HAIRY-LEAVED LADIES'-SMOCK. (Welsh: Hyduf blewog. E.) Cardamine hirsuta B. Huds. Cardamine minor arvensis. D. Lhwyd, in R. Syn. 300. n. 4. (Cardamine impatiens altera hirsutior. R. Syn. 300, is C. flexuosa.) Gravelly soil, on the driest banks as well as in moist places, and by the sides of rivulets and springs, not uncommon.

A. March-June. C. FLEXUO'SA. Stem zigzag: leafits toothed, mostly alternate, unequal at the base.

Curt. 277-Fl. Dan. 735-Walc. C. hirsuta.

Stem eight to twelve inches high, stiff, angular, ribbed, zigzag, being bent at the setting off of every leaf or branch. Leaves, root-leaves lying in a circle on the ground, on leaf-stalks. Leafits five or six pairs, with an odd one at the end: egg-shaped, irregularly toothed, unequal at the base. Stem-leaves alternate, irregular, sessile. Leafits three to five pairs, with an odd one which is larger; some sessile, others on short leaf-stalks, irregularly toothed. Fruit-stalks cylindrical, but compressed; slanting. Calyx half the length of the blossom: generally purplish. Blossom petals white, rounded at the end. Stamens six, longer than the blossom. Anthers yellow. Pistils, summit pale green. Seed-vessels, pod straight, nearly upright, cylindrical, but compressed. Seeds six on each side of the partition. Plant somewhat hairy; hairs few, soft, white, mostly on the lower part of the stem and the edges of the leaves. Flowers in a terminal corymb, which in time shoots out in form of à spike-like bunch; and the full grown plants sometimes put forth axillary bunches.

This plant has been imagined by some to be only a var. of C. hirsuta, but it has been more generally taken for C. parviflora of Linnæus, whilst others have supposed those two species only accidental varieties. It differs from the former in having uniformly six stamens, and from the latter in being hairy, in its stamens being longer than the lossom, and in its fruitstalks being slanting upwards, not horizontal. It does not appear that C. parviflora has yet been found in this Island. (Though we do not feel confident of the permanency of the specific distinctions attributed to this plant, deference to the opinion of our Author and that of several respectable Botanists, induces us to await the result of further observation. Dr. Hull remarks, "I am informed that C. hirsuta does not become like C. flexuosa on cultivation, and think the latter a strongly marked variety, if not a distinct species." E.)

ZIGZAG LADIES'-SMOCK. C. parviflora. Lightf. With. Ed. ii. not of Linn. C. hirsuta. Weber. Curt. Walc. Huds. Fl. Brit. C. flexuosa. With. Sym. Hull. Purt. Hopk. Cardamine impatiens altera hirsutior. R. Syn. 300. Ditches, woods, shady, wet, and boggy places. Rookery at Edgbaston, near Birmingham, and in ditches at the upper end of the pool. (The Rough at Alcester mill. Purton. E.) A. May-July.

C. PRATEN'SIS. (Leaves without stipule: E.) leafits of the rootleaves roundish, toothed; those of the stem-leaves spear-shaped, very entire.

· Curt. 175-(E. Bot. 776. E.)-Kniph. 12-Fl. Dan. 1039-Woodv. 30Walc.-Sheldr. 109-Blackw. 223-Lob. Obs. 106. 2, and Ic. i. 210. 1

The young leaves make a good salad; much resembling water cress in taste,

Ger. Em. 259. 1—Ger. 201. 1-Clus. ii. 128. 2—Dod. 592. 2—Lob. Obs. 106. 3, and Ic. i. 210. 2-Ger. Em. 259. 2-Ger. 201. 2-Park. 826. 2, and 1239. f. 4-H. Ox. iii. 4. 7—Pet. 47. 5-Lonic. i. 159. 5-Fuchs. 325 -J. B. ii. 889. 1-Trag. 83. 1.

Leafits of the lower stem-leaves egg-shaped, higher up spear-shaped, those of the upper strap-shaped. Woodw. Flowers large, paler or deeper purplish red. (Stem upright, stiff, about a foot high, bearing a handsome terminal corymb. Anthers yellow. E.)

(In shady situations the root-leaves occasionally put forth buds or bulbs, the embryos of new plants; hence, and from the root being somewhat toothed and tuberous, Mr. Brown avails himself of a supposed affinity between this plant and Dentaria bulbifera, which he includes in the present genus. E.) MEADOW LADIES'-SMOCK.

CUCKOO FLOWER. (Irish: Billar Gragan. Welsh: Hydyfy waun; Blodeuyn y gôg. E.) Meadows and moist P. April—May.*

pastures.

