The Natural History of Wiltshire Part 11

The difficulty of reconciling the various opinions that were advanced with the Mosaic account of the Creation, was a great stumbling-block to the progress of geological science at the time when Aubrey wrote.

He was not however inclined to read the sacred writings too literally on this subject, for after giving a part of the first chapter of Genesis, he quotes (from Timothy, ch. iii. v. 15) the words, "from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation:" upon which he observes, "the Apostle doth not say, to teach natural philosophy: and see Pere Symond, where he says that the scriptures in some places may be erroneous as to philosophy, but the doctrine of the church is right". It is presumed that the above pa.s.sages, which indicate the general nature of Aubrey's theory, will be sufficient, without further quotations from this chapter. - J. B.]

CHAPTER IX.

OF PLANTS.

Praesentemq{ue} refert quaelibet herba Deum.- OVID.

[THIS is one of the most copious chapters in Aubrey's work. Ray has appended a number of valuable notes to it, several of which are here printed. Dr. Maton has quoted from this chapter, which he mentions in terms of commendation, in his "Notices of animals and plants of that part of the county of Wilts within 10 miles round Salisbury", appended to Hatcher's History of Salisbury, folio, 1843.-J. B.]

IT were to be wish't that we had a survey or inventory of the plants of every county in England and Wales, as there is of Cambridges.h.i.+re by Mr. John Ray; that we might know our own store, and whither to repaire for them for medicinall uses. G.o.d Almighty hath furnished us with plants to cure us, that grow perhaps within five or ten miles of our abodes, and we know it not.

Experience hath taught us that some plants have wonderful vertues; and no doubt all have so, if we knew it or could discover it. Homer writes sublimely, and calls them {Gk: Cheires Theion}, the hands of the G.o.ds: and we ought to reach them religiously, with praise and thanksgiving.

I am no botanist myselfe, and I thinke we have very few in our countrey that are; the more is the pity. But had Tho. Willisel*

lived, and been in England, I would have employed him in this search.

* THOMAS WILLISEL was a Northamptons.h.i.+re man (Lancas.h.i.+re - J. RAY), a very poor fellow, and was a foot soldier in ye army of Oliver Cromwell. Lying at St. James's (a garrison then I thinke), he happened to go along with some simplers. He liked it so well that he desired to goe with them as often as they went, and tooke such a fancy to it that in a short time he became a good botanist. He was a l.u.s.ty fellow, and had an admirable sight, which is of great use for a simpler; was as hardy as a Highlander; all the clothes on his back not worth ten groates, an excellent marksman, and would maintain himselfe with his dog and his gun, and his fis.h.i.+ng-line. The botanists of London did much encourage him, and employed (sent) him all over England, Scotland, and good part of Ireland, if not all; where he made brave discoveries, for which his name will ever be remembred in herb.a.l.l.s. If he saw a strange fowle or bird, or a fish, he would have it and case it. When ye Lord John Vaughan, now Earle of Carbery, was made Governour of Jamaica, 167-, I did recommend him to his Excellency, who made him his gardiner there. He dyed within a yeare after his being there, but had made a fine collection of plants and sh.e.l.ls, which the Earle of Carbery hath by him; and had he lived he would have given the world an account of the plants, animals, and fishes of that island. He could write a hand indifferent legible, and had made himself master of all the Latine names: he pourtrayed but untowardly. All the profession he had was to make pegges for shoes.

Sir William Petty surveyed the kingdome of Ireland geographically, by those that knew not what they did. Why were it impossible to procure a botanique survey of Wilts.h.i.+re by apothecaries of severall quarters of the county? Their profession leadeth them to an acquaintance of herbes, and the taske being divided, would not be very troublesome; and, besides the pleasure, would be of great use. The apothecaries of Highworth, Malmesbury, Calne, and Bath (which is within three miles of Wilts) might give an account of the northern part of Wilts.h.i.+re, which abounds with rare simples: the apothecaries of Warminster, the Devises, and Marleborough, the midland part; and the apothecaries of Salisbury the south part, towards the New Forest.

Mr. Hayward, the apothecary of Calne, is an ingenious person and a good botanist; and there-about is great variety of earths and plants.

He is my friend, and eagerly espouses this designe. He was bred in Salisbury, and hath an interest with the apothecaries there, and very likely at Bath also. I had a good interest with two very able apothecaries in Salisbury: Hen. Denny (Mr. Hayward's master), and Mr.

Eires; but they are not long since dead. But Mr. Andrewes, on the ditch there, hath a.s.sured a friend of mine, Robt. Good, M.A. that he will preserve the herbes the herbe-women shall bring him, for my use.

