328 HOHTUS GRAMINKUS WOBURNENSIS. 



It flowers about the middle and towards the end of June. The 

 seeds are large, and when sown in wet soils generally burst and 



thistles, by suffering them to grow till near the period of their coming into flower 

 before they are cut; because, when mown at an earlier stage of their growth, they 

 continue to send out suckers during the rest of the season, and consequently require 

 an endless repetition of mowing, without fulfilling the intention. But the only re- 

 medy is to break up the pasture and improve it by a judicious course of crops, which 

 includes the application of clay, if the soil be sandy, and proper manuring. All 

 this, however, will be ineffectual, if the surrounding edges and waste places are 

 neglected. 



1. Anthemis nobills. Common or Sweet Chamomile. E. Bot. 930; Wood. 

 Med. 103. A perennial, flowering in July and August, well known for its use in 

 medicine. It is observed, that the single flowers are far superior to the double ones 

 which are cultivated in gardens, and sold in the shops. I never could observe that 

 any part of this plant was touched by cattle. 



3. Antirrhinum linaria. Common Toad Flax, or Butter and Eggs. Curt. 

 Lond. Eng. Bot. 658; Flo. Dan. 982. A perennial plant, more common by the 

 sides of fields than in the body of the pastures. Dr. Withering says, that an infu- 

 sion of the leaves is diuretic] and purgative; and an ointment prepared from them 

 gives relief in the piles. The expressed juice mixed with milk is a poison to flies, 

 as is likewise the smell of the flowers. Cows, horses, and swine refuse it ; sheep 

 and goats are not fond of it. 



4. Erica vulgaris. Common Heath ; called Ling in England, and Heather in 

 Scotland, Curt. Lond. 297 ; E. Bot. 1013; Flo. Dan. 677. When dry pastures 

 abound with this plant they take the name of heaths. It can only be extirpated by 

 paring and burning, and converting the pasture into tillage; this has been effected 

 with profit by several occupiers of such land in Scotland and England. It is the 

 most valuable material for the construction of bush-drains. Bees extract honey 

 largely from the flowers, which is of good quality, but of a reddish colour. In the 

 Highlands of Scotland the poorer inhabitants make walls for their cottages with 

 alternate layers of heath, and a kind of mortar made of black earth and straw ; the 

 woody parts of the heath being placed in the centre, and the tops externally and in- 

 ternally. They make their beds of it by placing the roots downwards, and the tops 

 uppermost; they are sufficiently soft to sleep upon. Scott says 



" the stranger's bed 



Was there of mountain heather spread, 

 Where oft a hundred guests had lain, 

 And dreamed their forest sports again ; 

 Nor vainly did the heath-flowers shed 

 Its moorland fragrance round his head." 



They also use it for thatch. In the island of Hay, ale is often made by brewing 

 one part of malt, and two parts of the young tops of heath; sometimes they add 

 hops. Boethius relates, that this liquor was much used by the Picts. Sheep and 

 goats will sometimes eat the tender shoots, but they are not fond of them. Cattle, 

 not accustomed to browse on heath, Linnaeus says, give bloody milk at first, but are 



