310 FLORA HISTORICA. 



so forcibly paints the folly of a parent's making 

 himself dependent on the liberality of his children. 

 The Cuckoo flower grows spontaneously in most 

 of our moist pasture lands, and is a most ornamental 

 plant when sown in clumps in the damp parts of 

 wilderness scenery, or on the banks of brooks or 

 lakes. In its double state it is deserving a place 

 in the choicest flower-garden ; and we particularly 

 recommend clumps of it in the foreground of small 

 shrubberies, as it contrasts as well with the foliage 

 of evergreen shrubs as with the grass of the lawn. 

 This variety is propagated by parting the roots in 

 autumn, at which time they should always be 

 transplanted, and a moist and partially shady situa- 

 tion is most congenial to the nature of the plant. 



The leaves of the Cardamine Pratense are fre- 

 quently eaten in the spring by country people, 

 and have nearly the same anti-scorbutic qualities 

 as the common Water-Cress : it is said to give tone 

 to the stomach and digestive organs. In northern 

 countries, where salt-fish and meats are much eaten, 

 they pound the whole plant, and express the juice, 

 of which they give a wine-glass full for a dose ; 

 and it is esteemed an excellent remedy in scorbutic 

 diseases and obstructions of the liver, and the 

 jaundice. 



