FLORA HISTORICA: 
 
 OR THE 
 
 THREE SEASONS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE BRITISH PARTERRE 
 
 HISTORICALLY AND BOTANICALLY TREATED: 
 WITH 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON PLANTING, 
 
 A REGULAR SUCCESSION OF FLOWERS FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF SPRING 
 TO THE END OF AUTUMN. 
 
 BY HENRY PHILLIPS, F.H.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OF " POMARIt'M BRITANNICUM," " HISTORY OF CULTIVATED 
 VEGETABLES," AND " SYLVA FLORIFEKA." 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION, REVISED, 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 E. LLOYD AND SON, HARLEY-STREET.
 
 U&DOHi 
 
 Printed by W. CLOWES, 
 Stamford Street.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Bring, Flora, bring thy treasures here, 
 The pride of all the blooming year ; 
 And let me thence a garland frame. 
 
 SHENSTONE. 
 
 THE interest which flowers have excited in 
 the breast of man, from the earliest ages to 
 the present day, has never been confined to 
 any particular class of society, or quarter of 
 the globe. Nature seems to have scattered 
 them over the world as a medicine to the 
 mind, to give cheerfulness to the earth, and 
 furnish agreeable sensations to its inhabitants. 
 
 The savage of the forests, in the joy of his 
 heart, binds his brow with the native flowers 
 of his woods, whilst their cultivation increases 
 in every country in proportion as the bless- 
 ings of civilization extend. 
 
 From the most humble cottage-garden to 
 the proudest parterre of the palace, nothing 
 
 2017268
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 more conspicuously bespeaks the good taste 
 of the possessor than a well-cultivated flower- 
 garden; and it may generally be remarked, 
 that when we see a neat cottage-court well 
 stocked with plants, the inhabitant is respect- 
 able, and possesses domestic comfort ; whilst, 
 on the contrary, a neglected garden but too 
 frequently marks the indolence, and bespeaks 
 the unhappy state of the owner. 
 
 Of all luxurious indulgences, that of flowers 
 is the most innocent they are of all embel- 
 lishments the most beautiful : and of all 
 created beings, man alone seems capable of 
 deriving enjoyment from them, which com- 
 mences with his infancy, remains the delight 
 of his youth, increases with his years, and 
 becomes the quiet amusement of his age. 
 Every rank of people seem equally to enjoy 
 flowers as a gratification to the organs of 
 sight and smell ; but to the botanist and the 
 close observer of Nature, beauties are un- 
 folded and wonders displayed that cannot be 
 conceived by the careless attention of the mul- 
 titude, who regard these ornaments of nature 
 as wild or savage persons would do a watch ;
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 they are dazzled with the splendour of the case 
 and the beauty of the appendages, but look 
 no further, because they know not where to 
 look. The artist, while he enjoys the exter- 
 nal covering, looks into the interior, and as 
 he regards the movements and learns their 
 various uses, he is struck with admiration at 
 the ingenuity of the mechanism. The bota- 
 nist has the same delight when he looks into 
 the blossoms of flowers ; for he there beholds 
 the wonderful works of the Almighty with 
 amazement there he sees movements and. 
 regulations, with which all the combined 
 ingenuity of man cannot compare. 
 
 We may learn even from profane history 
 how much the study of vegetable nature in- 
 duces the mind to its proper sense of grati- 
 tude, and how much it created in the breasts 
 of the heathens themselves a veneration and 
 religious awe for the Author of all things : 
 for although they were not blessed with a 
 knowledge of pure religion, they had too 
 much good sense to suppose that vegetation 
 was a matter of chance; and they there- 
 fore attributed each gift of nature to some
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 peculiar god, their minds not being suffi- 
 ciently expanded to conceive a just idea of 
 the Deity, except, indeed, those master 
 Minds who traced, in the regularity and 
 uniformity displayed in all organised nature, 
 the hand of one supreme Creator, and who 
 adored him under the name of Pan, the 
 universal spirit. 
 
 The worship of Flora amongst the heathen 
 nations may be traced up to very early days. 
 She was an object of religious veneration 
 among the Phocians and the Sabines, long 
 before the foundation of Rome ; and the early 
 Greeks worshipped her under the name of 
 Chloris. The Romans instituted a festival in 
 honour of Flora as early as the time of Ro- 
 mulus, as a kind of rejoicing at the appear- 
 ance of the blossoms, which they welcomed 
 as the harbingers of fruits. The festival 
 games of Floralia were not, however, regu- 
 larly instituted until five hundred and sixteen 
 years after the foundation of Rome, when, on 
 consulting the celebrated books of the Sibyl, 
 it was ordained that the feast should be 
 annually kept on the 28th day of April, that
 
 INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 is, four days before the calends of May. 
 These prophetic books had a college of priests 
 appointed to undertake the charge of them, 
 and were held in such reverence that they 
 were never consulted but when the state 
 seemed in danger, and then it was done with 
 the greatest solemnity. 
 
 From the writings of Pliny the Elder, we 
 learn that the worship of this goddess had 
 been greatly neglected, and that it was not 
 until after some unfruitful seasons that the 
 Sibylline books were consulted, which or- 
 dained that the feast of Flora should be ce- 
 lebrated with regularity so as to ensure the 
 well flowering and kindly shedding of the 
 blossoms of all species of plants. 
 
 Let one great day 
 
 To celebrate sports and floral play 
 
 Be set aside. PRIOR. 
 
 This festival was introduced into Britain by 
 the Romans, as we have already noticed in 
 the Sylva Florifera ; to which we shall add, 
 that as late as the time of Henry VIII. it 
 was so much the fashion for the citizens of 
 London to keep up this ancient custom, by 
 
 b 5
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 diverting themselves in the neighbouring 
 woods and meadows on May-day, that in the 
 year 1515 it engaged the attention of this 
 bluff monarch, who, accompanied by his 
 Queen, and attended by the court, rode a- 
 maying from Greenwich to Shooter's-hill. 
 
 When merry May first early calls the morn, 
 With merry maids a-maying they do go. 
 
 SIDNEY. 
 
 In this morning's excursion, their Majesties 
 were designedly met by two hundred yeomen, 
 clad in green, with green hoods, and fur- 
 nished with bows and arrows, the whole being 
 under the direction of a captain, named Robin 
 Hood, who invited his Majesty to stop and 
 see his men shoot, which they performed with 
 great dexterity at the sound of their captain's 
 whistle. Their arrows were so contrived at 
 the head, that, when flying through the air, 
 they made a loud whistling noise, that greatly 
 delighted the royal party, who were after- 
 wards conducted to the greenwood, and en- 
 tertained plentifully with wine and venison, 
 under arbours formed of boughs, and deco- 
 rated with flowers. Hall's Chronicle.
 
 INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 Shakspeare notices with what eagerness 
 the pleasures of May-day morning were en- 
 tered into in his time : 
 
 Tis as much impossible, 
 
 Unless we swept them from the door with cannons, 
 To scatter 'em, as 'tis to make 'em sleep 
 On May-day morning. 
 
 Pope refers to the May-pole in London 
 
 Amid the area wide she took her stand, 
 
 Where the tall May-pole once o'erlook'd the Strand. 
 
 Of these festivities we have so nearly lost 
 all remains, that even the dance around the 
 May-pole is now rarely seen in our villages ; 
 and 'were it not for the garlands which the 
 cottager's children bear from door to door, in 
 modern dulness, we might outlive the memory 
 of this ancient festival, whilst in the metropolis 
 it is totally disregarded, excepting by the 
 chimney-sweepers, who now usurp this holi- 
 day as their exclusive right *. 
 
 Poets of all ages have sung the joys of this 
 flowery month. Milton exclaims, 
 
 * It is related of the famous wit George Selwyn, that 
 walking one May-day through the streets of London, and 
 observing the chimney-sweepers bedizened in all their sooty 
 finery, he observed to a friend, that " he had often heard 
 talk of the Majesty of the people, and supposed these were 
 some of the young princes."
 
 2U1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Hail! bounteous May, that doth inspire 
 Mirth and youth, and warm desire ; 
 Woods and groves are of thy dressing, 
 Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. 
 
 In eastern nations flowers and perfumes 
 have been considered as one of the indispen- 
 sable enjoyments of the higher classes of 
 society, from the remotest antiquity. From 
 those nations the Romans appear to have 
 borrowed this delicate refinement, and to 
 have carried it to the utmost excess in their 
 costly entertainments. They soon began to 
 consider flowers as forming a very essential 
 article in their festal preparations ; and it is 
 the opinion of Baccius, that at their desserts 
 the number of their flowers far exceeded that 
 of their fruits. The odour of flowers was 
 thought to arouse the fainting appetite, and 
 they certainly must have added an ethereal 
 enjoyment to the grosser pleasures of their 
 banqueting boards. 
 
 Flowers were not only used as a stimulus 
 to the palate, or that two senses might be 
 gratified at one time, but it was thought that 
 certain plants and flowers facilitated the 
 functions of the brain, and assisted mate-
 
 INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 rially to neutralise the inebriating qualities of 
 wine. Even the warriors did not hesitate to 
 crown themselves with flowers during their 
 principal repast. 
 
 Horace, it seems,, could not sit down to his 
 bachelor's glass of wine without his garland. 
 His lively little ode at the end of his first 
 book is thus well translated by Francis 
 
 I tell thee, boy, that I detest 
 
 The grandeur of a Persian feast ; 
 
 Nor for me the Linden's rind 
 
 Shall the flowery chaplet bind. 
 
 Then search not where the curious Rose 
 
 Beyond his season loitering grows ; 
 
 But beneath the mantling vine, 
 
 While I quaff the flowing wine, 
 
 The Myrtle's wreath shall crown our brows, 
 
 "While you shall wait and I carouse. 
 
 The allusion to Persia in this Ode confirms 
 our idea that the taste for flowers came to 
 Rome from the East ; and garlands were sus- 
 pended at the gates or in the temples where 
 feasts or solemn rejoicings were held, and at 
 all places where public joy and gaiety were 
 desired. It was also the custom to place 
 garlands and festoons of flowers on the heads 
 of victims, in the ancient sacrifices, at which
 
 Xiy INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the priests also appeared crowned with 
 flowers. 
 
 Cato, in his treatise on gardens,, directs 
 that they should be planted and enriched 
 with such flowers as are proper for chaplets 
 and garlands. 
 
 The most celebrated Parisian milliner is 
 not more eagerly sought after in modern 
 times than the plaiter of garlands was in the 
 days of antiquity, if we may judge from the 
 account which Pliny has handed down to us. 
 He tells us that the Sicyonians were consi- 
 dered to surpass all other people in the art 
 of arranging the colours of their garlands, 
 and giving them the most agreeable mixture 
 of perfumes. These people, he informs us, 
 derived their taste from Glycera, a woman of 
 such great ingenuity in the art of composing 
 garlands, as to win the affections of Pausias, 
 the most eminent painter of his day, who 
 took delight in copying the wreaths of flowers 
 which his mistress had formed, whilst Gly- 
 cera took equal pains to vary her garlands, 
 so as to put the skill of her lover to the test. 
 Pliny tells us that some of these paintings
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 were in existence in his time, particularly 
 one of high estimation, which was a picture 
 known by the name of Stephanoplocos, 
 wherein the artist had painted the fair Gly- 
 cera braiding- chaplets. This picture must 
 then have been about 460 years old, from 
 which we may infer that the art of painting 
 was in considerable advancement as long 
 back as 2300 years. 
 
 The same author tells us that Mnestheus 
 and Callimachus, two renowned Greek phy- 
 sicians, compiled several books on the vir- 
 tues of chaplets, enumerating such as were 
 hurtful to the brain, and others that refreshed 
 the spirits. 
 
 We also learn from an anecdote related 
 by Pliny, that it was a frequent custom 
 among the ancients to mix the flowers of 
 their chaplets in their wine, when they 
 pledged the health of their friends. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great pains which 
 Cleopatra took to please and amuse Antony, 
 it was a considerable time before she could 
 gain his entire confidence, as it appears he 
 would never eat or drink at her table without
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 causing his taster first to partake of every 
 viand,, in order to discover if treachery lurked 
 disguised in the midst of the luxuries of this 
 subtle Queen. The jealousy of the Roman 
 General seems to have increased about the 
 time he was preparing his expedition against 
 Augustus, when the artful beauty who had 
 so captivated the warrior, took the following 
 device to satisfy him of her true attachment, 
 and at the same time to ridicule his mistrust 
 and timid fears. The Queen had a chaplet 
 of flowers prepared for Antony, the edges of 
 which were dipped in the most deadly poison, 
 whilst that which was formed for her own 
 head; was as usual mixed with aromatic 
 spices. At the banquet the General received 
 his coronet of flowers, and when they had be- 
 come cheerful through the aid of Bacchus, 
 Cleopatra pledged him in wine, and taking 
 off the garland of flowers from her head, and 
 rubbing them into her goblet, drank off the 
 contents. Antony was following her exam- 
 ple, but just as he had got the fatal cup to 
 his lip, the Queen seized his arm, exclaiming-, 
 " Cure your jealous fears, and learn that I
 
 INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 have not to seek the means of your destruc- 
 tion, could I live without you ;'' on which 
 she ordered a prisoner to be brought before 
 them, who, on drinking the wine from the 
 General's goblet, instantly expired in their 
 presence. 
 
 The fondness which the ancients evinced 
 for flowers was carried to such an excess as 
 to become almost a vice. When Antony 
 supped with the far-famed Queen of Egypt, 
 the floors of the apartments were generally 
 covered with fragrant flowers ; and when 
 Nero sat at banquet in his golden house, a 
 shower of flowers and odorous essences fell 
 upon him : but Heliogabalus turned these 
 vegetable beauties into curses, for it was one 
 of the pleasures of this monster to smother 
 his courtiers with flowers. 
 
 The Italians, who still retain some of the 
 customs of the Romans, have artificers called 
 Festaroli, whose office it is to make gar- 
 lands or festoons of flowers, and other deco- 
 rations for feasts. The Catholic church still 
 continues the use of flowers in its religious 
 ceremonies, as was particularly observed in
 
 Xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Rome on the 17th of January, 1798, when 
 the Pope appointed a solemn procession of 
 the three most celebrated relics in Rome, to 
 appease the French government for an as- 
 sault committed on their ambassador. These 
 relics consisted of " the portrait of the most 
 Holy Saviour, the miraculous picture of the 
 Santa Maria in Portico, and the sacred chains 
 wherewith the Prince of the Apostles was 
 fettered." Previous to the procession, the 
 streets were strewed with myrtles, and such 
 flowers as could be obtained at that season 
 of the year. 
 
 The Chinese hold some particular kinds 
 of flowers in great veneration, especially the 
 Eukianthus, which they call Too Chong Fa : 
 its flowers are deemed grateful to the gods ; 
 and, accordingly, at the commencement of 
 the Chinese new year, when the plant is 
 generally in blossom, large branches with 
 flowers are placed in all the temples as an 
 acceptable new year's offering. 
 
 We find that the admiration of these vege- 
 table beauties was not confined to the inhabit- 
 ants of the old world alone, for the Mexicans,
 
 INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 says the Abbe" Clavigero, have, from time 
 immemorial, studied the cultivation of flowers 
 and odoriferous plants, which they employed 
 in the worship of the gods. And flowers 
 have ever been the favourite embellishment 
 of the fair in all ages and countries ; and 
 that they have also afforded popular subjects 
 to the poets, our copious extracts will prove. 
 
 In all countries flowers have been made the 
 happy accompaniment of bridal parties, as we 
 have stated in the body of this work : they 
 have likewise been made the representatives 
 of regard to deceased friends thus ornament- 
 ing alike the joyous altar and the silent tomb. 
 The Brahma women, who burn themselves 
 on their husbands' funeral piles, adorn their 
 persons with chaplets and garlands of sweet- 
 scented flowers ; and it is also the custom for 
 them to present garlands of flowers to the 
 young women who attend them at this terrible 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Flowers formed a principal feature in sym- 
 bolical language, which is the most ancient as 
 well as the most natural of all written lan- 
 guages. We have therefore given their em-
 
 XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 blematical uses ; and, as a matter of amuse- 
 ment to our fair readers, we have devised 
 emblems for such flowers as were unknown in 
 the eastern nations, or of which the allegori- 
 cal relations have hitherto escaped our re- 
 search. 
 
 Having frequent occasion in this history 
 of flowers to allude to the garland of Julia, it 
 may not be improper to notice that this cele- 
 brated manuscript was a piece of ingenious 
 gallantry of the Duke de Montausier toward 
 the beautiful Julia de Rambouillet. After he 
 had gained the promise of his mistress's hand, 
 he was, according to an ancient custom, 
 (which in France is still observed,) to send 
 every morning to his future bride, till the wed- 
 ding day, a nosegay of the finest flowers of the 
 season. But he did not stop here : he had 
 painted on vellum by the best artists, in a 
 folio volume magnificently bound, the finest 
 cultivated flowers ; and all the most distin- 
 guished poets of the day divided amongst 
 themselves the task of making verses upon 
 the flowers. The great Corneille wrote for 
 the Orange Flower and the Everlasting. Julia,
 
 INTRODUCTION. xxi 
 
 on the day of her marriage, found this pre- 
 cious book on her toilet- table. The misfor- 
 tunes of the French Revolution transported 
 this interesting- monument of the gallantry of 
 the seventeenth century to Hamburgh, where 
 it was put up to sale in the year 1795; but the 
 purchaser of this combination of poetry and 
 painting is not known. 
 
 The decorative parts of architecture were 
 originally derived from flowers and plants. 
 The Lotus flower presents us with a model of 
 the principal embellishment of Indian build- 
 ings, and the palm-tree seems to have given 
 the first idea of columns to the ancients. 
 Hiram ornamented the capitals of the cele- 
 brated pillars which he wrought for Solomon 
 with Lilies and Pomegranates. The Corin- 
 thian capital is stated to have been first in- 
 vented by Callimachus, a famous architect, 
 who_, being engaged to make some pillars at 
 Corinth, took the form of his enrichment from 
 the following accidental circumstance : Pass- 
 ing a basket, covered with a large tile, that 
 had been placed on the ground over a root 
 of Acanthus, the stalks and leaves of which
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 had burst forth, and spreading themselves on 
 the outside of the basket, were bent back 
 again at the top by the corners of the tile, the 
 beautiful appearance of this combination so 
 delighted Callimachus by its elegance and 
 novelty, that he immediately adopted the 
 form of the basket surrounded with the 
 Acanthus, as a capital for his pillars. 
 
 Repton observes, that the general forms of 
 enrichments may be thus classed : " The 
 Gothic are derived from the bud or germ, the 
 Grecian from the leaf, and the Indian from the 
 flower; a singular coincidence," says this 
 British architect, ' c which seems to mark, that 
 these three styles are and ought to be kept 
 perfectly distinct. 5 ' 
 
 The pagodas of the Chinese seem to us to 
 have been modelled after the form of some 
 species of pine-trees. 
 
 Of the antiquity of pleasure-gardens we 
 have already written in the Sylva Florifera ; 
 but we must now observe, that the luxury of 
 having them attached to our dwellings origi- 
 nated with Epicurus, who first gave the idea 
 to the Athenians, about two hundred and sixty 
 years before the birth of Christ.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Plautus assigned the custody of gardens to 
 Venus ; and Pliny observes that the labours 
 of the garden formed one of the occupations 
 of females in his time ; and that it was a com- 
 mon observation in those days, when a gar- 
 den was out of order,, and not well kept, that 
 the mistress was a bad housewife. Horti- 
 cultural pursuits were deemed so honourable 
 amongst the Romans, that many of their dis- 
 tinguished families derived their surnames 
 from some species of fruit or vegetable which 
 they were celebrated for cultivating. In mo- 
 dern days we have reversed this order, and 
 bestowed the surnames of our eminent bota- 
 nists, or persons who have zealously occu- 
 pied themselves in the introduction and cul- 
 tivation of new plants, on the plants them- 
 selves. Thus, with the unanimous consent 
 of all Europe, the Banksia, a genus of plants 
 procured from New Holland, will carry down 
 the name of Banks to the end of time ; as 
 Aitonia will that of the worthy author of the 
 Hortus Kewensis. Indeed, were we to enu- 
 merate all the plants which have been so 
 named in gratitude, or through respect to
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 such persons,, it would form one of the most 
 interesting nomenclatures that has ever ap- 
 peared. We have, under the respective ar- 
 ticles in the present work, named the earliest 
 British cultivators of each separate species of 
 flowers, as far as could be collected. 
 
 The fondness for plants is natural to all 
 men who possess the least sensibility ; and 
 however their attention may be engaged by 
 other pursuits, it generally happens that this 
 predilection shows itself during some period 
 of their lives. Nature seems to have de- 
 signed men for the culture of her works, and 
 to have ordained that we should be born 
 gardeners, since our earliest inclinations 
 lead us to the cultivation of flowers. The 
 infant can no sooner walk, than its first em- 
 ployment is to plant a flower in the earth, 
 removing it ten times in an hour to wherever 
 the sun seems to shine more favourably. The 
 school-boy, in the care of his little plot of 
 ground, lessens the anxious thoughts of the 
 home he has left. In manhood our attention 
 is generally demanded by more active and 
 imperious duties ; but, as age obliges us to
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 retire from public business, the love of gar- 
 dening returns to soothe our declining years. 
 The truth of this is daily made manifest to us, 
 by the fact, that those persons devote them- 
 selves to gardening, whose busy occupations 
 in other pursuits we should have thought 
 must have given a distate for this quiet em- 
 ployment. We have lately seen a Kemble 
 retire from the stage to amuse himself in a 
 garden ; and it also formed a great part of 
 the occupation of the banished Napoleon. Of 
 the love of gardening, Cowley says, 
 
 Methinks, I see great Dioclesian walk 
 In the Salonian garden's noble shade, 
 Which by his own imperial hands was made : 
 I see him smile, methinks, as he does talk 
 With the ambassadors, who come in vain 
 To entice him to a throne again. 
 " If I, my friends," said he, " should to you show 
 All the delights which in these gardens grow, 
 "Tis likelier much that you should with me stay, 
 Than 'tis that you should carry me away. 
 And trust me not, my friends ! if, every day, 
 I walk not here with more delight 
 Than ever, after the most happy sight, 
 In triumph to the capitol I rode, 
 To thank the gods, and to be thought myself almost a 
 God." 
 
 When the eastern nations were at the 
 height of their glory, the art of gardening was 
 VOL. i. c
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by them carried to great perfection ; and 
 Cyrus the younger was as celebrated for the 
 pleasure-gardens which he had himself planted 
 and cultivated in Lydia, as the elder Cyrus 
 was for the famous palace which he con- 
 structed at Persepolis. According to Chardin, 
 the gardens in the vicinity of Babylon abound- 
 ed with plants and flowers glowing with the 
 most lovely dyes, and conspicuous for their 
 dazzling brilliancy. 
 
 Of the gardens of the ancient Israelites we 
 have fewer accounts than of those of other 
 eastern nations, and for the same reason that 
 we have but few, if any, specimens of their 
 sculpture handed down to us. The Hebrew 
 nation being surrounded by idolaters on all 
 sides, it was necessary to prohibit not only all 
 familiar intercourse with the heathens, but to 
 guard particularly against the introduction of 
 their customs and habits, which must naturally 
 have been very alluring and seductive to the 
 idle and more profligate part of the Jewish 
 community ; and, as the gardens or sacred 
 groves of the heathen nations were generally 
 the scenes of their obscene revellings, such
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 public plantations,, together with the erection 
 of statues or images, were forbidden by the 
 laws of the country. 
 
 The Mahometan faith teaches the followers 
 of the Prophet to believe that the blessings of 
 a future state consist in dwelling in delightful 
 gardens. The Koran expressly says, e ' Who- 
 soever doth good works, either man or woman, 
 and believeth, shall enter into Paradise. They 
 shall enter gardens of pleasure,, together with 
 those of their fathers or wives that have done 
 good." Surat XI. v. 43, XIV. v. 95. 
 
 The situation of Damascus, with its gar- 
 dens and groves, is esteemed particularly de- 
 k lightful ; and Mahomet looking down from an 
 elevated spot upon that beautiful city, is said 
 to have declared that it was the lot of no man 
 to enjoy two Paradises, and that he should 
 abstain from entering the terrestrial lest he 
 should lose the celestial. 
 
 Before we proceed to speak on the forma- 
 tion and planting of flower-gardens in ge- 
 neral, we shall notice some of the advantages 
 which are derived from a fondness for this 
 pursuit. First, it attaches men to their homes, 
 
 C 2
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and on this account every encouragement 
 should be given to increase a taste for gar- 
 dening, in general, in country towns and vil- 
 lages. It is a recreation which conduces 
 materially to health, considerably promotes 
 civilization, and softens the manners and 
 tempers of men : it creates a love of the study 
 of nature, which leads to a contemplation of 
 the mysterious wonders that are displayed in 
 the vegetable world around us ; and these 
 cannot be investigated without bending the 
 mind towards a just sense of religion, and a 
 due acknowledgment of the narrow limits of 
 our intelligence compared with the incompre- 
 hensible power and wisdom of God. Addi- , 
 son observes, that " it gives us a great in- 
 sight into the contrivance and wisdom of 
 Providence, and suggests innumerable sub- 
 jects for meditation. I cannot," says he, 
 " but think the very complacency and satis- 
 faction which a man takes in these works of 
 nature, to be a laudable, if not a virtuous, 
 habit of mind." 
 
 In the flower-garden, the student in che- 
 mistry will find how imperfect is his art in
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 comparison with natural chemistry, which 
 distils from the earth, and conveys by distinct 
 channels in the smallest stem all that is ne- 
 cessary to produce foliage, flowers, and fruit, 
 together with colour, - smell, and taste, the 
 most opposite fluids and liquids being sepa- 
 rated only by divisions so delicate as scarcely 
 to be deemed a substance. The research 
 into the wonders displayed in vegetation may 
 be entered into, without hurting the sensibi- 
 lity of the most tender feelings, as plants and 
 roots may be dissected without those dis- 
 agreeable sensations which follow the dissec- 
 tion of animals. 
 
 Amongst the delights of the garden, the 
 pleasure of presenting flowers to our friends 
 is not the least. Bouquets of flowers may be 
 safely presented to acknowledge obligations, 
 or to shew respect, where, in many instances,, 
 any other return for favours received would 
 appear impertinent, or look like a desire to be 
 discharged of the obligation conferred on us. 
 They are a kind of present that may be made 
 between equals and mutual friends to shew 
 regard, and that may also be made by the
 
 XXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 poorest peasant girl to the richest peeress of 
 the realm without fear of offence. 
 
 To those who are confined to the metro- 
 polis, or other large cities or towns, where 
 they are debarred from the enjoyment of a 
 garden, a basket of flowers of the season is 
 received as one of the most agreeable pre- 
 sents ; and when these are known to be the 
 produce of the parterres over which we gam- 
 bolled in our childhood, or presided in our 
 youth, the gift becomes doubly acceptable : 
 they picture to the imagination happy scenes 
 of our younger days, and throw present cares 
 aside, to recall to our " mind's eye" the mi- 
 nutiae of the garden : each border seems to 
 arise fresh to our ideas ; each clump of Pinks, 
 each bower of Woodbines, and each bank of 
 Violets are instantly portrayed to our memory, 
 
 Which brings to mind her childhood's innocent day, 
 And the dear fields and friendships far away. 
 
 MOORE. 
 
 These are frequently accompanied by other 
 Recollections, which seem to present us with a 
 momentary sight of some kind and benevolent 
 friend, the good nurse of our infancy, or some
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXXI 
 
 favourite domestic of our youth ; our fancy 
 pictures them between the borders of their 
 little plots. The well-known Lilac tree and 
 the old Cabbage Rose-bush start up in the 
 picture ; whilst the Quince-tree, or the wide- 
 spreading- Medlar, presents itself to the 
 memory as half hiding the well-repaired sty, 
 which we ever wish to regard as forming the 
 pride of the industrious cottager. 
 
 These momentary visions bring the har- 
 mony of the Poets to our recollection, and we 
 are almost ready to exclaim, 
 
 That hut is mine ; that cottage half-embower'd 
 With modest Jessamine, and that sweet spot 
 Of garden ground, where, ranged in neat array, 
 Grew countless sweets, the Wallflower and the Pink, 
 And the thick Thyme-bush even that is mine : 
 And the old Mulberry that shades the court 
 Has been my joy from very childhood up ! 
 
 KIRKE WHITE. 
 
 On this subject we may justly use the lines 
 of Miss Mitford, who says 
 
 'Twere hard to sing thy varying charm, 
 Thou cottage, mansion, village, farm, 
 
 Thou beautiful epitome 
 Of all that useful is and rare, 
 Where comfort sits with smiling air, 
 
 And laughing hospitality.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The institution of the National Horticul- 
 tural Society, which has been established in 
 London under the gracious patronage of his 
 present Majesty, cannot fail in its object of 
 enriching and beautifying the whole of the 
 British empire. 
 
 Plants are procured through the exertions 
 of the members from every quarter of the 
 globe, and distributed to all parts of the king- 
 dom, together with directions for their suc- 
 cessful cultivation. This must conduce very 
 materially towards increasing a taste for 
 plants in general ; but still a large proportion 
 of intelligent persons, fond of Horticulture, 
 remain unconnected with the Society, many 
 of them residing at too considerable a dis- 
 tance to attend the meetings in the metro- 
 polis, and some wishing to avoid the annual 
 expense. On this account we should wish 
 to see local societies more generally esta- 
 blished in country towns, for the purpose of 
 exhibiting fruits and flowers, where the im- 
 provements in the art of their- cultivation, 
 and the transactions of the National Society,
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 would naturally form subjects of conversation, 
 to the advantage of the country at large. 
 
 At Ghent a Botanical Society was esta- 
 blished in the year 1809, which continues to- 
 hold annually two Floral festivals called the 
 Salon d'Ete and the Salon d'Hiver. At these 
 Salons } or Floral exhibitions, the amateur 
 and professional cultivators of flowers assem- 
 ble from all the towns and villages for a con- 
 siderable distance round, almost every one 
 contributing something towards the general 
 'show. The meetings are sanctioned and 
 attended by the public authorities, who not 
 only countenance but endeavour to support 
 these rational assemblies. 
 
 The plants exhibited are generally placed 
 in boxes or pots, so that they arrive at the 
 Salon in a fresh and growing state, where, 
 by a little attention, their beauty is preserved 
 during the three or four days which the ex- 
 hibition lasts. At each of these meetings an 
 honorary medal is awarded, and by an inge- 
 nious fiction the flowers themselves and not 
 the cultivators are regarded as the competi- 
 tors, and the successful plant is said to be 
 
 c 5
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 crowned, by having a wreath hung over it. 
 The crown is awarded to the plant that is 
 pronounced the finest production of the Salon, 
 which sometimes depends on its rarity or 
 iiovelty, and sometimes on the size and 
 splendour of a well-known flower, whose 
 appearance indicates superior culture and 
 treatment. 
 
 These meetings have contributed mate- 
 rially towards the perfection to which the 
 Dutch florists have brought several genera 
 of plants. The bouquets offered for sale at 
 Ghent are both numerous and beautiful, it 
 being a common practice there to carry a 
 flower, not only on the promenade, but also 
 to the church. 
 
 As the world leads we follow. 
 
 Fashion does not at present sanction any 
 but coachmen in wearing nosegays in this 
 country, yet it has not influence sufficient to 
 banish flowers from the garden, since we 
 notice that those who have only a small piece 
 of land attached to their dwellings generally 
 devote it to the sendee of Flora ; whilst others, 
 who have larger plots, set some portion aside
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 for the same purpose, and such as have ample 
 domains may be said to vie with each other 
 in their devotions to the flowery goddess. So 
 strongly is this love of natural beauties im- 
 planted in the breast of man, that the greater 
 part of those persons who have no allotment 
 in this terrestrial globe, except what is con- 
 fined in an earthen vase of some few inches in 
 diameter, contrive to raise a plant, and thus 
 peep at nature even within their brick- wall 
 bounds. 
 
 There the picture stands 
 
 A fragment, and the spoutless tea-pot there ; 
 Sad witnesses how close-pent man regrets 
 The country, with what ardour he contrives 
 A peep at nature, when he can no more. 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 Our observations on the formation of flower- 
 gardens can only be general, so much depend- 
 ing on extent and situation, that the best pos- 
 sible directions for one spot would be absurd 
 when put into practice in other sites. 
 
 When we are too much confined for want of 
 land to delight by the appearance of extent, 
 we should endeavour to please by beauty ; 
 and where the bounds are too limited to dis-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 play taste on a large scale, elegance should 
 be associated with neatness. 
 
 Addison says there are as many kinds of 
 gardening as of poetry ; the makers of par- 
 terres and flower-gardens he styles the epi- 
 grammatists and sonnetteers in the art ; con- 
 trivers of bowers and grottos, treillages and 
 cascades, he compares to romance writers ; 
 whilst those who lay out extensive grounds, 
 he honours by the title of heroic poets. Thus, 
 to imitate the serpentine windings of large 
 plantations in small gardens, is scarcely less 
 ridiculous than it would be to use heroic strains 
 in writing an epitaph on a cock robin ; and it 
 discovers an equal want of judgment and good 
 taste when we see large grounds frittered into 
 the trifling minutiae of a parterre, displaying 
 hearts and diamonds, where nature ought to 
 appear as if at liberty to sport in all her gay, 
 luxuriant frolics. 
 
 Even in the choice of our plants we should 
 take into consideration the extent of our 
 grounds, for large plants in small gardens are 
 like the use of high-flown language when im- 
 properly selected for familiar subjects.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The all-wise Creator who raised the cedar, 
 formed also the smallest moss ; but the former 
 he planted on the mountains of Lebanon, 
 whilst the latter was placed on a pebble. From 
 this wise ordinance of nature, we should learn 
 to select Flora's miniature beauties for the 
 small parterre, leaving the towering and 
 wide-spreading plants to ornament extensive 
 grounds. 
 
 Flowers never appear to so great advantage 
 as when forming a foreground in the shrub- 
 bery or to the borders of woods. In such 
 situations they seem to have planted them- 
 selves as if for the sake of shelter, whilst the 
 boldness of the trees and shrubs add as much 
 to the delicacy of their blossoms as the mass 
 of foliage contributes to the brilliancy of their 
 colours. The bolder flowers should be half- 
 obscured by shrubs, for by being but partially 
 seen their effect is materially heightened. 
 
 The smaller flowers must occupy the slop- 
 ing sides of banks, because they are then 
 brought near to the eye, and they will gene- 
 rally be found growing naturally in such si- 
 tuations. A greater part of the earliest flower-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ing plants may be set under the branches of 
 shrubs and trees, as they thus fill up spaces 
 that would otherwise appear naked in the 
 spring, and their decaying state is veiled over 
 in the later season by the foliage of the boughs. 
 The same arrangement should be made in 
 small gardens, by covering the ground under 
 Rose bushes and other shrubs which blossom 
 in the summer, with the earliest flowers of 
 the year, such as Snowdrops and Crocuses, 
 &c., which are rather benefited than injured 
 by the partial shelter ; and the space of ground 
 which they would otherwise require in the 
 parterre may be allotted to those plants that 
 will not flourish in such situations. 
 
 The error most frequently committed in 
 planting the parterre, is the inattention shown 
 to the succession of the flowering of plants ; 
 but without a perfect knowledge and due re- 
 gard to this material part of the art of gar- 
 dening, the parterre will frequently become 
 destitute of flowers at different seasons of 
 the year ; whereas the desirable object of 
 continuing an uninterrupted succession of 
 gaiety in the flower-garden, may be attained
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by attention in the selection and planting 
 of flower-roots. 
 
 Our first step in this case should be to col- 
 lect a sufficient quantity of those that blossom 
 earliest in the spring-, as at this time the 
 number of species is not large, and each 
 sort should therefore be planted in greater 
 abundance, so as to give effect by a mass of 
 colour. A want of attention to render the 
 parterre gay at this period is the great defect 
 of most gardeners. No flowers are more 
 delicately beautiful than those which blossom 
 at this season of the year, when they are 
 received with a double welcome, because their 
 appearance seems, in some degree, to banish 
 the dreary months, and thus to prolong the 
 duration of Flora's cheerful reign. 
 
 A very essential part to be attended to is, 
 to observe that the plants of the spring, such 
 as the hardy and early kinds of Narcissus, 
 Anemonies, Snowdrops, Crocuses, Double 
 Daisies, &c., should be planted in consider- 
 able quantities on one spot ; for when they 
 are divided into little clumps they make no 
 striking appearance, as we have noticed in
 
 Xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the body of this work, under their respective 
 histories. 
 
 At this season also the ground under such 
 as are not evergreen should be completely 
 covered with Primroses, Harebells, and such 
 other flowers as will flourish in tVse situa- 
 tions, observing to contrast the colours as 
 much as possible, but not to mix them indis- 
 crimately. 
 
 When this is accomplished, we may justly 
 exclaim in the words of Cowley 
 
 But with no sense the garden does comply, 
 None courts or flatters, as it does the eye. 
 
 Who would not chuse to be awake, 
 
 While he's encompassed round with such delight 
 
 To th' ear, the nose, the touch, the taste, and sight ? 
 
 Who, that hath reason and his smell, 
 Would not among Roses and Jasmine dwell, 
 Rather than all his spirits choke 
 With exhalations of dirt and smoke. 
 
 We shall not be very minute in giving 
 directions for the summer arrangements, that 
 season being generally well and amply pro- 
 vided for by Flora herself; but we have to 
 speak of a very material part of the duties of 
 those who, at a later period, undertake to
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 furnish the parterre with its beauties. For- 
 merly, Flora took her departure from this 
 island as soon as Ceres and Pomona made 
 their appearance, as if the country was not 
 sufficiently spacious to contain the three god- 
 desses at one time ; but since we have natu- 
 ralised the plants of China and Florida to 
 our climate, we have the delight of seeing 
 these three deities in perfect reconciliation, 
 walking hand in hand, and continuing their 
 embraces until driven by Boreas into tem- 
 porary shelter. By this happy union, which 
 has been brought to such perfection by the 
 exertions of our indefatigable countrymen, the 
 time of the flower season is so considerably 
 lengthened, that what formed the dreary sea- 
 son of our ancestors is now half expired be- 
 fore we perceive its approach. The Vine is 
 now seen suspending its purple clusters over 
 the blushing petals of the China Rose ; the 
 Barberry Bush hangs its crimson fruit over 
 the variously-coloured Asters of China ; the 
 Mountain Ash droops its clusters of coral ber- 
 ries over the richly-painted Dahlias of the 
 new world ; the Juniper mixes its blue-pow
 
 Xlii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dered berries as a contrast to the Golden 
 Marigolds of Africa; the purple, and the 
 sweet-scented white Clematis entwine their 
 branches with the native Bramble, interweav- 
 ing the happy gifts of Flora and Pomona on 
 the same festoon; the Indian Chrysanthe- 
 mum waits to decorate its branches in all the 
 hues of Iris, so as to rival and succeed the 
 mellow fruits of the orchard. Thus we now 
 see the well-dressed parterre clothed in the 
 various robes of distant climes, cheering the 
 month of November, and daring the rigours 
 of December, until its beauties are overtaken 
 and hidden by the falling snow. 
 
 Lo ! winter desolates the year ; 
 The fields resign their latest bloom, 
 No more their breezes waft perfume, 
 No more the streams in music roll, 
 But snows fall dark or rains resound, 
 And while great Nature mourns around, 
 Her griefs infect the human soul. 
 
 AKENSIDE. 
 
 The flowers of the autumn are generally of 
 a larger size and richer colour than those of 
 the spring or summer, consequently they are 
 less delicate and more showy in appearance ; 
 and as many of them, such as the Hollyhock,
 
 INTRODUCTION. xltii 
 
 the Sunflower, and the Dahlia, &c., grow to 
 a considerable height and size, their proper 
 place is amongst shrubs ; for since there are 
 but few trees or large shrubs that make a 
 show at that time of the year, the plantation 
 will be greatly enlivened by this arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 The Chrysanthemums are also better 
 adapted to beautify the foreground of the 
 shrubbery than to ornament the parterre ; and 
 in planting them in such situations,, it should 
 be observed to place them so that the shrubs 
 may form a screen from the north, which will 
 add considerably to their time of duration. 
 It is also desirable to give as good a con- 
 trast as possible to the colour of the blos- 
 soms by the shade of the foliage before which 
 they are planted, observing to place purple 
 flowers before shrubs whose foliage is of a 
 yellowish cast, as the common Laurel, &c., 
 and those with white petals in front of the 
 darkest foliage, giving the yellow or copper- 
 coloured blossoms to the blue greens. Again, 
 in planting the China Asters, where the co- 
 lours are not ascertained, they should not be
 
 xliv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 planted too near the Chrysanthemums, ex- 
 cepting in front of the white variety, as the 
 general colours of these two kinds of flowers 
 are too similar to harmonize agreeably ; but 
 where the Purple Aster can be planted near 
 the Yellow Chrysanthemum, and vice versa, 
 the effect of both colours is heightened. 
 
 In planting flowers, an indiscriminate mix- 
 ture of colours is generally bad, although [it 
 may be admitted in some instances. Nature 
 seldom confuses her colours, and we should, 
 in arranging them, endeavour to imitate her 
 operations, and let the dyes 
 
 in bright suffusion flow, 
 
 That now with gold empyreal seem to glow, 
 Now in pellucid sapphires meet the view, 
 And emulate the soft celestial hue : 
 Now beam a flaming crimson to the eye, 
 And now assume the purple's deeper dye ; 
 But here description clouds each shining ray, 
 What terms of art can nature's power display ? 
 FALCONER.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 SPRING. 
 
 Page 
 
 Snowdrop. Galanthus nivalis ... 3 
 Hellebore. Helleborus . . . .15 
 
 Hepatica, or Noble Liverwort. Anemone Hepatica 24 
 Crocus. Crocus . .... . . 29 
 
 Daisy. Bellis ..... 34 
 
 Primrose. Primula .. . . . 48 
 
 Polyanthos . _- . . . ' 53 
 
 Violet. Viola odorata . . . ? > ' 60 
 
 Dog s Violet. Viola Canina . . .69 
 
 Pansy, or Heart's Ease. Viola tricolor . . 72 
 
 Wall-flower. Cheiranthus Cheiri . .77 
 
 Cowslip. Primula veris 4 . 84 
 
 Oxlip. Primula elatior . ' . ' * . 89 
 
 Narcissus. Narcissus . . ... 90 
 
 Daffodil " . ^. iA _. i . . ib. 
 
