CHAPTER VII

OF HERBS AND BEASTS

Here may’st thou range the goodly, pleasant field, And search out simples to procure thy heal, What sundry virtues, sundry herbs do yield, ’Gainst grief which may thy sheep or thee assail.

_Eclogue_ vii.--DRAYTON.

And tryed time yet taught me greater thinges; The sodain rising of the raging seas, The soothe of byrdes by beating of their winges, The powre of herbes, both which can hurt and ease; And which be wont t’enrage the restless sheepe, And which be wont to worke eternal sleepe.

_Shepheard’s Calendar._--SPENSER.

And did you hear wild music blow All down the boreen, long and low, The tramp of ragweed horses’ feet, And Una’s laughter wild and sweet.

_The Passing of the Shee._--N. HOPPER.

Herbs and animals may appear linked together in many aspects, but there are two in which I specially wish to look at them--first, glancing at the old traditions that tell of beasts and birds themselves having preferences among herbs; secondly, the human reasoning, which decreed that certain plants must benefit or affect special creatures. The glamour of magic at times hovers over both. Ragwort is St James’s Wort (the French call it _Jacobée_), and St James is the patron saint of horses, therefore Ragwort is good for horses, and has even gained the name of the Staggerwort, from being often prescribed for “the staggers.” This is a good specimen of the reasoning, but there is romance about the plant which is far more attractive. Besides being good for horses, it is actually the witches’ own horse! There is a high granite rock called the Castle Peak, south of the Logan Rock in Cornwall, where, as tales run, witches were specially fond of gathering, and thither they rode on moonlight nights on a stem of Ragwort. In Ireland, it is the fairies ride it, and there it is sometimes called the Fairy’s Horse.

Reach up to the star that hangs the lowest, Tread down the drift of the apple blow, Ride your ragweed horse to the Isle of Wobles.

Ragwort is specially beloved by the Leprehauns, or Clauricanes, the little fairy cobblers, who are sometimes seen singing or whistling over their work on a tiny shoe. They wear “deeshy-daushy” leather aprons, and usually red nightcaps.

Do you not catch the tiny clamour, Busy click of an elfin hammer, Voice of the Lepracaun singing shrill, As he merrily plies his trade.

W. B. YEATS.

There is a very nice legend of the Field of Boliauns, which turns on the belief that every Leprehaun has a hidden treasure buried under a ragwort. And if anyone can catch the little man, and not for one second take his eyes off him until the plant is reached, the Leprehaun must show him exactly where to dig for it. In the Isle of Man, they used to tell of another steed, not the fairies’ horse, but a fairy or enchanted horse, ridden by mortals. If anyone on St John’s Eve, they said, trod on a plant of St John’s Wort after sunset, the horse would spring out of the earth, and carry him about till sunrise, and there leave him wherever they chanced at that moment to be.

William Coles[102] speaks with great decision as to the various remedies which animals find for themselves. “If the Asse be oppressed with melancholy, he eats of the herbe _Asplenium_... so the wilde Goats being shot with Darts or Arrows, cure themselves with Dittany, which Herb hath the power to worke them out of the Body and to heale up the wound.” Gerarde adds that the “Deere in Candie” seek the same remedy, and Parkinson remarks of Hemp Agrimony, “It is sayd that hunters have observed that Deere being wounded by the eating of this herbe have been healed of their hurts.” Drayton’s _Hermit_ refers to dictam or dittany.

And this is dictam which we prize Shot shafts and darts expelling.

Shelley is less definite. He only laments:

The wounded deer must seek the herb no more In which its heart cure lies.

[102] “Art of Simpling.”

Goats do not seek Sea-Holly as a remedy, but it has a startling effect upon them if, by accident, they touch it. “They report that the herb Sea-Holly (_Eryngium maritimum_), if one goat take it into her mouth, it causeth her first to stand still, and afterwards the whole flocke, untill such time as the Shepherd take it forth of her mouth, as Plutarch writeth.”[103] However much these wild theories may exceed facts as to animals curing themselves, they are not altogether without reason, for the instinct of beasts leading them to healing herbs has often been noticed. Evelyn says: “I have heard of one Signior _Jaquinto_, Physician to Queen _Anne_ (Mother of the Blessed _Martyr_, Charles the First), and was so to one of the _Popes_. That observing the _Scurvy_ and _Dropsy_ to be the Epidemical and Dominent Diseases of this Nation, he went himself into the _Hundreds_ of _Essex_ (reputed the most unhealthy County of this _Island_), and us’d to follow the Sheep and Cattell on purpose to observe what Plants they chiefly fed upon; and of those _Simples_ compos’d an excellent _Electuary_ of extraordinary Effects against those Infirmities.

[103] Gerarde.

“Thus we are told, that the Vertue of the Cophee was discover’d by marking what the _Goats_ so greedily brutted upon. So _Æsculapius_ is said to have restor’d dismember’d _Hippolitus_ by applying some simples, he observ’d a _Serpent_ to have us’d another dead _Serpent_.” The last instance sounds mythical! But goats have really more than once led mankind to some useful bit of knowledge. There is a Chilian plant, _Boldo_, a tincture of the leaves of which are frequently administered in France for hepatic complaints, and this is the history of the discovery of its virtues. “The goats in Chili had been for many years subject to enlargement of the liver, and the owners of the flocks had begun to despair of them as a source of revenue, until it was observed that certain flocks were exempt from the complaint, whilst others in adjacent districts continued subject to it. It was ultimately discovered that the goats browsing in fields where _Boldo_ grew were never a prey to hepatic diseases, and the herb became gradually known and used, first by South American and then by French druggists.” _Boldo_ is little used in England.

