly descended in his turn to the bottom of the earth by the aid of a rope composed of Cotton, which he had sown for the first time on the occasion. The first men brought to earth by means of Sacaibu’s rope were small and ugly, but the more rope he pulled up, the handsomer became the men, until just as he was about to pull out the handsomest the Cotton rope broke, and the brightest specimens of humanity were doomed for ever to remain in the bowels of mother earth. That is the reason why, in this earth of ours, beauty is so scarce.

COVENTRY BELLS.--See Campanula.

=COWSLIP.=--The familiar name, Cowslip, is presumed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Cú-slyppe: Skeat thinks because the plant was supposed to spring up where a patch of cow-dung had fallen. The flowers of the common Cowslip, Petty Mullein, or Paigle (Primula veris), are, in some parts of Kent, called Fairy Cups. The odour of Cowslips is said to calm the heart. A pleasant and wholesome wine is made from them, resembling Muscadel. It is said to induce sleep. Says Pope:--

“For want of rest, Lettuce and Cowslip wine--probatum est.”

Cowslip-balls are made in the following manner:--The umbels or heads are picked off as close as possible to the top of the main stalks. From fifty to sixty of these are hung across a string stretched between the backs of two chairs. The flowers are then pressed carefully together, and the string tied tightly, so as to collect them into a ball. Care should be taken to have all the flowers open, so as to make the surface of the ball even.----Culpeper, the astrological herbalist, says that the Greeks gave the name of Paralysis to the Cowslip because the flowers strengthened the brain and nerves, and were a remedy for palsy. He adds, that Venus lays claims to this herb, and it is under the sign Aries.

=COWSLIP OF JERUSALEM.=--The Virginian Cowslip or Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis), is called Cowslip of Jerusalem, Sage of Jerusalem, Sage of Bethlehem, Wild Comfrey and Lung-wort, being supposed, from its spotted leaves, to be a remedy for diseased lungs. Linnæus christened the plant Dodecatheon, or Twelve Divinities, because, in April, it is crowned with twelve pink flowers reversed.----The Lung-wort is considered to be a herb of Jupiter.

=COW-TREE.=--The ancient inhabitants of Venezuela regarded as sacred the Chichiuhalquehuill, Tree of Milk, or Celestial Tree, that distilled milk from the extremity of its branches, and around which were seated infants who had expired a few days after their birth. A Mexican drawing of this Celestial Tree is preserved in the Vatican, and is noticed by Humboldt, who first heard of the Palo de Vaca, or Cow-tree, in the year 1800, and supposed it to be peculiar to the Cordillera of the coast. It was also found by Mr. Bridemeyer, a botanist, at a distance of three days’ journey to the east of Caraccas, in the valley of Caucagua, where it is known by the name of Arbol de Leche, or the Milk-tree; and where the inhabitants profess to recognise, from the thickness and colour of the foliage, the trunks that yield the most juice,--as the herdsman distinguishes, from external signs, a good milch cow. At Barbula, this vegetable fountain is more aptly termed the Palo de Vaca, or Cow-tree. It rises, as Humboldt informs us, like the broad-leaved Star-apple (Chrysophyllum Cainito), to a height of from thirty to forty feet, and is furnished with round branches, which, while young, are angular, and clothed with a fine heavy down. The trunk, on being wounded, yields its agreeable and nutritious fluid in the greatest profusion. Humboldt remarks that “a few drops of vegetable juice recall to our minds all the powerfulness and the fecundity of nature. On the barren flank of a rock grows a tree with coriaceous and dry leaves. Its large woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the stone. For several months of the year, not a single shower moistens its foliage. Its branches appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is pierced, there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the rising of the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The blacks and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow, and thickens at its surface. Some empty their bowls under the tree itself, others carry the juice home to their children. We seem to see the family of a shepherd who distributes the milk of his flock.”

=CRANE’S BILL.=--The Crane’s Bill, or English Geranium, derived its name from a fancied resemblance of the fruit to the beak of that bird. Another name for the plant is Dove’s Foot.----Astrologers say that it is under the dominion of Mars.

=CRANBERRY.=--The Cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccus) was formerly known as the Marsh-wort or Fen-berry. The Druids called the plant Samolus, and used great ceremonies in gathering it; these consisted in a previous fast, in not looking back during the time of their plucking it, and lastly in using their left hand only. This plant was considered to be particularly efficacious in curing the diseases incident to swine and cattle.

=CRESS.=--Chaucer calls the Cress by its old Saxon name of Kers, which may possibly have been the origin of the vulgar saying of not caring a “curse” for anything--meaning a Cress. Gerarde tells us that the Spartans were in the habit of eating Cresses with their bread; this they did no doubt on account of an opinion held very generally among the ancients that those who ate Cress became firm and decided, for which reason the plant was in great request. Water-Cresses, according to astrologers, are herbs of the Moon.

CROSS-FLOWER.--See Milkwort.

=CROCUS.=--Legendary lore derives the name of this flower from a beautiful youth named Crocus, who was consumed by the ardency of his love for the shepherdess Smilax, and was afterwards metamorphosed into the flower which still preserves his name; Smilax being also transformed, some accounts say into a flower, others into a Yew.

“Crocus and Smilax may be turned to flowers, And the Curetes spring from bounteous showers.”--Ovid.

Rapin says:--

“Crocus and Smilax, once a loving pair, But now transformed, delightful blossoms bear.”

According to a Grecian legend, the Crocus sprang from the blood of the infant Crocus, who was accidentally struck by a metal disc thrown by Mercury whilst playing a game.----One of the Sanscrit names of the Crocus, or Saffron, is asrig, which signifies “blood.” The dawn is sometimes called by the classic poets, on account of its colour, crocea.----The ancients often used to adorn the nuptial couch with Crocus-flowers, perhaps because it is one of the flowers of which, according to Homer, the couch of Jove and Juno was composed.

“And sudden Hyacinths the turf bestrow, And flowery Crocus made the mountains glow.”

The Egyptians, at their banquets, encircled their wine cups with garlands of Crocus and Saffron, and in their religious processions these flowers were carried with other blooms and aromatics.----The Jews made use of the Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus) as an aromatic, and in the Song of Solomon it is referred to as highly appreciated:--“Thy plants are an orchard of Pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; Camphire, with Spikenard; Spikenard and Saffron,” &c.----The Greeks employed the Crocus in the composition of their perfumes. Thus Hipponax says:--

“I then my nose with baccaris anointed Redolent of Crocus.”

The Romans were so fond of the Crocus, that they not only had their apartments and banqueting halls strewed with this plant, but they also composed with it unguents and essences which were highly prized. Some of the latter were often made to flow in small streams at their entertainments, or to descend in dewy showers over the audience. Lucan, in his ‘Pharsalia,’ describing how the blood runs out of the veins of a person bitten by a serpent, says that it spouts out in the same manner as the sweet-smelling essence of Saffron issues from the limbs of a statue. In both Greece and Rome, as in later years in this land, Crocus was a favourite addition to dishes of luxury, and Shakspeare speaks of Saffron to colour the warden pies.----In olden times, Crocus was held to be a great cordial and strengthener of the heart and lungs; it was also considered useful in the plague and similar pestilences; and was said to excite amatory passions.----Robert Turner states that the plant was sometimes called Filias ante Patrem, because it puts forth flowers before the leaves. This old herbalist, who lived in the reign of Charles II., would seem to have been a thorough Royalist, for after remarking that large crops of Saffron-flowers were grown at Saffron-Walden, he adds that the crop “must be gathered as soon as it is blown, or else it is lost; so that Jack Presbyter for covetousness of the profit can reach his Sabbatarian conscience to gather it on Sunday; and so he can do anything else that redounds to his profit, tho’ it destroy his brother.”----The Crocus or Saffron is a herb of the Sun, and under the Lion.

=CUCKOO FLOWERS.=--Various flowers are called after the “harbinger of Spring.” In old works, the name “Cuckoo Flower” was given to the Lychnis flos cuculi, but is now generally applied to the Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis). Cuckoo Gilliflower was a name also given to the Lychnis flos cuculi, on account of its blooming at the time the Cuckoo’s song was heard. “Cuckoo’s Bread,” or “Cuckoo’s Meat” is the Wood Sorrel, Oxalis Acetosella. Shakspeare’s “Cuckoo Buds of yellow hue” are probably the buds of the Crowfoot. “Cuckoo Grass” is the Luzula Campestris, a grass-like Rush, flowering at the time of the Cuckoo. “Cuckoo Pint,” or “Pintle” is the Arum maculatum.

=CUCUMBER.=--In the East, the Cucumber (Cucumis sativa) has been cultivated from the earliest periods. When the Israelites complained to Moses in the wilderness, comparing their old Egyptian luxuries with the Manna of the wilderness, they exclaimed: “We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, the Cucumbers, and the Melons.” Isaiah, depicting the desolation of Judah, said: “The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard--as a lodge in a garden of Cucumbers”--in allusion to the practise of cultivating Cucumbers in open fields.----Although, says De Gubernatis, the Buddhists derive the name of Ikshvâku from Ikshi (Sugar-cane), we must not forget that the wife of Sagara, to whom was promised sixty thousand children, first gave birth to an Ikshvâku, that is to say, to a Cucumber. Just as the Cucumber and the Pumpkin or Gourd are gifted with fecundity and the desire to climb, so Trisanku, one of the descendants of Ikshvâku, had the ambition to ascend to heaven, and he obtained that favour by the assistance of the sage Visvamitra.----There was formerly a superstitious belief in England that Cucumbers had the power of killing by their natural coldness. Gerarde says “they yield to the body a cold and moist nourishment, and that very little, and the same not good.”----To dream of Cucumbers denotes recovery to the sick, and that you will speedily fall in love; or if you are in love, that you will marry the object of your affection. It also denotes moderate success in trade; to a sailor a pleasant voyage.----Cucumbers are under the influence of the Moon.

=CUMIN.=--According to Theophrastus, the ancients were accustomed to sow the seed of Cumin (Cuminum Cyminum), with an accompaniment of oaths and maledictions, just as they were wont to do in the case of Basil: this singular custom was probably some form of incantation, to preserve this highly-reverenced plant from the dreaded effects of the Evil Eye, and to cause it to flourish well. Among the Greeks, Cumin symbolised meanness and cupidity: the people nicknamed Marcus Antoninus, Cumin, on account of his avarice; and misers were jokingly spoken of as persons who had eaten Cumin.----The plant appears to have been regarded as specially possessing the power of retention. Thus in Germany, in order to prevent newly-made bread from being stolen by Wood-demons, the loaves had Cumin put in them. In Italy, a similar custom prevails; and in some places it is supposed that the Cumin possesses the power of keeping the thief in the house along with the bread which he wished to steal. In some parts of Italy they give Cumin to pigeons in order to make them tame and fond of their home; and Cumin mixed with flour and water is given to fowls with the same object. Country lasses also endeavour to make their lovers swallow it, in order to ensure their continued attachment and fidelity. Or, if the lover is going to serve as a soldier, or has obtained work in a distant part of the country, his sweetheart gives him a newly-made loaf seasoned with Cumin, or, perhaps, a cup of wine in which Cumin has been previously powdered and mixed.----The ancients were acquainted with the power of Cumin to cause the human countenance to become pallid, and Pliny mentions two cases in which the herb was so employed.

=CURRANT.=--According to the Iranian legend of the Creation, the first human couple, Maschia and Maschiäna, issued from a Currant-bush. At first there was only one Currant-bush, but in process of time the one bush became separated into two. To these two plants Ormuzd, the Iranian supreme deity, imparted a soul, and thus from the Currant-bushes issued the first two human beings.----To dream of Currants denotes happiness in life, success in your undertakings, constancy in your sweetheart, and to the farmer and tradesman riches.----The Currant-tree is under the influence of Venus.

=CYCLAMEN.=--The Greeks had several names for the Cyclamen, and the Romans also distinguished it by a variety of titles, as Tuber terræ and Terræ rapum, from its Turnip-like root, Panis Porcinus, Orbicularis, Arthanita, and Cyclamen, on account of the roundness of its root. It was called Sow-bread and Swine-bread because, in countries where it is abundant, it forms the chief food of herds of swine.----This plant was formerly regarded as a most potent assistant by midwives, and it was recommended to them by the surgeons of the day. The peculiar shape of its root was in itself suggestive of its employment by these good women, and the virtues of the plant were regarded with superstitious reverence. Thus we find Gerarde stating, that the mere wearing of the root, “hanged about women,” had a salutary effect; and that he himself had instructed his wife to employ its leaves when tending divers women in their confinement. The old herbalist also tells us that he had Cyclamens growing in his garden, but that for fear any matrons should, accidentally, step over them, and by this means bring on miscarriage, he fenced them in with sticks, and laid others crossways over them, “lest any woman should, by lamentable experiment, find my words to be true, by their stepping over the same.” He further warns those who are about to become mothers not to touch or take this herb, or to come near unto it, on account of “the naturale attractive vertue therein contained.” According to Theophrastus, Cyclamen was employed by the ancients to excite love and voluptuous desires.----Placed in a dormitory, this plant was supposed to protect the inmate:--

“St. John’s Wort and fresh Cyclamen she in his chamber kept, From the power of evil angels to guard him while he slept.”

The old English names of Cyclamen were Sow-bread and Swine-bread.----It was considered under the dominion of Mars.

=CYPRESS.=--Ovid tells us of the “taper Cypress,” that it is sacred to Apollo, and was once a fair youth, Cyparissus by name, who was a great favourite of the god. Cyparissus became much attached to a “mighty stag,” which grazed on the fertile fields of Cæa and was held sacred to Carthæan nymphs. His constant companion, this gentle stag was one day unwittingly pierced to the heart by a dart thrown by the luckless youth. Overcome with remorse, Cyparissus would fain have killed himself but for the intervention of Apollo, who bade him not mourn more than the loss of the animal required. Unable, however, to conquer his grief, Cyparissus at length prayed the superior powers, that as an expiation, he should be doomed to mourn to all succeeding time: the gods therefore turned him into a Cypress-tree. Ovid thus relates the tale:--

“And now of blood exhausted he appears, Drained by a torrent of continual tears; The fleshy colour in his body fades, And a green tincture all his limbs invades; From his fair head, where curling locks late hung, A horrid bush with bristled branches sprung, Which, stiff’ning by degrees, its stem extends, Till to the starry skies the spire ascends. Apollo sad looked on, and sighing cried, Then be for ever what thy prayer implied; Bemoaned by me, in others grief excite, And still preside at every funeral rite.”--Congreve.

According to another account, Silvanus, god of the woods (who is sometimes represented holding a branch of Cypress in his hand), became enamoured of a handsome youth named Cyparissus, who was changed into the tree bearing his name. Rapin gives the following version of the story:--

“A lovely fawn there was--Sylvanus’ joy, Nor less the fav’rite of the sportive boy, Which on soft grass was in a secret shade, Beneath a tree’s thick branches cooly laid; A luckless dart rash Cyparissus threw, And undesignedly the darling slew. But soon he to his grief the error found, Lamenting, when too late, the fatal wound: Nor yet Sylvanus spared the guiltless child, But the mischance with bitter words reviled, This struck so deep in his relenting breast, With grief and shame, and indignation prest, That tired of life he melted down in tears, From whence th’ impregnate earth a Cypress rears; Ensigns of sorrow these at first were born, Now their fair race the rural scenes adorn.”

In a legend current among the Greeks, the Cypress owes its origin to the daughters of Eteocles, King of Thebes. Carried away by the goddesses in a whirlwind, which kept revolving them in endless circles, they were at length precipitated into a pond, upon which Gæa took compassion on the young girls, and changed them into Cypress-trees.----Perhaps owing to its funereal and sorrowful character, the Cypress has been named as the tree which furnished the wood of the Saviour’s Cross.----An ancient legend referred to in the ‘Gospel of Nicodemus,’ Curzon’s ‘Monasteries of the Levant,’ and other works, carries the history of the Cross back as far as the time of Adam. In substance it is as follows:--Adam, one day, fell sick, and sent his son Seth to the Garden of Eden to ask the guardian angel for some drops of the oil of mercy, distilled from the Tree of Life. The angel replied that none could have that till five thousand years had passed, but gave him a slip of the tree, which was afterwards planted on Adam’s grave, and grew into a goodly tree with three branches. Another version states that the Angel in Paradise gave Seth three seeds, which he placed under Adam’s tongue before burial, from which they grew into the Cypress, the Cedar, and the Pine. These were subsequently carried away by Moses, who cut his rod from them, and King David transplanted them near a fountain at Jerusalem, where the three saplings combined and grew into one grand tree. Under its umbrageous shade he composed his Psalms and lamented his sins. His son Solomon afterwards cut it down for a pillar in his Temple, but no one was able to fix it there. Some say it was preserved in the Temple, while others aver that it formed a bridge across a marsh, which the Queen of Sheba refused to pass, being deterred by a vision of its future burden. It was afterwards buried in the Pool of Bethesda, thereby accounting for the healing properties possessed by its waters. At the Passion, it floated and was taken for the Cross, or, as some say, for the upright beam. Henry Maundrell speaks of a Greek convent, about half an hour’s distance from Jerusalem, where they showed him a hole in the ground under the high altar, where the stump of the tree stood. Sir John Maundevile also says that the spot where the tree grew at Jerusalem was pointed out to him; the wood, he states, formed a bridge over the brook Cedron.----Some versions of the legend of the wood of the Cross state it was made of Cypress, Cedar, Pine, and Box: one names Cypress for the body, Palm for the hands, Cedar for the support of the feet, and Olive for the superscription.----Another version states that the cross beam was of Cypress; the upright beam of “immortal Cedar;” the title of Olive; and the foot-rest of Palm: hence the line--

“Ligna crucis Palma, Cedrus, Cupressus, Oliva.”

In all countries, and from the earliest times, the Cypress has been deemed the emblem of woe. Gerarde tells us, that it had the reputation of being deadly, and that its shadow was unfortunate. Horace, Virgil, and Ovid all refer to it as a tree both gloomy and funereal. By the Greeks and Romans alike, the “sad” tree was consecrated to Pluto and Proserpine, as well as to the Fates and the Furies. The Greeks crowned with Cypress their tragic Muse Melpomene, and it became an accompaniment of Venus in the annual processions in which she was supposed to lament over Adonis.----The ancients planted the Cypress around graves, and in the event of a death, placed it either before the house or in the vestibule, so that no one about to perform a sacred rite might enter a place polluted with a dead body. The Cypress was probably selected for this purpose because of the belief that, when once cut down, it never springs up again.----But, in connection with its funereal associations, the Cypress has always been highly esteemed as an undying tree, ever verdant, flourishing (Cupressus sempervirens) and odorous, and a tree of which the wood, like the Cedar, is incorruptible. Theophrastus attributes great honour to the tree, and points out how the roofs of old temples became famous by reason of its wood, and that the timber of which the rafters were made was deemed everlasting, because it was unhurt by rotting, moth, worm, or corruption. Martial describes the Cypress as deathless. Gerarde identifies it with the Thya of Pliny and Homer: “He showeth that this is burned among the sweet smells which Circe was much delighted withall.... The verse is extant in the fifth booke of Odysses, where he mentioneth that Mercurie, by Jupiter’s commandment, went to Calypsus’ den, and that he did smell the burnt trees, Thya and Cedrus, a great way off.” Theocritus and Virgil both allude to the fragrance of the Cypress, and on account of the balsamic scent of its timber, chips of it were sometimes employed to flavour wine with. The Athenians buried their heroes in coffins of this wood, and the Egyptians made of it those apparently indestructible chests that contain the mummies of a bygone age.----Pausanias tells us, that the Greeks guarded scrupulously the Cypresses which grew over the Tomb of Alcmæon, and that these trees attained such a height, that they cast their shadows on the neighbouring mountain. The same writer mentions several groves of Cypress which were looked upon as sacred by the Greeks; for instance, those which surrounded the Temples of Bellerophon and Æsculapius, one of the shrines of Venus, the Tomb of Lais, near Corinth, and a dense wood of Cypress, where were to be seen statues of Apollo, Mercury, and Rhea. Diodorus Siculus, Plato, and Solinus speak of groves of Cypress which were held sacred in Crete, near the ruins of the reputed dwelling of Rhea, and in the vicinity of the Cavern of Zeus. Solinus also remarks on the peculiarity of the Cretan Cypresses in sprouting afresh after being cut down.----P. della Valla, a great traveller of Evelyn’s time, tells of a wonderful Cypress, then extant, near the tomb of Cyrus, to which pilgrimages were made. This tree was hollowed within, and fitted for an oratory, and was noted for a gummy transudation which it yielded, reputed by the Turks to turn, every Friday, into drops of blood.----Plato desired to have the laws engraved on tablets of Cypress, because he thought the wood more durable even than brass: the antique idol of Vejovis (or Vedius), in Cypress-wood, at the Capitol, corroborates this notion. Semiramis selected the timber of the Cypress for his bridge across the Euphrates; the valves, or doors, of the Ephesian temple were of this material, as were also the original gates of St. Peter’s, Rome. It has been thought that the Gopher, mentioned in Genesis (vi., 14), of which the Ark was built, was really Kupros, Cupar, or Cuper, the Cypress. Epiphanius relates that some relics of the Ark (circa campos Sennaar) lasted even to his days, and was judged to have been of Cypress. Certain it is that the Cretans employed it in ship-building, and that so frequent was the Cypress in those parts of Assyria where the Ark was supposed to have been built, that the vast armadas which Alexander the Great sent forth from Babylon were constructed of it. Of Cypress-wood were formed Cupid’s darts, Jove’s sceptre, and the club of Hercules used in recovering the cows stolen by the robber Cacus. Either of Fig- or Cypress-wood were fashioned the obscene statues of Priapus set up by the Romans in their gardens and orchards, which were presided over by this lascivious god, who exercised a peculiar faculty of detecting and punishing thieves. The thunderbolts of Indra possessed the like distinctive power. In Northern mythology, the club of Hercules and the thunderbolts of Indra are replaced by the mallet of Thor, which it is not difficult to recognise in the mallet of Cypress-wood that, in Germany, was formerly believed to impart the power of discovering thieves.----From its qualities, the Cypress acquired throughout the East a sacred character. This was more particularly the case in Persia. In the Zend-Avesta, it is accounted divine--consecrated to the pure light of Ormuzd, whose word was first carved on this noble tree. Parsi traditions tell of a Cypress planted by Zoroaster himself, which grew to wondrous dimensions, and beneath the branches of which he built himself a summer-house, forty yards high and forty yards broad. This tree is celebrated in the songs of Firdusi as having had its origin in Paradise. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Cypress, a tree of Paradise, rising in a pyramidal form, with its taper summit pointing to the skies, like the generating flame, should be planted at the gates of the most sacred fire-temples, and, bearing the law inscribed by Zoroaster, should stand in the forecourt of the royal palace and in the middle of pleasure gardens, as a reminiscence of the lost Paradise. This is the reason why sculptured images of the Cypress are found in the temples and palaces of Persepolis; for the Persian kings were servants of Ormuzd. Sacred Cypresses were also found in the very ancient temple of Armavir, in Atropatene, the home of Zoroaster and his light-worship. The Cypress, indeed, reverenced all over Persia, was transmitted as a sacred tree down from the ancient Magi to the Mussulmans of modern times.----From Asia, the Cypress passed to the island of Cyprus (which derived its name from the tree), and here the primitive inhabitants worshipped, under the Phœnician name Beroth, a goddess personified by the Cypress-tree.----According to Claudian, the Cypress was employed by the goddess Ceres as a torch, which she cast into the crater of Etna, in order to stay the eruption of the volcano, and to imprison there Vulcan himself.----An Italian tradition affirms that the Devil comes at midnight to carry off three Cypresses confided to the care of three brothers--a superstitious notion evidently derived from the fact that the tree was by the ancients consecrated to Pluto.----Like all the trees connected with the Phallica, the Cypress is at once a symbol of generation, of death, and of the immortal soul.----In Eastern legends, the Cypress often represents a young lover, and the Rose, his beloved. In a wedding song of the Isle of Crete, the bridegroom is compared to the Cypress, the bride to the scented Narcissus. In Miller’s Chrestomathie is a popular Russian song, in which a young girl tells her master that she has dreamed of a Cypress and of a Sugar-tree. The master tells her that the Cypress typifies a husband, and the Sugar-tree a wife; and that the branches are the children, who will gather around them.----At Rome, according to Pliny, they used to plant a Cypress at the birth of a girl, and called it the dotem of the daughter.----The oldest tree on record is the Cypress of Somma, in Lombardy. An ancient chronicle at Milan proves it was a tree in Julius Cæsar’s time, B.C. 42. It is 121 feet high, and 23 feet in circumference at one foot from the ground. Napoleon, when laying down the plan for his great road over the Simplon, diverged from a straight line to avoid injuring this tree.----To dream of a Cypress-tree denotes affliction and obstruction in business.

DAFFODIL, DAFFODILLY, or DAFFADOWNDILLY.--See Narcissus.

=DAHLIA.=--The Dahlia (Dahlia variabilis) is first mentioned in a History of Mexico, by Hernandez (1651): it was next noticed by Menonville, who was employed by the French Minister to steal the cochineal insect from the Spaniards in 1790. The Abbé Cavanilles first described the flower scientifically from a specimen which had bloomed in the Royal Garden of Madrid the previous year, and he named the plant after his friend Andrew Dahl, the Swedish botanist.----The Dahlia was introduced into England in 1789 by Lady Bute from Madrid, but this single plant speedily perished. Cavanilles sent specimens of the three varieties then known to the Jardin des Plantes in 1802, and the flower was very successfully cultivated in France, so that in 1814, on the return of peace, the improved varieties of the Dahlia created quite a sensation among English visitors to Paris. Meanwhile, Lady Holland had in July, 1804, sent Dahlia-seeds to England from Madrid, and ten years after we find her husband thus writing to her:--

“The Dahlia you brought to our isle Your praises for ever shall speak; Mid gardens as sweet as your smile, And in colour as bright as your cheek.”

It is singular that this favourite flower should have been twice introduced to England through the ladies of two of her most noted statesmen, and that the first introduction should mark the year when France became revolutionized, and the second that which saw Napoleon made Emperor of the French nation: it is from these incidents that the Dahlia in floral language has been selected as the symbol of “instability.”----In Germany and Russia, the flower is called Georgina, after a St. Petersburg professor.

=DAISY.=--The legend connected with the Daisy, or Bellis, runs that this favourite little flower owes its origin to one of the Belides, who were grand-daughters of Danaus, and belonged to the race of Nymphs, called Dryads, presiding over woodlands, pastures, and meadows: she is said to have encouraged the suit of the rural divinity, Ephigeus, but whilst dancing on the sward with him, chanced to attract the admiration of Vertumnus, the guardian deity of orchards, and to enable her to escape from his amorous embrace, she was transformed into the humble flower named Bellis. Thus Rapin says:--

“When the bright ram, bedecked with stars and gold, Displays his fleece, the Daisy will unfold To nymphs a chaplet, and to beds a grace, Who once herself had borne a virgin’s face.”

Chaucer, however, who appears to have been passionately fond of the Daisy, and never tired of singing its praises, tells us that the Queen Alceste was changed into the flower, and that she had as many virtues as there were florets in it.

“Hast thou not a book in thy cheste, The great goodnesse of the Queene Alceste That turned was into a Daisie? She that for her husband chose to die, And eke to gone to hell rather than lie. And Hercules rescued her, parde, And brought her out of hell again to bliss? And I answered againe, and said ‘Yes,’ Now I knowe her, and this is good Alceste, The Daisie, and mine own hertes rest?”

Ossian gives another origin. Malvina, weeping beside the tomb of Fingal, for Oscar and his infant son, is comforted by the maids of Morven, who narrate how they have seen the innocent infant borne on a light mist, pouring upon the fields a fresh harvest of flowers, amongst which rises one with golden disc, encircled with rays of silver, tipped with a delicate tint of crimson. “Dry thy tears, O Malvina,” cried the maidens; “the flower of thy bosom has given a new flower to the hills of Cromla.”----The ancient English name of the flower was Day’s Eye, in which way it was written by Ben Jonson; and Chaucer calls it the “ee of the daie.” Probably it received this designation from its habit of closing its petals at night and during rainy weather.----There is a popular superstition, that if you omit to put your foot on the first Daisy you see in Spring, Daisies will grow over you or someone dear to you ere the year be out; and in some English counties an old saying is current that Spring has not arrived until you can plant your foot upon twelve Daisies.----Alphonse Karr, speaking of the Paquerette, or Easter Daisy, says, “There is a plant that no insect, no animal attacks--that ornament of the field, with golden disc and rays of silver, spread in such profusion at our feet: nothing is so humble, nothing is so much respected.” (See Marguerite).----Daisy-roots worn about the person were formerly deemed to prove efficacious in the cure of certain maladies; and Bacon, in his Sylva Sylvarum, tells us “There is also a received tale, that boiling of Daisy-roots in milk (which it is certain are great driers) will make dogs little.”----An old writer (1696) says that they who wish to have pleasant dreams of the loved and absent should put Daisy-roots under their pillow.----It is considered lucky to dream of Daisies in Spring or Summer, but bad in the Autumn or Winter. Daisies are herbs of Venus, under Cancer.

=DAMES’ VIOLET.=--The species of Rocket called Hesperis matronalis, the Night-smelling Rocket, is much cultivated for the evening fragrance of its flowers: hence the ladies of Germany keep it in pots in their apartments, from which circumstance the flower is said to have obtained the name of Dames’ Violet. It is also called Damask Violet, a name derived from the Latin Viola Damascena, the Damascus Violet. In French this is Violette de Damas, which has probably been misunderstood as Violette des Dames, and has hence become, in English, Dames’ Violet. (See ROCKET.)

