THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



Besides these indigenous species, there 

 may often be seen in cultivation and 

 naturalised as garden escapes, the cot- 

 ton thistle (Onopordum acantkium) > 

 notable for its large size — six or eight 

 feet, — formidable spines, and dense 

 cottony felt which envelopes every part 

 of the stem and leaves. Barer and 

 more remarkable is the milk thistle 

 (C. Marianus), whose large, shining, 

 green leaves are marked with beautiful 

 white veins meandering over the sur- 

 face. These are popularly supposed 

 to have been caused by a drop of the 

 "Virgin Mary's milk falling upon them, 

 hence it, like many other plants, was 

 dedicated to her and was known as 

 " our Lady's thistle/' The scales of 

 the involucre terminate in very long, 

 strong, sharp spines; its rich purple 

 flowers, glossy foliage, and bold habit 

 of growth makes it a very ornamental 

 plant in shrubberies. 



The poor thistles are floral pariahs ! 

 veritable vegetable Ishmaels : every 

 man's hand is turned against them, 

 and, no doubt, their stubborn prickles 

 resent the interference. It is scarcely 

 possible to say a good word in their 

 behalf, for their economic utility is nil, 

 and only a sentimental affection endears 

 them to the heart of patriotic Scotsmen. 

 In the language of flowers they sym- 

 bolise " independence," a much-prized 

 national characteristic. They were the 

 badge of the ill-starred royal clan of 

 Stuart, and they have long been cher- 



ished as the floral emblem of Caledonia. 

 "Proud thistle! emblem dear to Scotland's 

 sons, 



Begirt with threatening points, strong in 



defence, 

 Unwilling to assault." 



The origin of the adoption of this 

 national emblem is lost in the myths 

 and legends of antiquity. The earliest 

 of these misty fables is that the re- 

 doubtable Queen Scota, reviewing her 

 troops after a victorious engagement, 

 retired fatigued to her camp and inad- 

 vertently seated herself on a thistle, 

 which she thenceforth adopted as her 

 badge. An equally silly and improbable 

 tradition is that a night attack of the 

 invading Danes was frustrated by one 

 of the soldiers planting his naked foot 

 on a thistle ; the sudden pain caused 

 him to cry out, which alarmed the 

 alert Scots, who repelled the attack, 

 and out of gratitude immortalised the 

 thistle. This, at least, is as plausible 

 as the sacred geese of the Roman 

 Capitol. The first authentic mention 

 of the thistle in the affairs of Scotland 

 is in Dunbar's poem, "The Thrissell 

 and the Rose," written on the occasion 

 of the marriage of James iv. with 

 Margaret Tudor in 1503. Dunbar's 

 eulogy of the thistle is full and hearty : 



" Than callit scho all flouris that grew on 

 field, 



Discirnying all their fassions and effeiris ; 



Upone the awfull Thrissel scho beheld, 



And saw him kepit with a busche of 

 speiris ; 



Considering him so able for the weiris, 