Sheep seek Dandelions; and Miss Anne Pratt quotes an agricultural report, describing how some weakly lambs were moved into a field full of Dandelions in flower, and how rapidly the conspicuous blossoms were devoured. Finally, as the flowers grew fewer and fewer, the lambs were seen pushing one another away from the coveted plants, and in this field they speedily gained in health and strength. _Valerianella Olitaria_ is said to be a favourite food of lambs, and so gains its name of Lambs’ Lettuce. Shepherds and flocks have always been favourite subjects for poetry, and Drayton touches them very prettily:--

When the new wash’d flock from the river side, Coming as white as January’s snow, The ram with nose-gays bears his horns in pride, And no less brave the bell-wether doth go.

Nep or Cat-mint is said to have a great attraction for cats. Of which there is this old rime:--

If you set it, the catts will eate it, If you sow it, the catts won’t know it.[104]

[104] Coles.

The weasel, with a grand knowledge of counter-poisons, “arms herself with eating of Rue,” _before_ fighting a serpent. Folkard says that in the north of England there is a tradition that when hops were first planted there, nightingales also made their first appearance, and he adds that both have long since disappeared, north of the Humber. In other parts of England there is an idea (quite a false one) that nightingales will only sing where cowslips flourish. The cuckoo is connected with both plants and minerals. In some parts of Germany, Mr Friend writes, the call of the cuckoo is thought to reveal mines, and the cuckoo’s bread, the purple orchis, grows most abundantly where rich veins of metal lie beneath. There is a story about the plantain, a plant with a most interesting legendary history, in which the cuckoo appears. Once the Plantain or Waybread was a maiden, always watching for her absent lover, and at last she was changed into the plant that almost always grows by the road-side. And now every seventh year the plantain becomes a bird, either the Cuckoo or the Cuckoo’s servant, the Dinnick.

The Yellow Rattle is sometimes called Gowk’s Siller, and Gowk may mean either the Cuckoo or a fool, so they may quarrel for it. Johnston seems to think that the siller belongs rather to the fool, for he remarks: “the capsules rattle when in seed... being like the fool unable to conceal its wealth.” The Swallow restored sight to the eyes of her young, when any evil had befallen them, by the help of Celandine. And it was for this reason, says Gerarde, that the flower gained its name, _Chelidonium_, swallow-herbe, and not because it “first springeth at the coming of the swallows or dieth when they goe away.”... Celsus doth witnesse that it will restore “the sight of the eies of divers young birds... and soonest of all of the sight of the swallow.” The eagle, when he wishes his sight to be particularly keen, rubs his eyes with the wild Lettuce, and the hawk follows his example, but chooses Hawkweed with equal success. Doves and pigeons find that Vervain cures dimness of vision and goldfinches and linnets and some other birds turn to eyebright. “The purple and yellow spots which are upon the flowers of eyebright very much resemble the diseases of the eyes or bloodshot.”[105] There is a very wide belief in a magic plant called Spring-wort or Spring-wurzel of which Folkard gives an interesting description. “Pliny,” he says, “records the superstition concerning it, almost in the same form in which it is now found in Germany. If anyone touches a lock with it, the lock, however strong, must yield. In Switzerland it is carried in the right pocket to render the bearer invulnerable to dagger or bullet; and in the Hartz mountains it is said to reveal treasures. One cannot easily find it oneself, but generally the wood-pecker (according to Pliny also the raven, in Switzerland, the Hoopoe, in the Tyrol, the swallow) will bring it under the following circumstances. When the bird has temporarily left its nest this must be stopped up with wood. The bird then flies away to find the Spring-wurzel and will open the nest by touching it with the root. Meantime a fire or a red cloth must be placed near by, which will so frighten the bird that it will let the magical root fall.” _Le petit Albert_, to procure Spring-wort suggests tying up a magpie’s nest with new cords, but merely says that she brings _une herbe_ to release her nestlings, without giving its name.

[105] “Adam in Eden,” Coles.

Several legends are attached to the Wood-pecker. Amongst others there is an idea that the root of the Peony is good for epilepsy, but should a Wood-pecker be in sight when the patient tastes it he would be forthwith struck blind! In Piedmont there is a little plant called the Herb of the Blessed Mary, which is fatal to birds, and there it is said that when young wild birds are caught and caged their parents bring them a sprig of it, that death rather than imprisonment may be their lot. De Gubernatis speaks of an oriental bird of greater resource, the _Paperone_, for when _his_ little ones are imprisoned he seeks and brings a root which breaks the iron bars and releases them. Parkinson tells of an Indian herb which “cast to the birds causeth as many as take it to fall downe to the ground as being stoned for a time, but if any take it too greedily it will kill them, if they bee not helped by cold water put on their heads, but Dawes above all other birds are soonest kild thereby.” There is a suggestion of comedy in this picture of a seventeenth century herbalist in a foreign land pouring cold water on the heads of wild birds.