=DANDELION.=--The Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) derives its name from the French Dent de lion, lion’s tooth. (Latin, Dens leonis). In nearly every European language the flower bears a similar name, given to it presumably either from the whiteness of its root, the auriferous hue of its flower, which recalls the golden teeth of the heraldic lion, or its jagged leaf, which was supposed to resemble a lion’s tooth. De Gubernatis connects the name with the Sun (Helios), and states that a lion was the animal-symbol of the Sun, and that all plants named after him are essentially plants of the Sun. Certainly the appearance of the Dandelion-flower is very suggestive of the ancient representations of the Sun.----In German Switzerland, the children form chains of the stalks of Dandelions, and holding the garland in their hands, they dance round and round in a circle.----The Dandelion is called the rustic oracle: its flowers always open about five a.m. and shut at eight p.m., serving the shepherd for a clock--

“Leontodons unfold On the swart turf their ray-encircled gold, With Sol’s expanding beam the flowers unclose, And rising Hesper lights them to repose.”--Darwin.

As the flower is the shepherd’s clock, so are the feathery seed-tufts his barometer, predicting calm or storm. These downy seed-balls, which children blow off to find out the hour of the day, serve for other oracular purposes. Are you separated from the object of your love?--carefully pluck one of the feathery heads, charge each of the little feathers composing it with a tender thought; turn towards the spot where the loved one dwells; blow, and the seed-ball will convey your message faithfully. Do you wish to know if that dear one is thinking of you, blow again; and if there be left upon the stalk a single aigrette, it is a proof you are not forgotten. Similarly the Dandelion is consulted as to whether the lover lives east, west, north, or south, and whether he is coming or not.

“Will he come? I pluck the flower leaves off, And at each, cry, yes--no--yes; I blow the down from the dry Hawkweed, Once, twice--hah! it flies amiss!”--Scott.

Old herbalists had great faith in the Dandelion as a wonderful help to consumptive people. More recently, in the county of Donegal, an old woman skilled in simples has treated her patients for “heart fever,” or dyspepsia, as follows:--She measures the sufferer three times round the waist with a ribbon, to the outer edge of which is fastened a green thread. If the patient be mistaken in supposing himself affected with heart fever, this green thread will remain in its place, but should he really have the disorder, it is found that the green thread has left the edge of the ribbon and lies curled up in the centre. At the third measuring, the simpler prays for a blessing. She next hands the patient nine leaves of “heart fever grass,” or Dandelion, gathered by herself, directing him to cut three leaves on three successive mornings.----Hurdis, in his poem of ‘The Village Curate,’ fantastically compares the sparkling undergraduate and the staid divine to the Dandelion in the two stages of its existence:--

“Dandelion this, A college youth, that flashes for a day All gold: anon he doffs his gaudy suit, Touched by the magic hand of some grave bishop, And all at once becomes a reverend divine--how sleek.

* * * * *

But let me tell you, in the pompous globe Which rounds the Dandelion’s head, is couched Divinity most rare.”

To dream of Dandelions betokens misfortune, enemies, and deceit on the part of loved ones. Astrologers claim the Dandelion as a plant of Jupiter.

=DANEWORT.=--The Dwarf Elder (Sambucus Ebulus) is said only to grow where blood has been shed, either in battle or in murder. A patch of it thrives on ground in Worcestershire, where the first blood was drawn in the civil war between the Royalists and the Parliament. The Welsh call it Llysan gwaed gwyr, or “Plant of the blood of men.” A name of similar import is its English one of Death-wort. It is chiefly in connection with the history of the Danes in England, that the superstition holds; wherever the Danes fought and bled, there did the Dwarf Elder, or Dane’s Wood, spring up and flourish. According to Aubrey, the plant obtained the name of Danewort, Daneweed, or Dane’s blood, because it grew plentifully in the neighbourhood of Slaughterford, Wilts, where there was once a stout battle fought with the Danes. Parkinson, however, thinks the plant obtained the name of Danewort because it would cause a flux called the Danes.

=DAPHNE.=--The generic name of Daphne has been given to a race of beautiful low shrubs, after the Nymph Daphne, who was changed by the gods into a Laurel, in order that she might escape the solicitations of Apollo (see LAUREL); because many of the species have Laurel-like leaves. The sweet-scented Daphne Mezereon is very generally known as the Lady Laurel, and is also called Spurge Olive, Spurge Flax, Flowering Spurge, and Dwarf Bay. The name of Mezereon is probably derived from its Persian name, Madzaryoun, which signifies “destroyer of life,” in allusion to the poisonous nature of its bright red berries. Gerarde says, “If a drunkard doe eat one graine or berrie of it, he cannot be allowed to drinke at that time; such will be the heate of his mouth, and choking in the throte.” A decoction of this plant, mixed with other ingredients, is the Lisbon diet-drink, a well-known alterative.----The Russian ladies are reputed to rub their cheeks with the fruit of the Mezereon, in order, by the slight irritation, to heighten their colour.----The Spurge Laurel (Daphne Laureola) possess similar properties to the Mezereon. It is called Ty-ved in Denmark, and is sacred to Tyr, the Scandinavian god of war. It is the badge of the Highland Grahams.----The Flax-leaved Daphne, called by Gerarde the Mountain Widow-Wayle, is supposed to be the herb Casia, mentioned by Virgil and other Roman writers; the Cneoron of the Greeks.

=DATE.=--The Date Palm (Phœnix dactylifera) is the Palm of the Oases, and supplies not only food for man and beast, but a variety of useful commodities. This Palm has plume-like leaves, and grows from sixty to eighty feet high, living to a great age, and providing yearly a large crop of fruit. The male and female flowers are borne on separate trees, and it is remarkable that there is a difference in the fructification of the wild Date and the cultivated, though both are the same species. The wild Dates impregnate themselves, but the cultivated trees do not, without the assistance of art. Pontanus, an Italian poet of the fifteenth century, gives a glowing description of a female Date-tree which had stood lonely and barren, near Otranto, until at length a favouring wind wafted towards it the pollen of a male that grew at a distance of fifteen leagues. Father Labat has told of a Date-tree that grew in the island of Martinico, and produced fruit which was much esteemed; but when an increase of the number of Date-trees was wanted, not one could be reared from the seed, and they had to send to Africa for Dates, the stones of which grew readily and produced abundantly. The Date Palm is so abundant in the country between the States of Barbary and the desert (which produces no other kind of tree), that this region is designated as the Land of Dates (Biledulgerid).----The Palm of Palestine is the Date Palm. When the sacred writers wished to describe the majesty and beauty of rectitude, they appealed to the Palm as the fittest emblem which they could select. “He shall grow up and flourish like the Palm-tree” is the promise of David to the just. Mahomet, like the Psalmist of Israel, was wont to compare the virtuous and generous man to the Date-tree:--“He stands erect before his Lord; in every action he follows the impulse received from above; and his whole life is devoted to the welfare of his fellow-creatures.”----The inhabitants of Medina, who possess the most extensive plantations of Date-trees, say that their prophet caused a tree at once to spring from the kernel at his command, and to stand before his admiring followers in mature fruitfulness and beauty.----The Tamanaquas of South America have a tradition that the human race sprang again from the fruits of the Date Palm after the Mexican age of water.----The Arabs say that when Adam was driven out of Paradise, the Date, the chief of all fruits, was one of the three things which he took with him; the other two being the Myrtle and an ear of Wheat.----A popular legend concerning the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, narrates how a Date Palm, at the command of the child Jesus, bowed down its branches to shade and refresh His mother. Sozomenos relates that, when the Holy Family reached the end of their journey, and approached the city of Heliopolis, in Egypt, a tree which grew before the gates of the city, and was regarded with great veneration as the seat of a god, bowed down its branches at the approach of the infant Christ.----Judæa was typified by the Date Palm upon the coins of Vespasian and Titus. With the Jews, the Date Palm has always been the symbol of triumph, and they carry branches of it in their right hands, in their synagogues, at the Feast of the Tabernacles, in commemoration of their forefathers having gained possession of the Promised Land. In the Christian Church, the remembrance of the Saviour’s ride into Jerusalem amid the hosannas of the people, is associated with the waving of the branches of the Date Palm by the joyous multitude.----An ardent spirit, distilled from Dates and water, is much used by Mahommedans, as it does not come within the prohibition of the Koran against wine. Palm wine is also made from the Date; it is the sap or juice of the tree, and can only be obtained by its destruction.----A curious folk-lore tale of the Chinese records how Wang Chih, a patriarch of the Taouist sect, when one day gathering fire-wood in the mountains of Ku Chow, entered a grotto where some old men were playing at chess. One of the old men handed him a Date-stone, telling him to put it into his mouth. This done, he ceased to feel hunger or thirst. By-and-bye, one of the players said: “It is long since you came here--return at once.” Wang Chih went to take up his axe, and found the handle had mouldered into dust. He went home, but found that centuries had elapsed since the day he set out to cut wood: thereupon he retired to a mountain cell, and devoting himself to religious exercises, finally attained immortality.

=DEAD TONGUE.=--The Water Hemlock (Œnanthe crocata) has received the name of Dead Tongue from its paralysing effects on the organs of voice. Threlkeld tells of eight lads who had eaten it, and of whom “five died before morning, not one of them having spoken a word.” Gerarde relates, that this plant having by mistake been eaten in a salad, “it did well nigh poyson those that ate of it, making them giddie in their heads, waxing very pale, staggering, and reeling like drunken men.”----The plant is described as “one of Saturn’s nosegays.”

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE, or DEATH’S HERB.--See Nightshade.

=DEODAR.=--The sacred Indian Cedar (Cedrus Deodara) forms vast forests in the mountains of Northern India, where it grows to a height varying from fifty to a hundred feet and upwards. It is the Devadâru, or tree-god of the Shastras, which, in many of the ancient hymns of the Hindus, is the symbol of power and majesty. The tree is often mentioned by the Indian poets. It was introduced into this country in 1822.

=DHAK.=--The Dhak, or Bastard Teak (Butea frondosa), is one of the sacred trees of India, and one of the most striking of the Indian arboreous Leguminosæ. Both its wood and leaves are highly reverenced, and used in religious ceremonies. The natives, also, are fond of offering the beautiful scarlet flowers in their temples, and the females intertwine the blossoms in their hair.----The flowers yield a superb dye.

=DILL.=--The aromatic plant Dill (Anethum graveolens) is by some supposed to have derived its name from the old Norse word dilla, dull; the seeds being used as a carminative to cause infants to sleep. Boiled in wine, and drunk, the plant was reputed to excite the passions. Dill was formerly highly appreciated as a plant that counteracted the powers of witches and sorcerers:--

“The Vervain and the Dill, That hindereth witches of their will.”

Astrologers assign Dill to the domination of Mercury.

=DITTANY.=--The ancients consecrated the Dittany of Crete (Origanum Dictamnus) to the goddess Lucina, who presided over the birth of children; and she was often represented wearing a crown of this Dittany. The root was particularly recommended by the oracle of Phthas. The Grecian and Roman women attributed to this plant the most extraordinary properties during childbirth, which, it was believed greatly to facilitate. It is reported, says Gerarde, “that the wilde goats or deere in Candy, when they be wounded with arrowes, do shake them out by eating of this plant, and heal their wounds.” According to Virgil, Venus healed the wounded Æneas with Dittany. Plutarch says that the women of Crete, seeing how the goats, by eating Dittany, cause the arrows to fall from their wounds, learnt to make use of the plant to aid them in childbirth. Gerarde recounts that the plant is most useful in drawing forth splinters of wood, bones, &c., and in the healing of wounds, “especially those made with invenomed weapons, arrowes shot out of guns, or such like.” The juice, he says, is so powerful, that by its mere smell it “drives away venomous beasts, and doth astonish them.” When mixed with wine, the juice was also considered a remedy for the bites of serpents. According to Apuleius, however, the plant possessed the property of killing serpents.

The Dittany of Crete, it should be noted, is not to be confounded with the Dittany, Dittander, or Pepper-wort of the English Herbals. This plant, the Lepidium latifolium, from its being used by thrifty housewives to season dishes with, obtained the name of Poor Man’s Pepper. It was held to be under Mars.

=DOCK.=--In Cornwall, as a charm, the leaves of the common Dock, wetted with spring water, are applied to burns, and three angels are invoked to come out of the East. It is a common practice, in many parts of England, for anyone suffering from the stings of a Nettle to apply a cold Dock-leaf to the inflamed spot, the following well-known rhyme being thrice repeated:--

“Out Nettle, in Dock: Dock shall have a new smock.”

Docks are said by astrologers to be under the dominion of Jupiter.

=DRACÆNA.=--The Dracæna, or Dragon-tree (Dracæna Draco), derives its name from the Greek Drakaina, a female dragon. This tree is found in the East India Islands, the Canaries, Cape Verde, and Sierra Leone. Gerarde thus describes it:--“This strange and admirable tree groweth very great, resembling the Pine-tree.” Among its leaves “come forth little mossie floures, of small moment, and turn into berries of the bignesse of Cherries, of a yellowish colour, round, light, and bitter, covered with a threefold skin, or film, wherein is to be seen, as Monardus and divers others report, the form of a dragon, having a long neck and gaping mouth, the ridge, or back, armed with sharp prickles like the porcupine, with a long taile and foure feet, very easie to be discerned.... The trunk, or body of the tree, is covered with a tough bark, very thin and easie to be opened or wounded with any small toole or instrument; which being so wounded in the dog days, bruised or bored, yields forth drops of a thick red liquor of the name of the tree called Dragon’s Tears, or Sanguis Draconis, Dragon’s Bloud.”----This Dragon’s Blood, or Gum Dragon, is well known in medicine as an astringent.----The tooth-brushes called Dragon’s-root, are made from the root of the Dragon-tree, cut into pieces about four inches long, each of which is beaten at one end with a wooden mallet to split it into fibres.----The venerable Dragon-tree of Orotava was for many centuries worshipped as a most sacred tree by the Guanches, or original inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It was considered the twin wonder of the Island of Teneriffe, dividing its interest with the mighty Peak. Humboldt saw it in 1799, when it was considered the oldest and largest of living trees (the giant trees of California being then unknown). The great traveller writes concerning it:--“Its trunk is divided into a great number of branches, which rise in the form of candelabra, and are terminated by tufts of leaves like the Yucca: it still bears every year both leaves and fruit: its aspect feelingly recalls to mind that ‘eternal youth of Nature,’ which is an inexhaustible source of motion and of life.” Since then this sacred tree has been entirely shattered and destroyed by successive storms.

DREAM PLANT.--See Pulsatilla.

=DRYAS.=--The pretty evergreen, Dryas, which blooms on the mountain summits, was so named by Linnæus after the Dryades, or nymphs of the Oaks,--the leaves bearing some resemblance to those of the Oak.

=DURIAN.=--The Durian (Durio Zibethinus) is a native of the East Indies. The fruit of this tree, which is about the size of a man’s head, is regarded by the Malays as the king of fruit, and is reputed to be the most delicious of all the fruits of India. The custard-like pulp in which the large seeds are imbedded, is the part eaten fresh, and resembles cream; yet it is accompanied by such an intolerable stench that, according to Rumphius and Valentyn, it is by law forbidden to throw them out near any public path in Amboyna. The smell is said to resemble certain putrid animal substances, yet all agree that if the first repugnance is once overcome, the fruit is most enjoyable. This fruit is employed as a bait to catch the civet cat; the outer covering is boiled down, and used as a wash for the skin. The seeds are converted into flour, and also used as vegetable ivory.

=DURVA.=--According to Wilson, Durva is the Sanscrit name of the Agrostis linearis, but Carey applies the name to Panicum Dactylon. This species of Millet, like the sacred Kusa grass, is held in much reverence by the Hindus. In De Gubernatis’ Mythologie des Plantes, the author states that in the Atharvaveda, they implore the Durva, which grows in the water (i.e., in marshy places), and which has a hundred roots and a hundred stems, to give absolution for a hundred faults, and to prolong for a hundred years the life of him who invokes it. The fact that this herb is the tenderest, the freshest, and the most substantial food for cattle, added to its beauty, has gained it respect; but the Indians think, besides, that a nymph is hidden in the plant. When they celebrate, in India, the festival of the god Indra, on the 14th day of the lunar month Bhadra, they sing and dance, and offer fourteen different kinds of fruit to the god. In that ceremony, the devotees wear, attached to the right arm, leaves of the Durva. At Indian weddings, the women bind together the right arm of the husband and the left arm of his bride with the leaves of Durva. In the Vedic age (and the custom still exists in certain parts of India), before building a house, it was customary to place on the four corner foundation stones some Durva. This plant figures, also, among the eight ingredients which compose the Arghya, that is to say, the symbolic offering of Indian hospitality. According to a stanza of the Panchatantra, the Durva sprang from the hair of the cow, as the blue Lotus arose from the cow’s evacuations. The leaf of the Durva is so highly esteemed, that it has passed into a proverb or familiar saying. This leaf is especially attractive to gazelles. The preceding stanza proclaims how happy are those gazelles who eat the herb Durva, for they will never gaze on the face of a man whom riches have made false.

=EBONY.=--The Diospyros Ebenaster is generally considered to be the true Ebony-tree. This Date-Plum is a native of Ceylon, Cochin China, and the East Indies. Bishop Heber describes the Ebony-tree of Ceylon as a magnificent forest tree, with a tall, black, slender stem, spotted with white. Some judges, however, consider that the real Ebony-tree is the Diospyrus Ebenus, a native of Jamaica.----In ancient times it was much more in use and esteem. Pluto, the sovereign of the infernal regions, is represented as seated on a throne of Ebony; the statues of the Egyptian gods were wrought in Ebony. According to Pausanias, the statue of the Pythian Apollo was formed of this wood; and that writer recounts that a Cyprian, well versed in plant lore, had told him that the true and veritable Ebony was a plant that produced neither leaf, flower, nor fruit; and, moreover, that it grew entirely underground in certain places known to the Æthiopians, who periodically visited those spots, and took away the wood.----Pulverised Ebony, mixed with the charcoal of a burnt snail, is recommended by Sidrach as an application to lessen the white of the eye.----There is an old saying, that a bad man’s heart is as black as Ebony. This, probably, originated from the fact, that while the alburnum of the Ebony-tree is white, its foliage soft and silvery, and its flowers brilliant, the heart alone is really black.----Among the many wonders described by Sir John Maundevile, as having been seen by him when on his Eastern travels, in the fourteenth century, was a certain table of Ebony, or black wood, “that once used to turn into flesh on certain occasions, but whence now drips only oil, which, if kept above a year, becomes good flesh and bone.”

=EDELWEISS.=--The Edelweiss, or Alpine Cudweed (Leontopodium Alpinum or Gnaphalium), grows on the Swiss mountains on the line of perpetual snow, and from thence is brought down by travellers as a proof that they reached this altitude. As in many cantons it only grows in nearly inaccessible places, it is considered an act of daring to gather it, and the flower is therefore much valued by the Swiss maidens as a proof of the devotion of their lovers. Although hardy, this plant is delicate and fragile, enveloping itself in soft down, and only blooming on rocks exposed in full midday. Its bloom is surrounded by white velvety leaves; even the stem has a down upon it.----With the exception of the Alpenrose, no other mountain flower is so characteristic of the Alpine districts, so dear to the native heart, so celebrated by Alpine poets, or so popular among Swiss tourists. Indeed, its very popularity has threatened to lead to its extinction in the districts most frequented by visitors; and to prevent this, the German and Tyrolese Alpine Clubs have imposed fines for plucking the Edelweiss, and the Austrian Alpine Club has forbidden its members to continue the custom of wearing a sprig of Edelweiss in their hats.----The worst persecutors of the plant are the picturesque Bergano herdsmen and herdboys, who come up from the Italian side of the Alps at the beginning of the season, and remain on the mountains with their flocks until the snow begins to fall. They pluck up the Edelweiss mercilessly by the roots, which they endeavour to dispose of to passing travellers. The Communes of the Upper Engadine have taken the plant under their protection, and sellers of the plant in its living condition are subject to a fine. The Edelweiss, however, is plentiful still in tracts a little out of the orthodox tourists’ routes, and at Pontresina grows in such profusion as to be used as food for cattle. The Edelweiss is also known by the name of the Cotonnier, and is sometimes called Lion’s-foot, because of the resemblance of its woolly hairy flower to the foot of a lion.

=EGG PLANT.=--The Solanum Melongena has derived the name of Egg Plant from the shape of its fruit, which is formed like a hen’s egg, and varies in colour from white to pale yellow, pale red, and purple. In the East Indies, they broil this fruit, and eat it with pepper and salt, and the fruit is also relished in Batavia, Greece, Barbary, and Turkey. The inhabitants of the British isles in the West Indies call it Brown-John or Brown-jolly. Miller calls the plant the larger-fruited Nightshade, and says that in his time it was cultivated in the gardens of Spain by the title of Barenkeena. The Italians call it Melanzana, a corruption of the plant’s ancient Latin name of Mala insana, from whence also came its old English name of Raging Apple or Mad Apple. There does not appear to be any reason for these strange names, although Gerarde cautiously remarks that “doubtless these Apples have a mischievous qualitie, the use whereof is utterly to bee forsaken.”

=EGLANTINE.=--The Sweet Briar (Rosa rubiginosa) is generally understood to be the Eglantine of old English poets, although the name has given rise to much discussion, both as to its meaning, and as to the shrub to which it applies. Chaucer and more ancient poets spelt the word “Eglatere.”

“The hegge also, that yede in compas, And closed in all the greene herbere, With Sicamour was set and Eglatere.”

But it seems doubtful whether by Eglatere was meant the Yellow Rose (Eglanteria), the Sweetbriar, the Dog Rose, or some other species. According to Gerarde, it was a shrub with a white flower. Shakspeare, Spenser, Shenstone, Sir W. Scott, Keats, and other poets identify Eglantine with Sweetbriar; but Milton mistook it for the Honeysuckle or Woodbine, for he speaks of

“Sweetbriar or the Vine, Or the twisted Eglantine.”

According to a superstition current in Schleswig, when Satan fell from heaven, he endeavoured, in order to reascend to the celestial regions, to make himself a ladder with the thorns of the Eglantine. God, however, would not permit the Eglantine to grow upwards, but only to extend itself as a bush. Then, out of spite, Satan turned its thorns downwards, pointing towards the earth.----Another legend records that Judas Iscariot hung himself on the Eglantine, and that since then it has been an accursed tree: hence to this day its berries are called Judas beeren (Judas berries).----The five graceful fringed leaflets, which form the special beauty of the Eglantine flower and bud, have given rise to the following rhymed riddle:--

“Of us five brothers at the same time born, Two from our birthday ever beards have worn; On other two none ever have appeared, While the fifth brother wears but half a beard.”

=ELDER.=--The Elder or Ellan-tree (Sambucus), in Scandinavian mythology, was consecrated to Hulda, the goddess of love, and to Thor, the god of Thunder, and is connected with many ancient Northern superstitions.

The Danes believe that in the Elder there dwells a being known as the Hylde-moer (Elder-mother) or Hylde-qvinde (Elder-woman), by whom all injuries done to the Elder are avenged. In a small court in the Nybonder, a district of Copenhagen, there stands a weird tree, which at dusk is reputed to move up and down the passage, and sometimes to peep through the windows at the children. It is not deemed advisable to have furniture made of Elder-wood. Tradition says that a child having been laid in a cradle made of Elder-wood, the Hylde-moer came and pulled it by the legs, nor would she let it have any rest until it was taken out of the cradle. A peasant once heard his children crying in the night, and on inquiring the cause, was told that some one had been there and sucked them; and their breasts were found to be swollen. This annoyance was believed to have arisen, from the fact that the room was boarded with Elder. The Elder branches may not be cut until permission has been asked in the words, “Hylde-moer, Hylde-moer, allow me to cut thy branches.” Then, if no objection be made by the spirit of the tree, the hewer proceeds, taking care first to spit three times, as a precaution against molestation. In Denmark, it is believed that he who stands under an Elder-bush at twelve o’clock on Midsummer Eve, will see Toly, the king of the elves, go by with all his train. Perhaps on account of the supernatural halo surrounding it, the Elder was regarded as a cure for various diseases. A Danish formula prescribes the taking of an Elder-twig by a person afflicted with toothache, who must first put it in his mouth, and then stick it in the wall, saying, “Depart thou evil spirit.” Ague may be cured by taking a twig of Elder, and sticking it in the ground, without speaking a word; the disease will then pass into the twig, and attach itself to the first person who approaches the spot.

In Russia, there is a belief that Elder-trees drive away bad and malignant spirits, out of compassion to humanity, and that they promote long life.

In Sweden, women about to become mothers kiss the Elder; and it is thought that no one can damage the tree with impunity.

In Germany, the Elder is regarded with great respect. From its leaves a febrifuge is made: from its berries a sort of sour preserve, and a wonder-working electuary; the moon-shaped clusters of flowers are narcotic, and are used in baking small cakes. The smell of the leaves and blossoms has the reputation of causing giddiness, whence arises the saying that “he who goes to sleep under an Elder-tree will never wake.” The cross which is affixed to the rod on which the Easter Palms are fastened is made of Elder-wood, as well as the cross which is carried before the coffin in the funeral procession. Although essentially a tree of shade and of death, yet it and the funeral cross just mentioned are known by the name of “Livelong.” It is a favourite hiding-place for children when playing at “hide-and-seek.” The pith of the branches, when cut in round flat shapes, is dipped in oil, lighted, and then put to float in a glass of water; its light on Christmas Eve is thought to reveal to the owner all the witches and sorcerers in the neighbourhood. Since this tree drives away spirits, it is often planted by the side of manure sheds, keeping them damp by its shade, and also protecting from evil influences the cattle in the adjoining shed. It is commonly believed that he who injures an Elder-tree will suffer from its vengeance. “Holderstock” (Elderstock) is a name of endearment given by a lover to his beloved, and is derived from Hulda, the old goddess of love.

In Lower Saxony, it was customary to ask permission of the Elder-tree before cutting it, in the words, “Lady Elder, give me some of thy wood; then will I also give thee some of mine when it grows in the forest.” This was repeated three times, with folded hands and bended knees. Pusch Kait, the ancient Prussian god of the earth, was supposed to live under the Elder-tree.

In the Tyrol, an Elder-bush, trimmed into the form of a cross, is often planted on the new-made grave; and if it blooms, it is a sign that the soul of the dead person is in Paradise. The Tyroleans have such a regard for the tree, that, in passing it, they always raise their hat.

In Bohemia, three spoonfuls of the water which has been used to bathe an invalid are poured under an Elder, with “Elder, God sends me to thee, that thou may’st take my fever upon thee.” This must be repeated on three successive days, and if the patient has not meanwhile passed over water, he will recover.----The Serbs introduce a stick of Elder, to ensure good luck, during their wedding festivities.

In Savoy, branches of Elder are carried about on May-day. In Sicily, it is thought a bough of Elder will kill serpents, and drive away robbers better than any other stick. In Labruguière, France, if an animal is ill, or has a wound infested by vermin, they lead it to the foot of an Elder-tree, and twirling a bough in their hands, they bow to the tree, and address it as follows:--“Good-day, Mons. Yèble; if you do not drive away the vermin, I shall be compelled to cut both your limbs and your trunk.” This ceremony performed, a certain cure is confidently looked for. In the country districts round Valenciennes, if an Elder-bough is hung outside the door, it is indicative of a coquette inhabiting the house.

In England, the Elder has been regarded with superstition from very early times, and is looked upon as a tree of bad omen. Branches of Elder were formerly considered to be typical of disgrace and woe. In the Canones editi sub Edgaro Rege it is enacted that every priest forbid the vain practices that are carried on with Elder-sticks, and also with various other trees.

In Gloucestershire, and some other counties, the peasantry will on no account burn Elder or Ellan-wood, the reason being, that it was supposed to be one of the trees from which the wood of the Cross was formed. In a rare tract on Gloucestershire superstitions, a figure is given of an Elder-wood cross borne constantly about the person as a cure for rheumatism. This cross consisted of a small piece cut from a young shoot just above and below a joint, so as to leave the bud projecting at each end of it, after the fashion of a rude cross. To be efficient, the Elder must have grown in consecrated ground. In Tortworth and other Gloucestershire churchyards are to be found such trees, and applications for pieces of them are still made.

In Sussex, an Elder-stick, with three, four, or more knots upon it, is carried in the pocket as a charm against rheumatism.

In the Eastern counties, the Elder is popularly considered to be the tree of whose wood the Cross was made: it is therefore an unlucky tree, and one that should never be bound up in faggots. On this account, also, the Elder is considered safe from the effects of lightning. In some parts there is a vulgar prejudice that if boys be beaten with an Elder-stick, their growth is sure to be checked.

In Huntingdonshire, there exists the Danish belief in a being called the Elder-mother, so that it is not always safe to pluck the flowers. No household furniture should be made of Elder-wood, least of all a cradle, for some evil will certainly befall the child sleeping in it.

The Elder-tree has been credited with possessing a peculiar fascination for witches and elves, who love to lurk beneath the shadow of its branches, and who are wont to bury their offspring at its foot. On the other hand, the tree has been said to exercise a protective influence against the attacks of witches and wizards, and similar evil-disposed persons; and it has been suggested that this is the reason why the tree is so often found in the neighbourhood of cottages. It was thought that the tree was obnoxious to witches because their enemies use the green juice of its inner bark for anointing the eyes. Any baptised person whose eyes are touched with it can see what the witches are about in any part of the world. It was possible by magic art to render witches sensible of blows given to them with an Elder-stick, but this has to be managed by someone versed in the habits of witches. A cross made of the Elder, affixed to cow-houses and stables, was supposed to protect cattle from all possible harm.

Shakspeare, in ‘Love’s Labour Lost,’ says “Judas was hanged on an Elder,” and this belief was general among early writers, and is constantly alluded to by authors of the Elizabethan period; but the name Judas-tree was applied to the Cercis siliquastrum (which is the tree which still bears it), about the same period. Gerarde, indeed, definitely tells us of the Cercis, “This is the tree whereon Judas did hang himselfe, and not upon the Elder-tree, as is stated.” On the other hand, that old Eastern traveller, Sir John Maundevile, tells us that the very Elder-tree upon which Judas hanged himself was to be seen in his day close to the Pool of Siloe; whilst the legend which connects Judas with the Elder-tree is alluded to by Ben Jonson, and is thus referred to in ‘Piers Plowman’:--

“Judas, he japed With Jewen silver And sithen on an Eller Hanged hymselve.”

