pfaat/" Q^ ttNaimaf/". 145 



Nnincrous plants have had the names of birds given to them, 

 either from certain pecuHarities in their stru(fture resembHng birds, 

 or because they form acceptable food for the feathered race. Thus 

 the Cock's Comb is so called from the shape of its calyx ; the 

 Cock's Foot, from the form of its spike; and the Cock's Head (the 

 Sainfoin), from the shape of the legume. The Crane's Bill and the 

 Heron's Bill both derive their names from the form of their 

 respective seed vessels. The Guinea Hen (Fvitillaria mcleagyis) has 

 been so called from its petals being spotted like this bird. The 

 Pheasant's Eye [Adonis autumnalis) owes its name to its bright red 

 corolla and dark centre ; the Sparrow Tongue (the Knot-grass) to 

 its small acute leaves ; and the Lark's Spur, Heel, Toe, or Claw 

 [Delphinium) to its projecting nectary. Chickweed and Duckweed 

 have been so called from being favourite food for poultry. The 

 Crow has given its name to a greater number of plants than any 

 other bird. The Ranunculus is the Coronopus or Crow Foot of 

 Dioscorides, the Geranium pratense is the Crowfoot Crane's Bill, the 

 Lotus corniculatus is called Crow Toes, the Daffodil and the Blue-bell 

 both bear the name of Crow Bells, the Empetrum nigrum is the Crow 

 Berry, Allium vincale is Crow Garlick, Scilla nutans, Crow Leeks, 

 and the Scandix Pecten, Crow Needles. The Hen has a few plants 

 named after it, the greater and lesser Hen Bits (Lamiuni amplexicaule 

 and Veronica hederifolia) ; the Hen's Foot [Caucalis daucoides), so 

 called from the resemblance of its leaves to a hen's claw ; and 

 Henbane [Hyoscyamus niger), which seems to have derived its name 

 from the baneful effects its seeds have upon poultry. 



Sfaatf^ coaaeereil— coitFi J\nimaf(i). 



The Ass has named after it the Ass Parsley (^thusa Cynapium), 

 and the Ass's Foot, the Coltsfoot, Tussilago Farfara. William Coles 

 says that " if the Asse be oppressed with melancholy, he eates of 

 the Herbe Asplenion ox Miltwaste, and eases himself of the swelling 

 of the spleen." D. C. Franciscus Paullini has given, in an old 

 work, an account of three Asses he met in Westphalia, which 

 were in the habit of intoxicating themselves by eating white 

 Henbane and Nightshade. These four-footed drunkards, when 

 in their cups, strayed to a pond, where they pulled themselves 

 together with a dip and a draught of water. The same author 

 relates another story. A miller of Thuringia had brought meal 

 with his nine Asses into the next district. Having accepted the 

 hospitality of some boon companions, he left his long-eared friencJs 

 to wander around the place and to feed from the hedgerows and 

 public roads. There they chanced to find a quantity of Thistles 

 that had been cut, and other food mixed with Hemlock, and at 

 once devoured the spoil greedily and confidently. At dusk, the 

 miller, rising to depart, was easily detained by his associates, who 

 cried out that the road was short, and that the moon, which had 



