OF BRITISH PLANTS. 21 



BLUE-, in Ben Jonson's Vision of Delight, the 

 bitter-sweet, 



" How the blue bindweed doth itself infold 

 With honeysuckle ! " 



Solanum Dulcamara, L. 



BIND-WITH, a with used to bind up faggots, the Tra- 

 veller's joy, Clematis Vitalba, L. 



BIRCH, A.S. beorc, birce, or byre, O.H.G. piricha, L.G. 

 barke, Du. berke, Da. birk, Ic. and Sw. Mark, Russ. bereza, 

 a 2, as usual, replacing a German k, connected with Skr. 

 brichk, Hindi birchk, a tree, and perhaps with Skr. bhurgga, 

 a tree whose bark is used for writing upon. Klaproth 

 argues from this word the northern origin of the dominant 

 race in Hindostan, to whom this tree was the only one 

 south ot the Himalaya which they could name; all the 

 others being new to them (Garnett, p. 33). It is the same 

 word as bark in the two significations of tree-rind and 

 vessel. In the first, as tree-rind, we find it forming A.S. 

 beorcan, to bark, L.G. bark, borke, Eng. Du. and Da. 

 bark, Ic. and O.N. boerkr ; in the sense of vessel, the 

 Lat. barca, which, as it stands isolated in its own language, 

 is, no doubt, of foreign origin, the s"ource of Fr. barque, 

 Du. and Da. barke, Ic. barkr, Eng. bark and barge. In 

 the earlier period of our Germanic race, while it was still 

 confined to the northern latitudes, birch bark was used, as 

 at the present day in the same countries, for boat build- 

 ing and roofing, and probably, as in Norway occasionally, 

 for greaves for the legs, and from these different applica- 

 tions the tree took its name of bark-tree, a word connected 

 with G. bergen, A.S. beorgan, protect, shelter, put into a 

 place of safety. Betula alba, L. 



BIRD'S BREAD, from the Fr. pain d'oiseau, the stone- 

 crop, called so, apparently, from no better reason than its 

 appearance in blossom when young birds are hatched, 



Sedum acre, L. 



