Caring about our future

Castlemilk Moorit Sheep

Castlemilk Moorit Sheep at Quin Bosca

Castlemilk Shetland, Moorit Shetland

by Dr John

My wife, Hilary, and I bought our first three ewe lambs from Devon at the end of the summer, 2004.  They are registered with the Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Society, but because of the rarity of this primitive breed of sheep, the chances of purchasing a registered ram from anyhwere in the South West seemed extremely remote.  You can imagine how fortunate we considered ourselves to be when, in 2005, we located another four ewes with a magnificent ram, called Samuel.  This had given the original girls time to mature before establishing our rare-breed flock.

The history of this sheep began early in the twentieth century on the Castlemilk Estate in Dumfriesshire.  The breeding programme used

Manx Loghtan,

Moorit Shetland and

wild Mouflon sheep.

Sir John Bughanan-Jardine developed then to beautify his parkland estate and to provide fine, kemp-free, moorit-coloured wool.  As a bonus, the  meat is very lean with a fine-grained texture and a gamey flavour.  Upon his death in 1970, a foundation flock of six ewes and one ram was saved.  These few formed the basis for all of today's registered sheep.

The Castlemilk Moorit is one of the larger of the 'primitive' breeds.  A mature ram may reach 120lb (55kg) and the wews 85lb (40kg).  All the sheep are horned, with the rams having heavy, even spirals of impressive stature.  The wool is darker at the base so that newborn lambs and shorn sheep stand out from the paler, 'bleached' unshorn sheep.  With naturally short tails, the lambs do not require docking, and the sheep are generally extremely resistant fly-strike and foot rot. 

They do like shelter from rain and will, I would bet, beat most other breed to get under cover from even a shower.  The newly-lambed ewes and the senior rams can appear to be aggressive but, on the whole, they are an intelligent and agile sheep with graceful, well-balanced movements.  These sheep can be better controlled by a food bucket rather than by a dog.

The Mouflon-pattern markings are consistent in all the sheep and this gives a very uniform flock appearance.  On the background light brown or moorit colour are white areas under the belly and lower jaw.  White is characteristically around the eyes, knees, inside lower legs, and tails, with distinctive rump patches.  Shorn sheep have an almost tiny deer-like appearance at first glance and it was this appearance that led to our plans to own a flock of these long-lived and productive little sheep at Quin Bosca.

Rare Breed Livestock

One Man's Dream - Quin Bosca - The Beginning

by Dr John

'Can we have geese?' - 'No, you can't!'

'I'd really like geese' - 'You can have a divorce!'

Perhaps pragmatism and reason should be the motto for Bosca?  I think not!

The holding is a pleasure at the moment, with calves, kids and lambs all doing well, ducklings have hatched, mud has dried and leaves are appearing on the trees we have planted.

Bosca has been a holding for just three years and the first year was dreadful.  Goats died of enterotoxaemia, a couple of cows had pneumonia and kids were born with deformities requiring euthanasia at birth.  At first, our thirteen acres had no fencing, no trees, no shelter and no barn.  Unpacking after the move has still not been completed in favour of building, fencing, planting and extending the livestock, around which the holding is being formed.

A 60ft by 30ft barn has been erected and houses the Massey Ferguson 135 tractor, tools, feed, hay and straw.  The remaining half has been given to the Golden Guernsey dairy goats, a sick bay and pig farrowing pens.  A pigeon loft will be constructed inside during 2004.  Almost all of the paddock fencing is in place, giving four separate fields and eight small enclosures for Kune Kune pigs and Shetland ponies.  Native and other trees are being planted for shelter belts, hedging and wildlife, particularly birds and moths.  Wild flowers, elder and buddleia are included for butterflies. 

An L-shaped earth mound has been created in the centre of one field for shelter  and also another mound on the seaward side of the holding which will be planted up as a Cornish hedge. 

There is a natural pond for which we intend to create a puddled-clay base.  Small mammals are being encouraged - with the exception of an exponentially exploding rabbit population.  Establishment of a wildlife sanctuary is a high priority for the farm's future.

Rare breed livestock has been favoured, with a fetish for those with long hair and horns.  We have a deliberate policy of grooming and regular handling in order to tame and integrate the various species.   The largest animals are Highland cattle.  Tom, the black bull, is drop-dead gorgeous and has produced two bull calves this year from a red and a black cow.  The cows have pleasant dispositions but need a good deal of input if their bloodlines are to be improved.  Hopefully, Tom will breed a better quality into the fold.

