vulorum," or Anglo-Latin Dictionary, reprinted by the Camden Society, we 

 find the archangel called iJeffe neftil. The Editor, Mr. Albert Way, remarks 

 of the adjective : " It is applied to that which has lost its germinating power : 

 thus in the north, as well as in Devonshire, a rotten nut is called 'deaf,' and 

 barren corn is called 'deaf -corn,' an expression literally Anglo-Saxon. An 

 unproductive soil is likewise termed ' deaf.' The plant Lamiwm, or Archangel, 

 known by the common names Dead or Blind Nettle, has the epithet ' delfe ' 

 evidently because it does not possess the stinging property of the true 

 Nettle." 



Linnaeus says, that the leaves of the White Archangel are eaten in spring 

 as a potherb. The French call the plant L'orfie blanche. The similar, but 

 purple-flowered Dead-nettle, often cultivated in gardens, is not a varietj^ of 

 this, but an introduced species, L. maculafinn. 



2. Red Dead-nettle (L. piirpureum). — Leaves heart-shaped, crenate, all 

 stalked, the upper ones crowded, the lower ones hanging downwards on long 

 stalks ; teeth of the calyx as long as the tube, always spreading ; tube of 

 the corolla straight, within, having a hairy ring, the throat much dilated ; 

 side lobes of the lower lip with two short teeth ; annual. This plant is 

 readily known by the reddish-purple tint of its floral leaves, and the silky 

 hairiness with which the upper, and sometimes the lower leaves, also, are 

 invested. It is truly a red nettle, and its whorls of reddish corollas are 

 scarcely Iwighter than the purple-red leaves among Avhich they grow. Large 

 quantities of the plant may be found on most English hedgebanks, often 

 forming masses there, as well as on the borders of meadow land, or in corn- 

 fields. It is in blossom throughout the summer, but we scarcely notice so 

 dull and weed-like a plant Avhen gayer l)looms are expanding around us, 

 th(jugh the lover of wild flowers looks upon it with favour in February or 

 March, when it is almost the only blossom ; or cherishes it in the latest nose- 

 gay which he can, in autumn, gather from lane or field. It usually grows to 

 the height of a foot or a foot and a half. The author is informed by a friend 

 that he has seen the roots of this plant boiled by cottagers for the food of 

 pigs, and that it affords excellent nourishment for these animals. It was 

 certainly used in this country in very early times for pottage. Pottage was 

 by the old writers called "jowtes," or "joutes," and Grower speaks of 

 Diogenes gathering joutes in his garden. Mr. Albert Way quotes from the 

 Sloane MS. a list of plants for compounding joutes: "Cole, borage, persyl, 

 plumtre leaves, redde nettil, crop, malves grene, rede briere croppes, avans, 

 ■violet, and prymrol." These were to be ground in a mortar and boiled in 

 broth. We fear that few modern palates would be gratified by the pre- 

 paration. 



3. Cut-leaved Dead-nettle {L. inclsiun). — Leaves broadly heart-shaped, 

 deeply cut into teeth at the edges, all stalked, upper ones broadly egg-shaped 

 and crowded, the uppermost being wedge-shaped at the base ; calyx-teeth 

 always spreading, and as long as the straight tube, which is without hairs 

 within ; annual. This species has its dull purple flowers from March till 

 June. It is common on waste ground, and very ditticult to distinguish from 

 the last, with which some botanists unite it as a sub-species. Its stems are 

 cither few, slender, and elongated, or thick, short, and numerous. 



