CURIOUS HISTORIES. 163 



flowers, bear a close resemblance to some of 

 the carnations, and the name gilliflower was 

 often transferred to them. To distinguish 

 the one from the other the term clove-gilli- 

 flower was often applied to the carnation, 

 and stock-gilliflower, " woody-stemmed gilli- 

 flower," was applied to the mustard-like 

 plant. The name carnation or coronation, 

 derived from the old custom of making chap- 

 lets or cor once from these and similar flow- 

 ers, came into use for the clove-pink and it 

 ceased to be called gilliflower. Finally, the 

 name has been dropped from the mustard- 

 like plant also, leaving us but a remnant, 

 stocks, for these well-known plants of the 

 flower garden, the ten-weeks' stocks and sim- 

 ilar varieties. 



An equally interesting history is connected 

 with the common purslane or " pusley," a 

 weed so unattractive and so pernicious in 

 its character as to be commonly deemed en- 

 tirely unworthy a liistory. In this case, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Prior in his invaluable " Pop- 

 ular Names of British Plants," the proper 

 Latin name of the plant early became con- 

 founded with a very different name which 

 was popular in the Middle Ages. A beau- 

 tiful translucent sea-shell was known as 