Golden Guernsey goats have increased from an initial four to ten, and two of the older ladies still have to kid.  Kids will have to be sold now to make ends meet.  Six pygmy goats, two Shetland ponies, and a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig are out and out pets, but the New Zealand Kune Kune pigs will have to earn their keep one way or another.  

To this end, fourteen pigs out of eighteen have now been sold. 

Finally, six Jacob sheep plus two orphan lambs, which are being hand-reared, complete the learning curve.

Large fowl chickens are mixed with Pekin bantams, and the Call ducks have cross-bred with the East Indie ducks, but all are a delight as they free-range in the fields, garden and barn.

So what does Bosca produce?  Poo - lots and lots of poo.  Poo has become a way of life, it seems.  Composting, gifting bags to collectors, and generally fertilising the, as yet, unproductive half-acre allotment hardly keeps pace with production. 

Chickens are occasionally killed and the goats produce copious milk from which we make cheese and yoghourt.   Up to thirty eggs from the sixty hens each spring day are sold to friends and colleagues at work.

Six dogs and five cats complete the household.  The Good Life cannot last for much more than fifteen to twenty years now, but we have been privileged so far, and the pleasure will be in the prospect of watching our dream gradually evolve in that time.

Addiction and Recovery

Drug dependence and alcoholism have high profiles these days, with more crimes being committed under the influence, and often to finance a habit.

It is estimated that 50 million people worldwide use some form of drug regularly, whilst 1 person in every 13 are alcohol dependent in UK alone.   

There are also many people in recovery, and many different treatment approaches – 12 step and non-12 step methods, and alternative therapies.

What causes some people to become addicts and not others is a popular topic for debate, with a variety of opposing viewpoints: 

‘Whether a person is genetically or bio-chemically predisposed to addiction or alcoholism is a controversy that has been debated for years within the scientific community. One school of thought advocates the Disease Concept, which embraces the notion that addiction is an inherited disease, and that the individual is permanently ill at a genetic level, even with those experiencing long periods of sobriety.

Another philosophy argues that addiction is a dual problem consisting of a physical and mental dependency on chemicals, compounded by a pre-existing mental disorder (i.e. clinical depression, bipolar disorder, or some other mental illness), and that the mental disorder needs to be treated first as the primary cause of the addiction. This treatment philosophy is commonly referred to as Dual Diagnosis. A third philosophy subscribes to the idea that chemical dependency leads to "chemical imbalances" in the neurological system, which would be a substance induced imbalance.’

How people are introduced to drugs and alcohol, resulting in their addiction or dependence, is fairly well documented. For some, the dependence begins through experimentation, often at social events, with recreational drugs or alcohol.  However, a small percentage of these individuals have an underlying emotional need for a buffer between their conscious minds and the reality of their lives, and drugs or alcohol can provide an escape into an altered state of consciousness for them, relieving the pain and/or anxiety they have had to endure.

It is true to say that many addicts and alcoholics wish desperately to beat their habits, and often try a range of methods to help them achieve these goals.  But, in the situation where reality contains memories that are excruciatingly painful, and the alcohol or drug of choice relieves that pain, then is it not inevitable that, when they kick the habit, they will only end up returning to it with a double sense of failure?

Alternatively, as I believe happens in some cases, their minds will not allow them to kick their habit and they will sabotage themselves, regardless of the support mechanisms provided.

 

Whenever we experience trauma, our minds have the ability to devise unlimited ways of protecting us, take Multiple Personality Disorder (more accurately entitled Dissociative Identity Disorder) as an example.  Or, more commonly, traumatic amnesia, where the mind blocks out any memory of the event.  Dissociation is an extremely effective method of dealing with extreme situations, it’s how individuals are able to continue functioning despite terrible injuries, or pain, both physical and emotional.  Whilst the body is experiencing something horrendous, the mind separates itself in order to survive.

If survival is paramount, then it may seem a contradiction in terms to state that our minds can make us engage in self-injurious behaviour in order to protect us, but phobias, for instance, begin as protective behaviour such as avoiding something perceived as dangerous.  However this behaviour can increase over time to a point where life becomes incredibly limited.

Take the example of the adult with agoraphobia.  As a toddler in the pushchair, she was frightened by a dog shoving its face in at her.   The message is clear to her ‘dogs are scary, therefore dangerous, danger must be avoided’ – so all dogs are dangerous, therefore any places where there are dogs should be avoided.  As she grows older she avoids certain streets, for fear there might be a dog. 

