FOX-GLOVE. 161 



FOX-GLOVE. 



DIGITALIS. 



PERSONE-rE. DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSFERMIA. 



This plant is also called Finger-Flower ; the shape of the flower 

 resembling the finger of a glove ; and Bell- Flower. French, dogtier 

 [finger-flower]; gantlet; gants de notre dame. Italian, guantelli ; 

 aralda. 



THE common Fox-glove is an extremely handsome flower, 

 varying in colour from a Roman purple to a violet-colour, 

 cream-colour, orange-tawny, blush-colour, or white. It has a 

 poisonous quality, but in skilful hands becomes a useful medi- 

 cine. This species is a native of Denmark, Germany, Switzer- 

 land, and Great Britain ; and flowers from June to August 

 or September. A tincture of this plant is reckoned a valuable 

 medicine in dropsical cases ; and Dr. Hall mentions a case 

 of this kind in which an Edinburgh physician used a de- 

 coction of it fresh gathered, and the boiled herb itself, in a 

 bag of flannel, as an outward application. This author de- 

 scribes the Fox-glove as "a well known herb, that grows 

 about rocks, and by the way-side, and has a number of 

 beautiful purple flowers like ladies' thimbles*." 



There is scarcely any other flower which has so elegant an 

 effect as this, as an ornament for the hair. The writer has 

 seen the natural flower so used to great advantage. 



The Iron-coloured Fox-glove is a native of Italy and 

 Constantinople, and flowers from the beginning of June 

 to the end of July. 



The seeds should be sown in autumn, about four in a 

 pot seven or eight inches wide : in dry summer weather 

 they should be watered every evening ; but in the winter 

 two or three times a week would be sufficient. The Canary 



* Hall's Scotland, p. ,590. 



