is:
et hanc sinistra manu legi a jejunis contra morbos suum
boumque, nec respicere legentem: nec alibi quam in
canali, deponere, ibique conterere poturis."

From the very slight manner in which these plants are described by
Pliny, it is next to impossible to identify them with any degree of
certainty, though many attempts for the purpose have been made. So
far as I know, Pliny is the only ancient author who mentions them,
and we have therefore nothing to guide us beyond what he has said in
this passage.

The word Selago is supposed to be derived from _se_ and
_lego_, i.e. _quid certo ritu seligeretur_. Linnaeus
appropriated the name to a pretty genus of Cape plants, but which
can have nothing whatever to do with the Selago of the Druids. It
has been thought to be the same as the Serratula Chamaepeuce of
Linnaeus, but without sufficient reason, for Pliny says it resembles
the savine; and Matthiolus, in his _Commentary on Dioscorides_,
when speaking of the savine (Juniperus Sabina), says:--

"Siquidem vidi pro Sabina assumi quandam herbam
dodrantalem quae quibusdam in montibus plurima nascitur,
folio tamaricis, licet nec odore nec sapore Sabinam
Hanc saepius existimavi esse Selaginem referat. a Plinio
lib. xxiv. c. 11. commemoratam."

Samolus, or as some copies read Samosum, is said to be derived
from two Celtic words, _san_, salutary, and _mos_, pig;
denoting a property in the plant which answers to the description of
Pliny, who says the Gauls considered the Samolus as a specific in
all maladies of swine and cattle. {232}But there is not less
difficulty in identifying this plant than in the former case. Some
have thought it the same as the little marsh plant, with small white
flowers, which Linnaeus calls Samolus Valerandi, while others
consider it to be the Anemone Pulsatilla. I am ignorant of the
salutary properties of these plants, and must leave it to be decided
which of them has the greatest claims to be considered the Samolus
of Pliny.

G.M.

Is there any English translation of AElian's _Various History_,
or of the work ascribed to the same author on the _Peculiarities
of Animals_?

East Winch. Jan. 1850.

_Selago and Samolus_.--The Selago (mentioned by "PWCCA," No.
10. p. 157.), in Welsh _Gras Duw_ (Gratia Dei), was held by the
Druids as a charm against all misfortunes; they called it _Dawn y
Dovydd_, the gift of the Lord. They also ascribed great virtues
to the Sa