SEPTEMBER. 177 



ish mallow, or white mallow — is not uncommon 

 on salt shores, either of the sea or river. The 

 name Althcea, to cure, was given to it for its 

 healing properties, which are well known, hot 

 to medical practitioners and to country people 

 The flowers are very pretty, of a delicate rose 

 colour ; the leaves are very thick, and hoth 

 surfaces are so soft and downy that they resem- 

 ble a piece of thick silky velvet. Both leaves 

 and root contain a great quantity of mucilage, 

 which, in France, is made into a kind of paste, 

 and forms the lozenges well known on the con- 

 tinent by the name of Pate de Gubnmive. 



The ^lichaelmas-daisy, or blue camomile, 

 (^Aster f?-ipoliii7» ,) though never, in our coimtry, 

 found on inland spots, is very frequent near 

 the sea, or salt river. It is often called sea- 

 starwort and blue daisy. It grows about three 

 or four feet in height, and its lilac flowers are 

 in bloom from August to November. Ancient 

 writers on flowers reported of this, that it changed 

 its colour three times a-day ; hence it is termed 

 iriiwlium. The Greek writers stated, that it 

 was white in the morning, purple at noon, and 

 crimson in the afternoon. An old English 

 name of this flower is hog's bean ; because its 

 root, which is shaped like a bean, is eagerly 

 rooted out and eaten by swine. 



The common sea-wormwood (^Artemisia 

 maritiind) is in blossom now, on salt marshes. 

 This is not the wormwood once worn as a 

 charm against ague. The species thus rever- 

 enced is that generally called mugwort {Arte- 

 misia vulgaris.) It is a well-known plant of 



