582 pPant "bore, "bcgel^t)/, ansl "Isijric/*, 



untilled and sunny places. Its Italian name is Sfermcavallo, and in 

 in De Gubernatis' Mythologie des Plantes, we find a letter to the author 

 from Mdme. Valerie de Gasparin, detailing the superstition cur- 

 rent in Italy respe(fting this plant. The Countess writes : — " In 

 our infancy, certain old people of the village spoke of the plant 

 which pulls off horse-shoes. My brother tells me that this super- 

 stition is to be found in all countries. It takes its origin from the 



facft that the seed of the plant has the form of a horse-shoe." 



The plant is also reputed by some people to open locks. An iden- 

 tical superstition exists in England with regard to the Moonwort 

 {Botvychium Lwiaria), which is known as Unshoe-the-Horse. (See 

 Moonwort). 



HOUND'S TONGUE. — The Cynoglossum was probably so 

 named on account of the form and soft texture of the leaf. It is 

 called Hound's Tongue not only in England, but all over the 

 Continent, and the reason given by an old writer is, that " it ties 

 the tongues of hounds; whether true or not, I never tried; yet I 

 cured the biting of a mad dog with this only medicine." Miraldus 

 said, that if a portion of the plant were laid beneath the feet, it 

 would prevent dogs from barking at the wearer. Robert Turner 

 states that Hound's Tongue "cures the biting of dogs, either mad 

 or tame. I lay fourteen weeks once under a chyrurgeon's hand for 

 cure of a dog's biting; but, at last, I effected the cure myself, by 

 applying to the wound Hound's Tongue leaves, changing them 

 once in four-and-twenty hours." The plant has a strong and dis- 

 agreeable odour, which Gerarde tells us caused the Dutchmen to 

 change the plant's name, substituting for "Tongue" an impolite 



word, expressive of the odour of the foliage. Cynoglossum is a 



herb of Saturn. 



HOUSELEEK. — The House-leek [Sempervivum) had, in 

 olden times, the names of Jupiter's Beard, Jupiter's Eye, Bullock's 

 Eye, and Sengreene (a word derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and 

 expressing the same idea as the plant's Latin name Sejiipervivum, 

 evergreen). The old Dutch name of the Houseleek, Donderbloem, 

 Thunder-flower, refers to the popular belief that the plant was a 

 preservative against thunder. Charlemagne ordered the Houseleek 

 to be planted on the roof of every house on this account. Miraldus 

 is stated to have declared that this lowly plant preserves what it 

 grows upon from fire and lightning; and Sir Thomas Browne has 

 left on record his belief that Houseleek is a " defensative from 



lightning." In olden times there existed a belief that Houseleek 



would suppress in children fevers given to them by witchcraft or 

 sorcery. According to Albertus Magnus, he who rubbed his hands 

 with the juice of the Houseleek would be insensible to pain when 



taking red-hot iron in his hands. It is considered unlucky to 



uproot the Houseleek; and there is a curious notion, still in exis- 

 tence, that it is also unlucky to let it blow; the flower-stalk is, 