 Narcissus. Narcissus . ; . . .94 
 
 Jonquil. Jonquilla . . / "' 10 * 
 Anemone. Anemone . . . .103 
 
 The Garden Anemones . . 108
 
 Xlvi CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Hyacinth. Hyacinthus . . . . 116 
 
 Garden Hyacinth. Orientalis . 122 
 
 Tulip. Tulipa . . . 135 
 
 Lily of the Valley. Convallaria Majalis . . 153 
 
 Periwinkle. Vinca . .. : . . . 165 
 
 Ranunculus . . . 1 73 
 
 Iris . ... .' . . 187 
 
 Dwarf Iris. Pumila . *_. . .196 
 
 The Caledonian Iris. Susiana . *. 197 
 
 Auricula. Primula Auricula . . . 203 
 
 Orchis. Orchis, or Satyrion . . . 215 
 
 Fritillary. Fritillaria . " . . . 230 
 
 Persian Fritillary, or Persian Lily. Fritillaria 
 Persica . . .240 
 
 Common Fritillary, or Chequered Lily. Fritil- 
 laria Meleagris -.' . . 241 
 Gentian. Gentiana . . . .246 
 Virginian Cowslip. Dodecatheon Meadia . 252 
 Dog's Tooth Violet. Erythronium ' . . 257 
 Sessile Trillium. Trillium Sessile . . - 262 
 Saxifrage. Saxifraga '. , .265 
 
 London Pride, or None-so-pretty. Saxifraga 
 
 umbrosa . ' . . . . 266 
 
 Star of Bethlehem. Ornithogalum . . 269 
 
 Yellow Star of Bethlehem. Ornithogalum Lu- 
 
 teum . . . . 271 
 
 Honesty. Lunaria . . 273 
 
 Candy-Tuft. Jberis . ' . . 284 
 
 Sweet-scented Tussilage. Tussilago Fragrans . 289 
 Cyclamen, or Sow-Bread. Cyclamen . '" . 294 
 
 Arum and C alia. Arum . '.'" ' . . 298 
 
 Cuckoo Pint, or Wake Robin. Arum Maculatum 303
 
 CONTENTS. Xlvii 
 
 Page 
 
 Cardamine. Nasturtium Pratense . . 308 
 
 Leopard's Bane. Doronicum Pardalianches . 311 
 
 Rocket. Hesperis . . . . 315 
 
 The Garden Rocket, or Dame's Violet. Hesperis 
 
 Matronalis . . . .318 
 
 Mandrake. Atropa Mandragora . . . 324
 
 SPRING. 
 
 Here Spring appears, with flowery chaplets bound. 
 
 Pride of the year, purpureal Spring ! attend, 
 And in the cheek of these sweet innocents 
 Behold your beauties pictured. 
 
 MASON. 
 
 Fresh Spring, the herald of love's mighty king, 
 In whose cote-armour richly are display'd 
 
 All sorts of flowres the which on earth do spring, 
 In goodly colours gloriously array'd. 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 When Spring begins the dewy scene, 
 How sweet to walk the velvet green ; 
 And hear the zephyr's languid sighs, 
 As o'er the scented mead he flies ! 
 
 MOORE'S Anacreon, Ode xli. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ....-V
 
 SNOWDROP. Galanthus nivalis. 
 
 Natural Order Spathaceee. Narcissi, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Hexandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Fair-handed Spring unbosoms every grace, 
 Throws out the Snowdrop and the Crocus first. 
 
 THOMSON". 
 
 As the dove was sent forth from the ark to learn 
 whether the waters were abated, so does the Snow- 
 drop seem selected by Flora to find whether the 
 frost be mitigated, and as a herald to announce the 
 arrival of her garland. It is the first flower that 
 awakes from the repose of winter, and cheers u& 
 with the assurance of the re-animation of nature ; 
 and hence it has been made the emblem of con- 
 solation. 
 
 This delicate blossom was formerly held sacred 
 to virgins ; and this may account for its being so 
 generally found in the orchards and gardens at- 
 tached to old monastic buildings. 
 
 A flow'r that first in this sweet garden smiled, 
 To virgins sacred, and the Snowdrop styled. 
 
 TlCKELL. 
 
 The Snowdrop stands in most of our late bo- 
 tanical works as a native plant, but it appears to 
 
 B 2
 
 4 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 us not to have been originally indigenous to the 
 British soil, from its being so rarely found except- 
 ing in spots that are known to have been the site 
 of ancient gardens. It is unnoticed in the works 
 of our oldest herbalists, and no allusions are made 
 to it by our early poets. 
 
 Gerard says, " These plants do grow wilde in, 
 Italic and the places adjacent, notwithstanding our 
 London gardens haue taken possession of them all, 
 many yeeres past." This old author calls it Leu- 
 coium Bulbosum prcecox, Timely-flowering Bulbous 
 Violet. In a Dutch work on bulbous flowers, 
 published in 1614, it is called Leucoium Bulbosum 
 Triphyllon ; and it is there mentioned as growing 
 common in Italy, whilst in Holland it was at that 
 time very seldom found, excepting in the gardens 
 of the curious. 
 
 <( In Italia frequens est, hie nisi in hortis curi- 
 osorum minime invenitur" 
 
 The writer of the same work has pictured a 
 second species of Snowdrop, with broader leaves 
 and of a larger size, which is named Leucohim 
 bulbosum Byzantinum prcecox, and which is stated 
 to be odorous. This, we presume, is the viola alba 
 et viola bulbosa of Theophrastus ; the Leucojum 
 vernum of modern times, which Mr. Curtis named 
 Snowflake, to distinguish it from the Snowdrop. 
 
 The name of Galanthus, which is given to the
 
 SNOWDROP. 5 
 
 Snowdrop, is from 7X and avQor (milk and flower) 
 on account of the milky whiteness of the corolla. 
 The Italians call it Pianterella ; the Germans 
 Schneegloechern, snowbell; and the French have 
 named it Perce Neiye, because it often pierces 
 through the snow. Their poet, Benserade, makes 
 this flower say 
 
 Sous un voile d' argent, la terre ensevelie, 
 
 Me produit ; malgre sa fraicheur, 
 I/a Neige conserve ma vie, 
 
 Et me donnant son nom, me donne sa blancheur. 
 
 The English name of Snowdrop is no less appro- 
 priate for this delicate flower, which Mrs. Barbauld 
 thus elegantly notices : 
 
 Now the glad earth her frozen zone unbinds, 
 And o'er her bosom breathe the western winds ; 
 Already now the Snowdrop dares appear, 
 The first pale blossom of th' unripen'd year ; 
 As Flora's breath, by some transforming power, 
 Had changed an icicle into a flower : 
 Its name and hue the scentless plant retains, 
 And winter lingers in its icy veins. 
 
 This early blossom demands our particular 
 attention to its formation, which is so admirably 
 adapted to the days of north winds and the nights 
 of hoar frost, that it is impossible to observe it 
 without acknowledging with what infinite wisdom 
 nature has formed her lowest works. The delicacy 
 with which the corolla is attached to the flower- 
 stalk enables it to move with the winds in every
 
 6 FLORA HISTOR1CA. 
 
 direction, without fear of snapping or suffering the 
 air to defraud the stigma of its necessary part of 
 the farina, whilst its modest and pendent position 
 is calculated to throw off all superfluous moisture 
 in order that the parts of fructification may be so 
 secured as to replenish the earth with its seed. 
 The pure white that is given to the petals of this 
 flower, contributes, in a no less happy degree, to 
 the perfecting of the pollen, as it causes them to 
 act as reflectors to throw all the light and warmth 
 on the anthers, which, at the chilling season of the 
 year, when the Snowdrop flowers, is particularly 
 necessary. The verses of our fair countrywomen 
 will prove how attractive this early plant has been 
 to their poetical imaginations. 
 
 The Snowdrop, winter's timid child, 
 
 Awakes to life, bedew'd with tears, 
 And flings around its fragrance mild ; 
 And where no rival flow'rets bloom, 
 Amidst the bare and chilling gloom 
 
 A beauteous gem appears ! 
 
 All weak and wan, with head inclined, 
 
 Its parent breast the drifted snow, 
 It trembles, while the ruthless wind 
 Bends its slim form ; the tempest lowers, 
 Its emerald eye drops crystal showers 
 
 On its cold bed below. 
 
 Poor flow'r ! on thee the sunny beam 
 No touch of genial warmth bestows ! 
 
 Except to thaw the icy stream 
 
 Whose little current purls along, 
 
 Keeping a quiet undersong, 
 And whelms thee as it flows.
 
 SNOWDROP. f 
 
 The night breeze tears thy silky dress, 
 Which deck'd with silv'ry lustre shone ; 
 
 The moon returns, not thee to bless 
 
 The gaudy Crocus flaunts its pride, 
 
 And triumphs, where its rival died 
 Unshelter'd and unknown ! 
 
 Where'er I find thee, gentle flow'r, 
 
 Thou still art sweet and dear to me ! 
 F or I have known the cheerless hour, 
 Have seen the sunbeams cold and pale, 
 Have felt the chilling wintry gale, 
 
 And wept and shrunk like thee ! 
 
 MAR.Y ROBINSON. 
 
 Less melancholy, but not less plaintive, are the 
 lines of Mrs. Charlotte Smith, on this pale flower, 
 which her pen thus pictures : 
 
 Like pendent flakes of vegetating snow, 
 
 The early herald of the infant year, 
 Ere yet th' adventurous Crocus dares to blow, 
 
 Beneath the orchard boughs thy buds appeal'. 
 While still the cold north-east ungenial lowers, 
 
 And scarce the hazel in the leafless copse, 
 Or sallows show their downy powdered flowers. 
 
 The grass is spangled with thy silver drops. 
 
 Yet when those pallid blossoms shall give place 
 To countless tribes, of richer hue and scent, 
 
 Summer's gay blooms, and Autumn's yellow race, 
 I shall thy pale, inodorous bells lament. 
 
 So journeying onward in life's varying track, 
 Even while warm youth its bright illusion lends, 
 
 Fond memory often with regret looks back 
 To childhood's pleasures, and to infant friends. 
 
 Of this early flowering bulb, Cordelia Skeeles 
 says,
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Poets still, in graceful numbers, 
 May the glowing Roses choose, 
 
 But the Snowdrop's simple beauty 
 Better suits an humble muse. 
 
 Earliest bud that decks the garden, 
 
 Fairest of the fragrant race, 
 First-born child of vernal Flora, 
 
 Seeking mild thy lowly place ; 
 
 Though no warm or murmuring zephyr 
 Fan thy leaves with balmy wing, 
 
 Pleased we hail thee, spotless blossom, 
 Herald of the infant spring. 
 
 Through the cold and cheerless season, 
 Soft thy tender form expands, 
 
 Safe in unaspiring graces, 
 
 Foremost of the bloomy bands. 
 
 "VVhite-robed flow'r, in lonely beauty, 
 
 Rising from a wintry bed : 
 Chilling winds, and blasts ungenial, 
 
 Rudely threat'iiing round thy head. 
 
 Silv'ry bud, thy pensile foliage, 
 Seems the angry blast to fear ; 
 
 Yet secure, thy tender texture 
 Ornaments the rising year. 
 
 No warm tints or vivid colouring 
 Paints thy bells with gaudy pride; 
 
 JMildly charm'd, we seek thy fragrance, 
 "Where no thorns insidious hide. 
 
 'Tis not thine with flaunting beauty 
 To attract the roving sight, 
 
 Nature, from her varied wardrobe, 
 Chose thy vest of purest white. 
 
 White as falls the fleecy show'r, 
 Thy soft form in sweetness grows ; 
 
 Not more fair the valley's treasure, 
 Nor more sweet her Lily blows.
 
 SNOWDROP. 9 
 
 Drooping harbinger of Flora, 
 
 Simply are thy blossoms dress'd ; 
 Artless, as the gentle virtues 
 
 Mansion'd in the blameless breast. 
 
 In the natural history of plants, none deserve the 
 attention of the curious more than those with bul- 
 bous flowers, particularly such as the Snowdrop, 
 and others that have a viviparous as well as ovipa- 
 rous power of producing their species ; and we are 
 in general less acquainted with the viviparous 
 nature of plants than with their oviparous manner 
 of increasing, although they do not vary more in 
 the latter method of propagation than they do in 
 the former. The phenomena in each case are 
 equally wonderful, and deserving more attention 
 than is in general bestowed on them. We know of 
 no animal either of the earth or of the waters that 
 has a double mode of increasing its species as the 
 Snowdrop has ; of which, whilst its seeds are 
 ripening in the air to multiply its kind after the 
 manner of eggs, the parent bulb is throwing off 
 perfect plants from its side into the earth. 
 
 It is the nature of bulbs in general to die when 
 they have once completely blossomed and produced 
 seed ; but this does not appear to be exactly the 
 case in respect to the Snowdrop, which, like the 
 bulb of the Hyacinth, seems to have the power of 
 forming a new germ in a different coat of the same 
 bulb. In the month of August, 1824, we took from 
 
 B 5
 
 10 FLORA HISrORlCA. 
 
 the earth some bulbs of the Snowdrop that had 
 flowered in the spring, and on dissecting them care- 
 fully we generally discovered two inner bulbs 
 enclosed in several envelopes of coats, one of which 
 was uniformly deficient in a germ, but which 
 appeared as active in accumulating strength for a 
 future germ, as the forward one was in sending 
 forth its flower-stalk. The coats of the bulb are 
 easily separated from the stool to which the germ 
 is firmly attached, and from which the fibrous roots 
 spring. Some of these fibres appear to enter be- 
 tween the different coats of the bulb, and there form 
 other bulbs, which as they become matured, sepa- 
 rate themselves from the old bulb, when the fibres 
 that enter the earth decay, which takes place as 
 soon as the plant has completely perfected its seed. 
 At this time the bulb is full and rich in glutinous 
 moisture that nourishes the future flower for the 
 plant : it does not lay in the dormant state that is 
 generally imagined, but nature works so secretly 
 and constantly in the bulb, and with such wonder- 
 ful exactness, that we have frequently discovered a 
 perfectly formed plant and flower within the small 
 germ of this little root. 
 
 If we could open and inbend our eye, 
 We all, like Moses, should espy, 
 Ev'n in a bush, the radiant Deity. 
 
 COWLET. 
 
 The common Snowdrop grows wild in some parts
 
 SNOWDROP. II 
 
 of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Silesia. It 
 has been known to flower in this country as early 
 as the middle of January, when the season has been 
 mild, but generally it does not appear before the 
 beginning of February. Frequently it may be 
 seen so immediately after the melting of the snow, 
 that it gives the idea of some straggling flakes 
 hanging undissolved on the blades of grass. 
 
 The Snowdrop appears to greatest advantage 
 when it is seen springing from the grassy banks of 
 an orchard, or on the undisturbed turfy rising 
 grounds of the garden ; for as it seldom flowers 
 well if removed oftener than every third year, it is 
 not calculated for borders that are annually turned 
 over ; but in small gardens it may be planted under 
 shrubs and trees, where it has a good effect, if 
 planted in large irregular clumps, for when planted 
 out singly, it makes no better appearance than a 
 spot of chalk would do on the earth. In lawns 
 and shrubberies, care sjiould be taken to place these 
 flowers plentifully in the most favourable spots that 
 are seen from the windows of the breakfast-room. 
 When planted in the grass lawn they should have 
 the appearance of growing wild, and therefore all 
 formal clumps must be avoided, and they should 
 be scattered as it were by chance, thick in some 
 places, and thinly sprinkled in others, so as to con- 
 nect the more important clumps into one irregular
 
 12 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 mass. As grass plots seldom require mowing until 
 the time of the Snowdrop's flowering is over, it may 
 in many instances be planted in such sites to great 
 advantage. 
 
 August is the proper month to plant these bulbs. 
 They should be covered with about two inches of 
 earth, and placed at from one to two inches apart. 
 After the second year they increase rapidly ; when 
 they become too thick, they should be taken out of 
 the ground about Midsummer, and placed in a dry 
 room, for a space not exceeding two months. 
 
 The variety of Snowdrop with a double flower 
 is now nearly as common in our gardens as that 
 with single petals, whilst its more noble relative, 
 the Spring Snowflake, Leucojum vernum, continues 
 scarce even in the gardens of our best florists. 
 This flower differs from the Snowdrop, in having 
 a delightful fragrance, and a much larger corolla ; 
 but the most marked difference is the want of the 
 three-leaved nectary in the Leucnjum, which forms 
 a great beauty in the Galanthus or Snowdrop. 
 
 The Snowflake grows wild in moist woods and 
 shady places, in many parts of Italy and Ger- 
 many. It loves a north-east aspect, and a soil 
 composed of bog-earth and loam. In such situa- 
 tions it is propagated tolerably fast by offsets. 
 It blossoms about a month later than the Snow- 
 drop ; and this may account, in a great measure,
 
 SNOWDROP. 13 
 
 for its being more rarely cultivated at the pre- 
 sent time than it appears to have been in the 
 days of Queen Elizabeth, when Gerard wrote his 
 Herbal. 
 
 We have two other species of Leucojum, viz., 
 jEstimim, Summer Snowflake ; and the Autumnale, 
 Autumnal Snowflake. The latter is a native of 
 Portugal, and flowers in the month of September. 
 The former is an indigenous plant, that blossoms 
 in May, but as it loves a moister soil than gardens 
 in general afford, it is but seldom cultivated. It 
 has been found wild in the Isle of Dogs, opposite 
 Greenwich ; and Mr. Curtis also observed it grow- 
 ing naturally, close by the Thames, on the south 
 side between Woolwich and Greenwich. Mr. 
 Gough found it in a small island in the river, 
 about three miles south of Kendal, on the dam of 
 the gunpowder mill. It grows in similar situa- 
 tions in Austria, Hungary, Tuscany, Carniola, and 
 Silesia. 
 
 We shall conclude our history of the Snowdrop 
 with the following contemplative lines : 
 
 Haste, lovely stranger, venture forth, 
 
 Fear not the wintry blast ; 
 The keen and unrelenting North, 
 
 With all his train, is past. 
 
 Child of the spring, sweet Snowdrop, haste 
 
 Thy bosom to unfold ; 
 Ah ! dread the vernal hours to waste, 
 
 For soon returns the cold.
 
 14 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Go bid Eliza contemplate, 
 
 Fair moralist, thy doom ; 
 How soon, alas ! thy cruel fate 
 
 Condemns thee to the tomb. 
 
 Though clothed thou art in lilied vest, 
 And delicate 's thy charm ; 
 
 Though of a thousand sweets possest, 
 Thou canst not Fate disarm. 
 
 Then, Snowdrop, catch the fleeting gale, 
 While zephyr gently woos ; 
 
 And bid Eliza now bewail 
 Her vernal prime to lose. 
 
 Ah ! let her dread that season past, 
 While youthful hours beguile ; 
 
 Too soon, alas ! the winter's blast 
 Will steal her dimpled smile.
 
 HELLEBORE. 15 
 
 HELLEBORE. Helleborus. 
 
 Natural Order Multisiliquce. Hanunculacea, Juss. A 
 Genus of the Polyandria Polygynia Class. 
 
 L'Ellebore est la fleur des fous, 
 On la dedie a maint poete. 
 
 FEW plants have been more celebrated by the phy- 
 sicians of antiquity than the Hellebore, and hence 
 it made a conspicuous figure in the poetical fables 
 of early writers ; but it seems to have been so en- 
 tirely neglected by the bards of our own country 
 as to leave this chapter without an English verse at 
 the head. 
 
 The Black Hellebore, Helleborus niger, demands 
 our admiration, both from the early season of its 
 flowering, and the beauty of its blossom. It is ge- 
 nerally called the Christmas Rose, because it fre- 
 quently expands its petals at that season, which, 
 having a resemblance to the common Dog Rose of 
 our hedges, has gained it this name. Our caution 
 is equally demanded against the whole of the Hel- 
 lebore family of plants, on account of the dangerous 
 properties of their roots and leaves, which are 
 known to possess a most virulent poison.
 
 ]6 FLORA HISTORIC.*. 
 
 The name of this plant is derived from two 
 Greek words, helein, to destroy, and bora, pasture, 
 which indicate its pernicious qualities in such situa- 
 tions. 
 
 The species of this plant called Christmas Rose 
 has been named Black Hellebore, from the black 
 colour of its roots ; and Melampodium, in honour of 
 Melampus, a celebrated physician, who flourished 
 at Pylos, in Peloponnesus, about a hundred years 
 after the time of Moses, or 1530 years, or there- 
 abouts, before the birth of Christ. Melampus tra- 
 velled into Egypt, which was the seat of science at 
 that period, to study medicine. He afterwards 
 cured the daughters of Prcetus, king of Argos, of 
 mental derangement with Hellebore, and from this 
 circumstance it became so celebrated a medicine for 
 mad people, that naviga ad Anticyram was a com- 
 mon proverb used to hypochondriacal persons, 
 which meant " Sail to Anticyra," an island in the 
 Gulf of Corinth, where the Hellebore flourished in 
 great abundance. 
 
 Melampus, it is said, became acquainted with the 
 cathartic qualities of the Hellebore, by observing 
 the effects it took upon his goats, which had eaten 
 of this vegetable. Pliny mentions that the daugh- 
 ters of Prcetus were restored to their senses by 
 drinking the milk of goats which had fed upon 
 Hellebore ; but the earlier writers state that these
 
 HELLEBORE. 17 
 
 princesses were ordered to bathe in a cold fountain 
 after taking the Hellebore, and this is the first 
 instance upon record of the use of cathartics and 
 bathing with a medicinal view. Melampus gained 
 still greater honour by correcting the defects of 
 Iphiclus's constitution, prescribing to him to take 
 the rust of iron in his wine for ten days succes- 
 sively. Thus we find that the celebrated steel me- 
 dicine of the present day was in use as long back 
 as 3350 years. At that early period, the physicians 
 were held as a sacred order of men, and Diodorus 
 Siculus states that none durst profess physic in 
 Egypt, without being admitted as a member of the 
 College of Priests. They were also considered as 
 soothsayers and prophets, from their pretending to 
 be assisted by incantations and charms, the origin 
 of which arts seems almost coeval with the inven- 
 tion of physic itself; and these solemn mysteries 
 were no doubt resorted to in order to create a ve- 
 neration and faith in the minds of the patients for 
 their physicians, which, however ridiculous it may 
 appear to us, might have had great effect on the 
 ininds of the vulgar, as it is an established opinion 
 that the body is often influenced by the affections 
 of the mind. 
 
 We have made this digression to show the 
 origin of many of the superstitious customs of the 
 Greeks and Romans respecting plants. That these
 
 18 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 latter people should bring their superstitions to 
 this country is natural, and, in many instances, we 
 may still perceive the impression these customs 
 made on the minds of the ignorant part of the po- 
 pulation of our island. 
 
 The Black Hellebore was used by the ancients 
 to purify their houses, and to hallow their dwell- 
 ings ; and they had a belief that by strewing or 
 perfuming their apartments with this plant, they 
 drove away evil spirits. This ceremony was 
 performed with great devotion, and accompanied 
 with the singing of solemn hymns. In the same 
 manner they blessed their cattle with the Hellebore, 
 to keep them free from the spells of the wicked. 
 
 What magic has bewitched the woolly dams, ' 
 And what ill eyes beheld the tender lambs. 
 
 VIKGIL, Pastoral III. 
 
 For these purposes it was dug up with many 
 religious ceremonies, as that of first drawing a 
 circle round the plant with a sword, and then, turn- 
 ing to the east, an humble prayer was made by the 
 devotee to Apollo and ^Esculapius, for leave to 
 dig up the root ; and the flight of the eagle was 
 particularly attended to during the ceremony, for 
 when this bird approached near the spot during 
 the celebration of the rites, it was considered so 
 ominous as to predict the certain death of the per- 
 son who took up the plant, in the course of the
 
 HELLEBORE. 19 
 
 year. In digging up the roots of some species of 
 Hellebore it was thought necessary to eat garlic 
 previously, to counteract the poisonous effluvia of 
 the plant ; yet we find that the root was afterwards 
 dried and pounded to dust, and sniffed up the 
 nostrils in the manner of snuff; as it is related that 
 when Carueades, the Cyrenaic philosopher, under- 
 took to answer the books of Zeno, he sharpened his 
 wit and quickened his spirit, by purging his head 
 with powdered Hellebore*. 
 
 In the year 1676, the author of c ' The Anatomy 
 of Melancholy" adds the Hellebore to the other 
 emblematical figures of his frontispiece, with the 
 following lines : 
 
 Borage and Hellebor fill two scenes, 
 Soveraign plants to purge the veins 
 Of melancholy, and cheer the heart 
 Of those black fumes which make it smart ; 
 To clear the brain of misty fogs, 
 Which dull our senses, and soul clogs ; 
 The best medicine that e'er God made 
 For this malady, if well assaid. 
 
 To these lines we add a cautionary verse from 
 Dray ton : 
 
 Here Henbane, Poppy, Hemlock here, 
 
 Procuring deadly sleeping; 
 Which I do minister with fear 
 
 Not fit for each man's keeping. 
 
 * Dioscorides, lib. 4, cap. 151. PLIXY, lib. 25, cap. 5.
 
 20 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great reverence with which 
 the ancients regarded this plant, it was considered 
 by most of their writers as a rough medicine'; and 
 as many country people are in the habit of giving 
 the powder of Hellebore to their children for the 
 worms, we shall show how dangerous an herb it is, 
 by extracting an anecdote out of Martyn's Tour- 
 nefort. 
 
 t( Some years ago, when the ground was covered 
 with a very deep snow, a flock of sheep, in Ox- 
 mead, near Fulborn, in Cambridgeshire, finding 
 nothing but this herb above the snow, ate plentifully 
 of it. They soon appeared terribly out of order, 
 and most of them died, a few being saved, by timely 
 giving them some oil, which made them cast up 
 this herb. Some of those which died, being opened, 
 were found to have their stomachs greatly inflamed. 
 This account I had from the man who attended 
 them. He went with me to the very spot, and as 
 he pointed out the herb which poisoned them, I 
 found it to be the species of Hellebore called Niger 
 foetidus." 
 
 Formerly the Gauls never went to the chase 
 without rubbing the points of their arrows with this 
 herb, believing that it rendered all the game killed 
 with them the more tender. 
 
 This reputed specific for the cure of melancholy 
 and madness, was an inmate of our gardens prior
 
 HELLEBORE. 21 
 
 to 1597, as Gerard tells us it was then growing in 
 his garden. Like the Snowdrop, the Black Helle- 
 bore should be planted in considerable quantities 
 to give effect ; it loves a pure air, and will not 
 therefore flourish within the precincts of London. 
 
 The Winter Hellebore, Helleborus hyemalis, 
 blossoms with a yellow flower in February, and is, 
 therefore, a proper plant to give contrast to the 
 snowdrop, either in wilderness walks or under trees 
 in the shrubbery. It grows wild in mountainous 
 situations in Lombardy, Italy, Austria, Silesia, 
 and Switzerland. Our early writers call it Winter 
 Wolf's-bane, Small Yellow Wolf's-bane, Yellow- 
 Aconite, and Winter Aconite. It should never be 
 allowed a place in the kitchen-garden, since fatal 
 accidents have arisen from mistaking this root for 
 that of horseradish. No Ion get back than the 3d of 
 January, 1822, an inquest was held at Frodsham, 
 Cheshire, on the body of Mrs. Gorst, who died in. 
 consequence of eating this root, it having been 
 brought to table for horseradish. Her brother-in- 
 law was near falling a sacrifice at the same time. 
 
 These early embellishers of the garden are propa- 
 gated by parting the roots any time between the 
 months of June and October. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Paris it is common to 
 cultivate Hellebore in pots, as an ornament for the 
 house.
 
 22 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The Great Three-leaved, or Green Hellebore, 
 Viridis, is a native of our woods, and produces a 
 green flower in the month of April. The Bear's- 
 foot, or Stinking Hellebore, is indigenous to our 
 chalky pastures. We have also introduced one 
 species from North America, called Trifolius, or 
 small three-leaved Hellebore. 
 
 With every desire to caution the ignorant against 
 the use of these dangerous plants, we cannot avoid 
 recommending the faculty to turn their serious 
 attention to this medicinal herb, so celebrated by 
 the Egyptian and Greek physicians of old as the 
 most effectual remedy for the diseases of mania, 
 apoplexy, epilepsy, dropsy, and gout. Mr. Waller 
 tells us in his Domestic Herbal, that " he remem- 
 bers, in the depot for French prisoners of war at 
 Norman-cross, in the year 1806, that a peculiar 
 disease, called Nyctalopia, was very prevalent 
 among them. The symptoms which distinguish 
 this disease are, that the patient becomes by degrees 
 perfectly blind from the moment of sunset till|the 
 re-appearance of the sun next morning. This 
 disease affected a great number of the prisoners, 
 who were obliged to be led about by their comrades 
 immediately after sunset, and all of them, at the 
 same time, were labouring under symptoms of ex- 
 treme dyspepsia. After a variety of treatment 
 ineffectually applied, the powder of Black Helle-
 
 HELLEBORE. 23 
 
 bore was given them as snuff. As they were most 
 of them attached to the use of snuff, and had been 
 for a long time deprived of it, they took the Helle- 
 bore with avidity, and generally recovered from 
 their nyctalopia in the course of a very few days, 
 and the dyspeptic symptoms were at the same time 
 greatly relieved. There is no doubt (says the same 
 author) that in many other affections of the head 
 the same treatment would be found extremely effi- 
 cacious, and is well worthy of trial in many chronic 
 diseases of the eyes, particularly in the early stage 
 of gutta serena." 
 
 Of this plant Juvenal sarcastically observes 
 
 Danda est eltebori multo pars maxima avaris. 
 IMisers need a double dose of Hellebore.
 
 24 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 HEPATICA, OR NOBLE LIVERWORT. 
 
 Anemone Hepatica. 
 
 Natural Order Multisiliqua. Ranunculaceee, Juss. 
 A Genus of the Polyandria Polygynia Class. 
 
 Here blushing Flora paints th' enamell'd ground, 
 Where frosts have whiten' d all the naked groves. 
 
 POPE. 
 
 THIS charming little plant, which the florist has 
 brought from the woods and shady mountains of 
 Italy, Germany, and Sweden, to embellish our ver- 
 nal parterres, offers its blossoms, with those of the 
 Snowdrop, to form our earliest garland. Although 
 it is of humble growth, the Hepatica shines as one 
 of the greatest beauties of the spring, and induces 
 us to exclaim with Mason, 
 
 Stay, pitying Time ! prolong their vernal hliss. 
 
 As no flower-garden ought to be without this 
 hardy and early species of Anemone, and few pos- 
 sess it so plentifully as to shew it to full advan- 
 tage, we shall strongly recommend the careful in- 
 crease of this favourite flower of February and 
 March. It loves a strong loamy soil and an eastern 
 aspect, but will flourish in almost any earth and
 
 HEPATICA. 25 
 
 situation where it can receive a pure air. The 
 Hepatica should be planted in clumps of at least a 
 dozen plants each, about six inches apart, and 
 these should never be taken up or transplanted, 
 except to form fresh clumps, as they frequently die 
 after being removed, and never flower well until 
 about the third year after they are planted. The 
 double varieties are increased by parting the roots 
 when in blossom, which is contrary to the general 
 mode of planting flowers ; March is therefore the 
 best time for forming clumps of these plants, 
 which, like their relatives, seem to delight in the 
 wind . 
 
 And coy Anemone, that ne'er uncloses 
 
 Her lips until they're blown on by the wind. 
 
 H. SMITH'S Amarynihus. 
 
 We have found these flowers to have the most 
 agreeable effect when the different varieties have 
 been kept in distinct clumps ; the Single Blue He- 
 patica being divided by other early flowers from 
 the red or white varieties; and as the Double 
 Hepaticas blossom about a fortnight later, they 
 should never be mixed with the single sorts, but 
 in some situations they may form a mass, inter- 
 mingled with the Yellow Hellebore and the White 
 Snowdrop, giving the shrubbery the appearance of 
 
 being 
 
 fringed in Nature's native taste, 
 
 The hillocks dropt in Nature's careless haste. 
 
 BURNS. 
 VOL. i. c
 
 26 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The name of Hepatica for this plant is from the 
 Greek word hepatikos, which signifies belonging to 
 the liver, as the form of the leaf is supposed to 
 resemble that of the liver. 
 
 It was formerly called Trinity Herb. We con- 
 clude this name was given to the plant on account 
 of its leaf, which has the appearance of three leaves 
 united into one. 
 
 The Single Hepatica was cultivated in our 
 gardens previous to the time of Gerard, who also 
 notices the double varieties, but states that they 
 are strangers to England, and it does not appear 
 that the Dutch florists were in possession of the 
 Double Hepaticas so late as 1614. In 1629, Par- 
 kinson tells us from Clusius, that Alphonsus Pon- 
 tius first sent them out of Italy, and Clusius further 
 states that the Hepatica with double flowers was 
 also found in the woods near the castle of Starnbey, 
 in Austria. 
 
 When flowers become double in their natural 
 situation, which is but rarely the case, it is owing 
 to some accidental circumstance analogous to 
 cultivation, such as keeping the seed out of the 
 earth beyond its due time, or its falling in situa- 
 tions where it has not the power of perfecting its 
 blossoms ; for a flower becomes more imperfect as 
 it is more doubled, the stamens often becoming 
 wholly converted into petals, as in the Double
 
 HEPATICA. 27 
 
 Hepatica, which is, therefore, not able to produce 
 seed. Such plants necessarily require the hand of 
 cultivation to prevent their becoming extinct. 
 
 The change of colour in plants is principally 
 owing to soil, and of this Mr. Bradley relates a 
 remarkable circumstance. " Some roots of the 
 Double Blue Hepatica were sent to Mr. Harrison, 
 of Henley-upon-Thames, from Mr. Keys's garden, 
 in Tothill-fields, whose soil was so different from, 
 the ground they were planted in at Henley, that 
 when they came to blossom there, they produced 
 white flowers, and were, therefore, returned back 
 to their first station, where they retook the blue 
 colour they had at first." 
 
 A few seasons ago,' a remarkable fine Hy- 
 drangea was exhibited at a meeting of the London 
 Horticultural Society, which had entirely changed 
 its pink tints to a perfect blue colour on being 
 planted in peat earth. We also recollect having 
 seen a Blue Hydrangea some years back, at a cot- 
 tage in Hampshire, cuttings from which we planted 
 in common garden mould ; the consequence was a 
 return to its natural pink hue. 
 
 The Single Hepaticas produce seeds every year ; 
 and by sowing them, new varieties may be obtained 
 as in other plants. The time recommended for 
 sowing the seed is the beginning of August. They 
 should be sown in pots or boxes filled with light 
 
 C 2
 
 23 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 earth ; these should be placed so as to receive only 
 the morning sun until October, when they may be 
 removed into a more general sunny situation. The 
 young plants will appear about March, and it is 
 desirable at that period to place them in a spot 
 shaded from all but the morning sun. The young 
 plants require watering in dry seasons, and may be 
 transplanted to their proper situations in the fol- 
 lowing August, observing to press the earth close 
 to their roots, to prevent their being drawn out of 
 the ground by worms.
 
 CROCUS. 29 
 
 CROCUS. Crocus. 
 
 Natural Order Ensatee. Irides, Juss. A Genus of 
 the Triandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Crocus and Smilax may be turn'd to flow'rs, 
 And the Curetes spring from bounteous show'rs ; 
 I pass a hundred legends stale as these, 
 And with sweet novelty your taste will please. 
 
 OVID, Book 4, Met. 4. 
 
 FABULOUS history derives the name of this flower 
 from a beautiful youth named Crocus, who was 
 consumed by the ardency of his love for Smilax ; 
 and afterwards metamorphosed into the plant which 
 still bears his name. Others suppose it to be taken 
 from Coriscus, a city and mountain of Cilicia. I 
 is one of the flowers of which Homer has composed 
 the genial couch of Jove and Juno. 
 
 And sudden Hyacinths the turf bestrow, 
 And flow'ry Crocus made the mountain glow. 
 
 Iliad, Book 4. 
 
 Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow- 
 Congeal' d, the Crocus' yellow bud to blow ? 
 Say, what retards, amidst the summer blaze, 
 Th' autumnal bulb, till pale, declining days ? 
 The God of Seasons whose pervading power 
 Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower ; 
 He bids each flower his quickening word obey, 
 Or to each ling'ring bloom enjoins delay. 
 
 WHITE.
 
 30 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The Spring Crocus is one of the greatest enliveners 
 of the flower-garden from February to April, and 
 when its bulbs are planted in sufficient quantities 
 to give effect, their gaiety is scarcely surpassed by 
 any plant on the parterre ; but like the Snowdrop, 
 it is generally too sparingly planted, or placed in 
 rows on each side the walk, reminding us of street- 
 lamps by night. Like the Hepatica, the different 
 varieties should be kept in distinct clumps, but not 
 in beds, like a nurseryman's garden, whose primary 
 object is to increase his plants. 
 
 In the borders of Flora, the hand of taste should 
 be displayed, but not in forming fanciful stars or 
 formal squares. Nature should be copied, who 
 sprinkles her plants with that beautiful irregularity 
 which the happiest art cannot surpass. Much must 
 depend, in planting flowers, on the size and form of 
 the garden ; but it will always be found that one rich 
 cluster of Crocuses, like a large brilliant, has a more 
 imposing effect than a hundred small diamonds. 
 
 The Crocus bulbs should not be removed oftener 
 than every third or fourth year, which is an addi- 
 tional reason for planting them in large patches. 
 They should be placed about two inches from each 
 other ; but where banks are to be covered with 
 them, they should be scattered much thinner at the 
 edges. If the earth is of a cold or damp nature, the 
 bulbs should not be covered more than about one
 
 CROCUS. 31 
 
 inch ; but where it is dry, light, or sandy, at least 
 two inches should be given them. 
 
 Crocuses will flower in water like Hyacinths and 
 other bulbs ; but when intended for the house, it is 
 preferable to plant them in pots of earth, which 
 should be kept moderately moist, and in a sunny 
 window ; but when in blossom, a more shady situa- 
 tion will lengthen the duration of their flowers. 
 
 The catalogues of modern florists mention nu- 
 merous varieties of the Spring Crocus. The yellow 
 is the most showy for the garden, and the purple 
 the most beautiful ; the white the least conspicuous, 
 and the striped the most curious, particularly the 
 blue striped, and the yellow striped with black. 
 Like the Tulip, new varieties with fanciful names, 
 are annually imported from Holland, but they are 
 seldom raised from seed in this country. 
 
 The Spring Crocus is a native of Italy and Spain. 
 In Switzerland it is found wild with white petals, 
 having a little purple at the base; and Gesner 
 found it with a yellow flower on the Glarus moun- 
 tains. 
 
 Both the purple and the white have been dis- 
 covered as natives of Austria. 
 
 The Crocus appears to have been first cultivated 
 in our gardens during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
 as Gerard observes that " That pleasant plant that 
 bringeth forth yellow flowers, was sent unto me 
 from Robinus of Paris."
 
 32 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 As it may greatly assist the cultivator of flowers 
 to understand the physiology of plants, and more 
 particularly of such bulbs as increase in the earth 
 by their viviparous powers, we notice those of the 
 most singular habits, which, we trust, will not be 
 found uninteresting to the general reader ; as by 
 want of attention to the time and mode of the in- 
 crease of bulbs, many plants are naturally lost by 
 the ignorant gardener, who frequently cuts off the 
 leaves of Crocuses when past flowering, for the sake 
 of neatness. This is a fatal error, as it weakens 
 their power of perfecting the new bulb, and conse- 
 quently of flowering the following year ; for whilst 
 the fibrous roots assist by suction the nourishment 
 of the future plant, the leaves contribute to it in a 
 no less degree, by their means of absorption and 
 exhalation for that gas forms a most vital principle 
 in the vegetable kingdom, is clearly ascertained by 
 the known quantity of carbonic acid which green 
 leaves take in during the day, and the portion of 
 oxygen they give out in a state of gas during the 
 night. Thus the leaves of plants are to vegetables 
 what the lungs are to the animal creation. The 
 bulb is merely a body that protects the heart, or 
 germ, from outward injury, whilst it receives and 
 contains the necessary nourishment to form a new 
 plant; and when it has filled its stores, the fibrous 
 roots and the foliage have their communication
 
 CROCUS. 33 
 
 stopped and wither at the same time, and until this 
 has taken place bulbs should never be removed. 
 
 The Crocus bulb differs from that of the Snow- 
 drop already described, by being a solid, instead of 
 a coated body ; consequently, the germ of the Cro- 
 cus is situated at the top instead of the bottom of 
 the bulb, and hence it is that the new bulbs are 
 thrown out at the top, instead of being separated at 
 the bottom, as in the instance of the Galanthus. 
 
 The Crocus frequently produces from three to 
 five new bulbs, but the parent is quite exhausted in 
 the nourishment it affords to its offspring and its 
 flower, leaving no part of the original bulb but a 
 dry outer skin or husk. Of the Autumna, or 
 Saffron Crocus, we have written at large in the 
 History of cultivated Vegetables
 
 34 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 DAISY. Bellis. 
 
 Natural Order Cmpositce Discoidea. Corymbiferce, 
 Juss. A Genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Super- 
 flua Class. 
 
 By dimpled brook and fountain brim, 
 
 The wood-nymphs, deck'd with Daisies trim, 
 
 Their merry wakes and pastimes keep. 
 
 MILTON'S Comus. 
 
 THE Daisy has been made the emblem of Innocence, 
 because it contributes more than any other flower 
 to infantine amusement and the joys of childhood : 
 
 in the spring and play-time of the year, 
 
 That calls the unwonted villager abroad 
 With all her little ones, a sportive train, 
 To gather kingcups in the yellow mead, 
 And prank their hair with Daisies. 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 Those who have passed their early days amongst 
 Daisy-spangled meadows will forcibly feel the many 
 sweet allusions made to this favourite plaything of 
 infancy by the poet in manhood. The very name 
 of this star of the fields seems to renovate the ima- 
 gination, and carry us back to our earliest pleasures; 
 and to shew that we are not the only people who 
 sport in our youth with this pretty flower, we shall
 
 DAISY. 35 
 
 notice a French verse, and a game of their playful 
 children, who, forming a circle, strip off a petal 
 each from the single Daisy, repeating, II m'aime 
 un pen, passionement, pas du tout, and so on to 
 the last, fearing all the time to pronounce the word 
 in which the circle should finish. 
 
 La blanche et simple Paquerette, 
 Que ton. cceur consulte sur tout, 
 Dit : ton amant, tendre fillette, 
 T'aime, un peu, beaucoup, point du tout. 
 
 The French name this flower Marguerite as well 
 as Paquerette. Thence St. Louis took for a device 
 on his ring a Daisy and a Lily, in allusion to the 
 name of the Queen, his wife, and to the arms of 
 France, to which he added a sapphire, on which a 
 crucifix was engraved, surrounded with this motto : 
 " Hors cet annuel, pourrions-nous trouver 
 amour ?" because, as this prince said, it was the 
 emblem of all he held most dear religion, France, 
 and his spouse. Lady Margaret, Countess of 
 Richmond, bore three white Daisies (Marguerites) 
 on a green turf. 
 
 How much this little flower was regarded in the 
 fourteenth century, by the father of English poetry, 
 the frequent mention and high commendation of 
 Chaucer will prove. 
 
 of all the floures in the mede, 
 
 Then love I most these floures white and rede,
 
 36 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Such that men callen Daisies in our town : 
 To them I have so great affectioun, 
 As I sayd erst, when comen is the Maie, 
 That in my bedde there dawneth me no dale, 
 That I n'am up, and walking in the mede 
 To seen this floure ayenst the sunne sprede. 
 When it upriseth early by the morrow, 
 That blissful sight softeneth my sorrow, 
 So glad am I, when that I have presence 
 Of it, to done it all reverence, 
 As she that is of all floures the floure, 
 Fulfilled of all vertue and honoure, 
 And every ylike faire, and fresh of hewe, 
 And ever I love it, and ever ylike newe, 
 And ever shall, until mine herte die, 
 All sweare I not, of this I woll not lie. 
 There loved no wight hotter in his life, 
 And when that it is eve I renne blithe, 
 As soon as ever the sunne ginneth west, 
 To seen this floure, how it woll go to rest, 
 For fear of night, so hateth she darknesse ; 
 Her chere is plainly spred in the brightnesse 
 Of the sunne, for there it woll unclose. 
 
 Shakspeare celebrates this flower in his favourite 
 song to Spring. 
 
 When Daisies pied, and violets blue, 
 
 And lady-smocks all silver white, 
 And cuckoo buds of yellow hue, 
 
 Do paint the meadows with delight. 
 
