278 THE CUCKOO. 



common in the west of Scotland and elsewhere. Gay thus 

 refers to it in his " Shepherd's Week " — 



When first the year, I heard the Cuckoo sing, 

 And call with welcome note the budding spring, 



Upon a rising bank I sat adown, 



And doff'd my slioe, and by my troth I swear, 



Therein I spied this yellow frizzled hair, 



As like to Lubberkin's in curl and hue, 



As if upon his comely pate it grew. 



A story is told of some worthy inhabitants of the village of 

 Gordon, who, wishing to have perennial spring and summer, 

 thought to attain their object by building a high wall round 

 a place frequented by the Cuckoo ; but the bird escaped, and 

 the " Gowks o' Gordon " consoled themselves by the reflec- 

 tion that the wall had not been built high enough.^ 



The ancient name of Godscroft, the estate of David 

 Hume, the historian of the Douglases and the Homes, is 

 said to have been " Gowkscroft," from the great number of 

 Cuckoos which frequented it ; and to this day the country 

 people call the place "Gowkscraft," and sometimes "Gowkie." 

 According to Dr. Henderson, of Chirnside, Quixwood means 

 the wood of the Cuckoo, and appears to have been derived 

 from the Celtic word, Cumh, the Cuckoo.^ 



Several wild plants which grow in Berwickshire are named 

 from this bird. Dr. George Johnston, writing of Cardamine 

 pratensis, says : — " Our children, with whom the plant is a. 

 favourite, call it also ' Cuckoo-Flower,' because the Cuckoo 

 often drops what they believe to be its spittle on the leaves.^ 

 Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acdosella), a common plant in our 

 woods, is called 'Cuckoo's-meat,' 'Gowk's-meat,' and 'Gowk's 



1 Hist. Ber. Nat. Club, vol. ix. p. 228. See also " Pop. Hist, of the Cuckoo," 

 Folk Lore Record, vol. ii. pp. 67-68, by James Hardy. 



" Dr. Henderson's MS. Notes. 



2 Natural History of the Eastern Borders, vol. i. "Botany," p. 33. 



