HO WILD FLOWERS. 



Whanne the neddere [adder] is hurt in eye 



Ye rede [ready] fenel is hys prey 



And zif he mo we [mouth] it fynde 



Wonderly he doth hys kynde, 



He schall it chowe [chew] wonderly 



And leyn [lays] it to hys eye kindlely 



Ye jows [juice] schall sawg [? save] and helyn ye eye, 



Yat be forn [before] was sick et feye [feeble] 



A medicyne is yet for eyere bote 



To take jows of fenkel rote 



And droppg i ye eyne bothe ewe et morwe [at eve and on the 



morrow] 

 Ye peyne xal [shall] slake et ye sorwe [sorrow]." 



Pomet in his "History of Druggs" assures us that 

 confectioners "take clusters of the green fennel, 

 which, when covered with sugar they sell to make 

 the breath sweet, for the green is reckoned to be of 

 the greatest virtue/' while the seed, he adds, is laid 

 between olives, in order to give the oil a fine taste." 

 And the Arabs of the present day employ it as an 

 article of food rather than as a mere condiment, 

 rolling up and stewing minced meat in its leaves, 

 and using the stalks as a vegetable. 



Over a great part of Southern Europe the anethum 

 is an object of culture and commercial value, a fact 

 which may be faintly traced in the idiomatic ex- 

 pression of the Italians ; " voglio la mia parte fino 

 al finocchio/' for " I will have every farthing of the 

 money/' Both in Italy and in Spain it is added to 

 various beverages, and is considered agreeable and 

 wholesome; just as the ancients believed that its 

 constant presence in their food not only imparted 

 bodily health, and longevity, but gave strength and 