The avoidance becomes a habit and, as years go by, the dog is forgotten, there is just an intuitive knowledge that some places must be avoided.  So, the trigger for the fear is buried, and life may be manageable by just not going to certain places or doing certain things.  However,  the next stressful event triggers the fear response and, as she tries to rationalise it, she knows that some places are to be avoided but she can’t remember why, so, in that case, it would be best if all places were avoided, just to be safe. 

To others the behaviour seems irrational, for the individual it is extremely limiting to lifestyle, and the attendant anxiety is a significant health risk. So, you can see that, ultimately, protection can create a danger of its own.  Even when the original event is remembered, the logical mind can make no sense of the extreme anxiety (it was only a dog), but only by dealing with the original issue can this anxiety and fear response be resolved – and we all need help to do this, we can’t do it on our own.

My point is this, where extreme trauma or years of abuse of any kind have occurred, a mind can bury the event and dissociate from it completely in order for the person to lead a relatively normal life.  Sometimes, however, people are not able to dissociate so easily, or there may be so many associations or triggers that complete dissociation is impossible to sustain.  In this situation, they will need some additional help to forget, and often alcohol or drugs provide the solution.

 

We all, addicts and non-addicts alike, know that these things are not good options long term, but if escape is paramount then the most common interventions, such as anti-depressants and counselling, will not be sufficiently immediate or powerful.  Consequently, the underlying need combines with habitual escape, creating an extremely complex and volatile set of behaviour patterns.  Distraction techniques, such as participating in organised events, are helpful when attempting to withdraw the drugs or alcohol, but without the emotional support they may leave an individual exposed and extremely vulnerable.

Alright then, what is the solution I hear you ask.  Well, my response is speculative but based on existing evidence.  We already have evidence to show that clinical hypnosis can help people reach a position of sufficient emotional security to identify any distressing life experiences which have been buried.  We also have evidence that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be effectively treated with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).  Why then are we not incorporating these methods into recovery programmes, so that the emotional need for the buffer is removed?  This would establish a much stronger position for them to tackle breaking the ‘habit’ (which, incidentally, is a learned behaviour, and, like any learned behaviour, can be over-learned).

I watched Monty Don’s project with real interest, and it was really heartwarming to see people finding themselves, and achieving in ways that they hadn’t done before.  What would be even more useful in future, in my opinion, is if each individual could be offered the opportunity of Hypnotherapy and EMDR to help them deal with their demons once and for all. I believe this would greatly reduce the failure rate, which is approximately 33% at present, but ideally would be zero.

Personal Empowerment Therapy: Dr Dawn Heather, Camborne Complementary Healing Centre: Tel: 01209 711504

www.dawnheather.typepad.com

www.dawnheather.com      

email:

dawn@dawnheather.com

The Benefits of Hypnotherapy

Is this recognition - at last?

How gratifying it was to read the article on the benefits of hypnotherapy for children with anxiety.

'A small study found that hypnotherapy helped psychological treatment in reducing anxiety and feelings of helplessness in students.'  BBC News

Why this particular study is more newsworthy than the results hypnotherapists have been getting for years, is something of a mystery - but hey, at least a good report has hit the headlines.

As a practitioner and psychologist, I am awaiting the recognition that many disorders that are currently prevalent can be treated in this way.  We are faced with examples of low self-esteem, anxiety and depression every single day in the media - a social malaise of feeling inadequate and disempowered - why else would there be the demand for cosmetic surgery, diets, prosthetics, products for removing wrinkles/cellulite and goodness knows what else for the body.  Our psyches are treated with remedies aimed at empowering us - look at the life coaching, self-improvement courses, and numerous books on how to change yourself and become successful / thin / beautiful / someone else altogether blah blah blah.

We can also see evidence in our society of people who are suffering in the extreme - take those who over-eat, or those who become anorexic, alcoholic or addicts as examples.  These behaviours are responses to anxiety and depression, and feeling disempowered or of having no control.  Medication or surgery cannot cure the underlying causes of these conditions.

'Mr Byron said the hypnotherapy acted as a useful vehicle for the psychological treatment, and he found it produced greater effects than were seen in students using more traditional relaxation techniques. This has always been true and one could describe meditation as a form of self-hypnosis.  He said hypnotherapy could be used to influence the treatment process and could be used by psychologists as "an adjunct" to their professional training. The benefit of using hypnotherapy is that, firstly, the therapist can access the deep, underlying causes of the problems, and can then interject proactive suggestions to enable the person to cognitively process those issues and to resolve them.  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy compliments the process extremely well and can be used in conjunction to help remove what may have become habitual behaviours or responses.  He said: "It seems to empower the students to change their lives and it's not me doing it, it's them."

