4^2 Introductory View of the ^ 



bular; they are so formed in the Sweet Scabious, that fragrant 

 deep purple flower, which the Italians call Vedovina, Little 

 Widow. We have three British species. The Field Scabious 

 is of a very pale purple colour, which, being held a few 

 minutes over the smoke of tobacco, gives place to a beautiful 

 green. The species called the Devil's-bit Scabious has a 

 blackish root, which appears as though the end had been 

 bitten off; and this, it seems, is true. The devil, we are told, 

 grudged mankind the benefits they were likely to receive from 

 it, and bit off the greater part ; it is from this malicious 

 action that the English name is derived. Sir J. E. Smith ob- 

 serves that he has been completely successful, not only having 

 shortened the root, but having left the remainder totally useless. 

 Madder is used in dying red. Our British madder yields a 

 dye inferior to the species commonly cultivated for that pur- 

 pose, but it is frequently substituted for it, as is the yellow bed- 

 straw also ; and Curtis says it yields a finer red. This latter 

 plant affords a good yellow^ dye, likewise ; the flowers serve to 

 coagulate milk, and were formerly used in the making of Che- 

 shire cheese. 



The plantains, which are generally overlooked as plants 

 unworthy of note, are very pretty and delicate. Most of the 

 species spread their leaves on the earth, in the form of a star ; 

 they are elegantly shaped, and marked with many parallel ribs. 

 The flowers, though small, are numerous, and grow in close 

 spikes ; the silvery corollas, some full blown, others just peep- 

 ing from their green calyx, their long pink filaments, and the 

 large white anthers, so slightly adhering to them as to be in 

 a continually tremulous motion, are well worthy of attention. 

 The seeds afford a grateful supply of food to many small birds ; 

 as also does the cornel tree. This tree, frequently called dog- 

 wood, and mentioned by Chaucer under its old name of 

 gaitre tree, was formerly in high repute for the making of 

 spears. An oil for the lamp may be obtained from the ber- 

 ries ; which are black and bitter. The fruit of the dwarf cor- 

 nel is red, sweet, and palatable ; and was formerly preserved 

 in the form of rob, or made into wine. 



Among the foreigners of this order are many handsome 

 genera, chiefly from the Cape and New Holland. The Bud- 

 dies globosa (named fi-om Adam Buddie, and from the glo- 

 bular clusters of its flowers) before mentioned is a native of 

 Chile ; the clusters look like little balls of honeycomb, and 

 have both the colour and scent of honey. Sandal wood {San- 

 talum album) is an East Indian shrub of this order. One 

 peculiarly magnificent genus is the Pr6te« .• one species of this 

 is called the Silver Tree (Protert argentea), the leaves have the 