But not only is the ill-omened Elder credited with being connected with the death of Judas, but there is a wide-spread belief that it was the “accursed tree” on which the Redeemer’s life was given up; therefore, although fuel may be scarce and these sticks plentiful, in some places the superstitious poor will not burn them.----In Scotland, according to a writer in the ‘Dublin Magazine,’ it is called the Bour-tree, and the following rhyme is indicative of the belief entertained in that country:--

“Bour-tree, Bour-tree, crooked rung, Never straight and never strong, Ever bush and never tree, Since our Lord was nailed on thee.”

In Chambers’s ‘Book of Days’ is an instance of the belief that a person is perfectly safe under the shelter of an Elder-tree during a thunderstorm, as the lightning never strikes the tree of which the Cross was made. Experience has taught that this is a fallacy, although many curious exceptional instances are recorded. In Napier’s Folk-lore of the Northern Counties we read of a peculiar custom:--the Elder is planted in the form of a cross upon a newly-made grave, and if it blooms they take it as a sure sign that the soul of the dead person is happy.

It is not considered prudent to sleep under an Elder. Evelyn describes the narcotic smell of the tree as very noxious to the air, and narrates that a certain house in Spain, seated among Elder-trees, diseased and killed almost all the inhabitants, “which, when at last they were grubbed up, became a very wholesome and healthy place.” As regards the medical virtues of the tree, Evelyn exclaims:--“If the medicinal properties of the leaves, bark, berries, &c., were thoroughly known, I cannot tell what our countryman could ail for which he might not fetch a remedy from every hedge, either for sickness or wound.” And he goes on to describe a variety of medicinal uses for the bark, buds, berries, leaves, and flowers; summing up the virtues of the Elder with the remark that “every part of the tree is useful, as may be seen at large in Blockwitzius’s anatomie thereof.” In this work is the following description of an amulet for the use of an epileptic subject, which is to be made of the Elder growing on a Sallow:--“If in the month of October, a little before the full moon, you pluck a twig of the Elder, and cut the cane that is betwixt two of its knees, or knots, in nine pieces, and these pieces, being bound in a piece of linen, be in a thread so hung about the neck that they touch the spoon of the heart, or the sword-formed cartilage; and, that they may stay more firmly in that place, they are to be bound thereon with a linen or leather roller wrapt about the body, till the thread break of itself. The thread being broken, and the roller removed, the amulet is not at all to be touched with bare hands, but it ought to be taken hold on by some instrument, and buried in a place that nobody may touch it.”

One mode of charming warts away is to take an Elder-shoot, and rub it on the part, then cut as many notches on the twig as you have warts, bury it in a place where it will soon decay, and as it rots away the warts will disappear. Another plan is to obtain a green Elder-stick, and rub the warts well with it, after which bury the stick to rot away in muck.

The black berries of the Elder are full of a deep violet-coloured juice, which, according to Virgil, the god Pan had his face smeared with, in compliance with the old Roman custom of painting their gods on solemn occasions.

To dream of Elder-berries denotes sickness. The tree is under the dominion of Venus.

=ELECAMPANE.=--Of the Elecampane (Inula Helenium), Rapin writes:--

“Elecampane, the beauteous Helen’s flower, Mingles among the rest her silver store; Helen, whose charms could royal breasts inspire With such fierce flames as set the world on fire.”

When Paris carried off the celebrated Helen, the lovely wife of Menelaus was said to have had in her hand a nosegay of the bright yellow flowers of the Elecampane, which was thenceforth named Helenium, in her honour. The Romans employed the roots of Elecampane as an edible vegetable; the monks, who knew it as Inula campana, considered it capable of restoring health to the heart; and the herbalists deemed it marvellously good for many disorders, and admirable as a pectoral medicine. Elecampane lozenges have long been popular. Turner, in his ‘Brittish Physician,’ calls the Inula campana, the Sun-flower, and says that the root chewed fastens loose teeth, and preserves them from rotting, and that the distilled water of the green leaves makes the face fair. From its broad leaves, the Elecampane is sometimes called the Elf-dock.----It is held to be under Mercury.

=ELICHRYSUM.=--This species of everlasting flower derived its name, according to Themistagoras, from the nymph Elichrysa, who having adorned the goddess Diana with its blossoms, the plant was called after her, Elichryson. Its old English name was Golden Flower, or Golden Moth-wort, and Gerarde tells us that the blossoms, if cut before they are quite ripe, will remain beautiful a long time after. “For which cause of long lasting the images and carved gods were wont to weare garlands thereof: whereupon some have called it ‘God’s floure.’ For which purpose Ptolemy, King of Ægypt, did most diligently observe them, as Pliny writeth.”

=ELM.=--The ancients had a tradition that, at the first sound of the plaintive strains which proceeded from the lyre of Orpheus, when he was lamenting the death of Eurydice, there sprang up a forest of Elms; and it was beneath an Elm that the Thracian bard sought repose after his unavailing expedition to the infernal regions to recover his lost love. Rapin thus tells the tale:--

“When wretched Orpheus left the Stygian coast, Now hopeless since again his spouse was lost, Beneath the preferable shade he sate Of a tall Elm, and mourned his cruel fate: Where Rhodope rears high her steepy brow, While Heber’s gentle current strays below. On his sweet lyre the skilful artist played, Whose all-commanding strings the woods obeyed; And crowding round him formed a hasty shade. There Cypress, Ilex, Willows, Planes unite, And th’ Elm, ambitious of a greater height, Presents before his view a married Vine, Which round her husband, Elm, did circling twine, And warned him to indulge a second flame; But he neglects th’ advice, and slights the dame: By fatal coldness still condemned to prove A victim to the rage of female love.”

The “wedding of the Elm to the Vine,” alluded to in the above lines, was a very favourite topic among the old Roman poets; Virgil, indeed, selects the junction of the Elm and the Vine as the subject of one whole book of his ‘Georgics.’ The ancients twined their Vines round the trunks of the Elm; and the owner of a Vineyard tended his Elms as carefully as his Vines.----When Achilles killed the father of Andromache, he erected in his honour a tomb, around which nymphs came and planted Elms.----Perhaps on account of its longevity, or because it produces no fruit, the Greeks and Romans considered the Elm a funereal tree: in our own times, it is connected with burials, inasmuch as coffins are generally made of its wood.----The ancients called the Elm, the tree of Oneiros, or of Morpheus, the god of sleep. As a widespreading shady tree, it is selected by Virgil (Æn. vi.) as the roosting-place of dreams in gloomy Orcus:--

“Full in the midst a spreading Elm displayed His aged arms, and cast a mighty shade; Each trembling leaf with some light visions teems, And heaves impregnated with airy dreams.”

It was in connection with the title of Tree of Dreams (Ulmus Somnorum), that the Elm became, like the Oak, a prophetic tree.----On the Continent, an Elm is often found on the village-green, beneath whose boughs justice used formerly to be administered, and meetings held: there was one at Gisors, on the frontier of Normandy, where the kings of France and Dukes of Normandy used to hold conference together, and which was large enough to shelter both their trains; this tree was upwards of two hundred years old when cut down by order of King Philippe Auguste, out of hatred to our Plantagenet kings. One of the oldest Elms in England is a stump at Richmond, now fenced in, and covered with Ivy, which was planted by Queen Elizabeth herself, and has on that account always been known as the Queen’s Elm.----Formerly the leafing of the Elm was made to regulate both field and garden work, as seen in the following rustic rhyme:--

“When the Elmen leaf is as big as a mouse’s ear, Then to sow Barley never fear. When the Elmen leaf is as big as an ox’s eye, Then say I, ‘Hie, boys, hie!’”

In olden times, the falling of the leaves of an Elm was thought to prognosticate a murrain. In Sicily, they have a custom of binding the trunk of a Fig-tree with branches of Elm, from a belief that they would prevent the young Figs from falling before they became thoroughly ripe.----The Elm is held to be under the influence of Saturn.----“The Seven Sisters” was the name bestowed on seven Elm-trees at Tottenham, which gave the name to the road from thence to Upper Holloway. In Bedwell’s History of Tottenham, written in the year 1631, he describes Page Green by the side of the high road at that village, and a group of Elms in a circle, with a Walnut in the centre. He says: “This tree hath this many yeares stod there, and it is observed yearely to live and beare leavs, and yet to stand at a stay, that is, to growe neither greater or higher. This people do commonly tell the reason to bee, for that there was one burnt upon that place for the profession of the Gospell.” There was also a connecting link between the Walnut-tree and the Seven Sisters, by which it was surrounded. There were seven Elms planted by seven sisters respectively. The tree planted by the smallest of the sisters was always irregular and stunted in growth. There was an eighth sister who planted an Elm in the midst of the other seven, and the legend relates that it withered and died when she died, and that then a Walnut-tree grew in its place. The Walnut-tree has long since gone, and probably the Elms have now disappeared.

=ENCHANTER’S NIGHTSHADE.=--Formerly the Atropa Mandragora used to bear this name, but by some mistake it has been transferred to the Circæa Lutetiana, an insignificant plant named after Circe, the famed enchantress, probably because its fruit, being covered with hooked prickles, lays hold of the unwary passers-by, as Circe is said to have done by means of her enchantments. The Mandrake was called “Nightshade,” from having been classed with the Solanum tribe, and “Enchanter’s” from its Latin name Circæa, a name which it obtained, according to Dioscorides, because Circe, who was expert in herbal lore, used it as a tempting powder in amorous concerns.

=ENDIVE.=--The Endive or Succory (Cichorium) is, according to the oldest Greek Alexandrian translations of the Bible, one of the “bitter herbs” which the Almighty commanded the Israelites to eat with the lamb at the institution of the Feast of the Passover. The garden Endive (C. Endivia) is probably the plant celebrated by Horace as forming a part of his simple diet: its leaves are used in salads, and its root, under the name of Chicory, is extensively used to mingle with Coffee. Immense quantities of Endive were used by the ancient Egyptians, who called it Chicouryeh, and from this word is derived the generic name Cichorium.----The wild Succory (C. Intybus) opens its petals at 8 a.m., and closes them at 4 p.m.

“On upland slopes the shepherds mark The hour when, to the dial true, Cichorium to the towering lark Lifts her soft eye, serenely blue.”

The Germans say that once upon a time the Endives were men under a ban. The blue flowers, which are plentiful, were good men; the white flowers, much rarer, were evil-doers.----The blue star-like blossom is a most popular flower in Germany: it is the Wegewarte--the watcher of the roads; the Wegeleuchte, or lighter of the road; the Sonnenwende, or Solstice; the Sonnenkraut, or herb of the sun; and the Verfluchte Jungfer, or accursed maiden. An ancient ballad of Austrian Silesia recounts the history of a young girl who for seven years mourned for her lover, fallen in the wars. When her friends wished to console her, and to procure for her another lover, she replied: “I shall cease to weep only when I become a wild flower by the wayside.”----Another version of the German legend is that a loving maiden anxiously expected the return of her betrothed from a voyage upon which he had long since set out. Every morning she paced the road where she had last bade adieu to him; every evening she returned. Thus she wearily passed her time during many a long month. At last, utterly worn out with watching and waiting, she sank exhausted by the wayside, and, broken-hearted, expired. On the spot where she breathed her last sigh sprang up a little pale flower which was the Wegewarte, the watcher of the road.----In Bavaria, the same legend is met with, differing only in details. A young and beautiful princess was abandoned by her husband, a young prince of extraordinary beauty. Grief exhausted her strength, and finding herself on the point of death, she exclaimed: “Ah, how willingly would I die if I could only be sure of seeing my loved one, wherever I may be. Her ladies-in-waiting, hearing her desire, solemnly added: “And we also would willingly die if only we were assured that he would always see us on every roadside.” The merciful God heard from heaven their heart-felt desires, and granted them. “Happily,” said He, “your wishes can be fulfilled; I will change you into flowers. You, Princess, you shall remain with your white mantle on every road traversed by your husband; you, young women, shall remain by the roadside, habited in blue, so that the prince must see you everywhere.” Hence the Germans call the wild Succory, Wegewarten.----Gerarde tells us that Placentinus and Crescentius termed the Endive, Sponsa solis, Spouse of the Sun (a name applied by Porta to the Heliotrope), and we find in De Gubernatis’ Mythologie des Plantes, the following passage:--“Professor Mannhardt quotes the charming Roumanian ballad, in which is recounted how the Sun asked in marriage a beautiful woman known as Domna Florilor, or the Lady of the Flowers; she refused him, whereupon the Sun, in revenge, transformed her into the Endive, condemned for ever to gaze on the Sun as soon as he appears on the horizon, and to close her petals in sadness as the luminary disappears. The name of Domna Florilor, a kind of Flora, given by the Roumanians to the woman loved by the Sun, reminds us somewhat of the name of Fioraliso, given in Italy to the Cornflower, and which I supposed to have represented the Sun. The Roumanian legend has, without doubt, been derived from an Italian source, in its turn a development of a Grecian myth--to wit, the amour of the Sun, Phœbus, with the lovely nymph Clytie.” (See HELIOTROPE).----There is a Silesian fairy tale which has reference to the Endive:--The magician Batu had a daughter named Czekanka, who loved the youthful Wrawanec; but a cruel rival slew the beloved one. In despair, Czekanka sought her lover’s tomb, and killed herself beside it. Whilst in her death throes, she was changed into the blue Succory, and gave the flower its Silesian name Czekanka. Wrawanec’s murderer, jealous of poor Czekanka, even after her death, threw on the plant a swarm of ants, in the hope that the little insects might destroy the Succory, but the ants, on the contrary, in their rage, set off in pursuit of the murderer, and so vigorously attacked him, that he was precipitated into a crevasse on the mountain Kotancz.----In Germany and in Rome, where a variety of estimable qualities are ascribed to the plant, they sell Endive-seed as a panacea, but especially as a love philtre. They would not uproot it with the hand, but with a bit of gold or a stag’s horn (which symbolise the disk and the rays of the Sun), on one of the days of the Apostles (June 29th and July 25th). A girl thus uprooting an Endive will be assured of the constancy of her lover.----Endive, carried on the person, is supposed to enable a lover to inspire the object of his affections with a belief that he possesses all the good qualities she could wish for. Endive-root breaks all bonds, removes thorns from the flesh, and even renders the owner invisible.----The herb is held to be under the rule of Venus.

=ERAGROSTIS.=--Among the Hindus, the Eragrostis cynosuroides is considered a sacred Grass, and is employed by them for strewing the floors of their temples. In England, it is known as Love Grass.

=ERYSIMUM.=--The Hedge Mustard, Bank Cress, or Jack-by-the-Hedge (Erysimum Barbarea) is called by the French St. Barbara’s Hedge Mustard and the Singer’s Plant (herbe au chantre), and up to the time of Louis XIV. was considered an infallible remedy in cases of loss of voice. Racine, writing to Boileau, recommended the syrup of Erysimum to him when visiting the waters of Bourbonne, in order to be cured of loss of voice. Boileau replied that he had heard the best accounts of the Erysimum, and that he meant to use it the following summer.----The plant is held to be under Mercury.

=ERYNGO.=--The Sea Eryngo (Eryngium maritimum) is, perhaps, better known by the name of Sea Holly, which has been given it on account of the striking resemblance of its foliage to the Holly. According to Rapin, Eryngo possessed magical properties, inasmuch as, if worn by young married women, it ensured the fidelity of their husbands. On this account, Sappho employed it to secure the love of Phaon, the handsome boatman of Mitylene, for whom the poetess had conceived so violent a passion, that at length, mortified at his coldness, she threw herself into the sea. Rapin says:--

“Grecian Eryngoes now commence their fame, Which, worn by brides, will fix their husband’s flame, And check the conquests of a rival dame. Thus Sappho charmed her Phaon, and did prove (If there be truth in verse) his faith in love.”

Plutarch records that, if one goat took the herb Sea Holly into her mouth, “it caused her first to stand still, and afterwards the whole flock, until such time as the shepherd took it from her mouth.” Eryngo-root was formerly much prized as a tonic, and in Queen Elizabeth’s time, when prepared with sugar, was called Kissing Comfits. Lord Bacon, recommending the yolks of eggs as very nourishing, when taken with Malmsey or sweet wine, says: “You shall doe well to put in some few slices of Eringium-roots, and a little Amber-grice, for by this meanes, besides the immediate facultie of nourishment, such drinke will strengthen the back.”

=EUGENIA.=--In Burmah, the Eugenia is regarded as a sacred plant. When a spray is cut, prayers and supplications for absent friends and relatives are offered up before it, and twigs and leaves of it are kept in consecrated water in almost every house, and occasionally the different apartments are sprinkled with it as a protective against ghosts, ogres, and evil spirits. The twigs of Eugenia are sometimes hung about the eaves, and in many cases a small plant is kept growing in a pot in the house, so that its benign influence may keep harm away.----In cases of cholera epidemic, the natives of the affected district betake themselves to a Buddhist monastery, carrying presents and a small pot partly filled with water, and containing leaves of a species of Eugenia (Tha-byay-bin), and some coarse yellow string wound round a small stick. These pots are blessed by the Buddhist abbot, and are then taken away by the people, who either hang up the yellow string in little bags round the eaves of their houses, or else wear it coiled round the left wrist. The pots of water and sprigs of Eugenia are kept in the house to guard it from infection.

=EUPATORIUM.=--Agrimony has derived its name of Eupatorium from Mithridates Eupator, King of Pontus, who was skilled in botany and physic, and used this plant as an antidote against the poison with which his enemies at court attempted to destroy him. E. Ayapana, a native of Brazil, has long been famed for curing the bites of serpents, and its leaves, when fresh bruised, are useful when applied to the face of ulcers.----In Italy and Russia, magical properties are attributed to this plant.

=EUPHORBIA.=--The Euphorbia or Medusa Head possesses the peculiar property of blooming in warm water after apparent death. The milky juice of Euphorbia Canariensis, and some other species of Spurge, produces the drug Euphorbium. The juice of E. heptagona furnishes the Ethiopians with a deadly poison for their arrows. At Bodo, in India, before the doorway of every house is cultivated a plant of the sacred Sidj, a species of Euphorbia, which is looked upon both as the domestic and national divinity, and to this plant the natives address their prayers and offer up hogs as sacrifices.

=EVERLASTING FLOWERS.=--Writing of the Gnaphalium Alpinum, Gerarde tells us that in his day English women called it “Live-long,” or “Live-for-ever.” From hence has originated the name Everlasting, applied to the genus Gnaphalium. The ancients crowned the images of their gods with garlands made of these flowers, and from this circumstance they were frequently called God’s flowers. In Spain and Portugal, they are still used to decorate the altars and the images of the saints. The French have named the Gnaphalium, Immortelle, and employ it in the manufacture of the garlands and devices which they place on their coffins and graves. Old writers call the plant Cudweed, Cottonweed, Gold-flower, Goldilocks, Golden Stœchas, and Golden-flower Gentle. One species has obtained the name of Herba Impia, because the later flowers grow higher, and, as Gerarde says, “overtop those that come first, as many wicked children do unto their parents.”

=EYEBRIGHT.=--The Eyebright or Euphrasy (Euphrasia officinalis) was formerly called Euphrosyne, after one of the Graces. This name became subsequently corrupted to Euphrasy. The plant was also known as Ocularis and Ophthalmica, on account of its use in the treatment of disorders of the eye. According to Coles, it obtained the name of Eyebright from its being employed by the linnet to clear its sight; other old authors also say that birds made use of it to repair their vision. Arnoldus affirms that the plant restored sight to people who had been blind a long while; and Gerarde says that, taken either alone or in any other way, it preserves the sight, and, “being feeble and lost, it restores the same: it is given most fitly being beaten into pouder; oftentimes a like quantitie of Fennell-seed is added thereto, and a little Mace, to the which is put so much sugar as the weight of them all commeth to.” It was also believed to comfort the memory, and assist a weak brain. Milton, Drayton, Shenstone, and other poets have celebrated the powers of Euphrasy, and we find Spenser writing:--

“Yet Euphrasie may not be left unsung, That gives dim eyes to wander leagues around.”

Astrologers state that the Eyebright is under the sign of the Lion, and the Sun claims dominion over it.

=FAIR MAIDS.=--Fair Maids of February are Snowdrops, so called from their delicate white blossoms opening about the second of that month, when it was customary for maidens, dressed in white, to walk in procession at the Feast of the Purification. Fair Maids of France are double Crowfoots, or a particular variety, originally introduced from France, viz., Ranunculus aconitifolius.

=FELDWODE.=--Medea, the enchantress, is said by Gower to have employed a certain herb, Feldwode:--

“Tho toke she Feldwode and Verveine, Of herbes ben nought better tweine.”

This herb is generally supposed to have been the yellow Gentian, or Baldmoney, Gentiana lutea. (See GENTIAN.)

=FENNEL.=--Fenckle, or Fennel (Fœniculum), was employed by the ancients in the composition of wreaths, to be worn by victors after the games in the arena. The gladiators mixed this plant with their food to increase their strength. The god Sylvanus was sometimes crowned with Fennel.----In later times, Fennel was strewn across the pathway of newly-married couples, and was generally liked for its odour; thus Ophelia says: “There’s Fennel for you, and Columbine.”----Pliny records that serpents are wonderfully fond of this plant, inasmuch as it restores them to youth by causing them to cast their old skin, and by its use they recover their sight if it becomes dim. Gerarde says, that the seed “drunke for certaine daies together, fasting, preserveth the eyesight, whereof was written this distichon following:--

_“Fœniculum, Rosa, Verbena, Chelidonia, Ruta, Ex his fit aqua quæ lumina reddit acuta._

“Of Fennell, Roses, Vervain, Rue, and Celandine, Is made a water, good to cheere the sight of eine.”

The ancients believed that the use of Fennel gave strength to the constitution, and made fat people grow lean. The roots of Fennel, pounded with honey, were considered a remedy for the bites of mad dogs.----Fennel is one of the numerous plants dedicated to St. John, and was formerly hung over doors and windows on his vigil.----Astrologers state it is a herb of Mercury under Virgo.

=FERN.=--Among Celtic and Germanic nations the Fern was formerly considered a sacred and auspicious plant. Its luck-bringing power was not confined to one species, but belonged to the tribe in general, dwelling, however, in the fullest perfection in the seed, the possessor of which could wish what he would, and the Devil would be obliged to bring it to him. In Swabia, they say that Fern-seed brought by the Devil between eleven and twelve on Christmas night enables a man to do as much work as twenty or thirty ordinary men.

In mediæval days, when sorcery flourished, it was thought the Fern-seed imparted to its owner the power of resisting magical charms and incantations. The ancients believed that the Fern had no seeds, but our ancestors thought it had seed which was invisible. Hence, after the fantastic doctrine of signatures, they concluded that those who possessed the secret of wearing this seed about them would become invisible. Thus, we find that, in Shakspeare’s ‘Henry IV.,’ Gadshill says: “We steal as in a castle, cock-sure: we have the receipt of Fern-seed, we walk invisible.”

The people of Westphalia are wont to relate how one of their countrymen chanced one Midsummer night to be looking for a foal he had lost, and passing through a meadow just as the Fern-seed was ripening, some of it fell into his shoes. In the morning he went home, walked into the sitting-room, and sat down, but thought it strange that neither his wife, nor indeed any of his family, took the slightest notice of him. “I have not found the foal,” said he. Everybody in the room started and gazed around with scared looks, for they had heard the man’s voice, but saw no one. Thinking that he was joking, and had hid himself, his wife called him by his name. Thereupon he stood up, planted himself in the middle of the floor, and said, “Why do you call me? Here I am right before you.” Then they were more frightened than ever, for they had heard him stand up and walk, and still they could not see him. The man now became aware that he was invisible, and a thought struck him that possibly he might have got Fern-seed in his shoes, for he felt as if there was sand in them. So he took them off, and shook out the Fern-seed, and as he did so he became visible again to everybody.

A belief in the mystic power of Fern-seed to make the gatherer walk invisible is still extant. The English tradition is, that the Fern blooms and seeds only at twelve o’clock on Midsummer night--St. John’s Eve--just at the precise moment at which the Saint was born--

“But on St. John’s mysterious night, Sacred to many a wizard spell, The hour when first to human sight Confest, the mystic Fern-seed fell.”

In Dr. Jackson’s Works (1673) we read that he once questioned one of his parishioners as to what he saw or heard when he watched the falling of the Fern-seed, whereupon the man informed him that this good seed is in the keeping of Oberon (or Elberich), King of the Fairies, who would never harm anyone watching it. He then said to the worthy doctor, “Sir, you are a scholar, and I am none. Tell me, what said the angel to our Lady; or what conference had our Lady with her cousin Elizabeth, concerning the birth of St. John the Baptist?” Finding Doctor Jackson unable to answer him, he told him that “the angel did foretell John Baptist should be born at that very instant in which the Fern-seed--at other times invisible--did fall: intimating further that this saint of God had some extraordinary vertue from the time or circumstance of his birth.”

To catch the wonder-working seed, twelve pewter plates must be taken to the spot where the Fern grows: the seed, it is affirmed, will pass through eleven of the plates, and rest upon the twelfth. This is one account: another says that Midsummer night is the most propitious time to procure the mystic Fern-seed, but that the seeker must go bare-footed, and in his shirt, and be in a religious state of mind.

In ancient days it was thought the demons watched to convey away the Fern-seed as it fell ere anyone could possess themselves of it. A writer on Brittany states that he remembers to have heard recounted by one who had gathered Fern-seed, that whilst he was prosecuting his search the spirits grazed his ears, whistling past them like bullets, knocking off his hat, and hitting him with it all over his body. At last, when he thought that he had gathered enough of the mystic seed, he opened the case he had been putting it into, and lo! it was empty. The Devil had evidently had the best of it.

M. Marmier, in his Légendes des Plantes, writes:--“It is on Midsummer night that you should go and seek the Fern-seed: he who is fortunate enough to find it will indeed be happy. He will have the strength of twenty men, he will discover precious metals in the bowels of the earth, he will comprehend the present and the future. Up to the present time, however, no one has been able to secure this precious seed. It ripens but for a minute, and the Devil guards it with ferocious vigilance.”

De Gubernatis, in his Mythologie des Plantes, publishes a communication sent him by the Princess Marie Galitzin Prazorovskaïa, on the subject of the flowering of the Fern, the details of which she obtained from a Russian peasant. “On Midsummer night, before twelve o’clock, with a white napkin, a cross, a Testament, a glass of water, and a watch, one seeks in the forest the spot where the Fern grows; one traces with the cross a large circle; one spreads the napkin, placing on the cross the Testament and the glass of water. Then one attentively looks at one’s watch: at the precise midnight hour the Fern will bloom: one watches attentively; for he who shall see the Fern-seed drop shall at the same time see many other marvels; for example, three suns, and a full moon, which reveals every object, even the most hidden. One hears laughter; one is conscious of being called; if one remains quiet one will hear all that is happening in the world, and all that is going to happen.”

In a work by Markevic, the author says:--“The Fern flowers on Midsummer night at twelve o’clock, and drives away all unclean spirits. First of all it put forth buds, which afterwards expand, then open, and finally change into flowers of a dark red hue. At midnight, the flower opens to its fullest extent, and illuminates everything around. But at that precise moment a demon plucks it from its stalk. Whoever wishes to procure this flower must be in the forest before midnight, locate himself near the Fern, and trace a circle around it. When the Devil approaches and calls, feigning the voice of a parent, sweetheart, &c., no attention must be paid, nor must the head be turned, for if it is, it will remain so. Whoever becomes the happy possessor of the flower has nothing to fear: by its means he can recover lost treasure, become invisible, rule on earth and under water, and defy the Devil. To discover hidden treasure, it is only necessary to throw the flower in the air: if it turns like a star above the Sun, so that it falls perpendicularly in the same spot, it is a sure indication that treasure is concealed there.”

A very ancient method prescribed for obtaining the mystic Fern-seed is given by Dr. Kuhn. At the Summer solstice, if you shoot at the Sun when it has attained its mid-day height, three drops of blood will fall: they must be gathered up and preserved, for that is the Fern-seed.

The Franche-Comté peasantry talk of a mysterious plant that misleads travellers. According to a German authority, this plant is no other than the Fern on Midsummer night. As we have seen, on that night the Fern is reputed to flower, and to let fall its seed: he who secures this seed, becomes invisible; but if the unsuspecting traveller passes by the Fern without noticing it, he will be assuredly misled, even although well acquainted with the road. This is the reason why, in Thuringia, they call the Fern Irrkraut, the misleading plant.

In Poland, there is a popular notion that the plucking of Fern produces a violent thunderstorm.

In Germany, they call the Fern Walpurgiskraut, the superstition being that, on the Walpurgisnacht, the witches procure this plant in order to render themselves invisible. In Lombardy, there exists a popular superstition akin to this. The witches, they say, are particularly fond of the Fern; they gathered it to rub in their hands during a hailstorm, turning it from the side where the hail falls the thickest.

The root of the common Male Fern (Filix mas), was an important ingredient in the love-philtres of former days. An old Gaelic bard sings:--

“’Twas the maiden’s matchless beauty That drew my heart anigh; Not the Fern-root potion, But the glance of her blue eye.”

In olden times the young scroll-like fronds of this Fern were called Lucky Hands, or St. John’s Hands, and were believed to protect the possessor from sorcery, witches’ spells, and the Evil Eye. In Germany, the Male Fern was formerly called Johanniswurtzel; and both on the Continent, and in England, it was the custom, on Midsummer Eve, to gather this Fern, which was sold to the credulous, who wore it about their persons, and mingled it with the water drunk by their cows, as a protection against all evil spirits, and to ensure good luck. It is believed, in Thuringia, that if anyone carries Fern about him, he will be pursued by serpents until he throws it away. In Sweden, the plant is called Snake-bane.

