FOBGET-ME-NOT. 



Myosotis palustris. 



ROM a scorpion grass to a 

 forget-me-not is in words a 

 strange transition, but the 

 differing names represent 

 one and the same thing. 

 A myosotis is a mouse's ear, 

 which is but a poor simili- 

 tude for such a pretty plant 

 as the one before us. As 

 for the name suggestive of 

 its use against a venomous 

 creature, it may interest the 

 reader to learn that so-called 

 scorpion plants were abun- 

 dant in old times, and their 

 appearance in such books as 

 Turner's Herbal tells a- tale 

 of some importance. It 

 illustrates the fact that our 

 early writers followed the 

 lead of continental botanists 

 in a slavish manner, and as 

 in the south of Europe plants that twist in' the way of a 

 scorpion were supposed to be specifics against the bite of 

 4 o 



