n6 



" Bu ghile na'n canach a cruth." — Ossian. 

 Her form was fairer than the cotton-down. 



In Ossian the plant is also called caoin cheann (caoin, soft), the- 



soft heads, fair heads. 



"Ghlacmi'n caoin cheanna sa' bheinn 

 'S iad ag aomadh mu shruthaibh thall 

 Fo chamaibh, bu dlomhaire gaoth." — Tighmora. 

 I seized cotton-grasses on the hill, 

 As they waved by the secret streams, 

 In places sheltered from the wind. 



This is only the plural form of the name canach — caneichean. 



" Na caineichectn aluinn an t-slcibh." — Macleod. 

 ceannach-na-nibna (O'Reilly). Ceann bhan mbna (Threl). Siodha 

 monah (Threl) — Cotton grass, mountain silk. O'Reilly gives the 

 name sgathog fiadhain to E. polystachyon — sgath, a tail, and og 

 (dim. termination), the little tail- -to distingnish it from vaginatum, 

 which is larger. Scotch : cat's-tail. 



Badge of Clan Sutherland according to some. 



Carex (likely from Welsh, cors; Gaelic, carr, a bog, a marsh, or 

 fenny ground). — This numerous family of plants grows mostly in 

 such situations. Seisg, sedge; gall-sheilisdear, also seilisdear amh 

 (for Seilisdear, see Iris) — amh, raw — the raw sedge. Welsh : hesg. 

 Seasg, barren, unfruitful. Except C. rigida, they are scarcely 

 touched by cattle. According to Dr. Hooker, carex is derived 

 from Greek i<epwi, from the cutting foliage. The Sanscrit root is 

 kar, to cut, shear, divide. 



C. vulgaris, and many of the other large species — Common 

 sedge. Gaelic: gainnisg (Stewart) — gainne, a sedge, reed, cane, 

 arrow; and seasg. 



Gramine*. 



Grass generally. Feur. Manx : feiyr. Seamaide, blades of 

 grass. Dorbh, grass. Welsh : glaswellt, porfa. 



Agrostis alba — Fiorin-grass. Gaelic and Irish : fioran, feorine, 

 or fior-than; derived from Gaelic: feur, feoir, grass, herbage, 

 fodder. Latin: vireo, I grow green — ver, spring; fcenum, fodder 

 — r and n being interchangeable. This name is applied in the 

 dictionaries to the common couch-grass, because, like it, it retains 

 a long time its vital power, and propagates itself by extending its 

 roots. 



