4i8 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



so briefly referred, some special interest, either 

 legendary or real, is attached ; where one may be 

 a deadly poison, another is a useful herb, pos- 

 sessing peculiar medicinal virtue, while some tale 

 or superstition has served to immortalize a third ; 

 and so on throughout our British flora there is in 

 each and all something to attract our attention. 



The forget-me-not, the emblem of constancy 

 and love, is said to have been raised to honour by 

 Henry of Lancaster, who during his exile added 

 a jewelled forget-me-not to the ornamentations of 

 his golden collar, with the initial letter of his 

 watchword, ' Souveigne vous de moi.' 



The ragged robin is also called the cuckoo 

 flower, from its blossoms being most plentiful at 

 the time of year when the notes of the cuckoo are 

 most frequently to be heard. 



The white campion, the vesper or evening 

 flower, receives its second name from its lack of 

 fragrance until the sun has set. 



The comfrey is said to be valuable for medicinal 

 purposes, yielding a mucilage which forms a 

 serviceable emollient. The purple variety is also 

 grown as a crop in some parts of the country, and 

 is held in high esteem as food for fattening 

 swine. 



The greater willow-herb is also known by the 

 name of codlins-and-cream, from the fruity aroma 

 of its blossoms ; and the lesser willow-herb is used 

 on some parts of the Continent for the brewing 

 of ale. 



