474 HABITS AND LATIN NAMES OF BRITISH PLANTS. 



*• pomoque onorata rubenti 



Arbutus ;" 



yet so bitter withal, that Pliny is supposed to have denominated it in Unedo be- 

 cause only one can be eaten at a time. Tournefort informs us that a spirituous 

 liquor is distilled from the fruit, especially in the Isle of Andros. The old Italian 

 poet Sannazaro, in his Arcadia, represents this truly classical evergreen as 

 employed by the Roman shepherds to decorate their flocks, on the festival of the 

 goddess Pales. It is generally supposed to thrive most luxuriantly in a moist 

 situation. We learn from the Bon Jardinier of M. Pikolle, that Arbutus trees 

 raised from English seed are hardier than those produced from the seed of warmer 

 climates. In the Levant it attains to a great size : in our pleasure grounds 

 sometimes to twenty feet in height ; and we can imagine no tree to afford a more 

 refreshing canopy in its luxuriant growth ; for we may presume that even Horace 

 (no incompetent judge of luxury) occasionally sought repose beneath its shade — 



•' Nunc viridi membra sub Arbuto 

 Stratus." 



The right of this plant to be considered an aboriginal, 



" Arbutus, with his scarlet grain, 

 That richly crowns Irene's plain," 



has been contested by Mr. Smith in his History of the County of Kerry, in which 

 he conjectures it may have been introduced by the monks of St. Finnian, who 

 founded the Abbey in the sixth century. 



Arbutus uva-ursi, Red Bear-berry, Red-berried Trailing Arbutus. — The berries . 

 are insipid, pulpy, and mealy, but afford excellent food for game. The plant is 

 much used in Sweden to dye an Ash-colour, and to tan leather. Horses, Cows, 

 Goats and Sheep refuse it. The coccus uva-ursi, which, with alum, affords a 

 crimson dye, is now neglected. 



Arctium. — Agxriov, from Ag ktos, a Bear ; so named from its roughness, and the 

 coarse texture of the involucres. 



Arctium lappa, Common Burdock, Bur, or Clot-bur. — The calyx, when in 

 seed, easily breaks from its stalk, and is well known by the name of a bur, stick- 

 ing to the coats of animals, and the hair or clothing of young rustics, which can 

 hardly be cleared of such incumbrances without breaking the scales asunder and 

 scattering the seeds. The surface of the herbage leaves a slightly viscid, very 

 bitter, exudation on the fingers. The plant itself, a cumbrous weed, is removed, 

 the first year of its growth, by stubbing, like other things comprehended by 

 farmers under the name of " Docks," and paid for accordingly to the weeder. Dr. 

 Withering states that before the flowers appear, the stems, stripped of their 

 rind, may be boiled and eaten like Asparagus. When raw they are palatable 

 with oil and vinegar, The seeds are recommended as diuretic : and are accept- 



