THE YAKEOW. 



Achillea millefolitim. Nat. Ord., Composite. 



NE of our commonest plants is 

 the yarrow, or milfoil, though, as 

 it is somewhat lacking in attrac- 

 tiveness, it is very possible that 

 it is unknown to many. Its com- 

 mon name, yarrow, is a corrup- 

 tion of the Anglo-Saxon name 

 for it gearwe ; while the second 

 popular name, milfoil, is derived 

 from the Latin mille, a thousand, 

 and folium, a leaf, in evident 

 allusion to the very numerous 

 divisions of the leaf. It is hence 

 in some country districts called 

 thousand - leaf. The botanical 

 name of the yarrow is the Achillea 

 millefolium; the same idea is 

 therefore conveyed both in the 

 specific and popular names. The plant was in olden time 

 accredited with many healing virtues. According to an 

 old myth, Achilles was the first to employ the plant 

 medicinally, having been instructed in its properties and 

 uses by Chiron the Centaur, who, as we have seen, also 

 gave his name to the knapweed, or Centaurea. In honour 