 Lore's Labour's Lost. 
 
 The lines of Montgomery, as well as those of 
 Burns, are too beautiful to have a verse omitted, as 
 our " Meadows trim, with Daisies pied," are seen 
 with additional interest when these poems are re- 
 called to our memory. The former says
 
 DAISY. 37 
 
 There is a flower, a little flower 
 
 With silver crest and golden eye, 
 That welcomes every changing hour, 
 
 And weathers every sky. 
 
 The prouder beauties of the field 
 
 In gay but quick succession shine ; 
 Eace after race their honours yield, 
 
 They nourish and decline. 
 
 But this small flower, to nature dear, 
 While moon and stars their courses run, 
 
 Wreaths the whole circle of the year, 
 Companion of the sun. 
 
 It smiles upon the lap of May ; 
 
 To sultry August spreads its charms ; 
 Lights pale October on his way, 
 
 And twines December's arms. 
 
 The purple heath, and golden broom, 
 
 On moory mountains catch the gale ; 
 O'er lawns the lily sheds perfume, 
 
 The violet in the vale. 
 
 But this bold floweret climbs the hill, 
 
 Hides in the forest, haunts the glen, 
 Plays on the margin of the rill, 
 
 Peeps round the fox's den. 
 
 Within the garden's cultured round 
 
 It shares the sweet carnation's bed ; 
 And blooms on consecrated ground, 
 
 In honour of the dead. 
 
 The lambkin crops its crimson gem, 
 
 The wild bee murmurs on its breast, 
 The blue fly bends its pensile stem, 
 
 That decks the skylark's nest. 
 
 'Tis Flora's page : in every place, 
 
 In every season, fresh and fair, 
 It opens with perennial grace, 
 
 And blossoms every where.
 
 38 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 On waste and woodland, rock and plain, 
 
 Its humble buds unheeded rise ; 
 The rose has but a summer reign, 
 
 The Daisy never dies. 
 
 The Ayrshire ploughman thus regrets the death 
 his ploughshare is giving to the Mountain Daisy. 
 
 Small, modest, crimson-tipped flower, 
 Thou'st met me in an evil hour, 
 For I must crush among the stour 
 
 Thy slender stem : 
 To spare thee now is past my power, 
 
 Thou bonny gem. 
 
 Alas ! 'tis no' thy neighbour sweet, 
 The bonny lark, companion meet, 
 Bending thee 'mong the dewy weet, 
 
 With speckled breast : 
 When upward springing, blithe to greet 
 
 The purpling east. 
 
 Cold blew the bitter-biting North 
 
 Upon thy humble birth, 
 
 Yet cheerfully thou venturest forth. 
 
 Amid the storm, 
 Scarce rear'd above the parent-earth 
 
 Thy tender form. 
 
 The flaunting flowers our gardens yield, 
 High-sheltering woods and walks must shield ; 
 But thou between the random, bield 
 
 Of clod or stone, 
 Adorn' st the rugged stubble-field, 
 
 Unseen, alone. 
 
 There in thy scanty mantle clad, 
 Thy snowy bosom sunward spread, 
 Thou lift'st thy unassuming head 
 
 In humble guise ; 
 But now the share uptears thy bed, 
 
 And low thou lies ! 
 
 BURNS.
 
 DAISY. 39 
 
 Wordsworth and W. Browne seem to regard this 
 native plant with no less affection than the foregoing 
 poets ; and as it is a flower that we have so fre- 
 quently gambled over in the sports of our infancy, 
 reclined among in the idle moments of our youth, 
 and trodden down in the days of our reflection, we 
 therefore cull this poetical garland of Daisies with a 
 view of reviving agreeable remembrances. 
 
 The Daisy scattered on each meade and downe, 
 A golden tufte within a silver croune ; 
 Fayre fall that dainty flowre ! and may there be 
 No shepherd graced that doth not honour thee ! 
 
 In youth from rock to rock I went, 
 From hill to hill, in discontent, 
 Of pleasure high and turbulent, 
 
 Most pleased when most uneasy ; 
 But now my own delights I make, 
 My thirst at every rill can slake, 
 And gladly Nature's love partake 
 
 Of thee, sweet Daisy ! 
 
 When soothed awhile by milder airs, 
 Thee Winter in the garland wears, 
 That thinly shades his few gray hairs, 
 
 Spring cannot shun thee ; 
 W r hole summer fields are thine by right, 
 And Autumn, melancholy wight, 
 Doth in thy crimson head delight 
 
 W r hen rains are on thee. 
 
 In shoals and bands, a morrice train, 
 Thou greet' st the traveller in the lane ; 
 If welcomed once thou count'st it gain,
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Thou art not daunted ; 
 Nor carest if thou be set at nought ; 
 And oft alone in nooks remote, 
 We meet thee, like a pleasant thought, 
 
 When such are wanted. 
 
 Be Violets, in their secret mews, 
 
 The flowers the wanton Zephyrs choose ; 
 
 Proud be the Rose, with rains and dews 
 
 Her head impearling : 
 Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim, 
 Yet hast not gone without thy fame ; 
 Thou art indeed, by many a claim, 
 
 The poet's darling. 
 
 If to a rock from rains he fly, 
 Or some bright day of April sky, 
 Imprison'd by hot sunshine lie 
 
 Near the green holly ; 
 And wearily at length should fare, 
 He need but look about, and there 
 Thou art ! a friend at hand, to scare 
 
 His melancholy. 
 
 A hundred times, by rock or bower, 
 Ere thus I have lain couch'd an hour, 
 Have I derived from thy sweet power 
 
 Some apprehension ; 
 Some steady love, some brief delight, 
 Some memory that had taken flight, 
 Some chime of fancy, wrong or right, 
 
 Or stray invention. 
 
 If stately passions in me burn, 
 
 And one chance look to thee should turn, 
 
 I drink out of an humbler urn 
 
 A lowlier pleasure ; 
 The homely sympathy that heeds 
 The common life our nature breeds, 
 A wisdom fitted to the needs 
 
 Of hearts at leisure.
 
 DAISY. 41 
 
 When, smitten by the morning ray, 
 
 I see thee rise alert and gay, 
 
 Then, cheerful flower ! my spirits play 
 
 With kindred gladness ; 
 And when, at dusk, by dews opprest 
 Thou sink'st, the image of thy rest 
 Hath often eased my pensive breast 
 
 Of careful sadness. 
 
 And all day long I number yet, 
 All seasons through, another debt, 
 Which I, wherever thou art met, 
 
 To thee am owing ; 
 An instinct call it, a blind sense, 
 A happy genial influence, 
 Coming one knows not how, nor whence, 
 
 Nor whither going. 
 
 Child of the year ! that round dost run 
 Thy course, bold lover of the sun, 
 And cheerful when the day's begun 
 
 As morning leveret, 
 Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain, 
 Dear shalt thou be to future men 
 As in old time ; thou, not in vain, 
 
 Art Nature's favourite. 
 
 WORDSWORTH. 
 
 This flowering weed of temperate climes cannot 
 be made to flourish between the tropics, although 
 it propagates itself on every patch of turf both in 
 these islands, and on the northern parts of the con- 
 tinent but, if we are correctly informed, ,it fails 
 to spangle the fields of the south-east of Europe, 
 where the arts were anciently so happily nurtured ; 
 and hence it happens that we have no Greek name 
 for this plant, which the Latins named Bellis, as
 
 42 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 some suppose from the adjective Bellus, pretty : 
 whilst others are of opinion that it was called Bellis 
 a bello, from its being found useful in the field of 
 battle, to heal the wounds of the soldiers, on 
 which account it has also been called Consolida. 
 It was formerly esteemed an excellent traumatic 
 plant ; the leaves and roots were used in wound 
 drinks, and were accounted good to dissolve con- 
 gealed and coagulated blood. Pliny tells us that 
 in his time it was used, in conjunction with mug- 
 wort, as a cataplasm to dissolve scrofulous tumours. 
 
 The roots of Daisies boiled in milk were fre- 
 quently given to little puppies to keep them of a 
 diminutive size : but what effect this food would 
 have on the growth of the canine species, we must 
 leave to those who are curious in little dogs to 
 discover. 
 
 Fabulous history informs us that this plant is 
 called Bellis because it owes its origin to Belides, a 
 grand-daughter to Danaus, and one of the nymphs 
 called Dryads, that presided over the meadows 
 and pastures in ancient times. Belides is said to 
 have encouraged the suit of Ephigeus, but whilst 
 dancing on the grass with this rural Deity she 
 attracted the admiration of Vertumnus, who just 
 as he was about to seize her in his embrace, saw 
 her transformed into the humble plant that now 
 bears her name.
 
 DAISY. 43 
 
 An old astrological writer tells us that this 
 plant is under the sign Cancer, and under the do- 
 minion of Venus, and therefore good to cure all 
 the pains caused by the fair goddess, particularly 
 those of the breast ; we therefore recommend all 
 the lack-a-daisy swains to hasten to the meadows, 
 and there give thanks to nature for having scat- 
 tered this plant so bountifully : it is a crop for 
 which the farmer never prays, it being consi- 
 dered a troublesome weed in pasture lands, where 
 it occupies a large portion of ground to the exclu- 
 sion of grass and other profitable herbs : its acrid 
 taste is ungrateful to cattle, and it is even rejected 
 on the common by the close-biting geese. 
 
 The French name of Paquerette is given to this 
 flower because it blossoms most at the approach of 
 Pdques (Easter). The English name of Daisy is 
 derived from a Saxon word, meaning Day's eye, in 
 which way it is written by Ben Jonson ; and 
 Chaucer calls it the " eie of the daie." Shakspeare 
 writes daisies, and Howel calls them days-eyes, 
 " the woods put forth their blossoms, the earth her 
 primroses and days-eyes." We presume that this 
 flower was called days-eye, from the nature of its 
 blossom, which expands at the opening of day and 
 closes at sunset. 
 
 The little daizie, that at evening closes. 
 
 SPENSEK.
 
 44 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The most careless observer of plants must have 
 noticed that the daisy not only closes its petals at 
 night, but that they are also carefully folded over 
 the yellow disk in rainy weather. It must likewise 
 jhave struck the attention of the curious, that not 
 only this flower, but most others which are natives 
 of moist climates, have the power, we may almost 
 say instinct, of securing their parts of fructification 
 from the rains of the day or the dews of the night, 
 whilst those of regular dry climates are quite desti- 
 tute of this wise provision of Nature. 
 
 The botanist would understand the nature of 
 the Daisy by the class and order in which it is 
 placed by Linnaeus, although he might not have 
 seen it ; but as many of our readers may not pos- 
 sess the same advantage, we shall describe the 
 nature of the Daisy, and other plants in this class 
 and order, in a familiar style, however it may offend 
 botanical critics. 
 
 The Daisy has been placed in the class Syn- 
 genesia (which is so called from two Greek words 
 which imply to generate together), because it is a 
 compound flower, or rather it is composed of a 
 number of small yellow florets placed on one com- 
 mon receptacle, as so many small cups might be 
 placed on one tray or salver ; for if the thumb or 
 yellow disk of the common daisy is closely ex- 
 amined, it will be found to be composed of about
 
 DAISY. 45 
 
 one hundred and fifty little florets, those in the 
 centre being of a tubular shape and containing the 
 anthers, whilst those near the margin are ligulate 
 or of a flat shape, and to each of them is attached 
 a stigma. The use of the petals which form a ray 
 round these little yellow florets is to secure them, 
 from the effects of inclement weather, until the 
 pollen of the anthers is discharged on the stigmas 
 so as to prepare seed for future plants ; and when 
 this part of the economy of Nature is performed, 
 the ray of the daisy remains expanded, and does not 
 
 Shut when Titan goes to bed, 
 l)ii t remains open until the petals decay. 
 
 The single daisy, which was seized in the mea- 
 dows and brought into the garden by Vertumnus, 
 being placed out of its natural situation, has taken 
 new habits, which prevent its propagating itself by 
 seed, as the effect of transplanting and cultivation 
 in richer soils has been that of transforming the 
 yellow florets into petals, until the flower has be- 
 come so completely doubled as to lose all appear- 
 ance of the disk ; but, like the Double Hepatica, 
 it is easily propagated by parting the roots almost 
 at any season of the year, though the most favour- 
 able time is from the middle of September to the 
 middle of October, as they will then flower stronger 
 in the spring than those plants which are divided 
 in February. It is recommended to divide the
 
 46 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 roots every year, and transplant them, to prevent 
 their degenerating, or rather returning, to their 
 natural state. We have never observed this cir- 
 cumstance take place, but have frequently known 
 the plants decay altogether if left undisturbed for 
 three or four years. The Double Daisy thrives 
 best in a moist loam, that has no mixture of dung ; 
 and the plants should have the advantage of the 
 morning sun, and a shelter from the mid-day heat, 
 by placing them on the south-east side of shrubs or 
 trees, as in such situations the flowers are not only 
 larger, but continue much longer in blossom than 
 those that are exposed to the full sun. The mode 
 of placing them depends much on the size and 
 nature of the garden. In the gardens of the cot- 
 tagers, the Double Daisy is generally employed as 
 an edging to borders, and we infinitely prefer it to 
 that of box for such situations ; but an edging of 
 any description to the parterre of Flora shows a 
 want of taste in the planter; and if these flowers 
 are placed in patches of twenty or forty plants on 
 a spot, about three inches apart, they give a most 
 delightful effect either in the foreground of the 
 shrubbery or the flower-garden. 
 
 The varieties should be kept in distinct situations, 
 and their colours so contrived as to be made sub- 
 servient to other flowers, as by planting the red or 
 scarlet variety near clumps of the Snowdrop or
 
 DAISY. 47 
 
 other white blossoms. The White Daisy in the 
 neighbourhood of Yellow Crocuses or blue flowers, 
 and the striped and variegated kinds, are seen to 
 most advantage when surrounded only by the green 
 foliage of flowers that blossom at a later season. 
 The varieties of the Double Daisy are not confined 
 to its different colours, as some of them, instead of 
 being composed of flat petals, are entirely formed 
 of a mass of fistular florets, or little pipes ; these are 
 distinguished as Quilled Daisies. The most sin- 
 gular variety is the Proliferous Daisy, commonly 
 called the Childing or Hen and Chicken Daisy, 
 because the flower is surrounded by a number of 
 smaller flowers, which are produced from the sides 
 of the principal flower, but out of one and the same 
 calyx. These little secondary Daisies appear like 
 satellites revolving round a nobler star ; and we, 
 therefore, submit the name of Saturnia for this 
 luxuriant variety, in preference to that of Hen and 
 Chicken Daisy.
 
 48 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 PRIMROSE. Primala. 
 
 Natural Order Prcciee. Lysimachice, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 -And here's the meek 
 
 And soft-eyed Primrose. 
 
 HURDIS. 
 
 Woods and groves are of thy dressing, 
 Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. 
 
 Peinte des feux de 1'Orient, 
 Ca Primevere offre, en modele, 
 La coupe qu' Hebe souriant, 
 Presente a la troupe immortelle. 
 
 THIS delicately-perfumed, and modestly-coloured 
 early blossom is considered the emblem of early 
 youth, and represents the age between child and 
 womanhood. 
 
 Pale Primroses, 
 
 That die unmarried, ere they can behold 
 Bright Phoebus in his strength. 
 
 IVirder's Tale. 
 
 The generic name of this flower is derived from 
 primus, it being one of the earliest flowers of the 
 spring, and from thence the English name of Prim- 
 rose, the French Primevere, and the Italian Prima-
 
 PRIMROSE. 49 
 
 vera. The German name Fruhlings blume has a 
 similar signification. 
 
 As we enumerate twenty distinct species of 
 Primula, we shall notice them under various heads, 
 first confining ourselves to the Primula vulgaris, 
 or common Sulphur-coloured Primrose, which has 
 lent its name to distinguish a delicate pale yellow 
 colour slightly tinted with green. 
 
 In tracing back the nativity of flowers, we are 
 greatly assisted by the mythological writings of the 
 ancients, for without these records we should have 
 pronounced them all as being the children of Nature ; 
 and the relationship which this favourite flower 
 bears to the gods would have remained unknown, 
 as well as the history of its origin. 
 
 The Primrose was anciently called Paralisos, 
 after the name of a beautiful youth who was the 
 son of Priapus and Flora, and who died of grief 
 for the loss of his betrothed Melicerta, but was 
 preserved by his parents by being metamorphosed 
 into this flower, which has since divided the favours 
 of the poets with the Violet and the Rose. Clare 
 says 
 
 O, who can speak his joys when Spring's young morn 
 From wood and pasture opened to his view ; 
 
 When tender green buds blush upon the thorn, 
 And the first primrose dips its leaves in dew. 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 And while he pluck'd the Primrose in its pride, 
 He pondered o'er its bloom 'tween joy and pain ; 
 
 And a rude sonnet in its praise he tried, 
 
 Where nature's simple way the aid of art supplied. 
 
 I did the same in April time, 
 
 And spoilt the Daisy's earliest prime ; 
 
 Robb'd each Primrose-root I met, 
 
 And ofttimes got the root to set ; 
 
 And joyful home each nosegay bore, 
 
 And felt as I shall feel no more. 
 
 Village Minstrel. 
 
 To crop the Primrose of the plains ! 
 Does she not sweets in each fair valley find, 
 Lost to the sons of pow'r, unknown to half mankind ! 
 
 SHENSTOKE. 
 
 Sur le gazon la tendre Primevere 
 S'ouvre et jaunit, des le premier beau jour. 
 
 And lanes in which the Primrose ere her time 
 
 Peeps through the moss that clothes the hawthorn root, 
 
 Deceive no student. Wisdom there and truth, 
 
 Not shy, as in the world, and to be won 
 
 By slow solicitation, sei ze at once 
 
 The roving thought, and fix it on themselves. 
 
 CowPEft. 
 
 As some wayfaring man passing a wood 
 Goes jogging on, and in his minde nought hath, 
 But how the Primrose finely strow the path. 
 
 W. BROWNE. 
 
 There are some flowers that contribute to dispose 
 us to a pensive or melancholy strain wherever we 
 meet with them ; whilst others seem " equally to 
 exhilarate the spirits and enliven the ideas. The 
 colour and character of the flower may, in some 
 degree, assist to make this impression ; but it must
 
 PRIMROSE. 51 
 
 principally be attributed to the remarks of the 
 poets, as 
 
 Bring the rathe Primrose that forsaken dies. 
 
 Lycidas. 
 
 Sweet as the Primrose peeps beneath the thorn. 
 
 She is the rose, the glory of the day, 
 
 And mine the Primrose in the lowly shade : 
 
 Mine, oh ! not mine ; amisse I mine did say : 
 
 Not mine, but his, which mine awhile her made ; 
 
 Mine to be his, with him to be for aye. 
 
 O that so fair a flowre so soon should fade, 
 
 And through untimely tempest fall away ! 
 
 She fell away in her first age's spring, 
 
 Whilst yet her leafe was greene, and fresh her rinde, 
 
 And whilst her branch fair blossomes foorth did bring, 
 
 For age to dye is right, but youth is wrong ; 
 
 She fell away like fruit blown with winde, 
 
 Weep, Shepheard ! weep, to make my undersong. 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 Shakspeare makes it a funeral flower for youth 
 
 With fairest flowers, 
 
 Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, 
 I'll sweeten thy sad grave : Thou shalt not lack 
 The flower that's like thy face, pale Primrose. 
 
 Cymleline. 
 
 Although every lover of Nature hails with plea- 
 sure the first appearance of the pale Primrose, 
 seated on the hazel bank, surrounded by its puck- 
 ered leaves, yet it fails to give those joyous sensa- 
 tions which arise at the first sight of the meadow 
 " S a J w i tn S au( ty Cowslips drest." The latter 
 flower as forcibly brings to mind the frolics of our 
 
 D 2
 
 52 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 childhood, as the former reminds us of past friends 
 and rural walks ; for the soft tints of the Primrose, 
 like the mild beams of the moon, seem to invite us 
 on to moral reflections and quiet contemplation. 
 
 The Primrose is a native of most parts of Eu- 
 rope, always seeking the partial shade of hedge- 
 rows, the banks of sheltered lanes, and the borders 
 of woods or coppices, and is but seldom found 
 spangling the open meadow like its relative the 
 Cowslip. From this we should learn to place it on 
 the banks of our wilderness walks, and to scatter 
 it thickly beneath the trees of the shrubbery. It 
 will grow in almost any soil, but thrives most on a 
 clayey bank. When transplanted in the Spring, 
 it receives a check to its flowering, which often 
 causes it to blossom freely in the autumn. 
 
 The variety of the common Primrose, with 
 double flowers of a lilac colour, forms a most 
 agreeable contrast with the pale Primrose of the 
 woods. 
 
 The common Sulphur-coloured Primrose fre- 
 quently changes its colour into a pale dingy red 
 by cultivation ; and we have sometimes met with 
 it growing naturally of this colour, occasioned by 
 some accidental circumstance analogous to culti- 
 vation, as either by the seed falling on strong 
 manure, or rich earth being scattered over the 
 plant.
 
 PRIMROSE. 53 
 
 The medicinal properties of the Primrose being 
 the same as that of the Cowslip, but of a weaker 
 quality, we shall notice them under the head of 
 the latter plant, and proceed to that beautiful and 
 varied kind of Primrose so much esteemed in the 
 gardens of florists under the name of 
 
 POLYANTHOS. 
 
 Polyantlios of unnumber'd dyes. 
 
 THOMSON. 
 
 THIS beautiful variety of Primula derives its name 
 from the Greek words iroKvs, many or much, and 
 av0or, a flower, as the Polyanthos, like the Auricula, 
 produces an umbel of many flowers on one common 
 scape or stem, and on this account we consider it 
 to be rather a variety of the Primula elatior, 
 Oxlip, than that of the common Primrose, although 
 Linnaeus asserts that the peduncles in the common 
 Primrose spring from a scape, which being so 
 short is concealed among the leaves. Amongst a 
 number of wild Primroses that were planted in Dr. 
 Buxton's garden, at Maize Hill, near Greenwich, 
 some of them produced flowers with a scape, and 
 were thus transformed into Polyanthoses, retaining 
 the colour of the Field Primrose. 
 
 The author has been a frequent planter of this
 
 34 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 flower, but never observed this change, although 
 the change of colour from the common sulphur to 
 a red tint was frequent. It is probable that the 
 Polyanthos may have sprung from both the Prim- 
 rose and the Oxlip. Experience proves it to be a 
 permanent variety ; for however nature sports with 
 its tints, we have not known it return to either the 
 common Primrose or the Oxlip. 
 
 The Polyanthos, which has been so much im- 
 proved by cultivation during the last century, may 
 justly dispute the prize of beauty with any Euro- 
 pean flower, when we take into account the variety 
 and richness of its colouring, the grace and elegance 
 of its form, its mild and agreeable odour that has 
 never been known to offend : its easy propagation, 
 hardy nature, and early time of flowering, make it 
 a welcome inmate in every flower-garden, and in 
 no part of the world is it so successfully cultivated 
 as in England, particularly by the zealous florists 
 of Lancashire and Cheshire, who have, in the in- 
 stance of this flower, left the Dutch bloemist con- 
 siderably in the background; The neighbourhood 
 of Manchester and Macclesfield is justly celebrated 
 for producing the finest specimens of this flower, 
 and in these manufacturing districts the criterion 
 of a fine Polyanthos is ascertained with as narrow 
 a scrutiny as the sportsman regards his pointer or 
 setter dog.
 
 PRIMROSE. 55 
 
 The stem of a perfect flower must be strong, 
 erect, and elastic, and of sufficient height to sup- 
 port the umbel or bunch of flowers above the puck- 
 ered foliage of the plant. The footstalks of each 
 separate flower should also be strong and elastic, 
 and of a length proportioned to the size and quan- 
 tity of the pipes ; which should not be less than 
 seven in number, that the bunch may be round, 
 close, and compact. Maddox says, " the tube of 
 the corolla above the calyx should be short, well 
 filled with the anthers or summits of the stamens, 
 and terminate fluted, rather above the eye. The 
 eye should be round, of a bright clear yellow, and 
 distinct from the ground colour ; the proportions 
 of a fine flower are, that the diameter of the tube 
 be one part, the eye three, and the whole pip six, 
 or nearly so. The ground colour is most admired 
 when shaded with a light and dark rich crimson, 
 resembling velvet, with one mark or stripe in the 
 centre of each division of the limb, bold and dis- 
 tinct, from the edging down to the eye, where it 
 should terminate in a fine point. The pips should 
 be large, quite flat, and as round as may be con- 
 sistent with their peculiar beautiful figure, which 
 is circular, excepting those small indentures between 
 each division of the limb, which divide it into five 
 heart-like segments. The edging should resemble 
 a bright gold hue, bold, clear, and distinct, and so
 
 56 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 nearly of the same colour with the eye and stripes as 
 scarcely to be distinguished ; in short, the Polyan- 
 thos should possess a graceful elegance of form, a 
 richness of colouring, and symmetry of parts, not 
 to be found united in any other flower." 
 
 A connoisseur in Polyanthoses scarce deigns a 
 look of approbation on a pin-eyed flower, however 
 brilliant its corolla. We think this distinction too 
 refined, having frequently met with these outcasts 
 of the garden that ought to have filled conspicuous 
 situations from the gaiety of their colours. The 
 difference of the Rose and the pin-eyed flower con- 
 sists in the anthers of the former being fixed near 
 the top of the tube, and the pistil being shorter 
 than the tube, is therefore not seen ; whereas in the 
 pin-eyed, the pistil is so long as to reach the top of 
 the tube, and the anthers are attached to the mid- 
 dle of the pipe, which swells out where the anthers 
 are fixed. 
 
 Polyanthoses are increased by dividing the roots, 
 or by slips, which should be taken off in the autumn. 
 Indeed at this season all the roots should be taken 
 up, divided, and planted into fresh earth ; for, if 
 suffered to remain over one or two years, they will 
 degenerate and lose the greater part of their beauty. 
 These favourite flowers of the Spring should be 
 planted about six inches apart, and if about ten or 
 twelve plants, all of the same variety, be placed in
 
 PRIMROSE. 57 
 
 each clump, the effect will be more agreeable than 
 when they are either planted singly or in regular 
 beds. The Polyanthos, from its hardy nature, will 
 grow in almost any soil or situation ; but to in- 
 crease the size of the flowers, which forms one of 
 the great beauties of the plant, care should be 
 taken to give them such a mixture of earth as is 
 most adapted to force them. Mr. Hogg, who has 
 grown these flowers in great perfection, says the 
 Polyanthos requires a much greater portion of 
 sandy loam than the Auricula, a very small quan- 
 tity of rotten dung, and a little leaf mould, peat or 
 heath-earth mixed with the loam. Justice recom- 
 mends the following proportions : four parts of fine 
 hazelly loam from a pasture, three parts of well- 
 rotted cow-dung or two of leaves that have turned 
 to mould, and one part of fine white sand, well 
 mixed together. 
 
 Maddock and Emmerton recommend the same 
 compost for the Polyanthos as will be noticed under 
 the Auricula, but with more loam. 
 
 We recommend a border or situation in the gar- 
 den for the Polyanthos that is shaded by shrubs 
 from the afternoon sun : there let holes be dug 
 about five inches deep, and of the size intended 
 for the clumps, which should be filled up with the 
 compost, and watered well the day before the 
 roots are planted, so that it may not sink below
 
 58 FLORA. HISTORICA. 
 
 the level of the borders after the plants are put 
 into the earth. 
 
 It is observed that plants which are raised from 
 seed, flower much better than those taken from old 
 roots , therefore it is desirable to save the seeds 
 annually from the finest plants and as it will be 
 observed that some of the capsules ripen the seed 
 much earlier than others, it is advisable to cut those 
 off and preserve the seed in the capsule, in a shallow 
 drawer, placed in a dry and sunny situation, until 
 the whole is ripe, which is usually found to be 
 about the end of June. This seed should be sown 
 under a wall or hedge, in a north aspect, taking 
 care not to cover it too deep with earth, and the 
 young plants may be transplanted about the same 
 time in the following year, giving them gentle wa- 
 terings in dry seasons. Some florists prefer keep- 
 ing the seed out of the ground until December, and 
 then sowing it in boxes, which are placed in situa- 
 tions to receive the morning sun only, and particu- 
 larly when the young plants appear, as one whole 
 day's sun would entirely destroy them. 
 
 Snails and slugs commit great depredations on 
 the Polyanthos plants during the spring months; 
 they should therefore be carefully examined early 
 in the morning, at the time these depredators make 
 havock. But a more dangerous enemy often attacks 
 this plant during the summer months, and from its
 
 PRIMROSE. 59 
 
 minuteness often destroys a whole plantation before 
 the cause is ascertained. This is the little red 
 spider Icarus, which forms its web on the under 
 side of the leaves, where it multiplies with such 
 rapidity as soon to devour and poison the whole 
 plant, although the insect itself is scarcely visible 
 without a magnifying glass. The first effect of its 
 attack is observed by the leaves becoming yellow 
 and spotted. When this is observed, the plants af- 
 fected should be taken up, and soaked for two or 
 three hours in a strong infusion of tobacco-water, 
 and then replanted in a fresh soil, or compost, but 
 by no means in the same situation, as there would 
 be danger of there being many of these little spiders 
 left on the ground, which would immediately return 
 to the plants. Maddock observes that " the red 
 spider seldom attacks such plants as are in a state 
 of vigour, or when the weather is cold and wet ; it 
 generally commences its depredations in the early 
 part of summer, and continues them as long as the 
 heat and dryness of the weather favour its existence : 
 the juices also of the plants being then more viscous 
 and saccharine, afford it more suitable nourishment 
 than at any other season. 1 ' 

 
 60 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 VIOLET. Viola odorata. 
 
 Natural Order Campanacete. Cisti et Violeff, Juss. A 
 : Genus of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 . Now gentle gales, 
 
 Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense 
 Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole 
 These balmy spoils. 
 
 MILTOX. 
 
 Let the beauteous Violet 
 
 Be planted, which, with purple and with gold 
 Richly adorned, 
 
 And that which creeps pale-coloured on the ground. 
 
 COLUSIELLA. 
 
 THE Violet that so beautifully embroiders the banks 
 of our hedge-rows, and so sweetly perfumes the 
 morning air of the Spring, is scarcely less a favour- 
 ite than the Rose, which has, by universal consent j 
 been made the emblem of Beauty, leaving the no 
 less admirable quality of Modesty to be represented 
 by the Violet, which is thus made to speak by the 
 pen of Desmartes, in the garland of Julia de Ram- 
 bouillet 
 
 Tranche d'ambition, je me cache sous 1'herbe, 
 Modeste en ma couleur, modeste en mon sejour ; 
 Mais si sur votre front je puis me voir un jour, 
 La plus humble des fleurs sera la plus superbe.
 
 VIOLET. 61 
 
 M. Boisjolin also notices this flower as the emblem 
 of modesty 
 
 L'obscure Violette, amante des gazons, 
 Aux pleurs de leur rose entremelant ses dons, 
 Semble vouloir cacher, sous leurs voiles propices, 
 D'un prodigue parfum les discretes delices : 
 C'est 1'embleme d'un co3ur qui repand en secret 
 Sur le malheur timide un modeste bienfait. 
 
 The Violet seems too humble a flower to have 
 found a place in displays of Heraldry, yet it has 
 been ingeniously given as a device to an amiable 
 and witty lady, of a timid and reserved character, 
 surrounded with the motto, II faut me chercher, 
 " I must be sought after.'' 
 
 The White Violet is also made the emblem of 
 Innocence; and by some lines of a sonnet of the 
 sixteenth century, the Violet appears to have been 
 considered an emblem of faithfulness 
 
 Violet is for faithfulnesse, 
 
 Which in me shall abide ; 
 Hoping likewise that from your heart 
 
 You will not let it slide. 
 
 The poets have coupled the most agreeable ideas 
 with the fragrant flower. Milton makes Echo dwell 
 amongst Violets 
 
 Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen 
 By slow Meander's margent green, 
 And in the Violet-embroider' d vale. 

 
 62 FLORA. HISTORICA. 
 
 Shakspeare compares the soft strains of plaintive 
 music to the perfume of Violets 
 
 That strain again ; it had a dying fall : 
 O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south, 
 That breathes upon a bank of Violets, 
 Stealing, and giving odour. 
 
 Twelfth Night. 
 
 In the soliloquy which the same bard gives us 
 through Belisarius, in Cymbeline, he is scarce less 
 happy 
 
 O, thou goddess, 
 
 Thou divine Nature, how thyself thou blazon' st 
 
 In these two princely boys ! They are as gentle 
 
 As zephyrs, blowing below the Violet, 
 
 Not wagging his sweet head. 
 
 That the Violet was a favourite with Shakspeare 
 is most evident, by the beautiful simile he makes 
 Perdita deliver in the Winter's Tale 
 
 Violets dim, 
 
 But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes, 
 Or Cytherea's breath. 
 
 Mr. Barry Cornwall places the Violet even before 
 the Rose, and we agree with him, in a moral point 
 of view, that modesty is more desirable than beauty, 
 but as florists we must always acknowledge the 
 Rose as the Queen of flowers. Of the Violet, he 

 
 VfOLET. 63 
 
 It has a scent as though Love, for its dower, 
 
 Had on it all his odorous arrows tost ; 
 For though the Rose has more perfuming power, 
 
 The Violet (haply 'cause 'tis almost lost, 
 And takes us so much trouble to discover) 
 Stands first with most, but always with a lover. 
 
 This poet, like most of his competitors, dwells 
 upon the Blue Violet, overlooking the innocent and 
 sweet flower altogether. 
 
 And Violets, a blue profusion, sprung, 
 Haunting the air. 
 
 And Violets, whose looks are like the skies. 
 
 Or when the blue-eyed Violet weeps upon 
 Some sloping bank *. 
 
 Virgil tells us 
 
 The daughters of the flood have searched the mead. 
 For Violets pale. 
 
 This flower was in such high estimation with the 
 ancients, that one of the prizes of the Floral games 
 consisted of a Golden Violet, and we are told in 
 their fables, that la, the daughter of Atlas, fleeing 
 into the woods from the pursuit of Apollo, was, 
 through the power of Diana, changed into a Violet, 
 which still retains the bashful timidity of the 
 nymph, by partially concealing itself from the gaze 
 of Phoebus in its foliage. 
 
 . The trembling Violet, which eyes 
 
 The sun but once, and unrepining dies. 
 
 H. SMITH. 
 
 * The eye of the Violet is of an orange colour.
 
 64 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Mythologists also tell us, that Proserpine was 
 gathering Violets as well as Narcissuses when she 
 was seized by Pluto. 
 
 "lov, the Greek name for this flower, is said to 
 have been given it because lo fed on Violets, when 
 she was transformed by Jupiter into a heifer : others 
 tell us that it was so called after some nymphs of 
 Ionia, who first presented these flowers to the Fa- 
 ther of the Gods. 
 
 That the ancients were acquainted with ana- 
 grams, we learn by Lycophron, who lived in the 
 time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 280 years 
 before Christ. This Greek grammarian found, in 
 the name of Ptolemy, the Greek word for honey ; 
 and in that of the Queen Arsinoe, Violet of Juno. 
 It is through ancient anecdotes 
 
 The piercing eye explores 
 
 The manners and the pomp of ancient days, 
 Whence culls the pensive bard his pictured stores : 
 
 Nor rough, nor barren, are the winding ways 
 Of hoar antiquity, hut strewed with flowers. 
 
 T. WARTON. 
 
 The sweet Violet, Viola odorata, when growing 
 naturally, is found on banks where the soil is light, 
 and where it has partial shade. It seems to love a 
 mixture of chalk in the earth, as we have observed 
 that it propagates itself most rapidly in such situa- 
 tions, both by its runners, in the manner of straw- 
 berries, and also by seed.
 
 VIOLET. 65 % 
 
 In the spring of 1823, we found the banks be- 
 tween Preston and Clayton, near Brighton, covered 
 with Violets, principally white. The soil was a 
 kind of chalky loam, and on some of the banks we 
 found a considerable quantity of Sweet Violets, of 
 a murrey or pale mulberry colour, and others of a 
 dingy flesh colour, not unlike the tint of common 
 blotting paper. Near these we uniformly discovered 
 patches of White Violets on one side, and the 
 purple variety on the other, which evinced the 
 change to be principally owing to the accidental 
 mixture of the farina of the two varieties, as we ob- 
 served some of the White Violets had the edges of 
 their petals tinged with purple, and the spur of 
 the greater part were tinged with that colour with 
 a reddish cast. We are inclined to think that the 
 soil in some degree assisted in contributing to this 
 unusual colour of the Sweet Violet, as on the same 
 day we found on a grass-plot, near a very large 
 yew tree, in the Rectory garden at Clayton, where 
 the soil is a mixture of cold clay and chalk, 
 Violets growing spontaneously, of a rich red plum 
 colour, and as odorous as the White or Purple 
 Violets. 
 
 In dissecting the blossom of the Sweet Violet, the 
 students of phytography will have clearly demon- 
 strated to them the utility of the nectary to the 
 parts of fructification. What is termed the spur
 
 66 FLORA. HISTORICA. 
 
 calcar of the Violet, wherein the honey is secreted, 
 is a little bag formed by the lower petals, and this 
 is distinguished from other nectaries by the appel- 
 lation of nectarotheca. In carefully taking off the 
 petals of the Violet, and splitting open the nectary 
 with a pointed penknife^ it will be seen that the 
 two lower anthers have a tongue or tube attached 
 to them, which descends into the spur, evidently to 
 draw up the nectareous juice for the invigoration of 
 the anthers, or to assist in the decomposition of the 
 farina. Nature has guarded the nectary of the 
 Violet in a manner that must excite our warmest 
 admiration, and which at the same time must 
 strengthen the opinion, that this saccharine juice is 
 of the most vital importance to the sexual parts of 
 plants, as it is always attached to the flower under 
 some shape or other, and more or less exposed to 
 the intrusion of those insects which subsist on the 
 honey of plants. As the Violet blossoms in a sea- 
 son when there are but few plants in flower, Nature 
 seems to have taken a double precaution to secure 
 the entrance of the spur against intrusion. For 
 this purpose the two side-petals are furnished with 
 a kind of beard, which keeps out the smallest 
 insect, at the same time it admits air, which appears 
 to be necessary in the formation of the nectar or 
 honey. The entrance of the spur is grooved on 
 the under side, but this channel is occupied by the
 
 VIOLET. G7 
 
 stigma, which bends its hook into the groove, as if 
 to partake of the effluvia of the nectar. 
 
 The stigma of the Sweet Violet, when attached 
 to the seed-vessel, is not unlike the Ostrich in shape, 
 but when the corolla and the calyx are carefully 
 removed, leaving only the parts of fructification, 
 attached to the receptacle, a most beautiful miniature 
 bird is represented; the stigma formed the head 
 and beak, the anthers make a golden breast, whilst 
 their tongues appear like a pair of green wings. 
 
 It was the Violet which induced John Bertram, 
 a quaker of Pennsylvania, to study plants. He had 
 employed his time in agricultural pursuits without 
 a knowledge of botany, but being in the field one 
 day he gathered a Violet, examined its formation, 
 and reflected upon it until he became so pre- 
 possessed with the flower that he dreamed of it. 
 This circumstance inspired him with a desire of 
 becoming acquainted with plants; he therefore 
 learned for that purpose as much Latin as was ne- 
 cessary, and soon became the most learned Botanist 
 of the new world. 
 
 The Violet is the precursor of floral odours, 
 which so successively follow each other after the 
 departure of their sweet harbinger, as to lessen our 
 regret for the loss of its fragrant blossoms. Both 
 the White and the Purple Violet have had their 
 flowers doubled by the art of cultivators, and they
 
 68 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 have been found wild, with this departure from 
 nature. Double Violets are easily increased by 
 parting the roots in the autumn, and as it is so uni- 
 versal a favourite, no flower-garden should be with- 
 out it, nor should any gardener omit to pot it for the 
 use of the saloon. In Paris, notwithstanding the 
 arbitrary regulations of Fashion, which reaches even 
 to the sale of flowers, the Violet constantly holds its 
 rank as a favourite, on which account the French 
 florists check the early flowering of some of their 
 plants, so as to secure blossoms in the height of 
 summer, and we have frequently met with them at 
 the celebrated MarcJie mix Fleurs in the months of 
 August and September ; nor are les dames de la 
 Halle, nor the admired Vendeuses de fleurs at 
 Rouen, without a supply of Double Violets at that 
 season of the year. 
 
 Between her breasts, that never yet felt trouble, 
 A bunch of Violets, full blown, and double, 
 Serenely sleeps. 
 
 KEATS. 
 
 To wear Violets, in Paris, denotes the person to 
 belong to the Liberal party. 
 
 It is related of Mademoiselle Clairon, a cele- 
 brated French actress, that being passionately fond 
 of Violets, a friend cultivated them so as to give 
 her a nosegay of these flowers every morning dur- 
 ing their season. This fragrant offering lasted 
 thirty years, and to lose nothing of a gift which
 
 DOG'S VIOLET. 69 
 
 friendship and constancy rendered so precious to 
 her who received it, she stripped off the flower 
 petals every evening, and took them in an infusion 
 like tea. 
 
 The growth of the Sweet Violet is not confined 
 to Europe, it perfumes the palm groves in Barbary 
 during winter, it flourishes in Palestine, and both 
 Japan and China boast of this fragrant flower. 
 Hasselquist tells us that it is one of the plants most 
 esteemed in Syria, and particularly on account of 
 its great use in making violet sugar, of which they 
 make Sorbet. Tavernier says that the most 
 esteemed sherbet of the Turks, and which is drunk 
 by the Grand Seignior himself, is made of sugar 
 and violets. 
 
 DOG'S VIOLET. Viola canina. 
 
 THE Violet without perfume has been named 
 Dog's Violet, Viola canina, to express a degree of 
 inferiority to that of the odorous kind. This 
 species of Violets seems an intermediate kind be- 
 tween the odorata and the tricolor Pansy, to which 
 it nearly approaches in many of its characters. 
 The Dog's Violet grows in more open and exposed 
 situations than the Sweet Violet, often covering 
 large spaces on heaths and downs with its fine blue
 
 70 FLOHA HISTORICA. 
 
 flowers, the petals of which are strongly marked 
 with lines like those of the Pansy or Hearts-ease. 
 On hilly, dry situations, the corolla of the Dog's 
 Violet is considerably smaller than that of the 
 odorous Purple Violet ; but in moist and sheltered 
 situations, the flower is considerably larger than 
 those of the sweet kind, and as it blossoms later 
 than the odorous Violet, its time of flowering is of 
 longer duration, and its colour a fine azure. It is 
 on the whole one of the most ornamental of our 
 creeping plants, yet it is seldom to be seen in the 
 flower-garden, and is perhaps better adapted for 
 the shrubbery or wilderness walks, as there the 
 
 . garden painted o'er 
 
 With Nature's hand, not Art's, should pleasure yield. 
 
 C OWLET. 
 
 This species of Violet, like that of the sweet 
 kind, produces seed during the summer months 
 without any expanded corolla. 
 
