THE BLUE-STEMMED GOLDEN-ROD. 151 



Vaillant, one of the great botanists of the generation which im- 

 mediately preceded his. It is said to have been derived from 

 solidits, a Latin word meaning to make whole or solid, and ori- 

 ginally given to the Virga-aurea, for its medicinal reputation. 

 Salmon, an herbalist of the beginning of the seventeenth century, 

 says ; " It is one of the most noble wound-herbs ; cures wounds 

 and ulcers." It appears, also, to have been famous as a dye. 

 Another old herbalist, Culpeper, says: "Venus rules this herb. 

 It is a balsamic, vulnerary herb, long famous against inward 

 hurts and bruises. No preparation is better than a tea of this 

 herb for this service, and the young leaves, green or dry, have 

 the most virtue." Though Linnaeus admits it into his " Materia 

 Medica," and though it was named from its medicinal virtue, 

 yet it is now wholly discarded from medicinal use. The name 

 of our species, ccesia, means bluish gray, and refers to the color 

 of the stalk. 



The Golden-Rod is a principal element in every picture of an 

 American autumn. It is a chief floral ornament in our truly 

 splendid autumnal landscapes. It matches well with the gor- 

 geous hues which clothe our forests in that season of the year. 

 It is among the last of Nature's bright things to fade out into 

 the sad universal gray of the dead season. 



" But on the hills the golden-rod and the aster in the wood, 



And the yellow sunflower by the brook in autumn beauty stood, 



Till fell the frost from the clear cold heaven, as falls the plague on men, 



And the brightness of their smile was gone from upland, glade, and glen." 



With flowers as with men, "the time to die" comes at last 

 to all. But the Golden-Rod and the Aster are the crown and 



