OF HERBS AND BEASTS 193 



to the eyes of her young, when any evil had befallen 

 them, by the help of Celandine. And it was for this 

 reason, says Gerarde, that the flower gained its name, 

 Chelidonium, swaUow-herbe, and not because it " first 

 springeth at the coming of the swallows or dieth when 

 they goe away." . . . Celsus doth witnesse that it 

 will restore " the sight of the eies of divers young 

 birds . . . and soonest of all of the sight of the 

 swallow." The eagle, when he wishes his sight to be 

 particularly keen, rubs his eyes with the wild Lettuce, 

 and the hawk follows his example, but chooses Hawk- 

 weed with equal success. Doves and pigeons find that 

 Vervain cures dimness of vision and goldfinches and 

 linnets and some other birds turn to eyebright. " The 

 purple and yellow spots which are upon the flowers of 

 eyebright very much resemble the diseases of the eyes 

 or bloodshot." ^ There is a very wide belief in a magic 

 plant called Spring-wort or Spring-wurzel of which 

 Folkard gives an interesting description. " Pliny," he 

 says, " records the superstition concerning it, almost in 

 the same form in which it is now found in Germany. 

 If anyone touches a lock with it, the lock, however 

 strong, must yield. In Switzerland it is carried in the 

 right pocket to render the bearer invulnerable to dagger 

 or bullet ; and in the Hartz mountains it is said to 

 reveal treasures. One cannot easily find it oneself, 

 but generally the wood-pecker (according to Pliny 

 also the raven, in Switzerland, the Hoopoe, in the 

 Tyrol, the swallow) will bring it under the following 

 circumstances. When the bird has temporarily left 

 its nest this must be stopped up with wood. The 

 bird then flies away to find the Spring-wurzel and 

 will open the nest by touching it with the root. Mean- 

 time a fire or a red cloth must be placed near by, 

 which will so frighten the bird that it will let the 



1 "Adam in Eden," Coles. 



