428 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



myrtle, etc., though its first appellation is the most 

 common. The berries, when crushed, were believed 

 to be a useful application for fractured bones, and 

 the roots, boiled with honey, were supposed to be 

 good for various complaints of the chest and lungs. 

 The flowers, which make their appearance early 

 in the spring, are of a greenish-yellow. 



The wild camomile was formerly used as a 

 tonic medicine, and much for the same purposes 

 as is the cultivated plant at the present day. The 

 name is derived from the Greek words \a/nai, on 

 the ground, and ^Aov, an apple. The flowers 

 were also used as a cure for jaundice, and it was 

 very probably found to be an efficacious remedy 

 for that complaint ; but it is somewhat strange 

 that, ' in old medical writers, an external mark or 

 character on a plant was supposed to cure particular 

 disease or diseases of particular parts. Plants 

 with yellow flowers were said to cure the jaundice. 

 Some plants bear a very evident signature of their 

 nature and use.' The above quotation is taken 

 from the work of a well-known authority, and 

 refers to an ancient theory termed ' The Signatures 

 of Plants ' ; of course, it is needless for me to add 

 that such a theory is absolutely groundless. The 

 Spaniards term the wild camomile manzanilla ; 

 hence we may conclude the origin of that name 

 as applied to a certain kind of sherry. 



The colt's-foot, so called from the shape of its 

 leaves, is a conspicuous plant in our stubble-fields, 

 especially when the leaves are turned up by the 