The virtue of the flowers in hysteric and epileptic cases was first mentioned by Ray, in his letters, published by himself; and since then, by Sir W. Baker in Med. Tr. i. 442. The dose is from 20 to 90 grains twice a day. Do they not act like Erysimum Cheiranthoides in the epilepsies of children, and cure the disease by destroying the worms in the stomach and intestines, which were the cause of the fits? I have accounts of their success in young epileptics, from good authority; but have never been fortunate enough to see them of much use in hysterical cases. Whilst in Cornwall in the year 1793, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Rev. Mr. Gregor, who told me that the flowering tops of the Ladies'-smock had been successfully used by his family for some generations in the cure of epilepsies, and some cases he mentioned to me were not likely to have been owing to worms. Our medical practitioners have only used the flowers, but Mr. Gregor's family use the flowering tops. Can this account for the different success? (The evidence of Mr. Gregor has been fully confirmed by the testimony of others entirely unconnected with his family, and resident in a different part of England. Lady Holt, late of Aston Hall, Warwickshire, and her sister, Mrs. Bracebridge, were long celebrated for curing many inveterate cases of epilepsy by the use of Ladies'-smock. They were accustomed to give three doses a day, twelve grains each, of the powder carefully prepared from the dried beads of the plant, and to continue its use many weeks. The failure of this remedy may often be attributable to improper management in the preparation; and the virtue may easily be dissipated by too much heat. The whole flowering head should be pinched off the stalk together, when in full bloom and before the seeds are formed, and when free from either dew or rain. Spread the heads upon pewter dishes before a brisk fire, stirring and moving them. Rub them to a powder when sufficiently dry; pass it through a sieve; and put it into clean dry bottles. Cover the bottles with leather, (no cork), having holes pricked through it. Two bushels of flowering heads will yield about eight quarts of this fine powder. Thus preserved it will keep to a second year. The leaves may be eaten as other cress. The juice expressed from the whole plant is considered an excellent antiscorbutic in northern countries, where salt meat is much used. The double blossomed var. is an elegant ornament to the flower garden. The popular appellation of this plant, Our Lady's Chemise, (vulgò Smock), probably originated in the devout reveries of monkery, which, as in divers analogous instances, appear to have emulated the more ancient heathen custom of thus commemorating the higher powers. But while yet emancipated from the thraldom of superstition, those who are inclined to discard such puerilities, may find a more rational interpretation of the vernacular cognomen, and one at least as consistent with the appearance of nature,

"When Ladies'-smocks of silver white,
Do paint the meadows with delight;

Thus resembling linen exposed to whiten on the grass,

39

"When maidens bleach their summer smocks ·"

Var. 2. (Flore pleno.) Double-flowered, viviparous.

Meadows about Ross Hall, near Salop. Mr. Aikin. In a field south-west of the Tap-house at Hagley, Worcestershire. (Fields near the vicarage at Keswick. Mr. Winch. In a lane at Brookfield, Bitton, near Teignmouth. Mr. Frederick Russell. E.)

C. AMA'RA. (Leaves winged, without stipulæ : leafits of the rootleaves roundish: those of the stem-leaves tooth-angular: stem radicating near its base. E.)

Curt. 158-(E. Bot. 1000. E.)—Allioni 56. 1—Herm. Par. 203– J. B. ii. 885-C. B. Pr. 45. 1—Park. 1239. 3-Pet. 47. 1.

(Root toothed. Stems one foot or more high, inclining to flexuose, angular, strong, and almost woody, often decumbent, and then radicating. Leaves nearly smooth. E.) Suckers cylindrical, crooked. Leafits irregularly indented and thinly set with little teeth. Bunches terminal and lateral. Flowers white, (rather larger than those of the preceding. Anthers purple. E.)

BITTER CRESS or LADIES'-SMOCK. Near purls of water, on the banks of rivulets, in boggy places, or moist meadows and pastures. Dorking, Surry; Braintree, Essex; Middleton, Warwickshire; Lewisham, Harefield, Uxbridge. Battersea, Chelsea; and Great Comberton, Worcestershire. Norwich, Mr. Crowe. Bungay. Mr. Woodward. (Fitz, near Aspatria, Cumberland. Rev. J. Dodd. St. Bernard's Well, Edinburgh. Lightfoot. Roslin woods. Mr. Arnott. Grev. Edin. Aston, near Birmingham. E.) P. April-May.

(NASTURTIUM.

Pod nearly cylindrical, oblique : valves concave, without keels: Stigma obtuse, notched: Cal. spreading, equal at the base. E.)

