MARSH-THISTLE. 115 



Lord of the Tenth be strong 1 , make use of his medicines : 

 but if this cannot well be, make use of the remedies of 

 the Light of Time. Be sure always to fortify the 

 grieved part -of the body by sympathetical remedies. 

 Regard the heart, keep that upon the wheels, because 

 the sun is the foundation of life, and therefore, those 

 universal remedies, aurum potabile and the philosopher's 

 stone, cure all diseases/' All which points we trust our 

 readers will duly bear in mind when they doctor them- 

 selves with this or any of the other plants of our series, 

 or we must most distinctly decline to be responsible for 

 any consequences that may ensue. But revenons a nos 

 chard ons. 



The marsh-thistle, as its name implies, prefers moist 

 situations, and may be looked for or rather, found, as its 

 abundance precludes the necessity of search not only 

 on marshy grounds, but on moist heaths and commons, 

 damp meadows, and the boggy places in woods. It is 

 ordinarily some five feet high, but in this last locality 

 its growth amongst the sheltering and shade-casting trees 

 is often considerably beyond this, while its long, slender, 

 and scarcely-branched stem and erect growth make it look 

 even taller than it is. As it is pre-eminently the thistle 

 of the marsh, and is never found except in such localities 

 as we have referred to, it is not likely to be mistaken 

 for any other thistle. Like all the rest of its relatives, 

 it often varies to white flower-heads, and while the 

 stem and leaves are exceptionally spiny, it differs from 

 most of the other species in having its flower-heads de- 

 fenceless. Both these characters, the excess of spiny 

 defence in one part and the absence of it in another, 

 rnny be clearly seen in our figure. The leaves are long, 



