ble,
Unless we sweep them from the doors with cannons,
To scatter 'em, as 'tis to make 'em sleep
On May Day morning."

Accordingly, flowers were much in demand, many being named from the
month itself, as the hawthorn, known in many places as May-bloom and
May-tree, whereas the lily of the valley is nicknamed May-lily. Again,
in Cornwall lilac is termed May-flower, and the narrow-leaved elm, which
is worn by the peasant in his hat or button-hole, is called May.
Similarly, in Germany, we find the term May-bloom applied to such plants
as the king-cup and lily of the valley. In North America, says the
author of "Flower-lore," the podophyllum is called "May-apple," and the
fruit of the _Passiflora incarnata_ "May-hops." The chief uses of these
May-flowers were for the garlands, the decoration of the Maypole, and
the adornment of the home:--

"To get sweet setywall (red valerian),
The honeysuckle, the harlock,
The lily, and the lady-smock,
To deck their summer hall."

But one plant was carefully avoided--the cuckoo flower.[3] As in other
floral rites, the selection of plants varies on the Continent, branches
of the elder being carried about in Savoy, and in Austrian Silesia the
Maypole is generally made of fir. According to an Italian proverb, the
universal lover is "one who hangs every door with May."

Various plants are associated with Whitsuntide, and according to
Chaucer, in his "Romaunt of the Rose":--

"Have hatte of floures fresh as May,
Chapelett of roses of Whitsunday,
For sich array be costeth but lite."

In Italy the festival is designated "Pasqua Rosata," from falling at a
time when roses are in bloom, while in Germany the peony is the
Pentecost rose.

Herrick tells us it was formerly the practice to use birch and
spring-flowers for decorative purposes at Whitsuntide:--

"When yew is out then birch comes in,
And May-flowers beside,
Both of a fresh and fragrant kinne,
To honour Whitsontide."

At this season, too, box-boughs were gathered to deck the large open
fire-places then in fashion, and the guelder rose was dedicated to the
festival. Certain flower-sermons have been preached in the city at
Whitsuntide, as, for instance, that at St. James's Church, Mitre Court,
Aldgate, and another at St. Leonard's Church, Shoreditch, known as the
Fairchild Lecture. Turning to the Continent, it is customary in Hanover
on Whit-Monday to gather the lily of the valley, and at the