N. OFFICINA'LE. Leaves winged: leafits roundish, heart-sharped. E.) Fl. Dan. 690—(E. Bot. 855. E.)—Woodv. 48—Fuchs. 723—J. B. ii. 884— Trag. 82.2-Dod. 592. 1-Lob. Obs. 105. 3, and Ic. i. 209. 1—Ger. Em. 257. 5-Park. 1239. 1—H. Ox. iii. 4. 8-Pet. 47. 2 and 3-Matth. 487Lonic. i. 114. 2-Blackw. 260.

Blossom white, terminal. (Root fibrous. Stems decumbent, and floating, striking root from the underside. Leaves alternate, winged-lyre-shape,

a practice more general in the golden age, when families spun and prepared their own linen, and enjoyed the advantages of other homemade essentials. It must be confessed, however, to speak with prosaic accuracy, that the purple tint with which these pretty flowers are embued, somewhat sallies the emblematic representation of spotless purity, rendering it, indeed, but too faithful a picture of sublunary excellence, never absolutely perfect. The other familiar name, (Cuckoo-flower), is equally applied to several plants which salute with their welcome blossoms our favourite herald of Summer. E.) Goats and sheep eat it. Horses and swine refuse it. Cows are not fond of it. * Sheep eat it. Cows are not fond of it. Linn. The young leaves are acrid and bitterish, but do not taste amiss in salads. Lightfoot. They are much used for that purpose in Lancashire. Mr. Caley. The leaves are pungent, bitter, and aromatic, in such a degree as to promise very considerable medical uses. The beautiful Papilio Cardamine, with lively orange-tipped wings, the Wood laudy of the London fly-fanciers, lives upon the different species.

smooth; the leafits of the lower ones rounder, nearly heart-shaped, wavy. Fl. Brit. All the leaves rather succulent. Pods nearly an inch long. E.)

COMMON WATER CRESS. (Welsh: Berwr y dwr ; N.officinale. Br. in Ait. De Cand. Sm. Hook. Grev. turtium. Linn. Lightf. With. Curt. Fl. Brit. Willd. brooks, and rivulets.

Berwr y flynnonau.
Sisymbrium Nas-
Oed. E.) Springs,
B. June-July.*

N. SYLVESTRE. Leaves winged: leafits spear-shaped, deeply serrated. E.)

Curt. 153-Kniph. 12-(E. Bot. 2324. E.)-Ger. 190. Ger. Em. 248. G Park. 1242-Pet. 46. 5-H. Ox. iii. 6. 17-Fuchs. 263—J. B. ii. 866. 2. Root creeping remarkably. Leafits of the root-leaves somewhat eggshaped, those of the stem-leaves spear-shaped. Flowers numerous,

small, yellow. Pedicles declining. Blossom a little longer than the coloured calyx. Nectary glands four, in a circle. Seeds generally abortive, the plant increasing by root. Woodw. Stem and fruit-stalks flexuose. (Pods short, sometimes curved upwards. Stem about one foot high, leafy, angular, branched. E.)

CREEPING YELLOW CRESS. WATER ROCKET. (N. sylvestre. Br. in Ait. De Cand. Sm. Hook. Sisymbrium sylvestre. Linn. With. Curt. Willd. Fl. Brit. E.) Marshy and watery places, and banks of rivers. Banks of the Thames; of the Aire below Leeds; on Bungay Common: the only place in Norfolk and Suffolk where it has been found. Mr. Woodward. Banks of the Severn, near Worcester. Stokes. (In Bedfordshire, frequent. Abbot. Shores of Tyne, below Benwell. Winch Guide. By the side of the water of Ea, below Kirkmichael house. Lightfoot. E.) P. June-Sept.

N. AMPHIB'IUM. Pods elliptical; leaves wing-cleft, serrated: petals longer than the calyx: (root fibrous. E.)

Fl. Dan. 984-Kniph. 12-(E. Bot. 1840. E.)-C. B. Pr. 38. 1-Park. 1229. 2-Pet. 49. 8-H. Ox. iii. 7, row 3. 4-Ger. 180-Ger. Em. 234. 2. Wher growing in water of some depth the leaves below the surface are strap-shaped, winged, nearly like those of Hottonia; those above spearshaped, serrated. Linn. Stem upright, (two or three feet high, E.) branched. Leaves spear-shaped, variously toothed, smooth, half embracing the stem. Fruit-stalks much longer than the pods, and much longer than in N. terrestre. Pod oblong, very short, smooth, at first expanding, afterwards hanging down. Woodw. Stem smooth, scored, crooked at the joints. Leaves egg-spear-shaped, scolloped and set with little teeth at the edge, with often from one to three winged clefts at the base. Leaf-stalks semi-cylindrical, channelled above. Fruit-stalls while in flower about half an inch long, and upright, but afterwards bending back and pointing downwards. Flowers yellow, numerous, in clusters.

