122 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



appeals to a still older, and perhaps equally reliable, 

 authority, for he tells us that the plant "will tye the 

 tongues of houndes so that they shall not bark at you, 

 if it be laid under the bottom of your feet, as Miraldus 

 writeth." The size and soft texture of the leaf were 

 probably the cause of the name, in the same way that we 

 find another plant with long and rough leaves called the 

 ox-tongue. Pliny, in his writings, refers to a plant called 

 cynoglossos, but it is not certainly known what plant he 

 meant. 



The whole plant has a very strong and disagreeable smell, 

 resembling as nearly as possible that of mice ; and we can 

 only wonder that a resemblance so patent should not have 

 influenced its name. Cattle in general dislike this 

 nauseous herb, but goats will sometimes crop its foliage. 

 As goats, however, will eat with impunity either tobacco- 

 leaves or those of the deadly nightshade, their eccentric 

 taste may well stand alone. 



The hound's tongue seems to be rarely attacked by 

 insects or caterpillars, though the larva of the scarlet 

 tiger-moth, the Hypercowpa dominula of the entomo- 

 logist, may sometimes be found upon it. The cater- 

 pillar is black, with a broad pale yellow stripe along the 

 back, and the moth into which it ultimately develops is 

 one of our gayest and most beautiful insects, the front 

 wings being dark green, spotted with yellow and white, 

 while the hind wings are a deep crimson, spotted with 

 black. 



The specific name of the hound's tongue refers to 

 the officinal value of the plant, but though formerly 

 included in the Materia Medica of the London and 

 Edinburgh Pharmacopeias, and still used in some parts of 



