472 HABITS AND LATIN NAMES OF BRITISH PLANTS. 
Goats eat this plant; Cows are not fond of it; Horses refuse it. The seeds yield 
an essential oil. 
The lame of Alysia Apii (Curt. Brit. Entom Vol. III., t. 141) feed on the 
leaves of the cultivated varieties of this plant. 
Aquilegia.— From aqua , water, and lego , to gather; from the shape of the 
leaves, which retain water; or, according to Hooker, from Aquila ? an Eagle, 
whose claws the nectaries resemble. 
Aquilegia vulgaris , Common Columbine.—The beauty of its blossoms has 
long introduced the Columbine into our flower-gardens. Goats eat it. Sheep are 
not fond of it. Cows, Horses, and Swine refuse it. The elongated and incurved 
nectary of this flower seems to bid defiance to the entry of the Bee in search of 
the hidden treasure; but the admirable ingenuity of the sagacious insect is not to 
be thus defeated, for on ascertaining the impracticability of effecting his usual 
admission, with his proboscis, he actually penetrates both calyx and blossom 
near the depot of the honey, and thus extracts the latent sweets without further 
difficulty. Cultivation produces various colours; and Mr. Phillips observes, in 
Flora Historica , the singular circumstance that it has three distinct modes of 
doubling its flowers, viz., by the multiplication of its petals, to the exclusion of 
the nectaries; by the increase of the nectaries, to the exclusion of the petals; 
and frequently by the multiplication of the nectaries while the proper petals 
remain. 
Arabis. —Originally from Arabia, but this name is not very precise, as the 
species of the genus are found in many parts of the world, in arid, stony, and 
sandy places, in cold and mild climates. 
Arabis iurrita , Tower Wall-cress, Tower Mustard, Great Turkey-pod.—The 
whole plant is of a light green colour; it is a native of Spain, France, Switzer¬ 
land, Italy, Sicily, and Transylvania, on mountains, in hedges, and coppices. 
In Britain it is one of our rarest natives, and may, probably, have escaped 
from gardens. It is said to have been observed by Professor J. Martyn, before 
the year 1732, on a wall at Lewisham, in Kent. Many of the exotic species 
of this genus, especially the perennial ones, are interesting little plants to the 
botanist, and are well adapted for rock-work. 
“---The fall of kings. 
The rage of nations, and the crush of states, 
Move not the man, who from the world escaped. 
In still retreats, and flowery solitudes, 
To Nature’s voice attends, from month to month, 
And day to day, thro’ the revolving year, 
Admiring sees her in her every shape, 
Feels all her sweet emotions at his heart, 
Takes what she lib’ral gives, nor thinks of more.” 
Thompson. 
