228 NATURAL HISTORY. 



flowers, and, as it yields a blue dye, it is frequently cul- 

 tivated. $ . 



The Shepherd's Purse (Thlaspi bursa pastoris), upper 

 or stem-leaves sagittate, radical or lower feathered seed 

 pods heart-shaped ; flowers white ; petals small. Grows 

 everywhere in fields or on road-sides as a weed ; never- 

 theless it is said to be good food for sheep. 



The Jericho Rose (Anastatica hierochuntica). Leaves 

 ovate and notched ; white flowers without peduncles ; 

 seed-pods hairy. This plant is found growing in the 

 sand in Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt ; if dried for an 

 herbarium, etc., it rolls its branches together like a ball, 

 but many believe after being kept a year and a day, if it 

 is placed in water, it will spread forth as if to life again. 

 The superstitious regard it as a miracle, and from pecu- 

 liar signs accompanying this singular faculty, predict 

 whether the coming year will be fruitful or not. 



The Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia officinalis). Radical 

 leaves petiolate and heart-shaped ; flowers white ; pods 

 bullet-like ; stem-leaves oblong. Grows abundantly on 

 the sea-coasts of northern Europe and in the neighbor- 

 hood of salt springs ; has a sharp, bitter taste, and is 

 eaten mixed with other vegetables as salad. Consid- 

 ered as a specific in all diseases of the mouth, and partic- 

 ularly the scurvy, to which sailors are subject from the 

 constant use of salted meat, it is much valued. It is oc- 

 casionally planted in gardens. $ . 



The Horse Radish (Cochlearia armoracia). The root 

 is thick, long, fleshy, and branching ; the stem upright, 

 with lanceolate leaves ; the pods small and egg-shaped. 

 It is cultivated in gardens everywhere ; the root, which 

 is the part eaten, is exceedingly pungent, and is much 

 esteemed as a condiment for meats. Z[. 



