r apparent signes," and with
this evil character the Hemlock was considered to be only fit for an
ingredient of witches' broth--

"I ha' been plucking (plants among)
Hemlock, Henbane, Adder's Tongue,
Nightshade, Moonwort, Leppard's-bane."

BEN JONSON, _Witches' Song in the Masque of the Queens_.

Yet the Hemlock adds largely to the beauty of our hedgerows; its spotted
tall stems and its finely cut leaves make it a handsome weed, and the
dead stems and dried umbels are marked features in the winter appearance
of the hedges. As a poison it has an evil notoriety, being supposed to
be the poison by which Socrates was put to death, though this is not
quite certain. It is not, however, altogether a useless plant--"It is a
valuable medicinal plant, and in autumn the ripened stem is cut into
pieces to make reeds for worsted thread."--JOHNSTON.

HEMP.

(1) _Pistol._

Let gallows gape for dog; let man go free,
And let not Hemp his windpipe suffocate.

_Henry V_, act iii, sc. 6 (45).

(2) _Chorus._

And in them behold
Upon the Hempen tackle ship-boys climbing.

_Henry V_, act iii, chorus (7).

(3) _Puck._

What Hempen homespuns have we swaggering here?

_Midsummer Night's Dream_, act iii, sc. 1 (79).

(4) _Cade._

Ye shall have a Hempen caudle then, and the pap of a hatchet.

_2nd Henry VI_, act iv, sc. 7 (95).

(5) _Hostess._

Thou Hemp-seed.

_2nd Henry IV_, act ii, sc. 1 (64).

In all these passages, except the last, the reference is to rope made
from Hemp, and not to the Hemp plant, and it is very probable that
Shakespeare never saw the plant. It was introduced into England long
before his time, and largely cultivated, but only in few parts of
England, and chiefly in the eastern counties. I do not find that it was
cultivated in gardens in his time, but it is a plant well deserving a
place in any garden, and is especially suitable from its height and
regular growth, for the central plant of a flower-bed. It is supposed to
be a native of India, and seems capable of cultivation in almost any
climate.[122:1]

The name has a curious history. "The Greek +kannabis+, and Latin
_cannabis_, are both identical with the Sanscrit _kanam_, as well as
with the Ge