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Article THE WORK OF NATURE IN THE MONTHS. ← Page 3 of 8 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Work Of Nature In The Months.
irrepressible , growing not onl y in meadows and hedgerows , cultivated fields and wasteplaces alike , but even pushing its hardy Avay through the chinks of the pavement in the bustling toAvn . So troublesome is it , with its innumerable seed-pods , that , the farmer has bcstoAved upon it the name of Pick-pocket , The leaves possess but little flavour , but they arc sometimes boiled ancl eaten , and , in Philadelphia , its young foliage is commonly sold in the markets for salad . Although now-a-clays we recognize in it no healing virtues ,
vet our ancestors' name for it of ' Poor Man ' s Parmecetic' SIIOAVS that they thought differently . Worthy George Herbert , in recommending to the " Country Parson " a knowledge of' simples' " Avherein , " he says " the manifold wisdom of God is wonderfull y to bo seen , " ancl adding , " one thing is to be carefully observed , which is to know Avhat herbs may be used instead of drugs of the same nature , so as to make the garden the shop ; for home-bred medicines are both more easy for the parson ' s purse , and more familiar for all
men ' s bodies , proceeds to enlighten his readers on the various medical virtues of Damask and White Eoses , Plaintain and Knot-grass , ancl Shepherd ' s Purse . Li ghtfoot speaks of it as " an external and internal application for man and beast . " HoAvever these really simple plants attained such a reputation is a mystery past comprehension , until we remember tbe intimate connexion between mind and body , and take into account in the process of healing , the great factor , ' Faith . ' Probably , too , our ancestor ' s ailments mig ht be divided into two broad classes , those Avhich carried them off , and those from
which they recovered equally well either with their ' simples' or Avithout . Another friend that is Avith us everywhere , ancl all through the year alike is the Daisy . Humble the little flower may be , but it has ever been the prime favourite of the poet ' s heart , from Chaucer down to Wordsworth , nor is the admiration of it confined to our share of Britain , nor even to Britain itself , for Avherever it is seen , its modest beauties are appreciated ; thus amongst our favourite ' s pretty names are the Italian Pratolina <—MeadoAv Flower ; and Fiore de Primavera—Flower of Spring ; Dan Chaucer ' s pet ' Day ' s Eye' is still known to our French neighbours as La Petite Marguerite , nearly the same name as that of his own day : —
" Of whose inveucion lovirs maie be glade , For thei Owe to worship the lustie floures alwaie , And in speciall one called se of the daie , The daisie , a flowir white and rede , And in Frenche callid La bel Margarete : 0 commendable floureand moste in minde !
, 0 floure and gracious of excellence ! 0 amiable Marga ' rite ! of natife kind' ' ¦ In the poetry of our own day there is the same tribute of affection , witness what Wordsworth , one of Nature ' s best and truest interpreters , has said : —
" When soothed awhile by milder airs Thee Winter in the garland wears That thinly shades his few gray hairs , ' Spring cannot shun thee ; AYhole summer fields are thine by right ; And Autumn , melancholy wight ! Doth in thy crimson head delight
When rains are on thee . * * * # * ¦ ¦ _ ¦ .. Nor car'st if thou be set at naught : And of alone in nooks remote We meet thee , like a pleasant thought , AVhen such are wanted . - * * * * * - ;; - rt
Thou liv ' st with less ambitious aim , Yet hast not gone Avithout thy fame ; Thou art indeed by many a claim The poet ' s darling . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Work Of Nature In The Months.
irrepressible , growing not onl y in meadows and hedgerows , cultivated fields and wasteplaces alike , but even pushing its hardy Avay through the chinks of the pavement in the bustling toAvn . So troublesome is it , with its innumerable seed-pods , that , the farmer has bcstoAved upon it the name of Pick-pocket , The leaves possess but little flavour , but they arc sometimes boiled ancl eaten , and , in Philadelphia , its young foliage is commonly sold in the markets for salad . Although now-a-clays we recognize in it no healing virtues ,
vet our ancestors' name for it of ' Poor Man ' s Parmecetic' SIIOAVS that they thought differently . Worthy George Herbert , in recommending to the " Country Parson " a knowledge of' simples' " Avherein , " he says " the manifold wisdom of God is wonderfull y to bo seen , " ancl adding , " one thing is to be carefully observed , which is to know Avhat herbs may be used instead of drugs of the same nature , so as to make the garden the shop ; for home-bred medicines are both more easy for the parson ' s purse , and more familiar for all
men ' s bodies , proceeds to enlighten his readers on the various medical virtues of Damask and White Eoses , Plaintain and Knot-grass , ancl Shepherd ' s Purse . Li ghtfoot speaks of it as " an external and internal application for man and beast . " HoAvever these really simple plants attained such a reputation is a mystery past comprehension , until we remember tbe intimate connexion between mind and body , and take into account in the process of healing , the great factor , ' Faith . ' Probably , too , our ancestor ' s ailments mig ht be divided into two broad classes , those Avhich carried them off , and those from
which they recovered equally well either with their ' simples' or Avithout . Another friend that is Avith us everywhere , ancl all through the year alike is the Daisy . Humble the little flower may be , but it has ever been the prime favourite of the poet ' s heart , from Chaucer down to Wordsworth , nor is the admiration of it confined to our share of Britain , nor even to Britain itself , for Avherever it is seen , its modest beauties are appreciated ; thus amongst our favourite ' s pretty names are the Italian Pratolina <—MeadoAv Flower ; and Fiore de Primavera—Flower of Spring ; Dan Chaucer ' s pet ' Day ' s Eye' is still known to our French neighbours as La Petite Marguerite , nearly the same name as that of his own day : —
" Of whose inveucion lovirs maie be glade , For thei Owe to worship the lustie floures alwaie , And in speciall one called se of the daie , The daisie , a flowir white and rede , And in Frenche callid La bel Margarete : 0 commendable floureand moste in minde !
, 0 floure and gracious of excellence ! 0 amiable Marga ' rite ! of natife kind' ' ¦ In the poetry of our own day there is the same tribute of affection , witness what Wordsworth , one of Nature ' s best and truest interpreters , has said : —
" When soothed awhile by milder airs Thee Winter in the garland wears That thinly shades his few gray hairs , ' Spring cannot shun thee ; AYhole summer fields are thine by right ; And Autumn , melancholy wight ! Doth in thy crimson head delight
When rains are on thee . * * * # * ¦ ¦ _ ¦ .. Nor car'st if thou be set at naught : And of alone in nooks remote We meet thee , like a pleasant thought , AVhen such are wanted . - * * * * * - ;; - rt
Thou liv ' st with less ambitious aim , Yet hast not gone Avithout thy fame ; Thou art indeed by many a claim The poet ' s darling . "