530 



NA TURE 



[Oct. 6, 1887 



of which can be identified with either of the plants above 

 mentioned. 



The glossarist can hardly have supposed that marigold 

 and chicory meant the same thing, but he was evidently 

 hazy as to the meaning of incubus, which occurs again in 

 the following gloss (p. 39) : " Cicuta, celena, incubus, 

 coniza vel conium, herba benedicta idem. Gallice 

 chanele vel chanelire ; angl. hemelok vel hornwistel." 



Gerarde has preserved the name Herb Bennet ; the other 

 synonyms we must leave Mr. Mowat to explain. He 

 suggests that the strange name hornwistel may be 

 derived from the offensive smell of the plant. Very 

 likely he is right, but, without any pretensions to philo- 

 logical learning, we may suggest that a hemlock stem 

 is easily converted into a whistle. 



At p. 156 we have the true etymology of the deceptive 

 name meadow-sweet, " Reginela, Regina Prati, mede- 

 wort," the English name meaning a plant used for 

 flavouring mead, and altered into meadow-sweet possibly, 

 as Dr. Prior suggests, through some confusion with 

 Regina Prati, queen of the meadow, which name, again, 

 is preserved in the French " Reine des Pres." 



Several glosses give the old form of primrose, primerole, 

 a diminutive of Italian prima vera, the first flower of 

 spring ; and show, moreover, that this name was origin- 

 ally assigned to the daisy, called also Consolida minor, of 

 which the German "OrtusSanitatis" gives an unmistakable 

 figure. The reason evidently was that our primrose is a 

 rare flower in Italy, where the daisy is the herald of 

 spring, but the northern botanists found the name better 

 suited to the flower which now bears it, or to the cowslip, 

 herba Sancti Petri. 



It is still more startling to find Ligustrum (or modern 

 privet) glossed in some lists (though not in this) as 

 primrose or cowslip. But whatever plant may have 

 been originally meant by Ligustrum, the name privet, or 

 primet, was, as shown by Dr. Prior, originally identical 

 in meaning and almost in etymology with primrose, being 

 derived from French Prime-printemps = Primprint, 

 primet, or prim. Why the Latin name was at one time 

 applied to the flower, at another to the shrub now thus 

 called, is not quite clear. 



A curious relic of ancient medicine is preserved in the 

 gloss (p. 5) : " Allium domesticum, tyriaca rusticorum, 

 gall. angl. garleke." Here tyriaca = BrjpioKf) = theriaca 

 (treacle), a once celebrated antidote against snakes and 

 venomous animals. A plant supposed to be the garlick 

 was called by Galen a name rendered in Latin Theriaca 

 rusticorum, and so became " poor man's treacle," a name 

 which garlick still bears, though the modern transference 

 of the word treacle to molasses makes it appear absurd. 



The medical terms in " Alphita " are extremely interest- 

 ing, but space forbids entering upon the subject. One 

 curious instance may, however, be quoted, which shows 

 that " there is nothing new under the sun." Only last year 

 Prof. Liebreich, of Berlin, introduced to the medical 

 world, under the name of " lanoline," a 'new fatty sub- 

 stance for ointments, derived from wool, which has proved 

 a most successful novelty. Now, we find in our glossary 

 the following : " Ysopus cerotis vel Ysopum cerotum est 

 succus lane succide per decoctionem extractus. Qualiter 

 efficitur quere in Dyascorides " (p. 198). I.e. "the cerate 

 (or ointment) Ysopum is a 'juice ' extracted by boiling 



from uncleaned wool. For the mode of preparation con 

 suit Dioscorides." This is, in fact, olfrvKos, or CESopui 

 mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny as a fat extracte( 

 from the fleeces of sheep, and is practically identica 

 with Liebreich's lanoline. 



While thanking Mr. Mowat for this valuable contribu 

 tion to the history of mediaeval science, and the Clarendoi 

 Press for their spirited endeavour to make the treasure; 

 of the Bodleian common property, we may suggest tha 

 there are other scientific relics equally worthy of atten 

 tion: such, for instance, as some remarkable illustratei 

 manuscripts of anatomy and natural history, or the work: 

 of John Arderne, the English surgeon, a relic at leas 

 equal in historical value to those already published, anc 

 of far greater national significance. 



J. F. Payne. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Fresh Woods and Pastures New. By the Author of "Ai 

 Amateur Angler's Days in Dove Dale." (London 

 Sampson Low, 1887.) 



In this delightful little volume the amateur angler, whi 

 discoursed so pleasantly on the beauties of the stream 

 and fields of Dove Dale a few years ago, recounts his sub 

 sequent experiences of country life and amongst countr 

 scenes. Angling plays but an inconsiderable part in the pre 

 sent book, but the spirit of the angler is over every chapte 

 — the spirit, namely, which finds placid enjoyment in a) 

 the sights and sounds of Nature, and something ne\ 

 and interesting everywhere. His motto is, that th 

 old simplicity of the country " though hid in gre> 

 Doth look more gay Than foppery in plush and scarle 

 clad." Of this capacity for finding amusement everj 

 where the chapter on turkeys and peacocks is an example 

 A battle between two flocks of turkeys is described wit 

 much humour ; the method in which these birds fight i 

 perhaps new even to persons who think they know a goo 

 deal about turkeys ; it certainly will be to others. Agair 

 the description of a peacock going to roost is full of quiei 

 fun ; few persons, even of those who live in the countn 

 have ever seen a peacock perform the feat of flying into 

 tree for the night. Yet it is a feat to which great impor 

 ance is attached by the bird himself ; it is only to be don 

 with great circumspection, hesitation, and show of indi 

 ference. A score of other topics connected with the counti 

 are treated with a like charm. The little book, both i 

 subjects and mode of treatment, is a gem. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinio 

 expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he unde 

 take to return, or to correspond with the writers 

 rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonym 

 com munications. 



[The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep 

 letters as short as possible. The pressure on his 

 is so great that it is impossible otherwise to insurA 

 appearance even of cojnmunications containing interel^ 

 and novel facts, "Y 



ytn 



I 



The British Museum and American Museums. 



I VERY much regret to learn that my friend Prof. Flower tl«i 

 I have done great injustice to the British Museum of Natui 

 History in my article on "American Museums," which has a 

 peared in the September number of the Fortnightly Review. 1 

 article was sent to England last February, and I had no opporti 

 of correcting the proofs, as some very bad misprints will suffici 

 indicate. Nothing was farther from my mind than to make 

 reflections on the management or arrangement of the Museum 



