The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-05-19
4s3s7i4H - q
IT HE'S ROCK.

ROS lS..s
81 one time II was = scsa ass F'ood
I IN the EsnernEu Isle S5
There are few plants, II 2 ny that that
are as closely assocfnte In the peo-
pile mind wi h any one nation n par pa
.ticular as IS. the little Irish shamrock
with the joys and sorroWs OF tue kstn-5
er.,ld Isle. In the ancient literature OF
Erin the word occurs variolsly as
seamsoG seamrog, seamroge. sham
rote, slln:.lrocke e. shan-oke. shssmrosl
or tshararoote, shanlrug. shamroge,
seanarose and chambroch. The word
shamrock is Erse, being derived
from se:,u1roE. q compound Of seaman,
meaning trefoil, and os. Httle-little
clover. Seaman is supposed TO be the
same as su1nar, obtained from the Gel
tic name of the ACCOMPLISHMENTS. As
to the plant itself, 1t is generally con-
sidered that the true shamrock IS ell
Their the black nonesuch or the Dutch
clover, with a decided preference for
the first named, on no less an anthofl-
ty than the curator Of the Dublin 30
tanic gardens and other competent
persons There are, however, some
who hold that Trifolium repens or Tri-
folium minus is the true shamrock,
and this opinion emanates from eN-
perts in the agricultural department at
Washington. Other writers nave
adopted the fancy Of Bicheno. who adj
vocated the right Of the wood sorre1
to this honor. This last belief may
have arisen from the appearance OF
the word seamsoge, meaning wood sor-
rel, in old Irish writings, referring to
the shamrock. but by those competent
- lTS--
print, the word seamroge. siGnifyinG
meadow trefoiI, having been meant.
The earliest references to the sham
rock in Irish literature deal with it as
a food plant Campion in his Historic
of Ireland" dated 1571. says in speak
ing of the food of the common people,
..Shamrotes, water crosses and other
herbes they feed upon; oatlnele and
butter they cram together Matthias
Lobel, the Flemish botanist, who pub
lished his .tStirpiun1 Adversaria Nova
in 1910, appears to be the first botan-
ical writer to mention the plant. lie
enumerates the purple and the white
trefoil and says Of the latter, ut is
stated to be good for fatteninG CATTLE
adding that the Irish grind the flowers
and leaves into meal, which they
knead with butter and thrust into
their groaning bellies when it some
times happens they are veXed and
nigh nadd ened with a three days hun
GER
Edmund Spenser in 1895 also tells of
the Irish people feeding on 'sham-
rokes" or water crosses when reduced
to starya ton during the Munster
wars In the Itinerary" of Eynes
MORRISON, written in 1909, this passage
occurs in n description of the Irish:
s"They Willingly eat the herbe sham
rookie, being of a sharp taste, which as
they run and are chased to and fro
they snatch like beasts out of the
bitches" This statement has given
rise to the belief that the water cress
was the shamrock, although some have
identified AIorySon's "shamrocke' with
the wood sorrel, OxaliS acetosela,'a
trifo1iate plant with acid Juice which
grows abundantly in Irish woodlands
The shamrock food of the Irish was
supplied to make them strong and
swift of foot. T. A1undy refers to this
fact in work written by him in 1850.
The nourishing qualities Of the food
are also CLEANED from the statement OF
the Earl of Antrim during the siege OF
Munster by the Earl of Argyll, to the
effect that as long as shamrocks were
available no apprehension regarding
the food supply need exist. About
1772 the shamrock as an article of food
in Ireland was supplanted by the po-
tato.-New York Tribune. -