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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
200
"Marian,
Marian,
what's
the
time
of
day,
One
o'clock,
two
o'clock--it's
time
we
were
away."
In
Cheshire,
when
children
first
see
the
heads
of
the
ribwort
plantain
(Plantago
lanceolata)
in
spring,
they
repeat
the
following
rhyme:--
"Chimney
sweeper
all
in
black,
Go
to
the
brook
and
wash
your
back,
Wash
it
clean,
or
wash
it
none;
Chimney
sweeper,
have
you
done?":--
Being
in
all
probability
a
mode
of
divination
for
insuring
good
luck.
Another
name
for
the
same
plant
is
"cocks,"
from
children
fighting
the
flower-stems
one
against
another.
The
common
hazel-nut
(Corylus
avellana)
is
frequently
nicknamed
the
"cob-nut,"
and
was
so
called
from
being
used
in
an
old
game
played
by
children.
An
old
name
for
the
devil's-bit
(Scabiosa
succisa),
in
the
northern
counties,
and
in
Scotland,
is
"curl-doddy,"
from
the
resemblance
of
the
head
of
flowers
to
the
curly
pate
of
a
boy,
this
nickname
being
often
used
by
children
who
thus
address
the
plant:--
"Curly-doddy,
do
my
biddin',
Soop
my
house,
and
shoal
my
widden'."
In
Ireland,
children
twist
the
stalk,
and
as
it
slowly
untwists
in
the
hand,
thus
address
it:--
"Curl-doddy
on
the
midden,
Turn
round
an'
take
my
biddin'."
In
Cumberland,
the
Primula
farinosa,
commonly
known
as
bird's-eye,
is
called
by
children
"bird-een."
"The
lockety-gowan
and
bonny
bird-een
Are
the
fairest
flowers
that
ever
were
seen."
And
in
many
places
the
Leontodon
taraxacum
is
designated
"blow-ball,"
because
children
blow
the
ripe
fruit
from
the
receptacle
to
tell
the
time
of
day
and
for
various
purposes
of
divination.
Thus
in
the
"Sad
Shepherd,"
page
8,
it
is
said:--
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
