CHAPTER IV

GERARD'S HERBAL 98

Popularity of Gerard's Herbal--Its charm--Gerard's boyhood--Later life--His garden in Holborn--Friendship with Jean Robin, keeper of the royal gardens in Paris--Origin of Gerard's Herbal--Illustrations--Old beliefs in the effects of herbs on the heart and mind--Use of herbs as amulets--Other folk lore--Myth of the barnacle geese--Origin and history of the myth--Old English names of plants--Wild flower life of London in Elizabeth's day--"Master Tuggie's" garden in Westminster--Shakespeare and Gerard.