An old name for the devil's-bit (_Scabiosa succisa_), in the
northern counties, and in Scotland, is "curl-doddy," from the
resemblance of the head of flowers to the curly pate of a boy, this
nickname being often used by children who thus address the plant:--
"Curly-doddy, do my biddin',
Soop my house, and shoal my widden'."
In Ireland, children twist the stalk, and as it slowly untwists in the
hand, thus address it:--
"Curl-doddy on the midden,
Turn round an' take my biddin'."
In Cumberland, the _Primula farinosa_, commonly known as bird's-eye, is
called by children "bird-een."
"The lockety-gowan and bonny bird-een
Are the fairest flowers that ever were seen."
And in many places the _Leontodon taraxacum_ is designated "blow-ball,"
because children blow the ripe fruit from the receptacle to tell the
time of day and for various purposes of divination. Thus in the "Sad
Shepherd," page 8, it is said:--
"Her treading would not bend a blade of grass,
Or shake the downy blow-ball from his stalk."
In Scotland, one of the popular names of the _Angelica sylvestris_ is
"aik-skeiters," or "hear-skeiters," because children shoot oats through
the hollow stems, as peas are shot through a pea-shooter.
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