 As it has been observed by Lord Bacon that 
 sweet odours contribute to health, by refreshing 
 the spirits and causing cheerfulness, we shall notice 
 how the Sweet Violets will retain their fragrance 
 the longest after being gathered for the saloon. 
 Saucers should be filled with sea sand, or common 
 sand mixed with salt and water. In this holes 
 should be made with the back of a pen, and the 
 fitalks of the Violets being first fresh cut at the
 
 DOG'S VIOLET. 71 
 
 -end, place two or three in each hole, so as to cover 
 the sand entirely, keeping the flowers about half 
 an inch above the sand, which should be pressed 
 tight to the stalks. In this manner they may be 
 preserved fresh for several days, and yield their 
 delightful fragrance for the enjoyment of those 
 who are not able to seek them in the fields, where 
 
 Blows not a blossom on the breast of Spring, 
 Breathes not a gale along the bending mead, 
 
 Trills not a songster of the soaring wing, 
 But fragrance, health, and melody succeed. 
 
 LANGHORNE. 
 
 The Sweet Violet was held in considerable esti- 
 mation by the ancients for its medicinal properties ; 
 and the petals of this flower are still used in medi- 
 cine, principally as a cooling, emollient, and gentle 
 cathartic. For this purpose they are made into a 
 syrup by the following simple process : to one 
 pound of fresh-gathered Sweet Violets, carefully 
 picked, add two pints and a half of boiling water ; 
 infuse them a whole day in a glass, or glazed china 
 vessel ; then pour off the fluid, and strain it through 
 muslin, avoiding all pressure; after which add dou- 
 ble its weight of the finest sugar, and make it into 
 a syrup, without letting it boil. 
 
 This, with a small quantity of almond oil, is an 
 excellent laxative medicine for young children, and 
 is esteemed good for irritating coughs and sore
 
 72 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 throats. The seeds of the Violet are said to be 
 strongly diuretic, and useful in gravel complaints. 
 
 The Sweet Violet is highly valuable in chemistry 
 to detect an acid or an alkali ; and this test is so 
 delicate, that the smallest quantity of free acid 
 or alkali in any mixture is immediately detected by 
 the syrup of Violets, as acids turn the blue colour 
 of it to a red, and alkalies to a green : for this 
 purpose Violets are cultivated in large quantities at 
 Stratford-upon-rAvon. 
 
 PANSY, oil HEART'S EASE. Viola tricolor. 
 
 And thou, so rich in gentle names, appealing 
 
 To hearts that own our nature's common lot ; 
 Thou styled by sportive fancy's better feeling, 
 
 A Thought^ The Heart's Ease, or Forget me not. 
 
 Who deck'st alike the peasant's garden plot, 
 And castle's proud parterre ; with humble joy 
 
 Proclaim afresh, by castle and by cot, 
 Hopes which ought not, like things of time, to cloy, 
 And feelings time itself shall deepen not destroy ! 
 
 BARTON. 
 
 Ye valleys low, 
 
 Throw hither all your quaint enamell'd eyes, 
 That on the green turf suck the honey'd showers 
 And purple all the ground with vernal flowers. 
 
 and the Pansy freakt with jet ; 
 
 The glowing Violet. MiLToy. 
 
 THE tints of this variable flower are scarce less 
 numerous than the names that have been bestowed
 
 PANSY. 73 
 
 on it. That of Pansy is a corruption of the French 
 name pensee, thought. In Shakspeare's Tragedy 
 of Hamlet, Ophelia says 
 
 and there are Pansies, that's for thoughts. 
 In the floral language, as adopted by the French, 
 this favourite flower means, " think of me," pensez 
 a moi. 
 
 The hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians 
 abound in floral symbols, and from hence we may 
 surmise that the Greeks became accustomed to this 
 figurative language. Their poetical fables are full 
 of the metamorphoses of their deities into plants ; 
 indeed there was no flower to which their imagina- 
 tions had not affixed some meaning : even to this 
 day a young Arcadian is seldom seen without his 
 turban full of flowers, presented to him by the 
 beauty he admires, by the silent language of which 
 his hopes are kept alive ; and it forms one of the 
 great amusements of the Greek girls to drop 
 these symbols of their esteem, or scorn, upon 
 the various passengers who pass their latticed 
 windows. 
 
 Shakspeare notices the Heart' s-ease by the name 
 of Love in Idleness, in his celebrated compliment 
 to Queen Elizabeth, which he makes Oberon de- 
 liver in the Midsummer Night's Dream : 
 
 That very time I saw . . 
 Flying betwixt the cold earth and the moon, 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Cupid all arm'd : a certain aim he took 
 
 At a fair vestal, throned by the west, 
 
 And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow, 
 
 As it would pierce a hundred thousand hearts : 
 
 But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft 
 
 Quench'd in the chaste beams of the wat'ry moon ; 
 
 And the imperial votaress pass'd on, 
 
 In maiden meditation, fancy free. 
 
 Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell : 
 
 It fell upon a little western flower, 
 
 Before, milk-white, now purple with love's wound, 
 
 And maidens call it Love-in-idleness. 
 
 Spenser calls it the <f pretty pawncy," and Mr. 
 Leigh Hunt admits it into his verse under the name 
 of HeartVease : 
 
 the garden's gem 
 
 Heart's-ease, like a gallant bold, 
 In his cloth of purple and gold. 
 
 In addition to these names, it bears those of Herb 
 Trinity, Three faces under a hood, Flame Flower, 
 Jump up and kiss me, Flower of Jove, Pink of my 
 John, and others equally whimsical and unappro- 
 priate. 
 
 Nature sports as much with the colours of this 
 little flower as she does with the features of the 
 human countenance ; and you may almost as well 
 seek a perfect likeness in two faces, as hunt for 
 Pansies of the same tint. 
 
 Whilst looking on a bank of these favourite 
 flowers, we may safely say with Cowley 
 
 Can all your tap'stries, or your pictures, show 
 More beauties than in herbs and flow'rs do grow ?
 
 PANSY. 75 
 
 The most brilliant purples of the artist appear dull 
 when compared to that of the Pansy, our richest 
 satins and velvets coarse and unsightly by a com- 
 parison of texture ; and as to delicacy of shading, 
 it is scarcely surpassed by the bow of Iris itself. 
 
 When seen individually, the flower must be no- 
 ticed with admiration, yet it is not calculated to 
 make a figure in the garden unless planted in large 
 clumps; but when a considerable plot of rising 
 ground is covered with these flowers, the appear- 
 ance cannot be equalled by the finest artificers in 
 purple and gold. The seeds may be sown at al- 
 most any season of the year. Those sown late in 
 the autumn blossom early, whilst those sown in the 
 spring flower during the summer. It is a flower 
 that bears transplanting ; and if the branches are 
 cut off when the beauty of the blossom is past, they 
 will send out fresh branches, and continue to flower 
 throughout the year ; but when suffered to ripen 
 the seed, the plant generally dies. We have fre- 
 quently kept the plants alive for several years by 
 this treatment ; and transplanting rather adds to the 
 beauty of the flower than otherwise. 
 
 The Pansy will grow in almost any soil and si- 
 tuation, but the self-sown plants degenerate very 
 rapidly, producing only small dingy flowers. 
 
 The perfume of the Pansy is too weak to be 
 
 E 2
 
 76 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 regarded in single flowers ; but a cluster of these 
 blossoms give out an agreeable fragrance. 
 
 The pansy is a native of most parts of Europe, 
 as well as of England. It also grows naturally in 
 Siberia and Japan. 
 
 In the Materia medica of old writers, the Pansy 
 holds a situation of some importance, but in modern 
 practice it is nearly, if not altogether, neglected, 
 for fashion creeps even into our pill-boxes.
 
 WALL-FLOWER. 7T 
 
 WALL-FLOWER. Cheiranthus Cheiri. 
 
 Natural Order Siliquosee, CrucifercG, or Cruciformes, a 
 Genus of the Tdradynamia Siliquosa Class. 
 
 The rude stone-fence, with Wall-flowers gay, 
 
 To me more pleasure yield 
 Than all the pomp imperial domes display. 
 
 SCOTT. 
 Ye Wall-flowers, shed your tints of golden dye, 
 
 On which the morning sunbeams love to rest, 
 On which, when glory fills the glowing west, 
 
 The parting splendours of the day's decline, 
 With fascination to the heart address'd, 
 
 So tenderly and beautifully shine, 
 As if reluctant still to leave that hoary shrine. 
 
 BAETOK. 
 
 IN floral language, the Wall-flower stands as the 
 emblem of fidelity in misfortune, because it attaches 
 itself to the desolate, and enlivens the ruins which 
 time and neglect would otherwise have rendered 
 terrible. It hides the savage strokes of feudal 
 times on the castle walls, fills the space of the wanted 
 stone in the mouldering church, and wreathes a 
 garland on the crumbling monument no longer 
 noticed by friendly relatives. 
 
 For this, obedient zephyrs bear 
 
 Her light seeds round yon turret's mould, 
 
 And, undispersed by tempest, there 
 They rise in vegetable gold. 
 
 LAXGHORNE.
 
 78 FLORA HISTOR1CA. 
 
 It is'? the flower with which the romance-writers 
 embellish all their decaying battlements, falling 
 towers, and monastic ruins, and it seems as neces- 
 sary to their stories as the dark ivy, the screeching 
 owl, and the gliding spectre itself. 
 
 Why loves my flower the sweetest flower 
 
 That swells the golden breast of May- 
 Thrown rudely o'er this ruin'd tower, 
 
 To waste her solitary day? 
 Why, when the mead, the spicy vale, 
 
 The grove and genial garden call, 
 Will she her fragrant soul exhale 
 
 Unheeded on the lonely wall ? 
 
 LANGHORN-E. 
 
 Our northern poet says 
 
 And well the lonely infant knew 
 Recesses where the Wall-flower grew, 
 And Honey-suckle loved to crawl 
 Up the low crag and ruin'd wall, 
 I deem'd such nooks the sweetest shade 
 The sun in all his round survey'd ; 
 And still I thought that shatter'd tower 
 The mightiest work of human power. 
 
 WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 During the reign of terror in France, the mis- 
 guided populace of Paris, not satisfied with the 
 devastation their frenzy occasioned in the capital, 
 flew to Saint Denis, with an intent to destroy every 
 vestige of the royal monuments, and to scatter in 
 the wind the ashes of their sovereigns, which were 
 deposited in the sacred abbey of that place. Some 
 time after, this spot was visited by the poet Treneuil,
 
 WALL-FLOWER. 79 
 
 who found heaps of sculptured fragments, which 
 the madness of the rabble had thrown into an ob- 
 scure court of the abbey, covered over with fragrant 
 Wall-flowers, which gave rise to his verse 
 
 Mais quelle est cette fleur que son instinct pieux 
 
 Sur 1'aile du zephir amene dans ces lieux ? 
 
 Quoi ! tu quittes le temple ou vivent tes racines, 
 
 Sensible giroflee, amante des mines, 
 
 Et ton tribut fidele accompagne nos rois ? 
 
 Ah ! puisque la terreur a courbe sous ies lois 
 
 Du lis infortune" la tige souveraine, 
 
 Que nos jardins en deuil te choisissent pour reine ; 
 
 Triomphe sans rivale, et que ta sainte fleur 
 
 Croisse pour le tombeau, le trone et le malheur. 
 
 TOMBEAUX DE SAINT-DENIS. 
 
 The common Wall-flower is a native of the South 
 of Europe, and is found wild in Switzerland, France, 
 and Spain ; and we may presume that it was one of 
 the earliest flowers which was cultivated in our 
 gardens, from its being so constantly found on the 
 ruins of our oldest buildings. Turner, one of the 
 earliest English writers on plants, calls it wall- 
 gelouer, or hartis ease. Gerard names it wall- 
 flower, yellow stocke gillo-flowers, and wall gillo- 
 flower. It is the Keyri, or Keiri, of the Arabians ; 
 the Xeyjtoj'ov of the Greeks ; the Viola lutea, and the 
 Leucoium luteum of the Latins ; the Violettas ama- 
 rillas of the Spanish ; Viola gialla of the Italians ; 
 the Giroflee des murailles, giroflier jaune violier, 
 muret, and ravenelle of the French ; and the Vio-
 
 80 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Keren of the Dutch. The modern name of Chei- 
 ranthus for the Wall-flower and the Stock was given 
 by Linnaeus, who gave it this Greek name from 
 X s 'j a hand, and avQor, a flower, which he derived 
 from the Arabic Keiri. It was by the same learned 
 botanist placed in the natural order Cruciformes, 
 because the flowers have only four petals, which 
 expand in the form of a cross. It is also, and more 
 correctly, ranked in the natural order Siliquosa, 
 because the seed is contained in a siliqua (pod.) 
 The silique is a pod, consisting of two valves, and 
 generally one dissepiment, extending its whole 
 length, and the seeds are fixed on both sutures ; it 
 differs from the legume (legumeii) , where the seeds 
 are fixed on one and the same suture, but alternately 
 upon the two valves. 
 
 The Wall-flowers which grow out of the cre- 
 vices of old buildings are of a much hardier nature 
 than those of the garden, for as they can receive 
 but little moisture by the fibres of their roots, their 
 stem becomes firm and woody, and able to bear the 
 frost without injury, whereas those cultivated in 
 the garden become succulent, and, consequently, 
 more susceptible of cold. The two principal va- 
 rieties of Wall-flower are the yellow, and the red 
 or bloody. These, by intermixture of impregna- 
 tion, have created numerous trivial varieties, as the 
 yellow striped with a reddish brown, or the red
 
 WALL-FLOWER. 81 
 
 striped with yellow. Thomson, whose pen was 
 not able to describe so sweet a flower by so terrible 
 a name as that of bloody wall, distinguishes it as 
 
 The yellow Wall-flower, stain'd with iron-brown, 
 And lavish Stock, that scents the garden round. 
 
 We have frequently sown the seeds of the rich 
 Iron-brown Coloured Wall-flower on old walls, 
 and they have uniformly degenerated into a plain 
 yellow; we, therefore, consider this to have been 
 the natural colour, and the dark tint to have been 
 first caused by the impregnation of its relative the 
 scarlet Stock, as by blending these two colours a 
 rich iron-brown will be produced. 
 
 The Wall-flower has also been cultivated in a 
 double state for more than two centuries and a 
 quarter, as Gerard, in his description of this plant, 
 says, '' whereupon do growe most pleasant sweete 
 yellow flowers, very double ; which plant is so well 
 knowen to all, that it shall be needlesse to spend 
 much time about the description." 
 
 Parkinson is the earliest writer that notices the 
 Wall-flower with striped or variegated petals. Ge- 
 rard notices only the plain yellow variety. 
 
 A most beautiful variety of this plant has lately 
 been introduced from Moscow, by Mr. Lambert, 
 of Boyton House, Wiltshire, which has been, 
 named the Chameleon Wall-flower, as its petals at 
 first appearance are of a bright yellow, but gra- 
 
 E 5
 
 82 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 dually become paler, until they are nearly blanched 
 white ; after which they change to a purple tint, so 
 that the top flowers are yellow, those in the middle 
 white, and the lower blossoms of a lilac or purple 
 hue. This variety is perfectly hardy, but not per- 
 manent, as in some instances it has changed to a cop- 
 per colour, and in others to a plain yellow or white. 
 It appears to us a mixture of the Yellow Wall- 
 flower with its kindred the White and Purple Stock. 
 We possess but few flowers that ornament the 
 garden so gaily and so sweetly as the Wall-flower : 
 the green of its foliage is of the most agreeable 
 tint, and endures through the winter, often treating 
 us with its fragrant and showy petals, amongst the 
 earliest and latest flowers that blossom ; and when 
 planted in clumps of six or ten plants each, the 
 effect is both gay and agreeable. By cutting off 
 the branches of seed pods, they will blossom a 
 second time, and we have often kept them for several 
 years by this means, which also insures flowers 
 early in the spring. 
 
 The yellow Wall-flower is the most conspi- 
 cuously gay in the shrubbery, but the dark iron- 
 brown is the most esteemed on the border of the 
 florist. It frequently happens that some plants, 
 when growing upon rich soil, produce flowers with 
 five petals ; it is the seed of these that should be 
 principally saved, as they frequently produce double 
 flowers.
 
 WALL-FLOWER. 83 
 
 April is the season recommended to sow the 
 seeds of the Wall-flower, which are soon of suffi- 
 cient size to transplant out, either in a nursery-bed 
 or on the spots they are intended to embellish: 
 they should always be planted sufficiently early in 
 the autumn to get a good rooting before the frost 
 approaches, and the drier and poorer the ground 
 the better will these plants endure the winter j but 
 when planted in a rich compost of vegetable mould, 
 cow-dung, and loam, well mixed, they arrive at a 
 state of perfection scarcely surpassed by any Eu- 
 ropean flower, particularly when potted in the 
 spring, and kept in a north-east aspect, where they 
 receive only about three hours sun each day. These 
 should be housed during the winter, giving them 
 but little water until they begin to show flower-buds, 
 when they may be more freely watered, and if they 
 prove of good kinds, they will be found to repay the 
 attention by the beauty and size of their flowers. 
 
 The perfectly double varieties, being destitute of 
 the organs of fructification, produce no seed, but 
 may be propagated by slips planted in the spring, 
 which readily take root if kept moist; but these 
 seldom make such fine plants, or produce so large 
 petals, as those raised from seeds that are saved 
 from semi-double flowers.
 
 84 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 COWSLIP. Primula veris. 
 
 Natural Order Precice. Lysimachice, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Cowslips wan, that hang the pensive head. 
 
 MlLTOJf. 
 
 THIS favourite flower of our native fields has had 
 its praises sung by our sweetest poets in a manner 
 that revives the pleasures of our infant days, when 
 gambling on the grass we delighted in the sports of 
 the Cowslip ball, catching and throwing at each 
 other the floral globes we had formed by uniting 
 the clusters of these fragrant blossoms. 
 
 How cheerful along the gay mead, 
 The Daisy and Cowslip appear ! 
 
 Hymn of Eve. 
 How exquisitely sweet 
 This rich display of flowers, 
 This airy wild of fragrance, 
 So lovely to the eye, 
 And to the sense so sweet. 
 
 G. B. ANDREIXI'S Adam. 
 
 When April's smiles the flowery lawn adorn, 
 And modest Cowslips deck the streamlet's side ; 
 
 When fragrant orchards to the roseate morn 
 
 Unfold their bloom, in heaven's own colours dyed. 
 
 MlCKLE.
 
 COWSLIP. 85 
 
 The flowery May, who from her green lap throws 
 The yellow Cowslip and the pale Primrose. 
 
 MILTON. 
 
 This is the time when the village children remind 
 us of the ancient games of Flora 
 
 Now let us garlands weave 
 Of all the fairest flow'rs, 
 Now at this early dawn. 
 
 ANDREINI. 
 
 equal meed receive : 
 
 At most such garlands from the field 
 As Cowslips, Pinks, and Pansies yield, 
 And rural hands can weave. 
 
 SHEXSTOXE. 
 
 It is impossible for the most refined imagination 
 to form a more delightful idea than Shakspeare has 
 connected with this flower, in making Ariel sing 
 in her freedom 
 
 Where the bee sucks, there lurk I ; 
 
 In a Cowslip's bell I lie : 
 
 There I couch when owls do cry. 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 Our poet also celebrates this flower in his Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream, where, in a few lines, he 
 makes it subservient to the Queen of the Fairies, 
 describes the character of the corolla, and alludes 
 to the institution of tall military courtiers which 
 were pensioned by Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 And I serve the fairy queen, 
 To dew her orbs upon the green : 
 The Cowslips tall her pensioners be ; 
 In their gold coats spots you see ;
 
 86 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Those be nibies, fairy favours, 
 In those freckles live their savours : 
 I must go seek some dew-drops here, 
 And hang a pearl in every Cowslip's ear. 
 
 Milton describes Sabrina's airy tread over this 
 flower by the beautiful song of the goddess. 
 
 Whilst from off the waters fleet 
 Thus I set my printless feet 
 O'er the Cowslip's velvet head, 
 That bends not as I tread. 
 
 The calyx of the Cowslip is the most delicate 
 of all the shades of green which are presented to 
 us by the vegetable kingdom : hence Hurdis calls it 
 
 The love-sick Cowslip, that the head inclines, 
 To hide a bleeding heart. 
 
 The last line is in allusion to the orange or red 
 mark in the cup of the flower, from whence it is 
 often called the Freckled Cowslip : 
 
 - rich in vegetable gold 
 
 From calyx pale the freckled Cowslip born, 
 
 Receives in amber cup the fragrant dews of morn. 
 
 Shakspeare refers to this red speckle, when he 
 makes lachimo describe Imogene as having 
 
 . on her left breast 
 
 A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops 
 
 I' the bottom of a Cowslip. 
 
 The Cowslip is seldom found in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of its relative Primrose ; for whilst 
 the modest Primrose partially conceals itself by the 
 branches of shrubs^ the Cowslip advances more
 
 COWSLIP. 
 
 boldly into the open fields, and decorates the slop- 
 ing hills with its pendant umbels of fragrant blos- 
 soms. The corollas of the Cowslip are often 
 gathered to make a kind of liqueur wine, which is 
 thought to promote sleep. Pope observes 
 
 For want of rest, 
 
 Lettuce and Cowslip wine : probatum est. 
 
 The author of the celebrated Poem on Cider also 
 recommends this wine, and says, 
 
 Thy little sons 
 
 Permit to range the pastures ; gladly they 
 Will mow the Cowslip posies, faintly sweet, 
 From whence thou artificial wines shall drain 
 Of icy taste, that in mid fervors, hest 
 Slack craving thirst, and mitigate the day. 
 
 PHILLIPS. 
 
 The flowers of the Cowslip are also frequently 
 mixed with tea, to give it a flavour, and sometimes 
 used alone in infusion, as they are thought to pos- 
 sess antispasmodic and anodyne qualities, and to 
 be also mildly corroborant. 
 
 Cowslips were formerly esteemed good for pains 
 in the joints and sinews, palsy, &c. and were there- 
 fore called ArthriticciB and Herbcs Paralysis by 
 medical writers ; for the same reason they were 
 called Palsy- worts in English, and d'Herbe cL 
 Paralysie by the French. The French peasants 
 call this flower Fleur de coucou, from its blooming 
 at the same time when the cuckow begins to sing ;
 
 88 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 but its general names in that country are Primevere 
 and Primer ole. 
 
 The name of Cowslip seems to have originated 
 from the Saxon word cuslippe, which is thought to 
 have originated from the resemblance which the 
 perfume of these flowers has to the breath of a 
 cow, or from its being so closely pressed away by 
 the lip of the cow in the pastures, where it is 
 considered an injurious weed, that occupies a 
 space which clover or other nutritious plants should 
 fill. 
 
 Silk worms will feed upon the leaves of the 
 Cowslip, but their silk is of no value unless they 
 are supplied with the leaves of the mulberry tree. 
 
 The leaves were formerly eaten in salad, but the 
 ease by which we now procure lettuce and other 
 exotic salad plants in our kitchen gardens, has 
 banished those of our fields from the table.
 
 OXLIP. Primula elatior. 
 
 I know a tiank whereon the Wild Thyme blows, 
 Where Oxlip, and the nodding Violet grows. 
 
 SHAKSPEARE. 
 
 THE Oxlip is so named from being a larger kind 
 of Cowslip, and it appears to be the offspring of 
 the Primrose impregnated by the Cowslip. Like 
 the mother plant, it seeks the thicket and the 
 hedge-rows, being seldom found in the open fields. 
 It also assimilates with the Primrose in scent, but 
 its umbellate flower-stalk proclaims it also a child 
 of the Cowslip. It is from this plant we seem to 
 have obtained, through cultivation, that beautiful 
 kindred flower the Polyanthos. The Oxlip is by 
 no means so common as the Primrose or the Cows- 
 lip ; it loves a clayey soil, and deserves a more 
 frequent situation beneath the rose bushes of the 
 garden than it generally occupies. Clumps of 
 Oxlips are great ornaments to the shrubbery, and 
 particularly so 
 
 Till riper months the perfect year disclose, 
 And Flora cries exulting " See my Rose !" 
 
 MRS. BARBAULD.
 
 90 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 NARCISSUS. Narcissus. 
 
 Natural Order Spathacea. Narcissi, Juss. A Genus 
 of the HexandriaMonogynia Class. 
 
 Thy sommer prowde, with Diffadillies dight. 
 
 SPENSEH. 
 
 Foolish Narcisse, that likes the wat'ry shore. 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 Jonquils, 
 
 Of potent fragrance. THOMSON. 
 
 THIS beautiful family of flowering bulbs, so cele- 
 brated by the ancient poets, under the name of 
 Narcissus, we shall notice in the order of their 
 flowering, commencing with the species distinguished 
 by the name of 
 
 DAFFODIL. 
 
 When early Primroses appear, 
 
 And vales are deck'd with Daffodils, 
 
 I hail the new reviving year, 
 And soothing hope my bosom fills. 
 
 WILLIAMS. 
 
 This is one of the flowers which the daughter of 
 Ceres was gathering when she was seized by Pluto. 
 
 Here, while young Proserpine, among the maids, 
 Diverts herself in these delicious shades ; 
 While, like a child, with busy speed and care 
 She gathers lilies here, and vi'lets there :
 
 NARCISSUS. 81 
 
 While first to fill her little lap she strives, 
 Hell's grizly monarch at the shade arrives ; 
 Sees her thus sporting on the flow'ry green, 
 And loves the blooming maid as soon as seen. 
 
 MAYNWARIXG'S Ovid. 
 
 Shakspeare alludes to this story in the Winter's 
 Tale, as well as to the early season in which the 
 blossoms of the Daffodil appear. 
 
 O, Proserpina, 
 
 For the flowers now that, frightened, thou let'st fall 
 From Dis's waggon ! Daffodils, 
 That come before the swallow dares, and take 
 The winds of March with beauty. 
 
 Milton has also noticed this early-flowering spe- 
 cies of the Narcissus, among the plants he selects to 
 adorn the tomb of Lycidas, in which is 
 
 every flower that sad embroidery wears : 
 
 And Daffodillies fill their cups with tears, 
 To strew the laureat hearse where Lycid lies. 
 
 This flower was evidently considered a kind of 
 Lily by early writers, and we are of opinion that 
 the name is a corruption of Dis's lily, as it is sup- 
 posed to be the flower dropped from the chariot of 
 that god, in his flight with Proserpine. Skinner 
 supposes it corrupted from Asphodelus. Spenser 
 spells it DifFadillies, and in one instance he says 
 
 Strew me the green round with Daffodowndillies, 
 And Cowslips, and King-cups, and loved Lilies.
 
 92 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Gerard, who wrote on plants in Spenser's days, 
 also calls them Daffadowndillies. They were also 
 called Chalice flowers, from the nectary, or cup, 
 being shaped like the chalice used at the commu- 
 nion table. They are likewise called Lent-Lilies, 
 from their flowering at the season of Lent. 
 
 The Daffodil which flowers the earliest is the 
 Spanish Daffodil, Narcissus minor. Parkinson, 
 notices this species as long back as 1620 ; yet it 
 remains nearly a stranger in our gardens at the 
 present day, although it stands the severity of our 
 winters in almost any soil and situation, and pro- 
 pagates very fast by the roots. Notwithstanding 
 the flowers are of a diminutive size, in comparison 
 to other Daffodils, yet it makes a pleasing variety 
 with the Snowdrop and other early -flowering plants, 
 and gives a gaiety to the walks of the shrubbery, 
 when planted in large clusters. 
 
 Our native Daffodil, Pseudo Narcissus, is the 
 next in succession, which also blossoms in March, 
 to embellish our wet pastures, the banks of orchards, 
 the borders of woods, and cottage gardens. We 
 have many varieties of this species of Narcissus, all 
 of which are important to the early decoration of 
 our flower-garden, but more particularly so to the 
 adornment of the shrubbery, as clumps of these 
 gay yellow flowers enliven the plantation beyond 
 those of any other flower which blossoms so early.
 
 NARCISSUS. 93 
 
 They should, therefore, be planted with a liberal 
 hand, amongst the evergreens that are seen from 
 the principal walks and windows of the house, 
 avoiding, as much as possible, the appearance of 
 the gardening art, by clumps at set distances. They 
 should be scattered, as it were, from Nature's hand, 
 sometimes half obscured by shrubs, and at others 
 springing out of the green turf beneath the spreading 
 branches of some sable-clad tree ; for beauties but 
 half discovered are the most coveted, as the charms 
 of the moon's beams are increased by passing clouds. 
 Gerard tells us, as long back as 1597, that he 
 received the Double Yellow Daffodil from his friend 
 Robinus, of Paris, and that the Yellow Spanish 
 Daffodil te doth likewise decke up our London 
 gardens, where they increase infinitely." Parkin- 
 son distinguishes it as the " Great Yellow Spanish 
 Bastard Daffodil,'"' which is the largest of the genus, 
 and bears the most magnificent flowers. Curtis, 
 therefore, distinguishes it as the Great Daffodil, 
 Narcissus major. It bears its fine golden chalice 
 amidst petals of the same colour, on a stalk two 
 feet in height. This species of Narcissus succeeds 
 the common Daffodil in its time of flowering, being 
 generally from three weeks to a month later before 
 it bursts from its sheath, which is the involucre 
 called by botanists Spathe, Spatha ; and hence 
 Linnaeus formed his natural order Spathacea, for
 
 94 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 all plants whose flowers proceed from a spathe. 
 M. Jussieu has arranged these plants under a dis- 
 tinct order, which he terms Narcissi. 
 
 The Single Daffodils require no further attention 
 than to observe the spot where they grow, so as not 
 to cut their roots by the hoe or spade ; but the 
 double varieties should be taken out of the ground, 
 with other curious bulbs ; for, by remaining in the 
 earth they will return to their natural single state, 
 which is, by the florists, improperly termed dege- 
 nerating. These bulbs should be replanted about 
 the end of October, observing to open a space of 
 ground the size intended for the clump, and then 
 cover them with the earth, which avoids the vacuum 
 left about the roots when planted with a dibble. 
 
 NARCISSUS. Narcissus. 
 
 Narcissus fair, 
 As o'er the fabled fountain hanging still. 
 
 THOMSON-. 
 
 THIS favourite flower has been made the emblem 
 of egotism and self-love, from the beautiful and 
 "well-known story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, of the 
 lovely and coy Narcissus, who was changed into this 
 plant, for slighting the fair Echo in favour of his 
 own shadow.
 
 NARCISSUS. 95 
 
 Narcissus on the grassy verdure lies : 
 But whilst within the crystal font he tries 
 To quench his heat, he feels new heats arise. 
 For, as his own bright image he surveyed, 
 He fell in love with the fantastic shade ; 
 And o'er the fair resemblance hung unmoved, 
 Nor knew, fond youth ! it was himself he loved. 
 
 The concluding lines of this pathetic poem are so 
 sweetly translated by Addison, that, although known 
 to every admirer of the Narcissus flower, we cannot 
 forbear repeating the moan of the languishing 
 youth, and the responses of his slighted Echo 
 
 She saw him in his present misery, 
 
 Whom spite of all her wrongs she grieved to see, 
 
 She answer'd sadly to the lover's moan, 
 
 Sigh'd back his sighs, and groan'd to every groan ; 
 
 " Ah youth ! beloved in vain," Narcissus cries 
 
 " Ah youth ! beloved in vain," the Nymph replies. 
 
 " Farewell,' ' says he ; the parting sound scarce fell 
 From his faint lips, but she replied " Farewell." 
 Then on the wholesome earth he gasping lies, 
 Till death shuts up those self-admiring eyes. 
 To the cold shades his flitting ghost retires, 
 And in the Stygian waves itself admires. 
 
 For him the Naiads and Dryads mourn, 
 Whom the sad Echo answers in her turn : 
 And now the sister-nymphs prepare his urn ; 
 When, looking for his corpse, they only found 
 A rising stalk, with yellow blossoms crown'd. 
 
 On this account the flower retains the name of 
 Narcissus in all the enlightened countries of Eu- 
 rope, although some etymologists derive the word 
 Nagxiffuof, Narcissus, from Nocgxwojr, on account 
 of its narcotic quality.
 
 96 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 We have now many different species of this 
 flower cultivated in our gardens ; yet the ornament- 
 ing of our parterres with a succession of earlv- 
 flowering bulbous plants has rather diminished than 
 increased for some years past : we cannot, however, 
 recommend a more desirable class of plants to the 
 notice of the florist than that of the Narcissus, 
 one of which, distinguished as the Poetic or White 
 Narcissus, is said to be indigenous to our soil, as 
 also to the South of France, Carniola, Switzerland, 
 as well as to the more genial climes where the poet 
 gave it so much celebrity. This Narcissus seldom 
 produces seed in England even by the assistance of 
 cultivation, and we are, therefore, of opinion that 
 the few plants which have been found at Shorne, 
 between Gravesend and Rochester, as well as those 
 discovered in Norfolk, are the offsets from imported 
 plants, probably of as early a date as the time of 
 the Romans, who, we may naturally conclude, 
 would not fail to plant the flower of their favourite 
 poet, when we discover that they paved the floors 
 of their dwellings in this country with tesellse that 
 represented his tales. 
 
 The Poet's Narcissus produces but one flower 
 on each stalk, which inclines to one side, and takes 
 a horizontal position. The corolla is of a pure 
 white, and expands quite flat, the petals being 
 rounded at the points. The cup of nectary in the
 
 NARCISSUS. 97 
 
 centre is very short, and fringed on the border 
 with a bright purple circle ; sometimes this flower 
 is found with a crimson edge to the nectary, and 
 we occasionally meet with them with two flowers 
 issuing from one spathe. Lobel notices its culti- 
 vation in this country as long back as 1570, and 
 Gerard has described and pictured four different 
 kinds of these Purple-ringed Narcissuses, that or- 
 namented British gardens in the time of Queen 
 Elizabeth. The varieties of this species of Nar- 
 cissus, flower from about the middle of April to 
 the end of May. They have an agreeable per- 
 fume, and the Double White Narcissus, which 
 is a variety of the poet's flower, is generally 
 esteemed either in the garden or when planted in 
 pots for the house, and but few flowers are better 
 calculated to fill the vase of the saloon or ornament 
 the epergne for the dinner-table. 
 
 The Polyanthos Narcissus is so called on account 
 of producing many flowers on one stalk. The ge- 
 neric name of this species Tazetta, is from the Ita- 
 lian, and signifies little cup, as the nectary or cha- 
 lice of this flower is small in comparison to many 
 kinds of Narcissus. 
 
 This Narcissus is a native of Portugal, Spain, 
 the South of France, Italy, and the Islands of the 
 Archipelago, and the neighbourhood of Constanti- 
 nople, as also of Japan. The Chinese call this 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 species of Narcissus Shuey seen fa, and it is used 
 by them for religious purposes at the new year. 
 The bulbs are sent every year from Chinchew, 
 being only kept at Canton during the time of their 
 flowering. They are planted in pots made to re- 
 tain water, filled with sand or small stones. 
 
 It is one of the most valuable of our flowering 
 bulbs, both on account of the early season in which 
 it blossoms, and the numerous flowers which it 
 gives out from one stalk, as well as for its agree- 
 able odour ; on this account, the florists in Hol- 
 land, Flanders, and France, have taken great pains 
 in improving it by cultivation, and raising nume- 
 rous varieties of it from seed : their catalogues 
 contain upwards of a hundred sub- varieties, distin- 
 guished by similar pompous and ridiculous names 
 to those which the English florists now bestow on 
 their Geraniums. The double-flowered Polyanthos 
 Narcissus has been cultivated in our gardens as 
 long back as the time of Queen Elizabeth, as Ge- 
 rard tells us it was sent from Constantinople " to 
 the Right Honourable the Lord Treasurer, among 
 other bulbed flowers." We learn from the same 
 author, that his Lordship's house was situated in 
 the Strand, with a garden running down to the 
 Thames, on whose banks a greater variety of plants 
 have been naturalized from that time to the present 
 day than ever graced the shores of any other ma- 
 jestic stream, for there
 
 NARCISSUS. S9 
 
 sits enthroned in vegetable pride 
 Imperial Kew by Thames's glittering side ; 
 Obedient sails from realms unfurrow'd bring 
 For her the unnamed progeny of Spring : 
 Attendant nymphs her dulcet mandates hear, 
 And nurse in fostering arms the tender year, 
 Plant the young bulb, inhume the living seed, 
 Prop the weak stem, the erring tendril lead ; 
 Or fan in glass-built fanes the stranger flowers 
 With milder gales, and steep with warmer showers. 
 
 DARWIK. 
 
 The bulbs of this species of Narcissus should 
 be planted in October, in good fresh earth of rather 
 a light loamy nature, with a small portion of sand 
 well mixed with it. Those bulbs that are planted 
 in pots should receive but moderate watering, so 
 as to keep up a slight moisture, but at the time of 
 their flowering a more plentiful supply of water 
 will greatly assist them. From the end of October 
 to the middle of November is the proper time to 
 place these bulbs in the glasses to flower with Hya- 
 cinths, and for this purpose the variety called the 
 Cyprus Narcissus is the most desirable. 
 
 It should be observed not to place the same 
 bulbs in water two successive years. After they 
 have flowered, and the leaves are quite decayed, 
 they should be laid in a shady situation to dry, but 
 not where they receive a draught of air ; in this 
 state they may be preserved until the season for 
 planting them in the natural ground or in pots of 
 earth. 
 
 F 2
 
 100 HtSTORICA FLORA. 
 
 The Sweet-scented Narcissus, Odorus, is admired 
 for the size of its yellow flower, as well as its fra- 
 grance. This species, which is a native of the South 
 of Europe, flowers in April. 
 
 JONQUIL. Jonquilla. 
 
 THE Jonquil, which in floral language is made the 
 emblem of desire, is distinguished from other spe- 
 cies of Narcissus by its rush-like foliage, and hence 
 the name, which is derived from juncus, rushy. 
 Gerard, and other old writers, call it " The rush 
 Daffodill and Narcissus Juncifolius." This is the 
 most fragrant of all the species of the Narcissus, and 
 is often found too powerful for small rooms. It 
 flowers well in water, and forms a good figure in 
 the grass with other Narcissuses, as its colour is 
 of the brightest yellow. When planted in the 
 open ground, it prospers best in a south-east aspect, 
 and it flowers stronger if an oyster-shell or tile be 
 put beneath the bulb to prevent the roots running 
 too deep into the earth. The bulbs of the Single 
 Jonquil may remain undisturbed in the earth for 
 several years, but the double variety should be taken 
 out of the ground when the leaves are quite de- 
 cayed, as it will otherwise return to its natural
 
 NARCISSUS. 101 
 
 single state, to the disappointment of the admirers 
 of double-petaled flowers. 
 
 When planted in the open garden, the Jonquil 
 should be placed in clumps of considerable size, as 
 it then makes an agreeable figure both by its rushy 
 foliage and its fine yellow flowers, and its roots 
 are less likely to be cut up or injured than when 
 scattered three or four in a bunch in various parts 
 of the border. As Jonquils and the more tender 
 Narcissuses are liable to be injured by the winds, 
 we recommend that they should be planted in such 
 situations as are sheltered from the west and south- 
 west wind by evergreen shrubs, which will also be 
 found to lengthen the duration of the flowers by 
 shading them from the afternoon sun, and these 
 blossoms will appear to greater advantage when 
 contrasted with the dark foliage of evergreen trees. 
 
 The hardier kinds of Narcissuses should also be 
 planted at the edge of ornamental waters, particu- 
 larly where there are small inlands or necks of land 
 running into lakes, for here they will not only con- 
 trast well with the blue waters, but will have their 
 beauties reflected in the stream. Keats observes 
 
 What first inspired a bard of old to sing 
 Narcissus pining o'er the untainted spring ? 
 In some delicious ramble he had found 
 A little space, with boughs all woven round : 
 And in the midst thereof a clearer pool 
 Than e'er reflected in its pleasant cool
 
 102 FLOKA HISTORICA. 
 
 The blue sky here and there serenely peeping 
 Through tendril wreaths fantastically creeping. 
 And on the bank a lonely flower he spied, 
 A meek and forlorn flower with nought of pride, 
 Drooping its beauty o'er the watery clearness, 
 To woo its own sad image into nearness. 
 Deaf to light Zephynis, it would not move ; 
 But still would seem to droop, to pine, to love. 
 So, while the poet stood in this sweet spot, 
 Some fainter gleamings o'er his fancy shot ; 
 Nor was it long ere he had told the tale 
 Of young Narcissus and sad Echo's bale.
 
 ANEMONE. 103 
 
 ANEMONE. Anemone. 
 
 Natural Order, MultisiUqucc. Ranunculacea;, 
 A Genus of the Polyandria Polygynia Class. 
 
 From the soft wing of vernal breezes shed, 
 Anemonies. 
 
 THOMSONS 
 
 That veteran troop who will not for a blast 
 Of nipping air, like cowards, quit the field. 
 
 MASON". 
 
 And coy Anemone, that ne'er uncloses 
 Her lips until they're blown on by the wind. 
 
 Hon. SMITH. 
 
 THE Greeks named this flower Anemone from. 
 ^Aveptof, the wind, because it flowers both in a 
 windy season, and in exposed, windy situations. 
 
 The ancients made this flower the emblem of 
 sickness. Pliny tells us that the magicians and 
 wise men in old times attributed wonderful powers 
 to this plant, and ordered that every person should 
 gather the first Anemone he saw in the year, re- 
 peating at the same time, " I gather thee for a 
 remedy against disease." It was then devoutly 
 placed in scarlet cloth and kept undisturbed, 
 unless the gatherer became indisposed, when it was 
 tied either around the neck or arm of the patient.
 
 104 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Some suppose that the Anemone was made the 
 emblem of sickness, in allusion to the fate of Adonis 
 the favourite of Venus, who changed his body into 
 this flower, after he had been killed by a boar which 
 he had wounded in the chase. 
 
 The flying savage, wounded, turn'd again, 
 
 Wrench' d out the gory dart, and foam'd with pain. 
 
 The trembling boy by flight his safety sought, 
 
 And now recall'd the lore which Venus taught. 
 
 But now too late to fly the boar he strove, 
 
 Who in the groin his tusks impetuous drove : 
 
 On the discolour'd grass Adonis lay, 
 
 The monster trampling o'er his beauteous prey. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Yet dares not Venus with a change surprise, 
 
 And in a flow'r bid her fall'n hero rise ! 
 
 Then on the blood sweet nectar she bestows, 
 
 The scented blood in little bubbles rose : 
 
 Little as rain drops, which fluttering fly, 
 
 Borne by the winds along a low'ring sky. 
 
 Short time ensued, till where the blood was shed 
 
 A flow'r began to rear its purple head : 
 
 Such as on Punic apples is reveal'd, 
 
 Or in the filmy rind but half conceal'd. 
 
 Still here the fate of lovely forms we see, 
 
 So sudden fades the sweet Anemone. 
 
 The feeble stems, to stormy blasts a prey, 
 
 Their sickly beauties droop and pine away. 
 
 The winds forbid the flow'rs to flourish long, 
 
 Which owe to winds their name in Grecian song. 
 
 E USD EN'S Ovid. 
 
 It is related by other mythologtsts, that Adonis 
 was restored to life again by Proserpine, on con- 
 dition that he should spend one half of the year 
 with her and the other with Venus. This is
 
 ANEMONE. 105 
 
 thought to imply the alternate return of summer 
 and winter. The festivals of Adonis commenced 
 with mournful lamentations and finished with joy 
 and gladness, which would seem to indicate a be- 
 lief of his return to life. 
 
 In all ages there appears to have been the same 
 love of meeting in large assemblies, no matter for 
 what cause, whether to deplore the fabled death of 
 Adonis, as the ancients did or, as in modern times, 
 to eat a dinner for the benefit of the Greek cause 
 against the Turks or to dance a French quadrille 
 at a London theatre by way of stamping a favour- 
 able impression on Spanish independence. 
 
