Muslirooms bear a conspicuous ^Dart in Celtic mythology from 

 their connection with the fairies, — they formed the tables for 

 their merry feasts. Fairy rings {Afarasmius orcades, other species 

 of Agarici) were unaccountable to our Celtic ancestors save 

 by the agency of supernatural beings. 



Alg^. 



The generic names assigned to sea-weeds in Gaelic are : 

 feamaiiin {/earn, a tail) ; trail/each (M'Alpine), (from tràigh, 

 shore, sands) ; barra-rochd {bar/; a crop), roc. Greek : pwf. 

 French : roche, a rock. Welsh : gwymoti, sea-weed. French : 

 varec, from Sanscrit, b/iarc, through the Danish vrag. All the 

 olive - coloured sea -weeds go by the general name fcamaiiin 

 bnidhe ; the dark-green, fcaiiiainn duhh : and the red, fea/nainn 

 dcfg. 



Fuous vesiculosus — Sea-ware, kelp-ware, black tang, lady- 

 wrack. Gaelic : propach, sovneumts prab/ach, tangled ; in some 

 places grobac/i, grab, to dig, to grub. 



This fucus forms a considerable part of the winter supply of 

 food for cattle, sheep, and deer. In the Hebrides cheeses are 

 dried without salt, but are covered with the ashes of this plant, 

 which abounds in salt. It was also used as a medicinal 

 charm. "If, after a fever, one chanced to be taken ill of a 

 stitch, they (the inhabitants of Jura) take a quantity of lady- 

 luraik and red fog and boil them in water; the patients sit 

 upon the vessel and receive the fume, which by experience they 

 find effectual against the distemper." — Martin's ' AVestern 

 Isles.' 



F. nodosus — Knobbed sea-weed. G?it\\c: fca in a vm b/iolgai/in, 

 biii/gac/i, — bolg, builg, a sack, a bag, from the vesicles that serve 

 to buoy up the plant amidst the waves. Feamuvin buidhe, the 

 yellow wrack. It is of an olive-green colour; the receptacles are 

 yellow. 



F. serratus — Serrated sea-weed. i^'x^Xxc: feamaimi did)/i, black 

 wrack. Aon c/iasach, one-stemmed, applies to this plant when 

 single in growth. 



F. canaliculatus — Channelled fucus. Gaelic : feainainn c/iir- 

 ean {àr, a comb). This plant is a favourite food for cattle, 

 and farmers give it to counteract the injurious effects of sapless 

 food, such as old straw and hay. 



Laminaria digitata — Sea-girdles, tangle. Gaelic and Irish : 

 stamh, slàt-/n/iàra, sea-wand. Diiidhcaii, the stem, and liaghag 



