SEPTEiMBER. 261 



scented, and ginger mushrooms, for all the 



world, the exact resemblance of* a Simnel- 

 cake. 



" Our Saxon ancestors," says Verstegan, 

 " called this month Gerst-monath, for that bar- 

 ley which that month commonly yielded was 

 called gerst, the name of barley being given 

 unto it by reason of the drinke therewith made, 

 called beere, and from beerlegh it came to be 

 berligh, and thence to barley. So in like man- 

 ner beereheym, to wit, the overarching, or cover- 

 ing of beer, came to be called berham and after- 

 wards bar/he, having gotten I wot not how many 

 names besides." 



Saffron, used in medicine and in dying, con- 

 sisting of the pointals of the crocus, is this 

 month gathered, and prepared in large quanti- 

 ties, particularly at Saffron Walden. Apples 

 are gathered and cider and perry are made. 

 Herrings pay their annual visit to England in 

 September and afford a rich harvest to the 

 inhabitants of its eastern and western coasts. 

 Towards the end of the month the nuthatch 

 visits our orchards, particularly those which 

 abound with nut-trees. 



As this is a time at which many visit the sea- 

 coast, the following extract from " Drummond's 



