96 THE HERB-GARDEN 



times it is spoken of as ' Upstart,' for the flower 

 rises bare from the earth in the autumn, and the 

 leaves do not appear till the following spring. 

 The bulb provides the well-known medicine called 

 Colchicum. This is very powerful, and no un- 

 skilled person should meddle with it. Colchicum 

 as a physic for rheumatism and for gout has long 

 been known both in England and France. James 

 the First was prescribed the remedy by a then 

 famous physician. Sir Theodore Mayerne, who 

 mixed it Avith the powder of unburied skulls. 



In the year 1563 persons who were using 

 Colchicum were warned by Turner that ' much of 

 it is sterke poyson, and will strongell a man and 

 kill him in the space of one day.' The peasantry 

 of France call the bulbs Tue chien, or Morte aux 

 chiens, which shows they are aware of their dan- 

 gerous quaUties. The bulbs are taken up in the 

 spring. The colour of the flower is a light purple, 

 often more or less mottled. 



Like most other bulbous plants, all those we 

 have mentioned like a sandy soil and perfect 

 drainage. A sandy loam suits them very well. 



