68 FLOWERLESS PLANTS 



man, and every Irishman dwelling with Englishmen, 

 should have a bow of his own height, made either of 

 yew, wych- hazel, ash, or anulone laburnum.' But yew 

 was the best, and in time the demand grew beyond the 

 supply. 



There is a craze just now for books on country 

 matters, and in consequence a vast amount of twaddle 

 is published annually. But Dr. Lowe has produced 

 something of sterling merit ; his statistics are so care- 

 fully compiled, and his descriptions so thoughtfully pre- 

 pared, that his work will remain probably for generations 

 the chief authority on the subject. 



But why in the world should Dr. Lowe have con- 

 sulted Dr. Johnson on the etymology of yew ? It has 

 led him into the blunder of connecting the name 

 with ' ivy,' from which it is quite distinct. Moreover, 

 the Irish for yew cannot be written either whar or 

 jubar, the Celtic alphabet being destitute of both w 

 and j. It is iubhar, pronounced ' ewer ' or ' yure.' 



XX 



Of all the multitude of provinces into which natural 

 Fioweriess science, as it was known to Bacon, has been 

 Plants split, each with its separate yet interdepen- 

 dent army of workers, there is none, perhaps, with less 

 external attraction for the amateur than the study of 

 cryptogams. Plants destitute of flowers and leaves 

 must seem wanting in the essential charm of the 

 vegetable kingdom. Yet there is no subdivision of 



