75 



" 'N so fein, a Clnichullin, tha' n ùir, 



'S caoin iuthar 'tha 'fàs o'n uaigh." ^ — Ossian. 

 In this same spot Chuchullin, is their dust, 

 And fresh tlie yew tree grows upon their grave. 



Hence another form of the name eo, a grave. Sinsior, siniisior 

 (O'Reilly), long standing, antiquity, ancestry. The yew is re- 

 markable for its long life. The famous yew of Fortingall in 

 Perthshire, which once had a circumference of 56^4 feet, is 

 supposed to be 3500 years old. Sineadhfeadha (O'Reilly), pro- 

 tracting, extending. 



The badge of Clan Fraser. 



ENUOGENS. 



Orchidace^. 



Orchis — Greek: opyi'i, a plant with roots in the shape of 

 testicles. " Mirabilis est orchis herba, sive serapias, gemina 

 radice testiculis simili" — Pliny. 



0. maculata — The spotted orchis. Gaelic and Irish : iirach 

 b/iallach, from //;-, fresh ; iirac/i, a bottle ; uradh, apparel, and 

 hallach, spotted. 



0. mascula — Early orchis. Gaelic : moth urach, from moth, 

 the male of any animal. 



" Lointeann far an cinn 



I'na viotK' raichcan.'''' — M'Intyre in ' Ben Doran.' 

 Meadows where the early orchis grow. 



Irish : inagairlÌ7i meireach, {magairle, the testicles ; nieireach 

 (Greek, meiro), joyful, glad). Clachan gadhair {gadhar a hound, 

 clach, a stone). The name, cuigeal an losgain, the frog's spindle, 

 is applied to many of the orchis ; and frequently the various 

 names are given to both maculata and mascula. 



0. conopsea — Fragrant orchis. Gaelic : lus taghta, the 

 chosen or select weed. 



Ophrys — Greek : o^pvs (Gaelic, abhra), the eyelash, to which 

 the delicate fringe of the inner sepals may be well compared. 

 " A plant with two leaves " — Freund. 



1 Laing is not correct when, in attacking the genuineness of the poems of 

 Ossian, he asserts that tlie yew, so often mentioned in these poems, is not 

 indigenous. There are various places, such as Gleniur, Duniur, &c., that 

 have been so named from time immemorial, which prove that the yew was 

 abundant in these places at least many centuries ago. 