An ancient notion prevailed, that the Male Fern had an antipathy to the Reed; and that where one grew, the other was sure to be absent. According to Dioscorides, “the root hereof is reported to be good for those that have ill spleens; and being stamped with swine’s grease and applied, it is a remedy against the pricking of the Reed.” Other old herbalists state, that the roots of the Male Fern, and the Lady Fern (Filix fœmina), boiled in oil, produced “very profitable ointments to heal wounds.” The Ophioglossum had, in olden times, the reputation of being a cure for the bite of serpents. (See also BRACKEN).

According to Cornish fairy mythology, the Fern was connected with the Small Folk, who are believed to be the spirits of the people who inhabited Cornwall thousands of years ago--long before the birth of Christ. In the legend of the Fairy Widower, a pretty girl, Jenny Permuen, a village coquette, one day set off to “look for a place.” At the junction of four cross roads, she sat down on a boulder of granite, and thoughtlessly began to break off the beautiful fronds of Ferns which grew all around. Suddenly a young man appeared before her, and addressing her by name, enquired what brought her there. Jenny replied that she wished to obtain a situation, and was on her road to the market town. The young man said he was a widower, and in want of a young woman to take care of his little son; and that as he liked Jenny’s good looks, he would engage her there and then for a year and a day, and pay her well; but that he should require her to swear his oath, which consisted in kissing a Fern-leaf, and repeating the formula:--

“For a year and a day, I promise to stay.”

Jenny was charmed and flattered; all sorts of visions rose before her eyes, and, without hesitation, she took the oath and followed the stranger eastward. In silence the pair walked on, until the girl was quite weary; then they sat down on a bank, and the young man taking a bunch of leaves passed them rapidly over Jenny’s eyes: her weariness departed as if by magic, and she found herself in fairy-land, with her mysterious master. He led her to a splendid mansion, and introduced her to his little boy, who was so beautiful that he instantly won her love. The girl continued at her duties in fairy-land for the allotted time; then, one morning, upon awaking, she found herself sleeping in her own bed in her mother’s cottage; and the old gossips of the village, upon hearing her story, knew that she had been carried by the Small People to some of their countries under the hills.

=FIG.=--There are several mythological accounts of the origin of the Fig. According to one, Lyceus, one of the Titans, pursued by Jupiter, was metamorphosed into a Fig-tree by the goddess Rhea. Another story attributes to her husband, Saturn, the origin of the Fig-tree, and on this account the inhabitants of Cyrene deck the statue of the god with crowns of Figs. A third myth relates that the Fig-tree is the offspring of the loves of Oxylus, King of Elis, with a Hamadryad. Bacchus, however, was generally considered to have introduced the Fig to mortals: hence the tree was sacred to him, and he is often represented as crowned with Fig-leaves. On this account, also, it was customary to make an offering of the first Figs to the jovial god. At the Canephoria festivals at Athens, in honour of Bacchus, the female votaries wore round their necks collars composed of dried Figs; and at the Dionysian festivals, a basket of Figs formed a prominent feature in the procession.----At Rome, the Fig was carried next to the Vine in the processions in honour of Bacchus, as the patron of plenty and joy; and Bacchus was supposed to have derived his corpulence and vigour, not from the Vine, but from the Fig. Under the name of the Ficus ruminalis, the Romans jealously guarded the sacred wild Fig-tree, upon the roots of which stranded the cradle containing the infants Romulus and Remus, when the Tiber bore it to the foot of the Palatine. Fig-trees are seldom affected by lightning, but this celebrated Ruminal Fig-tree of Rome was once struck during a thunderstorm, and was ever afterwards held doubly sacred; the ancients considering that lightning purified every object it touched. The Romans bestowed upon Jupiter the surname of Ruminus, because he presided over the nourishment of mankind, and they had a goddess Rumina, who presided over the female breasts, and whose oblations were of milk only. These words are both derived from ruma, a teat; and hence the tree under which Romulus and Remus had been suckled by the she-wolf was the Rumina Ficus, a name most appropriate, because the Fig was the symbol of generation and fecundity. The Fig was consecrated to Juno, as the goddess presiding over marriages and at nuptial festivities. Figs were always carried in a mystic vase. The statues of Priapus, god of orchards, were often made of the wood of the Fig, and the tree was also dedicated to Mercury. Notwithstanding this reverence for the Ficus ruminalis, the Romans considered the Fig a tree at once impure and ill-omened. This is shown by the actions of the Arvales (twelve priests of Rome, descended from the nurse of Romulus), who made special expiations when the Fig-tree--the impure tree--sprang up by chance on the roof of the temple of the goddess Dia, where Vestals officiated. After they had uprooted the desecrating tree, they destroyed the temple as being defiled.----Pausanias relates that, according to an oracle, the Messenians were to be abandoned by heaven in their struggles with the Spartans, so soon as a goat (tragos) should drink the water of the Neda: the Messenians, therefore, drove out of their country all the goats. But in Messenia grew the wild Fig, which was also called tragos. One of these wild Figs having sprung up on the banks of the Neda, its branches soon dipped into the flowing waters of the river beneath it. The oracle was fulfilled--a tragos had drunk the water of the Neda: soon afterwards the Messenians were defeated.----The soothsayer Calchas, according to tradition, owed his death in a measure to the Fig-tree. Challenged by the seer Mopsus, of whom he was jealous, to a trial of their skill in divination, Calchas first asked his antagonist how many Figs a neighbouring tree bore. “Ten thousand except one,” was the reply of his rival, “and one single vessel can contain them all.” The Figs were carefully gathered, and his predictions were literally true. It was then the turn of Mopsus to try his adversary. Calchas failed to answer the question put to him, and Mopsus was adjudged victor. So mortified was Calchas at the result of this trial, that he pined away and died.----The ancient Egyptians held the Fig-leaf sacred to the goddess Isis.----The Fig is supposed to have been the first cultivated fruit tasted by man: beneath the boughs of the Fig-tree Adam hid himself after having eaten the forbidden fruit; with its leaves he endeavoured to hide his nakedness. Cakes of Figs were included in the presents of provisions by which the wife of Nabal appeased the wrath of David (1 Sam. XXV., 18). The want of blossom on the Fig-tree was considered as one of the most grievous calamities by the Jews; for, growing as it did in Palestine on the Vine, the tree became with the Israelites an emblem of peace and plenty, and that security which, in ancient times, was thought to be enjoyed by “every man under his own Fig-tree.” Near the city of On, there was shown for many centuries the sacred Fig-tree under which the Holy Family rested during the flight into Egypt.----St. Augustine tells us, in his Confessions, that while still unconverted and in deep communion with his friend Alypius on the subject of the Scriptures, the contest within his mind was so sharp, that he hastened from the presence of his friend and threw himself down beneath a Fig-tree, weeping and lamenting. Then he heard what seemed the voice of a child proceeding apparently from the tree, repeating again and again “Tolle, lege,” (Take and read); and returning to his friend, he took up the sacred volume, and opened it at St. Paul’s words: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.” He was struck with the coincidence; and considering it a Divine call, he then and there resolved to take up the religious profession.----In India, the Fig-tree is greatly esteemed; one species, Ficus glomerata, is held sacred by the Hindus; and the Ficus Indica, or Banyan-tree, is one of the most highly venerated trees on the earth (see BANYAN).----The Andalusians have a saying, “On this life depends,” in connection with the Fig-tree, the fruit of which they eat, fasting, in the morning. The Germans have a proverb, “Figs will not grow either on Brambles or Thistles.” Another proverb tells us that “He who has Figs has riches.”----In Sicily, the Fig-tree is looked upon as a tree of ill-omen. It is there thought to be the tree on which Judas hung himself, and never to have thrived well since that occurrance. There is an old superstition that in each leaf of a Fig-tree lurks an evil spirit; and certain blood-thirsty spectres, called Fauni Ficarii, are mentioned in legends.----At Avola, it is popularly believed to be unwise to sleep beneath the shade of a Fig-tree during the warmth of Summer; should, however, anyone be foolhardy enough to do so, there will appear before him the figure of a nun, holding a knife in her hand, who will compel him to say whether he will take it by the blade or by the handle; if he answer, by the blade, he will be forthwith slain; but should he select the handle, he will have all manner of good fortune in store for him.----In Palermo, they deck the Fig-tree with branches of the wild Fig woven into garlands, in order to ensure the fruit ripening.----A Fig-tree has something to do in the way of preventing hydrophobia, if we may believe the following ancient English superstition:--“For tear of mad hound, take the worms which be under a mad hound’s tongue, snip them away, lead them round about a Fig-tree, give them to him who hath been rent; he will soon be healed.”----To dream of Figs implies an accession of wealth, prosperity, and happiness, the realisation of wishes, and a happy old age.

=FILBERT.=--John Gower, in his Confessio Amantis, suggests that the origin of the word Filbert is to be sought in the metamorphosis of the Thracian princess Phyllis into a Nut-tree, or, more precisely, into the Almond; this view is strengthened by the fact that the old English names for both tree and nut was Fylberde, or Filberd; although another explanation of this word is that the tree was so called after a King Philibert. In olden times the distinction drawn between nuts of a good and those of the best quality, was by terming the former the short-bearded, and the latter the long-bearded, or full-bearded--whence, according to a popular belief, by corruption, Filbert.----Authorities in dream lore tell us that to dream of Filberts is a happy augury, a sign of good health and happy old age. It also denotes success in love, and happiness in the married state, with a numerous family, who will marry well, and occupy a high place in society.----Filbert-trees are held to be under the dominion of Mercury.

=FIR.=--The ancient Egyptians adopted the Fir-cone as the symbol of their goddess Isis.----The Fir is the Fire-tree, the most inflammable of woods. Gerarde writes of Firs in Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Lancashire, “where they grew in great plenty, as is reputed, before Noah’s floud; but then being overturned and overwhelmed, have lien since in the woods and waterie moorish grounds, very fresh and sound, untill this day; and so full of a resinous substance, that they burne like a torch or linke, and the inhabitants of those countries do call it Fir-wood and Fire-wood unto this day.”----In the traditions of northern countries, the Fir occupies a similar position to the Pine. He is king of the forest; and so, in Switzerland and the Tyrol, the Geni of the Forest is always represented with an uprooted Fir-tree in his hand. This Geni dwells by preference in the Fir, and especially loves old trees. When one of these trees is cut down, the Geni grieves, and pleads for its life. Old Firs, like old Oaks and Birches, are especially respected when standing solitary.----De Gubernatis relates an anecdote of a colossal Fir-tree which grew by itself, at Tarssok, in Russia. This tree had withstood several lightning-blasts, and was supposed to be several hundred years old, as shown by its barkless trunk and its bare branches. At last, in a gale of wind, it fell; but so great a respect had the country-people for the old tree, that they would not make any profit from the sale of the huge trunk, but presented the proceeds to the Church.----In Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and Germany, they use the Fir as the Christmas-tree, and this custom has now taken firm root in England.----Just as in many parts of Germany, on Christmas-night, they beat trees, so that they may bear fruit, so at Hildesheim in Hanover, at Shrove-tide, the peasantry solicit gifts from the women, whipping them meanwhile with branches of Fir or Rosemary. This curious custom is supposed to signify their desire to have children. In Northern Germany, newly-married couples often carry in their hands branches of Fir, with lighted candles affixed, perhaps in imitation of the Roman fasces. At Weimar, and other places, they plant Fir-trees before the house where a wedding has taken place. In Austrian Silesia, the May-pole is always of Fir. In the Harz, on Midsummer night, they decorate Fir-trees with flowers and coloured eggs, or, more generally, branches of Fir, which they stick in the ground, and dance around, singing the while some verses appropriate to the occasion. In Northern Germany, when they drive the cattle to pasture for the first time, they often decorate the last cow with small boughs of Firs, as showing their wish for a pasturage favourable to the fecundity of the cattle.----From wounds made in the Balm of Gilead Fir (Abies Balsamea), a very fine turpentine is obtained, which is sometimes sold as the true Balm of Gilead.----To dream you are in a forest of Fir-trees is a sign of suffering.----A Moldavian legend relates that, out of envy, the elder sister of a queen changed the two beautiful twin princes she had just given birth to, for two ugly black children, which she placed in their cradle instead. She then buried the young princes alive in the garden, and as soon as possible went to the king, and told him his queen had given birth to two odious black babies. The king in revenge shut up his wife in a dungeon, and made the elder sister his queen. Suddenly, among the flowers of the garden, there spring up two Fir-trees, who, in the evening, talk and confide to each other that they cannot rest whilst their mother is weeping in her lonely dungeon. Then they make themselves known to the poor ex-queen as her children, and tell her how much they love and pity her. Meanwhile the wicked queen awakes one night and listens. She is filled with dread, and makes the king promise that the two Fir-trees shall be cut down. Accordingly, the young trees are felled and thrown into the fire; when, immediately, two bright sparks fly out, and fall far away among the flowers: they are the two young princes, who have again escaped, and who are now determined to bring to light the crime of their detestable aunt. Some time after there is a grand festival at the king’s palace; and a great “claca” (assembly) is gathered there to string pearls for the queen. Among the guests appear two beautiful children, with golden hair, who seem to be twin brothers. Whilst the pearl-stringing goes on, stories are told by the guests, and at last it comes to the turn of the twin brothers, who relate the sad story of the imprisoned queen, and reveal the crime of her sister. As they speak, their pearls continue to string themselves in a miraculous manner, so that the king, observing this, knows that they are telling the truth. When their story is finished, he acknowledges them as his sons, restores their mother to her position as queen, and orders her wicked sister to be torn asunder by wild horses.

FLAG.--See Acorus and Iris.

=FLAME TREE.=--The Nuytsia floribunda, called the Flame or Fire-tree, is a native of West Australia. This tree is most remarkable in many respects: it belongs to the same Natural Order as the Mistletoe--an order numerous in species, most of those inhabiting warm countries having brilliantly-coloured flowers, and, with two exceptions, strictly parasitical on the branches of other trees. One of these exceptions is the Flame-tree; but although Nuytsia floribunda is terrestrial, and has all the aspect of an independent tree, it is thought to be parasitical on the roots of some neighbouring tree or shrub, because all attempts to rear seedlings have proved unsuccessful. Its trunk is soft, like pith, yet it has a massive appearance. Its gorgeous fiery flowers are more brilliant than flames, for they are undimmed by smoke.

=FLAX.=--There are certain plants which, having been cultivated from time immemorial, are not now to be found in a wild state, and have no particular history. The common Flax (Linum usitatissimum) has been thought to be one of these. Flax is mentioned both in Genesis and Exodus: at least Joseph was clothed in linen, and the Flax was blighted in the fields. But modern research has shown that the Flax of the ancients was Linum angustifolium, the narrow-leaved Flax; and the same fact has been developed in regard to the Flax of the Lake-dwellers in Switzerland.----The fine linen of Egypt is frequently referred to in Scripture, and specimens of this fabric are to be seen in the linen in which the Egyptian mummies are enfolded. That Flax was also grown in ancient times in Palestine, may be inferred from the fact that Rahab hid the Hebrew spies among the Flax spread on her roof.----In the mythology of the North, Flax is supposed to be under the protection of the goddess Hulda, but the plant’s blue blossom is more especially the flower of Bertha, whose blue eyes shine in its calyx, and whose distaff is filled by its fibres.----Indian mysticism likens the grey dawn and the brightening daybreak to luminous linen and its weavers. The celestial bride, Aurora, weaves the nuptial garment--the robe of the celestial bridegroom, the Sun.----The gods attire themselves in luminous robes--white or red, silver or gold. Earthly priests have adopted the white robe in India, Egypt, Asia Minor, Rome, and in all Christian countries. The offspring of the Flax, according to a tradition, represent the rays of the Sun, and clothe the great luminary.----In Sicily, to cure headache produced by exposure to the Sun, they burn, with certain incantations, flaxen tow in a glass, from which they have poured out the water it contained: they then place the glass on a white plate, and the plate on the head of the patient: they contend that by this means they extract from his head, and impart to the Flax, all the virtue of the Sun.----Flax is the symbol of life and of prolific vegetation: on this account, in Germany, when an infant thrives but badly, or does not learn to walk, they place it naked, either in the Spring or on Midsummer-day, upon the turf, and scatter some Flax-seed on this turf and on the infant itself: then, as soon as the Flax commences to grow, the infant should also begin to thrive and to walk.----To dream of Flax is reputed to augur a good and happy marriage; to dream of spinning Flax, however, betokens coming troubles.----There is an old superstition that Flax will only flower at the time of day at which it was originally sown. He who sows it must first seat himself thrice on the sack, turning to the east. Stolen seeds mingled with the rest cause the crop to thrive.----Flax when in bloom acts as a talisman against witchcraft, and sorcery can be practised even with the dry stalks. When the shreds are spun or woven into shirts, under certain incantations, the wearer is secure from accidents or wounds.----It was the goddess Hulda who first taught mortals the art of growing Flax, of spinning, and of weaving it. According to the legendary belief in South Tyrol, she is the especial patroness of the Flax culture in that district. Hulda is also the sovereign of the Selige Fräulein, the happy fairy maidens who keep watch and guard over the Flax-plants. Between Kroppbühl and Unterlassen, is a cave which is believed by the country people to have been the entrance to Queen Hulda’s mountain palace. Twice a year she passed through the valley, scattering blessings around her path--once in Summer, when the blue flowers of the Flax were brightening the fields, and again during the mysterious “twelve nights” immediately preceding our feast of the Epiphany, when, in ancient days, the gods and goddesses were believed to visit the earth. Hulda visited the cottagers’ homes in the Winter nights to examine the distaff. If the Flax was duly spun off, prosperity attended the family; but laziness was punished by trouble and blighted crops. Hulda’s fairy people, the Selige Fräulein, would sometimes visit deserving folks and aid the Flax-spinning: there is a legend that a peasant woman at Vulpera, near Tarash, thinking that she ought to reward her fairy assistants, set before them a sumptuous meal, but they shook their heads sadly, and, giving the poor woman a never-failing ball of cotton, they said, “This is the recompense for thy goodwill--payment for payment,”--and immediately vanished.

=FLEA-BANE.=--The star-shaped yellow Flea-bane, or wild Marigold (Inula dysenterica), received its name from the belief that its odour was repulsive to fleas, gnats, and other insects. On the flowers of this plant, as well as on those of Agnus Castus, the Grecian women were made to sleep during the feast of Thesmophoria. The Arabs extol this plant highly as a remedy for wounds. One of their traditions records that flowers of the Inula, bruised, were used by the patriarch Job as an application to those grievous sores which he so pathetically laments. Hence the Flea-bane is called by the men of the desert “Job’s Tears.”

=FLOS ADONIS.=--In most European countries the Flos Adonis (the dark-crimsoned Adonis autumnalis) still retains in its nomenclature a legendary connection with the blood of the unfortunate Adonis, and is called by the Germans Blutströpfchen to the present day.----Just as from the tears of the sorrowing Venus, which fell as she gazed on the bleeding corpse of the beautiful Adonis, there sprang the Anemone, or Wind-flower, so from the blood of the lamented boy which poured forth from the death-wound inflicted by the boar, there proceeded the Adonis-flower, or Flos Adonis. Referring to this, Rapin writes--

“Th’ unhappy fair Adonis likewise flowers, Whom (once a youth) the Cyprian Queen deplores; He, though transformed, has beauty still to move Her admiration, and secure her love; Since the same crimson blush the flower adorns Which graced the youth, whose loss the goddess mourns.”

And Shakspeare, in his poem on Venus and Adonis, says--

“By this the boy that by her side lay killed Was melted like a vapour from her sight; And in his blood that on the ground lay spilled A purple flower sprang up, chequered with white, Resembling well his pale cheeks and the blood Which in round drops upon their whiteness stood.”

=FLOWER DE LUCE.=--The Iris has obtained this name, which is derived from the French Fleur de Louis, from its having been assumed as his device by Louis VII., of France. This title of Fleur de Louis has been changed to Fleur de Luce, Fleur de Lys, and Fleur de Lis. (See IRIS).----A curious superstition exists in the district around Orleans, where a seventh son without a daughter intervening is called a Marcon. It is believed that the Marcon’s body is marked somewhere with a Fleur de Lis, and that if a patient suffering under King’s Evil touch this Fleur de Lis, or if the Marcon breathe upon him, the malady will be sure to disappear.

FLOWER GENTLE, or FLORAMOR.--See Amaranth.

=FLOWERS OF HEAVEN.=--Under the names of Rain Tremella and Star Jelly is known a strange gelatinous substance, of no precise form, but of a greenish hue, which creeps over gravelly soils, and is found mixed up with wet Mosses on rocks besides waterfalls: when moist, it is soft and pulpy, but in dry weather it becomes thin, brittle, and black in colour. Linnæus called it Tremella Nostoc, but it is now classed with the Algæ Gloiocladeæ under the name of Nostoc commune, a name first used by the alchymist Paracelsus, but the meaning of which is unknown. During the middle ages, some extraordinary superstitions were afloat concerning this plant, which was called Cœlifolium, or Flowers of Heaven. By the alchemists it was considered a universal menstruum. The country people in Germany use it to make their hair grow. In England, the country folk of many parts, firmly believed it to be the remains of a falling star, for after a wet, stormy night, these Flowers of Heaven will often be found growing where they were not to be seen the previous evening.

=FLOWERING ROD.=--There is a legend in the Apocryphal Gospel of Mary, according to which Joseph was chosen for Mary’s husband because his rod budded into flower, and a dove settled upon the top of it. In pictures of the marriage of Joseph and Mary, the former generally holds the flowering rod. The rod by which the Lord demonstrated that He had chosen Aaron to be His priest, blossomed with Almond-flowers, and was laid up in the Ark (see ALMOND).

=FORGET-ME-NOT.=--The Forget-me-not is a name which, like the Gilliflower, has been applied to a variety of plants. For more than two hundred years it was given, in England, France, and the Netherlands, to the ground Pine, Ajuga Chamæpitys. From the middle of the fifteenth century until 1821, this plant was in all the botanical books called Forget-me-not, on account of the nauseous taste which it leaves in the mouth. Some of the old German botanists gave the name Vergiss mein nicht to the Chamædrys vera fœmina, or Teucrium Botrys. Forglemm mig icke, the corresponding Danish name, was given to the Veronica chamædrys. This plant was in English called the Speedwell, from its blossoms falling off and flying away, and “Speedwell” being an old form of leave-taking, equivalent to “Farewell” or “Good-bye.” In the days of chivalry, a plant, whose identity has not been ascertained, was called “Souveigne vous de moy,” and was woven into collars. In 1465, one of these collars was the prize at a famous joust, fought between Lord Scales, brother to Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV., and a French knight of Burgundy. Certain German botanists, as far back as the sixteenth century, seem, however, to have given the name Forget-me-not to the Myosotis palustris; and this name has become inseparably connected with the flower, borne on the wings of the following poetic legend:--A knight and his lady-love, who were on the eve of being united, whilst strolling on the bank of the blue Danube, saw a spray of these pretty flowers floating on the waters, which seemed ready to carry it away. The affianced bride admired the delicate beauty of the blossoms, and regretted their fatal destiny. At this hint, the lover did not hesitate to plunge into the stream. He soon secured the flowers, but the current was too strong for him, and as it bore him past his despairing mistress, he flung the fatal flowers on the bank, exclaiming, as he was swept to his doom, “Vergiss mich nicht!”

“And the lady fair of the knight so true, Aye remembered his hapless lot; And she cherished the flower of brilliant hue, And braided her hair with the blossoms blue, And she called it Forget-me-not.”

According to Grimm, the original Forget-me-not was a certain Luck-flower, concerning which there is a favourite legend in Germany (see KEY-FLOWER). And there is another traditional origin of the flower, which for antiquity should have the precedence of all others. According to this version, Adam, when he named the plants in Paradise, cautioned them not to forget what he called them. One little flower, however, was heedless, and forgot its name. Ashamed of its inattention and forgetfulness, the flower asked the father of men, “By what name dost thou call me?” “Forget-me-not,” was the reply; and ever since that humble flower has drooped its head in shame and ignominy.----A fourth origin of the name “Forget-me-not” is given by Miss Strickland in her work on the Queens of England. Writing of Henry of Lancaster (afterwards Henry IV.), she says:--“This royal adventurer, the banished and aspiring Lancaster, appears to have been the person who gave to the Myosotis its emblematical and poetical meaning, by writing it, at the period of his exile, on his collar of S.S., with the initial letter of his mot or watchword, Souveigne vous de moy, thus rendering it the symbol of remembrance.” It was with his hostess, at the time wife of the Duke of Bretagne, that Henry exchanged this token of goodwill and remembrance.----The Italians call the Myosotis, Nontiscordar di me, and in one of their ballads represent the flower as the embodiment of the spirit of a young girl who was drowned, and transformed into the Myosotis growing by the river’s banks.----The ancient English name of the Myosotis palustris was Mouse-Ear-Scorpion-Grass; “Mouse-Ear” describing the oval leaves, and “Scorpion” the curve of the one-sided raceme, like a scorpion’s tail.----According to some investigators, the Forget-me-not is the Sun-flower of the classics--the flower into which poor Clytie was metamorphosed--the pale blossom which, says Ovid, held firmly by the root, still turns to the sun she loves. Cæsalpinus called it Heliotropium, and Gerarde figured it as such. (See HELIOTROPE).----The Germans are fond of planting the Forget-me-not upon their graves, probably on account of its name; for the beauty of the flower is lost if taken far from the water.----It is said that after the battle of Waterloo, an immense quantity of Forget-me-nots sprung up upon different parts of that sanguinary field, the soil of which had been enriched by the blood of heroes.----A writer in ‘All the Year Round’ remarks, that possibly the story of the origin of the Forget-me-not’s sentimental designation may have been in the mind of the Princess Marie of Baden, that Winter day, when, strolling along the banks of the Rhine with her cousin, Louis Napoleon, she inveighed against the degeneracy of modern gallants, vowing they were incapable of emulating the devotion to beauty that characterised the cavaliers of olden times. As they lingered on the causeway-dykes, where the Neckar joins the Rhine, a sudden gust of wind carried away a flower from the hair of the princess, and sent it into the rushing waters. “There!” she exclaimed, “that would be an opportunity for a cavalier of the olden days to show his devotion.” “That’s a challenge, cousin,” retorted Louis Napoleon, and in a second he was battling with the rough waters. He disappeared and reappeared to disappear and reappear again and again, but at length reached the shore safe and sound with his cousin’s flower in his hand. “Take it, Marie,” said he, as he shook himself; “but never again talk to me of your cavalier of the olden time.”

=FOXGLOVE.=--The name of Digitalis (from digitale, a thimble or finger-stall) was given to the Foxglove in 1542, by Fuchs, who remarks that hitherto the flower had remained unnamed by the Greeks and Romans. Our forefathers sometimes called it the Finger-flower, the Germans named it Fingerhut, and the French Gantelée--names all bestowed on account of the form of the flower, regarding which Cowley fancifully wrote--

“The Foxglove on fair Flora’s hand is worn, Lest while she gather flowers, she meet a thorn.”

The French also term the Foxglove Gants de Notre Dame and Doigts de la Vierge. Various explanations have been given as to the apparently inappropriate English name of Foxglove, which is, however, derived from the Anglo-Saxon Foxes-glof; and was presumably applied to the flower from some bygone connection it had with the fox, and its resemblance to a glove-finger. Dr. Prior’s explanation is worth quoting, however, if only for its ingenuity. He says: “Its Norwegian names, Rev-bielde, Fox-bell, and Reveleika, Fox-Music, are the only foreign ones that allude to that animal; and they explain our own, as having been, in the first place, foxes-glew, or music (Anglo-Saxon gliew), in reference to a favourite instrument of earlier times, a ring of bells hung on an arched support--a tintinnabulum--which this plant, with its hanging bell-shaped flowers, so exactly represents.”----The Foxglove is the special fairy flower: in its spotted bells the “good folk” delight to nestle. It is called in Ireland, Lusmore, or the Great Herb, and also Fairy-cap--a retreat in which the merry little elves are said to hide themselves when a human foot approaches to disturb their dances. The bending of the plant’s tall stalks is believed to denote the presence of supernatural beings, to whom the flower is making its obeisance. In the Irish legend of Knockgrafton, the hero, a poor hunchback, reputed to have a great knowledge of herbs and charms, always wears a sprig of the Fairy-cap, or Lusmore, in his little straw hat, and hence is nicknamed Lusmore. The Shefro, or gregarious fairy, is represented as wearing the corolla of the Foxglove on his head. Browne describes Pan as seeking these flowers as gloves for his mistress:--

“To keep her slender fingers from the sunne, Pan through the pastures oftentimes hath runne, To pluck the speckled Foxgloves from their stem, And on those fingers neatly placed them.”

In Wales, the bells of the Foxglove are termed Menyg Ellyllon, or goblins’ gloves. No doubt on account of its connection with the fairies, its name has been fancifully thought to have originally been the Fairy Folks’ Glove. The witches are popularly supposed to have held the Foxglove in high favour, and to have decorated their fingers with its largest bells, thence called “Witches’ Bells.”----Beautiful as it is, the Digitalis is a dangerous plant; no animal will touch it, and it exercises a singular influence over mankind: it impedes the circulation of the blood. We read in ‘Time’s Telescope’ for 1822, that the women of the poorer class in Derbyshire indulged in copious draughts of Foxglove-tea, as a cheap means of obtaining the pleasures of intoxication. It produces a great exhilaration of spirits, and has some singular effects on the system.----Robert Turner tells us that the Foxglove is under Venus, and that, in Hampshire, it is “very well known by the name of Poppers, because if you hold the broad end of the flower close between your finger and thumb, and blow at the small head, as into a bladder, till it be full of wind, and then suddenly strike it with your other hand, it will give a great crack or pop.” The Italians call the plant Aralda, and have this proverb concerning it: “Aralda tutte piaghe salda”--“Aralda salveth all sores.” Although containing a poison, the Foxglove yields a medicine valuable in cases of heart-disease, inflammatory fevers, dropsy, &c.

