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included the Goosefoots, Oraches, the Persicarias, the Docks, etc.; 

 plants, nearly all of which have small and inconspicuous flowers. 

 The best known of the Chenopodiums is the Mercury Goosefoot, 

 or Good King Henry, C. bonus henricus — why called after King 

 Henry I know not, unless he was a lover of herb-jniddings, of 

 which it forms an important ingredient, in company with our next 

 plant, Common Bistort, or Snakeweed, Polygonum bistorta, better 

 known as Eastermer Giants and Easter Ledgers. Good King 

 Henry is generally found in the neighbourhood of villages and 

 farm-houses. Stainton produces some fine specimens of it; while 

 some parts of the Caledonian Railway banks are covered with 

 Eastermer Giants, P. amphibium, as its name implies, may be 

 found by the sides of ponds, as well as in them, and may be at 

 once known by its conspicuous head of pink flowers. It grows in 

 several still places on the Eden, and is not uncommon by most of 

 our sluggish streams and standing waters. Other Petsicarias we 

 have, such as the P. lapathifolium, P. persicaria, P. hydropiper. 

 In the Docks, Rumex, we have among others the R. sanguineus at 

 Thurstonfield, R. hydrolapathum at Moss Pool, Sour Dockins, of 

 the children, R. acetosa, in all our meadows. 



Passing by several orders now, of which I have nothing to say, 

 we come to the Spurges, Uuphorbiacece, in which we are very thinly 

 represented, U. helioscopia is common in all kitchen gardens. It 

 exudes an acrid white fluid on being broken, which is supposed to 

 be efficacious in curing warts. Mercurialis 2^6'>''innis^ an early 

 spring plant, is common in all our damp woods. 



In the Nettle order, Urticacece, we are pretty strong, both 

 U. urens and U. dioica being common with us ; the latter being 

 the one which is still largely used for Nettle broth and Nettle 

 beer, and which Andrew Fairservice, in "Rob Roy," forced for his 

 "spring kail." Parietaria officinalis, easily known by its red stems, 

 dark green ovate leaves, and small greenish flowers in axillary 

 clusters, may be found by the Wetheral caves ; no doubt left there 

 by some of the ancient Benedictine monks, as it was a plant in 

 great request for medicinal uses, and is chiefly to be found by old 



