THE THISTLE. 327 



the high price of a particular thistle is a subject of 

 historical remark ; and this one is supposed to be the 

 C. lactucarum of Zuinger, and apparently the same 

 as our C. maridnus. The receptacle of the great 

 burr-thistle, (Crilcus lancaoldtus), a plant which is 

 familiarly known from its magnificent size, from the 

 practice of using its dried flowers for the purpose of 

 curdling milk, and from the employment of its 

 cockade-like involucrum by little children in their 

 games, is, as Dr. G. Johnston observes, dressed like 

 artichoke bottoms. The C. nutans and Ardbicus, 

 the musk and Arabian thistles, and, amongst the 

 Portuguese, the Cardo do coalho, Cardoon thistle 

 (Oyndra cardunculus), are also used in the same 

 manner at table ; and the tender stalks of the marsh- 

 thistle (Gnlcus palustris) as well as those of some 

 other species, are peeled and eaten raw by children; 

 or, as recommended by Evelyn, are boiled, or baked 

 in a pie. The latter custom must certainly have 

 originated in Cornwall the very land of pies 

 where even parsley, which is usually regarded as a 

 mere seasoning herb, to be used sparingly, does not 

 escape that fate ; the dread of which is said, by the 

 old proverb, not only to ensure the holiness of all 

 stay-at-home Cornishmen, but to keep the Evil Being 

 from visiting that county, lest he should be put into 

 a pie ! Evelyn states that in his time the milk- 

 thistle was commonly sold in the markets as a proper 

 diet for nurses. The Siberians use the Cnlcus 

 cernuus as a table vegetable, and the boiled leaves of 

 the pale-flowered-thistle (C. olerdceus) are a favourite 

 dish among the Russians. But it is as a fodder for 