 The Anemone was held in great estimation by 
 the Romans, who formed it into wreaths for the 
 head ; and there is scarcely any flower better cal- 
 culated to be artificially imitated, for the purpose of 
 ornamenting the temple of Venus ; for as its flowers 
 are of such various colours, the Venuses of every 
 tint, from the blackest child of Africa to the fairest 
 daughter of Britain, may suit their complexions by 
 wreaths of Anemonies. 
 
 At what period our ancestors first called this 
 plant by the Greek name is uncertain. Turner 
 writes on it by that appellation in 1568, and 
 observes that " it maye be called in English Rose 
 persely, because there groweth a floure like a single 
 
 F 5
 
 106 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 rose in y e middle of this herbe, which is very lyke 
 persely in the leaves that are aboute the rote." 
 
 That the Anemone was a favourite flower, and 
 sought after with diligence to embellish gardens in 
 the age of Elizabeth, will appear by an extract from 
 Gerard's Herbal of 1597, who says, The stock 
 or kindred of the Anemones or winde flowers, are 
 without number, or at least not known vnto any 
 one that hath written of plants. For Dodoneus 
 hath set forth five sorts : L'Obelius eight : Taber 
 Montanus, ten : myselfe haue in my garden twelve 
 different sorts ; and yet I do heare of diuers more 
 differing verie notably from any of these ; euery 
 newe yeere bringeth with it neweand strange kindes. 
 And euery countrey his peculiar plants of this 
 sorte, which are sent vnto vs from farre countries, 
 in hope to receive from vs such as our countrie 
 yeeldeth." 
 
 This excellent old writer on plants also notices 
 the four species of Anemonies which are indigenous 
 to this country, which proves that a diligent search 
 was then made to discover the number of our 
 native plants ; and when we reflect that they were 
 separated into families without any settled order of 
 classification, we cannot but admire with what 
 judgment and care they were arranged. 
 
 Although these native kinds of Anemonies sel- 
 dom are seen in the parterre of Flora, they deserve
 
 ANEMONE. 10r 
 
 a notice and a situation amongst flowering shrubs, 
 particularly as they cover the earth with blossoms 
 at the early season of March, April, and May, and 
 flourish under trees and in situations where the 
 greater variety of plants will not live. The Wood 
 Anemone, Nemorosa, bears a like flower, and should 
 be kept distinct from the Blue Mountain Anemone, 
 Apennina. This species loves a light loamy soil, 
 and may be planted in more open situations than 
 the former. Its purple buds and delicate lilac 
 petals are very ornamental when planted in large 
 patches. It has been found in the wild state, 
 near Harrow on the Hill, at Lord Spencer's Park 
 at Wimbledon, in a wood by Luton Hoe in 
 Bedfordshire, and at Berkhamstead in Hertford- 
 shire. It grows naturally near Rome, and like- 
 wise on the Apennines. 
 
 The Yellow Wood Anemone, Ranunculoides, 
 should also be planted beneath the trees and shrubs 
 of our plantations, for the sake of its golden colour. 
 The pasque flower Anemone, which bears the 
 Italian name of Pulsatilla, because its downy seeds 
 are driven about by the winds, loves more open 
 situations, and is admirably adapted to ornament 
 hilly situations by its violet-coloured flowers which 
 blossom in April and May. There is a variety of 
 this species with white petals, and another with 
 double flowers.
 
 108 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The roots of all these native Anemonies may be 
 procured in the woods, and taken up at the season 
 the leaves decay, to transplant in the shrubbery or 
 to ornament the walks of the wilderness planta- 
 tions, which but few flowers do more effectually 
 in the spring : 
 
 thickly strewn in woodland bowers, 
 
 Anemonies their stars unfold. 
 
 THE GARDEN ANEMONIES. 
 
 THIS exotic family of plants has been imported 
 from most parts of Europe as well as from North 
 America, to embellish and enliven our parterres 
 at the earliest dawn of spring ; and when we take 
 into account the infinity of varieties and the bril- 
 liancy of their numerous colours, we cannot refrain 
 from expressing our regret that the Anemone 
 should be so sparingly cultivated as it is at the 
 present day. 
 
 The Hortus Kewensis notices twenty-one dis- 
 tinct species of this plant, and Marty n enumerates 
 twenty- eight, besides varieties of every species 
 which have been obtained by seed. The Anemo- 
 nies are generally divided into two distinct families 
 by the florists, under the names of Coronaria and 
 Hortensis. The latter expands its six petals in
 
 ANEMONE. 10 
 
 the form of a star, and hence is called the Star 
 Anemone. This species was introduced by our 
 forefathers previous to 1596, and has been so im- 
 proved by some careful cultivators, that it may 
 justly rank amongst the most elegant as well as the 
 most showy of our early flowers. 
 
 Its colours run through all the shades of crim- 
 son, scarlet, purple, blue, and yellow, down to 
 pure white, with all the delicate intermediate tints 
 of peach-blossom, violet, pink, and primrose; and 
 frequently the petals are beautifully striped or ex- 
 quisitely shaded, from the fullest of each colour to 
 the softest stain of each dye. These flowers are 
 equally admired in the single state, semi-double, or 
 when all the filaments are converted into petals. 
 The Star Anemone grows naturally in Switzerland, 
 Provence, Italy, and Germany, as also in the 
 vicinity of Constantinople, from whence Gerard 
 tells us it was originally brought. Mr. Hobhouse 
 informs us that he found these plants blooming in 
 wild profusion under the hedges and beside the 
 paths between Smyrna and Bournabat. The 
 Turks distinguish those with double flowers by the 
 name of Giul, and Gulcatamer, and the variety 
 with cut or parsley-leaved foilage Laltf benzede and 
 Galipoli lale, whilst those with single flowers are 
 named Binizate and Binizade. 
 
 The Coronaria or Poppy Anemonies were origi-
 
 110 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 nally brought from the Levant, and were known 
 in our gardens as early as the Star Anemone, but 
 their cultivation was carried to a great extent both 
 in Holland and in France before they were much 
 known in England. Mr. Ray enumerates near 
 three hundred varieties of Anemonies, and our 
 modern seedsmen offer us nearly two hundred va- 
 rieties of the Poppy Anemone, through all the 
 varying hues of the last kind, and still more diver- 
 sified in the shades of their double petals : we shall 
 therefore desist from description, and say with 
 Miss Mitford, 
 
 'Twere hard to sing thy varying charm. 
 
 As our object is to improve the appearance of 
 the garden rather than to give the nurseryman 
 directions, we shall not speak of Anemone beds, 
 but advise the best method of planting clumps of 
 these flowers, whose gaiety so considerably contri- 
 butes to lengthen the floral year. 
 
 To flower these plants in the greatest perfection, 
 a suitable compost must be prepared of good loam 
 and rotten cow-dung, adding more or less of the 
 latter according to the lightness or richness of the 
 loam. This should be well mixed, and if prepared 
 a year before and frequently turned over, so much 
 the better. Some persons prefer a clayey loam 
 with a fourth part of rotten dung. Where the 
 Anemonies are to be planted, let holes be dug of
 
 ANEMONE. Ill 
 
 the size the clumps are to be formed, of about 
 eighteen inches deep, and filled about six inches 
 with well-rotted dung, as the bottom of melon or 
 cucumber beds. This space must then be filled 
 with the compost or mixed earth, leaving it a few 
 days to settle before the roots are planted. Ob- 
 serve to place that side of the roots next to the 
 earth in which the decayed rudiments of small 
 thready fibres are seen, then cover them about two 
 inches deep with the prepared soil. 
 
 This may be done about the middle of Septem- 
 ber, with a second planting in October, and a third 
 in November, by which means the clumps will 
 flower in succession during the Spring. Some 
 roots should also be reserved for the spring plant- 
 ing which will flower in the summer, and those 
 planted as late as August will flower in the autumn. 
 In choosing roots of Anemonies, those that are 
 fresh, plump, and of a moderate size, should be 
 selected, for large roots that are hollow in the 
 centre never blow strong. The roots may be di- 
 vided to increase the best varieties, but care must 
 be taken not to break off the little tubers, as every 
 one of these will produce a plant. The time to 
 take up the roots will be observed by the decaying 
 of the leaves, which is generally about the month 
 of June or July, according to the time of their 
 flowering : but they must in no case be suffered tq
 
 112 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 remain in the ground after the proper time, for in 
 wet years the roots will shoot afresh, and be thereby 
 materially weakened. 
 
 It is recommended to wash the roots when taken 
 out of the ground, and then to spread them on a 
 board or mat in a dry, shady place. When per- 
 fectly dried, they are more securely kept in bags, 
 hung up to the ceiling of a dry room, than when 
 kept on shelves or boxes, where the mice will fre- 
 quently destroy them. 
 
 As the roots of Anemonies bear a considerable 
 price, we shall notice the best mode of raising them 
 from seeds, first describing the criterion of a fine 
 double Anemone ; and although the perfectly 
 double flower produces no seed, it will serve to 
 govern the cultivator in the choice of those single 
 and semi-double flowers which we recommend the 
 seed to be saved from. 
 
 The stem should be strong, elastic, and erect, 
 and not less than nine inches high. " The blossom, 
 or corolla, should be at least two inches and a half 
 in diameter, consisting of an exterior row of large, 
 substantial, well-rounded petals, or what is termed 
 guard-leaves, at first horizontally extended, and 
 then turning a little upwards, so as to form a broad 
 shallow cup, the interior of which should contain a 
 great number of long, small petals, imbricating each 
 other, and rather reverting from the centre of the
 
 ANEMONE. 113. 
 
 blossom. The colour should be clear and distinct 
 when diversified in the same flower, or brilliant 
 and striking if but simple, as blue, crimson, or 
 scarlet, &c., in which case, the bottom of the 
 broad exterior petals is generally white; but the 
 beauty and contrast is considerably increased when 
 both the exterior and interior petals are regularly 
 marked with alternate blue and white, or pink and 
 white, &c. stripes, which, in the broad petals, 
 should not extend quite to the margin.'"' 
 
 The seed being very light and downy, must be 
 gathered from time to time as it opens, for it will 
 otherwise be blown away by the first breeze of 
 wind. In August a bed of good mould should be 
 prepared, and the seeds being mixed with sand, so 
 as to prevent their falling in lumps, must be strewn 
 as regularly as possible, and then some earth should 
 be lightly sifted over the bed about a quarter of 
 an inch thick. If the season should prove dry, the 
 bed must be watered in the most gentle manner so 
 as not to wash the seeds out of the ground. For 
 this purpose a watering-pot should be used, the 
 nose of which should be perforated with very small 
 holes, that will discharge only fine streams of water. 
 It is also advisable to cover the beds with a mat 
 during the great heat of the day, but always 
 attending to the removing them at sunset, so that 
 the bed may have the advantage of the moist dews
 
 114 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 and gentle showers. The young plants appear in 
 about ten weeks after they are sown, and they will 
 then require care to protect them from severe frosts, 
 which often injure them in the months of February 
 and March, if not screened by some fence from 
 the cutting winds of that season. In the following 
 autumn the beds should be carefully weeded, and 
 about a quarter of an inch of additional mould 
 should be placed over them. The plants generally 
 flower the second year, after which the roots may 
 be taken up as before directed. 
 
 We shall close our history of the Anemone with 
 an anecdote related by the Abbe la Pluche, who 
 states that a Parisian florist, named Bachelier, 
 having procured some very beautiful species of 
 these plants from the East, kept them to himself 
 in the most miserly manner for ten years, during 
 which time neither friendship nor money could 
 obtain the least root of one of these rare plants from 
 this selfish florist. A witty member of the French 
 parliament, vexed to see one man hoard up for 
 himself what ought to be distributed to beautify 
 gardens in general, paid him a visit at his country- 
 house, where, in walking round the garden, and 
 observing the Anemonies were in seed, let his robe 
 fall upon them as if by accident; by this device he 
 swept off a considerable number of the little 
 feathery seeds, which stuck fast to it. His servant,
 
 ANEMONE. 115 
 
 whom he had purposely instructed, wrapped them 
 up in a moment, without exciting suspicion or 
 attention. The innocent theft was made known to 
 the friends of the member, who enjoyed the joke 
 against the niggardly florist, and they by this pro- 
 ject soon spread the young plants over the Parisian 
 gardens.
 
 116 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 HYACINTH. Hyacinthus. 
 
 Natural Order Liliacece. Coronarioe, Lin. Asphoddi, 
 Juss. A Genus of the Hexandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 And all about grew every sort of flowre, 
 To which sad lovers were transformde of yore ; 
 Fresh Hyacinthus, Phoebus paramoure 
 And dearest love. 
 
 SPENSER'S Fa'cry Queene. 
 
 The melancholy Hyacinth that weeps 
 All night, and never lifts an eye all day. 
 
 HURDIS. 
 
 THE Hyacinth, so celebrated in the songs of the 
 poets, from the time of Homer to the present day, 
 is made hieroglyphical of play, or games, in allusion 
 to the fabulous origin of this favourite flower, which 
 mythologists tell us sprang from the blood of 
 Hyacinthus, a youth greatly beloved both by 
 Apollo and Zephyr ; but who preferring the Sim 
 to the Winds, created a jealousy in the bosom of 
 the latter god, which caused his destruction. 
 
 Hyacinthus, being at quoits with Apollo, Zephyr, 
 unperceived, took the opportunity of revenging 
 himself on his rival, by causing him to become the 
 instrument of the death of their favourite; for, 
 whilst Apollo's quoit was in the air, Zephyr blew
 
 HYACINTH. 117 
 
 it from its course towards the head of the unfortu- 
 nate youth. Ovid, however, mentions the circum- 
 stance as sollows : 
 
 A well poised disk first hasty Phoebus threw, 
 It cleft the air and whistled as it flew ; 
 It reach'd the mark, a most surprising length, 
 Which spoke an equal share of art and strength. 
 Scarce was it fall'n, when, with too eager hand, 
 Young Hyacinth ran to snatch it from the sand ; 
 But the curst orb, which met a stony soil, 
 Flew in his -face with violent recoil. 
 
 As in a water'd garden's blooming walk, 
 
 Whens ome rude hand has bruised its tender stalk, 
 
 A fading Lily droops its languid head, 
 
 And bends to earth, its life and beauty fled, 
 
 So Hyacinth, with head reclined, decays, 
 
 And, sick'ning, now no more his charms displays. 
 
 Quick to his aid distress'd Apollo flew, 
 
 And round the hero's neck his arms he threw ; 
 
 But whilst he held him to his throbbing breast, 
 
 And all the anguish of his soul exprest, 
 
 His polish'd limbs, by strange enchantment's power, 
 
 Shoot into buds and blossom into flower, 
 
 His auburn locks in verdant foliage flow, 
 
 And wreaths of azure flow'rets shade his brow. 
 
 OVID. 
 
 Nor are the Spartans, who so much are famed 
 For virtue, of their Hyacinth ashamed ; 
 But still, with pompous woe and solemn state, 
 The Hyaciuthian feasts they yearly celebrate. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 An annual solemnity, called Hyacinthia, was 
 held at Amyclse, in Laconia, in honour of Hya- 
 cinthus and Apollo, which lasted three days, the
 
 118 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 first of which was observed by affected mourning 
 for the death of Hyacinth us, during which time 
 none appeared with their usnal garlands about their 
 heads, and they refused to eat bread, or to sing in 
 honour of Phosbus; but the two following days 
 were spent in the games customary at ancient fes- 
 tivals, even the slaves were liberally entertained 
 during this period, and the altars of Apollo were 
 loaded with the accustomed victims. 
 
 Homer mentions the Hyacinth amongst the 
 flowers which formed the genial couch of Jove and 
 Juno. 
 
 Thick new-born Violets a soft carpet spread, 
 And clust'ring Lotos swell'd the rising bed, 
 And sudden Hyacinths the turf bestrow, 
 And flow'ry Crocus made the mountain glovr. 
 
 Iliad, Book 14. 
 
 Crowns of Hyacinths were worn by the young 
 Greek virgins who assisted at the weddings of their 
 friends. Some authors suppose the Red Martagon 
 Lily to be the poetical Hyacinth of the ancients, 
 but this is evidently a mistaken opinion, as the 
 azure blue colour alone would decide ; and Pliny 
 describes the Hyacinth as having a sword grass, 
 and the smell of the grape flower, which agrees 
 with the Hyacinth, but not with the Martagon. 
 Again, Homer mentions it with fragrant flowers of 
 the same season of the Hyacinths. The poets also 
 notice the Hyacinth under different colours, and
 
 HYACINTH. 119 
 
 every body knows that the Hyacinth flowers with 
 sapphire-coloured purple, crimson, flesh, and white 
 bells, but a Blue Martagon will be sought for in vain. 
 The English Hyacinth, Nutans, or Non Scrip- 
 tus, commonly called the Harebell, has scarcely been 
 less celebrated by our native poets than that of the 
 ancients by their fables. It is hardly possible 
 for a person of poetical imagination to pass our 
 sloping hedge-rows when covered with the azure 
 bells of this native Hyacinth, mixed, as they gene- 
 rally are, with the delicate colour of the Primrose, 
 without having their ideas softened into song, when 
 they 
 
 Behold the woody scene 
 
 Deck'd with a thousand flowers of grace divine. 
 
 ANDREINI. 
 Milton says, 
 
 I know each lane and every alley green, 
 Dingle or bushy dell, of this wild wood, 
 And every bosky bourn from side to side, 
 JVIy daily walks and ancient neighbourhood. 
 
 Comus. 
 
 Mrs. Charlotte Smith, who spent her youth at 
 Bignor Park, one of the most romantic and beauti- 
 ful spots beneath the Sussex Downs, tells us 
 
 In the lone copse, or shadowy dell, 
 Wild clustered knots of Harebells blow. 
 
 For this sweet spot we may justly borrow the 
 lines of Milton, calling it
 
 120 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 A wilderness of sweets ; for Nature here 
 Wanton'd as in her prime, and play'd at will 
 Her virgin fancies, pouring forth more sweet, 
 Wild above rule or art, enormous bliss. 
 
 The distinguished family who now reside at 
 Bignor Park have too correct a taste to destroy the 
 natural beauties of the spot, which our fair poetess 
 has made celebrated, either by the introduction of 
 the axe, or the line and rule, yet we perceived here 
 
 Flowers worthy of Paradise. 
 
 Shakspeare's magic pen alone is sufficient to stamp 
 celebrity on any plant it has glided over ; for, how- 
 ever slightly he touches on it, it is fully painted to 
 our senses. 
 
 -With fairest flowers, 
 
 Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, 
 I'll sweeten thy sad grave : thou shalt not lack 
 The flower that's like thy face, pale Primrose ; nor 
 The azured Harebell like thy veins : no, nor 
 The leaf of Eglantine, whom, not to slander, 
 Outsweeten'd not thy breath. 
 
 The fair poetess, who personated our bard's 
 Perdita so charmingly, contemplates our native 
 Hyacinth under the name of Bluebell. 
 
 Bluebell ! how gaily art thou drest, 
 
 How neat and trim art thou, sweet flow'r ; 
 
 How silky is thy azure vest, 
 
 How fresh to flaunt at morning's hour ! 
 
 Couldst thou but think, I well might say 
 
 Thou art as proud in rich array
 
 HYACINTH. 121 
 
 As lady, blithesome, young, and vain, 
 Prauk'd up with folly and disdain, 
 Vaunting her power, 
 
 Sweet flower ! 
 
 Mas. ROBINSON. 
 
 Browne says 
 
 The Harebell, for her stainless azured hue, 
 Claims to be worn by none but those are true. 
 
 This flower is called Harebell, from the campanula, 
 or bell-shape of its flowers, and from its being 
 found so frequently in those thickets most fre- 
 quented by hares. 
 
 The name of Bluebell is a sufficient distinction 
 for those cottage children who knowjbut few besides 
 their native plants, but we have occasionally found 
 them in coppices with a pure white corolla. Gerard 
 tells us, that they have been found with " a faire 
 Carnation colour ;" but we should suspect that 
 these were the remains of the bulbs brought into 
 this country by the Romans, as the places noticed, 
 where they have been found, are known to have 
 been the stations of that people when in this part 
 of the world. 
 
 In the time of Queen Elizabeth, when the high- 
 plaited ruff was worn both by gentlemen and ladies, 
 the juice of the bulbs of this plant was used to 
 make starch, and also to paste books, and to fix 
 feathers upon arrows instead of glue. 
 
 Dioscorides tells us, that this root will procure 
 
 VOL. i. G
 
 122 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 hair on bald and beardless men. We presume it 
 was to be used in the manner of glue, as is now 
 said to be practised by some mustachioed beaux. 
 
 Gerard calls this plant " Blew Harebell, or 
 English Jacint," which was evidently from the 
 French Jacinthe. The term of Non Scriptus was 
 applied to this plant by Dodonaeus, because it had 
 not the Ai, Ai on the petals, and therefore could 
 not be the Hyacinthus Poeticus. 
 
 GARDEN HYACINTH. Orientalis. 
 
 Hyacinth, with sapphire bell 
 Curling backward . 
 
 Some deep empurpled . 
 
 Some as the Rubin laughing sweetly red, 
 
 Some like fair Emeraudes not yet well ripened. 
 
 HAD the Oriental Hyacinth been disregarded by the 
 poets, it could not have failed claiming our notice 
 and admiration by its extreme delicacy of colouring, 
 elegance of form, and delightful fragrance, which 
 fit it alike for the garden of choicest plants, or the 
 vase of odorous flowers. Hence, no wonder that 
 Phoebus became enamoured with its beauty, and 
 Zephyrs sighed to enjoy its sweet breath that our 
 artists should invent glasses for the bulbs, and our
 
 HYACINTH. 123 
 
 fair countrywomen should foster them with such 
 care in their saloons. 
 
 The Hyacinth may be considered as supreme 
 amongst the flowers of the Spring, as the Rose is 
 amongst those of the Summer ; and its charms have 
 rendered it a successful rival to the Tulip even in 
 the hearts of the Dutch florists. It is a native of 
 the Levant, and grows abundantly about Aleppo 
 and Bagdad , where it flowers naturally in February. 
 Lepechin found it in Russia, not only with purple 
 corollas, but with yellow flowers also. These 
 beautiful flowers appear to have been common in 
 our gardens prior to 1597, as Gerard does not 
 mention them as being rare in his time, but 
 observes, " These kinds of jacints have been 
 brought from beyond the seas, some out of one 
 countrey, and some out of others, especially from 
 the East countries, whereof they tooke their name 
 Orientalist 
 
 It is probable that these bulbs and many seeds 
 of eastern plants were brought to this country 
 during the early part of the reign of Elizabeth, as 
 we find that about the year 1561 she enabled 
 Anthony Jenkinson and others to visit Persia on 
 a trading speculation in raw silk, &c., in which 
 they eventually succeeded ; and Monsieur de Thou 
 remarks, that this company of the English also 
 obtained the exclusive privilege of importing all 
 
 G 2
 
 124 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 manner of foreign commodities into Russia, and by 
 this support they were encouraged to visit the 
 several provinces of the East more carefully than 
 other nations could do. 
 
 The Dutch, who at that period were the greatest 
 florists in Europe, soon turned these bulbs to 
 account ; and it is rather singular that neither the 
 French nor the English should ever have made the 
 attempt of raising flower-bulbs for the market : to 
 .this day, the rearing them from seed in private gar- 
 dens is seldom, if ever, practised in this country, 
 even in situations offering all the advantages of soil 
 which the Dutch are said to possess in so high a 
 degree for bulbous flowering plants. 
 
 We are satisfied that if it should become the 
 practice to raise our own bulbs from seed produced 
 in this country, our Hyacinths would not be found 
 jLp degenerate so soon, and we should produce much 
 finer flowers of this kind than those which at present 
 embellish our borders. They would be more per- 
 fectly naturalized to our soil and climate, and more 
 interest would be excited in our florists to rival 
 each other in producing the finest plants of this 
 beautiful flower. It is admitted that the time re- 
 quired (namely, five years) to raise these bulbs 
 from seed to a state fit for the market, is a long 
 period for a planter to wait for a return ; but when 
 once this is accomplished, the succession goes on
 
 HYACINTH. 125 
 
 annually with as much regularity as a crop of seeds 
 of any description ; and when we consider the high 
 price which bulbs of good varieties fetch in the 
 shops of our seedsmen, it must appear to be a most 
 lucrative branch of gardening. 
 
 The cultivation of Hyacinths receives more 
 attention, and is in higher estimation with Dutch 
 florists at present, than that of tulips. The Hy- 
 acinth is certainly a very superior kind of flower to 
 the Tulip, but we presume that the great attention 
 given to it by the Dutch is owing to the increased, 
 demand from London and Paris, where the roots 
 are sent in large cases and casks, and where, from 
 our own observation, we conclude that nearly 
 three-fourths of the bulbs that are imported are 
 lost through carelessness after they have once 
 flowered, particularly those that are grown in 
 
 It is calculated that more than a hundred English 
 acres are occupied for rearing bulbous plants, prin- 
 cipally Hyacinths, near the village of Overveen, in 
 the neighbourhood of Haarlem, where the best 
 growers keep about 50,000 bulbs as breeders, and 
 these florists now enumerate upwards of 2000 
 varieties of the Hyacinth. The list of one florist 
 at Haarlem enumerates more than 800 kinds of 
 double-flowered Hyacinths, besides about 400 
 varieties of the single kind.
 
 126 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Peter Voerhelm was one of the earliest cultiva- 
 tors of the Double Hyacinth, which was about the 
 beginning of the last century. Previous to his 
 time, the single kind only had been propagated^ 
 This florist named his first Double Hyacinth Mary, 
 but the kind is now lost ; and his third double flower 
 was called The King of Great Britain : this is 
 now the oldest Double Hyacinth known, a single 
 bulb of which used to bring the price of a thousand 
 florins, or one hundred pounds sterling; and, about 
 seventy years back, two hundred pounds was no 
 uncommon price for a single bulb of a favourite 
 Hyacinth. At present, about ten pounds is the 
 general price given for the finest bulbs, and from, 
 one to ten shillings for the varied sorts ; what are 
 called the common mixtures, are sold from two to 
 three pounds a hundred. 
 
 The criterion of a fine Double Hyacinth consists 
 in its stem being strong, tall, and erect, garnished 
 with numerous and large bells, each supported by 
 a short and strong peduncle, or foot-stalk, in a 
 horizontal position, so that the whole may have a 
 compact pyramidical form, with the upper flower 
 perfectly erect. The flowers should be large, and 
 perfectly double, that is, well filled with broad bold 
 petals, appearing rather convex than flat or hollow. 
 The flowers should occupy about one half the 
 engthofthe stem. The colours should be clear
 
 HYACINTH. 127 
 
 and bright, whether plain yellow, red, blue, or 
 white ; or variously intermixed and diversified in 
 the eye which is thought to give additional lustre 
 and elegance to the Hyacinth. Strong bright 
 colours are in greater request, and bear a higher 
 price than such as are pale. Under bad treatment, 
 good Hyacinths will degenerate in two or three 
 years; but in Holland they have been preserved 
 perfect for nearly a century. 
 
 The Hyacinth has a coated bulb, that is, it con- 
 sists of a number of concentric laminae, like the 
 onion, and it is hence termed bulbus tunicatus ; but 
 the natural history of the Hyacinth differs as much 
 from the onion in the economy of its nature as in 
 its perfume. 
 
 Every body knows that the bulb of the common 
 onion is exhausted by its flower stem, and that 
 when it has performed its oviparous duties, as 
 ordained by nature, there are no remains of the 
 bulb left. Not so with the Hyacinth : there Nature 
 works in a more complicated manner ; for whilst the 
 stem is sent out of the earth to form its seed, the 
 bulb is forming a new germ or bud within the next 
 coat or circle of the laminas ; and thus whilst the 
 flower stem is exhausting the old germ or heart of 
 the bulb, a regeneration is taking place within the 
 body for the succeeding year : nor is this all, for as 
 the Hyacinth possesses a viviparous nature also, it
 
 128 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 throws off perfect plants from its side beneath the 
 earth. 
 
 Who can look into these mysterious works of 
 Nature without having his mind enlightened, and 
 his admiration increased towards the Omnipotent 
 Being 
 
 whose sun exalts, 
 
 Whose breath perfumes, and whose pencil paints 
 The Hyacinth. 
 
 Some varieties of the Hyacinth do not so readily 
 throw off young bulbs as others, but require all the 
 nourishment to form their flowers, and support the 
 seed vessels. In this case a simple expedient is 
 resorted to, if the variety be scarce and valuable. 
 The base of the bulb is slightly cut or notched in 
 three or four places which hinders the plant from 
 exhausting itself in the production of a flower-stem, 
 and at the same time induces a tendency in the bulb 
 to throw out off-sets at the Avounded places ; and 
 these off-sets soon become independent plants, with 
 all the character of the parent bulb. 
 
 To raise Hyacinths from seed is doubly desirous, 
 as it increases the quantity and also the variety of 
 this admired flower. Plants that have a strong and 
 straight stem, and a regular and well formed pyramid 
 of bells that are semi-double, should be selected for 
 seed. They should not be gathered till they have 
 become perfectly black and ripe, at which time the
 
 HYACINTH. 129 
 
 pericarpium will appear yellow on the outside, and 
 will begin to open. The stem, with which the seed 
 is connected, is then to be cut off, and placed in a 
 dry airy situation, but not in the sun, where it may 
 remain until the time of sowing, which is either 
 about the end of October or the beginning of 
 March. The seeds should be sown in pots or 
 boxes filled with compost, as will be described. 
 The seeds should be as regularly sown as possible, 
 and then covered with the compost about half an 
 inch thick. These pots, or boxes, should be placed 
 in a warm situation for the winter. They will 
 never require water or other attention, excepting to 
 keep the boxes free from weeds and the frost. At 
 the approach of the second winter, an additional 
 stratum of about half an inch of the compost must 
 be spread over the pots or boxes, and about the 
 middle of July in the third year, the bulbs may be 
 taken up, dried, and treated in the same manner as 
 old bulbs or off-sets. Some of the bulbs may be 
 expected to flower in the fourth year, and others in 
 the fifth and sixth, according to their strength. 
 The Dutch florists consider it a successful sowing 
 if they procure four or six good varieties out of 
 each thousand bulbs so raised. Maddock says we 
 must be content if we find one flower in five hun- 
 dred deserving a name or place in a curious collec- 
 tion ; but for ourselves we should prefer seeing the 
 
 G 5
 
 130 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 four hundred and ninety-nine common varieties 
 flowering at one time on our parterre, than a single 
 plant of the most curious variety : not but that we 
 would wish them all to be of the best kinds, if pos- 
 sible ; but in Hyacinths, as in Violets, we covet 
 quantity, both to gratify the sight and the smell. 
 Those for the house, or that are intended to be 
 sheltered by awnings, should be of the most curious 
 kinds ; whilst those of least attractions may form 
 clumps in the open borders, but where they are in 
 some degree screened by shrubs or taller plants. 
 
 Off-sets will bloom the second year, and be tolera- 
 bly strong the third, if properly treated. They may 
 be planted soon after they are taken from the old 
 bulbs; and it is desirable to form a separate bed for 
 these young bulbs, which should be in an open 
 part of the garden, screened from the north and 
 eastern winds. The bed should be a few inches 
 above the common level of the garden, so that 
 superfluous moisture may run off; and for this end 
 it is advised that the beds be formed of a rounding 
 or convex shape. The bulbs should be covered 
 about two inches deep with the compost. 
 
 The compost most esteemed at Haarlem for 
 growing Hyacinths consists of pure white sand, 
 rotted leaves of trees, fine peat earth, and a small 
 proportion of thoroughly rotted cow-dung, and this 
 prepared soil is renewed annually after the bulbs
 
 HYACINTH. 131 
 
 are lifted in summer. The compost in which they 
 grew is removed to the depth of about nine inches, 
 and the sub-soil is digged over ; a new layer of 
 compost of equal depth is afterwards introduced ; 
 a nd in this the choice bulbs are again planted in 
 the autumn. The compost in which the Hyacinths 
 grew, descends the following year, first to the 
 Tulips, and then to the Narcissus, Sec., so as to give 
 them all a regular change of soil, adding more cow- 
 dung or more sand to the compost, as the nature 
 of the succeeding plants may require. 
 
 From the middle of October to the middle of 
 November is the best time for placing Hyacinth 
 bulbs in the ground, for when planted earlier they 
 appear above the ground in the middle of winter, 
 and if neglected later, the bulbs will be weakened 
 by their natural tendency to vegetate. The bulbs 
 may be placed from six to nine inches apart, and it 
 is advisable to place a small quantity of sand beneath 
 each bulb, to prevent the earth adhering too closely 
 to them ; they should also be placed on the beds in 
 the manner recommended in planting the Narcissus, 
 and not with a dibble of any kind. 
 
 It is the practice to plant Hyacinths alternately 
 on the beds, according to their colours ; but when 
 they are planted in the flower-garden, or on the 
 projecting borders of the shrubbery, they will be 
 found to have a much better effect when clumps 
 are formed of distinct colours.
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The principal Hyacinth growers in Holland take 
 up their bulbs about a month after bloom, or as 
 soon as the plants begin to appear yellow and de- 
 cayed. They then cut off the stem and the foliage 
 close to the bulb, or within about half an inch of 
 it, but leave the fibrous roots attached to the bulb; 
 the bulbs are then placed on the same beds on their 
 sides, with the points towards the north. They 
 are then covered with dry earth or sand, about half 
 an inch thick, in the form of a ridge or cone, and 
 in this state they are left to dry or ripen gradually, 
 for about three weeks. They are then taken up, 
 and their fibres gently rubbed off, after which they 
 are laid in a dry room for a few days, and then 
 cleared from soil or loose decayed coats, &c., and 
 their off-sets separated. The bulbs should then be 
 placed in shallow drawers, where the air can circu- 
 late around them. Some persons place them with 
 the Dase of the bulb upwards ; but the most material 
 thing is to keep them from damp, and place them 
 where there is a free circulation, as on a lattice 
 shelf, or in open wicker baskets, with little sticks 
 across to separate each layer of bulbs, and these 
 baskets may be suspended to the ceiling to keep 
 them from vermin. 
 
 The Hyacinth is one of the plants that thrive 
 best in a saline atmosphere, and is, therefore, calcu- 
 lated to embellish the gardens on the sea-coast ; it
 
 HYACINTH. 133 
 
 loves a sandy soil, and we recommend a mixture of 
 sea sand in preference to any other, whenever it 
 can be procured. When planted in pots, it should 
 be observed to select those of the deepest make, 
 which should be filled with a sandy loam or earth 
 approaching as near to the compost recommended 
 as possible. We know of no flower that will flourish 
 in so great perfection in the saloons of London as 
 the Hyacinth when placed in glasses ; and for this 
 purpose we should recommend those of green glass, 
 as the common white glass throws an injurious light 
 on the roots. Nature tells us that the parts of the 
 plant which are destined for the earth cannot be 
 kept too much in darkness; whereas the plant, 
 whilst growing, cannot receive too much light and 
 sun, and should therefore be placed on a table near 
 the window, unless the frost is severe, when it may 
 be placed over the chimney to prevent the water 
 from being frozen ; but the heat is liable to draw 
 the plants up too weakly to flower well therefore 
 they should only be placed over the fire-place when 
 the frost is so severe as to freeze in other parts of 
 the room. 
 
 The beginning of November is early enough to 
 place the bulbs in the glasses, which may be done 
 from that time to the end of February, according 
 to the season they are wished to flower in. The 
 glasses should be filled with soft water, Avith a small
 
 134 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 quantity of nitre in each, and we do not recommend 
 the water to be changed oftener than once a month ; 
 but when the plants begin to grow, it should be 
 observed to keep the glasses filled, so that the 
 bottom of the bulb may touch the water, as a great 
 exhaustion takes place at that time. The plants 
 will be strengthened by having as much free air as 
 the season of the year will admit of ; but we should 
 not forget that Hyacinthus prefers the beams of 
 Phoebus to the breath of Zephyr : for if the latter 
 is allowed to break or damage the foliage, the plant 
 will be materially injured in its flowering ; and when 
 in full flower, it should not be placed where the 
 sun throws his rays too powerfully, as this will con- 
 siderably lessen the time of its duration. 
 
 It has been ascertained that the Hyacinth will 
 grow and flower in the water without sending out 
 fibrous roots. In the year 1787, M. le Marquis 
 de Gouffier exhibited to the Royal Society of Agri- 
 culture, in Paris, a glass, with the bulb of a Hya- 
 cinth turned the base upwards : in this state it sent 
 down a stem and leaves into the water, but the 
 bulb did not send out roots upwards ; the leaves 
 were very green,, but the petals of the flowers, which 
 should have been blue, were of a discoloured white. 
 This experiment proves how much the foliage of 
 plants has the power to assist in their growth, since 
 they can even subsist without the aid of the root.
 
 TULIP. 135 
 
 TULIP. Tulipa. 
 
 Natural Order Coronarice. Liliacece, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Hexundria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Then comes the Tulip race, where beauty plays 
 
 Her idle freaks ; from family diffused 
 
 To family, as flies the father dust, 
 
 The varied colours run ; and while they break 
 
 On the charm'd eye, th' exulting florist marks, 
 
 With secret pride, the wonders of his hand. 
 
 THOMSON. 
 
 THIS flower, so much admired in the eastern parts 
 of the world on account of its splendour and variety, 
 has, from time immemorial, been made the emblem 
 by which a young Persian makes a declaration of 
 love. Chardin tells us that when these young 
 turbaned swains present a Tulip to their mistress, 
 it is their intention to convey to her the idea that, 
 like this flower, they have a countenance all on fire, 
 and a heart reduced to a coal. 
 
 The Turks regard this flower with so much 
 delight, that a Feast of Tulips is celebrated annually 
 in the Grand Seignior's seraglio, the description of 
 which, when related to us in all the flowery garb of 
 their language, leaves even the delineation of the
 
 136 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 fairy scenes of the Arabian Nights' tales in the 
 shade. 
 
 Vases of the purest crystal, filled with the gayest 
 Tulips the world produces, are scattered over the 
 scene, like the stars which look down upon them 
 for number ; galleries, amphitheatres, and pagodas 
 are erected, and covered with lights that form gar- 
 lands of emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, 
 entwined with lights that present to the imagination 
 the sparkling of every jewel which nature has pro- 
 duced or art polished; showers of rose-water refresh 
 the air, and the very tapers shed the most exquisite 
 odours ; the banks are covered with carpets, whose 
 colours are as vivid as the clouds which surround 
 the setting sun ; pyramids of cooling fruits meet 
 the eye at every turn, whilst innumerable birds of 
 song, whose golden cages are suspended by strings 
 of pearl, seem to mistake the scene for the arrival 
 of Phcebus, and being awoke by the delights of the 
 feast, mix their warbling with the melodious sounds 
 of the instruments which seem touched by invisible 
 musicians. 
 
 In the centre of the seraglio, a splendid pavilion 
 shades the Sultan, who carelessly reposes on the 
 skins of the most costly and curious animals, with 
 all the nobles of his court in their richest robes and 
 shawls, seated at his feet, to behold the winding 
 dances of the lovely women of his court, in all the
 
 TULIP. 137 
 
 luxurious display of their light and sparkling 
 attire, who sometimes encircle and at others glide 
 around the vases of Tulips, whose beauty they 
 celebrate in song and action. During these fes- 
 tivals, Cupid often urges his votaries to dare the 
 bowstring of the Sultan, by making a sighing 
 Selim present a Tulip to a languishing Fatima. 
 
 This gay flower having been obtained from the 
 Turks, was called Tulipa, from the resemblance of 
 its corolla to the eastern head-dress called Tulipan 
 or Turban, and from hence our name of Tulip, as 
 well as that of the French Tulipe, the Italian 
 Tulipano, and the German Tulpe. 
 
 Moore alludes to the similarity of the Tulip to 
 the turban in his Lalla Rookh. 
 
 What triumph crowds the rich Divan to-day 
 With turban'd heads of every hue and race, 
 Bowing before that veil'd and awful face, 
 Like Tulip-beds, of different shape and dyes, 
 Bending beneath th' invisible west wind's sighs. 
 
 We are not able to discover any mention of the 
 Tulip in the works of Pliny, Avhich induces us to 
 think that it is not an indigenous plant of the 
 Levant, but that it was introduced from Persia and 
 other eastern parts in later days, and that it has since 
 so naturalized itself as to appear like an indigenous 
 plant. Where the climate allows the Tulip to pro- 
 pagate itself by seed so readily as in the neighbour-
 
 138 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 hood of the Levant, it is not extraordinary that it 
 should be found growing in the wild state, as it is 
 frequently discovered in the vicinity of Constanti- 
 nople. Mr. Hobhouse tells us that he found the 
 Tulip growing spontaneously under the hedges 
 between Smyrna and Bournabat. But this flower 
 appears to have been scarce at Constantinople even 
 so late as the middle of the sixteenth century, as 
 in the year 1554 Auger Gislen Busbec (Busbequius} 
 being at the Porte as Ambassador from the Emperor 
 Ferdinand I. of Germany, sent both seeds and 
 bulbs of the Tulip to Vienna, with an observation 
 that the Turks charged a high price for these 
 flowers, which would not have been the case had 
 the Tulip been then growing spontaneously in that 
 country *. 
 
 This is the first notice we have of the Tulip 
 which was afterwards figured by Conrad Gesner, 
 who has been with justness denominated the German 
 Pliny. This excellent writer of natural history, 
 botany, and medicine tells us, in his additions to 
 Cordus, that he first saw the Tulip plant in the 
 year 1559, in the garden of John Henry Harwart, 
 at Augsburg. From its having been figured and 
 made generally known in the works of Gesner, the 
 
 * We have already observed under the proper head, that Europe 
 is indebted to Busbec for the common Lilac-tree.
 
 TULIP. 139 
 
 common Tulip has very properly been named 
 Tulipa Gesneriana. 
 
 Balbinus asserts, for the honour of Prague, that 
 the Tulip was first sent to that city by Busbec, from 
 whence they were afterwards spread all over Ger- 
 many. C. Clusius, the celebrated Botanist of 
 Arras, who introduced the Horse Chestnut (JEscu- 
 lus) through the means of the imperial Ambassador 
 at the Porte, tells us that Busbequius received a 
 great quantity of the seed, together with many 
 bulbs, of the Tulip from Constantinople, on the 
 year that he, Clusius, went to Vienna. Busbec 
 going to France, left his Tulip bulbs under the care 
 of Clusius, who thinking them old and withered 
 concluded they would come to nothing, and there- 
 fore committed them to the ground in a heap, and 
 to his astonishment they produced a great variety 
 of flowers. 
 
 Clusius also gave more than a hundred of the 
 bulbs to an apothecary at Vienna to be preserved 
 in sugar, in the same manner as the roots of the 
 Orchis, with a view to ascertain whether they had 
 not the same qualities. It is also related in 
 Martyn's edition of Miller, that a merchant of 
 Antwerp had a cargo of Tulip roots as early as 
 1562, and taking them for a sort of onion, ordered 
 some to be roasted under embers, and ate them 
 with oil and vinegar like common onions : the rest
 
 140 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 he set in the kitchen garden among the cabbages, 
 where most of them perished, except a few that 
 George Rye, a merchant of Mechlin, took under 
 his care, which produced a variety of beautiful 
 flowers. 
 
 It is also related that a sailor having taken some 
 goods to a Dutch merchant, had a herring given 
 him for his breakfast, but seeing what he supposed 
 to be a kind of small onions lying on the counter, 
 the tar carelessly took up a handful, which he im- 
 mediately ate with his dried fish. These proved 
 to have been Tulips of so much value that it was 
 estimated a magnificent breakfast might have been 
 given to the heads of the Dutch government for 
 less expense than the cost of the condiment which 
 the sailor so inadvertently took with his salt herring. 
 
