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.
[Illustration: FENNEL]
“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