THE AGEIMONY, 87 



of waste ground. The plant is perennial, and flowers from 

 the middle of June to about the end of August. It is 

 the Agrimonia Eitpatoria of the botanist. It is a plant 

 that is subject to a very considerable amount of varia- 

 tion, some specimens being far larger than others, much 

 more clothed with hair, and presenting many other dif- 

 ferences. It has therefore by some writers been divided 

 into two species, but it is now very fairly established by 

 general consent that the division can scarcely be main- 

 tained. As one of the features that accompanies the 

 fuller development of the parts is a greater fragrance, 

 one of the species was named A. odorata. The generic 

 title is corrupted from the word argemone, a name given 

 by the early Greek writers to a plant held in great repute 

 for the cure of cataract. There is very little proof forth- 

 coming that this is the plant these old writers referred 

 to, but like most other plants, it had in the Middle 

 Ages, various virtues assigned to it, virtues into which 

 we need not here go, as many of them are too palpably out 

 of all reason to make it worth while even to enumerate 

 them ; curiously enough, however, amidst th'e numerous 

 ailments the agrimony was reported to cure, we find 

 no mention of an eye affection, cataract or any other. 

 The plant would really appear to be in some slight degree 

 febrifugal and tonic in its operation. It is one of the plants 

 that in some districts form what is called " spring drink/' 

 a compound made by an infusion of several herbs, and 

 drunk, as the name implies, in the spring-time, as a 

 purifier of the blood. It is also said by some writers that 

 the agrimony yields a good yellow dye. How far this 

 may be the case we are unable to say, as we have no 

 personal knowledge; but we do know that many such 



