MULLEIN, SCABIOUS,. YARROW, ETC. 419 



The mullein is said to be a specific for ague, 

 while to the yellow toad-flax innumerable virtues 

 are inscribed, not the least of which is its utility 

 as a fly- destroyer, the flowers being for this 

 purpose dipped in milk, though it must be added 

 that, since the plant is, when used medicinally, a 

 powerful drug, its use as a remedy for the destruc- 

 tion of flies demands some considerable caution. 



The devil's-bit scabious owes its name to the 

 legend that * the devil bit its root out of envy, 

 because it was a herb possessing so many virtues, 

 and was so useful to mankind '; though what those 

 virtues may have been prior to the satanic on- 

 slaught is not recorded. The leaves, when dried, 

 were, however, occasionally used for the purpose 

 of dyeing. 



From the yarrow an astringent ointment is pre- 

 pared, and yarrow-tea was formerly recommended 

 by the herbalist doctors, though I am unable to 

 state for what complaints it was supposed to be a 

 specific ; but a friend of mine informed me that 

 it was a favourite remedy with their old family 

 nurse, who insisted on the children partaking of 

 it periodically (as a tonic, I presume), and that its 

 flavour was too disgusting for words. Hence, 

 perhaps, its supposed virtue. 



The wild mignonette, so common on the 

 chalky downlands, turns its long, graceful stems 

 towards the sun during its course. 



o 



The uses of the elder-tree are numerous. The 

 heavily-scented flowers, when distilled, form a 