“The Foxglove leaves, with caution given, Another proof of favouring Heaven Will happily display.”

=FRANGIPANNI.=--The Plumieria acuminata, or Frangipanni plant, bears immense clusters of waxy flowers which exhale a most delicious odour: these flowers are white, with a yellow centre, and are flushed with purple behind. The plant is common throughout Malaya, where Mr. Burbidge says it is esteemed by the natives as a suitable decoration for the graves of their friends. Its Malay name, Bunga orang sudah mati, is eminently suggestive of the funereal use to which it is put, and means literally “Dead Man’s Flower.”----Frangipanni powder (spices, Orris-roots, and Musk or Civet) was compounded by one of the Roman nobles, named Frangipanni, an alchymist of some repute, who invented a stomachic, which he named Rosolis, ros-solis, sun-dew. The Frangipanni tart was the invention of the same noble.

=FRANKINCENSE.=--Leucothea, the daughter of the Persian king Orchamus, attracted the notice of Apollo, who, to woo her, assumed the form and features of her mother. Unable to withstand the god’s “impetuous storm,” Leucothea indulged his love; but Clytia, maddened with jealousy, discovered the intrigue to Orchamus, who, to avenge his stained honour, immured his daughter alive. Apollo, unable to save her from death, sprinkled nectar and ambrosia over her grave, which, penetrating to the lifeless body, changed it into the beautiful tree that bears the Frankincense. Ovid thus describes the nymph’s transformation:--

“What Phœbus could do was by Phœbus done. Full on her grave with pointed beams he shone. To pointed beams the gaping earth gave way; Had the nymph eyes, her eyes had seen the day; But lifeless now, yet lovely, still she lay. Not more the god wept when the world was fired, And in the wreck his blooming boy expired; The vital flame he strives to light again, And warm the frozen blood in every vein. But since resistless fates denied that power, On the cold nymph he rained a nectar shower. Ah! undeserving thus, he said, to die, Yet still in odours thou shalt reach the sky. The body soon dissolved, and all around Perfumed with heavenly fragrances the ground. A sacrifice for gods uprose from thence-- A sweet, delightful tree of Frankincense.”--Eusden.

The tree which thus sprang from poor Leucothea’s remains was a description of Terebinth, now called Boswellia thurifera, which is principally found in Yemen, a part of Arabia. Frankincense is an exudation from this tree, and Pliny tells some marvellous tales respecting its mode of collection, and the difficulties in obtaining it. Frankincense was one of the ingredients with which Moses was instructed to compound the holy incense (Exodus xxx.). The Egyptians made great use of it as a principal ingredient in the perfumes which they so lavishly consumed for religious rites and funeral honours. As an oblation, it was burned on the altars by the priests of Isis, Osiris, and Pasht. At the festivals of Isis an ox was sacrificed filled with Frankincense, Myrrh, and other aromatics. On all the altars erected to the Assyrian gods Baal, Astarte, and Dagon, incense and aromatic gums were burnt in profusion; and we learn from Herodotus that the Arabians alone had to furnish a yearly tribute of one thousand talents of Frankincense.---Ovid recommends Frankincense as an excellent cosmetic, and says that if it is agreeable to gods, it is no less useful to mortals.----Rapin writes that “Phrygian Frankincense is held divine.”

“In sacred services alone consumed, And every Temple’s with the smoke perfumed.”

Dr. Birdwood states that there are many varieties of the Frankincense-tree, yielding different qualities of the “lubân” or milky gum which, from time immemorial, has sent up the smoke of sacrifice from high places.----Distinct records have been found of the traffic carried on between Egypt and Arabia in the seventeenth century B.C. In the paintings at Dayr al Báhri, in Upper Egypt, are representations both of bags of Olibanum and of Olibanum-trees in tubs, being conveyed by ships from Arabia to Egypt; and among the inscriptions deciphered by Professor Dümichen are many describing shipments of precious woods, incense, and “verdant incense trees brought among the precious things from the land of Arabia for the majesty of their god Ammon, the lord of the terrestrial thrones.”----The Philistines reverently burnt Frankincense before the fish-god Dagon. In ancient days it was accepted as tribute. Darius, for instance, received from the Arabians an annual tribute of one thousand talents of Frankincense.----When the Magi, or wise men of the East, following the guidance of the miraculous star, reached Bethlehem and paid their homage to the infant Saviour, they made an offering of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, by which symbolical oblation they acknowledged Him as King (gold), God (incense), and Man (Myrrh).----The Roman Catholic and Greek churches, especially the churches of South America, consume an immense quantity of Olibanum, as do the Chinese in their joss-houses.

=FRAXINELLA.=--The Fraxinella (Dictamnus) is deemed a most sacred plant by the fire-worshippers of India, and is highly reverenced by them on account of its singular powers of luminosity. The plant is covered with minute glands which excrete volatile oil: this is continually evaporating from its surface, and forms a highly inflammable atmosphere round the plant. If a light be brought near it, the plant is enveloped by a transient flame, but without sustaining any injury. When gently rubbed, the plant emits a delicious scent, like lemon-peel.

FRIAR’S CAP.--See Monkshood.

=FRITILLARY.=--The origin of the Fritillaria, or Crown Imperial, is given by Rapin in the following lines:--

“Then her gay gilded front th’ Imperial Crown Erects aloft, and with a scornful frown O’erlooks the subject plants, while humbly they Wait round, and homage to her highness pay; High on the summit of her stem arise Leaves in a verdant tuft of largest size; Below this tuft the gilded blossoms bent, Like golden cups reversed, are downwards sent; But in one view collected they compose A crown-like form, from whence her name arose. No flower aspires in pomp and state more high, Nor, could her odour with her beauty vie, Would lay a juster claim to majesty. A Queen she was whom ill report belied, And a rash husband’s jealousy destroyed; Driv’n from his bed and court the fields she ranged, Till spent with grief was to a blossom changed, Yet only changed as to her human frame: She kept th’ Imperial beauty and the name; But the report destroyed her former sweets: Scandal, though false, the fair thus rudely treats, And always the most fair with most injustice meets.”

This flower is a native of Persia, and was for some time known as Lilium Persicum. According to Madame de Genlis, it derived its majestic name of Crown Imperial from the celebrated Guirlande de Julie. The Duke de Montausier, on New Year’s Day, 1634, presented his bride, Julie de Rambouillet, with a magnificent album, on the vellum leaves of which were painted a series of flowers, with appropriate verses. The principal poem was by Chapelain, who chose this Persian Lily as his theme, and, knowing the bride to be a great admirer of Gustavus Adolphus, represented in his verses that the flower sprang from the life-blood of the Swedish King when he fell mortally wounded on the field of Lützen; adding that had this hero gained the imperial crown, he would have offered it with his hand to Julie, but as the Fates had metamorphosed him into this flower, it was presented to her under the name of La Couronne Impériale. In later days the flower received the name of Fritillaria (from Fritillus, a dice box, the usual companion of the chequer-board), because its blossoms are chequered with purple and white or yellow.

=FUMITORY.=--This plant, which Shakspeare alludes to as Fumiter, derived its name from the French Fume-terre, and Latin Fumus terræ, earth-smoke. It was so named from a belief, very generally held in olden times, that it was produced without seed from smoke or vapour rising from the earth. Pliny (who calls it Fumaria) states that the plant took its name from causing the eyes to water when applied to them, as smoke does; but another opinion is that it was so called because a bed of the common kind, when in flower, appears at a distance like a dense smoke. Rapin has these lines on the plant:--

“With the first Spring the soft Fumaria shows On stern Bavaria’s rocks her sev’ral hues; But by report is struck by certain fate, When dreadful thunders echo from their height; And with the lightning’s sulph’rous fumes opprest, Her drooping beauties languish on her breast.”

Dioscorides says that the juice dropped into the eyes clears the sight, and also that the juice, having a little gum Arabic dissolved therein, and applied to the eyelids when the hairs have been pulled out, will keep them from growing again.----According to astrologers, Fumitory is a herb of Saturn.

=GANG FLOWER.=--The Milk-wort, Flos Ambarvalis, Cross-, Procession-, Gang-, or Rogation-Flower (Polygala vulgaris), was so called from its blossoming in Gang-week or Rogation-week, when processions were made in imitation of the ancient Roman Ambarvalia (see CORN), to perambulate the parishes with the Holy Cross and Litanies, to mark boundaries, and to invoke God’s blessing upon the crops; upon which occasions Gerarde tells us “the maidens which use in the countries to walke the procession do make themselves garlands and nosegaies” of the Milk-wort, which the old herbalist likewise informs us is so called on account of its “vertues in procuring milke in the breasts of nurses.”

=GARLIC.=--The tapering-leaved Garlic (Allium sativum) derives its name from two Anglo-Saxon words, meaning the Spear-plant. The Egyptians so appreciated Garlic, that they were accustomed to swear by it, and even to worship it. Referring to this, Juvenal satirically remarks: “Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred flower.” Nevertheless, no Egyptian priest was permitted to eat Garlic. The Israelites, who had learnt in Egypt to prize this vegetable, murmured at being deprived of its use, and expressed their preference of it to Manna itself.----In Asia Minor, Greece, Scandinavia, and Northern Germany, Garlic is popularly believed to possess magical properties of a beneficent nature. According to the ‘Lay of Sigurdrîfa,’ protection from witchcraft may be ensured by the addition of Garlic to a beverage. The Sanscrit name for Garlic means the Slayer of Monsters. Galen relates that it was considered inimical to all cold poisons, and to the bites of venomous beasts. Macer Floridus affirms that the eating of Garlic fasting ensured immunity from all ills attending change of climate or the drinking of unknown water. The roots, hung round the necks of blind cattle, were supposed to induce restoration of sight. Clusius relates that the German miners found the roots very powerful in defending them from the assaults of impure spirits which frequented mines.----In England, Garlic obtained the name of Poor Man’s Treacle, or Triacle, from its being considered an antidote to animal poison. Bacon tells us that, applied to the wrists, and renewed, Garlic was considered a cure for long agues: in Kent, and probably in other counties, it is placed in the stockings of a child with the whooping-cough, in order to allay the complaint.----De Gubernatis states that the Bolognese regard Garlic as the symbol of abundance; at the festival of St. John, everyone buys it, to preserve themselves from poverty during the year. In Sicily, they put Garlic on the beds of women during confinement, and they make three signs of the cross with it to charm away polypus. In Cuba, thirteen cloves of Garlic at the end of a cord worn round the neck for thirteen days, is considered to safeguard the wearer against the jaundice, provided that, in the middle of the night of the thirteenth day, he proceeds to the corner of two streets, takes off his Garlic necklet, and, flinging it over his head, runs instantly home without turning round to see what has become of it.----The broad-leaved Garlic was formerly called Buckrams, Bear’s Garlic, Ramsies, and Ramsins, the last name being referred to in the proverb--

“Eat Leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May, And all the year after physitians may play.”

We read that if a man dream of eating Garlic, it signifies that he will discover hidden secrets, and meet with some domestic jar; yet to dream he has it in the house is lucky.----Garlic is under the dominion of Mars.

GEAN.--See Cherry.

=GENTIAN.=--The Gentian (Gentiana) was so called after Gentius, King of Illyria, who first discovered the medicinal virtues of this bitter plant. Gentius having imprisoned the ambassadors sent to his court by the Romans, they invaded his kingdom, conquered it, and led the royal botanist and his family in triumph through the streets of Rome. The old name of this flower was Gentiana cruciata, and it was also called S. Ladislai Regis herba, in regard to which latter appellation, there is a curious legend:--During the reign of King Ladislas, the whole of Hungary was afflicted with the plague. Compassionating his unfortunate subjects who were dying by thousands, the pious king prayed that if he shot an arrow into the air, the Almighty would vouchsafe to guide it to the root of some herb that might be employed efficaciously in arresting the terrible plague. The king discharged an arrow, and, in falling, it cleft the root of the Cruciata (Gentian), which was at once tried, and found to possess the most astonishing curative powers when administered to sufferers from the plague.----According to old Robert Turner, the herbalist, Gentian, or Felwort, “resists poisons, putrefaction, and the pestilence, and helps digestion; the powder of the dry roots helps bitings of mad dogs and venomous beasts, opens the liver, and procures an appetite. Wine, wherein the herb hath been steept, being drunk, refreshes such as are over-wearied by travel, or are lame in their joynts by cold or bad lodgings.” Gerarde states that it is put into counterpoisons, “as into the composition named Theriaca diatessaron, which Ætius calleth Mysterium, a mystery, or hid secret.” Formerly the names of Baldmoney and Baldmoyne were applied to the Felwort or Gentian. (See BALDMONEY and FELDWODE.)----Gentian is under the dominion of Mars.

GERANIUM.--See Crane’s Bill.

GILL.--See Ivy.

=GILLIFLOWER.=--The appellation of Gilliflower has been applied, apparently as a kind of pet name, to all manner of plants. Formerly the word was spelt gyllofer and gilofre, from the French giroflée and Italian garofalo, words derived from the Latin Caryophyllum and Greek Karuophullon, a Clove, in allusion to the flower’s spicy odour. The name was originally given by the Italians to the Carnation and plants of the Pink tribe, and was so used by Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakspeare. Afterwards both writers and gardeners bestowed the name on the Matthiola and Cheiranthus. At the present time the word has almost fallen out of use, but in books will be found to be applied to the Clove Gilliflower, Dianthus Caryophyllus (the true Gilliflower); the Marsh Gilliflower, or Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos cuculi); Queen’s, Rogue’s, or Winter Gilliflower, the Dame’s Violet (Hesperis matronalis); Stock Gilliflower (Matthiola incana); Wall Gilliflower (Cheiranthus Cheiri); and Water Gilliflower (Hottonia palustris).----The Gilliflower is in old songs represented as one of the flowers thought to grow in Paradise. Thus, in a ballad called ‘Dead Men’s Songs,’ occurs the following verse:--

“The fields about the city faire Were all with Roses set, Gillyflowers and Carnations faire Which canker could not fret.”

(See also CARNATION).

=GINSENG.=--The Chinese consider the far-famed Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) the most valuable production of nature. It is their specific for all disorders of the lungs or of the stomach, curing asthma, strengthening the eyesight, renewing a worn-out constitution, delaying the approach of old age, and acting as a counterpoison. The Dutch naturalists thus described the Ginseng:--“Its name is taken from its shape, because its represents a man (in Chinese Gin) striding with his legs. It is a larger and stronger species of our Mandrake. The dried root is of a yellow colour, streaked round with blackish veins, as if drawn with ink. It yields when chewed an unpleasant sweetness, mixed with bitterness. The Chinese will give three pounds of gold for one pound of it.” To the Chinese this shrub is in some measure a foreign production, as it is found only in Manchoo Tartary; but it does not owe all its reputation to its distant origin; the Tartars also prize it, and give it a name (Orhota) expressive of its quality as the chief of plants. They endeavour to procure it at the risk of losing their lives or liberty, equally endangered by the nature of the country where it is found, and by the policy of the Chinese Government, which endeavours to monopolise this much-esteemed production. A large extent of country to the north-east of Pekin, covered with inaccessible mountains, and almost impassable forests infested with wild beasts, and affording no means of subsistence, is separated from the province of Leao Tong by a strong barrier of stakes, always carefully protected by guards of Chinese soldiers who seize and punish unlicensed intruders: this is the native country of Ginseng, and these precautions are considered necessary to preserve the valued plant from depredation. The Père Jartoux, who was employed in the survey of Tartary by order of the Emperor Kam-he, describes the mode of gathering the Ginseng, as it was practised at that time. He had frequently met with the party of Tartars employed on the service, but on this occasion ten thousand Tartars were commanded to gather all the Ginseng that could be found; and after deducting two ounces from the quantity gathered by each man, they were allowed for the remainder its weight in pure silver. This army of botanists divided themselves into companies of a hundred men, with a chief to each company. The whole territory was then apportioned to the several divisions; each division formed a line, and, slowly advancing, traversed that portion of country allotted to it; nearly six months were spent in the occupation, and the whole territory was thus searched through. Of the Ginseng thus collected the root is the only part preserved.

=GLADIOLUS.=--The Corn-flag, or Sword-flag (Gladiolus), has been thought by some to be the flower alluded to by Ovid as the blossom which sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus when he was accidentally slain by Apollo with a quoit--the flower which bears displayed upon its petals the sad impression of the Sun-god’s sighs-Ai, Ai! (See HYACINTH). The upper root of the Sword-flag was supposed by the old herbalists to provoke amatory passions, whilst the lower root was thought to cause barrenness.----The Gladiolus is a plant of the Moon.

=GLASTONBURY THORN.=--In Loudon’s Arboretum Britannicum, the Glastonbury Thorn is mentioned as the Cratægus Oxyacantha præcox. This variety of the Hawthorn blossoms during the Winter, and was for many years believed religiously to blow on Christmas-day. The Abbey of Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, which is now a ruin, and of whose origin only vague memorials exist, was said by the monks to have been the residence of Joseph of Arimathea. The high ground on which the old abbey was erected used in early days to be called the Isle of Avalon. The Thorn-tree stood on an eminence to the south-west of the town of Glastonbury, where a nunnery, dedicated to St. Peter, was in after times erected. The eminence is called Weary-all Hill; and the same monkish legend which accounts for the name of the hill, states also the origin of the Thorn. It seems that when Joseph of Arimathea, to whom the original conversion of this country is attributed, arrived at this spot with his companions, they were weary with their journey, and sat down. St. Joseph then stuck his stick in the ground, when, although it was a dry Hawthorn staff, it took root and grew, and thenceforth commemorated the birth of Christ in the manner above mentioned. This rendered its blossoms of so much value in all Christian nations, that the Bristol merchants exported them as things of price to foreign lands. It had two trunks or bodies until the time of Queen Elizabeth, when a Puritan cut down one of them, but left the other, which was about the size of an ordinary man. This desecration of the tree brought condign punishment upon the over-zealous Puritan, for, according to James Howell, a writer of the period, “some of the prickles flew into his eye, and made him monocular.” The reputation which the Glastonbury Thorn still retained, notwithstanding the change of religion, may be estimated by the fact that King James and his Queen, and other persons of distinction, gave large sums for small cuttings from the original tree. Until the time of Charles I., it was customary to carry a branch of the Thorn in procession at Christmas time; but during the civil war, in that reign, what remained of the tree was cut down; plants from its branches are, however, still in existence, for a vintner of the place secured a slip, and planted it in his garden, where it duly flowered on the 25th December. When the new style was introduced in 1752, the alteration (which consisted of omitting eleven days) seems to have been very generally disliked by the mass of the people. The use which was made of the Glastonbury Thorn to prove the impropriety of the change is not a little curious. The alteration in the Christmas Day, which was held that year and since on a day which would have been January 5th, was particularly obnoxious, not only as disturbing old associations, but as making an arbitrary change from what was considered the true anniversary of the birth of Christ. In several places, where real or supposed slips from the Glastonbury Thorn existed, the testimony of the plant against the change was anxiously sought on the first Christmas Day under the new style. As the special distinction of the Thorn arose from its supposed connection with the great event commemorated on that day, it was argued that it must indicate the true anniversary, and that its evidence would be conclusive on the subject. The event of one of these references (at Quainton, in Buckinghamshire) is thus recorded in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1753:--“Above 2000 people came here this night (December 24th, 1752, N.S., being the first Christmas Eve under the new calendar), with lanthorns and candles, to view a Thorn-tree which grows in this neighbourhood, and which was remembered (this year only) to be a slip from the Glastonbury Thorn; that it always budded on the 24th, was full-blown the next day, and went off at night. But the people, finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed that December 25th n.s. could not be the right Christmas Day, and accordingly they refused going to Church, or treating their friends as usual. At length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease the people, thought it prudent to give notice that the old Christmas Day should be kept holy as usual.” The slips of the Thorn seem to have been everywhere unanimous in this opposition to the new style. There still exist at Glastonbury, within the precincts of the ruins of the Abbey, two distinct trees, which, doubtless, sprang from the Thorn of Joseph of Arimathea, and which continue to blossom during the winter months.

=GLOBE FLOWER.=--The botanical name of the Globe Flower, Trollius Europæus, is supposed to be of Scandinavian origin, and to signify a magic flower. The plant is also called Globe Ranunculus and Globe Crow-foot, from the globular form of its calyx. The flower was formerly known as the Troll-flower, and in Scotland as the Luckan Gowan (Cabbage Daisy). Its name of Troll was probably derived from the Swedish word troll, a malignant supernatural being,--a name corresponding to the Scotch Witches’ Gowan, and given to the Trollius on account of its acrid poisonous qualities. It is a common flower on the Alps, and has been employed from time immemorial by the Swiss peasantry to make garlands of on rural festive celebrations. In the northern counties of England, at the beginning of June, the Globe-flower is sought with great festivity by the young people, who adorn their doors and cottages with wreaths and garlands composed of its blossoms.

=GOAT’S BEARD.=--The yellow Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis) is one of the best floral indices of the hour of the day, for it opens at sunrise and closes at noon.

“And goodly now the noon-tide hour, When from his high meridian tower The sun looks down in majesty, What time about the grassy lea The Goat’s Beard, prompt his rise to hail With broad expanded disk, in veil Close mantling wraps its yellow head, And goes, as peasants say, to bed.”--Bp. Mant.

Other names of this plant are Noon-day Flower, Go-to-bed-at-noon, Star of Jerusalem, and Joseph’s Flower. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given with respect to the last two names, nor is it known whether the Joseph referred to is the son of Jacob, the Virgin Mary’s husband, or Joseph of Arimathea.

=GOLDEN ROD.=--The tall straight-stemmed Golden Rod (Solidago virga aurea) was formerly called Wound-weed, and on account of its healing powers received its scientific name solidago, from “in solidum ago vulnera,” “I consolidate wounds.” It was brought from abroad in a dried state, and sold in the London markets by the herb-women of Queen Elizabeth’s days, and Gerarde tells us that it fetched half-a-crown an ounce. About that time, however, it was found in Hampstead ponds, and when it was seen to be a native plant, it became valueless and was discarded from use; which, says Gerarde, “plainely setteth forth our inconstancie and sudden mutabilitie, esteeming no longer of anything, how pretious soever it be, than whilest it is strange and rare. This verifieth our English proverbe, ‘Far fetcht and deare bought is best for ladies.’”----According to tradition, the Golden Rod is also a divining-rod, and points to hidden springs of water as well as to treasures of gold and silver.----Astrologers say that Golden Rod is a plant of Venus.

GOLD CUP and GOLD KNOBS.--See Ranunculus.

GOLD, GOLDING, and GOWAN.--See Marigold.

=GOLDILOCKS.=--This name is applied to Ranunculus auricomus, Chrysocoma Linosyris, Amaranthus luteus (Golden Flower Gentle), and, by Gerarde, to Muscus capillaris (Golden Maidenhair Moss). Camelina sativa is the Gold of Pleasure.

=GOLUBETZ.=--There is a popular belief in Russia, that anyone drinking a draught of water in which this plant of the marshes has been steeped, will be exempt from attacks by bears.

=GOOD HENRY.=--The Allgood, English Mercury, Good Henry, or Good King Harry (Chenopodium Bonus Henricus) seems to have been given its name of Good Henry to distinguish it from a poisonous plant called Malus Henricus. Grimm explains that the name Henry has reference in this case to elves and kobolds, which were called Heinz and Heinrich.

=GOOL-ACHIN.=--The Plumeria acutifolia, a tree of American origin, is called by the Hindus Gool-achin, and is esteemed sacred by them. It is commonly planted in Indian gardens, and particularly in cemeteries, because it keeps the graves of the departed white with its daily fall of fragrant flowers. The branches are stout, and, when wounded, exude a milky juice, which is prized.

=GOOSEBERRY.=--The homely Gooseberry, which derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon crós, a curl (German kraus, and old Dutch kroes), is an old inhabitant of England, for Tusser, who lived in the reign of Henry VIII., wrote of it--

“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too, Look now to be planted as other things do.”

It was formerly called Feaberry, Dewberry and Wineberry.----An old-fashioned remedy for a wart consisted in pricking it with a sharp Gooseberry-thorn passed through a wedding-ring.----To dream of ripe Gooseberries is considered as a favourable omen. It predicts a fortune, a lucrative post under Government, great fidelity in your sweetheart, sweetness of temper and disposition, many children (chiefly sons), and the accomplishment of your aims. To the sailor, to dream of Gooseberries, indicates dangers in his next voyage; to the maiden, a roving husband.----The Gooseberry is placed by astrologers under the rule of Venus.

=GRAPES.=--The product of the Vine was the especial fruit of the god Bacchus, who is sometimes represented like an infant, holding a thyrsus and clusters of grapes with a horn. In the Catholic Church, Grapes and Corn are symbolic of the Blessed Eucharist. According to Brocard, the finest Grapes are those grown in the vales of Eshcol and Sorek. The word sorek signifies “fine Grapes.” Clusters of Grapes have been found in Syria, weighing as much as forty pounds, worthy successors of the cluster taken by the Israelitish spies from Eshcol, which “they bare between two upon a staff.”----In some countries, the Grape is believed to have been the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.----To dream of Grapes foretells to the maiden that her husband will be cheerful, and a great songster. If the dreamer be in love, they augur a speedy union, and denote much happiness in marriage and success in trade. According to another authority, to dream that you see clusters of Grapes hanging round about you predicts future advancement and honour. To the maid it implies marriage with an ambitious man, who will arrive at great preferment, but die early.

=GORSE.=--The Whin Gorse, or Furze (Ulex)--“the never-bloomless Furze”--caused Dillenius the greatest delight, and is said to have so affected Linnæus, when he first came to England and saw a common covered with its golden blossoms, that he fell down on his knees in a rapture at the sight, and thanked God for its loveliness. He attempted in vain to introduce it into Sweden; but although hardy enough in England, yet it would not grow even in the garden in which Linnæus planted it.----The old English names for this shrub were Fursbush, Furrs, Whins, and Goss.----Gorse is held to be under the dominion of Mars.

=GORY-DEW.=--A minute Alga bears the name of Gory-dew from its resemblance to blood-drops. During the Middle Ages, it caused much dismay by appearing like a sudden shower of blood, and it was thought to portend battle, murder, and sudden death.

=GRASS.=--In India, several kinds of Grass, such as the Kusa, a species of Andropogon, and Eragrostis, are held sacred by the Hindus, and employed in their temples.----In Prussia, the northern Holy Grass (Holcus odoratus) is used for strewing the floors of churches at Whitsuntide. In some parts of Germany, Holy Grass (Hierochloe borealis) is strewn before church doors on holidays.----Wheat would appear to be only the cultivated form of the Ægilops, a Grass infesting Barley-fields on the shores of the Mediterranean. Grip-grass (Galium Aparine) is so called from its gripping or seizing with its hooked prickles whatever comes in its way. The Potentilla reptans is called Five-Finger Grass, on account of its five leaflets. The only poisonous Grass (Darnel) is supposed to be the Tares of the Scriptures: Linnæus says of this Grass (Lolium temulentum) that if the seeds are baked in bread it is very hurtful, and if malted with Barley it produces giddinness.----In Norfolk, coarse marshy Grass is called Hassock, hence the application of this name to church hassocks, which are often made of a large Sedge, the Carex paniculata.----In connection with Tussack-grass (Aira cæspitosa), Mr. Sikes relates the following tradition current in Wales:--The son of a farmer at Drws Coed was permitted to marry a fairy-wife on condition that she should never be touched by iron. They had several children, and lived happily enough until one unfortunate day her horse sank in the deep mire, and as her husband was helping her to remount, his stirrup struck her knee. At once sweet singing was heard on the hill top, and she was parted from him; but, though no longer allowed to walk the earth with man, she used to haunt the turf lake (Llyn y dywarchen). This lake has moving islands of Tussack-grass, like Derwentwater, so on one of these islands she used to stand for hours and hold converse with her bereaved husband.----“Fairy Rings” is the popular name for the circles of dark-green Grass occasionally seen on grassy downs and old pastures, round which, according to popular belief, the

“Elfe-queen, with her jolly compagnie, Danced full oft in many a grene mede.”

On this dark Grass rustic superstition avers that no sheep or lamb will browse. Disregarding the poetical charm which lingers around the fairy superstition, and oblivious of the poet’s asseveration that--

“Of old the merry elves were seen Pacing with printless feet the dewy green,”

some naturalists have ascribed the phenomenon of these rings to lightning; others to the work of ants; and others, again, to the growth of a small esculent Fungus called Agaricus Orcades. However, Edmund Jones, a celebrated preacher, of Monmouth, who in 1813 wrote a book on apparitions, declares that in St. Matthew xii., 43, is to be found an authority for the popular belief. He says, “The fairy rings are found in dry places, and the Scripture saith that the walk of evil spirits is in dry places.”----In Sussex, elves and fairies are sometimes called “Pharisees” by the country folk, and in Tarberry Hill, on Harting, are Pharisees’ rings, where the simple people say the Pharisees dance on Midsummer Eve.----To dream of Grass is a good omen; if the Grass be fresh and green, the dream portends long life, good luck, and great wealth; but if withered and decayed, misfortunes and sickness may be expected, if not the death of loved ones. To dream of cutting Grass betokens great troubles.

=GROUNDHEELE.=--This plant, known in Germany as Grundheil, and in France as Herbe aux Ladres, is identified by Doctor Prior with Veronica officinalis, which he says was so called from its having cured a king of France of a leprosy, from which he had suffered some eight years--a disease, called in Germany, grind. Quoting from Brunschwygk, our author tells us that a shepherd had seen a stag, whose hind quarter was covered with a scabby eruption from the bite of a wolf, cure itself by eating of this plant, and rolling itself upon it; and that thereupon he recommended the king to try it.

GROUND-IVY.--See Ivy.

