24 The Scottish Naturalist. 



prohibits. Compare also cuilg, gen. of colg, a prickle, or any 



sharp pointed thing. The lower leaves of this tree are very 



prickly, and thus guard against cattle eating the young shoots. 



Welsh : celyn, tree, shelterer or protector ; eel, conceal, shelter, 



cover. 



" Ma theid thu ruisgte troimh thorn droighinn 

 'S coiseachd cas-lom air preas cuileann 

 Cadal gun lein' air an eanntaig, 

 'S racadal itheadh gunn draing ort," &c. — Blar Shunadail. 



If you go naked through a thorn thicket, 

 And walk barefooted on the holly, 

 Sleep without a shirt on the nettle, 

 And eat horse-radish without a grin, &c. 



OLEACE.E. 



Olea europsea — European olive. Gaelic and Irish : crann 

 oladh or ola (Greek : eAaia, a word, according to Du Theis, 

 derived from the Celtic ; Welsh : oleu), the oil-tree. 



" Sgaoilidh e gheugan, agus bithidh a mhaise mar an crann-oladk." 



" He will spread his branches, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree.'''' — 

 Hosea xiv. 6. 



Syringa vulgaris — Lilac-tree. Gaelic: craobh liath ghorm, 

 the lilac-tree. 



Ligustrum vulgare — Privet. Gaelic : ras chrann sir nine, the 

 evergreen shrubbery-tree. Priobaid (M' Donald). (Latin : pri- 

 vatus ; Irish : ftriobhaid, secrecy, privacy). Its chief use is to 

 form hedges that are required for shelter, ornament, and privacy. 



Fraxinus excelsior — Ash. Gael, and Irish : craobh uinn- 

 seann. Irish: uinseann, uimhseann, altered into fuinse, fuiuseau, 



fuinseog. 



" Gabhaidh an t' uinnseann as an allt 

 'S a challtuinn as a phreas." — Proverb. 

 The ash will kindle out of the burn, 

 And the hazel out of the bush. 



Welsh : o/icn, corresponding to another Irish name, nion. 

 Gaelic : nuin, and also oinsean. The names refer principally 

 to the wood, and the primary idea seems to be lasting, long- 

 continuing, on (in Welsh), that which is in continuity. Uimh, 

 number ; scauu, ancient, old ; itine, time, season. JVuin, also 

 the letter N. Heb., nun. Fuinnseann (see Circoja), though from 

 the same root, may have been suggested by its frequent use in 

 the charms and enchantments so common in olden times, espe- 

 cially against the bites of serpents, and the influence of the 

 "Old Serpent." Pennant, in 1772, mentions: "In many parts 



