THE NODDING THISTLE. 27 



form somewhat striking plants as they tower above their 

 lowlier neighbours. 



The nodding- thistle, or musk thistle, as it is some- 

 times called, is more especially found on wide open wastes, 

 on bleak stony moorlands, or the broad expanses of chalk 

 downs of the south and west of England. Almost all 

 lovers of plants will recall with pleasure the occasion when 

 they first made the acquaintance of some new species, or 

 saw some old favourite under exceptionally favourable 

 conditions. To ourselves, the sight of the white water-lily 

 especially recalls the memory of a quiet pool on the Wey, 

 where, fringed all round with dark solemn firs, the stream 

 itself was one mass of the large floating leaves and creamy 

 white cups of this lovely flower. Meyringen is ever in our 

 mind a key-word to recall the boundless profusion in its 

 mountain pastures of the gay meadow saffron ; and the 

 present plant is a pleasant memory of a long walk once 

 taken through a district that for miles was full of this 

 stately thistle and that culminated in our first sight of 

 Stonehenge. 



The nodding thistle is the Carduus nutans of science. 

 It has been suggested that the generic name is derived 

 from the Celtic card, the spiny points of some of the 

 flower heads of the thistle having possibly been used as 

 a means of carding wool ; or that it is a corruption from 

 the Celtic ard, a sharp point, a feature that the thistles 

 certainly possess to a somewhat painful degree. Neither 

 of these derivations, we confess, appears to us quite 

 satisfaetory ; but we are unable to suggest a better, and 

 must perforce leave the question in the hands of our 

 philological readers. The specific term nutans simply 

 means nodding. Our English name for the various plants 



