30 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Feb. 1, 1869. 



sense from those which we have been considering. 

 In a former number of Science-Gossip, I alluded 

 to the meaning which "horse "has in composition — 

 i. e., large, or coarse,* as in horse-chestnut, horse- 

 blobs, horse-gowans, and many more. " Dog," as an 

 aliix, usually conveys worthlessness : thus we have 

 Dog Violet, a scentless species; Dog's Grass 

 (Triticim repens), a useless species of a genus which 

 contains wheat {T. sativum) ; Dog's Camomile 

 {Matricaria Chamomilla) ; &c. This is not always 

 its meaning; the Dogwood {Cornus sanguined) 

 means dagge-wood, dagge being the old English 

 equivalent for a dagger, and the wood having been 

 used for skewers (Prior). In Buckinghamshire 

 it is still called Prickwood and Skewerwood ; thus 

 confirming the above explanation. In Cheshire and 

 Lancashire, the Guelder Pose {Viburnum opulus) is 

 called Dog-eller ; this may mean " worthless elder," 

 from the " family likeness " between the Viburnum 

 and Sambucus nigra ; or here again; "dog" may mean 

 " dagger," and dog-eller, skewer-eller, or elder : in 

 Lancashire, skewers are still made of it. It has 

 been suggested that Guelder Pose may be but an 

 abbreviation of Dog-elder Pose ; but the general 

 supposition is, that the cultivated form (the "Snow- 

 ball-tree") was brought from Gueldres, in Planders, 

 and thence took its title. Dog Pose {Rosa canina) 

 mag mean, par excellence, Prick-flower, a very 

 appropriate name for it; but cultivated roses are 

 equally prickly, so that it probably implies a 

 worthless rose. "Ox," "bull," or "cow," differ some- 

 what from " horse " in composition ; they imply 

 something large, but not of necessity coarse. 

 Bulrush (Scirpus lacustris) is thought by Dr. Prior 

 to have been originally pool-rush, "from its growth 

 in pools of water, and not, like the other rushes, in 

 mire ; " but Mr. Holland considers that the name 

 simply denotes a large rush, as in Cheshire, although 

 the word bulrush is in use, the small ponds are 

 never called pools, but always pits. The two species 

 of Cat's-tail {Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia) are 

 known in Warwickshire and other places by the 

 same name. " Toad " means false or spurious : 

 Toadflax, for example, means, as I have before 

 endeavoured to show,f a false flax, from its super- 

 ficial resemblance, when out of flower, to the flax of 

 commerce ; Dr. Prior, however, favours a different 

 derivation. 



Some names have a generic signification— that is, 

 are applied to many plants having some feature in 

 common. A notable instance of this may be found 

 in the word " Cuckoo," which not only enters into 

 Cuckoo's-meat, Cuckoo-flower, and Cuckoo-bud 

 (names themselves applied to more than one plant), 

 but is used indiscriminately for all spring blossoms. 

 I first noticed this in Essex, while endeavouring to 

 ascertain the local names of some May flowers. 



* Sciknce-Gossip, iv. 266. t Ibid. iii. 202. 



Every plant which had no other title was called a 

 Cuckoo ; and I find the same principle in Bucking- 

 hamshire, only there an adjective of colour is pre- 

 fixed, according to the different blossoms to which 

 it is applied ; as " Pink Cuckoos," Geranium Rober- 

 tianum ; "Blue Cuckoos," Veronica chamcedrys ; 

 " White Cuckoos," Stellaria Holostea. As it is spring 

 flowers alone that are thus called, it is evident that 

 the simultaneous appearance of the Cuckoo and the 

 blossoms has suggested the extension of the name 

 from the one to the other. " Bird's-eye " is another 

 term applied to many spring-flowering plants. 

 Rose is bestowed upon many species which have no 

 connection, except in name, with the genus Rosa ; 

 ssHose-a-rnhy {Adonis ant umnalis); Rose of Sharon, 

 the Lancashire name for Hypericum cahjeinum ; 

 Christmas Rose {Helleboriis niger). Violet, again, is 

 embodied in Dame's Violet {Hesperis matronalis) ; 

 Toothed Violet {Dentaria hdbifera) ; Corn Violet 

 {Specula da hybrida) ; Water Violet {Hottonia palus- 

 ids) ; none of which are in any way related to the 

 genus Viola. Nettle (A.-S. netel), which belongs 

 properly to the genus Urtica, is now extended to 

 many plants with similar leaves. Various species 

 of Lamium, especially L. album, are known as Dead, 

 Blind, Deaf, and Dumb (or, in Bucks, Dunny) 

 Nettle. Another genus of labiate plants is Hemp- 

 Nettle {Galeopsis), one of which, G. Tetrahit, is, in 

 Berwickshire, Dog-Nettle. Gowan is generally 

 applied in Scotlaud and the northern counties to 

 the Daisy {Bellis perennis), which, however, was 

 not the original owner of the title. Gowlan, Gowan, 

 and Gowles all have the same meaning — i.e. golden 

 The Globe-flower {Trollhis europmis) is, in Scotland, 

 Locken-gowlan ; locken meaning closed up, in 

 reference to the way in which the sepals fold over. 

 The Marsh Marigold {Caltha palustris) is Water- 

 gowlan; the Corn Marigold is Gowles, Gulls (in 

 Cumberland), and Goldins; and these all have 

 yellow flowers. How the name was transferred 

 from yellow-blossomed plants to those which are 

 chiefly white, it is difficult to explain ; yet the 

 Daisy is now Gowan, while the Oxeye {Chrysanthe- 

 mum Leucanthemum) and Mayweed {Anthemis Cotula) 

 are Horse-gowans. Then we have the word Cress, 

 the meaning of which is at pi'esent very obscure. 

 In Buckinghamshire, the Buttercups {Ranunculus 

 bulbosus, acris, and repens) are called Butter-creeses 

 and Yellow-creeses. In Warwickshire they are 

 termed Crazies, and yet these do not bear even a 

 remote resemblance to those which in books are 

 called cresses, and which generally belong to the 

 Crucifene. Dock (A.-S. docca), which is usually 

 applied to the various species of Rume.r, is locally 

 appropriated by many plants having large coarse 

 leaves. Eor example, "Water-lilies {Kympluea and 

 Nttphar) are, in Cheshire, Platter (or floating) docks, 

 and the Butterbur {Fetasites vulgaris) is Batter- 

 dock. Arctium is generally called Burdock, the 



