THE TOAD-FLAX. 115 



following the blossoms is a rather large capsule, somewhat 

 egg-shaped, and full of large seeds. With the exception 

 of the one remarkable variation already referred to, the 

 plant is subject to very little change abnormal forms are 

 very rarely met with. The flowers appear to form a 

 welcome shelter to many small insects. While making 

 the drawing of the plant for our plate, we found several 

 small beetles ensconced beneath the upper member of the 

 flower in the very jaws of the dragon, in fact and two 

 or three other kinds of insects were in like position. 



The generic name of the plant is taken from the Latin 

 linum, flax, the general appearance of this and one or two 

 other species being, when not in flower, not at all unlike 

 the true flax. In the old writers we find the name toad- 

 flax is applied exclusively to those species that have narrow 

 and flax-like leaves; the present plant is also sometimes 

 called wild-flax or flax- weed from this accidental resem- 

 blance. The prefix " toad " was do doubt added on the 

 same principle as we may see "dog" employed as 

 an indication of worthlessness, because the thing, while 

 looking like a plant so serviceable, was, after all, spurious 

 and valueless. According, however, to some old writers, it 

 is so-called because the flower has " a mouth like unto a 

 frog's mouth/'' A few plant-names arise from a certain 

 sense of humour on the part of those who first started 

 them. Thus hemp, from its use in providing the halter for 

 the law's dread requirement, is in some old books called 

 gallows-grass, while others call it neck-weed ; and this 

 grim jesting changes into contempt in the names, dog's 

 orach, dog-violet, hog-fennel, swine's-cress, and horse- 

 mint. The fool's parsley may also here be cited, as the 

 plain inference is that it is a worthless counterfeit of a 



