THE LARGER KNAPWEED. 155 



the plant because, either with this or some other species 

 of the genus, the Centaur Chiron cured himself of a wound 

 received in the foot from Hercules. There must, however, 

 surely be an error here, as in the ordinarily accepted myth 

 the wound was a mortal one. There is another common 

 plant found in the chalk districts the home in an 

 especial degree of the knapweed called the scabious, a 

 plant, in general size, form of leaf, and other features, 

 very similar to the present plant. The word scabious 

 is derived from the Latin word scabies, an irritating 

 roughness or eruption of the skin, a term still employed 

 in medical science. The plant was so called because it 

 was formerly employed as a remedy in this and other 

 cutaneous affections. It will be noticed that the specific or 

 second name of the knapweed is also scabiosa ; but whether 

 it is so called from its resemblance to that plant, and there- 

 fore the scabious-like knapweed, or whether it is from its 

 having the credit of possessing healing virtues of a similar 

 character, we cannot say. We do not in any old herbal 

 accessible to us find this particular application of its 

 remedial efficacy, though it is credited with healing power 

 in several other directions staying bleeding of the nose, 

 curing inward wounds, being "good for those that are 

 bruised by any falls, blows, or otherwise, and is profitable 

 for those that are bursten," and a sovereign remedy for 

 sore throat and many other things. 



There are six or seven other species of Centaurea more 

 or less commonly to be met with. We give the number 

 in this rather vague way, for, while some botanists accept 

 certain forms as having specific value, others regard 

 them but as varieties. The black knapweed, or C. nigra, 

 is a very widely distributed species, being found almost 