“The raven, when he hath killed the chameleon, and yet perceiving he is hurt and poisoned by him, flyeth for remedy to the Laurell,” which “represseth and extinguisheth the venom,” says Pliny.[106] The elephant, under the same circumstances, recovers himself by eating “wild Olive, the only remedy he hath of this poison.... The storke, feeling himself amisse, goeth to the herbe Organ for remedy,” and Parkinson quotes Antigonas as saying that ring-doves cured their wounds with the same plant. Stock-doves, jays, merles, blackbirds and ousels recover “their appetite to meate,” by eating bay leaves; and ducks, geese and other waterfowl seek endive or chicory. Of course, chickweed and goosegrass have gained their names as the result of similar observations, more modern, and possibly more accurate. Elder-berries are eaten by birds, but they are said to have serious effects on chickens.

[106] Philemon Holland’s Translation.

Lizards cure themselves of the biting of serpents with calaminth, and the tortoise cautiously eats a “kind of sauorie or marjerome” before the battle. Sir Francis Bacon mentions that, “the snake loveth fennel; that the toad will be much under sage; that frogs will be in cinquefoil”; though he unromantically doubts that the virtue of these herbs is the cause of these preferences. Turner also remarks on the toad’s liking for sage, and says: “Rue is good to be planted among Sage, to prevent the poison which may be in it by toads frequenting amongst it, but Rue being amongst it they will not come near it.” A toad recovers itself by means of the plantain from the poison of the spider, and Bullein[107] tells us of the frog’s fondness for the _Scabiosa_, under whose leaves they will “shadow themselves from the heate of the daie, poppyng and plaiying under these leaves, which to them is a pleasant Tent or Pavillion.” The reputed venom of toads was sometimes said to be sucked from camomile, of all plants!

[107] Bullein’s “Bulwarke; or, Booke of Simples,” 1562.

Pliny wrote of the serpent, that waking in the spring, she finds that during the winter her sight has become “dim and dark, so that with the herbe Fennell she comforteth and anointeth her eies,” and having cast her coat, “appeareth fresh, slick and yong again.”

If camomile furnishes venom for toads, it seems to provide nourishment for fishes. William Browne says of some nymphs:--

Another from her banks, in sheer good will, Brings nutriment for fish, the camomile.

Isaac Walton observes that, “Parsley and Garden earth recovers and refreshes sick fish.” The Alder or Aul is indirectly connected with trout in a Herefordshire rhyme:--

When the bud of the Aul is as big as the trout’s eye, Then that fish is in season in the River Wye.

Among other counsels _Piscator_ speaks of the perch’s tastes. “And he hath been observed by some not usually to bite till the mulberry-tree buds--that is to say, till extreme frosts be past in the spring.... Some think [of grayling] that he feeds on water-thyme, and smells of it at his first taking out of the water.” A pike has a liking for lavender, and the directions for trying for this fish with a dead bait begin: “Dissolve gum of ivy in oil of spike [lavender], and then anoint the bait with it. Wheat boiled in milk and flavoured with Saffron is a choice bait for Roach and Grayling, and Mulberries and those Blackberries which grow upon briars, be good baits for Chubs and Carps.” Gerarde says that Balm rubbed over hives will keep the bees there, and cause others to come to them, and Parkinson thought that the “leaves or rootes of _Acorus_ (sweet-smelling Flagge) tyed to a hive” would have the same effect.

To turn to the herbs prescribed by men for beasts, we find that Spenser alludes to two of them:--

Here grows _melampode_ everywhere And _terebinth_ good for gotes.

July--_Shepheard’s Calendar_.

A marginal note suggests that the latter meant the “turpentine tree.” “The tree that weepeth turpentine” is mentioned by Drayton, and we may suppose that both poets referred to the same tree, the Silver Fir (_Pinus picra_). Melampode was hellebore or bear’s foot, a very important plant, and it was much used in magic. A cynical French verse says:--

L’ellébore est la fleur des fous, On l’a dédie a maints poètes.

Once people blessed their cattle with it to keep them from evil spells, and “for this purpose it was dug up with certain attendant mystic rites: the devotees first drawing a circle round the plant with a sword, and then turning to the east and offering a prayer to Apollo and Æsculapius for leave to dig up the root.”[108] In the old French romance, _Les Quatre Fils Aymon_, the sorcerer, Malagis or Maugis, when he wishes to make his way, unchallenged, through the enemy’s camp, scatters powdered hellebore in the air as he goes. Both the Black and the White Hellebore, Parkinson says, are known to be very poisonous, and the white hellebore was used by hunters to poison arrows, with which they meant to kill “wolves, foxes, dogs,” etc. Black Hellebore was used to heal and not to hurt, and “a piece of the roote being drawne through a hole made in the eare of a beast troubled with cough, or having taken any poisonous thing, cureth it, if it be taken out the next day at the same houre.” This writer believes that White Hellebore would be equally efficacious in such a case, but Gerarde recommends the Black Hellebore only as being good for beasts. He says the old Farriers used to “cut a slit in the dewlap and put in a bit of Beare-foot, and leave it there for daies together.” _Verbascum thapsis_ was called Bullock’s Lungwort, from the resemblance of its leaf to a dewlap, and on the Doctrine of Signatures was therefore given to cattle suffering from pneumonia.

[108] Timbs.

