246 



THE YOUNG 



NATUEALIST. 



weed/' are expressive enough from its 

 place of growth and the colour of the 

 flowers. On the Borders it is known 

 as " cock's combs/' and in Berwick- 

 shire it is sometimes called " cocheno/' 

 from the Celtic " coch " scarlet ; this is 

 interesting as showing (if introduced) 

 the early period of its introduction into 

 this country when Celtic was the pre- 

 vailing tongue. Associated with the 

 poppy in general habit, colour, place of 

 growth, and deriving its popular name 

 from the same source, is the corn cockle 

 [Agrostemma githago), likewise a too 

 frequent denizen of cornfields, and both 

 are alike detested by the farmers. It 

 is used in the Bible as the antithesis 

 of good crops, thus Job says, " Let 

 thistles grow instead of wheat, and 

 cockles instead of barley," although 

 some commentators think this should 

 be rendered poppies. Shakspere says 

 in Coriolanus, 



" For the mutable, rank-scented many, let 

 them 



Regard me as I do not flatter, and 

 Therein behold themselves ; I say again, 

 In soothing them we nourish 'gainst our 

 senate 



The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition. 

 Which we ourselves have plough'd for, 



sow'd, and scatter'd, 

 By mingling them with us, the honour'd 



number." 



The same idea of the cockle growing 

 up with and choking the corn is often 

 employed by ancient writers. Spenser 

 says — 



" And thus of all my harvest hope I have 

 Nought reaped but a weedie crop of care, 

 Which when I thought have threshed in 



swelling sheave. 

 Cockle for corn, and chaff for barley bare." 



Its seeds being nearly the same size 

 as wheat grains are practically insepar- 

 able, and a crop once contaminated 

 can scarcely be cleansed. It was 

 anciently believed to be a degenerate 

 kind of corn produced from wheat 

 when repeatedly grown in poor soil. 

 When the seeds are abundant amongst 

 wheat they deteriorate the flour. A 

 popular name for it is "popple" or 

 "papple." The name "cockle" is 

 most probably from the Celtic " coch^* 

 in allusion to the colour of the flowers, 

 although the Anglo-Saxon "coccel" 

 has been referred to the Latin " cau- 

 calis'^ some umbelliferous plant most 

 likely the carrot or parsley. The old 

 writers used the word " cockle " or 

 "cokyl" for weeds generally. In 

 Moray, poppies are known as "blavers," 

 a name which is usually given to the 

 "blue bottle" ( Centaur ea cyanusj, 

 which in that district is known as 

 "blue bonnet/' both plants being 

 conspicuous cornfield weeds. 



In geographical distribution the 

 PapaveracecB are chiefly denizens of 

 the North Temperate regions, whilst 

 the poppies, of course, are co-extensive 

 with the cultivated cereals. In the 

 language of flowers a poppy signifies 

 "evanescent pleasure," the scarlet 



