80 
HABITS AND LATIN NAMES OF BRITISH PLANTS. 
practical agriculturists, as the following extracts from the J Farmers Journal 
evince :—“ I have no doubt that salt may be of use in destroying Thistles. I 
have made several experiments, which have uniformly been attended with suc¬ 
cess. The most effectual way is to cut off or bruize the Thistle, and then put a 
small portion of salt on it; very few will survive the treatment.” Other corres¬ 
pondents confirm the above report, slightly varying the mode of treatment. 
Cochlearia. —From cochlear , a spoon ; its root-leaves assuming the form of a 
spoon or shell. 
Cochlearia armoracia , Horse-radish.-—The root scraped (which has a quick 
pungent smell, and a penetrating acrid taste) is in common use at our tables as 
a condiment for fish, roast-beef, &c., and it is used for many other culinary pur¬ 
poses. The roots when dried lose much of their acrimony, becoming almost 
insipid, but they may be preserved, retaining their qualities, in sand and in a 
cool place, a considerable time. A spoonful of Horse-radish put into a pan of 
milk will preserve the milk sweet several days, either in the open air or in a 
cellar, while other milk will turn sour. 
Cochlearia officinalis , Common Scurvy-grass.—Notwithstanding this is a na¬ 
tive of the sea-coast, it is cultivated in gardens without any sensible alteration of 
its properties. It possesses a considerable degree of acrimony, which seems to 
reside in a very subtile essential oil. It may be eaten as a salad, and is much 
employed in the scorbutic disorders prevalent in Northern countries. Some 
authors have conjectured this to be the real Herba Britannica of Pliny, from 
the use of which the army of Csesar derived great benefit in their sufferings from 
scurvy whilst in Germany. 
Colchicum. —K oXxncov, from Colchis, a province of Asia, on the East side of the 
Euxine Sea, where it was said to grow abundantly. 
Colchicum Autumnale , Meadow Saffron, Tuberoot, Naked-lady, or Upstart.— 
It flowers in September, produces its fruit in the following Spring, and ripens it in 
Summer. Withering observes, that the very great length of the styles may in 
some measure account for the delay in the ripening of the seeds. As this plant 
blossoms late in the year, and probably would not have time to ripen its seeds 
before the access of Winter, which would destroy them, Nature has so contrived 
its structure, that this important office may be performed at a depth in the earth, 
out of reach of the usual effects of frost, as seeds buried thus deep are known not 
to vegetate. A no less admirable provision is made to raise them above the 
surface when perfected, and to sow them at a proper season. Paley adverts to 
these peculiar circumstances, as affording a striking instance of the compensatory 
system in the economy of Nature. 
Comarum. —From K o^xpos, an ancient name, given by Theophrastus to an 
evergreen tree, and not now rightly understood. 