Let's hope that other professionals listen to his advice.  And for anyone having difficulties, please ask your practitioner to refer you to a reputable hypnotherapist. 

Some hypnotherapy training institutes (LCCH, EICH) run courses specially designed for medical students and doctors, yet clinical hypnosis is still regarded by some as 'unscientific' and, as a practitioner, I can say that I very rarely get referrals from GPs. 

I should add a word of caution here - because we are only beginning to see courses that are accredited and linked to universities, please scrutinise the qualifications of the therapist you approach - it is all too easy these days to gain a qualification over the internet and, unless you are forewarned, you might not be able to recognise their credentials.  Most reputable therapists will have a NHS number and be on the NHS directory (to which your GP has access), and the Institute from which they qualified will be evident in the letters they use after their name, also membership of regulatory bodies such as the General Hypnotherapy Register, and The British Society for Clinical Hypnosis.

How wonderful it would be to live in a society where people were less reliant on pills and surgical procedures, where everyone feels empowered to be comfortable with who they are!

November - Bramble

Flower of the Month at Quin Bosca - November

by Dr John

Rubus fruticosus - Bramble, Blackberry

Family - Rosaceae

Once upon a time, the long, arching stems of bramble were known as 'lawyers' because of the trouble escaping from them once you fell into their clutches.

The plant is described as a very prickly, prostrate to clambering, half-evergreen perennial, which in a season can grow 4m long stems.  Depending on the reference source, the bramble is said to have 450 to 2000 subspecies or microspecies, which may vary in fruit, leaf or flower - but the expertise to know the differences may require a 'degree in anoraks' as a starter!

My viewpoint is that the plant has evolved to be a phenomenon of survival and opportunism.  It can propagate by seed, cuttings, layering or tip-rooting and it inhabits almost every habitat in UK.  New stems may live for about two years but the projeny potential of one stem ensures rapid colonisation.  Its fast spread and growth can actually protect seedling trees from browsing by deer and goats and it provides food and habitat for a large number of insects and small and large mammals, as well as providing a bounty of fruit-for-free for many townsfolk.

In the past, the roots and the berries have been used as sources of orange and blue-purple dyes respectively.  Folk-lore abounds with charms, cures and songs about the bramble.  Indeed, the 'mulberry bush' of nursery rhyme fame may have actually been a mound of brambles.  There is the story of the cormorant, the bat and the bramble, who entered a partnership in wool dealing.  They had shares in a boat to carry the wool overseas, but the boat was wrecked.  As a result, the cormorant is always diving after the lost cargo, the bat owes money and hides from its creditors until dark, and the bramble makes up its losses by stealing wool from sheep.

Folklore suggests that the blackberries have no value after Michaelmas (29 September) because the Devil has had his claws on or has urinated on the fruit.  In scientific fact, it is the reduced pectin in the last fruits of the season that prevents the setting of jams or jellies.  Also, the damage to over-ripe fruit by mildews, and flesh-flies (Sarcophaga camearia) which dribble saliva on the drupes, which causes softening and rotting so that these late season 'freebies' are less than perect compared with the fruits of July and August.  Even in November, the ubiquitous brambles at Quin Bosca have remnant flowers and fruits, and leaves to feed to the goats.  Bramble can be a pain in the neck at times, but it does give so much value for a good part of the year.

October - Field Mushroom

Flower of the Month at Quin Bosca - October

by Dr John

Agaricus campestris - Field Mushroom

Purists would correctly argue that mushrooms are not wild flowers.  Indeed, the collectable part above the ground is really the fruiting body of the underground mass of fungal strands or hyphae.  I trust that fellow smallholders will 'forgive' this deviation from true flowering plant articles.

The term 'field mushroom' is loose and includes several members of the Agaricus family.  Fungi grow their reproductive bodies under the influence of the right combination of temperature, humidity and growing medium.  Agaricus campestris and its relatives grow mainly on pasture and grassland and this can be altered by different livestock. 

At Quin Bosca, we find less mushrooms in the pigs' and horses' paddocks than in the meadows where the cattle and sheep graze.

If picking mushrooms earliy in the morning before they are struck by flies, always look for pink gills and absent sheaths.

