Peat-mosses and their birds--Moorlands--Cotton-grass--Scotch whisky--Growth of peat-moss--A vegetable pump--Low-lying and moorland mosses--Eruptions and floods of peat--Colonizing by heather and Scotch fir--Peat-mosses as museums--Remains of children and troopers--Irish elk--Story of the plants in Denmark--Rhododendrons and peat--Uses of peat--Reclaiming the mosses near Glasgow 353 CHAPTER XXIX NAMES AND SUPERSTITIONS Giving names the first amusement--Curious and odd names--A spiteful naturalist--The melancholy Bartzia--Common names--British orchids--Dancing girls and columbines--Susans--Biblical names--Almond, apple, locust--Spikenard--Tares--Effects of darnel--Daffodil--Acanthus leaf--Ghost-disturbing branches--Elder or bour tree--Its powers and medicinal advantage--Danewort--Mandrake--How to pull it up--The insane root--Its properties--Plants which make bones pink--The betel nut--Henna--Egyptian and Persian uses--Castor oil--Leeks, onions, and garlic--Ancient use of them 363 INDEX 375 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACE PAGE I. A SENTINEL PALM IN THE ANDREAS CAÑON, CALIFORNIA 24 II. THE GARDEN OF EDEN 32 III. A GIANT DOUGLAS FIR 40 IV. A DRAGON TREE IN THE CANARY ISLANDS 48 V. SHOOTING THE HOZU RAPIDS IN JAPAN 52 VI. A FOREST FIRE 66 VII. THRASHING CORN IN CHILE 83 VIII. WISTARIA IN KAMAIDO PARK, JAPAN 98 IX. GATHERING OLIVES IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE 108 X. THE EGYPTIAN QUEEN HATARU'S EXPEDITION 113 XI. WEIGHING THE DAY'S WORK 120 XII. A TOBACCO PLANTATION IN CUBA 127 XIII. GIANT CACTUS NEAR ACONCAGUA VALLEY, CHILE 134 XIV. THEN 146 XV. AND NOW 147 XVI. A RICEFIELD IN CHINA 160 XVII. CULTIVATED BAMBOO IN A CHINESE PLANTATION 178 XVIII. CALTHROPS 185 XIX. A LEAF RAFT 205 XX. FELLING OF GIANT TREES IN CALIFORNIA 215 XXI. A BUSHMAN DIGGING UP ELEPHANT'S FOOT 220 XXII. PINEAPPLES AS A FIELD CROP 240 XXIII. BANANA CARRIERS IN JAMAICA 248 XXIV. A COCOANUT GROVE IN CEYLON 259 XXV. COTTON-FIELDS IN GEORGIA, U.S.A. 265 XXVI. RICEFIELDS IN THE CEYLON HILLS 272