The Cotton-bees 



It is an acclimatized foreigner. They say that 

 a gallant crusader, returning from Palestine 

 ■with his share of glory and bruises, brought 

 back the toiite-bonnc from the Levant to help 

 him cure his rheumatism and dress his 

 wounds. From the lordly manor, the plant 

 propagated itself in all directions, while re- 

 maining faithful to the walls under whose 

 shelter the noble dames of yore used to grow 

 it for their unguents. To this day, feudal 

 ruins are its favourite resorts. Crusaders and 

 manors disappeared; the plant remained. In 

 this case, the origin of the clary, whether his- 

 torical or legendary, is of secondary Im- 

 portance. Even if It were of spontaneous 

 growth in certain parts of France, the toute- 

 bonne Is undoubtedly a stranger in the 

 Vauclusc district. Only once in the course 

 of my long botanlzlng-expeditlons across the 

 department have I come upon this plant. It 

 was at Caromb, in some ruins, nearly thirty 

 years ago. I took a cutting of It; and since 

 then the crusaders' sage has accompanied 

 me on all my peregrinations. My present 

 hermitage possesses several tufts of It; but, 

 outside the enclosure, except at the foot of 

 the walls. It would be Impossible to find one. 



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