THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



159 



d:-tr;buted throughout Britain the primrose 

 is not found in certain districts, notably one 

 place in Suffolk, where there is a tradition 

 that primroses were once abundant till the 

 place was devastated by the plague, when the 

 primroses took the infection, sickened, and 

 died, and will never grow in that locality 

 since. Although primroses have an exten- 

 sive range in Europe, they are entirely 

 absent from the centre of the Continent, ap- 

 [parently preferring the maritime countries, 

 (whilst the cowslip is generally distributed 

 ihroughout the north temperate region. 

 Although such an universal favourite for its 

 [grateful fragrance and modest demeanour, 

 the primrose has never been utilised for any 

 iseful purpose. I have heard of a receipt 

 .'or primrose pudding, but I have never seen 

 t tried. All animals abstain from eating it 

 :.\cept pigs, whose grovelling selfishness 

 brevents them looking up to lick the hand 

 bhich feeds them, and who will grub up and 

 [levour the harmless primrose. 



Cowslip wine is sometimes made, but its 

 leputed virtues have fallen into decadence, 

 Is also has Culpepper's famous healing salve 

 [lade of primroses. So popular a flower 

 as sure to have a cluster of folk-lore 

 igends surrounding it. so we find in certain 

 |istricts of of England it considered unlucky 

 I) bring a fewer number than 13 primrose 

 lowers in the first gathering of the season, 

 heruise the hens of the goodwife into 

 | hose house they were brought would hatch 

 ) more chickens than primroses. In the 

 )rthern counties primroses are used as a 

 |ve charm to foretell the constancy of a 

 ver, or the success of a suit. By cutting off 

 e tops of the stamens ; and laying aside the 

 >wer for a day, if the stamens shoot up to 

 eir former height, it is an augury of good, 

 [it if not only sorrow and disappointment 

 11 follow. In some localities it is consid- 

 fad unlucky to bring primroses into the 

 1 use at all, for being one of the flowers 

 1 2d to strew on graves and deck coffins 

 th, they have accquired an uncanny 



character. In Germany the primrose is 

 called the M key flower. " possibly because by 

 its early blooming in Spring it is the key 

 which unlocks the door of Flora's paradise. 

 In that country their is alsj a widely preval- 

 ent superstition that it is always associated 

 with hidden treasure, preternatural wealth, 

 the key to unlock the door of which is fur- 

 nished by a primrose flower. Perhaps a 

 similar legend lingers around the common 

 English name of "cups." Some people 

 believe that there is a peculiar affinity be- 

 twixt nightingales and cowslips, that the birds 

 manifest so marked a preference for these 

 flowers that they will only frequent localities 

 where cowslips abound. There is not likely 

 to be more than a seeming coincidence for 

 this belief, as the same thing has been alleged 

 with regard to hops, and instances have been 

 given where the planting of hops as a crop 

 has been followed by the advent of nightin- 

 gales. The common name primrose is a 

 corruption of the old name " prymme rolles." 

 or •'primerole" as written by Chaucer, 

 which is from the French "primevera." 

 meaning the first spring flower. This name 

 is more strictly applicable to thedaisv, which 

 is far more abundant and universal than the 

 primrose, besides being an earlier flower, and 

 the name Primula v:ris was formerly applied 

 applied to the daisy, but has gradually 

 become restricted to the primroses. The 

 botanical name Primula (primus first) refers 

 to the early flowering of the various species. 

 The name cowslip (Primula veris) is an odd 

 instance of corruption of a popular appel- 

 lation. It has nothing whatever to do with a 

 cow's mouth, but should be "hose-flap, " and 

 refers to the enormous hose with turned over 

 flaps which were so popular in the middle 

 ages, and which the tubular flowers of the 

 cowslip somewhat distantly resemble, not 

 uncommon cultivated variety of the cowslip 

 in which the calyx is transformed into a 

 corolla, the blossoms having the appearanee 

 of a double flower, one within the other is 

 called "hose-in-hose." 