_Samoclas_, or Marchwort, was a strange herb which used to be put in the drinking-troughs of cattle and swine to preserve their health. But to obtain this desirable result it had to be “gathered fasting, and with the left hand, without looking back, when it was being plucked.”[109] Gervase Markham mentions a curious evil among cattle. He says if a shrew-mouse run over a beast “it feebleth his hinder parts and maketh him unable to go. The cure is to draw him under, or beat him with a Bramble, which groweth at both ends in the furrowes of corne lands.” Markham was a noted authority on Husbandry and Farriery in the early part of the seventeenth century, and he gives advice for the various ills afflicting horses. For nightmare he prescribed balls composed of Aniseed, Liquorice and Garlic, and other ingredients. For toothache, Ale or Vinegar, in which Betony has been seethed; and loose teeth are to be rubbed with the leaves of Elecampane, which will “fasten” them. Stubwort (wood-sorrel), “lapped in red Dock leafe and roasted in hot cinders, will eat away the dead flesh in a sore,” and any “splint, iron, thorne or stub” may be drawn out by an application of Yarrow, Southernwood, Cummin-seed, Fenugreek and Ditany, bruised with black soap. Horse Mint, Wormwood and Dill are other herbs recommended by this author.

[109] Timbs.

Gerarde says that the leaves of Arsmart (_Persicaria_) rubbed on the back of a tired horse, and a “good handfull or two laid under the saddle, will wonderfully refresh him;” and _Le petit Albert_ gives a recipe for making a horse go further in one hour than another would go in eight. You must begin by mingling a handful of “Satyrion” in his oats, and anointing him with the fat of a deer; then when you are mounted and ready to start “vous lui tournerez la têté du coté de soleil levant et vous penchant sur son oreille gauche vous prononçerez trois fois à voix basse les paroles suivantes et vous partirez aussi tôt: _Gaspar_, _Melchior_, _Merchisard_. T’ajonte à cecy que si vous suspenderez au col du cheval les grosses dents d’un loup qui aura étè tué en courant, le cheval ne sera pas fatigue de sa course.” No doubt these proceedings were carried out by the traveller with an air of mystery, and must have impressed the bystanders, but one wonders what the rider thought of them after an hour’s journeying? Satyrion is a kind of orchis. There was a herb called _Sferro Cavallo_ which was supposed to be able to break locks or draw off the shoes of the horses that passed over it. Sir Thomas Browne speaks of it in his “Popular Errors,” and laughs the idea to scorn, and “cannot but wonder at Matthiolus, who, upon a parallel in Pliny, was staggered into suspension” [of judgment]. This plant was probably the Horse-shoe Vetch, whose seed-vessels, being in the shape of horse-shoes, may have given rise to the superstition; but Grimm thought it was the _Euphorbia Lathyris_. The same belief is found in different countries, referred to other plants; the French thought that Rest Harrow had this marvellous property, and Culpepper tells the same tale about the Moonwort (_Botrychium Lunaria_), which had the country name of Unshoe-the-Horse. “Besides, I have heard commenders say that in White Down in Devonshire, near Tiverton, there were found thirty horse-shoes, pulled off from the feet of the Earl of Essex’s horses, being then drawn up in a body, many of them being but newly shod, and no reason known, which caused much admiration, and the herb described usually grows upon heaths.” One would hardly have thought that “admiration” was the feeling evoked, but perhaps nobody concerned was pressed for time!

Hound’s Tongue (_Cynoglossum officinale_) was believed to have the remarkable property that it will “tye the tongues of Houndes, so that they shall not bark at you, if it be laid under the bottom of your feet.”

In Markham’s advice about domestic animals, he alludes to a “certaine stage of madnesse” which attacks rabbits, and says that the cure is Hare-Thistle (_Sonchus oleraceus_). The “Grete Herbal” called this plant the “Hare’s Palace.” “For yf the hare come under it, he is sure that no best can touche hym.”

These statements lead one to feel that once upon a time, the world was much more like the world of Richard Jefferies than it is, and that “wood magic” was nearer to our forefathers than to ourselves. Nowadays, when everything travels more quickly along the road of life, the eyes of ordinary mortals get confused with the movement and the jostling and they do not see the pretty by-play that goes on in the bushes by the way, nor peer into the depths of the woodland beyond. In this they lose a good deal, but no one can “put back the clock,” and one must feel grateful that the idylls of the forest are still being acted, and that there are still men whose vision is quick enough to catch sight of them, and whose pens have the cunning to put before others the glimpses that they themselves have caught.

A legend exists about the Cormorant, the Bat, and the Bramble--quite inconsequent, but not wholly out of place here, so it shall serve as a conclusion.

Once the Cormorant was a wool merchant and he took for partners the Bat and the Bramble. They freighted a large ship with wool, but she was wrecked and then they were bankrupt. Ever since that, the Cormorant is diving into the deep, looking for the lost ship; the Bat skulks round till midnight, so that he may not meet his creditors, and the Bramble catches hold of every passing sheep to try and make up for his loss by stealing wool. No doubt, you have often noticed their ways, but did you ever before know their reasons?

TUSSER’S LIST

SEEDS AND HERBS FOR THE KITCHEN.

1. Avens. 2. Betony. 3. Bleets or beets, white or yellow. 4. Bloodwort. 5. Bugloss. 6. Burnet. 7. Borrage. 8. Cabbages, remove in June. 9. Clary. 10. Coleworts. 11. Cresses. 12. Endive. 13. Fennel. 14. French Mallows. 15. French Saffron, set in August. 16. Lang de beef. 17. Leeks, remove in June. 18. Lettuce, remove in May. 19. Longwort (_Lungwort_). 20. Liverwort (probably _Agrimonia Eupatoria_). 21. Marigolds, often cut. 22. Mercury (_Chenopodium Bonus Henricus_). 23. Mints, at all times. 24. Nep (_Nepeta Cataria_). 25. Onions, from December to March. 26. Orache or arache, red and white (_Atriplex hortensis_). 27. Patience. 28. Parsley. 29. Penny-royal. 30. Primrose. 31. Poret (_a leek or small onion according to some writers, Garlick_). 32. Rosemary, in the spring time, to grow south or west. 33. Sage, red or white. 34. English Saffron, set in August. 35. Summer Savory. 36. Sorrell. 37. Spinage. 38. Succory. 39. Siethes (_Chives_). 40. Tansey. 41. Thyme. 42. Violets of all sorts.