=GROUNDSEL.=--The Senecio vulgaris is called, in Scotland, Grundy Swallow, a term derived from the Anglo-Saxon word grundswelge, ground glutton, and of which Groundsel is evidently a corruption. Senecio Saracenicus is said to have been used by the Saracens in the cure of wounds. Common Groundsel has the power of softening water if it be poured while boiling on the plant. The Highland women often wear a piece of its root as an amulet to guard them from the Evil Eye. A bunch of Groundsel worn on the bare bosom was formerly reputed to be an efficacious charm against the ague. Pliny prescribes Groundsel for the toothache. A root must be pulled up, and a portion of it cut off with a sharp razor; then the Groundsel must be immediately replanted, and the excised portion applied three or four times to the ailing tooth. A cure is probable, says Pliny, provided the mutilated and replanted Groundsel should thrive: if otherwise, the tooth will ache more than ever. In Cornwall, if Groundsel is to be used as an emetic, they strip it upwards; if for a cathartic, downwards.----Groundsel is a herb of Venus.

=GUABANA.=--The Guabana or Guarabana, which is presumed to be the wild Pine Apple, Ananas sativus, first became known to Europeans in Peru some three centuries ago. In the Mythologie des Plantes, we read that the dead were, according to a ghastly popular tradition, believed to rise and eat the Guabana fruit every night. This fruit of the dead is described as tender and sweet as a Melon, of the shape of a Pine-apple, and of a splendid appearance.

=GUELDER ROSE.=--The Viburnum Opulus has been called the Snowball-tree, but is more generally known as the Guelder Rose, from its Rose-like balls of white blossom. The shrub is a variety of the Water Elder, introduced from Gueldres. In England, its flowers are dedicated to Whitsuntide.

=HÆMANTHUS.=--The Hæmanthus, or Blood-flower, is a native of Brazil, where H. multiflorus is the Imperial Flower--the especial flower and blazon of the Emperor.

=HAG-TAPER.=--The Verbascum Thapsus was called Hedge-taper, High-taper, or Hig-taper, because it was used as a torch on funeral and other occasions. These names became corrupted into Hag-taper during the period when the belief in witchcraft existed, from a notion that witches employed the plant in working their spells. Probably this superstition was derived from the ancients, for we read in Gerarde’s ‘Herbal’--“Apuleius reporteth a tale of Ulysses, Mercurie, and the inchauntresse Circe using these herbes in their incantations and witchcrafts.” (See MULLEIN).

=HALLELUJAH.=--The Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella) bears the name of Hallelujah, not only in England, but in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, because it blossoms between Easter and Whitsuntide--the season at which those Psalms are sung which end with that pious ejaculation, viz., the 113th to the 117th inclusive.

=HAREBELL.=--Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ Parkinson, in his ‘Paradisus,’ and other old herbalists, term the Hyacinthus non scriptus, or English Jacinth, the Hare-bell or Hare’s-bell. This is probably the “azure Harebell” alluded to by Shakspeare, and is the flower referred to by Browne, in his ‘Pastorals,’ as only to be worn by faithful lovers:--

“The Harebell, for her stainless azured hue, Claims to be worn of none but who are true.”

The nodding Blue-bell of the heath-land (Campanula rotundifolia), however, is the Hare-bell of modern poets; but both plants are called by that name in different parts of England. The original word is said to have been either Air-bell or Hair-bell, appellations which might most appropriately be applied to the graceful and airy Campanulas, whose slender stems have sufficient elasticity to rise again when lightly trodden under foot. In some English counties the flower is familiarly called Witches’ Thimble. In France, a little white Hare-bell is common in the meadows, and from its modest and chaste appearance is called the Nun of the Fields. (See BLUE-BELL and CAMPANULA).

HASSOCKS.--See Grass.

=HAWKWEED.=--The Hawk-weed or Hawk-bit (Hieracium) was a name originally applied to several plants of the Dandelion and Mouse-ear families, and in days when falconry was practised, these plants derived some importance from the notion entertained by the ancients that with them hawks were in the habit of clearing their eyesight--a notion endorsed by the later herbalists, for we find Gerarde writing that hawks are reported to clear their sight by conveying the juice hereof into their eyes. The old tradition that the hawk feed upon Hawkweed and led her young ones early to eat the plant, that by its juices they might gain acuteness of vision, was believed some centuries ago not only in England but throughout Europe. The Greeks considered the Hawkweed a holy plant, inasmuch as it was dedicated to the use of a bird they held sacred. One of these plants was, like the Scabious, called the Devil’s-bit, on account of its root presenting the appearance of having been bitten off short; another (Hieracium aurantiacum) bore the familiar name of Grim the Collier, given it from the black hairs which cover its stem and involucre. Hawkweeds were considered good for strengthening the eyesight, and were deemed efficacious against the bites of serpents and scorpions.----The plant was adjudged to be under the rule of Saturn.

=HAWTHORN.=--The Hawthorn, according to ancient myths, originally sprang from the lightning: it has been revered as a sacred tree from the earliest times, and was accounted by the Greeks a tree of good augury and a symbol of conjugal union. After the rape of the Sabines, upon which occasion the shepherds carried Hawthorn-boughs, it was considered propitious; its blossoming branches were borne by those assisting at wedding festivities, and the newly-married couple were lighted to the bridal chamber with torches of the wood. At the present day, the Greeks garland their brides with wreaths of Hawthorn, and deck the nuptial altar with its blossoms, whilst on May-day they suspend boughs of the flowering shrub over their portals. The ancient Germans composed their funeral-piles of Hawthorn wood, and consecrated it with the mallet, the symbol of the god Thor. They believed that in the sacred flame which shot upwards from the Thorn, the souls of the deceased were carried to heaven.----In France, the Hawthorn is called l’Epine noble, from the belief that it furnished the Crown of Thorns worn by our Lord before the Crucifixion. Sir John Maundevile has given the original tradition, which is as follows:--“Then was our Lord led into a garden ... and the Jews scourged Him, and made Him a crown of the branches of the Albespyne, that is, White Thorn, which grew in the same garden, and set it on His head.... And therefore hath the White Thorn many virtues. For he that beareth a branch thereof, no thunder or manner of tempest may hurt him: and in the house that it is in may no evil spirit enter.”----A Roman Catholic legend relates that when the Holy Crown blossomed afresh, whilst the victorious Charlemagne knelt before it, the scent of Hawthorn filled the air. The Crown of Thorns was given up to St. Louis of France by the Venetians, and placed by him in the Sainte Chapelle, which he built in Paris. The Feast of the Susception of the Holy Crown is observed at the church of Notre Dame, in Paris, in honour of this cherished relic. The Crown of Thorns is enclosed within a glass circle, which a priest holds in his hands; he passes before the kneeling devotees, who are ranged outside the altar rail, and offers the crown to them to be kissed. The Norman peasant constantly wears a sprig of Hawthorn in his cap, from the belief that Christ’s crown was woven of it.----The French have a curious tradition that when Christ was one day resting in a wood, after having escaped from a pursuit by the Jews, the magpies came and covered Him all over with Thorns, which the kindly swallows (poules de Dieu) perceived, and hastened to remove. A swallow is also said to have taken away the Crown of Thorns at the Crucifixion.----The Hawthorn is the distinguishing badge of the royal house of Tudor. When Richard III. was slain at Bosworth, his body was plundered of its armour and ornaments. The crown was hidden by a soldier in a Hawthorn-bush, but was soon found and carried back to Lord Stanley, who, placing it on the head of his son-in-law, saluted him as King Henry VII. To commemorate this picturesque incident, the house of Tudor assumed the device of a crown in a bush of fruited Hawthorn. The proverb of “Cleave to the crown, though it hang on a bush,” alludes to the same circumstance.----The Hawthorn has for centuries borne in England the favourite name of “May,” from its flowering in that month:

“Between the leaves the silver Whitethorn shows Its dewy blossoms pure as mountain snows.”

In olden times, very early on May-day morning, lads and lasses repaired to the woods and hedgerows, and returned, soon after sunrise, laden with posies of flowers, and boughs of blooming Hawthorn, with which to decorate the churches and houses: even in London boughs of May were freely suspended over the citizens’ doorways. Chaucer tells us how:--

“Furth goth all the Courte, both most and lest, To fetche the flouris freshe, and braunche, and blome, And namely Hawthorne brought both page and grome, With freshe garlandis partly blew and white, And than rejoisin in their grete delighte.”

In Lancashire, at the present day, the Mayers still, in some districts, go from door to door, and sing:--

“We have been rambling all this night, And almost all this day; And now returned back again, We’ve brought you a branch of May.

“A branch of May we have brought you, And at your door it stands; It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded out By the work of our Lord’s hands.”

Aubrey, writing in 1686, records that at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, the people were accustomed on May-eve to go into the park and procure a number of Hawthorn-trees, which they set before their doors. In Huntingdonshire, on May-day morn, the young men used formerly to place, at sunrise, a branch of Hawthorn in blossom, before the door of anyone they wished to honour.----A curious superstition survives in Suffolk, where to sleep in a room, with the Hawthorn in bloom in it during the month of May, is considered, by country folk, to be unlucky, and sure to be followed by some great misfortune.----In some parts of Ireland, it is thought unlucky to bring blossoming Hawthorn indoors, and unsafe to gather even a leaf from certain old and solitary Thorns which grow in sheltered hollows of the moorlands, and on the fairies’ trysting places.----It is considered unlucky to cut down a Hawthorn-tree, and in many parts the peasants refuse to do it: thus we read, in a legend of county Donegal, that a fairy had tried to steal one Joe McDonough’s baby, and, telling the story to her neighbours: “I never affronted the gentry [fairies] to my knowledge,” sighed the poor mother; “but Joe helped Mr. Todd’s gardener to cut down the old Hawthorn-tree on the lawn Friday was eight days: an’ there’s them that says that’s a very bad thing to do. I fleeched him not to touch it, but the master he offered him six shillings if he’d help wi’ the job, for the other men refused.” “That’s the way of it,” whispered the crones over their pipes and poteen--“that’s just it. The gude man has had the ill luck to displease the ‘gentry,’ an’ there will be trouble in this house yet.”----Among the Pyrenean peasantry Hawthorn and Laurel are thought to secure the wearer against thunder. The inhabitants of Biarritz make Hawthorn wreaths on St. John’s Day: they then rush to the sea, plunge in after a prayer, and consider themselves safe during the ensuing twelve months from the temptation of evil spirits.----The old herbalists prescribe the distilled water of the Haws of the Hawthorn as an application suited to “any place where thorns or splinters doe abide in the flesh,” the result being that the decoction “will notably draw them out.” Lord Bacon tells us, that a “store of Haws portends cold winters.”----Among the Turks, a branch of Hawthorn expresses the wish of a lover to receive a kiss.----The Hawthorn attains to a great age, and its wood is remarkably durable: there is a celebrated tree enclosed in Cawdor Castle, near Inverness, which has stood from time immemorial. Tradition relates that the Castle was built over the tree in consequence of a dream, by which the original proprietor was instructed to erect a castle on this particular spot. From the most remote times it has been customary for guests to assemble themselves around this venerable tree, and drink success to the House of Cawdor.----The most remarkable of English Thorns is that known as the Glastonbury Thorn, which is reputed to have sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea. (See GLASTONBURY THORN).----By astrologers the Hawthorn is placed under the dominion of Mars. Turner remarks that, should he “want weapons, he may make use of the prickles and let Saturn take the fruit.”

HAYMAIDS, or HEDGEMAIDS, the Ground-Ivy.--See Ivy.

=HAZEL.=--The Hazel (Corylus Avellana) is the theme of many traditions, reaching from the remotest ages, and in England the tree would seem to have acquired almost a sacred character. In Scandinavian mythology the Hazel was consecrated to the god Thor, and in the poetic Edda a staff of Hazel is mentioned as a symbol of authority, and hence employed for the sceptres of kings.----In classic mythology, the Hazel rod becomes the caduceus of the god Mercury. Taking pity on the miserable, barbarous state of mankind, Apollo and Mercury interchanged presents and descended to the earth. The god of Harmony received from the son of Maia the shell of a tortoise, out of which he had constructed a lyre, and gave him in exchange a Hazel stick, which had the power of imparting a love of virtue and of calming the passion and hatred of men. Armed with this Hazel wand, Mercury moved among the people of earth, and touching them with it, he taught them to express their thoughts in words, and awakened within them feelings of patriotism, filial love, and reverence of the gods. Adorned with two light wings, and entwined with serpents, the Hazel rod of Mercury is still the emblem of peace and commerce.----An old tradition tells us that God, when He banished Adam from the terrestrial Paradise, gave him in His mercy the power of producing instantly the animals of which he was in want, upon striking the sea with a Hazel rod. One day Adam tried this, and produced the sheep. Eve was desirous of imitating him, but her stroke of the Hazel rod brought forth the wolf, which at once attacked the sheep. Adam hastened to regain his salutary instrument, and produced the dog, which conquered the wolf.----A Hebrew legend states that Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit, hid herself in the foliage of a Hazel-bush.----It was a Hazel-tree which afforded shelter to the Virgin Mary, surprised by a storm, whilst on her way to visit St. Elizabeth. Under a Hazel-tree the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt.----It was of wattled Hazel-hurdles that St. Joseph, of Arimathea, raised the first English Christian church at Glastonbury.----In Bohemia, a certain “chapel in the Hazel-tree,” dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is regarded with much reverence: it was erected in memory of a butcher to whom a statue of the Virgin, near a Hazel-tree, had spoken. The butcher carried off the image to his house, but during the night the statue returned to its former place near the Hazel-tree.----For the ancient Germans, the Hazel-tree, which re-blossoms towards the end of winter, was a type of immortality. It is now considered a symbol of happy marriages, because the Nuts are seen on its branches united in pairs.----In the Black Forest, the leader of a marriage procession carries a Hazel wand in his hand. In some places, during certain processions on Sunday, the Oats stored in stables for horses are touched, in the name of God, with Hazel-branches.----It is believed that this humble shrub frightens serpents. An Irish tradition relates that St. Patrick held a rod of Hazel-wood in his hand when he gathered on the promontory of Cruachan Phadraig all the venomous reptiles of the island and cast them into the sea.----The Hazel rod or staff appears in olden times to have had peculiar sanctity: it was used by pilgrims, and often deposited in churches, or kept as a precious relic, and buried with its owner. Several such Hazel staffs have been found in Hereford Cathedral.----The Tyroleans consider that a Hazel-bough is an excellent lightning conductor.----According to an ancient Hebrew tradition, the wands of magicians were made of Hazel, and of a virgin branch, that is, of a bough quite bare and destitute of sprigs or secondary branches.----Nork says that by means of Hazel rods witches can be compelled to restore to animals and plants the fecundity which they had previously taken from them.----Pliny states that Hazel wands assist the discovery of subterranean springs; and in Italy, to the present day, they are believed to act as divining-rods for the discovery of hidden treasure--a belief formerly held in England, if we may judge from the following lines by S. Shepherd (1600):--

“Some sorcerers do boast they have a rod, Gather’d with words and sacrifice, And, borne aloft, will strangely nod To hidden treasure where it lies.”

Extraordinary and special conditions are necessary to ensure success in the cutting of a divining-rod. It must always be performed after sunset and before sunrise, and only on certain nights, among which are specified those of Good Friday, Epiphany, Shrove Friday, and St. John’s Day, the first night of a new moon, or that preceding it. In cutting it, one must face the east, so that the rod shall be one which catches the first rays of the morning sun; or, as some say, the eastern and western sun must shine through the fork of the rod, otherwise it will be valueless. Both in France and England, the divining-rod is much more commonly employed at the present time than is generally supposed. In the eighteenth century its use was ably advocated by De Thouvenel in France, and soon afterwards in our country by enthusiasts. Pryce, in his Mineralogia Cornubiensis, states that many mines have been discovered by means of the rod, and quotes several. Sir Thomas Browne describes the divining-rod as “a forked Hazel, commonly called Moses’ Rod, which, held freely forth, will stir and play if any mine be under it.” He thinks, however, that the rod is of pagan origin, and writes:--“the ground whereof were the magical rods in poets--that of Pallas, in Homer; that of Mercury, that charmed Argus; and that of Circe, which transformed the followers of Ulysses: too boldly usurping the name of Moses’s rod; from which, notwithstanding, and that of Aaron, were probably occasioned the fables of all the rest. For that of Moses must needs be famous to the Egyptians, and that of Aaron unto many other nations, as being preserved in the Ark until the destruction of the Temple built by Solomon.” In the ‘Quarterly Review,’ No. 44, is a long account (vouched for by the editor), proving that a Lady Noel possessed the faculty of using the divining-rod:--“She took a thin forked Hazel-twig, about sixteen inches long, and held it by the end, the joint pointing downwards. When she came to the place where the water was under the ground, the Hazel-twig immediately bent, and the motion was more or less rapid as she approached or withdrew from the spring. When just over it, the twig turned so quick as to snap, breaking near the fingers, which by pressing it were indented and heated, and almost blistered; a degree of agitation was also visible in her face. The exercise of the faculty is independent of any volition.”----The use of the forked Hazel-twig as a divining-rod to discover metals is said to have been known in this kingdom as early as the days of Agricola: its derivation is probably to be sought in an ancient custom of the Israelites, to which the Prophet Hosea alludes when he says: “My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them.”----In Sweden, Hazel-nuts are believed to have the mystical power of making invisible.----An old-fashioned charm to cure the bite of an adder was to cut a piece of Hazel-wood, fasten a long bit and a short one together in the form of a cross, then to lay it softly on the wound, and say thrice in a loud tone--

“Underneath this Hazelin mote, There’s a Braggotty worm with a speckled throat, Nine double is he. Now from 9 double to 8 double, And from 8 double to 7 double, And from 7 double to 6 double, And from 6 double to 5 double, And from 5 double to 4 double, And from 4 double to 3 double, And from 3 double to 2 double, And from 2 double to 1 double, And from 1 double to no double, No double hath he!”

To dream of Hazels, and of cracking and eating their Nuts, portends riches and content as the reward of toil. To dream of finding hidden Hazel-nuts predicts the finding of treasure.----Astrologers assign the Hazel to the dominion of Mercury.

HEARTSEASE.--See Pansy.

=HEATHER.=--Included under the term Heather are the six English species of Heath (Erica) and the Ling (Calluna). Although, in the Scriptures, the Prophet Jeremiah exclaims, “And he shall be like the Heath in the desert,” it is probable that the Juniper is really referred to.----In Germany, the Heath is believed to owe its colour to the blood of the slain heathen, for in that country the inhabitants of the uncultivated fields, where the Heath (heide) grew, came in time to be known as heathen, or heiden.----Heather was the badge of “Conn of a hundred fights.” The Highlanders consider it exceedingly lucky to find white Heather, the badge of the captain of Clanronald.----The Picts made beer from Heather.

“For once thy mantling juice was seen to laugh In pearly cups, which monarchs loved to quaff; And frequent waked the wild inspired lay On Teviot’s hills beneath the Pictish sway.”--Leyden.

The secret of the manufacture of Heather beer was lost when the Picts were exterminated, as they never divulged it to strangers. Tradition says that after the slaughter by Kenneth, a father and son, the sole survivors, were brought before the conqueror, who offered the father his life, provided that he would divulge the secret of making this liquor, and the son was put to death before the old man’s eyes, in order to add emphasis to the request. Disgusted with such barbarity, the old warrior said: “Your threats might, perhaps, have influenced my son, but they have no effect on me.” Kenneth then suffered the Pict to live, and he carried his secret with him to the grave. At the present time, the inhabitants of Isla, Jura, and other outlying districts, brew a very potable liquor by mixing two-thirds of the tops of Heath with one of malt.

=HELENIUM.=--The flower of the Helenium resemble small suns of a beautiful yellow. According to tradition, they sprang up from the tears shed by Helen of Troy. On this point Gerarde writes in his ‘Herbal’:--“Some report that this plant tooke the name of Helenium from Helena, wife to Menelaus, who had her hands full of it when Paris stole her away into Phrygia.”

=HELIOTROPE.=--The nymph Clytie, enamoured of Phœbus (the Sun), was forsaken by him for Leucothea. Maddened with jealousy, the discarded and love-sick Clytie accused Leucothea of unchastity before her father, who entombed his daughter, and thus killed her. Phœbus, enraged with Clytie for causing the death of his beloved Leucothea, heeded not her sighs and spurned her embraces. Abandoned thus by her inconstant lover, the wretched and despairing Clytie wandered half distraught, until at length--

“She with distracted passion pines away, Detesteth company; all night, all day, Disrobed, with her ruffled hair unbound And wet with humour, sits upon the ground; For nine long days all sustenance forbears; Her hunger cloy’d with dew, her thirst with tears: Nor rose; but rivets on the god her eyes, And ever turns her face to him that flies. At length to earth her stupid body cleaves; Her wan complexion turns to bloodless leaves, Yet streaked with red: her perished limbs beget A flower resembling the pale Violet; Which, with the Sun, though rooted fast, doth move; And, being changed, yet changeth not her love.”--Sandys’ Ovid.

Rapin, in error, alludes to the Sunflower (Helianthus) as owing its origin to Clytie. He says:--

“But see where Clytie, pale with vain desires, Bows her weak neck, and Phœbus still admires; On rushy stems she lifts herself on high, And courts a glance from his enliv’ning eye.”

The flower into which the hapless Clytie was metamorphosed was not the scented Heliotrope, common to modern gardens, which does not turn with the Sun, and, being of Peruvian origin, was of course unknown to the ancients; neither was it the Helianthus, or Sunflower, for that plant also came to us from the new world, and was therefore equally unknown in the days when Ovid wrote the tragic story of Clytie’s love and death. The Herba Clytiæ is identified in an old German herbal (Hortus Medicus Camerarii) with Heliotropium Tricoccon. Gerarde figures four Heliotropiums, or “Tornesoles,” one of which he names Heliotropium Tricoccum; and in his remarks on the Heliotrope or Turnsole, he says: “Some think it to be Herba Clytiæ into which the poets feign Clytia to be metamorphosed; whence one writeth these verses:--

‘_Herba velut Clitiæ semper petit obvia solem, Sic pia mens Christum, quo prece spectet, habet._’”

Parkinson calls the same plant the Turnesole Scorpion Tayle. Theophrastus alludes to the same Heliotropium under the name of Herba Solaris. But we do not find that the flowers of this common European species of Heliotrope answer the description given by Ovid--“A flower most like a Violet”--or by Pliny, who says of it: “The Heliotrope turns with the Sun, in cloudy weather even, so great is its sympathy with that luminary: at night, as though in regret, it closes its blue flowers.” The insignificant Heliotropium or Turnsole, with its diminutive whitish blossom, cannot be the flower depicted by Ovid, or the plant with “blue flowers” referred to by Pliny. Moreover, Gerarde tells us that the European Turnsole he figures “is named Heliotropium, not because it is turned about at the daily motion of the sunne, but by reason it flowereth in the Summer solstice, at which time the sunne being farthest gone from the equinoctial circle, returneth to the same.” In Mentzel’s ‘Index Nominum Plantarum Multilinguis’ (1682) we find that the old Italian name of the Turnsole was Verrucaria (Wart-wort), and Gerarde, in the index to his ‘Herbal,’ states that Verrucaria is Tithymalus (Spurge), or Heliotropium minus. Referring to his description of the Spurges, we note that he figures twenty-three varieties, the first of which is called Wart-wort; and the second, Sun Spurge, which is thus described:--“The second kinde (called Helioscopius or Solisequius, and in English, according to his Greeke name, Sunne Spurge, or Time Tithymale, of turning or keeping time with the sunne) hath sundry reddish stalkes of a foot high; the leaves are like unto Purslane, not so great nor thicke, but snipt about the edges: the flowers are yellowish, and growing in little platters.” Here, then, we have perhaps a sufficiently near approach to the pale flower of Ovid; but nothing like the blue flower of Pliny. Among the Spurges described by Gerarde, however, is one which he calls the Venetian Sea Spurge, and this plant is stated to have bell-shaped flowers of a dark or blackish purple colour, so that possibly this was the flower indicated by Pliny.----De Gubernatis, in his Mythologie des Plantes, states that the flower into which Clytia was transformed is the Helianthemum roseum of Decandolle. The author of ‘Flower Lore’ says, “The classic Sunflower is an annual of an insignificant appearance, having many fabulous properties assigned to it. The Heliotrope belongs to the natural order Boraginæ, and is a native of the south-west of Europe.” The late Mr. H. A. Bright, in ‘A Year in a Lancashire Garden,’ tells us that one of our very best living authorities on such a subject sent him “the suggestion that the common Salsafy, or possibly the Anagallis, may be the flower.” Turner, in his ‘Brittish Physician’ (1687), calls the yellow-flowered Elecampane, the Sunflower. Other botanists suggest an Aster or Calendula (Marigold): if this last suggestion be correct, the flower called by Parkinson, in his ‘Paradisus,’ the Purple Marigold, and by Gerarde Italian Starwort (Aster Italorum), comes nearest to Pliny’s description. This flower is stated by Gerarde to have been called by some the Blue Marigold, whose yellow European brother Shakspeare describes as

“The Marygold, that goes to bed with the sun, And with it rises weeping.”

We may include the blue or purple Marigold among those flowers of which Bacon writes: “For the bowing and inclining the head, it is found in the great Flower of the Sunne, in Marigolds, Wart Wort, Mallow Flowers, and others.”----Albertus Magnus accords to the Heliotrope the following wonderful properties: “Gather in August the Heliotropon, wrap it in a Bay-leaf with a wolf’s tooth, and it will, if placed under the pillow, show a man who has been robbed where are his goods, and who has taken them. Also, if placed in a church, it will keep fixed in their places all the women present who have broken their marriage vow. This last is most tried and most true.” According to another version, in order to work this last charm, the Heliotrope-flower must be gathered in August when the sun is in Leo, and be wrapped in a Laurel-leaf before being deposited in the church.

=HELLEBORE.=--The Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) has also been called Black Hellebore, from the colour of its roots, and Melampodium, in honour of Melampus, a learned physician who flourished at Pylos, in Peloponnesus, 1530 years before the birth of Christ. Melampus travelled into Egypt, then the seat of science, in order to study the healing art, and there he became acquainted with the cathartic qualities of the Hellebore, by noticing the effect it had upon some goats which had fed upon the herb. He afterwards cured with Hellebore the mental derangement of the daughters of Prœtus, King of Argos--ancient writers affirm by causing the princesses to bathe in a cold fountain after taking the drug; but according to Pliny, by prescribing the milk of goats which had eaten this vegetable. From this circumstance, Hellebore became celebrated as a medicine, and was speedily regarded with superstitious reverence by the ignorant populace. Thus, Black Hellebore was used to purify houses, and to hallow dwellings, and the ancients entertained the belief that by strewing or perfuming their apartments with this plant, they drove away evil spirits. This ceremony was performed with great devotion, and accompanied with the singing of solemn hymns. In similar manner, they blessed their cattle with Hellebore, to keep them free from the spells of the wicked: for these purposes it was dug up with certain attendant mystic rites; the devotee first drawing a circle round the plant with a sword, and then, turning to the east, offering a prayer to Apollo and Æsculapius, for leave to dig up the root. The flight of the eagle was anxiously watched during the performance of these rites, for if the bird approached the spot, it was considered so ominous as to predict the certain death of the persons who took up the plant, in the course of the year. In digging up the roots of certain species of Hellebore, it was thought necessary to eat Garlic previously, to counteract the poisonous effluvia of the plant. Yet the root was eventually dried and pounded to dust, in which state it was taken in the manner of snuff.----R. Turner, writing in 1663, says that at that time Hellebore was thought to cure such as seemed to be possessed with the Devil, and therefore was by some called Fuga Dæmonum.----The ancient Gauls are said to have invariably rubbed the points of their arrows with Hellebore, believing that it rendered all the game killed with them more tender.----Hellebore in ancient times was considered a certain antidote against madness. In his ‘Anatomy of Melancholy,’ Burton introduces the Hellebore among the emblematical figures of his frontispiece, with the following lines:--

“Borage and Hellebore fill two scenes, Sovereign plants to purge the veins Of melancholy, and cheer the heart Of those black fumes which make it smart; To clear the brain of misty fogs, Which dull our senses, and soul clogs; The best medicine that e’er God made For this malady, if well assaid.”

Hellebore formerly grew in great abundance on the Island of Anticyra, in the Gulf of Corinth: hence Naviga ad Anticyram was a common proverb applied to hypochondriacal persons.----Pausanias tells us that when the Cirrhæans besieged Athens, Solon recommended that Hellebore should be thrown in the river Plistus: this was done, and the Cirrhæans, from drinking the water, were so powerfully attacked with dysentery, that they were forced to abandon the siege.----The Hellebore has long been considered a plant of evil omen, growing in dark and lonely places. Thus Campbell says of it:--

“By the witches’ tower, Where Hellebore and Hemlock seem to weave Round its dark vaults a melancholy bower For spirits of the dead at night’s enchanted hour.”

The plant, with certain accompanying exorcisms, was reputed to be efficacious in cases of deafness caused by witchcraft. In Tuscany, the peasantry divine the harvest from the appearance of the Hellebore-plant. If it has four tufts, it will be good; if three, mediocre; if two, bad.----Astrologers say that Hellebore is a herb of Saturn.

=HELMET-FLOWER.=--The Scutellaria, or Skull-cap flower, is generally known by the name of the Helmet-flower, the blossoms being shaped similar to those of the Snap-Dragon. It is used in curing the tertian ague.

