pPant l^ore, Tseqe"!^/, cmi. "bqno/", 309 



DANDELION. — The Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) de- 

 rives its name from the French Dent de lion, lion's tooth. (Latin, 

 Dens leonis). In nearly every European lanj:(uage the flower bears 

 a similar name, given to it presumably either from the whiteness 

 of its root, the auriferous hue of its flower, which recalls the golden 

 teeth of the heraldic lion, or its jagged leaf, which was supposed to 

 resemble a lion's tooth, De Gubcrnatis connecfls the name with the 

 Sun (Helios), and states that a lion was the animal-symbol of the 

 Sun, and that all plants named after him are essentially plants of 

 the Sun. Certainly the appearance of the Dandelion-flower is 



very suggestive of the ancient representations of the Sun. In 



German Switzerland, the children form chains of the stalks of 

 Dandelions, and holding the garland in their hands, they dance 



round and round in a circle. The Dandelion is called the rustic 



oracle : its flowers always open about five a.m. and shut at eight 

 p.m., serving the shepherd for a clock — 



" Leontodons unfold 

 On the swart turf their ray-encircled gold, 

 With Sol's expanding beam the flowers unclose, 

 And rising Hesper lights them to repose. — Darwin. 



As the flower is the shepherd's clock, so are the feathery seed-tufts 

 his barometer, predicating calm or storm. These downy seed-balls, 

 which children blow off" to find out the hour of the day, serve for 

 other oracular purposes. Are you separated from the obje<ft of 

 your love P^carefully pluck one of the feathery heads, charge each 

 of the little feathers composing it with a tender thought ; turn to- 

 wards the spot where the loved one dwells ; blow, and the seed- 

 ball will convey your message faithfully. Do you wish to know 

 if that dear one is thinking of you, blow again ; and if there be left 

 upon the stalk a single aigrette, it is a proof you are not forgotten. 

 Similarly the Dandelion is consulted as to whether the lover lives 

 east, west, north, or south, and whether he is coming or not. 



" Will he come ? I pluck the flower leaves off. 

 And at each, cry, yes — no — yes ; 

 I blow the down from the dry Hawkweed, 

 Once, twice— hah ! it flies amiss ! " — Scotl. 



Old herbalists had great faith in the Dandelion as a wonderful help 

 to consumptive people. More recently, in the county of Donegal, 

 an old woman skilled in simples has treated her patients for 

 " heart fever," or dyspepsia, as follows : — She measures the suf- 

 ferer three times round the waist with a ribbon, to the outer 

 edge of which is fastened a green thread. If the patient be mis- 

 taken in supposing himself aff"e(fl:ed with heart fever, this green 

 thread will remain in its place, but should he really have the dis- 

 order, it is found that the green thread has left the edge of the 

 ribbon and lies curled up in the centre. At the third measuring, 

 the simpler prays for a blessing. She next hands the patient nine- 

 leaves of "licart fever grass," or Dandelion, gathered by herself. 