 The Tulip was first introduced into England 
 when the sceptre of these realms was swayed by a 
 female monarch, who by encouraging her subjects 
 to make commercial visits to distant countries, was 
 the means of procuring many valuable and rare 
 plants that have since naturalized themselves to our 
 soil, so as to gratify the sight as well as the palate. 
 We are able to state the time when this gay flower 
 first flourished in our parterres with more accuracy 
 than can be given to most other plants of that early 
 period of our garden history. 
 
 In the history of plants which Doctor William
 
 TULIP. 141 
 
 Turner dedicated to Queen Elizabeth in the year 
 1568, the Tulip is not mentioned ; but in the Re- 
 membrances for Master S., by Richard Hakluyt, in. 
 1582, we are told that "now within these four 
 years there have been brought in England, from 
 Vienna in Austria, divers kinds of flowers called 
 Tulipas." 
 
 And that excellent vegetable historian, Gerard, 
 gives us an account of the Tulip, which also fixes 
 its first introduction at the same period, viz., 1577. 
 This author says in his work, which bears date 
 1597, "my louing friend Master James Garret, a 
 curious searcher of Simples, and learned Apothe- 
 carie in London, hath vndertaken to finde out, if it 
 were possible, the infinite sorts, by diligent sowing 
 of their seedes, and by planting those of his owne 
 propagation, and by others received from his friends 
 beyond the seas, for the space of twentie yeeres 
 not being yet able to attaine to the end of his 
 trauaile, for that each new yeere bringeth foorth 
 new plants of sundrie colours not before seene : all 
 which to describe particularlie, were to roule Sisi- 
 phus stone, or number the sandes." The same 
 author says, " Tulipa groweth wilde in Thracia, 
 Cappadocia, Italic ; in Bizantia about Constanti- 
 nople, at Tripolis, and Alepo in Syria, from 
 whence I haue receiued plants for my garden, and 
 Master Garth, a worshipful gentleman, and Master
 
 142 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 James Garret, apothecarie, also for their gardens, 
 where they flourish and increase, as in their own 
 natiue countrey." Amongst the varieties which 
 Gerard particularizes are some that continue to be 
 very rare even to this day. " We have," says this 
 writer, " one of great beautie, and verie much de- 
 sired of all, with white flowers dasht on the back 
 side, with a light wash of watchet colour. There is 
 another also in our London gardens, of a snow- 
 white colour : the edges slightly washt ouer with a 
 little of what we call blush colour. We have 
 another like the former, saving that his flower is of 
 a straw colour." 
 
 It was towards the middle of the seventeenth 
 century that the rage for flowers, and particularly 
 for Tulips, was carried to such an excess, both in 
 Holland and in France, as to produce bankruptcy 
 and ruin to many families ; and we are told that 
 the Tulipomania, for so it was justly termed, was 
 entered into with as much avidity for a time as the 
 Mississippi and South-Sea schemes, which were 
 attended with such ruinous consequences. It would 
 be almost impossible for us to credit the extraordi- 
 nary accounts handed down respecting the high 
 prices given for Tulips by the Dutch florists of that 
 age, were we not acquainted with their gambling 
 speculations in this bulb, which carried them to 
 much greater excess than their real fondness for
 
 TULIP. 143 
 
 flowers. Betting to a ruinous amount was often 
 made respecting the eventual superiority of pro- 
 mising seedling bulbs ; and for the possession of 
 breeders of high merit, from which fine seedlings 
 might be expected, as large a sum was given as 
 the fleetest race-horse of the British turf ever sold 
 for. 
 
 About the year 1636, this spirit of floral gambling 
 was carried to such excess at Haarlem, that 
 during three years it is said to have yielded to that 
 city a sum not less than ten millions sterling, for 
 the price of these bulbs rose higher than that of the 
 most precious metal. For a single Tulip, to which 
 they had given the fine name of Semper Augustus, 
 4600 florins, a beautiful new carriage, two horses with 
 harness, &c., were given ; and another of the same 
 kind sold for 13,000 florins. Twelve acres of land 
 were given for a single root, and engagements to 
 the amount of 50001. were made for a superior 
 Tulip during the height of this mania ; and when 
 a bidder could not be found to offer a sum equal to 
 the ideal value of a fine flower of this kind, it was 
 frequently disposed of by way of lottery or raffle. 
 
 We are told of a person who possessed a very 
 fine Tulip, but finding there was a second root of 
 the same nature in Haarlem, he repaired to that 
 place, and, after having purchased it at an enormous 
 price, placed it on a flag-stone, and pounded it to
 
 144 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 a mummy with his foot, exclaiming, with exultation, 
 " Now my Tulip is unique !" In another instance, 
 we are told of one who possessed a yearly rent of 
 GOjOOO florins, and who reduced himself to beggary 
 in the short space of four months by purchasing 
 flowers. Crabbe says 
 
 With all his phlegm, it broke a Dutchman's heart, 
 At a vast price, with one loved root to part. 
 
 The Dutch government were at length obliged to 
 issue a proclamation to suppress this ruinous excess 
 of the votaries of Flora. 
 
 In Paris the prices given for flowers were nearly 
 as extravagant, but the rage soon gave way to 
 other fashionable follies in that gay city, without 
 the interposition of government. It is probable 
 that the unsettled state in which this country was 
 at that time prevented, in a great measure, the 
 infection of the Tulipomania reaching England. 
 
 As the Tulip is but rarely propagated by seed 
 in this country, we shall briefly explain the nature 
 of a breeder : it is a bulb which has attained matu- 
 rity, but is not too aged to have lost its vigour, and 
 which is considered at its zenith in the eighth or 
 ninth year from the seed. When such a Tulip 
 throws up a strong tall stem, headed by large petals, 
 blunt, or rounded at the end ; and if it be self- 
 coloured, or of one uniform equal colour on both 
 sides of the petals ; if the base be either pure white,
 
 ./ TULIP. 145 
 
 or bright yellow, and the anthers and stigma black, 
 or very dark, it is accounted a breeder of first- 
 rate qualities; and the bulb of such a breeder is 
 planted deeper than usual in a sheltered and sunny 
 situation, and the greatest care taken to prevent 
 its leaves from being injured by wind or hail : the 
 stem is tied to a stake, the corolla is protected from 
 the scorching rays of the sun as well as from the 
 rain, and the perfecting of the capsule encouraged ; 
 the seeds are carefully gathered when ripe, and 
 from these seeds, in a course of years, many fine 
 varieties of variegated flowers are expected, par- 
 taking of the fundamental good properties of the 
 breeder. 
 
 These brilliant hues are all distinct and clean, 
 No kindred tint, no blending streaks between ; 
 This is no shaded run-off. 
 
 When the self-colour of the petals of a breeder 
 begins to break, the bulb is regarded as past its 
 highest vigour; no judicious florist, therefore, ever 
 sows the seeds of variegated, or aged Tulips, but, 
 on the contrary, the capsules of these are cut off 
 as soon as the flowers have wholly decayed, to 
 prevent an unnecessary expenditure of the juices of 
 the bulbs. 
 
 The Tulip was regarded as a sovereign amongst 
 the flowers of the English gardens about the begin- 
 ning of the eighteenth century ; but when America 
 
 VOL. i. H
 
 146 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 began to pour her plants into our parterres in such 
 profusion as took place between the years 1730 
 and 1740, the taste for Tulips gave way for that 
 of plants of greater novelty ; and it has, as Loudon 
 observes, become neglected by the higher classes, 
 and descended into the gardens of tradesmen and 
 operative manufacturers : but this cannot lessen 
 the beauty of the Tulip, nor can we deem any 
 flower-garden complete that is deficient in these 
 gaily painted and enlivening flowers : nor do we 
 consider the Tulip so deficient in its botanical 
 attractions as modern florists make it. Of the 
 varieties of Tulips now cultivated in this country, 
 some idea may be formed from the catalogue of 
 Mason, for the year 1820, where we have the names 
 of six sorts of early Tulips, four of perroquets, or 
 middle blowers, twenty-two double sorts, and up- 
 wards of six hundred single late sorts. 
 
 The criterion of a perfect Tulip of the late- 
 flowering kind, is, that " the stem should be strong, 
 elastic, and erect, and about thirty inches above 
 the surface of the bed. The flower should be large, 
 and composed of six petals : these should proceed 
 a little horizontally at first, and then turn upwards, 
 forming almost a perfect cup, with a round bottom, 
 rather wider at the top. The three exterior petals 
 should be rather larger than the three interior ones, 
 and broader at their base : all the petals should
 
 TULIP. H7 
 
 have perfectly entire edges, free from notch or ser > 
 rature ; the top of each should be broad and well 
 rounded, the ground colour of the flower at the 
 bottom of the cup should be clear white, or yellow, 
 and the various rich-coloured stripes, which are the 
 principal ornament of a fine Tulip, should be regu- 
 lar, bold, and distinct on the margin, and terminate 
 in fine broken points, elegantly feathered, or pen- 
 cilled. The centre of each leaf or petal should 
 contain one or more bold blotches, or stripes, inter- 
 mixed with small portions of the original, or breeder 
 colour, abruptly broken into many irregular obtuse 
 points. Some florists are of opinion that the cen- 
 tral stripes, or blotches, do not contribute to the 
 beauty and elegance of the Tulip, unless confined 
 to a narrow stripe exactly down the centre, and 
 that it should be perfectly free from any remains 
 of the original, or breeder colour : it is certain that 
 such appear very beautiful and delicate, especially 
 when they have a regular narrow feathering at the 
 edge ; but the greatest connoisseurs in this flower 
 unanimously agree that it denotes superior merit 
 when the Tulip abounds with rich colouring, dis- 
 tributed in a distinct and regular manner throughout 
 the flower, except in the bottom of the cup, which, 
 it cannot be disputed, should be a clear bright 
 white, or yellow, free from stain or tinge, in order 
 to constitute a perfect flower."" 
 
 H 2
 
 148 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The Tulip, when raised from seed, differs so 
 materially from the parent plant, that we can never 
 expect to procure the same variety, but by its vivi- 
 parous nature the kinds are propagated with all 
 the character of the old bulb. Thus, whilst it runs 
 into a thousand varieties by its oviparous powers, 
 it remains steady when propagated by offsets. The 
 natural history of the Tulip also differs materially 
 from that of other bulbs, and is therefore worthy 
 of more attention than we generally bestow upon 
 those objects which do not continually present them- 
 selves to the eye. The Tulip has what is termed a 
 solid bulb, and sends its stem from the centre, but 
 it does not possess the power of forming a germ in 
 the old bulb like the coated bulb of the Hyacinth : 
 for the bulb of the Tulip is entirely exhausted by 
 the act of flowering and forming seed, and no part 
 of the old bulb remains, excepting the dry outer 
 husk, or coat; but the stem is attached to the 
 stool of the bulb, to which is also fixed an entire 
 new bulb, that contains the germ which holds the 
 flower for the succeeding year. If this bulb be 
 carefully dissected in the winter, the flower, which 
 was destined to charm the admiring eye in the fol- 
 lowing spring, will be perfectly seen in miniature. 
 'The offsets are weaker and smaller bulbs, that re- 
 quire from two to four years before they produce 
 flowers : these should be separated from the large
 
 TULIP. 149 
 
 bulb when taken out of the ground, but the small 
 bulb that is formed under the husky coat, and 
 which is the one that succeeds the flowering bulb> 
 should not be removed or injured. 
 
 The young physiologist cannot have a better 
 example given him of the harmony and unity of 
 the various parts of a plant in its process towards 
 performing its destined duties to nature, which are 
 to propagate its species, than the Tulip presents ; 
 for the most indifferent observer must be struck 
 with the wonderful security with which the parts of 
 fructification are guarded from the night-air and 
 tempestuous weather by the petals, which form 
 themselves into the shape of an egg ; and so closely 
 are they shut, that neither damp air nor wind can 
 enter, to retard the formation of the pollen, for 
 sooner shall the wind snap the stem than separate 
 the petals, although they regularly open to admit 
 the rays of the sun to mature the parts which are 
 necessary to the formation of the seed. In cold and 
 uncongenial seasons, the petals retain their concave 
 shape, and act as so many reflectors to assist the 
 ripening of the pollen ; whilst in dry and hot seasons 
 the petals curl backwards, so as to throw off the too 
 powerful rays of the sun, but continue to close 
 towards sunset, until the impregnation of the stigma 
 has taken place, after which the petals decay and 
 fall off, leaving the capsule to benefit by all the
 
 150 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 nourishment the stem affords, and to enjoy the 
 light and air uninterrupted. 
 
 Florists who are careful of their choice Tulips, 
 erect frames with awnings over their beds, as by 
 this means they are sheltered from tempestuous 
 weather, and also from the too great heat of the 
 mid-day ; by this precaution, the ripening of the 
 pollen is retarded, and consequently the corolla 
 retains its beauty for a greater length of time, ex- 
 cessive heat frequently causing the colours to run 
 and intermix, so as to destroy the elegance and 
 beauty of the flower. 
 
 The Dutch florists treat their Tulips in a similar 
 manner to what has already been observed of the 
 Hyacinth, respecting the mode of planting and the 
 nature of the soil, excepting that the Tulip is placed 
 in the more tenacious soil of the two. 
 
 Hogg recommends a fresh, rich, loamy soil, of 
 rather a sandy nature, which should be dug at 
 least twelve months before it is used, and to which 
 a small portion of well-rotted dung should be 
 added. He tells us, that an intelligent old Tulip- 
 grower assured him that the best compost he had 
 ever mixed for these bulbs t( was three-fourths rich 
 yellow loam ; one-fourth leaf-mould ; one-sixth two 
 years' old horse-dung; and one-eighth sea-sand, 
 well incorporated, and laid in a bed or stratum for 
 the plants, two feet deep."
 
 TULIP. 151 
 
 We have a decided objection to Tulip beds in 
 pleasure gardens ; first, on account of the formality 
 which long or square beds give to the general scene ; 
 and next that these beds become blanks for the 
 remainder of the year, which destroys the effect of 
 other plants. Tulips, that are not of the first rate 
 varieties, may be made to add greatly to the gaiety 
 and beauty of the garden when they are judiciously 
 planted in clumps of from six to eighteen in a spot. 
 Situations that are sheltered from the winds should 
 be chosen, as also where a partial shade is afforded 
 from the afternoon sun. By this manner of plant- 
 ing bulbous flowers, the patches of ground required 
 are not larger than will be found necessary between 
 the clumps of later flowering-plants, whose branches 
 will occupy so much of the spot made vacant by 
 the loss of the Tulip, as to be unperceived in the 
 later season of the year. The Tulip bulbs should 
 be so allotted to the grounds, as to embellish those 
 spots that are most deficient in flowers at the season 
 of their blooming, which is confined to the months 
 of May and June, excepting the dwarf early-blow- 
 ing Tulips, suaveolens, which usually flower in 
 April. 
 
 The proper time for committing these bulbs to 
 the ground, is from the end of October to about 
 the middle of November, but not later ; and a circu- 
 lar spot of from two to three feet in diameter will
 
 152 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 be sufficient to plant about eighteen bulbs. Having 
 prepared the spots, lay little patches of sand where 
 each bulb is to be placed ; then gently cover them 
 with sand, or a very light sandy soil, forming little 
 pyramids over each bulb : after this lay the com- 
 post gently over the clump, so as to cover the bulbs 
 about three inches in depth ; and the spot should be 
 rather higher than the general surface of the border, 
 so that superfluous water may run off by the convex 
 shape of the clump. The brown coat of the bulb 
 should be carefully taken off when it is placed in 
 the ground, but the root must not be injured in 
 performing this operation. 
 
 The time for taking up the bulbs will be shown 
 by the decay of the stem and the leaves : they 
 should then be placed in a dry, airy, shaded situa- 
 tion, until the season for planting : their outer skins 
 must by no means be disturbed until the moment 
 they are to be covered with earth. 
 
 The dwarf early-flowering Tulip is the kind 
 used for forcing in pots, and these prosper better in 
 earth than when placed on water, although the 
 latter mode is frequently adopted, but the bulbs 
 uniformly perish after having flowered in water.
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY. 153 
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY. Convallaria 
 Majalis. 
 
 Natural Order Sarmentaceee. Asparagi, Juss. A 
 Genus of the Hexandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Sweet flower o' the valley, wi' blossoms of snow, 
 
 And green leaves that turn the cauld blast frae their stems ^ 
 
 Bright emblem o' innocence, thy beauties I lo'e, 
 Aboon the king's coronet circled wi' gems ! 
 
 There's nae tinsel ahint thee, to make thee mair bright,. 
 
 Sweet Lily ! thy loveliness a' is thine ain, 
 And thy bonny bells, danglin' sae pure and sae light, 
 
 Proclaim thee the fairest o' Flora's bright train. 
 
 J. I>. S. 
 
 THE flowery month of May produces no plant of 
 more exquisite fragrance, or more delicate form, 
 than the Lily of the Valley. 
 
 In floral language is is made to represent a 
 Return of Happiness, because it announces by its 
 elegance and its odour the happy season of the year. 
 
 The graceful manner in which these perfumed 
 bells are suspended on the stem, and the agreeable 
 contrast which their broad leaves of bright green 
 afford to the snowy corollas, could not escape the 
 notice of our poets. Bernard Barton thus speaks 
 of this flower : 
 
 H 5
 
 .154 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 and sweetest to the vie? 
 
 The Lily of the vale, whose virgin flower 
 Trembles at every breeze beneath its leafy bower. 
 
 Mr. Leigh Hunt calls them 
 
 the nice-leaved lesser Lilies, 
 
 Shading, like detected light, 
 
 Their little green-tipt lamps of white. 
 
 Keats says 
 
 No flower amid the garden fairer grows 
 Than the sweet Lily of the lowly vale, 
 The queen of flowers. 
 
 Hurdis moralizes on this flower that flourishes so 
 well in the shade, where gayer plants would not 
 exist : 
 
 to the curious eve 
 
 A little monitor presents her page 
 
 Of choice instruction, with her snowy bells, 
 
 The Lily of the Vale. She nor aifects 
 
 The public walk, nor gaze of mid-day sun : 
 
 She to no state or dignity aspires, 
 
 But silent and alone puts on her suit, 
 
 And sheds her lasting perfume, but for which 
 
 We had not known there was a thing so sweet 
 
 Hid in the gloomy shade. So when the blast 
 
 Her sister tribes confounds, and to the earth 
 
 Stoops their high heads, that vainly were exposed, 
 
 She feels it not, but nourishes anew, 
 
 Still shelter'd and secure. And as the storm, 
 
 That makes the high elm couch, and rends the oak, 
 
 The humble Lily spares, a thousand blows 
 
 That shake the lofty monarch on his throne, 
 
 We lesser folks feel not. Keen are the pains 
 
 Advancement often brings. To be secure, 
 
 Be humble ; to be happy, be content. 
 
 When poets thus sweetly endeavour to reconcile
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY. 155 
 
 us to humble stations, their works may be compared 
 to Lilies of the Valley, which give pleasure to all 
 that behold them, and can never be found offensive 
 by any rank or station of men. Prior, after look- 
 ing at this flower, wrote 
 
 Why does one climate and one soil endue 
 The blushing Poppy with a crimson hue, 
 Yet leave the Lily pale, and tinge the Violet blue. 
 
 These are reflections which flowers bring to our 
 contemplation, and which must always end in our 
 admiration of the infinite wisdom of the Creator, 
 who formed man with mind, and the Lily with 
 fragrance. 
 
 Prior adds 
 
 Take but the humblest Lily of the field ; 
 And if our pride will to our reason yield, 
 It must by sure comparison be shown, 
 That on the regal seat great David's son, 
 Array'd in all his robes and types of pow'r, 
 Shines with less glory than that simple flow'r. 
 
 This native flower did not fail to catch the atten- 
 tion of our great dramatic bard, whose pen could 
 not touch the humblest plant without portraying 
 its character to the life, and his happiest similes 
 are often taken from flowers. 
 
 Shipwreck'd upon a kingdom, where no pity ! 
 No friends ! no hope ! no kindred weep for me, 
 Almost no grave allowed me ! like the Lily, 
 That once was mistress of the field, and flourish'd, 
 I'll hang my head and perish. 
 
 The Lily, for its delicate whiteness, has been as
 
 356 FLORA HISTORICA, 
 
 frequently used as the pure snow, as a comparison 
 for the complexion of our fair belles 
 
 Oh ! had the monster seen those lily hands 
 Tremble, like aspen leaves upon a lute, 
 And make the silken strings delight to kiss them, 
 He would not then have touched them for his life. 
 
 Keats goes still farther, for, in his Endymion, 
 he poetically paints 
 
 Valley- Lilies, whiter still 
 
 Than Leda's love. 
 This elegantly modest plant formerly grew in 
 our woods and valleys in great abundance, but the 
 increase in the number of our gardens, and the high 
 state of cultivation of the country in general, have 
 rendered the plant rare in its natural state ; yet it 
 is cherished in the garden by all the admirers of 
 good flowers. Gerard tells us as late as 1597, that 
 it then grew abundantly on Hampstead heath, also 
 on " Bushie heath" now Bushy park, likewise near 
 Lee in Essex, and it has been found in most coun- 
 ties of England, and is indigenous to most parts of 
 Europe from Italy to Lapland : it grows abundantly 
 in the woods of France and Germany. In the 
 latter country it is called Mcyen Blumlen, which is 
 similar to the Low Dutch Mcyen Bloemkins, May- 
 flower,' In French it is named Muyuet and Muguet 
 de Mai, as well as Lis des vallecs. The Italians 
 call it mughetfo, giglio convallio, and giglio delle 
 convalli. In the time of Queen Elizabeth it was
 
 ULY OF THE VALLEY. J57 
 
 called " Conval Lilly, May Lillies, Lillie of the 
 Vallie, and Liriconfancie." (Gerard., p. 333.) 
 
 The name of Lily has been very improperly 
 given to this species of Convallaria, as it has not 
 the least affinity with the Lily either in its root, 
 fruit, or flower. We presume that it was called a 
 Lily from the purity of its white corolla, for even, 
 at the present time, notwithstanding we have 
 Orange and Scarlet Lilies, we attach an idea of 
 delicacy to the very name of Lily. As it grows 
 spontaneously in shady valleys, it is natural to 
 call it the Lily of the valley. The name of 
 Convallaria is derived from Convallis, a valley. 
 It was called May Lily from the month in which 
 it flowered. 
 
 The proper situation for this plant in the garden 
 Is the most rural and rustic part, where it is partially 
 shaded by shrubs and trees ; and it flowers even 
 better in a north aspect than when fully exposed to 
 the noon-day sun. It will grow in almost any 
 earth, but it produces most flowers in a loose sandy 
 soil that is rather poor than otherwise ; for when 
 planted in a rich garden mould the roots spread 
 and multiply rapidly, but the plants give but few 
 flowers, and like most other creeping rooted plants, 
 it seldom produces seed where it can propagate 
 itself so readily by the nature of its roots. From 
 this economy of nature^ an observing gardener will
 
 158 FLORA HISTORICA, 
 
 be taught to transplant many kinds of his fruit- 
 trees into poorer soil, when the richness of the earth 
 forces the growth of the tree too rapidly to form its 
 fruit. 
 
 The Lily of the Valley is a desirable creeper for 
 the shady banks of lakes and ornamental streams, 
 and we love to meet its grateful fragrance beneath 
 the pendulous branches of the Babylonian Willow, 
 although 
 
 Nymphs and shepherds dance no more 
 By sandy Ladon's lilied banks. 
 
 JMlLTOJT. 
 
 The autumn is the proper season for placing 
 these perennial fibrous roots in the ground, where 
 they should be covered with about two inches of 
 earth, and not be disturbed oftener than every third 
 or fourth year, as they seldom flower strong or 
 plentifully after being removed. The plants will 
 require no other attention than that of keeping them 
 free from weeds, and thinning the roots about once 
 in three or four years, according to the nature of 
 the soil and the increase of the plants. 
 
 The Lily of the Valley is one of the flowers that 
 bears forcing in pots, and as but few plants are 
 more agreeable for the house in the months of 
 March and April, this mode of flowering the Con- 
 vallaria Majalis should never be omitted by the 
 florist who has the opportunity of doing it; and
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY. 159 
 
 we'strongly recommend the potting of these plants 
 abundantly for the town, which at any reasonable 
 price will never return unsold from the market, for 
 it is w a flower worthy of Paradise, and 
 
 Whoever a true epicure would be, 
 
 May there find cheap and virtuous luxury. 
 
 COWLEY. 
 
 These plants are so numerous in the woods of 
 Eileriede, in the neighbourhood of Hanover, that 
 the ground in many places is completely covered 
 with them, and the air scented for a considerable 
 distance by their agreeable perfume. These woods 
 are regularly visited on Whit-Monday by numerous 
 parties from Hanover, who go to gather these 
 May-flowers, and the forest on that day is a scene 
 of rural festivity and mirth. Cottages are erected 
 for the sale of coffee, and other refreshments, and 
 neither the pleasures of tobacco nor the twirling 
 waltz are omitted on that occasion. The roads 
 leading to the forest are thronged by persons of all 
 ages, from the earliest dawn to the closing of the 
 day, and few are the houses in the city of Hanover 
 that are not furnished with the Whitsuntide Bouquet 
 of Lilies of the Valley. 
 
 . And ye whose lowlier pride 
 
 In sweet seclusion seems to shrink from view, 
 You of the Valley nam'd, no longer hide 
 
 Your blossoms meet to twine the brow of purest bride. 
 
 BAK.TOW
 
 ]60 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The flowers of this plant possess not only an 
 agreeable odour, but also a fragrance that^is refresh- 
 ing and highly medicinal against nervous affections 
 and many diseases of the head. The water distilled 
 from these little corollas was formerly in such great 
 repute that it was kept only in vessels of gold and 
 silver, and hence Matthiolus calls it A qua aurea, 
 golden water. It was esteemed as a preventive 
 against all infectious distempers. Miller tells us, in 
 his Bot. Off., that these flowers are of great service 
 in all disorders of the head and nerves, as apoplexy, 
 epilepsy, convulsions, vertigo, &c., &c. 
 
 Geoffrey directs, for the distillation of the water^ 
 that it should be prepared from the fresh-gathered 
 flowers, whilst wet with the morning dew, in a 
 water-bath, and that the water thus obtained be 
 poured upon fresh flowers and distilled again, and 
 repeated in the same way for several times, until it 
 becomes very fragrant. In a similar manner also 
 the spirit is directed to be made by Ettmuller ; 
 macerating the flowers wet with the dew in good 
 spirit of wine, and drawing off the same spirit by a 
 water-bath from fresh flowers three or four times, 
 by which means a most valuable spirit will be 
 obtained, which he greatly extols in head-aches, 
 nervous affections of all kinds, hysterics, and faint- 
 ings, &c. 
 
 In Germany it is common to make a wine of the
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY. 161 
 
 flowers, by drying them in the summer, and, in the 
 time of vintage, mixing them with grapes when 
 pressed. This wine is prescribed in cephalic dis- 
 orders ; and also as a cordial in the cardiac passions, 
 and lipothymy. 
 
 The flowers as well as the roots, when dried and 
 pulverized, are a celebrated Ptarmic. Rail. His. 
 Plant. Its errhine properties are held in estima- 
 tion at the present day ; when snuffed up the nos 
 trils it excites a discharge of mucus, and affords 
 great relief in all affections of the head ; and its 
 operation this way is gentle, though it sometimes 
 induces sneezing. Ettmuller, a celebrated physi- 
 cian and botanist of Leipsic, who flourished about 
 the end of the seventeenth century, gives the follow- 
 ing exellent formula for a cephalic snuff. 
 
 " Of the dried flowers of the Lily of the Valley, 
 and of the leaves of majoram, a drachm each, in 
 powder, mix them well together with half a scruple 
 of the essential oil of majoram, and use it as snuff." 
 
 Of the virtues of the Lily of the Valley, Ettmuller 
 goes so far as to say, 
 Quod spetif.ce, armabit importenfes maritos ad bellum venentm. 
 
 Dr. James says, " these flowers being analyzed, 
 after a long maceration, yield several acid liquors, 
 a good deal of concreted volatile salt, and a great 
 quantity of oil. Thus we may believe they contain
 
 162 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 a good deal of sal ammoniac and sulphur, alloyed 
 with a little earth." 
 
 The English gardens now possess several varie- 
 ties of the Lily of the Valley, amongst which is the 
 white with double flowers, the single and double 
 red, and a variety with larger corollas that are 
 variegated with purple. This latter kind is greatly 
 esteemed in Paris, from whence it was first brought 
 to this country ; but as it does not increase so fast 
 as the other varieties, it still remains more rare than 
 we could wish to find it in the country in general. 
 
 The Convallaria Japonica, Ophiopogon, or 
 SnakeVbeard, was first brought to this country 
 from Japan, in the year 1784, and although its cul- 
 ture is as easy, and its nature as hardy as the 
 indigenous Lily of the Valley, it has not yet become 
 common. It flowers in September of a fine blue 
 colour, and it is esteemed for its fruit, which is 
 partly obscured by its foliage. 
 
 We have also three other distinct species of Con- 
 vallaria, that are natives of our woods, and which 
 have been named Solomon's Seal, in English, and 
 Sceau de Salomon and Signet de Salomon in French, 
 and Sigillo di Sdlomonem Italian, because on cutting 
 the root transversely, characters appear that have 
 resemblance to a seal. Dioscorides says that the 
 root of this plant pounded and laid on fresh wounds 
 heals and seals them up, and it is on this account
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY. 163 
 
 that Gerard considers its name to have originated. 
 It appears to have been a plant of great medical 
 celebrity in the reign of Elizabeth, for a medical 
 author of her day gravely tells us, " The roots of 
 Salomon's Scale, stamped while it is fresh and 
 green e, and applied, taketh away in one night or 
 two at the most, any bruse, blacke or blew spots 
 gotten by fals, or woman's wilfulness, in stumbling 
 vpon their hastie husband's fists, or such like." 
 The same author adds, " Galen saith, that neither 
 herb nor root hereof is to be giuen inwardly ; but 
 note what experience has found out, and of late 
 daies, especially among the vulgar sort of people of 
 Hampshire, which Galen, Dioscorides, or any other 
 that hath written of plants, haue not so much as 
 dreamed of, which is : That if any, of what sexe or 
 age soeuer, that chance to haue any bones broken, 
 in what part of their bodies it be, their refuge is to 
 stampe the rootes heereof, and giue it vnto the 
 patient in ale to drinke, which soldereth and 
 gleweth together the bones in very short space, and 
 very strongely, -yea, although the bones be but 
 slenderly and vnhandsomely wrapt vp. Moreover 
 the said people do giue it in like manner vnto their 
 cattle, if they chance to haue any bones broken, 
 with good successe, which they do also stampe, and 
 apply outwardly in manner of a pultis, as well vnto 
 themselves as their cattle." He continues, (t That
 
 164 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 which might be written of this herbe, as touching 
 the knitting of bones (and that truly), would seeme 
 vnto some incredible, but common experience teach- 
 eth, that in the worlde there is not to be found 
 another herbe compareable to it for the 'purpose 
 aforesaide." (Gerard,} 
 
 The French Herbalists call it V herbe dela rupture, 
 which insinuates that it was esteemed in that country 
 for the same qualities, but we suspect that modern 
 practice has discovered the in efficacy of the juices 
 of this plant to the extent of the virtues given it by 
 our forefathers, as we hear no more of its use in 
 medicine, at present, than we do of its forming a 
 substitute for bread, which it did in times of scarcity 
 in ancient days. The Turks, who have neglected 
 to improve their country by cultivation, continue to 
 eat the roots of this plant as we eat asparagus. 
 
 All the different species of these plants are of an 
 elegant and rather singular shape, which entitles 
 them to a situation in the shady parts of our gar- 
 dens, but more particularly so in the grove, and 
 amongst the shrubs of the wilderness walks ; they 
 are of the same easy propagation as the Lily of the 
 Valley.
 
 PERIWINKLE. 165 
 
 PERIWINKLE. Vinca. 
 
 Natural Order Contortce. ApocinecR, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Nor are the plants which England calls her own 
 Few, or unlovely. 
 
 MASON. 
 
 There sprange the Violet al newe, 
 And fresh Pervinke, rich of hewe. 
 
 CHAUCER. 
 
 THE Father of English Poetry frequently notices 
 this flower by a name that was evidently derived 
 from the French Pervenche, and hence the modern 
 name of Periwinkle is a corruption. 
 
 There lacked no floure to my dome, 
 Ne not so moche as floure of brome, 
 Ne Violet, ne eke Pervinke, 
 Ne flowre none that men can on thinke. 
 
 CHAUCER'S Romaunt of the Rose. 
 
 It [is the Vinca Pervinca of Pliny, from whence 
 the Spanish call it Peruinqua, the Italians Per- 
 vinca, and the French Pervenche, although it has 
 in each country a variety of names given it by 
 the vulgar, as Violette des sorciers, because the 
 French considered it one of the plants which assisted 
 the Sorcerers in their pretended magical operations ; 
 they also call it Pucellage, Virgin Flower. The
 
 166 FLORA HISTO RICA . 
 
 Italians sometimes give it the name of Centocchio, 
 Hundred Eyes ; but the peasants of Italy generally 
 call it Fior di Morto, Death's Flower, because it 
 is used by them to make garlands for their dead 
 infants. The Greeks, who generally named plants 
 from some character in their natural history, called 
 the Periwinkle KXe/txa-nV Aatpvost^s, Clematis, from 
 its creeping nature, and Daplmoides, from the re- 
 semblance of the leaves to those of the Bay-tree. 
 The Latin name of Vlnca is derived from vinco or 
 vincio, because it subdues other plants by its creep- 
 ing, or binds them by its runners. 
 
 It is a plant to which our ancestors attributed 
 many medicinal virtues, and attached many ridi- 
 culous superstitions. Ray recommends it to fasten 
 loose teeth, and as a remedy for the tooth-ach ; and 
 most of the old writers extol its virtues as a gargle 
 for a relaxation of the uvula and palate ; and we 
 are assured that a strong decoction of it has been 
 found, when applied externally, very efficacious in 
 restraining profuse bleeding of the nose, or for any 
 kind of haemorrhage. Lord Bacon observes that 
 in his time it was common for people to wear bands 
 of Green Periwinkle tied about the calf of the leg, 
 to prevent the cramp ; and Coles says, in his history 
 of this plant, printed 1657, " I knew a friend of 
 mine, who was very vehemently tormented with the 
 cramp, for a long while, which could be by no
 
 PERIWINKLE. 167 
 
 means eased, till he had wrapped some of the 
 branches hereof about his legs and other parts that 
 were affected." It was also a celebrated simple for 
 restoring milk to the breasts of nurses, and was re- 
 commended for that purpose by the most learned 
 physicians of early days. Ray, who was so cele- 
 brated as a botanist in the seventeenth century, and 
 to whose memory Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, 
 erected a monument in the churchyard of Black 
 Notley, in Essex, tells us, in his His. Plant., that 
 *' the fresh leaves of the Periwinkle, spread upon 
 coarse and thick brown paper, and well matted and 
 pressed together, then covered with combed flax 
 and afterwards fumigated with frankincense, being, 
 by the advice of an old woman, applied to a stru- 
 mous swelling, discussed it in a short time, after it 
 had been, for a whole year, under the treatment of 
 a learned physician, without effect. The same old 
 woman had, before this, with the same medicine, 
 cured another whose case was reckoned desperate." 
 
 We may probably be laughed at by modern 
 practitioners for noticing the receipt of an old 
 woman, but we shall give a laugh in return against 
 one of their own body, who gravely tells us in 
 1681, " That the leaves of the Periwinkle, eaten by 
 man and wife together, cause love between them." 
 (Culpepper.) 
 
 The admirers of Rousseau still hold this plant
 
 168 FLORA HISTORIC.*. 
 
 in high veneration ; for in France they have made 
 it emblematical of the pleasures of memory, and of 
 sincere friendship, from the circumstance of this 
 author's saying, in one of his works, that as he was 
 walking to Cbarmettes, accompanied by Madame 
 Varence, she was struck by the appearance of these 
 blue flowers in the hedge, and exclaimed, " Here 
 is the Periwinkle still in blossom." Rousseau then 
 tells us that he did not notice this flower again for 
 near thirty years, but that being at dressier, in the 
 year 1764, with his friend Peyron, as they were 
 climbing a little hill, he found this plant in blossom 
 among the bushes, which carried his recollection 
 back so instantaneously to the time he was walking 
 with Madame Varence, that he inadvertently ex- 
 claimed in a cry of joy, "Ah, there is the Peri- 
 winkle. 1 ' He relates this anecdote as an instance 
 of the vivid recollection he had of every incident 
 which occurred at a particular time of his life, and 
 from hence this flower is made to represent " les 
 doux souvenirs.'" 
 
 Oh Memory, thou fond deceiver, 
 
 Still importunate arid vain, 
 To former joys recurring ever, 
 
 And turning all the past to pain.' 
 
 Thou, like the world, the opprest oppressing, 
 Thy smiles increase the wretch's woe ; 
 
 And he who wants each other blessing, 
 In thee must ever find a foe. 
 
 GOLDSMITH.
 
 PERIWINKLE. 169 
 
 The inharmonious name of Periwinkle we pre- 
 sume is more the cause of this flower being so 
 generally omitted in poetical writings, than any 
 want of attraction in the flower itself. 
 
 There is a delightful softness in the blue colour 
 of the Periwinkle, and a quietness in the whole 
 appearance of the flower, that seems to harmonize 
 with the situation in which it flourishes ; for it 
 rather seeks the shady banks of the grove than to 
 meet the meridian sun in society of the gayer plants 
 of the parterre. 
 
 It is a pretty plant to cover the banks of hedge- 
 rows and shrubbery grounds, and contrasts well, in 
 such situations, with the Primrose, as the dark 
 rich green foliage of the Finca forms as happy a 
 mixture with the pale puckered leaves of the 
 Primula, as the delicate yellow of the corollas of 
 the latter plant do with the sky-blue of the former 
 flower; and, although the opposition of the two 
 colours is great, it is as mild as the effect of the 
 silver stars in the blue atmosphere. 
 
 They are both plants that should decorate rustic 
 scenes and rural walks, rather than approach the 
 gay parts of the garden ; they should thickly 
 spangle both the wilderness part of the shrubbery 
 and the woodland banks, where Milton says 
 
 Wisdom's self 
 Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude ; 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Where, with her best nurse, Contemplation, 
 She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings, 
 That in the various bustle of resort 
 Were all too ruffled, and sometimes impaired. 
 
 Comus. 
 
 The lesser Periwinkle, Vinca, Minor, is the most 
 proper for the flower borders, and the variety of 
 this species with double flowers is exceedingly orna- 
 mental, as their fine blue colour is so desirable a 
 mixture to the yellows and reds of other plants. 
 There are some varieties of this plant with a white 
 flower, but the most common is the pale blue and 
 bluish purple. There is also a variety with varie- 
 gated foliage. All these plants love rather a moist 
 soil, and a south-east aspect, where they are shel- 
 tered from the afternoon sun . 
 
 The lesser Periwinkle, with a white flower, was 
 first discovered by Mr. Woolgar, of Lewes, in 
 Sussex, who found it at Chiltington, four miles from 
 Lewes. 
 
 The trailing stalks of these plants take root very 
 freely, by which means they are easily propagated, 
 as it is a rare circumstance for them to produce 
 seed ; for like many other plants which run much 
 at the root, they seldom produce their follicles. 
 Mr. Curtis and Dr. Smith inform us that they 
 have never seen them, and although we have 
 minutely examined the large beds of them which 
 \\e frequently meet with in the plantations of the
 
 PERIWINKLE. 171 
 
 Sussex coast, \ve have never found a single seed. 
 Tournefoot says that he never saw any fruit in 
 Provence or Languedoc, where the Periwinkle is 
 very common, nor about Lisbon. Miller procured 
 seeds by cutting off all the lateral shoots, and 
 Cassalpinus obtained the fruit by setting the plant 
 in a pot, with little earth. 
 
 It would appear that nature wisely checked the 
 formation of the seed of this plant, that propagates 
 itself so rapidly by other means ; for was it as pro- 
 ductive of seed as many other plants, it would soon 
 occupy more space on the earth than seems destined 
 for any one species of plant : yet we have never 
 dissected a flower where the parts of fructification 
 appear to be so admirably adapted to secure them- 
 selves from the inclemency of the weather, or the 
 intrusion of insects, as the parts of the Periwinkle 
 flower. One of the striking beauties of this flower 
 consists in the large pentagonal mouth of the tube, 
 the angles of which point to the centre of the petals, 
 or rather to the centre of each of the five segments 
 of the corolla. To obviate the inconvenience of 
 this large mouth, the tube lessens where the anthers 
 are fixed, and each of the five anthers are termi- 
 nated by a membrane, so shaped, that as they bend 
 over at the top, they form a dome that effectually 
 secludes every thing that might injure either the 
 stigma or the anthers. The style of this flower is 
 
 I 2
 
 172 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 pf a pale orange colour, bearing two distinct circular 
 plates, the lower one of which is of a full orange 
 colour, and the top one white, which may be 
 compared to a shilling placed on a guinea; the 
 lower one is thought to be the true stigma : on 
 the top of the white plate there is a short green 
 elevation, which is crowned with five white drooping 
 feathery substances, that form a rosette, whose 
 purpose seems to be that of confining down the 
 overhanging parts of the anthers, without entirely 
 excluding the air, which can pass through the 
 feathery nature of this crown. The whole of this 
 flower deserves the most curious investigation ; and 
 when the internal parts are viewed through a micro- 
 scope, we can scarcely do less than exclaim in the 
 words of Delille 
 
 Each secret spring, each organ let me trace, 
 That mock the proudest arts of human race ; 
 Completest toil ! from endless source that rose, 
 Each worth a world ; for each the Godhead shows.
 
 RANUNCULUS. 173 
 
 RANUNCULUS. 
 
 Natural Order MultisiliqucB. -Ranunculacea, Juss. 
 A Genus of the Polyandria Polygynia Class 
 
 Long worke it were 
 Here to account the endlesse progeny 
 Of all the weeds that hud and blossom there ; 
 But so much as doth need must needs be counted here. 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 THE gaily-coloured Ranunculus, that gives such 
 splendour to our vernal parterres, is a species of 
 Crowfoot, that grows naturally in Persia, and other 
 eastern countries, from whence it has been brought 
 to beautify this island, for 
 
 The land which warlike Britons now possess, 
 And therein have their mighty empire raysed, 
 
 In antique times was salvage wilderness, 
 
 Unpeopled, unmanured, unproved, unpraysed. 
 
 SPEXSER. 
 
 The Turks cultivated the Asiatic Ranunculus at 
 Constantinople for several ages before it was gene- 
 rally known in other parts of Europe. In their 
 language it is called Tarobolos Catamarlale, and 
 their account of it is, that a Vizier, named Cara 
 Mustapha, who delighted to contemplate the beau- 
 ties of nature in solitude, first observed, amongst
 
 174 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 the herbage of the fields, this hitherto neglected 
 flower, and wishing to inspire the then reigning 
 Sultan with a taste for plants similar to his own, he 
 decorated the gardens of the seraglio with this new 
 flower, which he soon found had attracted the notice 
 of his sovereign, upon which he caused it to be 
 brought from all parts of the East, where varieties 
 could be found. But enclosed within the inacces- 
 sible walls of the seraglio these flowers remained 
 unseen by the rest of the world, until bribery, 
 which surmounts the loftiest towers, and breaks the 
 strongest bolts, entered the palace of the Sultan, 
 and secured the roots of these highly-cherished 
 plants, which soon afterwards flourished in every 
 court in Europe. 
 
