566 REVIEWS. [June, 



may be in flower in early seasons on the 17th of March in 

 Wiltshire, and in the south of England generally, but it is later 

 in Ireland. 



Besides, it is scarcely credible that the people, who know little 

 about the modern distinctions between wild and domesticated 

 plants, cared whether their emblematic flower or plant was wild 

 or cultivated. 



But is it a real or only an assumed fact that the Dutch or 

 white Clover is not indigenous in Ireland, as it is usually, rather 

 universally, admitted to be a native of Great Britain ? We have 

 several plants which are both wild and cultivated, — for example, 

 the red and white Clover. Sainfoin grows in fields, and on banks 

 by roadsides. Bibgrass grows wild, and it is sometimes sown for 

 pasture and for being cut as green food. Some say that Carrots, 

 Parsnips, Cabbages, and many other plants are both wild and 

 tame. Why should white Clover be an exception? It may, how- 

 ever be observed that even admitting that tlie plant now adopted 

 by the modern inhabitants of Ireland as their national badge was 

 not introduced before the sixteenth century : let us just ask 

 where is the proof that the custom of wearing Trefoil on the hat 

 or button-hole of a true Hibernian was observed before that time. 

 The plant, even if introduced, might *have been then in time 

 enough to afford this lively people a means of indulging their 

 whim. 



We should like to learn what authority there is that the Irish 

 people, either ancient or modern, ever employed the Wood Sorrel 

 as an article of food. The author who visited Ireland in the six- 

 teenth century, and who relates the fact of the people's eating 

 this herb called Shamrock, also states that their destitution was 

 so great that they ate each other. When a famished nation is 

 reduced to such extremities, the distinctions between the acid 

 and the astringent are not very obvious ; Cresses, Dock leaves. 

 Sorrel, and mayhap Clover, are eagerly gathered and devoured 

 to allay the pangs of hunger. The Wood Sorrel would be but a 

 poor substitute for the valuable Potato, even if a sufficient quan- 

 tity could be procured, which would be impossible, for the plant 

 is not very common, and it yields the slightest possible herbage. 



It is true that this plant is called Shamrock in the native lan- 

 guage, but it is equally true that the Trefoils, Buckbean, and pos- 

 sibly other trifoliate plants, are called by the same name. 



