112 
F. G, LLOYD—WILD PLANTS: 
custom of country girls, who used to set up two plants of it, one 
for themselves and one for their lover, upon a slate or trencher, on 
Midsummer Eve, and then estimate their lover’s fidelity by his 
plant living and turning to theirs or not. 
Saxifragaceee. —-The Saxifrages, sometimes called by the literal 
translation of the Latin, “ stonebreaks,” from the roots disinte¬ 
grating the rocks in the crevices of which they grow, are a 
numerous order, and some of them have very beautiful flowers. 
The best-known species, perhaps, is London pride, which takes its 
name, not from the town of London, but from a member of the 
firm of London and Wise, florists, who introduced it into culti¬ 
vation in the early part of the last century. 
Umbelliferce. —This order is so named from the flowers being 
produced in umbels or flat bunches, the elderberry being a familiar 
example. The members of the order vary greatly in their pro-, 
perties, the roots, leaves, stalks, and seeds being variously used, 
some as food and condiments, and others as medicines, while some 
are very poisonous. 
Loranthacece. —The flowers of this order are as a rule incon¬ 
spicuous, although one species, growing in the vicinity of St. 
George’s Sound, has an abundance of bright orange-coloured flowers 
and is called the fire-tree. To the mistletoe great virtues were 
attributed by the Druids. 
Caprifohaceee. —The Woodbines comprise shrubs and plants of 
very different habits, amongst them being the common elder, which 
in some countries is looked upon as possessing valuable medicinal 
properties; in Russia the flowers are much sought after, a decoction 
of them being used for colds. The guelder-rose, snowball, or water 
elder, and the honeysuckle or woodbine with its lovely blossoms 
and delicious fragrance, which flourishes so in our country lanes, 
are other examples of this order. 
Ruhiacece. —The Madder tribe is a very large one, some of the 
members of which are of the highest utility to man, both as food 
and medicine, amongst them being the coffee-tree, and several 
plants from which Peruvian bark and quinine are obtained. This 
order also includes the Galium and sweet woodruff. 
Dipsaceee. —One member of the Teasel tribe, the teasel or fuller’s 
thistle, furnishes, in its large flower-heads, the means of properly 
combing wool in the manufacture of cloth; the heads are set in 
frames, and the stiff hooks of the teasel catch up and remove all 
loose particles of wool, but give way when held fast by the sub¬ 
stance of the cloth. This is one of the few manufacturing processes 
which cannot, up to the present, be done by mechanical means alone; 
Valerianaceee.- —The roots of Valeriana officinalis, which grows 
plentifully on chalk cliffs, and on our railway cuttings, are used in 
medicine. They have a remarkable attraction for cats, and in India 
are used for trapping tigers. Valeriana Jatamansi is the spikenard 
of Scripture. 
Compositce .-—Of this order the daisy group includes the colts¬ 
foot, bull’s-foot, horse-hoof, or cough-wort, taking the first three 