 We are told (not in the land of Hibernia, but in 
 France) that this fine flower was one of the fruits 
 of the Crusades, and that St. Louis first brought 
 it into that country. This would make its intro- 
 duction into France as early as the middle of the 
 thirteenth century, which was about one hundred 
 years prior to the taking of Constantinople by the 
 Turks. 
 
 Admitting that Louis IX. brought it from. 
 Palestine into France, there can be no doubt but 
 that the plant was soon lost in that country, from 
 the imperfect state of gardening at that period ; 
 and we should have obtained it from thence instead
 
 RANUNCULUS. 175 
 
 of sending into the eastern parts of the world for 
 these roots, which it is evident we did in the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth, as Gerard tells us, in his 
 herbal of that reign, that one kind of Ranunculus 
 fi groweth naturally in and about Constantinople, 
 and in Asia, on the further side of the Bosphorus, 
 from whence there hath beene brought plants at 
 diuers times, and by diuers persons, but they haue 
 perished by reason of the long journey, and want 
 of skill of the bringers, that haue suffered them to 
 lie in a boxe, or such like, so long, that when we 
 haue received them, they haue beene as dry as 
 ginger ; notwithstanding, Clusius saith he receiued 
 a plant fresh and greene, the which a domesticall 
 theefe stole foorth of his garden : my lord and mas- 
 ter, the Right Honourable the Lorde Treasurer, had 
 diuers plants sent him from thence, which were drie 
 before they came as aforesaide. The other groweth 
 in Alepo and Tripolis in Syria naturally, from 
 whence we haue received plants for our gardens, 
 where they flourish as in their owne countrey." 
 This unvarnished account fixes the time of the 
 introduction of the Ranunculus into England, and 
 at the same time is a pretty satisfactory assurance 
 that it was not then growing in Paris, as Clusius 
 would not have mentioned the receipt and loss of a 
 single root, had it been common in the gardens of 
 his country.
 
 176 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The Dutch, who studied floriculture as an art 
 connected with commerce, soon turned the cultiva- 
 tion of the Ranunculus to a profitable account, and 
 they still continue to export these roots in great 
 quantities to every part of Europe, although the 
 English are said to have raised a greater variety of 
 them than any nation, as this flower was held in 
 high estimation here from about the middle to the 
 end of the last century. The varieties of this 
 brilliant but heavy flower are such, that, in 1792, 
 Maddock had upwards of eight hundred sorts ; 
 and the catalogue of Mason's Ranunculuses for 
 1820 contains about four hundred names. Mad- 
 dock is of opinion that there are more varieties of 
 the Ranunculus than of any other flower ; and he 
 observes that the seed in no instance ever produces 
 two flowers alike, or one similar to the parent plant, 
 so that the diversity of them may be carried to an 
 amazing extent. The finest and most approved 
 sorts are propagated by dividing the tubers, or by 
 offsets from the tubers; for by this means they 
 will retain all their original character for more than 
 twenty years. 
 
 The Garden Ranunculus was not sufficiently 
 common to have been mentioned by Shakspeare, 
 nor has it been much noticed by later poets. 
 Thomson slightly mentions the African variety, 
 which Miller calls R. Sanguineus.
 
 RANUNCULUS. 177 
 
 From the soft wing of vernal breezes shed, 
 Anemonies, Auriculas, enrich'd 
 With shining meal o'er all their velvet leaves ; 
 And full Ranunculus, of glowing red. 
 
 Notwithstanding this is one of the most hardy of 
 the garden Ranunculuses, and makes the most bril- 
 liant appearance by its vivid scarlet colour, it is 
 almost lost in the country, or so little esteemed in 
 comparison with the Persian Ranunculus, that it 
 is seldom cultivated by the epicurean florist. We 
 have sometimes met with this variety in the cottage- 
 gardens which border the sandy commons of Sussex 
 and Surrey, where, meeting with a congenial soil, 
 it seems to linger like an expiring flame. 
 
 The African Ranunculus differs from the Asiatic 
 by having few but larger leaves, which are of a 
 darker green than those of the latter kind. The 
 stem seldom produces more than one flower, and 
 never exceeds two ; but these are considerably 
 larger than those of Persia, and very double, and a 
 stem is frequently thrown up from the centre of 
 the flower, bearing a second corolla of a smaller 
 size. This is the flower which the French name 
 Renoncule Pivoine and R. Peone. There are several 
 varieties of this kind of Ranunculus, amongst which 
 is one of the colour of the Jonquil, which the 
 French call Seraphique iPAlyer, and another of 
 the hue of the Golden Marigold, with a green 
 heart, which is named Souci Dore, or Merveilleusc : 
 
 i 5
 
 178 FLORA HISTORTCA. 
 
 but the variety most esteemed is of a fine red colour, 
 spotted with yellow, called Turban Dore, Golden 
 Turban. As these kinds of Ranunculuses are less 
 susceptible of frost than those of Persia, the roots 
 are generally left in the earth throughout the year; 
 but this is a bad practice, as when the soil or season 
 is wet, they are sure to return to their natural red 
 colour, by which means the most beautiful varieties 
 are frequently lost. 
 
 The Ranunculus has not what is generally termed 
 either a palmated or tuberous root, but consists of 
 a fasciculus of tubers nearly approaching to the 
 character of the Palmatum. When the plant be- 
 gins to vegetate, there grows out of the part which 
 surrounds the eye many thin white threads, that are 
 of equal dimensions all their length till they have 
 finished their growth ; they then swell out at the 
 part adhering to the trunk, and form one or more 
 claws above the old one, which, after having fur- 
 nished the new ones with the nutritive juices which 
 it contained, or enabled them to procure strength, 
 the old tubers are decomposed, and consequently 
 vegetate but one year, after the manner of many 
 bulbs, or in a similar way to the buds of trees which 
 throw out branches that form other buds, whilst 
 the original is no more. 
 
 The Ranunculus varies in its colours even more 
 than the Tulip, running from a black down to white
 
 RANUNCULUS. 179 
 
 through all the shades of reds, yellows, browns ; 
 and, indeed, all colours, excepting blue, may be 
 found in these gaily-painted flowers the criterion 
 of whose perfection is, that they should produce a 
 strong stem, not less in height than from eight 
 inches to a foot, and that they should bear a flower 
 at least two inches in diameter, well filled with con- 
 cave petals, that diminish in size as they approach 
 the centre. The corolla should be of a hemispheri- 
 cal form : its component petals should be imbricated 
 in such a manner as neither to be too close and 
 compact, nor too widely separated, but have rather 
 more of a perpendicular than horizontal direction, 
 to display their colours with better effect. The 
 petals should be broad, and quite free from fringe 
 or indentures at the edges : the beauty of their 
 colouring consists in their being dark, clear, rich, or 
 brilliant; either of one regular colour throughout, 
 or otherwise variously diversified, on white, ash, 
 pale yellow, gold, or fire-coloured ground, either 
 in regular stripes or spots, or marble-mottled. 
 
 The aspect most congenial to these plants is that 
 of the east, where the situation is open, but free 
 from draughts, and sheltered from the violent 
 westerly winds that generally prevail during the 
 early part of their growth. The soil recommended 
 by Haddock, the greatest cultivator we have had of 
 the Ranunculus, is a fresh, strong, rich, loamy
 
 180 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 earth. Hogg, in his treatise on this plant, advises 
 fresh loam, with a considerable portion of rotten 
 horse or cowdung. The Rev. W. Williamson, 
 whose remarks on this subject are published in the 
 London Horticultural Transactions, uses a stiff 
 clayey loam, with a fourth part of rotten dung. 
 An earth that cakes on the surface is the worst that 
 can be used to cover the tubers ; and where the soil 
 is of that nature, we should recommend a mixture 
 of sand, more particularly as the fibres of the tubers 
 do not depend on the surface-soil for nourishment, 
 but run deep intqothe earth. On this account, in the 
 beds or spots where the clumps of Ranunculuses are 
 to be planted, the earth should be dug out nearly two 
 feet deep, and at the bottom should be placed a stra- 
 tum of six inches of well-rotted dung, such as has 
 been taken from an old cucumber-bed; the hole 
 of the clump or bed should then be filled up level 
 with the surface, with well-pulverized earth that is 
 quite free from dung : on this the tubers should be 
 placed about four inches from each other, with their 
 claws downwards ; and where the earth is of a cold 
 or wet nature, a little sand should be placed beneath 
 each plant, and the whole covered with a fine light 
 soil, as nearly as possible one inch and a half in 
 depth, which may be so much higher than the level 
 of the border where they are planted in clumps. 
 When the season is either too wet or cold to
 
 RANUNCULUS. 181 
 
 plant them in November, it must be deferred 
 till the middle of January, but not later than the 
 middle of February. The greatest danger these 
 plants are in from being injured by frost is soon 
 after they are committed to the ground, when they 
 have swelled by the moisture which they have im- 
 bibed, and have not actually begun to vegetate. 
 Should severe frosts come on at that period, the 
 spots where they are planted should be covered 
 with loose moss or straw, which, however, should 
 be removed at all favourable times, for covering 
 them too much causes them to turn mouldy, which 
 destroys the plants. When the plants appear above 
 ground, if the earth is not of that fine crumbly 
 nature to fill up the holes caused by the shoot of 
 the plants, it should be compressed with the fingers 
 quite close to the plants, which protects them from 
 cold drying winds : and if a fine light moss be laid 
 over the earth between each plant, it will greatly 
 assist their growth, by keeping the ground moist, 
 and not be offensive to the eye like straw ; and it 
 also breaks the force of hasty showers, as well as 
 that of artificial watering, which it is sometimes 
 advisable to give the plants, when the months of 
 April and May prove dry. 
 
 About the end of June, or beginning of July, 
 the foliage will be changed and partly decayed. 
 The roots should then be taken out of the earth
 
 182 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 with care, so as not to break off the tubers. The 
 stems should next be cut close off, and their claws 
 well cleansed and separated, before they become dry 
 and brittle. 
 
 It is recommended, on taking them out of the 
 ground, to put them into a sieve with a fine wire 
 bottom, and then to work the sieve in a tub of 
 water, by which means the earth will be washed 
 from the claws without breaking or loosening the 
 small and new-formed tubers ; but it must be ob- 
 served not to let the water run over the top of the 
 sieve. The tubers should then be placed in a dry, 
 airy, but shaded room, until they are dry enough 
 to be tied up in bags and suspended from the ceil- 
 ing of a dry room. 
 
 The offsets of the Ranunculus generally attain 
 perfection in the season of their formation on the 
 old plant, but where the offsets are few, and it is 
 desirable to increase the number of a good variety, 
 it may be done by carefully dividing the tubers 
 with a sharp knife ; for, on closely examining the 
 crown of these roots, several small protuberances 
 will be found, from each of which a shoot will arise. 
 
 When these plants are raised from seed, it should 
 be procured from semi- double flowers, that grow 
 on strong, tall stems, where the petals are of a 
 clear and rich colour. The seed should remain on 
 the plant until it has lost its verdure, and become
 
 RANUNCULUS. 183 
 
 dry and brown. The heads containing the seeds 
 may then be cut off, and spread upon paper until 
 all humidity is exhaled from them, when they may 
 be preserved in a bag, in any warm, dry place, until 
 the month of January, which is the best time for 
 sowing them. The heads containing the seeds 
 should then be put in a tea-tray, and placed before 
 the fire till they are just warm ; the seeds will then 
 easily scrape off with the assistance of a small knife, 
 but care must be taken to avoid scraping them off 
 in lumps, or suffering any pieces of the stalk or other 
 extraneous matter to be mixed with them, which 
 would create mouldiness when sown. When the 
 seed is scraped in a proper manner, it will have 
 much the appearance of clean, course bran, with 
 a spot in the centre of each cuticle, which is the 
 kernel. 
 
 " When the seed is thus prepared, it should be 
 sown in a shallow frame provided with sashes ; the 
 soil should have been previously taken out three 
 feet deep, and spread thin upon the ground till it 
 has been perfectly frozen throughout, in order to 
 destroy any vermin it may have contained, more 
 particularly the common earth-worms. 
 
 " When the pit is filled up again with the frozen 
 lumps of earth, it should remain till the whole mass 
 has thawed, and subsided to its pristine bulk, or 
 nearly so. Its surface should then be made per-
 
 184 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 fectly smooth and even, and the seeds sown upon it 
 with the utmost regularity, in such quantity as nearly 
 to cover it. The glasses should be placed over it 
 immediately, and the frame kept closely covered with 
 them for two or three days, till the seed begins to 
 swell and soften : a little light earth should then be 
 sifted upon it, through a fine sieve, but not suffi- 
 cient to cover it ; this should be repeated once or 
 twice a week, till the greater part of the seed dis- 
 appears. It is proper to remark that those seeds 
 which happen to be covered deeper than the thick- 
 ness of a half-crown piece will never vegetate, and 
 must of course perish." 
 
 It is necessary to keep the seed moderately moist, 
 by gentle waterings with soft water that has been 
 exposed to the sun ; and it must be given by a 
 watering-pot that has a rose perforated with a great 
 number of very small holes, that the streams may 
 be very fine and regular. 
 
 About the time that the plants begin to make 
 their appearance, it is proper to stir the surface of 
 the earth with a pin or bodkin, just sufficient to 
 admit air, and give liberty to the young plants to 
 pass easily through. This operation should be very 
 carefully performed, to prevent breaking off" the 
 fibres, or raising or leaving any of the plants out of 
 the earth. When the sun shines very hot, it is 
 necessary to admit some fresh air under the glasses-
 
 RANUNCULUS. 185 
 
 and shade the frame with mats ; but it should be 
 closely shut up with the glasses at night, and when 
 the air is cold. After the plants are all up, and 
 their two interior leaves appear, more air must be 
 given, and water supplied when the weather renders 
 it necessary ; but fine warm showers of rain are 
 always preferable when they happen in due time. 
 The plants require this regular attention until the 
 foliage is become perfectly dry and brown. The 
 roots are then to be taken up, and the safest way ta 
 do it is to pare off the earth with a trowel to about 
 three inches deep, and put it into a sieve, as before 
 recommended. Those roots that have two or three 
 claws, will blow strong the following summer, if 
 planted as already advised. 
 
 Neither the Persian nor the African Ranunculus 
 were known to the Romans in the time of Pliny,, 
 who has described four kinds of these plants, with- 
 out noticing the beauty of the flower. The Latins 
 called these species of plants Ranunculus, from 
 Rana, a frog, because they were observed to grow 
 in places frequented by those animals. It was also 
 called Strumea by the Latin herbalists, because it 
 was used as a cure for a complaint similar to the 
 KingVevil, which they termed Strumts. 
 
 From its caustic and burning qualities, the green 
 leaves were used to draw blisters, and take off 
 marks in the skin, as also for the leprosy. Pliny
 
 186 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 tells us that the root was chewed as a cure for the 
 tooth-ache, but if kept long in the mouth it de- 
 stroyed the teeth. 
 
 We are not aware that the garden Ranunculus 
 has been used in medicine, and shall not in this 
 place dwell further on the properties of our native 
 species of this family of plants, than to observe that 
 they contain virulent qualities, which affect both men 
 and cattle, particularly sheep ; and that it was with 
 one of the kinds of Ranunculus that the ancients 
 poisoned the points of their arrows. Mons. C. 
 Dubois gives us the following pretty moral verses 
 on the dangerous nature of the Ranunculus of our 
 fields, called Butter-cups. 
 
 Vois, mon fils, ce bouton charmant 
 
 Que Zephyr berce de son aile ; 
 Comme il etale, en s'inclinant, 
 
 L'or dont sa corolle 6tincelle ! 
 
 Ce joli bouton satine', 
 
 Qui soarit comme 1'innocence, 
 Recele un sue empoisonn6, 
 
 Et souvent blesse 1' imprudence. 
 
 Des pieges d'un monde inconnu 
 
 Apprends, mon fils, a te defendre ; 
 Tel nous montre un front ingenu, 
 
 Qui ne cherche qu'a nous surprendre.
 
 IRIS. 187 
 
 IRIS. 
 
 Natural Order Ensatee. Irides, Juss. A Genus of the 
 Triandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Iris, on saffron wings aray'd with dew 
 
 Of various colours, through the sun-beams flew. 
 
 VIRGIL. 
 The various Iris, Juno sends with haste. 
 
 Then clad in colours of a various dye, 
 Junonian Iris breeds a new supply. 
 
 OVID. 
 
 THE ancients named this plant after the attendant 
 of Juno, because its colours are the same as those 
 which the poets and mythological writers have 
 bestowed on the messenger of their goddess. Iris 
 is generally depictured as descending from the rain- 
 bow, and her arch is said not to vary more in its 
 colours than the flower that has been honoured by 
 her name. 
 
 Columella observes in his tenth book 
 
 Nor Iris, with her glorious rainbow clothed, 
 
 So fulgent as the cheerful gardens shine 
 
 With their bright offspring, when they're in their bloom. 
 
 Milton distinguishes these flowers as " Iris, all 
 hues." Every quarter of the world possesses the 
 Iris, and, excepting the Rose, no flower has been
 
 188 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 more celebrated by the historian and the poet than 
 this genus of plants, which so greatly embellishes 
 both the land and the waters, and has at various 
 periods contributed so much towards the sustenance, 
 and added to the medicines of man. 
 
 Bildad, in his remonstrance Avith Job, uses this 
 plant as a simile. " Can the Rush grow up with- 
 out mire ? Can the flag grow without water . ?r> 
 Job viii. 11 ; which was thus versified, in the be- 
 ginning of the seventeenth century, by G. Sandys : 
 
 Can Bulrushes but by the river grow ? 
 
 Can Flags there flourish where no waters flow ? 
 
 The ancients used the Iris or Flag-flower as the 
 symbol of eloquence ; and on this account it was, 
 we presume, placed by the Egyptians on the brow 
 of the Sphinx, as we have seen in the collection of 
 antique statuary at the Louvre, in Paris, where 
 there are three Sphinxes of great magnitude, 
 Nos. 253, 373, and 375, all of which have the Iris 
 flower sculptured on the brow. May not the 
 Egyptians have represented Moses by the Sphinx, 
 and placed the Flag-flower on the temple of this 
 symbolical figure in allusion to the spot from which 
 he was taken, for the daughter of Pharaoh dis- 
 covered him in an ark of bulrushes ' ' laid in the 
 flags by the river's brink? 1 " (Exod. ii. 3.) 
 
 The History of France informs us that the 
 national escutcheon of that country was strewed
 
 IRIS. 189 
 
 with an indefinite number of Fleurs-de-lis as early 
 as the time of Clovis the First, about the end of 
 the fifth century, previously to which time the em- 
 blem of France had been either three toads or three 
 diadems in champ d'argent others say three cres- 
 cents, surrounded with a number of bees. 
 
 About the middle of the twelfth century, Louis 
 the Seventh of France, having been excommuni- 
 cated by the Pope, and his kingdom laid under an 
 interdict, was persuaded to take up the cross and 
 join in the romantic expedition of the Crusaders, 
 on which occasion he distinguished himself, as was 
 the custom of those times, by a particular blazon, 
 for which he chose the Iris flower, from that time 
 called Fleur de Louis, Louis's flower, which was 
 first contracted into fleur de Luce, and afterwards 
 into fleur de Us, Lily flower, although it has no 
 affinity to the Lily. The Iris flower soon became 
 celebrated in France as the Fleur de Us, and was 
 not only used in the arms of France, but employed 
 in the decorative embellishments of the crown itself. 
 
 The number of fleurs de lis used in emblazoning 
 the arms of France was reduced to three in the 
 reign of Charles the Sixth, about the year 1381, 
 when that monarch added supporters to the shield 
 of France which arose from the following circum- 
 stance. This youthful Prince, whilst hunting in 
 the forest of Senlis, roused an enormous stag, which
 
 190 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 would not suffer himself to be taken by the dogs, 
 but being secured in the toils of the net, a collar 
 of copper, gilt, was found fixed around the neck of 
 the animal, with this Latin inscription, " Hoc mihi 
 Caesar donavit." After this adventure the young 
 king dreamed that he was carried through the air 
 on a winged stag, from which time he added two 
 winged stags for supporters of the arms of France. 
 The north part of the mariner's compass was 
 marked by its immortal author (Flavio Giovia, a 
 native of Amalfi, in Naples) with this beautiful 
 flower, in compliment to France, the Neapolitan 
 monarch being a younger branch of the royal 
 family then (1302) upon the throne of that king- 
 dom. 
 
 Edward the Third, 
 
 Whose ripe manhood spread our fame so far, 
 A sage in peace, a demi-god in war : 
 Who, stern in fight, made echoing Cressy ring, 
 And mild in conquest, served his captive king, 
 
 TlCKELL, 
 
 added the Fleurs de Luce to the arms of England. 
 Gray calls him 
 
 Great Edward, with the Lilies on his bro\v, 
 From haughty Gallia torn. 
 
 Phillips says 
 
 Behold Third Edward's streamers blazing high 
 On Gallia's hostile ground ! his right withheld, 
 Awakens vengeance : O imprudent Gauls,
 
 191 
 
 Relying on false hopes, thus to incense 
 The warlike English ! 
 
 Great Edward thus avenged, 
 With golden Iris his broad shield emboss'd. 
 
 The Fleur de Us has frequently been allowed to 
 British subjects in heraldry. Queen Anne granted 
 to Sir Cloudesly Shovel, for his arms, a chevron 
 between two Fleur s de Us, and a crescent in the 
 base, to denote three victories that he had gained 
 two over the French, and one over the Turks. 
 
 The Fleur de Us no longer occupies a place in 
 the British arms, as, on the union of these king- 
 doms on the 1st of January, 1800, it gave place to 
 the Shamrock, which, being now united to the 
 Rose, the Thistle, and the Harp, we could, in 
 justice to our neighbours, do no less than restore 
 to them the full possession of their ancient heraldic 
 flower, which we hope to see flourishing by the 
 Rose, each amicably striving to display their mas- 
 tery in good qualities, rather than in strife and con- 
 quest. 
 
 That the Iris should be called by a French name 
 in this country is not surprising, since it was won 
 of them in battle, and worn in the British crown 
 from that time until the coronation of his present 
 Majesty, who has graciously dispensed with it. 
 The Roses that emblazon the arms of England 
 were not more a cause of bloodshed in this country 
 than the Iris has proved to the inhabitants of France
 
 192 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 during the present age. It was proscribed during 
 the Revolution, and hundreds of persons, found 
 wearing it, were condemned to death by the revo- 
 lutionary tribunal, whose revolting act of the 21st 
 of January, 1793, rendered a line of our great bard 
 on this subject so strikingly appropriate as almost 
 to be considered prophetic : 
 
 Cropp'd are the Flower de Luces in his arms. 
 
 During this national frenzy, wherever the Fleur de 
 Lis stood conspicuous in sculpture, it was defaced 
 through the fury of the mob, who covered the obli- 
 teration by their silly cap of liberty, which, in its 
 turn, was obscured by the expanding wings of the 
 imperial eagle. Napoleon substituted the bee for 
 the Iris flower, and it would certainly appear a 
 more rational emblem of an industrious nation than 
 their ancient flower ; but both bee and eagle have 
 taken their departure, and the Fleur de Lis is 
 once more left to spangle the royal robes of France. 
 Chaucer seems to confound the Lily with the 
 Iris: 
 
 His nekke was white as the Flour de Lis. 
 
 Spenser, who, in most instances, preserved the old 
 spelling with the greatest care, says 
 
 Bring hither the pinke and purple Cullambine, 
 
 With Gelliflowres ; 
 Bring Coronations, and sops in wine, 
 
 AVorue of paramours :
 
 IRIS. 193 
 
 Strowe mee the grounde with Daffadown-Dillies, 
 And Cowslips, and Kingcups, and loved Lillies : 
 
 The prettie Pawnee, 
 
 And the Chevisaunce, 
 Small match with the fayre Flowre Delice. 
 
 Shep. CaL 
 
 Dr. Turner says, in 1568, the Iris is called 
 Floure de Lyce. Gerard and Parkinson write it 
 Flower de Luce, which is continued by all who 
 distinguish the Iris from the Lily. When Shaks- 
 peare wrote 
 
 Lilies of all kinds, 
 
 The Flower-de-Luce being one, 
 
 botanical arrangements had not then been suffi- 
 ciently established to settle the natural affinities of 
 plants. 
 
 Martyn enumerates fifty distinct species of Iris in 
 his edition of Miller, 1807, but Aiton regards but 
 thirty-two species in the Hortus Kewensis. Of 
 many of these species there are varieties, so that 
 few flowers would contribute more to ornament our 
 gardens were their culture as much attended to as 
 their beauty demands. It is also a great recom- 
 mendation to these plants, that, whilst some of the 
 kinds blossom as early as March and April, others 
 succeed them through every month until August 
 and September. The easy propagation and hardy 
 nature of the greater number of these plants renders 
 it unnecessary to dwell upon their culture ; but we 
 cannot leave the Iris of Flora, without strongly re- 
 
 VOL. i. K
 
 194 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 commending it a more frequent situation in every 
 pleasure-ground than it now occupies. 
 
 It is a species of flower that our earliest gardeners 
 seem to have cultivated with great delight, on 
 account of its rich and varying colours ; for, whilst 
 it equals the bow of Iris in the softness of the tints 
 of some of its varieties, the petals of others excel in 
 richness the celebrated purple of Tyre, whilst other 
 kinds exhibit a colour so opposite, and of so vivid a 
 dye, as to be made emblematical of flame. 
 
 As our collectors have brought the Iris from 
 every quarter of the globe, so would we see it flou- 
 rish in every part of our grounds, and even in 
 the waters ; for, 
 
 Amid its waving swords, in flaming gold 
 The Iris towers. 
 
 CHARLOTTE SMITH. 
 
 Where waves the bulrush as the waters glide, 
 And yellow flag-flowers deck the sunny side. 
 
 SCOTT. 
 
 It is difficult to imagine an effect more agreeable 
 to the eye than clumps of these yellow flowers re- 
 flected in the blue waters of our winding streams 
 and ornamental lakes. The embellishment of such 
 situations, in general, is too little understood, and 
 less attended to. We would not wish to see the 
 banks of our rivers bearing visible marks of art, but 
 the naked expanse of artificial lakes is unnatural 
 a proportion of aquatic plants is necessary to keep
 
 IRIS. 195 
 
 up a harmony of colouring, and to soften the 
 abruptness of the change which catches the eye 
 when waters are too suddenly contrasted with the 
 land. Where the waters are of sufficient size to 
 maintain fish and aquatic birds, we should never 
 fail to set aquatic plants, which Nature instructs us 
 to be necessary for their shelter, food, and medicine. 
 
 In situations where it may be desirable to keep 
 the waters free from plants, there can be no objec- 
 tion to the banks being beautified by the yellow 
 and purple corollas of the Iris, provided they are 
 so judiciously placed as not only to be doubled by 
 reflection, but carry rather the appearance of grow- 
 ing naturally on the spot, than of being placed there 
 by the hand of art. 
 
 Where the Yellow Iris is allowed to grow on the 
 brink of waters, the purple or blue varieties should 
 be planted on the banks as a contrast, but in no 
 instance in such a manner as to give the idea of a 
 border to the lake, but rather to add irregularity, 
 and break uniformity, by large clusters of these 
 plants ascending the banks. 
 
 In the most embellished borders of the vernal 
 season the dwarf species of Irises cannot fail to be 
 attractive. The Persian Iris displays, on the same 
 petal, nearly all the tints of " The dome's high 
 arch," and, like it, 
 
 E 2
 
 196 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 -^ the mingled blaze, 
 Forms a rainbow of alternate rays. 
 
 POPE. 
 
 This species of Iris flowers as early as February 
 and March, but it is of too tender a nature for the 
 exposed border, excepting where the soil is naturally 
 sandy, and the situation warm and sheltered : it 
 prospers well, however, when planted in pots filled 
 with sandy loam, or when the bulb is placed on 
 water in the manner of Hyacinths. 
 
 The fragrance of this plant is such, that a few 
 flowers will perfume a large room ; and on this 
 account, as well as the early season in which its 
 finely-painted corollas open, it is a desirable plant 
 for the house, as the 
 
 DWARF IRIS, Pumila, 
 
 is for the open garden, where it endures the in- 
 clemency of our winters without injury, and pro- 
 duces its rich purple flowers in almost any soil and 
 situation, being a native of the open hills of Austria 
 and Hungary. Its diminutive height is its protec- 
 tion against the tempestuous season in which it 
 flowers, which also adapts it as a neighbour to the 
 Primrose, the early Narcissus, and other early-
 
 IRIS. 197 
 
 flowering plants that benefit by a purple contrast. 
 There are varieties of this Iris with pale blue, and 
 some with straw-coloured and bluish-coloured 
 petals, but they are neither so common nor so 
 desirable for the season of their flowering as those 
 of the royal purple. 
 
 Many of the later-blowing Irises are of a height 
 that towers above dwarf shrubs, and they have an 
 enchanting effect when planted amongst the bushes 
 of the roseries, or between the tall shrubs and 
 dwarf evergreens of the shrubbery ; the pale 
 Turkey, the yellow, or the various-coloured, being 
 planted in the vicinity of the purple rhododendron, 
 and the blue and violet varieties of Iris, where 
 white, yellow, or pink flowers abound 
 
 THE CHALCEDONIAN IRIS, S-usiana, 
 
 takes its name from Susa, in Persia. This species 
 requires a drier soil and warmer situation than 
 most other kinds, and has many qualities to recom- 
 mend it to our care. Its corolla is the largest of 
 all the species, the upper petals being as broad as 
 a hand, and singular in their colours, being striped 
 with black and white, whilst the falling petals are
 
 198 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 of so dark a hue as to have given rise to the name 
 of Mourning Iris. This species of Iris was cul- 
 tivated in this country previous to 1596, as Gerard 
 then tells us that it flourished well in his garden, 
 being planted in ground not over-wet. This old 
 herbalist observes, " the whole flower is of the 
 colour of a Ginnie hen ; a rare and beautiful flower 
 to behold." We learn from Clusius that this 
 superb Iris was first brought from Constantinople 
 to Vienna and Holland, in the year 1573. 
 
 The hardy sorts of Iris are easily propagated by 
 parting their roots in the autumn ; and few flowers 
 requiring so little attention, produce so fine an 
 effect as these plants, particularly when their 
 clumps are large. The roots should not be re- 
 moved oftener than once in three or four years, as 
 they seldom flower so abundantly the year after 
 having been planted. 
 
 The grea* bulbous-rooted Iris, Xiphioides, and 
 the small bulbous-rooted Iris, Xiphium, are natives 
 of Spain, and were cultivated in England as long 
 back as the time of Gerard ; yet they continue 
 rather rare than plentiful in most of our gardens, 
 although no flower which we can bestow our atten- 
 tion upon will be found more ornamental than 
 these species of Iris, which vary so considerably in 
 their corollas, that scarcely two plants produced 
 from seed are painted in the same manner ; but
 
 IRIS. 
 
 199 
 
 the approved varieties are increased by offsets, 
 which they abundantly produce. The bulbous- 
 rooted Iris prospers best in a poor, light, sandy 
 loam, where it is exposed to an eastern aspect. 
 The seeds of these plants are generally ripe in 
 August, when they should immediately be sown 
 in slight drills, about six inches from each other. 
 In the following spring the young plants appear 
 above the earth, with a resemblance to young 
 onions. In shis state they will require no other 
 care than weeding. In August or September of 
 the third year after sowing, they should be trans- 
 planted into clumps or beds, at about eight inches 
 apart each way : in two or three years from their 
 removal most of them will blossom, and new 
 varieties may be expected. 
 
 In Africa the roots of the edulis Iris are esteemed 
 as food after being boiled, and they are eagerly 
 sought for in that quarter of the world by the 
 monkeys. 
 
 It is the Florentine Iris, Florentina, whose roots 
 when dried give out that agreeable perfume so 
 similar to the odour of Violets. 
 
 This medicinal root, which is principally brought 
 from Leghorn, was in great demand when hair- 
 powder was more generally worn, as what was sold 
 as violet-powder was nothing more than a propor-
 
 200 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 tion of the powder of this root mixed with common 
 hair-powder. It is the Orris root of the shops, so 
 frequently chewed by those who have a fetid breath : 
 it was formerly much esteemed in medicine ; and 
 old writers extol its virtues as an attenuant, emol- 
 lient, and pectoral, and, therefore, as being good 
 for the lungs. At present we believe it is only held 
 valuable for the pleasantness of the flavour which 
 it communicates to medicine. 
 
 The Florentine Iris produced its white blossoms 
 in English gardens previous to 1596, as we are in- 
 formed by Gerard. 
 
 One of the most curious species of this genus of 
 plants that we have seen is the Iris dichotoma, 
 Afternoon Iris, or Scissor plant. It has the slen- 
 derest stem, and the smallest flower, of all the 
 Irises, and the corolla never expands until after 
 mid-day hence the trivial name. It is a native 
 of Dauria, and is called Cheitschi (Scissors) in the 
 Mogul language, from the form of the fork pro- 
 duced by the two branches which support the 
 flowers. 
 
 It is not even " the flower of a day," for it 
 never fails to collapse before night by a two-fold 
 inflexion, rolling inwards at the limb or upper por- 
 tion, and twisting spirally together at the ungues 
 or lower.
 
 IRIS. 201 
 
 It was first introduced by Mr. John Bell, in 
 1784, but being lost, was again raised from seed 
 sent from the Berlin garden to Messrs. Whitley 
 and Co., of the Fulham nursery, where it flowered 
 in August, 1817, and was found sufficiently 
 hardy to stand in a sheltered border in the open 
 ground. 
 
 The root of our native Yellow Water-Flag, Iris 
 Pseudo-Acorus, that flowers so abundantly in our 
 fens and marshes during the month of June, had 
 formerly a place in the " London Pharmacopoeia," 
 under the name of Gladiolus luteus. It is much 
 praised by Ettmuller, as a very certain and power- 
 ful styptic in spitting and vomiting of blood. At 
 present this acrid root is but little used in medi- 
 cine. It is of so powerfully astringent a nature, that 
 it may be employed as a substitute for galls in 
 making ink. 
 
 The common blue or purple Flower de Luce of 
 our gardens, Iris Germanica, yields a most beauti- 
 ful paint for water-colours, for which purpose the 
 flower-petals are collected before they are fully 
 expanded, " and pounded in a stone mortar with a 
 stone-capped or wooden pestle then put into a 
 glass, and placed for some days in a cellar or other 
 moist place : after the space of about a fortnight, 
 the mass, which is now become liquid, is to be set 
 
 K5
 
 202 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 over the fire in a glass pot, till about a third part 
 is consumed ; then some rock-alum is to be put 
 into it, more or less, till it becomes clear, and ac- 
 quires its fine blue colour ; after which it is poured 
 into shells for use." Martyris Miller. 
 
 The root of this Flower de Luce was formerly 
 used to prevent beer becoming stale, by suspending 
 it in the cask ; and it was in like manner suspended 
 in casks of wine, to communicate both its taste and 
 smell to the liquor.
 
 AURICULA. 203 
 
 AURICULA. Primula Auricula. 
 
 Natural Order Preciee. A Genus of the Pentandria 
 Monogynia Class. 
 
 Auriculas, enrich'd 
 
 With shining meal o'er all their velvet leaves. 
 
 THOMSON. 
 
 Queen of the snowy Alps, in glittering pride 
 She rears her palace on the mountain's side ; 
 There, as bright sun-beams light her spangled throne, 
 Attendant sylphs the aerial empress own ; 
 Expand their purple plumes, and raised in air, 
 Wave their green banners to protect the fair ; 
 Imperial beauty, with resistless sway, 
 Tames the rude bears, and bids their tribes obey ; 
 Roar round each crystall'd cliff and moss-girt plain, 
 And guard in shaggy troops her bright domain. 
 Delighted Boreas views her from afar, 
 And drives in stormy state his ebon car ; 
 Low at her feet the boist'rous monarch bows, 
 And breathes his passion 'mid descending snows, 
 While timid Zephyr flies through fields of air, 
 Scarce daring to approach the hill-encircled fair. 
 
 SHAW. 
 
 THIS favourite offspring of vernal Flora is a native 
 of the icy summits of the Alps, from whence the 
 Flemish gardeners first procured it, and brought it 
 into cultivation, before its beauties were known in 
 other distant lands, or regarded in its native country. 
 But when it was once ascertained to be a plant on
 
 204 FLORA HtSTORICA. 
 
 which Nature plays her frolics, and which she loves 
 to paint in all the varieties of whimsicality and di- 
 versity of rich hues, it was eagerly sought after by 
 all the florists of Europe, and was soon brought to 
 the highest state of perfection by the English culti- 
 vators, who, in the flowering of the Auricula, have 
 left even the Flemings far in the back-ground. 
 
 At what exact period this Primula of the moun- 
 tains was first brought to England is uncertain, but 
 Gerard speaks of it as no stranger in 1597, and 
 observes, " it do grow in our London gardens." 
 This author calls it Beare's-eares, or Mountaine 
 Cowslips, and Auricula Ursiflora. The leaves of 
 this plant are thought to resemble the ears of the 
 bear, on which account it received the Latin name 
 of Auricula Ursi, and the French Oreille d'ours, as 
 well as the Italian Orecchia d'orso. 
 
 It is thought to be the Alisma of Dioscorides. 
 Matthiolus and Pena call it Sanicula Alpina, from 
 its character of healing wounds. It has also been 
 named Paralytica by old herbalists, on account of 
 its being esteemed a remedy for the palsy. 
 
 When this plant was established as a favourite in 
 the garden, it was sought for on most of the moun- 
 tains of the continent. Carolus Clusius found it 
 on the mountains of Germany, and it has since been 
 discovered in Switzerland, Carniola, Savoy and 
 Piedmont.
 
 AURICULA. 205 
 
 The art of floriculture has been so happily be- 
 stowed upon the Auricula as to render it one of the 
 flowers of highest esteem ; and it is deservedly 
 admired for its rich velvet corollas, some of which 
 are of the darkest purple, others of a fine blue, 
 bright yellow, delicate lilac, olive brown, pure white, 
 variegated, bordered or mottled as variously as the 
 Tulip; and as it is a flower often exhibited for 
 prizes at Auricula-shows, we shall give what is now 
 considered as the criterion of a perfect and fine 
 flower of this kind. 
 
 ( The stem must be erect and strong, and of a 
 height to carry the bunch of flowers above the 
 foliage of the plant. The peduncles, or foot-stalks, 
 of the flowers, should also be strong and elastic, 
 and of a proportionable length to the size and 
 quantity of pips, which should not be less than 
 seven in number, that the bunch may be rather 
 round, close, and compact. The component parts 
 of the pip are the tube, (with its stamens and an- 
 thers,) the eye, and the exterior circle, containing 
 the ground colour, with its marginal edge : these 
 three should be all well proportioned, which they 
 are when the diameter of the tube be one part, the 
 eye three, and the whole pip six, or nearly so. All 
 the connoisseurs of the Auricula agree that the pips 
 should be round, but this seldom happens ; and if 
 they be so nearly round as not to deserve the ap-
 
 206 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 pellation of a starry flower, judges of this flower 
 are content. The anthers, or summits of the 
 stamens, must be large, bold, and fill the tube well, 
 and the tube should terminate rather above the 
 eye : the eye should be very white, smooth, and 
 round, without any cracks, and distinct from the 
 ground, or self-colour. The ground-colour must 
 be bold and rich, and equal on every side of the 
 eye; whether it be in one uniform circle, or in 
 bright patches, it must be distinct at the eye, and 
 only broken at the outward part into the edging. 
 The favourite colours are a fine black, purple, or 
 bright chesnut, a rich blue, or bright pink ; but 
 the acme of the florist's ambition is to procure the 
 Auricula of a glowing scarlet, or deep crimson, 
 edged with a clear green. The green edge, or mar- 
 gin, is the principal cause of the variegated appear- 
 ance in this flower ; and it should be in proportion 
 to the ground colour, that is, about one-half of 
 each." Nature has guarded these delicate flowers 
 from the scorching heat of the sun's rays by sprink- 
 ling them with a fine powder, and the leaves of most 
 of the kinds of Auricula are kept cool by the same 
 wise precaution. 
 
 The Auricula is generally observed to be brought 
 to the highest perfection in the neighbourhood of 
 manufacturing towns, where the mechanic leaves 
 his labour to attend and admire the beauties of his
 
 AURICULA. 207 
 
 stage. In these towns a rivalship generally prevails 
 as to who shall rear the finest specimen of this plant, 
 which instead of dissension, produces social neigh- 
 bourhood, and exchange of civilities, for it is 
 
 A fair ambition, void of strife or guile, 
 Or jealousy, or pain to be outdone. 
 
 But great delight it gives to the happy cultivator 
 
 who shows 
 
 The earliest bloom, the sweetest, proudest charms 
 Of Flora. 
 
 ARMSTRONG. 
 
 It is recorded in the history of this plant, that 
 Mr. Henry Stow, a gardener near Colchester, 
 reared, previously to the year 1768, some plants of 
 Auricula that produced one hundred and thirty- 
 three blossoms on one stem ; and in the year 1821, 
 an extraordinary flower of this kind was gathered 
 in the garden of Mr. Tanby, of Bath : it had eight 
 distinct stalks, combined in one flat stem, completely 
 incorporated together, and bearing a calyx contain- 
 ing one hundred and seven petals ; but this would 
 be considered rather a singular than a perfect 
 flower. 
 
 Lancashire is at present the most celebrated part 
 of the country for fine Auriculas, and from thence 
 most of the florists in the neighbourhood of London 
 are supplied. About a century ago, when this 
 flower was more in fashion in England than at pre-
 
 208 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 sent, the Dutch bloemists were supplied from this 
 country ; but they afterwards obtained this part of 
 the floral trade, and frequently before the late war 
 returned to this kingdom the offspring of our own 
 flowers. 
 
 It is observed in a late French publication on 
 flowers, that the Auricula is still the favourite flower 
 of the English ; and the anonymous author tells us 
 that it is made the terrible symbol of ambush. " I 
 shall add," says the writer, " without being sus- 
 pected of malignity, that the Bear's Ear is the 
 favourite flower of the English." We may fairly 
 surmise that the author alluded to has more malig- 
 nity towards the English than knowledge of their 
 country. 
 
 The best season for propagating the approved 
 sorts of the Auricula is about the end of July, or 
 beginning of August, when the roots may be divided, 
 or rooted slips taken off, and planted in pots filled 
 with a good compost, which should be composed of 
 a fresh loamy soil, and perfectly decomposed cow- 
 dung, equal parts of each, adding to the mixture 
 one- tenth of sea or river sand. Good leaf mould 
 may be used instead of cow-dung, but the whole 
 should be well mixed, and exposed to the frost the 
 winter before it is used ; but, as Hogg observes, 
 the cultivators of these flowers are not more nume- 
 rous than their compost is various, and quackery,
 
 AURICULA. 209 
 
 even in the growing of flowers, has as many fol- 
 lowers as in any other line. 
 
 We are told by some growers of the Auricula, 
 that sugar-bakers' scum, goose or pigeons' dung, 
 sea-sand, rotten willow-trees, night-soil, dung 
 steeped in butchers' blood, &c. &c., are all neces- 
 sary to produce fine flowers ; but, from our own 
 observation, all that is requisite seems to be a rich 
 and light mixture that has been well frozen, and 
 frequently turned over. Mr. S. Curtis tells us, that 
 he has seen the strongest Auriculas produced from 
 the following ingredients : two-thirds of the rotten 
 dung from old hot-beds reduced to fine mould, 
 one-third containing equal parts of coarse sand and 
 peat, or bog-earth, such as is used in the culture of 
 heaths, mixed well together by shifting or screen- 
 ing, and suffered to be well aired by frequent 
 turnings during the frosts of winter. 
 
