n8 



Lepturus filiformis — Gaelic: dur-fheur fairge, hard sea-grass, 

 Dur, hard (Latin, durus); feur, grass ; fairg, the sea, ocean, 

 wave. It grows all round Ireland, as well as in England and 

 South Scotland. Irish: durfher fairge (O'Reilly). 



Calamagrostis — Etym, /caAa/tos, and a-ypoo-Tis, reed-grass. 



C. epigejos — Wood small reed. Cuilc-fheur, cane-grass; gainne 

 — cane. Lachan coille, wood-rush. 



Ammophila arenaria (or Psamma arenaria) — Sea-maram ; sea- 

 matweed. Gaelic and Irish: muirineach, from muir (Latin, mare, 

 the sea), the ocean. It is extensively propagated to bind the sand 

 on the sea shore ; generally called muran on west coast. The- 

 same name is applied to the carrot, an alteration of moran — a 

 plant with large tapering roots. Macintyre alludes to " muran 

 brloghar" but whether he refers to the carrot or to this grass is 

 a matter of controversy. Not being a seaside Highlander, he 

 was more likely to know the carrot, wild and cultivated, far 

 better than this seaside grass, and associating it with groundsel 

 (a plant which usually grows rather too abundantly wherever 

 carrots are sown), makes it a certainty that he had not the " sea- 

 maram" in his mind. (See Daucus carota." ) Meilearach (Mac- 

 bain) — "A long seaside grass, from Norse melr, bent.'' From 

 inquiries made, most likely this is another name for Psamma 

 arenaria, a grass two or three feet high, common all maritime 

 sands. The grasses commonly called " Bent " are Agrostis and 

 Cynosorus. Manx- shaslagh. 



Avena sativa — Oats. Gaelic and Irish : coirc. Welsh : ceirch.. 

 Armoric: querch. Probably from the Sanskrit karc, to crush. 



" Is fhearr slol caol coirce fhaotuinn a droch fhearann na 'bhi falamh." 

 Better small oats than nothing out of bad land. 

 The small variety, A. nuda, the naked or hill oat, when ripe, 

 drops the grain from the husk ; it was therefore more generally 

 cultivated two centuries ago. It was made into meal by drying it 

 on the hearth, and bruising it in a stone-mortar, the " muileann 

 brath " — hand-mill or quern. Some of them may still be seen 

 about Highland and Irish cottages. Martin mentions an ancient 

 custom observed on the 2nd of February. The mistress and 

 servant of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it in woman's 

 apparel, put it in a large basket, with a wooden club by it, and 

 this they call Briid's bed. They cry three times Briid is come, 



