THE THISTLE. 325 



the thistle borne, in their processions, by the Free- 

 masons of Scotland ; having, as Dr. G. Johnston 

 suggests, obtained this dignity in virtue of its stately 

 and vigorous growth. Yet there is a strong party 

 who assert that the drooping character of the musk- 

 thistle (G. nutans) distinguishes it, undeniably, as 

 the genuine Scotch thistle ; while another, amongst 

 whom Dr. G. Johnston would appear to take his 

 stand, contends for the rights of the milk-thistle 

 (G. marianus), to the prickly stings of which some 

 C} 7 nical old bachelor of former days has attached the 

 name of " maiden's lips." The author, however, of 

 that pleasant little volume, " The Wild Flowers of 

 the Year/' alludes to the circumstance, that although 

 this plant is so very frequent in England, it is ex- 

 tremely rare in Scotland ; nay, that " almost the 

 only spot of that country " in which it grows, is, on 

 the rocky cliffs in the vicinity of Dumbarton Castle, 

 where tradition declares it to have been planted by 

 the hands of Queen Mary of Scotland. Yet only 

 so much further south as in Berwickshire, Dr. G. 

 Johnston and Mr. Goldie found, that wherever the 

 soil was turned up to a depth of three or four feet, 

 quantities of this plant sprang up. A similar ob- 

 jection may be made to the cotton-thistle (Onopor- 

 dum acanthus), as Professor Balfour states that it 

 is " a doubtful native of Scotland, though not un- 

 frequent in England." 



One party, on what grounds I know not, has 

 determined the Scotch to be the so-called melan- 

 choly-thistle (Onljus heterophyllus Carduus hete- 

 rophyllus of the " E. Bot/'), which takes its name 



