HEATHER ALE 



Though unobtrusive all thy beauties shine, 

 Yet boast thou, rival of the purple vine! 

 For once thy mantling juice was seen to laugh 

 In pearly cups, which monarchs loved to quaff; 

 And frequent waked the wild inspired lay 

 On Teviot's hills beneath the Pictish sway. 



Leydcn. 



PROBABLY nothing in Heather history has cre- 

 ated more discussion, or given rise to more tra- 

 ditionary lore concerning the plant, than Heath- 

 er ale. There is abundant evidence in the literature 

 concerning Scotland to convince us that a potable 

 liquor of some kind, and a very agreeable one, was ob- 

 tained from the Heather plant, and that up to very 

 recent times. 



The statement of Hector Boethius, one of the 

 earliest Scottish historians, regarding this phase of 

 the Heather, as it appears in a volume published in 

 1526, and entitled "Scotorum Regni, Fol. XIII.," Linea 

 LXX et seq., is as follows: "Per loca inculta & 

 sterilitate infcecuda sponte sua enascitur, cu ouibus, 

 capris & omni pecudum generi utilissima, ut Columella 

 inqt Cytisus, turn apibus in primis gratissima. Florem 

 enim fert mense lulio purpurei coloris mellitissimu : 

 unde Picti olim potus genus cSficiere solebat, ut ex 

 literaru monimentis accepim 8 , no min 8 salubre quam 

 92 