=HEMLOCK.=--The common Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is described by Dioscorides as a very evil, dangerous, hurtful, and poisonous herb, “insomuch that whosoever taketh of it into his body dieth remediless, except the party drank some wine before the venom hath taken the heart.” It is the Coneion of the ancients: that deadly poison distilled from the juices of the Hemlock, that was drunk by Socrates, Theramenes, and Phocion--the fatal drug given to him whom the Areopagus had condemned to death--the unfailing potion gulped down by ancient philosophers, who were weary of their lives, and dreaded the infirmities of old age. Resolved on their fate, these men crowned themselves with garlands, and with a smile upon their lips tossed off the fatal Coneion--dying respected by their countrymen for their fortitude and heroism.----The Hemlock is one of the deadly poisons that kills by its cold quality. Hence Pliny tells us that serpents fly from its leaves, because they also chill to the death: on this account probably it has been called Herba benedicta, or Herb Bennett.----The Eleusinian priests, who were required to remain chaste all their lives, were wont to rub themselves with Hemlock.----In Russia, the Hemlock under the name of Beh, is looked upon as a Satanic herb; and in Germany, it is regarded as a funereal plant, and as a representative of the vegetation of the infernal regions. In England, it was a favourite plant of the witches, gathered by them for use in their potions and hell-broths: it is still considered a plant of ill-omen, growing among ruins and in waste places, and being unsavoury and offensive to the senses.

“By the witches’ tower, Where Hellebore and Hemlock seem to weave Round its dark vaults a melancholy bower For spirits of the dead at night’s enchanted hour.”

The Hebrew prophet Hosea says of this sinister plant: “Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field.”----At the end of Summer the dead stalks of the Hemlock rattle in the wind, and are called by country folk Kecksies, an old English word applied to the dry hollow stalks of umbelliferous plants. Formerly the Hemlock was called Kex.----Astrologers assign the plant to Saturn.

=HEMP.=--Herodotus speaks of Hemp (Cannabis sativa) as a novelty in his time, lately introduced into Thrace from Scythia.----A curious prophecy relating to English kings and queens, and the prosperity of England, has been preserved by Lord Bacon, who heard of it when Queen Elizabeth was “in the flower of her age”:--

“When Hempe is spun, England’s done.”

“Whereby it was generally conceived that, after the princes had reigned, which had the principal letters of that word Hempe (which were Henry, Edward, Mary, Philip, and Elizabeth), England should come to utter confusion, which is verified in the change of the name; for that the king’s style is now no more of England, but of Britain.”----In some parts of the country, on Midsummer Eve, but in Derbyshire on St. Valentine’s Eve, as the clock strikes twelve, young women desirous of knowing their future husbands go into a churchyard, and run round the church, scattering Hemp-seed, and repeating the while, without stopping, these lines:--

“I sow Hemp-seed: Hemp-seed I sow: He that loves me the best Come after me and mow.”

The sowing of Hemp-seed is performed by maidens, at midnight, on Midsummer Eve in Cornwall, on St. Martin’s night in Norfolk, and on All Hallow Eve in Scotland; the incantation being completed by the recital of the following or similar lines:--

“Hemp-seed I sow thee, Hemp-seed grow thee: And he who will my true-love be Come after me and show thee.”

The figure of the girl’s lover, it is then supposed, will appear and run after her. In the poem of ‘The Cottage Girl,’ the rite of sowing Hemp-seed is thus described:--

“To issue from beneath the thatch, With trembling hand she lifts the latch, And steps, as creaks the feeble door, With cautious feet the threshold o’er; Lest, stumbling on the horseshoe dim, Dire spells unsinew ev’ry limb.

“Lo! shudd’ring at the solemn deed, She scatters round the magic seed, And thrice repeats, ‘The seed I sow, My true-love’s scythe the crop shall mow.’ Straight, as her frame fresh horrors freeze, Her true love with his scythe she sees.

“And next, she seeks the Yew-tree shade, Where he who died for love is laid; There binds, upon the verdant sod By many a moonlight fairy trod, The Cowslip and the Lily-wreath She wove her Hawthorn hedge beneath; And whisp’ring, ‘Ah! may Colin prove As constant as thou wast to love!’ Kisses, with pale lip full of dread, The turf that hides his clay-cold head!”

Perhaps the origin of this custom of Hemp-sowing is the fact that from Hemp is made cord, which is used to bind, attach, or secure an object. The Sicilians, indeed, employ Hemp as a charm to secure the affection of those they love. De Gubernatis tells us that, on Friday (the day consecrated to the remembrance of our Lord’s Passion), they take a Hempen thread, and twenty-five needlefuls of coloured silk; and at midnight they plait this, saying:

“_Chistu è cánnava di Christu, Servi pi attaccari a chistu._”

Forthwith they go to the church with the plait in their hands, and enter at the moment of the Consecration: then they tie three knots in the plait, previously adding a little of the hair of the loved one; after which they invoke all evil spirits to entice the person beloved towards the person who craves his or her love.----In Piedmont, there is a belief that Hemp spun on the last day of Carnival will bring bad luck. On that day, in some districts, the following ceremony is gone through to divine what sort of Hemp crop may be expected:--A bonfire is lighted, and the direction of the flames is attentively watched: if the flames mount straight upwards, the crop will be good; but if they incline either way, it will be bad.----In the Côtes-du-Nord, France, there is a belief that Hemp enrages those who have been bitten by dogs. When fowls eat Hemp-seed, they cease to lay, and commence to sit. It is customary to leave the finest sprig of Hemp, that the bird St. Martin may be able to rest on it.----The Egyptians prepare an intoxicating substance from Hemp, called Hashîsh. This they roll into balls the size of a Chesnut, and after having swallowed a few of these, they experience ecstatic visions.----The Arabians concoct a preparation of Hemp, which produces the most varied hallucinations, so that those who are intoxicated by it imagine that they are flying, or that they are changed into a statue, that their head is cut off, that their limbs stretch out to immense lengths, or that they can see, even through stone walls, “the colour of the thoughts of others” and the words of their neighbours.----In the Chinese Liao chai chih ye (A.D. 60-70), it is recorded that two friends wandering among the mountains culling simples, find at a fairy bridge two lovely maidens guarding it; at their invitation, the two friends cross this “azure bridge” and are regaled with Huma (Hemp--the Chinese Hashîsh); forthwith they fall deeply in love with their hostesses, and spend with them in the Jasper City what appears to them a few blissful days: at length, becoming home-sick, they return, to find that seven generations have passed, and that they have become centenarians.----To dream of Hemp betokens ill-luck.----Astrologers assign Hemp to the rule of Saturn.

=HENBANE.=--There are two species of Henbane (Hyoscyamus), the black and the white: the black or common Henbane grows on waste land by roadsides, and bears pale, woolly, clammy leaves, with venomous-looking cream-coloured flowers, and has a fœtid smell. Pliny calls this black Henbane a plant of ill omen, employed in funeral repasts, and scattered on tombs. The ancients thought that sterility was the result of eating this sinister plant, and that babes at the breast were seized with convulsions if the mother had partaken of it.----Henbane was called Insana, and was believed to render anyone eating it stupid and drowsy: it was also known as Alterculum, because those that had partaken of it became light-headed and quarrelsome.----According to Plutarch, the dead were crowned with chaplets of Henbane, and their tombs decorated with the baneful plant, which, for some unknown reason, was also employed to form the chaplets of victors at the Olympic games. Hercules is sometimes represented with a crown of Henbane. Priests were forbidden to eat Henbane, but the horses of Juno fed on it; and to this day, on the Continent, Henbane is prescribed for certain equine disorders.----Albertus Magnus calls Henbane the sixth herb of Jupiter, and recommends it especially for liver complaints.----In Sanscrit, Henbane is called Aj’amoda, or Goat’s Joy. Both sheep and goats will eat the plant sparingly, but swine are said really to like it, and in England it is well known as Hog’s Bean.----In Piedmont, there is a tradition that if a hare be sprinkled with Henbane juice, all the hares in the neighbourhood will run away. They also have a saying, when a mad dog dies, that he has tasted Henbane.----In Germany, there is a superstitious belief that Henbane will attract rain.----The English name of Henbane was given to the plant on account of the baneful effects of its seed upon poultry, for, according to Matthiolus, birds that have eaten the seeds perish soon after, as do fishes also.----Anodyne necklaces, made of pieces of this root, are sometimes worn by infants to facilitate teething, and the leaves are smoked by country people to allay toothache. Gerarde says, “The root boiled with vinegre, and the same holden hot in the mouth, easeth the pain of the teeth. The seed is used by mountebank tooth-drawers, which run about the country, to cause worms to come forth of the teeth, by burning it in a chafing-dish of coles, the party holding his mouth over the fume thereof; but some crafty companions, to gain money, convey small lute-strings into the water, persuading the patient that those small creepers came out of his mouth or other parts which he intended to cure.”----The plant was one of those sought for by witches, and used in their potions.

“And I ha’ been plucking plants among Hemlock, Henbane, Adder’s-tongue.”--Ben Jonson.

Astrologers place Henbane under the rule of Saturn.

=HENNA.=--In the Canticles, the royal poet says: “My beloved is unto me as a cluster of Camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.” The Camphire mentioned here, and in other parts of Scripture, is the same shrub which the Arabs call Henna (Lawsonia inermis), the leaves of which are still used by women in the East to impart a ruddy tint to the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. Throughout Egypt, India, Persia, Arabia, and Greece, it is held in universal estimation for its beauty and sweet perfume. Mohammed pronounced it the chief of the sweet-scented flowers of this world and of the next. In Egypt, the flowers are sold in the street, the vendor calling out as he proceeds--“O, odours of Paradise! O flowers of the Henna!” The Egyptian women obtain from the powdered leaves a paste, with which they stain their fingers and feet an orange colour that will last for several weeks. This they esteem an ornament. Gerarde describes the Henna, or Henne-bush, as a kind of Privet, which in his day grew in Syria near the city Ascalon, and he says “Bellonius writeth that not onely the haire, but also the nether parts of man’s body, and nailes likewise, are colored and died herewith, which is counted an ornament among the Turks.”----The Hindus call the Henna-flower Mindi, and the females, like the Egyptians, employ it to colour their nails, fingers, and the soles of their feet an orange hue. The miraculous stone, which they call Gauri, or Parvati, received its name and its ruddy colour from being touched by the foot of the divine wife of Siva, which had previously been stained with the juice of Mindi. Henna-flowers are of a pale yellow tint, and emit a sweet perfume; they are made into garlands by the Hindus, and offered to travellers in official ceremonies; thus we read that at the reception of M. Rousselet by the King of Gwalior, the ceremony concluded by the guests being decked with garlands of Henna-flowers, placed around their necks and hands. An extract prepared from these flowers is employed in religious ceremonies.

=HERB BENNETT.=--The Avens, Herb Bennett, or Herba Benedicta (Geum urbanum), occurs as an architectural decoration towards the end of the thirteenth century, and is found associated with old church paintings. The Holy Trinity and the five wounds of our Lord are thought to be symbolised in its trefoiled leaf and the five golden petals of its blossom. The flower has several rural names, such as Star of the Earth, Goldy-flower, and Blessed Herb (a translation of the Latin Herba Benedicta, of which Herb Bennett is simply a corruption). This last name was given to it from an ancient belief that when the root is in the house, the Devil is powerless and flies from it; wherefore it was considered blessed above all herbs. Herb Bennett was also reported to be hostile to all venomous beasts: if grown in a garden, no such creature would approach within scent of it, and the root carried about the person of any man ensured his immunity from the attacks of monsters or reptiles.----Formerly, the appellation Herba Benedicta, was applied not only to the Avens, but also to the Hemlock and the Valerian. Dr. Prior remarks that “in point of fact the proper name of these plants was not Herba Benedicta, but Sti. Benedicti herba, St. Benedict’s herb (German, Sanct Benedicten-kraut), and was assigned to such as were supposed to be antidotes, in allusion to a legend of St. Benedict, which represents that, upon his blessing a cup of poisoned wine which a monk had given to destroy him, the glass was shivered to pieces.”----By astrologers, Avens is deemed a herb of Jupiter.

=HERB CARPENTER.=--The Prunella vulgaris, from its efficacy in healing wounds inflicted by chisels, sickles, and other sharp instruments used by working-men, was formerly known as Herb Carpenter, Sickle-wood, and Hook-weed, as well as by the name it is still called by--Self-heal.----It is a herb of Venus.

=HERB CHRISTOPHER.=--The name of Herb Christopher is applied by Gerarde to a species of Aconite, and to the Osmund Fern. Parkinson gives the Baneberry the same title.

=HERB GERARD.=--Aishweed, Gout-wort, or Herb Gerard (Ægopodium Podagraria), was named after St. Gerard, who used to be invoked against the gout, a disease for which this plant was highly esteemed as a remedy.

HERB IMPIOUS.--See Everlasting Flower.

=HERB MARGARET.=--The Daisy (Bellis perennis) was also formerly called Herba Margarita, Herb Margaret, or Marguerite (French). The flower is erroneously supposed to have been named after the virtuous St. Margaret of Antioch, “Maid Margarete, that was so meeke and milde”--who was invoked because in her martyrdom she prayed for lying-in women; whereas it derives its name from St. Margaret of Cortona. (See MARGUERITE).

HERB OF GRACE.--See Rue.

=HERB OF THE CROSS.=--In Brittany, the Vervain (Verbena officinalis) is called the Herb of the Cross, and is supposed to be endowed with remarkable healing qualities. J. White (1624) writes thus of it:--

“Hallow’d be thou, Vervain, as thou growest in the ground, For on the Mount of Calvary thou first was found. Thou healedst our Saviour Jesus Christ, And staunchedst His bleeding wound. In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I take thee from the ground.”

In the Flax-fields of Flanders, a plant is found called the Roodselken, the crimson spots on the leaves of which betoken the Divine blood which trickled on it from the Cross, and the stain of which neither snow nor rain has ever been able to wash off.----In Palestine, the red Anemone is called “Christ’s Blood-drops,” from the belief that the flower grew on Mount Calvary. In Cheshire, the Orchis maculata, which is there called Gethsemane, is supposed to have sprung up at the foot of the Cross. The Milk-wort, Gang-flower, or Rogation-flower (Polygala vulgaris) is called the Cross-flower from its blooming in Passion week. The Galium cruciatum is called Cross-wort because its leaves are placed in the form of a cross. The early Italian painters, in their paintings of the Crucifixion, introduced the Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), probably from its triple leaf symbolising the Trinity. The four-leaved Clover is an emblem of the Cross. All cruciform flowers are of good and happy augury, having been marked with the sign of the Cross.

=HERB PARIS.=--The narcotic plant called One-berry, Herb True-love, or Herb Paris (Paris quadrifolia), has obtained the latter name from the Latin Herba paris (Herb of a pair--of a betrothed couple), in allusion to the four broad leaves which proceed from the top of its stalk, and form a cross; being, as Gerarde says, “directly set one against another in manner of a Burgundian Crosse or True-love knot: for which cause among the antients it hath been called Herbe True-love.” Herb Paris bears flowers of a palish green--a colour always suggestive of lurking poison. Every part of the herb contains a poisonous principle, but the leaves and berries were formerly used to expel poisons, especially Aconite, as well as the plague and other pestilential diseases. Matthiolus says that “the chymical oil of the black berries is effectual for all diseases of the eyes, so that it is called Anima oculorum.”----The herb is under the dominion of Venus.

=HERB PETER.=--The Cowslip (Primula veris), the Schlüsselblume of the Germans, has obtained the name of Herb Peter from its resemblance to the badge of St. Peter--a bunch of keys.

=HERB ROBERT.=--The species of Crane’s Bill called Herb Robert (Geranium Robertianum) is thought to have derived its name from the fact that it was employed in Germany to cure a disease known as Ruprechts-Plage, from Robert, Duke of Normandy: hence its old Dutch names of Ruprechts-kraut and Robrechts-kraut. The Church, however, connects Herb Robert with St. Robert, Abbot of Molesme, in the eleventh century.----In olden times, the plant was used as a vulnerary; in Wales, it is believed to be a remedy for gout; and in most country places, it is considered efficacious as an insecticide.----Herb Robert is under the rule of Venus.

=HERB ST. BARBARA.=--Herb St. Barbara, or St. Barbara’s Cress (Barbarea vulgaris), was so called from its growing and being eaten in the Winter, about the time of St. Barbara’s Day--December 4th, old style.

HERB TRINITY.--See Pansy.

=HERB TWOPENCE.=--The Money-wort, or Creeping Loosestrife (Lysimachia nummularia), obtained the name of Two-penny Grass, or Herb Twopence, from its circular leaves, which are arranged in pairs, resembling money in their form. The plant was formerly also called Serpentaria, from a belief that if serpents were hurt or wounded, they healed themselves with this herb. It was highly esteemed as a vulnerary.----Astrologers assign the herb to Venus.

=HERB WILLIAM.=--Bishop’s Weed, or Ameos (Ammi majus), is said by Gerarde to be called by some Bull-wort (Pool-wort) and Herb William, but he does not give any reason for the name. The plant, according to the old herbalist, was noted for its efficacy, when applied with honey, in removing “blacke and blewe spots which come of stripes.” Its seed was good “to bee drunken in wine against the biting of all manner of venomous beasts, and hath power against all manner of poyson and pestilent fevers, or the plague.”----It is under the dominion of Venus.

=HOLLY.=--The Holly or Holme (Ilex Aquifolium) derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon Holegn, whilst another ancient designation, Hulver, or as Chaucer wrote it, Hulfeere, has been taken from the old Norse Hulfr. From the use made of its branches in decorating churches at Christmas time, the monks, by an easy corruption, bestowed on the Holly the designation of the Holy-tree.----The disciples of Zoroaster, or Fire Worshippers, believe that the Holly-tree casts no shadow, and both in Persia and India they employ an infusion of its leaves for several purposes connected with their religious observances. They also sprinkle the face of a newly-born child with water impregnated with Holly-bark.---Pliny states that if the Holly, or Hulver-tree, be planted about a house, it will keep away all malign spells and enchantments, and defend the house from lightning. He also, among other marvels, relates that the flowers of the Holly would freeze water, and would repel poison, and that if a staff of its wood were thrown to any animal, even if it did not touch him, it would so influence the animal as to cause him to lie down beside it.----The custom of decorating houses and churches with Holly at Christmas is probably derived from the Romans, who were wont to send boughs to their friends during the festival of the Saturnalia, which occurred about the same period, and the Oaks being then bare of leaves, the priests obliged the people to bring in boughs of Holly and Evergreens. There is little doubt that the early Roman Christians, disregarding the church’s interdiction, introduced the heathen practice of decorating their houses with Holly, and in course of time connected it with their own faith.----There is an old English superstition that elves and fairies join the social gatherings at Christmas, and this led to branches being hung up in hall and bower in order that the fays might “hang in each leaf, and cling on every bough during that sacred time when spirits have no power to harm.”----This Evergreen “Christmas” should be taken down on Candlemas Eve. Herrick says:--

“Down with the Holly and Ivy all Wherewith ye deck the Christmas hall; So that the superstitious find No one least branch there left behind; For look how many leaves there be Neglected there--maids ’tend to me-- So many goblins ye shall see.”

De Gubernatis tells us, that in certain parts of France, in Switzerland, at Bologna, and in other Continental countries, there is an old custom extant of cutting branches of Holly on Christmas Eve, and hanging them in houses and stables, in the hope of driving away evil spirits and witchcraft. As the Holly-leaf is prickly, it repulses and drives away enemies. An English mediæval ballad illustrates this custom:--

“Her commys Holly, that is so gent, To please all men is his intent. Alleluia! But lord and lady of this hall, Who so ever ageynst Holly call. Alleluia! Who so ever ageynst Holly do crye, In a lepe shall he hang full hie. Alleluia! Who so ever ageynst Holly do syng, He maye wepe and handys wryng. Alleluia!”

In Germany, Holly is Christdorn--the Thorn woven into the crown placed on our Saviour’s head at the Crucifixion.----Witches are reputed to detest Holly: in its name they see but another form of the word “holy,” and its thorny foliage and blood-red berries are suggestive of the most Christian associations.----In Northumberland, Holly is employed in a form of divination. There the prickly variety is called He-Holly, and the smooth, She-Holly. It is the leaves of the latter only that are deemed proper for divining purposes. These smooth leaves must be plucked late on a Friday, by persons careful to preserve an unbroken silence from the time they go out to the dawn of the following morn. The leaves must be collected in a three-cornered handkerchief, and on being brought home, nine of them must be selected, tied with nine knots into the handkerchief, and placed beneath the pillow. Then, sleep being obtained, dreams worthy of all credit will attend this rite. In another form of divination, a maiden places three pails of water on her bedroom floor, then pins to her night-dress, opposite her heart, three leaves of green Holly, and so retires to rest. She will be aroused from her first sleep by three terrible yells, followed by three horse-laughs, after which the form of her future husband will appear. If he is deeply attached to her, he will change the position of the water pails; if not, he will glide from the room without touching them. This spell is only effectual when performed on All Hallowe’en, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Beltane, or Midsummer Eve.----Holly is under the dominion of Saturn.

=HOLY PLANTS.=--In England, the Angelica sylvestris, for its “angel-like properties,” was, says Parkinson, called Holy Ghost; the Vervain is the Holy Herb, from its use on ancient altars; the Holly was called by the monks of old Holy-tree; and the Hollyhock, Holy Hoke or Hock (an old name for Mallow); the Anastatica Hierochuntina is the Holy Rose of Jericho; the Lucern (Medicago sativa) is Holy Hay; the Holcus odoratus is the Northern Holy Grass; the Hierochloe borealis, the German Holy Grass; the Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) is Holy Rope, so called from its Hemp-like leaves betokening the rope with which the Saviour was bound; the seed of Wormwood is Holy Seed (Semen sanctum); and Carduus benedictus is the Holy Thistle.

=HOMA.=--Homa, or Haoma, is the sacred Vine of the Zoroastrians, the first of the trees planted by Ormuzd in the fountain of life, and from which one of their religious ceremonials takes its name. This consists in the extraction of the juice of the Homa-plant by the priest during the recital of prayers; the formal presentation of the liquid extracted to the sacrificial fire; the consumption of a small portion of it by one of the officiating priests; and the division of the remainder among the worshippers.----The Iranians describe two kinds of Haoma or Homa, the white and the yellow. The former is a fabulous plant, the latter, which is used in religious rites, and is extolled for its yellow colour, grows on mountains, and was known to Plutarch.----It has been attempted to identify the Zoroastrian Homa with the Vedic Soma, but the Parsees deny that their sacred plant is ever found in India, and those dwelling in Bombay use the branch of a particular tree, having a knotted stem and leaves like those of the Jasmine. To obtain supplies of the Homa-plant for sacred purposes, a priest is despatched from time to time to Kirman, in Persia, where he receives it in a dry state.

=HONESTY.=--Honesty (Lunaria biennis) has a variety of names. It is called Lunary and Moonwort, from the disk-like form of its great flat seed vessels, or their silvery and transparent brightness. This peculiarity accounts for its nicknames of White Satin-flower, Money-flower, and Silver Plate.----The Lunaria biennis is mentioned by Chaucer as one of the plants used in incantations:--

“And herbes coude I tell eke many on, As Egremaine, Valerian, and Lunarie, And other swiche, if that me list to tarie, Our lampes brenning bothe night and day, To bring about our craft if that we may, Our fournies eke of calcination, And of wateres albification.”

Drayton also refers to the virtues of the plant:--

“Enchanting Lunary here lies, In sorceries excelling.”

The poet likewise tells us that this Lunary was considered efficacious in the cure of madness.

“Then sprinkles she the juice of Rue With nine drops of the midnight dew, From Lunarie distilling.”

There is a popular superstition that wherever the purple Honesty is found flourishing, the cultivators of the gardens are exceptionally honest.

=HONEYSUCKLE.=--The Honeysuckle, or Woodbine (Lonicera), is so called on account of the honey-dew found so plentifully on its foliage. Originally, the word Honeysuckle was applied to the Meadow Clover (Trifolium pratense), which is still so called in the Western Counties. French Honeysuckle (Hedysarum coronarium) is a foreign forage-plant. Chaucer makes the Woodbine an emblem of fidelity:

“And tho’ that were chapelets on his hede Of fresh Wodebind be such as never were To love untrue in word, ne thought, ne dede, But ay, stedfast, ne for pleasaunce ne fere, Tho’ that they shudde their hertis all to tere, Would never flit, but ever were stedfast, Till that ther livis there assunder brast.”

Caprifolium, a specific name of the Honeysuckle, was poetically used by old botanists because the leaf, or rather the stem, climbs over high places where goats fear not to tread: hence the plant is sometimes called by country folks, Goat’s-leaf. One of its French names, also, is Chèvrefeuille, which country patois abbreviates to Cherfeu, or Dear Flame: hence the plant is presented by ardent lovers to their sweethearts as an intimation of the state of their affections.----The French are fond of planting Honeysuckle in their cemeteries, and Alphonse Karr describes it as a plant which seems to devote itself to the tomb, the most magnificent bushes being found in cemeteries. He further says: “There is a perfume more exciting, more religious, even than that of incense; it is that of the Honeysuckles which grow over tombs upon which Grass has sprung up thick and tufted with them, as quickly as forgetfulness has taken possession of the hearts of the survivors.”----In olden times, consumptive invalids, or children suffering from hectic fever, were thrice passed through a circular wreath of Woodbine, cut during the increase of the March moon, and let down over the body from head to foot. We read of a sorceress, who healed sundry women, by taking a garland of green Woodbine, and causing the patient to pass thrice through it: afterwards the garland was cut in nine pieces, and cast into the fire.----Woodbine appears to have been a favourite remedy with Scotch witches, who, in effecting magical cures passed their patients (generally) nine times through a girth or garland of green Woodbine.----In Lower Germany, the Honeysuckle is called Albranke, the witch snare.----Astrologers consider Woodbine to be under the rule of Mercury.

=HOP.=--The Hop (Humulus Lupulus) is referred to in an old English proverb:--

“Till St. James’s day be come and gone, There may be Hops and there may be none.”

The cultivated Hop, however, was not brought into England until the reign of Henry VIII., when it was imported from Flanders, as recorded in the distich:--

“Hops and turkeys, mackerel and beer, Came to England all in one year.”

The Hop-leaf has become in Russia proverbial as the best of leaves. King Vladimir, in 985, when signing a peace with the Bulgars, swore to keep it till stone swam on the water, or Hop-leaves sank to the bottom. It is a very old custom in Russia to cover the head of a bride with Hop-leaves--typifying joy, abundance, and intoxication.----Astrologers place Hops under the rule of Mars.

=HOREHOUND.=--Horehound (Marrubium) is the Herb which the Egyptians dedicated to their god Horus, and which the priests called the Seed of Horus, or the Bull’s Blood, and the Eye of the Star. Strabo attributed to the plant magical properties as a counter-poison. Horehound is one of the five plants which are stated by the Mishna to be the “bitter herbs” ordered to be taken by the Jews at the Feast of the Passover. An infusion of its leaves has an ancient reputation as being valuable in consumptive cases, coughs, and colds, and, according to Gerarde, “is good for them that have drunke poyson, or that have been bitten of serpents.” It is a herb of Mercury, hot in the second degree and dry in the third.----To dream of Horehound indicates that you will suffer imprisonment.

=HORNBEAM.=--Gerarde tells us that the Horn Beam (Carpinus Betulus) was so called from its wood having been used to yoke horned cattle, as well by the Romans in olden times as in his own time and country, and growing so hard and tough with age as to be more like horn than wood. Hence it was also called Hardbeam and Yoke-Elm. Evelyn says the tree was called Horse-Beech; and in Essex it is known as the Witch-Hazel.----In the country districts around Valenciennes, there is a pleasant custom on May-day morning, when, over the doorway of their sweethearts, rustic lovers hasten to suspend, as a sign of their devotion, branches of Hornbeam or Birch.

=HORSE-CHESNUT.=--It has been suggested that the Horse-Chesnut (Æsculus Hippocastanum) derived its name from the resemblance of the cicatrix of its leaf to a horse-shoe, with all its nails evenly placed. The old writers, however, seem to have considered that the Horse-Chesnut was so called from the Nuts being used in Turkey (the country from which we first received the tree) as food for horses touched in the wind. Thus we read in Parkinson’s ‘Paradisus’:--“They are usually in Turkey given to horses in their provender to cure them of coughs, and help them being broken winded.”----Evlia Effendi, a Moslem Dervish, who travelled over a large portion of the Turkish empire in the beginning of the seventeenth century, says: “The Santon Akyazli lived forty years under the shade of a wild Chesnut-tree, close to which he is buried under a leaden-covered cupola. The Chesnuts, which are as big as an egg, are wonderfully useful in the diseases of horses.” Tradition says that this tree sprang from a stick which the saint once thrust in the ground, that he might roast his meat on it.----The Venetians entertain the belief that one of these Nuts carried in the pocket is a sure charm against hemorrhoids.----When Napoleon I. returned to France on March 20th, 1814, a Horse-Chesnut in the Tuileries garden was found to be in full blossom. The Parisians regarded this as an omen of welcome, and in succeeding years hailed with interest the early flowering of the Marronnier du Vingt Mars.----(See also CHESNUT).

=HORSE-KNOT.=--The flowers of the Horse-knot Centaurea nigra are also called Hard-heads and Iron-Heads, from the resemblance of the knotted involucre to an old weapon called Loggerhead, which consisted of a ball of iron fixed to a long handle, the precursor of the life-preserver, and the origin of the expression “coming to loggerheads.”----In the Northern Counties, the following rite is frequently observed by young people as a divination:--Let a youth or maiden pull from its stalk the flower of the Horse-Knot, cut the tops of the stamens with a pair of scissors, and lay the flower by in a secret place, where no human eye can see it. Let him (or her) think through the day, and dream through the night, of the beloved one: then, on looking at the flower the next day, if the stamens have shot out, the anxious sweetheart may expect success in love; but if not, disappointment. (See CENTAURY).

=HORSERADISH.=--The Horseradish (Cochlearia Armoracia) is stated to be one of the five plants referred to by the Mishna, as the “bitter herbs” ordered to be partaken of by the Jews during the Feast of the Passover; the other four being Coriander, Horehound, Lettuce, and Nettle.----Horseradish is under the dominion of Mars.

