pPant Tsore, IseqcT^y, and. Tsi^ric/. 551 



he invaded Gedrosia, could smell from the back of his elephant the 

 fragrance of the Nard as it was trod upon by the horses feet. This 

 error was shared by Linnaeus, who did not attempt to classify the plant, 

 but was inclined to think it was the same as the Andropogon Nardus, 

 commonly called Ginger Grass. Sir William Jones, the learned 

 orientalist, turned his serious attention to this question, and after 

 a laborious investigation succeeded in establishing beyond doubt 

 that the Spikenard of the ancients was a plant of the Valerianic order, 

 called by the Arabs Sumbul, which means ' spike,' and by the Hindus 

 Jatamansi, which signifies ' locks of hair,' both appellations being 

 derived from its having a stem which somewhat resembles the tail 

 of an ermine, or of a small weasel. He, consequently, gave it the 

 name of Valeviami Jatamansi, under which it is now generally classed 

 by botanists. It is found in the mountainous regions of India, 

 principally in Bootan and Nepaul. Its name appears to be derived 

 from the Tamil language, in which the syllable ndr denotes any 

 thing possessmg fragrance, such as ndrtuni pillii, ' Lemon Grass;' 

 ndrum panci, ' Indian Jasmine;' ndrtuni manmn, ' Wild Orange,' &c. 

 It is highly propable, however, that the word Spikenard was often 

 applied by the ancients as a generic name for every sort of per- 

 fume, as the Chinese now designate all their scents by the name of 

 hi-ang, which properly means incense, it being for them the type of 



all perfumes." In an Indian poem, the hero, compelled to go 



upon his travels immediately after wedding the girl of his heart, 

 takes leave of her in his garden, and showing her a Spikenard 

 of his own planting, enjoins her to watch over it with loving 

 care; for as long as it thrives all w^ill go well with him, but should 

 it wither some fatal misfortune will certainly befall him. Years 

 pass away before he can turn his steps homewards. Then he 

 assumes the garb of a mendicant, goes to his home, gains admis- 

 sion to the garden, and there sees his faithful wife weeping over 

 the precious Spikenard, grown into a mighty plant, telling its own 

 tale. The finish can well be guessed. 



SPRINGWORT.— The Springwort, or Blasting-root, is 

 famed in German legends for its magical power of opening locks, 

 however strong, hidden doors, rocks, and secret entrances to 

 caves where are stored inexhaustible treasures. In Kelly's ' Indo- 

 European Tradition,' we read that as a rule the Springwort has 

 been regarded as an unknown species of plants, and therefore 

 most difficult to find ; but some few accounts specify known 

 plants, and Grimm mentions the Euphorbia Lathyris, which he 

 identifies with the Sferracavallo of the Italians, so named because it 

 aifts so potently on metals, that horses, if they tread on it, have their 

 shoes drawn off". (The Sferracavallo, however, was stated by Mentzel 

 in 1682 to be a Vetch now known as the Hippocrepis). The Spring- 

 wort is procured by plugging up the hole in a tree m which a green 

 or black woodpecker has its nest with young ones in it. As soon 

 as the bird is aware of what has been done, it flies off" in quest of 