HERBS AND ROOTS FOR SALADS AND SAUCE.

1. Alexanders at all times. 2. Artichokes. 3. Blessed Thistle, or Carduus Benedictus. 4. Cucumbers, in April and May. 5. Cresses, sow with lettuce in the spring. 6. Endive. 7. Mustard-seed, sow in the spring, and at Michaelmas. 8. Musk, Mellion, in April and May. 9. Mints. 10. Purslane. 11. Radish, and after remove them. 12. Rampions. 13. Rocket, in April. 14. Sage. 15. Sorrell. 16. Spinage, for the summer. 17. Sea-holy. 18. Sparage, let grow two years and then remove. 19. Skirrets, set these plants in March. 20. Succory. 21. Tarragon, set in slips in March. 22. Violets of all colours.

These buy with the penny Or look not for any.

1. Capers. 2. Lemons. 3. Olives. 4. Oranges. 5. Rice. 6. Samphire.

HERBS AND ROOTS, TO BOIL OR TO BUTTER.

1. Beans, set in winter. 2. Cabbages, sow in March and after remove. 3. Carrots. 4. Citrons, sow in May. 5. Gourds, in May. 6. Navews, sow in June (_Brassica Napus_). 7. Pompions, in May. 8. Parsnips, in winter. 9. Runcival Pease, set in winter. 10. Rapes, sow in June. 11. Turnips, in March and April.

STREWING HERBS OF ALL SORTS.

1. Basil, fine and busht, sow in May. 2. Balm, set in March. 3. Camomile. 4. Costmary. 5. Cowslips and Paggles. 6. Daisies of all sorts. 7. Sweet Fennell. 8. Germander. 9. Hyssop, set in February. 10. Lavender (_Lavendula vera_). 11. Lavender Spike (_L. spica_). 12. Lavender Cotton. 13. Marjoram, knotted, sow or set in the spring. 14. Maudeline. 15. Pennyroyal. 16. Roses of all sorts, in January and September. 17. Red Mints. 18. Sage. 19. Tansy. 20. Violets. 21. Winter Savory.

HERBS, BRANCHES, AND FLOWERS FOR WINDOWS.

1. Bays, sow or plant in January. 2. Bachelor’s Buttons. 3. Bottles, blue, red, and tawny. 4. Columbines. 5. Campions. 6. Cowslips (_Tusser here meant Oxlips_). 7. Daffodils or Daffodondillies. 8. Eglantine or Sweet-Brier. 9. Fetherfew. 10. Flower Amour, sow in May (_Amaranthus_). 11. Flower de Luce. 12. Flower-Gentle, white and red (_Amaranthus_). 13. Flower Nice. 14. Gillyflowers, red, white, and Carnations, set in spring and at harvest in pots, pails, or tubs, or for summer, in beds. 15. Holyoaks, red, white, and Carnations (_Hollyhocks_). 16. Indian Eye, sow in May, or set in slips in March (_Dianthus Plumarius_). 17. Lavender of all sorts. 18. Larksfoot (_Larkspur_). 19. Laus tibi (_Narcissus Poeticus_). 20. Lillium Convallium. 21. Lilies, red and white, sow or set in March and September. 22. Marigolds, double. 23. Nigella Romana. 24. Pansies, or Heartsease. 25. Paggles, green and yellow (_Cowslips_). 26. Pinks of all sorts. 27. Queen’s Gilliflowers (_Hesperis Matronalis_). 28. Rosemary. 29. Roses of all sorts. 30. Snapdragon. 31. Sops in wine (Pinks). 32. Sweet Williams. 33. Sweet Johns (_Dianthus Barbatus_). 34. Star of Bethlehem (_Ornithogalum Umbellatum_). 35. Star of Jerusalem (_Tragopogon pratensis_). 36. Stock Gilliflowers of all sorts. 37. Tuft Gilliflowers. 38. Velvet flowers, or French Marigolds (_Tagetes patula_). 39. Violets, yellow and white. 40. Wall Gilliflowers of all sorts.

HERBS TO STILL IN SUMMER.

1. Blessed Thistle. 2. Betony. 3. Dill. 4. Endive. 5. Eyebright. 6. Fennel. 7. Fumitory. 8. Hyssop. 9. Mints. 10. Plantane. 11. Roses, red and damask. 12. Respies (_Rubus Idæus_). 13. Saxifrage (_Pimpinella saxifraga_ or _Saxifraga granulata_, or perhaps, _Carum Carvi_). 14. Strawberries. 15. Sorrel. 16. Succory. 17. Woodroffe, for sweet waters and cakes.

NECESSARY HERBS TO GROW IN THE GARDEN FOR PHYSIC, NOT REHEARSED BEFORE.

1. Anise. 2. Archangel (_Angelica_). 3. Betony. 4. Chervil. 5. Cinquefoil (_Potentida reptans_). 6. Cummin. 7. Dragons (_Arum Maculatum_). 8. Dittary or garden ginger (_Lepidium Latifolium_). 9. Gromwell seed (_Lithospernum officinale_). 10. Hart’s tongue. 11. Horehound. 12. Lovage. 13. Liquorice. 14. Mandrake. 15. Mugwort. 16. Peony. 17. Poppy. 18. Rue. 19. Rhubarb. 20. Smallage. 21. Saxifrage. 22. Savin. 23. Stitchwort. 24. Valerian. 25. Woodbine.