If such an inventory were made it would sett our countrey-men a worke, to make 'em love this knowledge, and to make additions.

In the meantime, that this necessary topick be not altogether void, I will sett down such plants as I remember to have seen in my frequent journeys. 'Twas pleasant to behold how every ten or twenty miles yield a new entertainment in this kind.

I will begin in the north part, towardes Coteswold in Gloucesters.h.i.+re.

In Bradon Forest growes very plentifully rank wood-wax; and a blew gra.s.se they call July-flower gra.s.se, which cutts the sheepes mouthes; except in the spring. (I suppose it is that sort of Cyperus gra.s.se which some herbarists call "gramen caryophylleu{s}".- J. RAY.) Wood- wax growes also plentifully between Easton-Piers and Yatton Keynel; but not so rank as at Bradon Forest.

At Mintie is an abundance of wild mint, from whence the village is denominated.

Argentina (wild tansey) growes the most in the fallowes in Coteswold, and North Wilts adjoyning, that I ever saw. It growes also in the fallowes in South Wilts.h.i.+re, but not so much. (Argentina grows for ye most part in places that are moist underneath, or where water stagnates in winter time. - J. RAY.)

About Priory St. Maries, and in the Minchin-meadowes* there, but especially at Brown's-hill, which is opposite to the house where, in an unfortunate hour, I drew my first breath, there is infinite variety of plants; and it would have tempted me to have been a botanist had I had leisure, which is a jewell I could be never master of. In the banks of the rivulet growes abundantly maiden-haire (adiantum capillas veneris), harts-tongue, phyllitis, brooke-lime (anagallis aquatica), &c. cowslip (arthritica) and primroses (primula veris) not inferior to Primrose Hills. In this ground calver-keys, hare-pa.r.s.ely, wild vetch, maiden's-honesty, polypodium, fox-gloves, wild-vine, bayle. Here is wonderfull plenty of wild saffron, carthamus, and many vulnerary plants, now by me forgott. There growes also adder's-tongue, plenty - q. if it is not the same with viper's-tongue? (We have no true black mayden-hair growing in England. That which pa.s.seth under that name in our apothecaries'

shops, and is used as its succeedaneum, is trich.o.m.ores. Calver-keys, hare's-pa.r.s.eley, mayden's-honesty, are countrey names unknown to me.

Carthamus growes no where wild with us. It may possibly be sown in ye fields, as I have seen it in Germany.-J. RAY.)

* Minchin is an old word for a nunne.

Vide my Villa. "Quoque loco primum tibi sum male cognitus infans".

In Natalem, Ovid. Trist. lib. iii.

This north part of the s.h.i.+re is very naturall for barley. Till the beginning of the civill warrs wheat was rarely sown hereabout; and the brown bread was barley: now all the servants and poor people eat wheaten bread.

Strawberries (fragaria), in Colern woods, exceeding plentifull; the earth is not above two inches above the free-stone. The poor children gather them, and sell them to Bathe; but they kill the young ashes, by barking them to make boxes to put them in.

Strawberries have a most delicious taste, and are so innocent that a woman in childbed, or one in a feaver, may safely eate them: but I have heard Sir Christopher Wren affirm, that if one that has a wound in his head eates them, they are mortall. Methinks 'tis very strange.

Quaere, the learned of this?

About Totnam-well is a world of yellow weed (q. nomen) which the diers use for the first tinge for scarlet; and afterwards they use cutchonele.

Bitter-sweet (dulcamara), with a small blew flower, plenty at Box.

(And Market Lavington, in the withy-bed belonging to the vicarage.- BISHOP TANNER.)

Ferne (filix); the largest and rankest growes in Malmesbury hundred: but the biggest and tallest that ever I saw is in the parke at Draycot Cerne, as high almost as a man on horseback, on an ordinary horse.

"The forest of Savernake is of great note for plenty of game, and for a kind of ferne there that yieldeth a most pleasant savour".-(Fuller's Worthies: Wilts, Hen. Sturmy.)

This ferne is mentioned by Dr. Peter Heylin in his Church History, in the Pedegre of Seymour. The vicar of Great Bedwin told me that he hath seen and smelt the ferne, and that it is like other ferne, but not so big. He knowes not where it growes, but promised to make enquirie. Now Mr. Perkins sayes that this is sweet cis, and that it is also found in the New Forest; but me thinkes the word Savernake seems to be a sweet- oke-ferne: - oke, is oake; verne is ferne; perhaps sa, or sav, is sweet or savorous. - (Vide Phytologia Britannic., where this fern is taken notice of. Sweet fern is the vulgar name, for sweet chervill or cicely; but I never found that plant wild in England.-J. RAY.)

