l O C ,H AFTER I . 
fnex aqtidticus ) or great water dock. In this 
opinion R ay^ and others, have acqiiiefced. 
I fliould not have dwelt fo long on thefe 
Circumfi:ances<» but to £hew the mortifying 
uncertainty attending the application of the 
names of plants from the antients, arifing 
from their vague and indccifive defcriptions. 
I add, that MrrLiGHTFOox thinks, there 
are fu flic ient traces in the highlands, of the 
high efleem in which the Druids held the 
quicken-tree^ or mountain a{h ; forhus au^ 
jcuparia^ It is, mere frequently than any 
other tree, found planted in the neighbour- 
liocd of druidical circles of fiones, fo often 
feen in Scotland. Poflibly this fa6t may be 
more equivocal than the fuperfdtious ufes 
to which it is ftill applied. It is believed, that 
a fmall part of this tree carried about them^ 
is a charm againft witchcraft and enchant- 
ment. The dairy-mjaid drives the cattle 
with a fwitch of the roan-tree^ for fo it is 
called in the highlands, as a fecurity againft 
the fame direful evils ; and in one part 
of Scotland, the ilieep and Iambs are, on 
the firft of May, ever made to pafs through 
a hoop of roan^wood. 
Shortp 
