144 MAY 



part of a cab of dove's dung was sold for five shekels ; 

 that is, about half a pint for twelve shillings. This 

 statement greatly perplexed the erudite Cruden in 

 the preparation of his Concordance ; for it is clear 

 that no amount of that unsavoury material could be 

 of the slightest use, even to starving people. The 

 Rabbins, he says, explained that it was not the 

 droppings of pigeons that sold at this exorbitant 

 rate, but the corn which the birds brought back in 

 their crops from the country ; but it does not seem 

 to have struck these commentators that the birds 

 themselves would have been far more valuable as 

 food than the grain in their crops. The probable 

 explanation is that the reference is to the roots of 

 the Ornitlwgalum (ornitliogaU of Pliny) either the 

 star-of-Bethlehem (0. umbellatum) or the Arabian 

 ornithogalum (0. arabicum), both of which sheet the 

 plains with white blossoms in spring, suggesting the 

 homely similitude of the droppings of birds. No 

 doubt, half a pint of the nutritious bulbs of this 

 plant would be well worth the price quoted, under 

 the stress of famine. 



Herbalists, in preparing simples, have made them- 

 selves responsible for as many flower-names as lovers 

 have done in preparing posies. Eyebright, feverfew, 



