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NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [12:9— Dec, 1916 



Lady's Smock 



or 

 Cuckoo Flower 



of rich purple hue, whose roots are branched, palmately and 

 whose curious form has received the name of dead men's fingers. 



This fact is mentioned in lines 

 following the selection which is 

 quoted. 



The advent of the cuckoo was 



an event which filled the English 



people with delight and we find 



the name of this bird associated 



with several flowers. 



Cuckoo-pint — the arum mentioned in the lines 

 above. 



Cuckoo-flower is a popular name for a re- 

 lative of the wild geranium or crane's bill. 



Cuckoo-buds are members of the buttercup 

 family — and are also known as the starry 

 celandine, and the king cups. They are larger 

 than the buttercup, and resemble the marsh 

 marigold. A reference to these is found in the 

 following quotation from Love's Labor Lost 

 — V — 2 — 906. 



"When daisies pied and violets blue. 

 And lady smocks all silver white, 

 And cuckoo buds of yellow hue 

 Do paint the meadows with delight." 



We pause to inquire — what are lady 

 smocks? This is a popular name for 

 a member of Cruciferae — known as 

 Cardamine pratense. The flower is white 

 and delicate, and is one of those flowers 

 named for the Virgin Mary. In War- 

 wickshire the local name is "smell 

 smock." 



Now let us visit the herb garden 

 and discuss some that we certainly 

 would have found growing at that 

 period. A; we glance around, we are 

 impressed with the fact that so many 

 belong to the Lahotae Mint Family. 

 Think of several — then try to recall their odors. How very 



Primrose 



