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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
233
There
is
a
notion
prevalent
in
Dorsetshire
that
a
house
wherein
the
plant
"bergamot"
is
kept
will
never
be
free
from
sickness;
and
in
Norfolk
it
is
said
to
be
unlucky
to
take
into
a
house
a
bunch
of
the
grass
called
"maiden-hair,"
or,
as
it
is
also
termed,
"dudder-grass."
Among
further
plants
of
ill
omen
may
be
mentioned
the
bluebell
(Campanula
rotundifolia),
which
in
certain
parts
of
Scotland
was
called
"The
aul'
man's
bell,"
and
was
regarded
with
a
sort
of
dread,
and
commonly
left
unpulled.
In
Cumberland,
about
Cockermouth,
the
red
campion
(Lychnis
diurna)
is
called
"mother-die,"
and
young
people
believe
that
if
plucked
some
misfortune
will
happen
to
their
parents.
A
similar
belief
attaches
to
the
herb-robert
(Geranium
robertianum)
in
West
Cumberland,
where
it
is
nicknamed
"Death
come
quickly;"
and
in
certain
parts
of
Yorkshire
there
is
a
notion
that
if
a
child
gather
the
germander
speedwell
(Veronica
chamoedrys),
its
mother
will
die
during
the
year.
Herrick
has
a
pretty
allusion
to
the
daffodil:--
"When
a
daffodil
I
see
Hanging
down
her
head
t'wards
me,
Guess
I
may
what
I
must
be:
First,
I
shall
decline
my
head;
Secondly,
I
shall
be
dead;
Lastly,
safely
buried."
In
Germany,
the
marigold
is
with
the
greatest
care
excluded
from
the
flowers
with
which
young
women
test
their
love-affairs;
and
in
Austria
it
is
held
unlucky
to
pluck
the
crocus,
as
it
draws
away
the
strength.
An
ash
leaf
is
still
frequently
employed
for
invoking
good
luck,
and
in
Cornwall
we
find
the
old
popular
formula
still
in
use:--
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
