The Scottish Naturalist. 229 



introduced into the Highlands with good effect." Yet Lightfoot 

 (1777) mentions it as "by the waysides, and in pastures, but 

 not common." Bo dan is also applied to P. arenarium and P. 

 alpinum. 



Lepturus filiformis. — Gaelic : ditrfheurfairge, sea hard grass. 

 Dur, hard (Latin, dunts) ; feur, grass ; fairg, the sea, ocean, 

 wave. It grows all round Ireland, as well as in England and 

 South Scotland. Irish : durfher fairge (O'Reilly). 



Calamagrostis. — Etym. KaAa/xos, and dypocn-15, reed-grass. 



C. Epigejos — AVood small reed. Cuilc fheur, cane -grass; 

 gainne = cane. Lachan coii/e, wood-rush. 



Ammophila arenaria (or Psamma arenaria) — Sea-maram; sea- 

 matweed. Gaelic and Irish : muirineach, from muir (Latin mare, 

 the sea), the ocean. It is extensively propagated to bind the sand 

 on the seashore; generally called miiran on west coast. The 

 same name is applied to the carrot, an alteration of moron- — a 

 plant with large tapering roots. M'Intyre alludes to " miiran 

 brlghar" but whether he refers to the carrot or to this grass is 

 a matter of controversy. Not being a seaside Highlander, he 

 was more likely to know the carrot, wild and cultivated, far 

 better than this seaside grass, and associating it with groundsel 

 (a plant which usually grows rather too abundantly, wherever 

 carrots are sown), makes it a certainty that he had not the " sea- 

 maram " in his mind. (See Daucus carota.) 



Avena sativa — Oats. Gaelic and Irish : coin. Welsh : 

 ceirch. Armoric : querch. Probably from the Sanskrit karc, to 

 crush. 



" Is fhearr siol caol coirce fhaotuinn a droch fheararin na' bhi falamh. " 

 Better small oats than nothing out of bad land. 



The small variety, A. nuda, the naked or hill oat, when ripe, 

 drops the grain from the husk ; it was therefore more generally 

 cultivated two centuries ago. It was made into meal by dry- 

 ing it on the hearth, and bruising it in a stone -mortar, the 

 " muileann brddh" — hand-mill or quern. Many of them may 

 still be seen about Highland and Irish cottages. 



A. fatua and A. pratensis — Wild oats. Gaelic: coin fiadhain, 

 wild oats ; coirc dubh, black oats. Also applied to the Brome 

 grasses. 



( To bt continued. ) .^""ol p""**""^ 



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Li library! 



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