The Hairy St. John's Wort 



She must then take it home and stick it in the wall 



of her bed-chamber. If it retained its freshness for 



a while she would be a happy bride within a year, 



but woe betide her — 



"If it drooped its head, that plant of power. 

 And died the mute death of the voiceless flower," 



for it was well known that in such cases — 



" They closed the cold grave o'er the maid's cold clay 

 On the day that was meant for her bridal day." 



Now, there are no fewer than eleven species of 

 St. John's Wort gromng wild in our fields, hedge- 

 rows and woods, all showing the family traits very 

 distinctly. The one commonly known as the St. 

 John's Wort is Hypericum perforatum, but there is 

 no doubt that country folk were not very nice in 

 their distinction between the different species in 

 olden days, and all must have shared the halo of 

 magic. As the witches and spirits were not botanists 

 either, no harm was done by this generalisation. 

 The plant pictured in our plate is the Hairy St. 



John's Wort, the lover of woods and thickets ; it 



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