.266 The Scottish Naturalist. 



Welsh : mafon^ — maf^ what is clustering. Gaelic : preas shuidheag, 

 the sappy bush. Sughag, the fruit (from sj)gh, juice, sap). 



R. fruticosus — Common bramble. Irish and Gaelic : dreas, 

 plural dris. Welsh : dyrys, — the root 7ys, entangle, with prefix 

 dy. force, irritation. In Gaelic and Welsh the words d7'is and 

 drysie?i are applied to the bramble and briar indiscriminately. 



" An t/r^rtj a fas gii h-urar. "^ — Ossian. . . 



The bramble (or briar) freshly growing. 



^ " Am fear theid san droighionn domh 



Theid me san dns da." — Proverb. 



If one pass through thorns to me, 



I'llpass through brambles (or briars) to him, 



Grian mhiiiiie^ the thorn (bush) that .basks in the sun. Dris 

 miiine, — muijie, a thorn, prickle, sting. Smear phreas (Irish : 

 sfneur), the bush that smears; smearag, that which smears (the 

 fruit). Welsh : viiar^ the bramble. {Miar or incur in Gaelic 

 means a finger.) Sfficai-achd, fingering, greasing, smearing. (Com- 

 pare Dutch, smeeren ; German, schmieren, to smear or daub.) 

 Dris-smear, another combination of the preceding names. - 

 This plant is the badge of the Clan M'Lean. ■ 



R. caesius — Blue bramble ] dewberry bush. Gaelic : preas- 

 naji-gorm dhearc^ the blueberry bush. 



** Bar gach tolmain fo bhrat ^<)r;;/ dhearc.''^ — M'DONALD. 

 Every knoll under a mantle of blueberries (dewberries). 



The blue bramble is the badge of the Clan M'Nab. 



Rosa canina — Dog-rose. Gaelic : coin ros, dogs' rose (cotJi, 

 gep. plural of n/, a dog). Greek : x^^-^i^- Latin : ^^;^/x. Sanscrit: 

 cwias. Irish : ctl. Welsh : ki. 



Gaelic : coin droighionn^ dogs' thorn. Earrdhrcas or fearra- 

 dhriSf earrad, armour ; suggested by its being armed with prickles. 



" Mar mhucaig XiTi fearra-dhrisy — M'Ellar. 

 Like hips on the briar. 



Freas-fiam-jnucaig, the hip-bush — from niuc (Welsh: nioch), a 

 pig, from the fancied resemblance of the seeds to pigs, being 

 bristly. Irish : sgcach inhadra, the dogs' haw or bush. Welsh : 

 vierddrain. Gaelic : ;w, rose ; cultivated rose, ros gharaidh. 



" Be sid an sealladh eibliinn ! 

 Do bhruachan ^k-dhcarg ros.''^ 



That was a joyful sight ! 

 Thy banks so rosy red. 



