THE VERNAL GENTIAN 41 



should do any such thing) we should probably 

 have to call it Spring-Felwort ; Felwort being an 

 old-time title for Gcntiana amarella, an annual 

 herb common to dry pastures and chalk downs in 

 England, and possibly at one time employed by 

 tanners. In the Jura Mountains verna goes by 

 the name of OEil-de-cliat, and among the peasants 

 inhabiting the northern side of the Dent du Midi, 

 in the Canton de Valais, I have heard it referred 

 to as Le Bas du Bon Dime ; but, considering the 

 remarkably suggestive character of the plant, the 

 domain of folk-lore seems curiously empty of its 

 presence. This, possibly, is in part due to its 

 amazing abundance, and to the fact that it is to 

 be found from about 1,200 feet to about 10,000 

 feet, thus causing it to meet with the proverbial 

 fate of things familiar. But, at any rate, its dried 

 flowers, mixed with those of the Rhododendron 

 and the purple Viola, are used in the form of 

 " tea " by the montagnards as an antidote for chills 

 and rheumatism. 



The appearance of venia upon the pastures is 

 not confined solely to the early springtime ; though 

 this is the season of its greatest wealth, it may be 

 met with quite commonly in the late autumn. 

 Indeed it affects the days which circle round the 



