USES OF w:ld plants. 



159 



is gathered in large quantities by the village herbalists, and used to 

 allay the sufferings induced by the obstinate coughs so prevalent in 

 early spring. In the time of Queen Elizabeth the " herbe women" 

 were wont to cry it regularly with the other " simples," both in a fresh 

 and dry state about the streets of London. It was then known by 

 the now obsolete names of ale-hoof, tun-hoof, cat's-hoof, hay-maids, 

 and gill-by-the-ground. Ray speaks of it in terms of the highest 

 praise, and mentions some great cures effected by it. 



Another plant, possessing excellent tonic properties, the gentian, 

 Gentiana amarella, is to be found in meadows or limestone soils ; its 

 bell-shaped flowers grow in beautiful clusters ; and is found in the 

 crevices of the rocks, and on the silppery surfaces of the glaciers in 

 the Alpine regions, blooming and shedding its sweet smiles of beauty 

 upon those silent and solitary regions of perpetual snow. It is a rare 

 plant, as are all our wild species of gentian. Nor must we pass the 

 violet, that favourite of the poet ; a flower endeared to us by the 

 sweetest associations — by memories of home and early love, and wood- 

 land rambles, and the budding of fond anticipations. Blooming so 

 modestly in green nooks and shady coverts, but betraying itself by its 

 own sweet fragrance. It is a native of both hemispheres ; it blooms 

 in the bleak fields of Norway, and beneath the palms of Africa ; in 

 Syria and China it produces its bumble blossom, and sheds its hallowed 

 perfume amid the gorgeous roses and camellias of those sunny climes. 

 It was formerly sold in the markets of Athens, and was highly 

 esteemed by the Athenians, and as a silent rebuke to man, that, while 

 his works crumble into dust, nature still continues constant, the 

 violets flower in rich profusion amid the desolate ruin of the cities of 

 Greece, and now, in Athens, 



" The air is sweet with violets running wild 

 'Mid broken sculptures and fallen capitals." 



Pliny held the violet in great esteem, and he avers that a garland 

 of violets worn round the head would prevent headache or giddiness. 

 But modern science does not recognise this ; the practice is rather 

 calculated to produce headache, and there are instances of a great 

 number of violets in an apartment having given rise to convulsions. 

 We may remark en passant that the fragrance of flowers is only bene- 

 ficial when inhaled in the open air, and that a large number of flowers 

 of any kind in a close apartment is injurious to health. 