Universally used as an early and wholesome spring salad: (and may be easily increased by transplanting into mud, and not cutting till the second year. E.) It is an excellent antiscorbutic and stomachic, with less acrimony than Scurvy-grass. It is an ingredient in the anti-scorbutic juices. (The expressed juice, which contains the peculiar taste and pungency of the herb, may be taken in doses of an ounce or two, for the purposes recommended by Hoffman.-Of Jate Water Cress has has been cultivated on many acres of land in the vicinity of London, whence the markets are supplied daily throughout the year. The environs of Paris also provide the same article from gardens appropriated to its culture. In France it is not only used as salad, but dressed like spinach, and the picked leaves served with roasted fowl compose the favourite Poulet au cressons, E.)

Var. 2. Fol. laciniat. Leaves with clefts extending nearly to the mid-rib. Kniph. 3-Ger. 185. 2—J. B. ii. 867. 2-Pet. 49. 10-Lob. Ic. i. 319Ger. Em. 240. 2-Park. 1228. 1.

GREAT WATER ROCKET or RADISH. AMPHIBIOUS YELLOW CRESS. N. amphibium. Br.in Ait. De Cand. Sm. Hook. Grev. Sisymbrium amphibium. Linn. Lightf. (B). With. Willd. Oed. Fl. Brit. E.) Radicula sylvestris seu palustris. R. Syn. 301. Watery places, ditches, and banks P. June-Aug.

of rivers.

N. TERRESTRE. Leaves wing-cleft, (unequally toothed: root simple: pods curved petals not exceeding the calyx. E.)

Curt. 289-Fl. Dan. 931-(E. Bot. 1747. E.)-J. B. ii. 867. 1-C. B. Pr. 38. 2-Park. 1228. 1. f. 2—H. Ox. iii. 7, row 3. 3-Pet. 49. 9.

(Root spindle-shaped, small. Stem frequently upright, a foot high, leafy, furrowed, smooth. E.) Leaves segments confluent with the mid-rib, often pointing backwards, alternate or in pairs, elliptical, or egg-shaped serrated, or toothed here and there. Hall. Petals yellow, blunt, minute, very entire, somewhat shorter than the calyx.

(ANNUAL YELLOW CRESS OF ROCKET. Welsh: Berwr melyn blyn-yddawl y dwr. N. terrestre. Br. in Ait. Hook. Sm. N. palustre. De Cand. Grev. Sisymbrium terrestre. Curt. With. Fl. Brit. S. amphibium palustre. Linn. S. palustre. Pollich. Willd. E.) Edges of wet ditches, and on ground occasionally overflowed. In the environs of London, as Tothil Fields, and between the Magdalen Hospital and Lambeth Marsh. Curtis. Bungay Common. Mr. Woodward. Near Stafford, on the road to the Castle hill. Stokes. (On the banks of the Cam, Isle of Ely. Rev. Dr. Goodenough. Fl. Brit. Borders of Prestwick Carr, Northumberland. Winch. Guide. In wet places near the race stand, Warwick; close to the bridge at Baginton. Perry. Claypits at Beaumaris. Welsh Bot. North bank of Loch Leven. Mr. Arnott. Hook. Scot. E.) A. June-Sept.

(SISYM'BRIUM. Pod nearly cylindrical: Stigma capitate, notched. E.)

(S. OFFICINALE. Pods pressed close to the stalk, awl-shaped: leaves notched, hairy: stem hispid. E.)

Curt. 326-(E. Bot. 735. E.)-Ludw. 187-Fl. Dan. 560-Woodv. 244— Sheldr.-Blackw. 28-Ger. 198. 1-Pet. 46. 3-Fuchs. 592—J. B. 863— Dod. 714-Ger. Em. 254. 1—Trag. 102. 1—Lonic. i. 165. 1—Lob. Adv. 69, and Ic. i. 206. 1.

(Stem about two feet high, often purplish, branches towards the top, expanding. E.) Leaves slightly downy, the lower winged, the upper halberd-shaped. Calyx about half as long as the petals. (Blossoms pale yellow, numerous. Germen cylindrical, tapering upwards. Summit flat, with a shallow notch. Pods conical, obscurely quadrangular, nearly an inch long, downy, on short stalks. E.)

COMMON HEDGE MUSTARD, or WORM-SEED. BANK CRESS. (Welsh: Arfog meddygawl. S. officinale. Scop. Br. in Ait. De Cand. Sm. Hook.

(An ancient Greek name ciovμ¤şıoy, but not readily interpreted, E.)