The Scottish Naturalist. 353 



is said to be worn by the Irish upon the anniversary of St 

 Patrick for the following reason : When the Saint preached the 

 Gospel to the pagan Irish, he illustrated the doctrine of the 

 Trinity by showing them a trefoil, which was ever afterwards worn 

 upon the Saint's anniversary. " Between May-day and harvest, 

 butter, new cheese, and curds and shamrock, are the food of 

 the meaner sort all this season." — Piers's ' West Heath.' 



Gaelic Alphabet. Antecedent to the use of the present 

 alphabet, the ancient Celts wrote on the barks of trees. The 

 writing on the bark of trees they called oghuitn, and sometimes 

 trees, feadha, and the present alphabet litri or letters. 



" Cormac Casil cona churu, 



Leir Mumu, cor mela ; 

 . Tragaid im righ Ratha Bicli, 



Na Litri is na Feadha." 



Cormac of Cashel with his companions 

 Minister is his, may he long enjoy ; 

 Around the King of Raith Bicli are cultivated 

 The Letters and the Trees. 



The " letters " here signify, of course, our present Gaelic 

 alphabet and writings; but the "trees" can only signify the 

 oghuwi, letters, which were named after trees indigenous to the 

 country." — Prof. O'Curry. 



Orobus tuberosus (Corra meille, M'Alpin, and cairmea/, 

 Armstrong) — Bitter vetch — and sometimes called " wild 

 liquorice " — seems to be the same name as the French " cara- 

 mel" burnt sugar; and according to Webster, Latin, " ca?ina 

 mellis? or sugar-cane. The fermented liquor that was formerly 

 made from it, called cairm or cuirm, seems to be the same as 

 the "courmi" which Dioscorides says the old Britons drank. 

 The root was pounded and infused, and yeast added. It was 

 either drunk by itself, or mixed with their ale — a liquor held 

 in high estimation before the days of whisky ; hence, the word 

 "cuirm " signifies a feast. That their drinking gatherings cannot 

 have had the demoralising tendencies which might be expected, 

 is evident, as they were taken as typical of spiritual communion. 

 In the Litany of " Aengus Ceile De," dating about the year 798, 

 we have a poem ascribed to St Brigid, now preserved in the 

 Burgundian Library, Brussels. 



Ropadh maith lem corm-lina mor, 

 Do righ na righ, 



Ropadh maith lem muinnter nimhe 

 Acca hoi tre bithe shir." 



VOL. VI. 



1y> 



ui LIBRARY 