Common field species include the 'blusher', Amanita rubescens, and the yellow-staining mushroom, Agaricus xanthodermis - and these can be mistaken without due care.  Both of these species contain poisons that tend to cause vomiting and colicky pains, although they are unlikely to be fatal.  If in any doubt about the species, simply cut the mushroom in half and discard any with white gills or that stain or bruise with a pink or yellow discoloration.  The yellow-stainer also has a distinctive smell of carbolic acid when cut across.

Although sometime difficult to identify precisely, field mushrooms do look like the 'ordinary' cultivated ones, Agaricus bisporus.

At Quin Bosca, field mushrooms have appeared as early as July, but autumn is the usual time for gathering.  They can be used in any recipe that calls for cultivated mushrooms, but wild ones are considered to be fuller in flavour.  A simple and favoured cooking method involves frying unpeeled mushrooms for just three or four minutes in an open pan.  Any excessive water can be decanted off, or they may become limp and mushy.  Bacon fat is a traditional oil and the mushrooms should be fried within minutes of collection.  Soup takes a little longer - I would simmer the chopped caps and stems in seasoned goat mild for half an hour.  Liquidising in a blender results in a smooth, light soup which can be served warm or cold.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall describes Snail and Wild Mushroom Risotto:

'Add shell-less cooked snails ('French style'), which have been sauteed in butter, garlic and a little wine to a wild mushroom risotto a couple of minutes before the rice is fully cooked.'

Mmmm - delicious!!

September - Wild Teasel

Flower of the Month at Quin Bosca - September

by Dr John

Dipsacus fullonum - Wild Teasel

Family - Dipsacadeae

In most mills, teasels were replaced by steel brushes in the nineteenth century.  Before that time, teasel was the teasing plant of the clothier and the common name arose from Old English - taesan, meaning to tease.

Although Wild Teasel is still used by wool spinners to card or separate the fibres in order to allow for strands of wool to be pulled out, it was actually Fuller's Teasel (Dipsacus sativus) that was most common in industrial use.  Fullers were craftsmen who cleaned and finished cloth in the tweed mills, and Fuller's Teasel is still a sub-species, that probably came from southern Europe. 

Today, it is still cultivated on the Somerset Levels. Fuller's Teasel has recurved outer spines, whereas the Wild Teasel's spines are straight.  The manufacturers of billiard table baze, however, find that the conical flower heads retain superiority over man-made brushes in raising the nap of the cloth.  The plant spines have a 'give' which allows a gentle skating over the surface of the material and does not cause tears if snagged.

Teasel is a tall biennial, growing up to three metres high.  It is branched and prickly on the stems, leaves and flower heads.  The flowers open from July to September, and the individual purple flowers are surrounded by small spiny sepals.  The whole cone of the compound flower head has stiff bracts cupping over the outside.  It is of little wonder that children have commonly pretended that the cones are tiny hedgehogs.

The flowers are fertilised by bees and produce a small seed inside brown, corky fruits.  These seeds are an important source of nutrition for flocks of goldfinches during the autumn and early winter months.  Teasels tend to grtwo in clusters in rough grassy, bushy and waste places.  They are often seen along roadside verges, standing starkly above even the tallest grasses.

The botanical name Dipsacus is derived from a Greek word meaning 'to thirst'.  The large leaves grow in pairs joined by a thin membrane at their bases.  In effect, this forms a cup with the stem passing through the centre.  Rainwater collects in the cups and this 'dew' has long ben held to have rejuvenating powers.  In the eighteenth century, teasel-water was believed to remove freckles and even today may still be used for bathing tire or itching eyes. 

Flying insects frequently drown in the water held in the leaf bases but there is no evidence that this is a source of nutrition for the plant.

August - Fleabane

Flower of the Month at Quin Bosca - August

by Dr John

Pulicaria dysenterica - Fleabane / Harvest Flower (Cornwall) / Pig Daisy (Dorset) / Carmets (Devon)

Family - Compositae

'The smell', according to the 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper, 'is supposed delightful to insects and the juice destructive to them, for they never leave it till the Season of their deaths'. 

Fleabane may well have been mixed with strewing herbs and grasses that were used to sweeten the household odours in medieval times during the summer.  The addition of fleabane was to act as an insecticide, especially for fleas that would be likely to hatch from pupae in August.

Dried fleabane was also hung or burned and the vapour was thought to drive away fleas, with its hints of chrysanthemum and carbolic soap.  Indeed, a close relative of fleabane has been used as a source of pyrethrum, the modern insecticide.

Fleabane is a perennial weed most commonly found in meadows, ditches, and damp hedge banks. 