=HORSE-SHOE PLANT.=--The Horse-shoe Vetch (Hippocrepis) derives its scientific name from the Greek words, hippos, a horse, and crepis, a shoe, in allusion to its singular pods, which resemble a number of horse-shoes united at their extremities. Gerarde grew this plant in his garden, but he tells us that it is a native of Italy and Languedoc, where it flourishes in certain untilled and sunny places. Its Italian name is Sferracavallo, and in De Gubernatis’ Mythologie des Plantes, we find a letter to the author from Mdme. Valérie de Gasparin, detailing the superstition current in Italy respecting this plant. The Countess writes:--“In our infancy, certain old people of the village spoke of the plant which pulls off horse-shoes. My brother tells me that this superstition is to be found in all countries. It takes its origin from the fact that the seed of the plant has the form of a horse-shoe.”----The plant is also reputed by some people to open locks. An identical superstition exists in England with regard to the Moonwort (Botrychium Lunaria), which is known as Unshoe-the-Horse. (See MOONWORT).

=HOUND’S TONGUE.=--The Cynoglossum was probably so named on account of the form and soft texture of the leaf. It is called Hound’s Tongue not only in England, but all over the Continent, and the reason given by an old writer is, that “it ties the tongues of hounds; whether true or not, I never tried; yet I cured the biting of a mad dog with this only medicine.” Miraldus said, that if a portion of the plant were laid beneath the feet, it would prevent dogs from barking at the wearer. Robert Turner states that Hound’s Tongue “cures the biting of dogs, either mad or tame. I lay fourteen weeks once under a chyrurgeon’s hand for cure of a dog’s biting; but, at last, I effected the cure myself, by applying to the wound Hound’s Tongue leaves, changing them once in four-and-twenty hours.” The plant has a strong and disagreeable odour, which Gerarde tells us caused the Dutchmen to change the plant’s name, substituting for “Tongue” an impolite word, expressive of the odour of the foliage.----Cynoglossum is a herb of Saturn.

=HOUSELEEK.=--The House-leek (Sempervivum) had, in olden times, the names of Jupiter’s Beard, Jupiter’s Eye, Bullock’s Eye, and Sengreene (a word derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and expressing the same idea as the plant’s Latin name Sempervivum, evergreen). The old Dutch name of the Houseleek, Donderbloem, Thunder-flower, refers to the popular belief that the plant was a preservative against thunder. Charlemagne ordered the Houseleek to be planted on the roof of every house on this account. Miraldus is stated to have declared that this lowly plant preserves what it grows upon from fire and lightning; and Sir Thomas Browne has left on record his belief that Houseleek is a “defensative from lightning.”----In olden times there existed a belief that Houseleek would suppress in children fevers given to them by witchcraft or sorcery. According to Albertus Magnus, he who rubbed his hands with the juice of the Houseleek would be insensible to pain when taking red-hot iron in his hands.----It is considered unlucky to uproot the Houseleek; and there is a curious notion, still in existence, that it is also unlucky to let it blow; the flower-stalk is, therefore, carefully cut off directly it begins to shoot up.----In Italy, on Midsummer Eve, rustic maidens employ Houseleek for divining purposes. They gather buds to represent their various lovers, and on the following morning the bud which has flowered the most freely indicates the future husband. In Tuscany, they pound the Houseleek the first Friday after the birth of an infant, and administer to it the expressed juice, which is thought to preserve the babe from convulsions, and to ensure it a long life.----According to astrologers, Houseleek is a herb of Jupiter.

HURT-SICKLE.--See Centaury.

=HYACINTH.=--From the time of Homer to the present day the Hyacinth has been celebrated in the lays of the poets. Mythology tells us that the flower sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus, a comely Laconian youth, much beloved both by Apollo and Zephyr: preferring, however, the sun to the wind, he kindled in the breast of the latter god a feeling of jealousy and desire for revenge. The opportunity soon came. Unsuspecting Hyacinthus playing a game of quoits with Apollo, Zephyr, unperceived, seized the opportunity basely to cause his rival to become the innocent means of their common favourite’s death: for whilst a quoit thrown by the sun-god whirled through the air, Zephyr treacherously blew it from its course till it struck the head of the ill-fated Hyacinthus, and killed him, to the great sorrow of his innocent slayer. Unable to restore his favourite companion to life, Apollo, as a memorial of him, caused the flower which has since borne his name to spring from his blood. Rapin refers to the story as follows:--

“If spring proves mild ’tis Hyacinthus’ time, A flower which also rose from Phœbus’ crime; Th’ unhappy quoit which rash Apollo threw, Obliquely flying, smote his tender brow, And pale alike he fell, and Phœbus stood, One pale with guilt, and one with loss of blood; Whence a new flower with sudden birth appears, And still the mark of Phœbus’ sorrow wears; Spring it adorns, and Summer’s scenes supplies With blooms of various forms and various dyes.”

Ovid gives a slightly different version of the tragedy, which he narrates in the following lines:--

“The mid-day sun now shone with equal light Between the past and the succeeding night; They strip, then, smoothed with suppling oil, essay To pitch the rounded quoit, their wonted play: A well-pois’d disk first hasty Phœbus threw; It cleft the air, and whistled as it flew; It reach’d the mark, a most surprising length, Which spoke an equal share of art and strength. Scarce was it fall’n, when with too eager hand Young Hyacinth ran to snatch it from the sand; But the curst orb, which met a stony soil, Flew in his face with violent recoil. Both faint, both pale and breathless now appear, The boy with pain, the am’rous god with fear. He ran, and rais’d him bleeding from the ground, Chafes his cold limbs, and wipes the fatal wound: Then herbs of noblest juice in vain applies; The wound is mortal, and his skill defies.”

* * * * *

“While Phœbus thus the laws of fate reveal’d, Behold the blood which stained the verdant field Is blood no longer; but a flower full blown Far brighter than the Tyrian scarlet shone. A Lily’s form it took; its purple hue Was all that made a diff’rence to the view. Nor stopp’d he here; the god upon its leaves The sad expression of his sorrow leaves; And to this hour the mournful purple wears Ai, Ai, inscribed in funeral characters. Nor are the Spartans, who so much are famed For virtue, of their Hyacinth ashamed; But still with pompous woe and solemn state, The Hyacinthian feasts they yearly celebrate.”--Ozell.

The solemnities called Hyacinthia lasted three days, during which the people ate no bread, but subsisted on sweetmeats, and abstained from decorating their hair with garlands, as on ordinary occasions. On the second day, a troop of youths entertained spectators by playing upon the harp and flute, and chanting choruses in honour of Apollo. Numbers appeared mounted upon richly-caparisoned horses, who sang rustic songs, and were accompanied by a throng dancing to vocal and instrumental music. Females engaged in chariot races, and the most beautiful maidens, sumptuously attired, drove about in splendidly adorned vehicles, singing hymns. Hundreds of victims were offered on the altars of Apollo; and the votaries with free-handed hospitality entertained their friends and slaves.----Many allusions are made by the poets to the mournful letters A I, supposed to be visible on the petals of

“The languid Hyacinth, who wears His bitter sorrows painted on his bosom.”

Hunt, after entering into the vexed question as to the particular flower alluded to by Ovid, quotes a passage from Moschus, which he thus translates:--

“Now tell your story, Hyacinth, and show Ai, Ai, the more amidst your sanguine woe.”

There has been much diversity of opinion expressed about the Hyacinth of the ancient poets. The claims of the modern flower to be the purple blossom that sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus are disputed, and the general opinion is that the Martagon Lily was the plant referred to by the poet. The Gladiolus and the Larkspur, however, have both been named as the flower bearing the expression of grief A I, A I, on the petals.----Homer mentions the Hyacinth among the flowers which formed the couch of Jupiter and Juno.

“Thick new-born Violets a soft carpet spread And clust’ring Lotus swelled the rising bed, And sudden Hyacinths the turf bestrow And flow’ry Crocus made the mountains glow.”

In allusion to the crisped and curled blossoms of the Hyacinth, poets have been fond of describing curly hair as Hyacinthine locks. Milton writes:--

“And Hyacinthine locks Round from his parted forelock manly hung Clustering.”

Byron makes the same comparison, and says the idea is common to both Eastern and Grecian poets. Collins has the same simile in his ‘Ode to Liberty.’

“The youths, whose locks divinely spreading, Like vernal Hyacinths in sullen hue.”

The old English Jacinth, or Harebell, called by the French Jacinthe des bois (Wood Hyacinth) is botanically distinguished as Hyacinthus non scriptus, because it has not the A I on the petals, and is not therefore the poetical Hyacinth. (See HAREBELL).

HYPERICUM.--See St. John’s Wort.

=HYSSOP.=--In the Bible, the name of Hyssop has been given to some plant that has not been identified, but is popularly associated at the present day with Hyssopus officinalis. In many early representations of the Crucifixion, wild Hyssop has been depicted, it is presumed in mockery, as forming the crown worn by our Saviour. Parkinson, in his ‘Paradisus,’ says of the Golden Hyssop, that the leaves “provoke many gentlewomen to wear them in their heads and on their armes, with as much delight as many fine flowers can give.”----To dream of Hyssop portends that friends will be instrumental to your peace and happiness.----The plant is under Jupiter’s dominion.

=ILEX.=--The Ilex (Quercus Ilex) is, perhaps, better known in England as the Evergreen or Holm Oak: in France, it is called Chêne vert. On account of its dark and evergreen foliage, the Ilex is regarded as a funereal tree, and a symbol of immortality, like the Cypress, the Cedar, and other conifers. It was consecrated to Hecate, and the Fates wore chaplets of its leaves. The drunken Silenus was wont, also, to be crowned with its foliage.----Virgil associates the Ilex with the raven, and tells us that from its dark foliage may be heard issuing the mournful croakings of that funereal bird. Ovid, on the other hand, informs us that, in the Golden Age, the bees, living emblems of the immortal soul, sought the Ilex, to obtain material for their honey.----Pliny speaks of a venerable Ilex which grew in the Vatican at Rome, which bore an inscription, and was regarded as a sacred tree; and of three of these trees at Tibur, which the inhabitants venerated as being almost the founders of the people.----The Ilex being very combustible, and attracting lightning, was thought to render thereby a service to man, in drawing upon itself the effects of the anger of the gods: hence it is somewhat remarkable that in Greece it is regarded as a tree of bad omen, and has the following legend attached to it:--When it was decided at Jerusalem to crucify Christ, all the trees held a counsel, and unanimously agreed not to allow their wood to be defiled by becoming the instrument of punishment. But there was a second Judas among the trees. When the Jews arrived with axes to procure wood for the cross destined for Jesus, every trunk and branch split itself into a thousand fragments, so that it was impossible to use it for the cross. The Ilex alone remained whole, and gave up its trunk for the purpose of being fashioned into the instrument of the Passion. So to this day the Grecian woodcutters have such a horror of the tree, that they fear to sully their axe or their hearth-stones by bringing them in contact with the accursed wood. However, according to the Dicta Sancti Aegidii (quoted by De Gubernatis), Jesus Himself would seem to have a preference for the tree which generously gave itself up to die with the Redeemer; for we find that on most occasion when he appeared to the saints, it was near an Ilex-tree.----In Russia, the Ilex, so far from being regarded with disdain, is looked upon as a benefactor and worker of miraculous cures among children. In certain districts, whenever a child is ill, and especially when it is suffering from consumption, they carry it into the forest, where they cleave in two the stem of an Ilex, and pass the child thrice through the cleft, after which they close the cut stem, and bind it securely with cord. Then they carry the child round the tree thrice nine times (the number of days composing the lunar month). Lastly they hang on the branches the child’s shirt, so that the martyr-tree may generously take to itself all the disease hitherto afflicting the child.

=INGUDI.=--In Bengal, they ascribe to the plant Ingudi (Terminalia, catappa) the extraordinary property of begetting infants. According to De Gubernatis, the Tâpatasaru is also called the Tree of the Anchorite, because with an oil extracted from the crushed fruit the Indian ascetics prepare the oil for their lamps.

=IPECACUANHA.=--The root of the Psychotria emetica is used generally as an expectorant, but in India in cases of dysentery: its sexsyllabic nomenclature has been thus immortalised by George Canning:--

“Coughing in a shady grove, Sat my Juliana; Lozenges I gave my love: Ipecacuanha!”

=IPOMŒA.=--The Ipomœas are nearly allied to the Convolvuli, and are among the most lovely of all shrubs. The rosy-red Kâmalatâ, the Love’s Creeper of the Hindus, is a plant by which all desires are granted to such as inherit the Indian Paradise. Ipomœa Bona-nox, “Good-night,” is so named in allusion to its opening its flowers in the evening.

=IRIS.=--The Iris of “all hues” derives its name from the goddess Iris, one of the Oceanides, a messenger of the gods, and the especial attendant of Juno. As goddess of the rainbow, she is represented with its variegated colours glistening in her wings. Thus Virgil says:--

“Iris on saffron wings arrayed with dew Of various colours through the sunbeams flew.”

Iris is usually depicted as descending from the rainbow, and her glorious arch is said not to vary more in its colours than the flower which bears her name. Columella observes--

“Nor Iris with her glorious rainbow clothed So fulgent as the cheerful gardens shine With their bright offspring, when they’re in their bloom.”

The Greeks plant the Iris on tombs, possibly because the goddess Iris was believed to guide the souls of dead women to their last resting-place, as Mercury conducted the souls of men. The Iris was one of the flowers dedicated to Juno, and with the ancients was wont to be employed as the symbol of eloquence or power; hence the Egyptians placed this flower on the brow of the Sphinx, and on the sceptres of their monarchs. The three leaves of the blossom represent faith, wisdom, and valour. The Iris is supposed to be the flower which forms the terminating ornament of the sceptre of the ancient kings of Babylon and Assyria.----The Franks of old had a custom, at the proclamation of a king, to elevate him upon a shield, or target, and place in his hand a reed of Flag in blossom, instead of a sceptre, and from thence the kings of the first and second race in France are represented with sceptres in their hands like the Flag with its flower, and which flowers became the armorial figures of France.----There is a legend that Clotilda, the wife of the warlike king Clovis, had long prayed for the conversion of her husband, and at length Clovis, having led his army against the Huns, and being in imminent danger of defeat, recommended himself to the God of his sainted wife. The tide of battle turned, he obtained a complete victory, and was baptised by St. Remi. On this occasion, owing to a vision of St. Clotilda, the Lilies (Iris) were substituted in the arms of France for the three frogs or toads which Clovis had hitherto borne on his shield. In the pictures of St. Clotilda, she is generally represented attended by an angel holding a shield on which are the three Fleurs de Lys. This occurred early in the sixth century. Louis VII., in consequence of a dream, assumed it as his device in 1137, when engaged in the second expedition of the Crusaders, and the Iris-flower soon became celebrated in France as the Fleur de Louis, which was first contracted into Fleur de Luce, and afterwards into Fleur de Lys, or Fleur de Lis (Lily-flower--although it has no affinity to the Lily), and was incorporated in the arms of France, and formed one of the embellishments of the crown.----Pope Leo III. presented Charlemagne with a blue banner, semée of golden Fleurs de Lys, and the banner coming from the Pope was supposed by the ignorant to have descended from heaven.----Other traditions respecting this blue banner relate that an angel gave it to Charlemagne, that St. Denis gave it to the kings of France, and that an angel brought it to Clovis after his baptism.----The Fleur de Lys appertains to the Bourbon race, and was made the ornament of the northern radius of the compass in honour of Charles of Anjou, who was King of Sicily at the time of this great discovery. When Edward III. claimed the crown of France in 1340, he quartered the ancient shield of France with the lion of England. After many changes of position, the Fleur de Lys finally disappeared from the English shield in the first year of the present century. (See also FLOWER DE LUCE).

IRON-HEAD and HARD-HEAD.--See Horse-Knot.

=IVY.=--Kissos (Greek for Ivy) was the original name of the infant Bacchus, who, abandoned by his mother Semele, was hidden under an Ivy-bush, which was subsequently named after him. Another Hellenic tradition makes Kissos a son of Bacchus, who, whilst dancing before his father, suddenly dropped down dead. The goddess Gæa (the Earth), compassionating the unfortunate youth, changed him into the Ivy, which afterwards received his name--Kissos.----The god Bacchus is said to have worshipped the Ivy under the name of Kissos; the plant was sacred to him, and he is represented crowned with the leaves of Ivy as well as with those of the Vine. The god’s thyrsus was also crowned with Ivy. In Greece and Rome, Black Ivy was used to decorate the thyrsus of Bacchus in commemoration of his march through India. This Ivy bears yellow berries, and is common in the Himalayas; it was, therefore, appropriately selected as the shrub wherewith to crown Alexander in his Indian expedition.----According to Plutarch, the priests of Jupiter were bound to shun the Vine (in order to preserve themselves from intoxication), and to touch the Ivy, which was believed to impart a sort of prophetic transport. Bacchus, therefore, crowned with Ivy, became a god both victorious and prophetic.----At the Dionysian festivals, the worshippers were crowned with Ivy, Vine-leaves, Fir, &c. Certain of the men engaged in the procession wore chaplets of Ivy and Violets, and the women--who, worked up into a kind of frenzy, executed fantastic dances--often carried garlands and strings of Ivy-leaves.----Pliny says that Ivy-berries, taken before wine, prevent its intoxicating effects. Probably the Bacchanals’ chaplet and the Ivy-bough formerly used as the sign of a tavern, both derived their origin from the belief that Ivy in some form counteracted the effects of wine.----On this point, Coles says: “Box and Ivy last long green, and therefore vintners make their garlands thereof; though, perhaps, Ivy is the rather used because of the antipathy between it and wine.” Kennett tells us that, in olden times, “the booths in fairs were commonly dressed with Ivy-leaves, as a token of wine there sold, the Ivy being sacred to Bacchus; so was the tavern bush, or frame of wood, drest round with Ivy forty years since, though now left off for tuns or barrels hung in the middle of it. This custom gave birth to the present practice of putting out a green bush at the door of those private houses which sell drink during the fair.” De Gubernatis says, that the Ivy to be seen over the doors of Italian wine-shops has the same signification as the Oak-bough--it is a precaution to render the wine innocuous. Chéruel tell us that the French, in suspending Ivy at the door of their cabarets, intend it as a symbol of love.----Ivy, which clings and embraces, has been adopted as the emblem of confiding love and friendship.----There is an old Cornish tradition which relates that the beauteous Iseult, unable to endure the loss of her betrothed, the valiant Tristan, died broken-hearted, and was buried in the same church, but, by order of the king, their graves were placed far asunder. But soon from the tomb of Tristan came forth a branch of Ivy, and from the tomb of Iseult there issued another branch. Both gradually grew upwards, until at last the lovers, represented by the clinging Ivy, were again united beneath the vaulted roof of the sanctuary.----In Greece, the altar of Hymen was encircled with Ivy, and a branch of it was presented to the newly-married couple, as a symbol of the indissoluble knot. It formed the crown of both Greek and Roman poets; and in modern times, female love, constancy, and dependence have been expressed by it. Friendship is sometimes symbolised by a fallen tree, firmly embraced by the verdant arms of the Ivy, with the motto: “Nothing can part us.”----In Northern mythology, Ivy, on account of its black colour, was dedicated to Thor, the god of thunder, and offered to the elf who was supposed to be his messenger.----When, in Germany, they drive the cattle for the first time to pasture, they deck them with a branch of Ivy fashioned into a crown. They believe also that he who carries on his head a crown of Ivy acquires the faculty of recognising witches. In the Tyrol, a similar belief holds good, only there, Rue, Broom, Maidenhair, and Agrimony must be bound together with Ground-Ivy in a bundle, which is to be kept about the person.----In Ross-shire, it is a May-day custom for young girls to pluck sprays of Ivy with the dew on them that have not been touched by steel.----Ivy has long been used in decorating churches and houses at Christmas: thus old Tusser directs:--“Get Ivye and Hull [Holly], woman, deck up thine house.” It seems in the middle ages to have been regarded as a most favoured and auspicious plant; one old song couples the Ivy and Holly as plants well adapted for Christmas time, and the following mediæval carol sings loudly the plant’s praises:--

“The most worthy she is in towne; He that sayeth other do amysse; And worthy to bear the crowne: Veni, coronaberis.

“Ivy is soft and meke of speech, Ageynst all bale she is blysse; Well is he that may hyre rech. Veni, coronaberis.

“Ivy is green, with coloure bright, Of all trees best she is, And that I prove will now be right. Veni, coronaberis.

“Ivy beryth berrys black, God graunt us all His blysse, For there shall we nothing lack. Veni, coronaberis.”

According to an old poem in the British Museum, however, Ivy was considered by some good people only fit to ornament the porches and outer passages of houses, but not the interior.

“Nay my nay, hyt shall not be I wis, Let Holly have the maystry, as the maner ys. Holly stoud in the hall, fayre to behold, Ivy stoud without the dore, she ys ful sore a-cold. Nay my nay.”

Corymbifer was a surname given to Bacchus, from his wearing a crown of corymbi, or Ivy-berries. These berries were recommended by old physicians as a remedy for the plague, and Pliny averred that when taken before wine, they prevented its intoxicating effects.----There is a popular tradition that an Ivy cup has the property of separating wine from water--the former soaking through, and the latter remaining. An old writer remarks that those who are troubled with the spleen shall find much ease by the continual drinking out of a cup made of Ivy, so as the drink may stand some time therein before it be drunk; for, he adds, “Cato saith that wine put into the Ivy cup will soak through it by reason of the antipathy that is between them;” this antipathy being so great that a drunkard “will find his speediest cure if he drunk a draught of the same wine wherein a handful of Ivy-leaves had been steeped.”----The ancient Scottish clan Gordon claim Ivy as their badge.----Ivy is under the dominion of Saturn. It is considered to be exceedingly favourable to dream of the evergreen climber, portending as it does, friendship, happiness, good fortune, honour, riches, and success.

Ground-Ivy is a name which was formerly applied to the Periwinkle, and to the Ground Pine or Yellow Bugle (called till the beginning of the present century the Forget-Me-Not), but which was afterwards transferred to the Nepeta Glechoma, a plant also known by the rustic names of Gill and Gill-by-the-ground, Haymaids, Cat’s-foot, Ale-hoof, and Tun-hoof. In olden times, it was put into ale, instead of hops, and was also used to clear ale. The juice of the leaves, tunned up in ale, was thought to cure the jaundice and other complaints.

JACINTH.--See Hyacinth.

JACK-BY-THE-HEDGE.--See Erysimum.

JACK-OF-THE-BUTTERY.--See Stonecrop.

=JACOB’S LADDER.=--The Polemonium cœruleum, from its leaflets being arranged in successive pairs.

=JAMBU.=--The Jambu (Eugenia Jambos) is included among the great Indian cosmogonic trees. It is called, says Prof. De Gubernatis, the Fruit of Kings, on account of the great size of its fruit. According to the Vishnu purâna, the continent Jambudvîpa took its name from the tree Jambu. The fruits of this tree are in point of fact very large, but the fruits of the Indian mythological Jambu attain to the size of an elephant; when they have ripened they fall from the mountain, and the juice which exudes feeds the river Jambu, whose waters are consequently richly endowed with salutary properties, and can neither be tainted nor defiled. We learn from the Dîrghâgama-Sûtra, that the four cardinal points were not only represented by the four elephants which sustained the world, but by four trees of colossal bulk and grandeur. These four trees were the Ghanta, the Kadamba, the Ambala, and the Jambu. The Jambu sprang, it is said, from the south of the mountain Meru, of which the summit was believed to represent the zenith. In the cosmogonic forest of the Himalaya towers the stupendous bulk of the Jambu, and from its roots four great rivers, whose waters are inexhaustible, take their source. It bears during the entire kalpa of the renovation an immortal fruit, like unto gold, great as the vase called Mahâkala. This fruit falls into the rivers, and its pips produce the golden seed which is carried away to the sea, and which is sometimes washed up again, and to be found on its shores. This gold is of incalculable value, and has not its equal in the world for purity.----It appears, according to the Saptaçataka of Hâla, that Indian lovers are fond of secreting themselves beneath the leaves of the Eugenia Jambos, and that the young Indian bride becomes sad with jealousy when she sees her young husband approaching, with his ears decked with the leaves of the Jambu.

=JASMINE.=--Perfumes and flowers play an important part in the poetry of India, and the Jasmine, which Hindu poets call the “Moonlight of the Grove,” has furnished them with countless images. Thus, in Anvár-i-Suhailî (translated by E. B. Eastwick), we read of a damsel entering the king’s chamber, whose face charms like a fresh Rosebud which the morning breeze has caused to blow, and whose ringlets are compared to the twisting Hyacinth buried in an envelope of the purest Musk:--

“With Hyacinth and Jasmine her perfumed hair was bound, A posy of sweet Violets her clustering ringlets seemed; Her eyes with love intoxicate, in witching sleep half drowned, Her locks, to Indian Spikenard like, with love’s enchantments beamed.”

De Tassy, the translator of the allegories of Aziz Eddin, points out that the Arabian word yâs-min is composed of the word yâs, despair, and min, an illusion. In the allegories we read: “Then the Jasmine uttered this sentence with the expressive eloquence of its mute language: “Despair is a mistake. My penetrating odour excels the perfume of other flowers; therefore lovers select me as a suitable offering to their mistresses; they extract from me the invisible treasures of divinity, and I can only rest when enclosed in the folds and pleats which form in the body of a robe.”----An allusion to the Jasmine is made in the following poetic description of a young girl drooping from a sudden illness:--“All of a sudden the blighting glance of unpropitious fortune having fallen on that Rose-cheeked Cypress, she laid her head on the pillow of sickness; and in the flower-garden of her beauty, in place of the Damask-Rose, sprang up the branch of the Saffron. Her fresh Jasmine, from the violence of the burning illness, lost its moisture, and her Hyacinth, full of curls, lost all its endurance from the fever that consumed her.”----The Indians cultivate specially for their perfume two species of Jasmine--viz., the Jasminum grandiflorum, or Tore, and the J. hirsutum, or Sambac. The Moo-le-hua, a powerful-smelling Jasmine, is used in China and other parts of the East as an adornment for the women’s hair.----It is believed that the Jasmine was first introduced into Europe by some Spaniards, who brought it from the East Indies in 1560.----Loudon relates that a variety of the Jasmine, with large double flowers and exquisite scent, was first procured in 1699 from Goa, by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and so jealous was he of being the sole possessor of this species, that he strictly forbade his gardener to part with a single cutting. However the gardener was in love, and so, on the birthday of his betrothed, he presented her with a nosegay, in the midst of which was a sprig of this rare Jasmine. Charmed with its fragrance, the girl planted the sprig in fresh mould, and under her lover’s instructions was soon able to raise cuttings from the plant, and to sell them at a high price: by this means she soon saved enough money to enable her to wed the gardener, who had hitherto been too poor to alter his condition. In memory of this tender episode, the damsels of Tuscany still wear a wreath of Jasmine on their wedding days, and the event has given rise to a saying that a “girl worthy of wearing the Jasmine wreath is rich enough to make her husband happy.”----Yellow Jasmine is the flower of the Epiphany.----To dream of this beautiful flower foretells good luck; to lovers it is a sure sign they will be speedily married.

=JERUSALEM.=--Many plants are found to have been named in olden times after the Holy City. The Lungwort, Pulmonaria officinalis, is the Jerusalem Cowslip; Phlomis is Jerusalem Sage; and Teucrium Botrys is the Oak of Jerusalem, called so from the resemblance of its leaf to that of the Oak. In these three cases the prefix “Jerusalem” seems to have been applied for no particular reason--probably because the plants had an Eastern origin. Salsafy, Tragopogon porrifolius, is the Star of Jerusalem, so named from the star-like expansion of its involucre; and Helianthus tuberosus is the Jerusalem Artichoke, a plant of the same genus as the Sunflower, called Artichoke from the flavour of its tubers. The soup made from it is termed Palestine Soup. In the last two cases, Dr. Prior thinks the prefix “Jerusalem” is simply a corruption of the Italian word girasole, turn-sun, and has been applied to these plants from a popular belief that they turn with the Sun. The Lychnis Chalcedonica is the Jerusalem Cross, which has derived its name from the fact that a variety of it has four instead of five petals, of the colour and form of a Jerusalem Cross.

=JEWS’ EARS.=--The Auricula Judæ is a Fungus resembling in shape the human ear, which grows usually upon the trunks of the Elder, the tree upon which Judas Iscariot is said by some to have hung himself. Sir John Maundevile relates that he actually saw the identical tree. Bacon says of this excrescence, “There is an herb called Jewes-Eare, that groweth upon the roots and lower parts of the bodies of trees, especially of Elders, and sometimes Ashes. It hath a strange propertie; for in warme water it swelleth, and openeth extremely. It is not greene, but of a darke browne colour. And it is used for squinancies and inflammations in the throat, whereby it seemeth to have a mollifying and lenifying vertue.”

=JOAN’S SILVER PIN.=--The red-Poppy (Papaver Rhœas) has acquired the name of Joan’s Silver Pin, because, according to Parkinson, the gaudy flower is “fair without and foul within” (in allusion to its yellow juice). Joan’s Silver Pin was a contemptuous term applied to some tawdry ornament displayed ostentatiously by a sloven.

=JOB’S TEARS.=--The pretty East Indian Grass, Coix lacryma, is called Job’s Tears on account of the formation of its hard beard-like seeds, of which Gerarde says “every graine resembleth the drop or teare that falleth from the eye.”----Among the Arabs, the Fleabane (Inula dysenterica) is also called Job’s Tears (See FLEABANE).

=JONAH’S GOURD.=--According to the Greek version of the Scriptures, the plant under which Jonah sat was a Gourd, but the Vulgate considers it a species of Ivy. The Ricinus communis, the Castor-oil-tree, with its broad palmate leaves, has been, however, identified with the Kikayon, which God caused to rise up and shelter Jonah.

JOSEPH’S FLOWER.--See Goat’s Beard.