TURNER'S HERBAL 89 



groweth in Northumberland, which is so hyghe that a man may 

 hyde himself in." Of the wild hyacinth he writes : " The 

 boyes in Northuberland scrape the roote of the herbe and glew 

 theyr arrowes and bokes wyth that slyme that they scrape of." 

 Of sea-wrake (seaweed) he tells us : " In the Bishopriche of 

 Durham the housbandmen of the countie that dwel by the sea 

 syde use to fate [fatten, i. e. manure] their lande with seawrake." 

 Under " birch " we find : " Fisherers in Northumberland pyll 

 off the uttermost barke and put it in the clyft of a sticke and set 

 in fyre and hold it at the water syde and make fish come thether, 

 whiche if they se they stryke with theyr leysters or sammon 

 speres. The same," he continues, " is good to make hoopes of 

 and twigges for baskettes, it is so bowinge. It serveth for many 

 good uses and for none better then for betinge of stubborne 

 boyes that ether lye or will not learne." 



Cudweed " is called in Northumberland chafwede because 

 it is thought to be good for chafyng of any man's fleshe wyth 

 goynge or rydynge." And it would be interesting to know if the 

 daisy is still called banwurt in the north. " The Northern men 

 call thys herbe banwurt because it helpeth bones to knyt 

 agayne. . . . Plinie writeth that the dasey hath III and some- 

 times IV little whyte leves whiche go about the yelow knope, 

 it appereth that the double Daseys were not founde in plinies 

 tyme whych have a greate dele mo then Plini maketh mention 

 of." 



There are other country customs which he records. 

 " Shepherds use clivers [goosegrass] in stede of a strayner to 

 pull out here of the mylke;" " birderers [bird-catchers] take 

 bowes of birch and lime the twigges and go a bat folinge with 

 them; " " som make a lee [lye] or an ashy water of the rotes 

 of gentian wherwyth they toke out spottes very well out of 

 cloth." He mentions woad as "trimmed wyth mannes labor 

 in dyenge and wull and clothe," and teazle " which the fullers 

 dresse their cloth wtall." Apparently Turner gave the spindle 

 tree its name, for he says : "I coulde never learne an Englishe 



