chief or gutte de Larmes. This is a wholesome
root, and yieldeth great relief to the poor, and prospereth best in a
hot sandy ground, and may signifie a person of good disposition, whose
vertuous demeanour flourisheth most prosperously, even in that soil,
where the searching heat of envy most aboundeth. This differeth much in
nature from that whereof it is said, 'And that there should not be among
you any root that bringeth forth gall and wormwood.'"--GWILLIM'S
_Heraldry_, sec. iii. c. 11.

VETCHES.

_Iris._

Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas,
Of Wheat, Rye, Barley, Vetches, Oats, and Pease.

_Tempest_, act iv, sc. 1 (60).

The cultivated Vetch (_Vicia sativa_) is probably not a British plant,
and it is not very certain to what country it rightly belongs; but it
was very probably introduced into England by the Romans as an excellent
and easily-grown fodder-plant. There are several Vetches that are true
British plants, and they are among the most beautiful ornaments of our
lanes and hedges. Two especially deserve to take a place in the garden
for their beauty; but they require watching, or they will scramble into
parts where their presence is not desirable; these are V. cracca and V.
sylvatica. V. cracca has a very bright pure blue flower, and may be
allowed to scramble over low bushes; V. sylvatica is a tall climber, and
may be seen in copses and high hedges climbing to the tops of the Hazels
and other tall bushes. It is one of the most graceful of our British
plants, and perhaps quite the most graceful of our climbers; it bears an
abundance of flowers, which are pure white streaked and spotted with
pale blue; it is not a very common plant, but I have often seen it in
Gloucestershire and Somersetshire, and wherever it is found it is
generally in abundance.

The other name for the Vetch is Tares, which is, no doubt, an old
English word that has never been satisfactorily explained. The word has
an interest from its biblical associations, though modern scholars
decide that the Zizania is wrongly translated Tares, and that it is
rather a bastard Wheat or Darnel.

VINES.

(1) _Titania._

Feed him with Apricocks and Dewberries,
With purple Grapes, green Figs, and Mulberries.

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act iii, sc. 1 (169).

(2) _Menenius._

The tartness of his face sours ripe Grapes.