Thus ends in brief, Of herbs the chief, To get more skill, Read whom ye will; Such mo to have, Of field go crave.

AUTHORS REFERRED TO

ABERCROMBIE, “Every Man his own Gardener.” AMHERST (Hon. Alicia), “A History of Gardening in England.” ASHMOLE, “History of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.” BACON, “Sylva Sylvarum; or, a Naturall Historie.” BLOUNT, “Fragmenta Antiquitatis; or Jocular Tenures.” BRAND, “Popular Antiquities.” BRITTEN, “A Dictionary of English Plant Names.” BROWNE (Sir Thomas), “Vulgar Errors.” CLARENDON, “History of the Rebellion.” COLES, “Art of Simpling.” CULPEPPER, “The English Physitian.” CULPEPPER, “Astrological Judgment of Diseases.” DE GUBERNATIS, _La Mythologie des Plantes_. DE LA QUINTINYE, “The Compleat Gard’ner.” DILLON, _Nineteenth Century_, April 1894. DYER (Thistleton), “The Folk-Lore of Plants.” ELLACOMBE (Canon), “The Plant-Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare.” EVELYN (J.), “Acetaria, a Discourse of Sallets,” 1699. FAVYN (André), _Le Théâtre d’honneur et de Chevatries_, 1620. FAVYN (André), “Theatre of Honour.” FERNIE, “Herbal Simples.” FOLKARD, “Plant-Lore, Legends and Lyrics.” FRIEND, “Flowers and Flower-Lore.” FULLER, “Church History.” FULLER, “Antheologia; or, the Speech of Flowers.” GERARDE, “The Herball,” 1596. THE “Grete Herball,” 1516. GUILLIM, “Heraldry.” HAKLUYT’S Voyages, “Remembrances for Master S.,” 1582. HARRISON’S “Description of England.” “History of Signboards.” HOGG, “The Vegetable Kingdom and its Products.” HUISH, “History of the Coronation of George IV.” INGRAM, _Flora Symbolica_. I. W., _i.e._ John Worlidge, _Systema Agriculturæ_, printed (London) for Thos. Dring, 1681. JONES, “Crowns and Coronations.” LAMBERT (Miss), _Nineteenth Century_, September 1879, and May 1880. _Le Petit Albert_, from the “Secrets of Albertus Magnus, of the Virtues of Herbs, Stones and Certaine Beasts,” 1617. LOUDON, “Encyclopædia of Gardening.” LUPTON, “Book of Notable Things,” 1575. MARKHAM (Gervase), “The Complete Housewife.” MEAGER, “The New Art of Gardening,” 1697. NEWTON, “An Herbal of the Bible,” 1587. NICHOLAS (Sir N. H.), “History of the Orders of Knighthood of the British Empire.” PARKINSON, _Paradisi in Sole, Paradisus terrestris_, 1629. PARKINSON, “Theatre of Plants,” 1640. PECK, _Desiderata Curiosa_. PEGGE’S _Curalia_. PLATT (Sir Hugh), “The Garden of Eden,” 1653. PLINY’S “Natural History,” Trans. by Philemon Holland. _Quarterly Review_, June 1842. RHIND, “History of the Vegetable Kingdom.” ROBERTS (H.), “Complete Account of the Coronations of the Kings and Queens of England.” ROBINSON, “English Flower-Garden.” ROSS, “View of all Religions,” 1653. SELDEN, “Table Talk.” SMITH, “Dictionary of the Bible.” THORNTON, “Family Herbal.” TIMBS, “Things Not Generally Known.” TUSSER, “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry,” 1577. WALTON (Isaac), “The Complete Angler.”

INDEX OF PLANTS

ACONITE, 173 _Acorus_, 196 Agrimony, 135, 167 ---- Hemp, 190 Alder, 167, 196 Alecost, 121, 122 Alexanders, 47, 48, 153, 176 Alkanet, 15, 150 Angelica, 48, 49, 50, 150, 164, 166, 179 Anise, 9, 154, 173, 182, 198 Arnica, 173 Arsmart, 198 _Asplenium_, 190

BALM, 9, 10, 11, 105, 148, 196 Barberries, 99, 107 Basil, Sweet, 11, 12, 13, 105, 117, 154, 176, 178, 183 ---- Bush, 11, 12, 13, 154 Bay, 132, 133, 141, 142, 143, 144, 177, 195 Bearberries, 173 Bearsfoot, 164, 196, 197 Bella-Donna, 167 Bergamot, 120, 121, 148, 173 Betony, 111, 164, 168, 198 Blites, 50, 51 Bloodwort, 51 Boldo, 190 Borage, 13, 14, 154 Boy’s Love, 136, 166 Bridewort, 109, 128 Brooklime, 167 Broom, 98, 129, 134, 166, 174, 183 Buckshorne, 51, 52 Bugloss, 14, 64, 150 ---- Viper’s, 15, 160 Bullock’s Lungwort, 197 Burnet, 15, 16, 152 Burnet-Saxifrage, 182

