THE MALLOW AND THE MONEYWORT 445 



the sweetmeat known as pate de guimaiwe is pre- 

 pared. No plant is more generally useful, and its 

 value is fully appreciated. 



The common mallow, a plant which is to be 

 found in every hedgerow and piece of waste 

 ground, though less valuable, perhaps, than the 

 marsh mallow, is not without its uses. From it 

 the mauve dye is procured. The leaves, when 

 boiled, form an excellent poultice for superficial 

 cuts, wounds, and sores, and a decoction, also 

 made from the leaves, is used by the country 

 people as a fomentation for the same purposes. 

 It is not by any means common in Scotland. 



A small, lowly trailing plant may often be 

 observed growing by the sides of the smaller 

 ditches and drains in our water-meadows. During 

 June, July, and August it is bright with yellow 

 flowers. This is the moneywort. When not in 

 flower, it is easily overlooked amid the long grass 

 which surrounds it, and with which its long stems 

 are confused. After hay-harvest, or when the 

 first grazing of the meadows has been completed, 

 it is most conspicuous. Although it naturally 

 prefers a damp situation, it will also thrive ex- 

 ceedingly well in the garden, and the long golden 

 trails form a brilliant and graceful addition to 

 many a window-box in our towns and suburbs. 

 Its name is said to have been derived from the 

 shape of its leaves, which are round, like pennies, 

 and situated in pairs, though graduating in size 

 throughout the length of its stem, the flowers 