The small, wrinkled leaves feel downy and soft but the neat, marigold-like flowers have be criticised for being a 'dirty' yellow in comparison with the brightness of buttercups and corn marigolds.  However, the Romans are said to have prized it more highly and used it to make wreaths.

Fleabane's generic name has been given because of its perceived use and pulex is Latin for flea.  The species name relates to the old herbal use against dysentry, but i can find no recent records of fleabane's present standing.  it remains a fairly common plant of lowland England, with neither real use nor ornament and really seems to grow, flower and seed without harm or intrusion at Quin Bosca Farm

July - Foxglove

Flower of the Month at Quin Bosca - July

by Dr John

Digitalis purpurea - Common Foxglove / Dead Men's Bells / Fairy Thimbles / Bloody Fingers

Family - Plantaginaceae

Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous biennials, perennials and shrubs that was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the much enlarged family Plantaginaceae. The genus is native to Europe, western and central Asia and northwestern Africa. 

At Quin Bosca, Foxgloves, being the taller plants, line the paddocks with their blowsy purple flowers, and mingle with many other varieties of plant.  If we had a mission statement it would be to claim the use of grazing animals to improve the spectrum of wildlife on our land.

The term digitalis is also used for preparations containing cardiac glycosides(useful albeit somewhat dangerous steroids) particularly digoxin, extracted from plants of this genus.

Digitalis means "finger-like", and refers to the ease which a flower of Digitalis purpurea can be fitted over a human fingertip. "Foxglove" has a similar origin, seen as a suitable glove for a fairy, the word being a corruption of "folk's glove", referring to the fairy folk.

The flowers are produced on a tall spike, are tubular, and vary in colour with species, from purple to pink, white and yellow.

The best-known species is the Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. It is a biennial, often grown as an ornamental plant due to its showy flowers, that range in colour from purples through to whites, with variable marks and spotting. The first year of growth produces only the long, basal leaves, while in the second year the erect leafy stem 0.5-2.5 m tall develops.

The plantlife at Quin Bosca provides a source of sustenance to a wide range of other living creatures.  The larvae of the Foxglove Pug moth can be seen here feeding on the flowers of Digitalis purpurea.

The flowers are not the only attraction, however, the succulent leaves also make a fine meal for other Lepidoptera species such as the Lesser Yellow Underwing.

June - Common Fumitory

Flower of the Month at Quin Bosca - June

by Dr John

Fumaria officianalis - Common Fumitory / Earth Smoke / Wax Dolls (Somerset, Kent, Yorks)

Family - Papaveraceae (previously Fumariaceae)

In their Dictionary of Plant Names, Britten and Holland wrote of this plant: 'a smell of fumosity, a look of fumosity and an effect of fumosity'.  The name Fumitory is derived from the Latin fumus terrae - 'smoke of the earth'.  Even in the twelfth century, it was considered that the plant generated itself spontaneously, appearing from a distance like wisps of smoke.  Pulling up a fumitory plant causes the roots to release an acrid, gaseous smell similar to that of nitric acid; the spread of the bluish-green foliage over bare ground can mimic dispersing smoke and sap from the plant can cause the eyes to water as mluch as if you were standing in the smoke from a fire.  These analogies with smoke sem to have been around since early Greek times.

Common Fumitory is an annual plant of disturbed ground and, although the flowers have adequate nectaries, it does seem as though insects shun the nectar and fumitories are self-fertile.  The slender, pinnate leaves tend to flop over the ground but the flower spikes with twenty or more dark pink-tipped flowers are presented more stiffly upright.

Fumitory produces farly large, globe-shaped nutlet fruits, each containg a single seed.  It is said to be a favourite food of one of our most plasant summer migrant birds, the turtle dove Streptopelia turtur.

Although the plant is fairly inconspicuous, it does seem to be treated with affection in folklore.  A poet of the Stockholm Medical Manuscript (circa 1400) wrote:  'Fumiter is erbe, I say, That springeth in April and May, In field, in town, in yard and gate, Their land is fat and good in state'.

In herbal use, the whole plant is described as a bitter tonic herb with mild diuretic and laxative properties.  Used internally, it has treated bilious colic, migraine of digestive distrubance and dermatitis.  A syrup made from fumitory juice mixed with the syrup of damask roses, peach blossoms or senna was a standby for almost anyone with hypochondriacal melancholia (A Modern Herbal, 1931).  Despite the sap's irritation of the eyes, an extract of fumtory has been used to treat conjunctivitis.