April 10, 2026
STONECROP
Like the House-leek, the Stonecrop was supposed to be a protective against thunder and lightning, and hence was planted on the roofs of cottages, stables, &c. The old herbalists valued the small Houseleek, or Stonecrop, as a cure for ague and expeller of poisons. It was used as an outward application, and, when boiled in beer, was considered good for pestilential fevers. Among country folks the plant was known as Wall Pepper (from its pungent flavour), Jack of the Buttery, Gold Chain, and Prick Madam, the last name being a corruption of the French Trique Madame.—Stonecrop is held by astrologers to be under the dominion of the Moon.