XXXVIII 



IT occurred to me one day to speculate on the origin 

 of the term ' to heel iiV used technically in LocWei's 

 the sense of placing young plants closely in Beeches 

 a trench as a temporary expedient to keep their roots 

 fresh till they can be properly planted out. Not having 

 the New English Dictionary at hand, I turned to 

 Skeat's Etymological Dictionary, only to find that the 

 word is not given in that sense. 'Heel,' part of the 

 foot, and ' to heel over,' as a sailing ship in a breeze 

 both are fully explained ; but to discover the origin of 

 ' heeling in ' plants I had to consult Bosworth's Anglo- 

 Saxon Dictionary. There it is made clear that it has 

 no connection with the other two words of identical 

 spelling, but is the modern form of the Anglo-Saxon 

 verb 'helan,' to hide or cover; as in Genesis xxxviii. 

 15 Heo helode hire nebb 'she had covered her face.' 

 The word survives in English only in the limited use 

 of heeling in plants that is, covering their roots. 



Singular results may ensue if something happens 

 to interfere with the removal of plants treated in this 

 manner. The most notable instance known to me is 

 at Achnacarry, the chief seat of Cameron of Lochiel. 

 In the year 1745 Donald Cameron, remembered to this 

 day as ' the Gentle Lochiel,' was actively engaged, like 