CALAMINTH, 195 Camomile, 53, 54, 149, 166, 182, 195 ---- Wild, 166 Caraway, 16, 17, 153, 173 Cardoons, 55 Cassidony, 126 Celandine, 168, 193 Celery, 17, 18 Centaury, 164, 187 Chervil, 3, 18, 89, 155, 176, 179 Chibbals, 18 Chickenweed, 167, 195 Chickweed, 4 Chicory, 25, 177 Chives, 19, 151 Ciboules, 18, 19 Cinquefoil, 112, 185, 195 Cives, 19 Clary, 55 Cliders, 168 Clove-Gillyflowers, 111, 124 Club-Moss, 1, 174 Colchicum, 86, 165 Coltsfoot, 167 Comfrey, 165 Coriander, 3, 19, 144, 173, 176 Corn-Salad, 36 Costmary, 117, 118, 121, 122, 149 Cowflop, 168 Cowslip, 167, 192 ---- of Jerusalem, 174 Cresses, 20, 21, 22 ---- Water, 22, 152, 167 Cuckoo’s Bread, 192 Cuckoo-flowers, 62, 63 Cumin, 3, 19, 154, 181, 198

DANDELION, 22, 23, 152, 164, 191 Decoration of Churches, 103, 104 ---- of Houses, 104 Dial of flowers, 4, 5 Dill, 23, 24, 153, 173, 176, 179 Distillers to Queen Elizabeth, 118, 119 Dittander, 56 Dittany, 179, 190, 198 Dock, 167, 198 ---- Patience, 59, 60 Doctrine of Signatures, 85, 96, 159

_EAU D’ARQUEBUSADE_, 49 Elder, 98, 165, 166, 179, 183, 184, 185, 195 Elecampane, 56, 57, 150, 181, 198 Endive, 24, 25, 155, 182, 195 Eyebright, 35, 193

FAIRY-BELLS, 182 Fairy-cap, 182 Featherfew, 3, 54, 167 Fennel, 25, 26, 27, 150, 173, 195 Fenngreek, 57, 58, 198 _Finocchio_, 27, 155 Flax, 173, 181 ---- Fairy, 181 Flower Gentle, 50 Foxglove, 167, 168, 181, 182 Furze, 165

GARLIC, 177, 198 Gentian, 172 Germander, 105, 122, 123 Gilliflowers, 123, 124, 125, 183 Goat’s Beard, 4, 27, 28 Good King Henry, 58 Goosegrass, 168, 195 Ground-ivy, 135, 167, 180 Groundsel, 167 Green Oil (recipe), 169

HARE-THISTLE, 199 Hawkweed, 193 Haymaids, 167 Heart-fever-grass, 23 Hedge-Garlic, 165, 167 Hedge-Mustard, 167 Hellebore, 164, 186, 196 ---- Black, 197 ---- White, 197 Hemlock, 168, 179 Henbane, 173, 179, 186 Herbary, 6 Herb-strewer, The King’s, 106, 107, 108 Herb-strewing, 104, 105, 106 ---- at Weddings, 109 Herb of the Blessed Mary, 194 ---- Patience, 41, 59, 60, 152, 176 ---- Robert, 167 Hollyhock, 67, 68 Honesty, 78, 176, 179 Hops, 97, 170, 192 Horehound, 61, 147, 160, 168 Horse-radish, 28, 173 Horse-shoe Vetch, 199 Hound’s Tongue, 199 House-leek, 165, 180, 185 Hyssop, 29, 30, 105, 147, 165, 176

JUDAS TREE FLOWERS, 8 Juniper, 174 Jupiter’s Distaff, 55

LAD’S LOVE, 136 Ladysmocks, 9, 61, 62, 63 Lamb’s Lettuce, 30, 155, 191 Langdebeefe, 63, 64 Larkspur, 174 Laurel, 195 Lavender, 118, 125, 126, 138, 146, 173, 174 ---- French, 126 ---- White, 116, 126, 146 ---- Cotton, 126 Lettuce, Wild, 193 Lily of the Valley, 173 Liquorice, 64, 65, 150, 173, 198 Lovage, 3, 65, 66 Lunary, 179 Lungwort, 174 Lupines, 57, 117

MAIDEN’S RUIN, 136 Mallow, 3, 66, 67, 150, 165, 176 ---- French, 66 ---- Marsh, 67, 150, 165 Marchwort, 197 Marigold, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 154, 165 ---- Corn, 74 Marjoram, 29, 31, 32, 105, 182, 185, 195 ---- Pot, 148 ---- Sweet, 111, 117, 118, 148, 154 ---- Winter, 148 Maudeline, 117, 121, 122 Meadow-Sweet, 109, 126, 127, 164 Melampode, 196 Mezereon, 173 Mignonette, 182 Milfoil, 180 Mint, 3, 32, 33, 149, 173, 178 ---- Cat, 33, 192 ---- Horse, 198 ---- Pepper, 33, 149 ---- Spear, 33 ---- Water, 16 Monk’s-hood, 173 Moonwort, 198 Mugwort, 52, 138, 139, 140, 141, 182 Musk, 173, 186 Mustard, 3, 33, 34, 173 ---- Tree, 182 Myrtle, 183

NEP, 192

OLD MAN, 136 Olive, 195 Orange, 6, 117, 130 Orders of Knighthood, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 Organs, 17, 195 Ox-eye Daisy, 9

