46 



it off with a golden knife; it is received in a white sheet. Then,, 

 and not till then, they sacrifice the victims, praying that God 

 would render His gift prosperous to those on whom he had 

 bestowed it. When mistletoe is given as a potion, they are of 

 opinion that it can remove animal barrenness, and that it is a 

 remedy against all poisons." Druidh-lus, the Druid's weed. Sugh 

 an daraich, the sap or substance of the oak, because it derives its- 

 substance from the oak, it being a parasite on that and other 

 trees. (Sugh, juice, substance, sap ; Latin: succus). Irish: gut's, 

 viscous, sticky, on account of the sticky nature of the berries. 

 French : gui. 



" The mistletoe," says Vallencey in his ' Grammar of the Irish 

 Language/ ' was sacred to the Druids, because not only its berries, 

 but its leaves also, grew in clusters of three united to one stalk." 



The badge of the Hays. 



Caprifoliace^e. 



Sambucus nigra — Common elder. Gaelic and Irish ; ruis, 

 meaning "wood." "The ancient name of the tree, which in the 

 vulgar Irish is called trom " (O'Reilly) ; driiman or drotnan- 

 Welsh : ysgawen, elder ; Manx : tramman. 



" The common people [of the Highlands] keep as a great secret 

 in curing wounds the leaves of the elder, which they have gathered 

 the first day of April, for the purpose of disappointing the charms 

 of witches. They affix them to their doors and windows." — C. de 

 Iryngin, at the Camp of Athole, June 30th, 165 1. Used also as 

 an emetic and purge, frequently planted near houses, hence 

 another name, Rath fas. {Rath, a town, and fas, growth). It 

 was considered efficacious against witches, and from it a blue dye 

 was made. 



S. ebulus — Dwarf elder. Gaelic and Irish : fliodh a' bhalla, 

 the wall excrescence. Mulart " seems to be the same as the 

 "Welsh word mwyUartaith (mwyll, emollient). It was esteemed a 

 powerful remedy for the innumerable ills that flesh is heir to. 

 Mulabhur. Old English name — Boure tree for the elder, burr, a 

 clown. Welsh: ysgawen Mair, Mary's elder. 



Viburnum opulus — Guelder-rose, water-elder. Gaelic: ceir- 

 iocan, heal- wax (Latin: cera; Greek, xw°s \ Welsh: cwyr, wax), 

 the healing, wax-like plant, from the waxy appearance of the 



