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and was said to excite amatory passions. Robert Turner states
that the plant was sometimes called Filias ante Patrem, because it
puts forth flowers before the leaves. This old herbalist, who lived
in the reign of Charles IL , would seem to have been a thorough
Royalist, for after remarking that large crops of Saffron-flowers
were grown at Saffron-Walden, he adds that the crop “ must be
gathered as soon as it is blown, or else it is lost; so that Jack
Presbyter for covetousness of the profit can reach his Sabbatarian
conscience to gather it on Sunday ; and so he can do anything else
that redounds to his profit, tho’ it destroy his brother.” The
Crocus or Saffron is a herb of the Sun, and under the Lion.
CUCKOO F L O W E R S .—Various flowers are called after
the “ harbinger of Spring.” In old works, the name “ Cuckoo
Flower ” was given to the Lychnis flos cuculi, but is now generally
applied to the L ad y ’s Smock {Cardamine pratensis). Cuckoo Gilliflower
was a name also given to the Lychnis flos cuculi, on account
of its blooming at the time the Cuckoo’s song was heard.
“ Cuckoo’s Bread,” or “ Cuckoo’s Meat ” is the Wood Sorrel,
Oxalis Acetosella. Shakspeare’s “ Cuckoo Buds of yellow hue ” are
probably the buds of the Crowfoot. “ Cuckoo Grass ” is the
Luzula Campestris, a grass-like Rush, flowering at the time of the
Cuckoo. “ Cuckoo Pint,” or “ Pintle ” is the Arum maculatum.
C U C U M B E R .—In the East, the Cucumber {Cucumis sativa)
has been cultivated from the earliest periods. When the Israelites
complained to Moses in the wilderness, comparing their old E g yp tian
luxuries with the Manna of the wilderness, they exclaimed:
“ We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, the
Cucumbers, and the Melons.” Isaiah, depiciting the desolation of
Judah, said : “ The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard—
as a lodge in a garden of Cucumbers ”—in allusion to the
practise of cultivating Cucumbers in open fields. Although,
says De Gubernatis, the Buddhists derive the name of Ikshvdku
from Ikshi (Sugar-cane), we must not forget that the wife of Sagar^,
to whom was promised sixty thousand children, first gave birth to
an Ikshvaku, that is to say, to a Cucumber. Just as the Cucumber
and the Pumpkin or Gourd are gifted with fecundity and the desire
to climb, so Trisanku, one of the descendants of Ikshvaku, had the
ambition to ascend to heaven, and he obtained that favour by the
assistance of the sage Visvamitra. There was formerly a superstitious
belief in England that Cucumbers had the power of killing
by their natural coldness. Gerarde says “ they yield to the body a
cold and moist nourishment, and that very little, and the same not
good.” To dream of Cucumbers denotes recovery to the sick,
and that you will speedily fall in love; or if you are in love, that
you will marry the objecft of your affecition. It also denotes moderate
success in trade; to a sailor a pleasant voyage. Cucumbers
are under the influence of the Moon,
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C U M IN .—According to Theophrastus, the ancients were accustomed
to sow the seed of Cumin (Cuminum Cyminum), with an accompaniment
of oaths and maledidtions, just as they were wont to
do in the case of B a s i l : this singular custom was probably some
form of incantation, to preserve this highly-reverenced plant from
the dreaded effects of the E v il Eye, and to cause it to flourish well.
Among the Greeks, Cumin symbolised meanness and cupidity : the
people nicknamed Marcus Antoninus, Cumin, on account of his
avarice ; and misers were jokingly spoken of as persons who had
eaten Cumin. The plant appears to have been regarded as
specially possessing the power of retention. Thus in Germany,
in order to prevent newly-made bread from being stolen by Wood-
demons, the loaves had Cumin put in them. In Italy, a similar
custom prevails ; and in some places it is supposed that the Cumin
possesses the power of keeping the thief in the house along with the
bread which he wished to steal. In some parts of Italy they give
Cumin to pigeons in order to make them tame and fond of their
home ; and Cumin mixed with flour and water is given to fowls
with the same objedt. Country lasses also endeavour to make their
lovers swallow it, in order to ensure their continued attachment and
fidelity. Or, if the lover is going to serve as a soldier, or has obtained
work in a distant part of the country, his sweetheart gives
him a newly-made loaf seasoned with Cumin, or, perhaps, a cup
of wine in which Cumin has been previously powdered and mixed.
The ancients were acquainted with the power of Cumin to
cause the human countenance to become pallid, and Pliny mentions
two cases in which the herb was so employed.
C U R R A N T .—According to the Iranian legend of the Creation,
the first human couple, Maschia and Maschiana, issued from
a Currant-bush. At first there was only one Currant-bush, but
in process of time the one bush became separated into two. To
these two plants Ormuzd, the Iranian supreme deity, imparted
a soul, and thus from the Currant-bushes issued the first two
human beings. To dream of Currants denotes happiness in life,
success in your undertakings, constancy in your sweetheart, and
to the farmer and tradesman riches. The Currant-tree is under
the influence of Venus.
c y c l a m e n .—The Greeks had several names for the
Cyclamen, and the Romans also distinguished it by a variety of
titles, as Tuher terra and Terre rapum, from its Turnip-hke root,
Panis Porcinus, Orbicularis, Arthanita, and Cyclamen, on account of the
roundness of its root. It was called Sow-bread and Swine-bread
because, in countries where it is abundant, it forms the chief food
of herds of swine. This plant was formerly regarded as a most
potent assistant by midwives, and it was recommended to them
by the surgeons of the day. The peculiar shape of its root was in
itself suggestive of its employment by these good women, and the