=ACHYRANTHES.=--The _Apamarga_, an Indian variety of this plant, has given the name to the sacrificial rite called _Apâmârga Homa_, because at daybreak they offer a handful of flour made from the seeds of the Apamarga (_Achyranthes aspera_). According to a legend quoted by De Gubernatis, Indra had slain Vriitra and other demons, when he encountered the demon Namuchi and wrestled with him. Vanquished, he made peace with Namuchi on the understanding that he should never kill anything with a solid body, nor with a liquid body, neither by night nor by day. So Indra gathered a vegetable, which is neither solid nor liquid, and comes during the daybreak, when the night is past, but the day has not yet come. Then with the vegetable he attacked the monster Namuchi, who complained of this treachery. From the head of Namuchi sprang the plant _Apâmârga_. Indra afterwards destroyed all the monsters by means of this plant. As may be supposed after such a marvellous origin, the plant was soon looked upon as a powerful talisman. According to the _Atharvaveda_, it should be held in the hand, and invoked against the malady _Kshetriya_, and against witches, monsters, and nightmares. They call it the Victor, having in itself the strength of a thousand, destroying the effects of maledictions, and especially of those inimical to generation, which produce hunger, thirst, and poverty. It is also called the Lord of salutary plants, son of Vibhindant, having received all its power from Indra himself. The Hindus believe that the plant is a security against the bites of scorpions. ACONITE.--See Monkshood. =ACORUS.=--This aromatic Reed, or Sweet Flag, is absurdly said to have been called Acorus, from the Greek _koré_, pupil, because it was esteemed good for diseases of the eye. The sacred oil of the Jews--the “oil of holy ointment”--used to anoint the tabernacle, the ark of the testimony, the altar of burnt offerings, the altar of incense, the candlesticks, and all the sacred vessels, has the oil of Acorus as one of its ingredients. It is the “Sweet Calamus” mentioned in Exodus xxx.----The Acorus is a plant of the Moon.