Danes-blood (ebulis) about Slaughtonford is plenty. There was heretofore (vide J. Milton) a great fight with the Danes, which made the inhabitants give it that name.

Wormewood exceedingly plentifull in all the wast grounds in and about Kington St. Michael, Hullavington, and so to Colerne, and great part of the hundred of Malmesbury.

Horse-taile (equisetum). Watchmakers and fine workers in bra.s.se use it after smooth filing. They have it from Holland; but about Dracot Cerne and Kington St. Michael, in the minchin-meadow of Priory St. Maries, is great quant.i.ty of the same. It growes four and five foot high.

Coleworts, or kale, the common western dish, was the Saxon physic. In the east it is so little esteemed that the poor people will not eate it.

About Malmesbury "ros solis", which the strong-water men there doe distill, and make good quant.i.tys of it. In the woods about the Devises growes Solomon's-seale; also goates-rue (gallega); as also that admirable plant, lilly-convally. Mr. Meverell says the flowers of the lilly-convally about Mosco are little white flowers.-(Goat's-rue:- I suspect this to be a mistake; for I never yet heard that goat's-rue was found by any man growing wild in England.-J. RAY.)

The middle part of Wilts.- Naked-boys (q. if not wild saffron) about Stocton. (Naked-boys is, I suppose, meadow saffron, or colchic.u.m, for I doe not remember ever to have seen any other sort of saffron growing wild in England. - J. RAY.)

The watered meadows all along from Marleborough to Hungerford, Ramesbury, and Littlecot, at the later end of Aprill, are yellow with b.u.t.ter flowers. When you come to Twyford the floted meadowes there are all white with little flowers, which I believe are ladysmocks (cardamine): quaere of some herbalist the right name of that plant.

(Ranunculus aquaticus folio integro et multum diviso, C. Bankini.- J. RAY.) The graziers told me that the yellow meadowes are by much the better, and those white flowers are produc't by a cold hungry water.

South part. - At the east end of Ebbesbourne Wake is a meadowe called Ebbesbourne, that beareth gra.s.se eighteen foot long. I myself have seen it of thirteen foot long; it is watered with the was.h.i.+ng of the village. Upon a wager in King James the First's time, with was.h.i.+ng it more than usuall, the gra.s.se was eighteen foot long. It is so sweet that the pigges will eate it; it growes no higher than other gra.s.se, but with knotts and harles, like a skeen of silke (or setts together).

They cannot mowe it with a sythe, but they cutt it with such a hooke as they bagge pease with.

At Orston [Orcheston] St. Maries is a meadowe of the nature of that at Ebbesbourne aforesayd, which beares a sort of very long gra.s.se. Of this gra.s.se there was presented to King James the First some that were seventeen foot long: here is only one acre and a half of it. In common yeares it is 12 or 13 foot long. It is a sort of knott gra.s.se, and the pigges will eate it.

[The "Orcheston Gra.s.s" has long been famous as one of the most singular vegetable products of this country. From the time of Fuller, who particularly mentions it in his "Worthies of England", many varying and exaggerated accounts of it have been published: but in the year 1798 Dr. Maton carefully examined the gra.s.s, and fully investigated the peculiar circ.u.mstances of soil and locality which tend to its production. He contributed the result of his inquiries to the Linnaean Society, in a paper which is printed in the fifth volume of their Transactions. Some comments on that paper, and on the subject generally, by Mr. Davis, of Longleat, will be found in the second volume of the Beauties of Wilts.h.i.+re, p. 79. That gentleman states that "its extraordinary length is produced by the overflowing of the river on a warm gravelly bed, which disposes the gra.s.s to take root and shoot out from the joints, and then root again, and thus again and again; so that it is frequently of the length of ten or twelve feet and the quant.i.ty on the land immense, although it does not stand above two feet high from the ground". Although the meadow at Orcheston St.

Mary in which this gra.s.s grows is only two acres and a half in extent, its produce in a favourable season, is said to have exceeded twelve tons of hay. Shakspere, to whom all natural and rural objects were familiar, alludes to the "hindering knot-gra.s.s", in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act iii. sc. 2.

Ramsons (allium ursinum, fl. albo): tast like garlick: they grow much in Cranbourn Chace. A proverb: -

"Eate leekes in Lide,* and ramsins in May, And all the yeare after physitians may play".