PARSLEY, 3, 34, 35, 36, 153, 166, 183, 195 “Passions,” 60 Penny Royal, 74, 75, 149, 179 Penny Pies, 165 Peony, 194 Periwinkle, 110, 111, 177, 178 Pimpernel, 166, 168, 179 Pine Cones, 98 Planets, Influence of the, 160, 161, 162 Plantain, 9, 52, 166, 174 Pomanders, 117, 118 Poor Man’s Friend, 165 Poppy, 170, 171, 179, 192 ---- Black, 186 ---- White, 171, 186 Pot-Pourri, 119 Primrose, 9, 165 Proverbs, 110 Purslane, 76, 111, 156 ---- Golden, 156 Pyrethrum, 54, 173

QUEEN OF THE MEADOWS, 128

RAGWORT, 188, 189 Ram-ciches, 77 Rampion, 77, 78, 153, 177 Rest-Harrow, 198 Rhubarb, 6, 183 ---- Monk’s, 59 Rocambole, 79 Rocket, 79, 80, 156 ---- London, 80 Rosemary, 8, 109, 111, 116, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 142, 147, 167, 173, 176, 178 Rue, 3, 112, 113, 114, 117, 126, 134, 135, 136, 147, 176, 178, 192, 195 Rush-Strewing, 104

SAFFRON, 57, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 111, 151, 165, 173, 186, 196 ---- Meadow, 86, 166 Sage, 37, 38, 39, 147, 166, 167, 176, 178, 195 Sage, Wood, 164 St John’s Wort, 160, 177, 189 Salsify, 28 Samoclas, 197 Samphire, 86, 87, 152 Satyrion, 198 Savory, Summer, 39, 154 ---- Winter, 29, 39, 40, 150, 176, 195 _Scabiosa_, 193 Scorzonera, 44 Sea-holly, 190 Set-wall, 172 _Sferro Cavallo_, 199 Skirrets, 87, 88, 151 Smallage, 88, 187 Sorrel, 40, 41, 151 ---- French, 41, 151 Southernwood, 136, 137, 146, 147, 198 Springwort, 193, 194 Squills, 173 Staggerwort, 188 Star-grass, 174 Stickadove, 126 Stonecrop, 89 Strawberries, 99, 100 ---- leaves, 99, 100 Stubwort, 198 Succory, 25 Sumach, 174 Sunflower, 96 Sweet Cicely, 89, 90, 150 Sweet Grass, 137 Sweet Jar, 119 Swine’s Cress, 165

TANSY, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 105, 146, 180 ---- Wild, 94 Tarragon, 41, 42, 146, 147, 182 Terebinth, 196 Thistle, 97, 113, 114, 115 ---- Blessed, or Holy, 95, 96, 167 ---- Milk, 95, 96, 97 ---- Spear, 117 Thyme, 29, 42, 43, 44, 148, 149, 173, 185 ---- Water, 196 ---- Wild, 16, 181, 182 _Tisane de Sept Fleurs_, 170 Treacle-Mustard, 159 Tripe-Madam, 89 Turnip, 8

UNSHOE-THE-HORSE, 198 Uvæ Ursi, 173

VALERIAN, 172, 178, 179 Venice Treacle, 159 Vervain, 178, 179, 193 Vine, 97, 105 Violets, 98, 99, 168 Viper’s-Grass, 44

WAYBREAD, 192 Whortleberries, 112 Willow, 105, 134, 173 Wincopipe, 168 Winter-green, 173 Wolfs-bane, 173 Wood-rose, 137 ---- rowell, 137 ---- ruff, 137, 138 ---- sorrel, 45, 181, 182, 198 Wormwood, 138, 139, 140, 141, 146, 147, 165, 173, 179, 180, 198

YARROW, 9, 180, 198 Yellow Rattle, 192

* * * * * *

Transcriber’s uote:

Inconsistent spelling (including of proper and botanical names, and including differences between the text and the index) and factual errors have been retained, except as listed below. Non-English phrases have not been corrected or individually commented upon either, except as listed below. The terms German and Dutch appear to be used interchangeably.

In several places an opening or closing quote mark is missing. Where it was clear where the mark should go, it has been inserted (see under Changes made). In other instances the correction has not been made.

Page 85, γξοκό-ςτπλθ: as printed in the source document; Fuller wrote χροκό-δειλος (possibly as an error for κροκό-δειλος).

Page 122-123, Footnotes 72 and 73: the source document has two identical footnote markers and but a single footnote. Both appear to be quotes from Parkinson.

Page 198-199, T’ajonte should be J’ajoute.

Page 207: Le Théâtre d’honneur et de Chevatries should be Le Théâtre d’honneur et de Chevalerie.

Changes made

Footnotes have been moved to the end of the section or paragraph, illustrations have been moved outside text paragraphs.

Minor obvious typographical an punctuation errors have been corrected silently.

Some ditto marks („) have been replaced with the dittoed text.

Page ix: Illustration numbers added

Page 2: ” inserted after ... flowers and sweet herbs.

Page 5: the ‘lovers’ walk changed to the lovers’ walk

Page 20: chez le Grecs changed to chez les Grecs

Page 23: to “dull,” changed to “to dull,”

Page 24: ... spicie taste.’ changed to ... spicie taste.’”; quote mark deleted after ... the seeds of Dill,

Page 81: Vunc Saffroni changed to V unc Saffroni

Page 85: when he hath changed to whence he hath

Page 94, quote mark inserted before Tansey, being qualify’d ...

Page 99, quote mark deleted after ... both branches and others

Page 105: quote mark inserted before for summer-time your chimney ...

Page 122: Stroing tansey changed to Strong tansey

Page 124: they mentioned here changed to they are mentioned here

Page 125: Hat lavender changed to Hot lavender