YELLOW ROCKET. S9 



we need here only refer to St. Anthony 's nut, St. Barnaby's 

 thistle, herb Bennet, herb Christopher, and St. John's wort. 

 The yellow rocket was at one time cultivated as an early 

 salad, and it was probably placed under the patronage 

 of this special saint from its being sown about the 

 16th of December, the day consecrated to her. To St. 

 Barbara wasassigned, during the Middle Ages, the somewhat 

 unsaintly and unwomanly function of presiding over the 

 safety of arsenals and powder magazines. At first sight 

 one is at a loss to account for such an association, but 

 the legend attached to her name gives us the needful clue 

 to the mystery. It appears that on her profession of 

 Christianity her father denounced her to the authorities, 

 and after she had been subjected in vain to torture, the 

 task of her decapitation was assigned to him, but when 

 he was about to strike the fatal blow a flash of lightning 

 laid him dead at her feet. Hence she was invoked in 

 thunderstorms by the timid, and her protection would 

 naturally be claimed by those who had charge of warlike 

 stores and realised the disturbing influence the artillery of 

 heaven might exercise on their stores of powder. 



The name bitter winter cress was bestowed on the plant 

 because, as we have already indicated, it was cultivated as a 

 salad-plant. One great recommendation it possessed was that 

 it was available at a time when other plants were not pro- 

 curable, as its leaves continue green all the winter long. If 

 the outer leaves are picked as tbe plant grows up, and the 

 flowering-stems cut off and kept down, a plentiful supply 

 of leaves may be obtained from it throughout the winter 

 and spring months. The plant is very rarely destroyed 

 by frost, and we may see its glossy leaves on the hedge- 

 banks even in the midst of winter : they have a slight!}' 



