THE LIVE-LONG. 261 



on such of our coasts as are situated within the influ- 

 ence of trade with the new world. In such places 

 few cottages are without an aloe-plant suspended in 

 their doorway or their window,* reminding the 

 traveller of a belief which exists in some parts of 

 the East that an aloe-plant so suspended will, by 

 always turning towards Mecca, act as a charm in 

 favour of the inmates of the house. Every observa- 

 tion however convinces me, more and more, of the 

 fallacy of the popular opinion, so often discussed, 

 that such succulent plants derive their nourishment, 

 in any marked degree from the atmosphere. They 

 literally feed upon the share of moisture contained 

 within their own substance. 



The sengreen-stonecrop (8. reflexum) is frequently 

 eaten in salads, and is considered very cool and 

 refreshing in the hot days of summer. 



In addition to the peculiar charm which the 

 golden, silvery, or purple bloom of the different 

 stonecrops give alike to the wild rock, and decaying, 

 or cared-for, building, they have this extraordinary 

 recommendation ; that even in crevices where it is 

 impossible for human fingers to insert a plant or 

 proper cutting, they may be made to grow by simply 

 dropping in scraps of the plant cut into fragments. 



Britain possesses eleven species of the stonecrop; 

 which are, in addition to those already mentioned, 

 the true orpine (S. telephium), whose leaves pre- 



* In the Seignory of Gower, in Glamorganshire, these most 

 treasured remembrances of the absent sailor, are termed "live- 

 long" or "most glorious" while all thesedums are called house- 

 leek. 



