Stray Leaves from a Border Garden 
rose leaves, twice, strain out and keep it for use. Being 
anointed warm and well rubbed in upon sinews which are 
strained it is a most Excellent Thing. Let it be used morn- 
ing and evening, and in a little time the Patient will be 
cured.” Centonchio is the Italian name and Huhnerdarm the 
German. Groundsel, called hereabouts sometimes Grundy- 
swallow, a corruption of the old Anglo-Saxon ground- 
swelge , “ ground eater,” was supposed to be a good cure for 
ague, and “ a groundsel poultice sovrain for sprains, likewise 
for Jaundice ” ; and in my old Herbal I find the following : 
“ Pliny has a Relation for the Cure of Toothache which 
though it seems fabulous we shall here relate. You must 
dig up the Plant without any Iron Tool, and then touch 
the acking Tooth therewith 5 times, spitting 3 times. 
After every such Touch, which done Plant or Set the Herb 
again in the same Place so that it may grow, and the Tooth- 
ach shall presently cease and be perfectly cured.” Delight- 
fully easy recipe to follow ! A Chinese cure for toothache 
is to lance the gums in order that the tiny worms which are 
said to cause the pain may be extracted. In this connec- 
tion it is strange that an old Scotch term for toothache 
used to be u the worm,” because it was said the gnawing of 
a little worm caused the pain. Newly plucked groundsel 
laid to the smart left by the sting of a bee is said to cure it 
at once. Groundsel is one of the plants cited as forming 
the Virgin’s bed along with thyme and woodroof and sow- 
thistles. Here is a quaint old local rhyme : 
Storm and wind, 
Sun or shower, 
Still you find, 
Groundsel in flower. 
Dandelions I can never bring myself to wage war with, 
they are so pretty, both in seed and flower. Boy, too, loves 
the downy blowball, and hastens to see what’s o’clock by 
the time-honoured process of blowing at the seed-puff. 
Indeed, I cannot look upon them as wholly useless weeds, 
since their root used to be made into coffee, and in spring 
fresh young Dandelions make a very nice salad. But 
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