208 rOIlTY DAYS OF ST. SWITIIIV. 



JULY 26. St. A\xe, mother of our Lady. 



St. Germanus, bishop and confessor, 448. 



Obs. The Hebrew word Anne signifies Gracious. St. Joachim 

 and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin, are justly honoured 

 in the church, and their virtue is highly extolled by St. John Da- 

 mascen. The body of St. Anne was brought from Palestine to 

 Constantinople in 710, whence some portion of her relics have been 

 dispersed in the West. 



Field Chamomile Matricaria Chamomilla full fl. 

 Yellow Zoegea Zoegea leptaurea full fl. 

 White Sphenogyne Sphenogyne anthemoides fl. 

 Our Ladies Traces Spiranthes spiralis fl. 

 i\Iarsh Malaxis Malaxis paludosa fl. 

 Horned Pondweed Zanichellia palustris fl. 

 Jove's Beard Sempervivum tectorum full fl. 



The Malaxis paludosa has been found on Ashdown Forest near 

 Hartfield in Sussex, we believe by the late Scottish hotanist Mr. 

 Dickson, of Croydon in Surry ; and by the late Mr. T. F, Forster. 



The Field Chamomile is in the Floral Directory called Flower of 

 St. Anne. It seems that the word Matricaria is derived of mater 

 mother, and cara, beloved, and was so called, as some will allow' 

 because of the name of St Anne's Flower, the Blessed \"ir^in beinc^ 

 infinitely dear to her mother. Others derive it from much olde'r 

 authority, in the times of the antient Romans ; it is evidently, how- 

 ever, compounded of matri and cura. 



Celandines or Horned Poppies still flower. 



Houseleaks or Joubarbes are plants that appear like a collection ot 

 large, glossy, green roses, of a heavy leathery appearance. Some 

 persons admire them ; others despise them as clumsy weeds. 

 Linnaeus informs us that in Smoland Houseleek is a preservative to 

 the roofs of houses. The Common Houseleek may easily be made 

 to cover the roof of a building, whether tile, thatch, or wood, by 

 sticking the offsets upon it with a little earth. 



The species vary in the colour of their flowers and time of flower- 

 ing, but they are most commonly red or yellow, appearing from 

 June to August. The juice of the Houseleek, either alone or mixed 

 ■with cream, affords immediate relief in burns and other external in- 

 flammations, and is considered an excellent remedy for the heat 

 and roughness of the skin sometimes attenJant upon the changes of 

 the seasons. 



