38 THE WILD-FLOWERS OF SELBORNE 



remainder of ,the term, and were crowded with the 

 Bee Orchis and Arum maculatum. But, says our 

 writer, Mr. Henry Groves, " the rotation of crops, 

 which has at length been adopted in the island, has 

 almost destroyed this branch of industry, so that 

 instead of being able to procure some pounds of 

 arrowroot, one can scarcely get as many ounces at 

 the present time. There are only one or two persons 

 who make it, and the aggregate quantity is so small 

 that we were unable to obtain any for oneself in 

 1857." In spite, however, of modern agriculture, the 

 Arum continues to flourish in the Isle of Portland, 

 and may still be found, writes a correspondent, " by 

 the thousand." 



In conclusion, it may be noted that many of our 

 garden herbs, still in common use for purposes of 

 seasoning, are in reality British plants. Among them 

 may be mentioned mint and marjoram, and thyme and 

 calamint, all of which may be found in their native 

 haunts. Fennel is abundant on seacliffs in many 

 places in the south of England. Wild balm used to 

 be found within the ancient walls of Portchester 

 Castle. The garden parsley was formerly abundant 

 on the shingly beach at Hurst Castle, where it used 

 to be gathered for domestic purposes. One native 

 herb, however, much in use among our forefathers, 

 is now seldom seen in kitchen gardens we mean 

 Tanacetum vulgare, the common tansy, the dull yellow 

 flowers of which are often conspicuous in waste 

 places. The young leaves and juice of this plant 

 were formerly employed to give colour and flavour 

 to puddings, which were known as tansy cakes, or 

 tansy puddings. In mediaeval times the use of these 

 cakes was specially associated with the season of 