 Where it is desirable to plant Auriculas in the 
 open ground, we recommend that a space sufficient 
 for about eight or twelve plants should be fixed on 
 in a situation sheltered from the heat of the mid- 
 day sun, with either an east or north-east aspect ; 
 that the earth should be taken out of the spot fixed 
 on to about eight inches in depth, filling it up with 
 a compost rather above the general surface of the 
 border, so as to throw off superfluous moisture. 
 As many of these clumps may be formed as the
 
 210 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 size of the garden and number of plants will admit, 
 reserving the finest varieties for potting. The pots 
 recommended by Emmerson for large blooming 
 plants are those of about eight inches high, five 
 and a half diameter at the top, and four and a half 
 at the bottom, outside measure. 
 
 Haddock recommends the Auricula to-be potted 
 immediately after the bloom is over, and re-potted 
 every year, to invigorate the plants by fresh earth. 
 The Auricula is by no means a tender plant, and 
 it loves a free air, rather cold than warm ; yet it is 
 advisable to secure those in pots from severe frost, 
 and a shed open to the north or east is preferable 
 for blowing them, than either a south or west 
 aspect; but, as a winter repository, they should 
 have the advantage of a south aspect, and be kept 
 very dry during the months of November, Decem- 
 ber, and January, as in case of frost the weather 
 has less power on the roots. In February it is ad- 
 visable to top-dress the pots with fresh compost, 
 and when the season is mild, to allow them to 
 receive gentle showers : during the time of flower- 
 ing, the pots should be moderately watered two or 
 three times a week. 
 
 Every admirer of these flowers should endeavour 
 to raise new varieties from seed, which should be 
 preserved from the strongest plants of the hand- 
 somest kinds, and be kept separate from inferior
 
 AURICULA. 211 
 
 sorts, to prevent accidental impregnation. As the 
 capsules ripen they should be cut off singly, and 
 kept in a dry situation until the time of sowing, 
 which is principally performed in the month of 
 February. <c Maddock sows this seed in boxes, 
 and covers it as light as possible; and sets the 
 boxes in a hot-bed, preserving a moderate and 
 equal degree of warmth both day and night, ad- 
 mitting fresh air occasionally. The advantage of 
 this mode is, that it forces every live grain into 
 vegetation in about three weeks, if the warmth of 
 the bed be properly kept up ; whereas, by the more 
 usual mode of exposure to the open air, the greater 
 part does not vegetate till the second year ; and 
 the weaker seeds, which are probably the most 
 valuable, seldom vegetate at all. 
 
 " The earth and seed must always be kept 
 moderately moist, but never very wet : the best 
 method of watering it, is by means of a hard 
 clothes-brush, dipped into soft water, which has 
 had its chill taken off by standing in the sun ; the 
 hair side being quickly turned upwards, and the 
 hand rubbed briskly over it, will cause the water to 
 fly off, in an opposite direction, in particles almost 
 as fine as dew. If the surface of the earth in the 
 boxes is inclining to become mossy or mouldy, it 
 must be stirred all over very carefully with a pin, 
 about as deep as the thickness of a shilling. When
 
 212 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 the young plants make their appearance, it then 
 becomes necessary to give them very gradually 
 more air, in order to harden, and render them fit 
 for an entire exposure to it, which they will be able 
 to bear in a fortnight or three weeks, at which time 
 the box should be taken out of the frame, and 
 placed in rather a warm situation, though not too 
 much exposed to the sun, till towards the end of 
 April, when it may again be removed to a cooler 
 aspect, where it can only receive the sun till nine 
 o'clock in the morning ; and in May, if the weather 
 is hot, it should be placed in the most cool and 
 airy part of the garden, not neglecting at any time 
 to keep the earth moderately moist, but at the 
 same time preserving it from violent rains when- 
 ever they occur. As soon as any of the plants 
 appear with six leaves, such should be taken out 
 from the rest, and transplanted into other boxes, 
 filled with the compost, about two inches distant 
 from each other ; and when they are again grown, 
 so as nearly to touch each other, they must be a 
 second time transplanted into larger boxes, or small 
 ,pots, where they should remain till they blow, 
 which will generally happen the following spring ; 
 but their full merit will not be seen until the 
 second year, when the finer kinds may be marked 
 for the house, and the inferior varieties for the 
 open borders.'*
 
 AURICULA. 213 
 
 Some cultivators of these flowers sow the seed in 
 pots, about six inches over the top, and six deep, 
 filled half full with coal ashes or cinders, for the 
 sake of drainage ; the seed being covered as thin 
 as possible with compost, and the pots covered with 
 a hand-glass, and placed in a situation where it 
 receives only the morning sun. These glasses are 
 not to be taken off, but the water sprinkled over 
 them will afford sufficient moisture to the earth. 
 The front of a green-house, or a cool frame, is re- 
 commended for these pots. 
 
 As the spring is the season we desire to have 
 our Auriculas in flower, all the autumnal buds 
 should be carefully taken off to strengthen the 
 plants for the early flowering ; and as the Auricula 
 blossoms at the same season of the year that the 
 Hyacinth and Jonquil flower, a most desirable 
 assemblage for the house may be formed, by a ju- 
 dicious mixture of these plants being placed on a 
 window table, with a sunk centre to receive the 
 depth of the pots, which should for this purpose be 
 of a square shape, so as to fit close, as well as to 
 exactly fill the space in the table. These little 
 table gardens are a great ornament to the saloon 
 in the spring, and often beguile the time of the in- 
 valid in the most happy manner ; for, in whatever 
 situation we meet with fine flowers, they give a 
 calm cheerfulness conducive to health, and the
 
 214 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 care they require is only asked of our leisure; 
 whilst that of birds and animals which are confined 
 to the house must be regularly attended to at their 
 call, or they become offensive and annoying.
 
 215 
 
 ORCHIS. Orchis or Satyrion. 
 
 Natural Order, Orchideae. A Genus of the Gynandria 
 Monandria Class. 
 
 Nor will her prudence, when intent to form 
 
 One perfect whole, on feeble aid depend, 
 
 And give exotic wonders to our gaze ; 
 
 She knows, and therefore fears the faithless train : 
 
 Sagely she calls on those of hardy class 
 
 Indigenous, who, patient of the change 
 
 From heat to cold which Albion hourly feels, 
 
 Are braced with strength to brave it. These alone 
 
 She plants and prunes, nor grieves if nicer eyes 
 
 Pronounce them vulgar. 
 
 MASON. 
 
 THAT this family of plants, so singular in their 
 construction, and so beautiful in their appearance, 
 should be excluded from the parterre of Flora in 
 every part of the globe, evinces either a general 
 Avant of taste in floriculture, or a strong predilec- 
 tion for ancient prejudices and absurd opinions. 
 
 Even the poets have failed to celebrate this 
 flower that so richly enamels our vernal pastures 
 with its spiral blossoms, and so sweetly contrasts its 
 purple spikes with the yellow furze of our chalky 
 hills. It is slightly mentioned by Mrs. Charlotte 
 Smith, who spent her early days at Berton Park,
 
 216 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 on the north side of the South Downs of Sussex, 
 where these flowers are too abundant to have 
 escaped her notice. On the close of spring, she 
 says 
 
 No more shall Violets linger in the dell, 
 
 Or Purple Orchis variegate the plain, 
 Till Spring again shall call forth every bell, 
 
 And dress with humid hands her wreath again. 
 
 Our great lexicographer has not deigned to men- 
 tion this plant under any of its various names. 
 Milton appears to have been struck with the beau- 
 ties of its hue, but avoids to name the flower. 
 
 Throw hither all your quaint enamell'd eyes, 
 That on the green turf suck the honeyed show'rs, 
 And purple all the ground with vernal flow'rs. 
 
 Shakspeare seems to allude to this plant as one 
 which helped to compose the garland of Ophelia ; 
 but the great dramatist evidently varnishes over 
 the familiar name by which it was distinguished by 
 the herbalist of his day. 
 
 There with fantastic garlands did she come, 
 
 Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples, 
 
 That liberal shepherds give a grosser name, 
 
 But our cold maids do dead men 's fingers call them. 
 
 Hamlet, Act. IV. 
 
 The Greeks named it Ox,'*> Orchis, from the 
 form of the roots in many of the species, and this 
 appellation is now generally adopted in most of the 
 European languages. In addition to the Greek 
 name, the Latins often called it Satyrion, because
 
 ORCHIS. 217 
 
 the early Romans believed it to be the food of the 
 Satyrs, and that it excited them to those excesses to 
 which fabulous history describes them as being so 
 much addicted. 
 
 In mythology, the Satyri are represented as 
 demi-gods, who chiefly attended upon Bacchus ; 
 but Pliny speaks of them, from report, as animals 
 which inhabited a part of India (book vii. chap. 2) 
 It is related by Pausanias, Plutarch, and other an- 
 cient historians, that a Satyr was brought to Sylla, 
 as that general returned from Thessaly ; the mon- 
 ster was taken alive, and is stated to have answered 
 in every degree to the descriptions given of the 
 Satyrs by the painters and the poets. We read, 
 also, that Sylla was so disgusted with the sight 
 of the monster, that he ordered it to be instantly 
 removed. 
 
 The Orchis root being represented as the fa- 
 vourite diet of the imaginary Satyrs, it naturally 
 became celebrated as one of the most stimulating 
 medicines known, and it is so described by all 
 medical writers on simples, from Dioscorides down 
 to the present day : but most of these accounts 
 are too ridiculous and indelicate to transcribe, and 
 we trust that they will be so far disregarded as not 
 to shut this beautiful plant out of the gardens of 
 this enlightened age ; nor would we debar the 
 student in medicine from ascertaining the real 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 qualities of these bulbs, the juice of which is so 
 strongly recommended as a cooling application to 
 inflamed surfaces, and as a resolutive to accelerate 
 the suppuration of indolent tumors, to say nothing 
 of its powers in the electuary Diasatyrion. 
 
 Fabulous history tells us that the Orchis owes 
 its origin to the lascivious son of the Satyr Patella- 
 nus, and the nymph Acolasia, who presided at the 
 feasts celebrated in honour of Priapus. The youth 
 being present at the celebration of the feast of 
 Bacchus, laid violent hands on one of the priest- 
 esses of that god, which so incensed the Baccha- 
 nals against him, that they instantly tore him in 
 pieces ; and all the remedy which his father could 
 obtain from the gods was, that his mangled corpse 
 should be transformed into a flower, which should 
 retain his name of Orchis, as a blot upon his 
 memory. 
 
 The Persians and Turks call the roots of the 
 Orchis Salop, and it is with these bulbs, as well as 
 the pal mated roots of other species of Orchis, that 
 they prepare their favourite drink of salop, which 
 is made palatable by the addition of milk and 
 ginger. This beverage is drunk hot, with the 
 same opinion of its qualities that was entertained by 
 the ancients. The salop powder was formerly 
 brought over fromTurkey in considerable quantities; 
 and we have had our salop rooms in London, as well
 
 ORCHIS. 219 
 
 as the Turks in Constantinople, or the Persians in 
 Ispahan. 
 
 And yet the wholesome herb neglected dies ; 
 Though with the pure exhilarating soul 
 Of nutriment and health, and vital powers, 
 Beyond the search of art, 'tis copious blest. 
 
 THOMSON. 
 
 In the long list of the English names for this 
 plant, as recorded by our early writers on plants, 
 none are admissible before the time of Parkinson 
 (1640), who adds to the nomenclature that of 
 Standle-wort, which seems derived from one of the 
 old German or Dutch names for the Orchis, the 
 former being Stendelwurtz, and the latter Standle- 
 cruyt. In 1657, Coles writes the name of King- 
 fingers for this plant, in addition to those of the 
 former herbalists. 
 
 The florists have not proved more negligent in 
 cultivating these curious plants than the botanists 
 have been anxious to collect the different species of 
 them from all quarters of the known world ; and 
 from their exertions we now possess upwards of 
 eighty distinct species, besides numerous varieties 
 of several of the kinds. 
 
 Modern arrangement divides this family of plants 
 into different genera, under the heads of Orchis, 
 Satyrium, Ophrys, Habenaria, Gymnadenia, Her- 
 inirum, Aceras, Goodyera, Bartholina, Serapias, 
 Disa, Pterygodium, Neottia, Ponthieva, Diuris, 
 Thelymitra, Listera, Epipactis, Pogonia, Calade- 
 
 L 2
 
 220 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 ma, Glossodia, Pterostylis, Calcya, Calopogon, 
 Arethusa, Bletia, Geodorum, Calypso, Malaxis, 
 Isochilus, Corallorrhiza, Stelis, Ornithedium, Cryp- 
 tarrhena, Aerides, Limodorum, Pleurothallis, Oc- 
 toraaeria. 
 
 To describe all the varieties of these singular 
 plants would require a separate volume, for which 
 purpose we have already made many drawings, as 
 the pencil can far better than the pen represent 
 their various forms and colours. We shall, how- 
 ever, not pass over the native tribes of the Orchi- 
 de<s family, without most earnestly recommending 
 them to the notice all true admirers of flowers. 
 The idea that these plants will not bear cultivation 
 is as absurd as the old story of their springing from 
 the seed of the thrush and the blackbird. We 
 have frequently transplanted several species of the 
 Orchis and the Ophrys into the garden with suc- 
 cess, and the early varieties of the former never 
 failed to draw attention .by the beauty of their 
 fepotted foliage, and the richness of their purple or 
 lilac colours. We have generally collected the 
 plants as soon as they have appeared above the 
 ground, taking them up with as much earth as 
 possible about their roots, and planting them in a 
 similar soil to that from which they were taken ; 
 and where they have remained for several years 
 without our disturbing the ground, we have found
 
 ORCHIS. 221 
 
 them grow stronger than in their natural situations. 
 About the year 1812, we planted many of these 
 bulbs under some trees on a small bank in a garden 
 at Worthing, and in the year 1816 several young 
 plants were found growing on a small turf-plot 
 adjoining, which must evidently have sprung from 
 the seeds of those planted on the bank : they were 
 of the morio, mascula, and ustulata kinds. It 
 would be more desirable to collect the bulbs in 
 the summer, which might be easily done by 
 placing a small stick in the earth on the north side 
 of each plant when in flower, and to take them up 
 in July or October, before the foliage be entirely 
 decayed. 
 
 The Ophrys are far less common than the Orchis, 
 but these are frequently found in chalky soils, that 
 are kept moist by the partial shade of coppice- 
 wood. Martyn says, the Fly Ophrys, O. muscifera, 
 (t is found in Bocton church-yard, and about 
 Wrotham and Northfleet in Kent ; Harefield in 
 Middlesex ; Croydon in Surrey ; Hinton, Tever- 
 sham, Fulbourn, Linton, and Chippenham, in 
 Cambridgeshire ; Bath-hills near Bungay, and 
 Earsham-wood in Suffolk ;" Ray observed it "in 
 Essex, as well as the two last counties ; St. Vincent's- 
 rocks near Bristol ; Plumpton-woods near Ulver- 
 ston ; Rushton in Northamptonshire ; Asply in Not- 
 tinghamshire ; Barrowfield- wood and Brigstear-moss
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 in Westmoreland; generally in calcareous pastures." 
 We have frequently found it on the south downs of 
 Sussex and Hampshire, most generally on the north 
 side and near the foot of hills, where the soil is fre- 
 quently a mixture of clay and chalk, and of a wet 
 nature. We have also found it in plantations on 
 the downs, particularly at Stanmer, the seat of the 
 Earl of Chichester, near Brighton, where we have 
 seen more plants of this kind in a small space than 
 in any other situation. 
 
 The Fly Ophrys did not appear in this spot until 
 the third year after the plantation had been thinned 
 of its underwood ; and it is difficult to assign a 
 reason for its abundance in a site that less than half 
 a century back was a bare down. We also found, 
 in the same situation, the Epipactis grandiflora, the 
 Epipactis, or Ophrys Nidus Avis, and the Ep. or 
 Op. ovata, all growing within a few yards together 
 with the Op. muscifera. 
 
 That the seeds of all these species of Orchis 
 should be brought by accident to this one particu- 
 lar spot in the plantation is improbable, since none 
 of the kinds have been found growing in any other 
 part of the neighbourhood : we must therefore sur- 
 mise that they sprung from the nature of the soil, 
 assisted by the decayed vegetable matter falling 
 from the trees, which vegetated into these singular 
 plants so soon as a necessary proportion of light
 
 ORCHIS. 223 
 
 and air was admitted into the wood. There must 
 have been a first cause for the origin of all plants, 
 and that this cause should be renewed or repeated, 
 agreeably to necessary circumstances, cannot be 
 disputed by those who reflect on the subject. It 
 was evidently the opinion of the inspired Israelite, 
 when he wrote in the book of Genesis, " the earth 
 brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after 
 his kind, whose seed was in itself." And were it 
 possible that every plant and every seed on the 
 earth should perish, it cannot be doubted but that 
 the same kind of vegetation would eventually 
 spring up as is now peculiar to each particular soil 
 and climate of the world. It may be asked, would 
 our majestic oaks, and the imperial cedars of Le- 
 banon, with the towering palms of India, again 
 return to fill the space in their natural situations ? 
 Minute as the loftiest trees are, in comparison with 
 the boundlessness of space, they are, conjointly with 
 the humblest herb, necessary links in the harmony 
 of this terrestrial globe. Their existence is as neces- 
 sary to form the vital air which surrounds the earth, 
 as their substance is to the animals which inhabit it. 
 A singular instance of vegetation occurred in Lon- 
 don after the great fire of 1666, which reduced the 
 centre of that city to a heap of cinders, and roasted 
 the very earth ; yet on the following year the whole 
 mass of the ruins was so entirely covered with the
 
 224 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 broad-leaved Hedge Mustard, or London Wild 
 Rocket, tiisymbrium Iris, that in many places it 
 might have been mowed like a field of corn. Mor- 
 rison, Prcelud. But to return to the Fly Ophrys, 
 Ophrys muscifera: without further disputing its 
 being, like the fungus tribe, germinated by the fer- 
 mentation of certain particles of earth combined 
 with water, we are satisfied of its propagation by 
 seed, having, in the summer of 1823, saved the seed 
 from plants which we cultivated. 
 
 That it does not increase by a viviparous nature, 
 like many other bulbs, seems pretty certain, by our 
 not finding any of these plants growing in clusters 
 like the Crocus, Snowdrop, Tulip, or Hyacinth. 
 This plant, like the Meadow Orchis, has two dis- 
 tinct bulbs, united at the top, one of which only 
 sends up a stem ; and during the season that this 
 bulb is nourishing the flowers and seed it becomes 
 shrunk and shrivelled, but the dormant bulb swells 
 and increases in strength, and sends up a flowering 
 stalk the following year, leaving its companion bulb 
 to rest and recruit in its turn. When these bulbs 
 are divided, the plant is sure to perish, as we have 
 experienced, having taken off the dormant bulb 
 and planted the flowering one in a small pot, where 
 it continued to flourish and produce blossoms ; but 
 on examining the earth in the autumn there was 
 no part of the bulb remaining, whilst those that
 
 ORCHIS. 225 
 
 had been planted with the two bulbs were found 
 as already described, the one in a shrivelled state 
 from which the stem was decayed, and the other 
 become full and pushing out its stem. 
 
 The name of Ophrys which is given to these 
 plants is derived from the Greek ofpgt/r, the eye- 
 brow, one species having been anciently used either 
 to blacken the eye-brows or to make them grow. 
 Its trivial name Muscifera is given to it from the 
 great resemblance which the flower bears to a fly, 
 and on this account it is made to represent error or 
 mistake, in floral language; indeed the blossoms 
 are so much like the insects we have mentioned, 
 that they may easily be mistaken one for the other. 
 The Spider Ophrys, Aranifera, is made the em- 
 blem of adroitness or skill. The Bee Ophrys, 
 Apifera, ought certainly to represent industry ; and 
 the Butterfly Orchis, Gymnadenia bifolia, flighti- 
 ness or gaiety : whilst the Lizard Orchis, Hircina, 
 and the Frog Orchis, Gymnadenia mridis, may 
 describe disgust, when used emblematically. 
 
 The Fly Ophrys is generally in flower from the 
 end of May to the beginning of July : it has a 
 slender stem from twelve to eighteen inches in 
 height ; it is rarely seen with more than three 
 leaves, which sheath the stem at the base ; they are 
 of a pale green colour, and of a lanceolate shape. 
 The flowers expand in succession, beginning at the
 
 226 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 bottom, and it is not common to see more than 
 three or four expanded at one time ; as the lower 
 ones decay others open higher on the spike, until 
 the whole have blossomed. A spike seldom con- 
 tains more than fifteen flowers, and frequently not 
 more than four or five. They are thinly scattered 
 on the stem, which adds considerably to the decep- 
 tion, for were they numerous it would lessen the 
 effect. The calyx divides into three lanceolate 
 leaves of pale green, out of which issues a corolla 
 or petal, so bent, cut, and painted, as to resemble 
 a fly with its head in the calyx. The velvet-like 
 pubescence of the corolla, and the blue mark di- 
 viding the chocolate colour, contributes much to 
 the resemblance of this vegetable substance to an 
 animal body. 
 
 There has been no instance of either the Orchis 
 or the Ophrys, as now defined by botanists, being 
 found in tropical countries ; but a beautiful species 
 of this genus of plants has within these last few 
 years been brought from the botanic garden of 
 Palermo, by Mr. Wm. Swainson. The plant is 
 indigenous to the coast of Barbary, and has been 
 named Sawfly Ophrys, Tenthredin /era, but we 
 have seen no species of the Musca so gaily coloured, 
 as yellow, crimson, white, and blue, render the 
 corollas of this flower, which being moreover set in 
 a rose-coloured calyx has a fine effect. The ge-
 
 ORCHIS. 227 
 
 neral character of this exotic Ophrys comes nearer 
 to the Bee than the Fly Ophrys of this country. 
 
 The Bee Ophrys flowers about a month later 
 than the Fly Ophrys, and the flowering spike is 
 thicker and shorter than the latter species, being 
 generally from about six to ten inches in height. 
 The flowers are considerably broader and closer 
 set, and in shape and colour resemble a small hum- 
 ble bee. The spike seldom produces more than 
 four or six flowers, but like the Fly Ophrys, it 
 continues a considerable time in blossom before it 
 withers, unless it is too much exposed to the sun 
 or the winds. The leaves of this plant are of an, 
 ovate lanceolate shape, silvery underneath, and con- 
 siderably larger than those of the Fly Ophrys. 
 
 This plant, which was included among the varie- 
 ties of the insectifera of Linnaeus, is a native of 
 several parts of Europe, and an indigenous plant 
 of our calcareous soil near woods, and in meadows. 
 We have found it growing in the park belonging 
 to his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, at Arundel, in 
 Sussex. " It has been found also near Charlton- 
 church, and Chislehurst, in Kent. It grows also 
 on Trunhill-downs in the same county. In Cam- 
 bridgeshire it is abundant about Madingley-wood, 
 Hinton, Feversham, Fulbourn, Burrough-green, 
 Chippenham, and Linton. In Bedfordshire, at 
 Bolnhurst. In Buckinghamshire, at Bradenham.
 
 228 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 In Northamptonshire, at Blatherwick and Asply. 
 In Oxfordshire, at Pently Hangings. About Ear- 
 sham in Suffolk, and Mulbarton. On St. Vincent's- 
 rocks, near Bristol. Carisbrook Castle, in the Isle 
 of Wight. Great Comberton, towards Woller's- 
 hill ; and Tedestone, near Whitebourne in Worces- 
 tershire." 
 
 We have noticed the various situations where 
 these plants are found, in order to assist the curious 
 in their research ; and as the seed ripens in the 
 month of August, it would be worth the experi- 
 ment of those who have a suitable soil on their 
 estates, to scatter it on the ground in situations 
 similar to where it grows naturally ; but as most 
 bulbous roots raised from seed require some years 
 before they have strength to send up flower-stalks, 
 these must not be expected for at least three or 
 four years. We should recommend, at the same 
 time, that a portion of the seed should be sown in a 
 bed of earth congenial to the nature of the plant, 
 and very slightly covered with vegetable mould, as 
 we observe the plants to be generally most abun- 
 dant amongst decayed leaves. We should also 
 recommend the bed to be covered with moss, which 
 would keep the earth moist and protect it from 
 frost; the moss should be kept down by laying 
 slender twigs over it and pegging them down with 
 little forked branches.
 
 ORCHIS. 229 
 
 
 
 We cannot conclude our brief history of this 
 family of plants without publicly soliciting informa- 
 tion from those who have already made the experi- 
 ment of raising the Orchis and the Ophrys from, 
 seed, as also from such as may be disposed to 
 try the cultivation of these singular plants, the 
 natural history of which is at present but too im- 
 perfectly understood.
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 FRITILLARY. Fritillaria. 
 CROWN IMPERIAL. 
 
 Natural Order Coronaria. Lilia, Juss. A Genus of 
 the Hexandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 The Crown Imperial; Lilies of all kinds, 
 
 The Fower-de-Luce being one ! O, these I lack, 
 
 To make you garlands of. 
 
 SHAKSPEARE'S Winter's Tale. 
 
 THE Crown Imperial is one of the flowers that was 
 first introduced into this country in the time of our 
 great dramatic bard, who has celebrated it as above, 
 in a speech which Perdita makes to the Prince of 
 Bohemia. Gerard who was our principal writer on 
 plants in the days of Shakspeare, tells us, in 1597, 
 that he had then plenty of the Fritillary in his 
 garden at Holborn, but he calls it a rare and 
 strange plant. It was first sent from Constanti- 
 nople into the Christian countries of Europe by 
 Clusius, who forwarded it first to Vienna in the 
 year 1576, stating it to be a native plant of Persia, 
 growing in the woods of that country. It was, 
 therefore, for some time called Lilium Persicum, 
 Persian Lily ; but, as there was already another
 
 FRITILLARY. 231 
 
 Persian Lily growing in the European gardens, 
 Alphonsus Paucius, physician to the Duke of 
 Florence, when he sent a drawing of it to M. John 
 de Brancion, named it Corona Imperialis. Madame 
 de Genlis thinks the name originated from the cele- 
 brated Guirlande de Julie, Chapelain having under 
 the painting of this flower written a poor metamor- 
 phosis in compliment to Julie, who was a great 
 admirer of Gustavus Adolphus the King of Sweden, 
 who lost his life in the battle he gained in the 
 plains of Lutzen. The poet says, that had this 
 monarch gained the Imperial Crown, he would 
 have offered it with his hand to Julie j but, as the 
 Fates have metamorphosed him into this plant, it is 
 given to her under the name of Couronne Imperiale. 
 This title appears to have been adopted in all the 
 European languages, the German name being 
 Kaiserkrone, Danish KeiserJcrone, Swedish Keisar- 
 krona, Italian La Corona Imperiale, Spanish La 
 Corona Imperial, French La Couronne Imperiale ; 
 but in later days these ingenious people, like the 
 Greeks of old, named it after the resemblance 
 which the flowers have to a familiar object ; and 
 as they have none more ready at hand than their 
 dice-box, it was called Fritillaire Imperiale, from 
 fritillus, the Latin for dice-box. Modern botanists 
 have since bestowed the name of Fritillaria on a 
 family of plants, of which this is, from its noble
 
 232 FLORA HTSTORICA. 
 
 deportment and brilliancy of colouring, considered 
 the sovereign. 
 
 The Lily's height bespoke command, 
 
 A fair imperial flower ; 
 She seem'd desigii'd for Flora's hand, 
 
 The sceptre of her power. 
 
 The Crown Imperial is therefore made the emblem 
 of majesty, and the representative of power, in 
 floral language. 
 
 In the Turkish language this flower is called 
 Tusai or Tuschai, as well as Turfanl or Turfanda ; 
 and as it was obtained from the Turks under this 
 name, it ought, in justice, to have retained its 
 original appellation. 
 
 This Lily of the turbaned countries towers above 
 all the flowers of our vernal parterres, throwing up 
 its tall stem amidst the dwarf flowers of April, like 
 the tall Palm amongst trees, or a pagoda arising 
 out of a Chinese town. At the top of its stem is 
 supported a circle of Tulip-shaped corollas turned 
 downwards, which have the appearance of so many 
 gay bells, the stigma answering for the clapper. 
 The whole being crowned by a coma, or a tuft of 
 green leaves, gives it a singular and agreeable 
 effect ; and when the bulbs are suffered to remain 
 two or three years in the earth, which should be a 
 light dry soil free from dung, they frequently send 
 up a stem that carries two or three whorls of pen-
 
 FRIT1LLARY. 233 
 
 dulous flowers above each other : it is then called 
 the Triple Crown. 
 
 Numerous varieties of this flower have been 
 raised from seed by the patient perseverance of the 
 Dutch florists ; but the most desirable varieties 
 are those of the gayest colours, such as the bright 
 yellow and the brilliant red, as the dingy colours 
 and variegated kinds make less show in the garden. 
 This imperial flower is not without its body-guard, 
 to keep its admirers at a proper distance ; for it 
 possesses so strong a scent of the fox, combined 
 with that of garlic, as to ensure its protection from 
 meddling fingers, and its safety from the saloon 
 vase. It is the same property of the plant, we may 
 presume, that defends it from being rifled of its 
 nectareous juices, which are not only rejected by 
 the bees, but refused by all kinds of insects. But 
 the beauty and splendour of this magnificent flower 
 will ever secure it a situation in pleasure-grounds, 
 as it is equally adapted to decorate the centre of 
 large flower borders, or to intermix with dwarf 
 shrubs in more sylvan scenes ; and it is one of the 
 few flowers which, like noble personages, is seen to 
 the best effect when planted singly. 
 
 The more closely we attend to the natural history 
 of plants, the more are we delighted with the 
 works of Nature. To the Crown Imperial a large 
 flower is bestowed, that has not the gift. of closing
 
 234 FLORA HI3TORICA. 
 
 its petals, like the Tulip and most other flowers, to 
 secure the parts of fructification from the wet and 
 inclement season in which it flowers ; but, to 
 counteract this apparent inconvenience, a pendulous 
 position is given to the corolla, which effectually 
 protects the important parts of the flower, like a 
 bell-glass, until impregnation has taken place, when, 
 the peduncles change to an upright position, in 
 order to facilitate the ripening of the seed. The 
 singularity of the nectary of this flower is too 
 peculiarly conspicuous to have been overlooked by 
 the curious : it is a white glandular cavity, at the 
 base of each petal ; and as long as the flower re- 
 mains in vigour, a large drop of limpid nectareous 
 juice is hung to each nectary ; and thus we are struck 
 with other important uses of the petals, in addition 
 to that of a covering to the stigma and anthers, 
 for they appear to be organs by which the polarised 
 primitive matters are directed to their evolution, 
 and to their different attractions. We have con- 
 sulted with some of the first botanists of the age 
 on the use of the nectareous juice in nourishing the 
 parts of fructification, and assisting the impregna- 
 tion of the seed, and we have met with that diver- 
 sity of opinion which we could hardly have ex- 
 pected on a subject that seems so clearly developed. 
 The ingenious authoress of ( ' Sketches of the Phy- 
 siology of Vegetable Life" tells us, that she made
 
 FRITILLARY. 235 
 
 an experiment upon the flower of the Crown Im- 
 perial, " to observe the effect upon the fructifica- 
 tion when deprived of the nectareous juice. I rob- 
 bed," says this lady, " the petals of this delicate 
 fluid at about ten o'clock in the morning, and seven 
 every evening, during which period it became usu- 
 ally replaced in the degree of about one third of the 
 natural quantity when suffered to remain undis- 
 turbed. Those bells from which the honey was 
 regularly taken morning aud evening did not pro- 
 duce any seed : two bells, wherein this operation 
 was less closely attended to, formed very poor 
 seed-vessels ; while the bells on the same plant, 
 which remained in their natural state, brought their 
 seeds to perfection. The anthers and stigmas 
 seemed to wither sooner in those flowers which were 
 deprived of their nectareous juice, and the germ, 
 certainly appeared to suffer essentially ; but whe- 
 ther the effect produced upon the seed by the honey 
 being taken away, was in consequence of the an- 
 thers and stigmas losing their wonted nutriment, or 
 of the seed itself being deprived of its sustenance, 
 is a question of importance to be determined." 
 
 Decandolle says, " the return of the sap to a 
 more oxydized condition, and the evident evacua- 
 tion of hydrogen and azote, appear to have as essen- 
 tial an influence on fructification as the deposition
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 in the honey juice of flowers of oxydized mucilage 
 during the evolution of hydrogen." 
 
 The situation of the nectaries, at the basis of the 
 sexual organs, shews us, that the oxydized sap must 
 be deposited in these organs before the more vola- 
 tile matter can ascend into the parts of fructifi- 
 cation. 
 
 It is hence that the nectaries have commonly such 
 a position, that the evacuation of the pollen from 
 the antherse is directed towards them. This is so 
 evident in the Iridece, that it is impossible to deny 
 the connexion between the nectaries and the organs 
 of fructification. This relation is still more striking, 
 when we observe an inclination of the pistilla, with 
 their stigmata, towards the nectaries, at the period 
 when the former have attained their perfect ease. 
 Finally, the evolution of the sexual organs at dif- 
 ferent times, or what is called the dichogamy, is a 
 very obvious proof that in many cases fructification 
 is accomplished by the nectaries. When we thus 
 observe, that, in the same flower, the anthers are 
 much sooner ripe than the stigmata, or the reverse, 
 it is evident that these latter organs cannot be im- 
 pregnated by the former, in so far as they belong 
 to the same plant. Hence it happens that the first 
 blossoms always fall off, and the fruit fails, when 
 the dichogamy is gynandrous, because the early
 
 FRITILLARY. 237 
 
 unfolded stigma finds no antherse to impregnate it ; 
 and when these become capable of this office, the 
 stigma of these first blossoms has already lost its 
 susceptibility. When the dichogamy is androgy- 
 nous, the last blossoms suffer the same failure, be- 
 cause, when the stigma of the last blossom has 
 come to perfection, there are no antherae remaining 
 to impregnate it. 
 
 But to return to the Crown Imperial, and its 
 cultivation : we must observe, that from the length 
 of time required to obtain flowering bulbs from the 
 seeds of this plant (not less than six years), it is 
 seldom propagated in this country by its oviparous 
 nature. Those who are disposed to exercise their 
 patience, and raise new varieties from seed, have 
 only to follow the direction already given .for in- 
 creasing Tulips from seed, and there is no fear but 
 success will attend the operation. 
 
 The Crown Imperial has a large round scaly 
 root, that throws off young offsets, by which it is 
 generally increased in our gardens, but it is more 
 frequently obtained from the shops, which import 
 it from the Netherlands, or from Holland. The 
 roots should be planted at least six inches deep, 
 and not removed oftener than every third year, 
 when the young plants may be separated from the 
 parent bulb, and planted in a soil, as already 
 noticed, the strongest of which will flower the fol-
 
 238 FLORA H1STORICA. 
 
 lowing spring, if removed at the proper season, 
 which is about the beginning of July, when the 
 stalk is decayed. 
 
 Parkinson, who dedicated his first work, called 
 " The Garden of Pleasant Flowers," to the Queen 
 of Charles the First, chose the Crown Imperial for 
 the subject of his opening chapter ; and just twenty 
 years afterwards, he had the misfortune to see not 
 only his Royal Patroness deprived of the British 
 Crown, but left in widowhood to beseech a crown of 
 immortality for her decapitated Sovereign. The 
 Revolutions which have shaken every throne and 
 made every kingdom tremble since that period are 
 known to us all ; yet we have seen the Crown Im- 
 perial performing its annual reign in quiet splendour, 
 unconscious of the cares attending other crowns. 
 Happy Lily ! we address you in the words of 
 Madame Deshoulieres : 
 
 Que votre eclat est peu durable, 
 Charmantes fleurs, honnenrs de nos jardins ! 
 Souvent un jour commence et finit vos destins, 
 
 Et le sort le plus favorable 
 Ne vous laisse briller que deux ou trois matins. 
 Ah ! consolez-vous-en, jonquilles, tubereuses ! 
 Vous vivez peu de jours, mais vous vivez heureuses! 
 
 Les medisans, ni les jaloux 
 
 Ne genent point Tinnocente tendresse 
 Que le printemps fait naitre entre zephire et vous. 
 
 Jamais trop de delicatesse 
 Ne mele d'amertume a vos plus doux plaisirs ; 
 Que pour d'autres que vous il pousse des soupirs ; 
 
 Que loin de vous il folatre sans cesse.
 
 FRITILLARY. 239 
 
 Vous ne ressentez point la mortelle tristesse 
 Qtii devore les tendres cceurs, 
 Lorsque, plains d'une ardeur extreme, 
 On voit 1'ingrat objet qu'on aime 
 Manquer d'empressement, ou s'engager ailleurs. 
 Pour plaire, vous n'avez seulement qu'a paraitre, 
 Plus heureuses que nous, ce n'est que le trepas 
 
 Qui vous fait perdre vos appas. 
 Plus heureuses que nous, vous mourez pour renaitre. 
 Tristes reflexions, inutiles souhaits ! 
 
 Quand une fois nous cessons d'etre, 
 
 Aimables fleurs, c'est pour jamais. 
 Un redoutable instant nous detruit sans reserve ; 
 On ne voit au-dela qu'un obscur avenir. 
 A peine de nos noms un leger souvenir 
 
 Parmi les homines se C9nserve. 
 Nous entrons pour toujours dans le profond repos 
 
 D'ou nous a tire la nature, 
 Dans cette affreuse nuit qui confond les heros 
 
 Avec le lache et le parjure, 
 Et dont les fiers destins, par de cruelles lois, 
 
 Ne laissent sortir qu'une fois. 
 
 Mais, helas ! pour vouloir revivre, 
 La vie est-elle un bien si doux ? 
 
 Quand nous 1'aimons tant, songeons-nous 
 De combien de chagrins sa perte nous delivre ? 
 Elle n'est qu'un amas de craintes, de douleurs, 
 De travaux, de soucis, de peines ; 
 
 Pour qui connait les miseres humaines, 
 
 Mourir n'est pas le plus grand des malheurs. 
 
 Cependant, agreables fleurs, 
 Par des liens honteux attaches a la vie, 
 Elle fait seule tons nos soins ; 
 Et nous ne vous portons envie 
 Que par ou nous devons vous envier le moins.
 
 240 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 PERSIAN FRITILLARY, OR PERSIAN 
 LILY. Fritillaria Persica. 
 
 THIS flower was known in Europe about three years 
 prior to the introduction of the Crown Imperial, 
 and was an inhabitant of the London gardens in 
 the time of Gerard. Parkinson tells us that " it 
 was first brought from Persia into Constantinople, 
 and from thence sent unto us by the means of 
 divers Turkic merchants, and in especial, by the 
 procurement of Mr. Nicholas Lete, a worthy mer- 
 chant, and a lover of all fair flowers." Clusius 
 informs us that it was sent into the Low-Countries 
 under the name of Susam giul, from which name 
 he supposed it to be an indigenous plant of Susis 
 in Persia, and he therefore named it Lilium Su- 
 sianum. 
 
 The bulb of this plant sends up a stem about 
 three feet in height, on which the purple corollas 
 are loosely hung, like bells, in a pyramidical form ; 
 and as we have but few elevated purple flowers that 
 blossom in May, it is a desirable flower to mix 
 in many situations of the garden, where it requires 
 a light earth and a warm situation. This bulb is 
 frequently planted in pots for the house, and the
 
 FRITILLARY. 241 
 
 Dutch have large glasses to flower these bulbs in 
 water, in the same manner as Hyacinths. It sel- 
 dom ripens its seed in England, therefore we must 
 depend on the increase by the offset bulbs. 
 
 COMMON FRITILLARY, OR CHEQUERED 
 LILY. Fritillaria Meleagris. 
 
 THESE flowers are natives of most of the European 
 countries, and are generally found growing in 
 humid meadows. At present they are much less 
 in request than formerly, although, when planted 
 in large clumps, their pendulous blossoms and che- 
 quered appearance afford a desirable variety amongst 
 the gifts which Flora bestows upon us in the early 
 part of the month of April. The Black Fritillary 
 is a native of France, and Monsieur Pirolle tells us 
 that a variety with perfectly white corollas is found 
 in the neighbourhood of Poitou. Some of the 
 varieties have their petals chequered like a chess- 
 board, others are mottled or spotted like the fea- 
 thers of the Guinea-fowl, and hence Gerard calls 
 them " Turkey-hen, or Guinea-hen flowers ;" and 
 they are now distinguished by botanists under the 
 Latin name Meleagris, (Guinea-fowl,) although 
 some of the varieties are of a plain yellow, blood- 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 red 3 or chequered with purple and white, yellow 
 and red, or of two reds. Gerard also calls it Che- 
 quered Daffodil ; and we learn from him that it 
 was introduced into this country in the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth, as he says " The curious and 
 painful herbarist of Paris, John Robin, sent him 
 many plants for his garden, where they prospered 
 (as he informs us) as in their own native country ; 
 and were then greatly esteemed for the beautifying 
 of our gardens, and the bosoms of the beautiful." 
 
 Parkinson observes that it was first named Nar- 
 cissus Caparonius, in honour of Noel Capron, an 
 apothecary at Orleans, who first discovered this 
 plant, and was shortly after murdered in the mas- 
 sacre of St. Bartholomew. 
 
 Thus we obtain the period of its being first 
 brought into cultivation, a period that must for 
 ever mark the absurd policy of religious persecu- 
 tion in any part of the globe. Historians say that 
 these religious civil wars cost France more than one 
 million of men, and one hundred and fifty mil- 
 lions of livres, in carrying them on. And it is 
 terrible to reflect that bigotry should have ever 
 existed to such an extent between Christian sects, 
 living in one country, as to cause, in a short space 
 of time, the destruction of nine cities, four hundred 
 villages, two thousand churches, two thousand 
 monasteries, and ten thousand houses, which were
 
 FRITILLARY. 243 
 
 actually burnt or otherwise destroyed during the 
 persecution of the Protestants in France, atrocities 
 which not only disgraced humanity, but impo- 
 verished the country from that time to the present 
 moment, by driving the silk manufacturers into 
 this country, and giving to England that part of 
 commerce which France had previously and almost 
 exclusively enjoyed. 
 
 These French refugees first established the silk 
 trade at Canterbury, in the reign of Queen Eliza- 
 beth ; from Canterbury it found its way to Spital- 
 fields, where it was for a long time carried on al- 
 most exclusively ; and at the present day we meet 
 with families on that spot who have descended from 
 the first settlers in the silk manufactory in these king- 
 doms, and whose peaceable habits and good conduct 
 as a body of people is proverbial. For a history 
 of the silk trade, see Pomanim Brit., third edition, 
 under the article Mulberry. 
 
 Thus it is scarcely possible to meet the che- 
 quered flowers of the Fritillary without con- 
 templating that the events of our private lives are 
 not more chequered than those of nations ; and 
 not finding this flower in the vocabulary of floral 
 language, we place it there as the emblem of per- 
 secution, and recommend it to fill a situation in all 
 gardens, as a memento, that by persecuting others 
 we lessen our own portion of happiness. 
 
 M 2
 
 244 FLORA. HISTORICA. 
 
 Soon after this flower was brought into notice, 
 the fields of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, and 
 Germany were all successfully searched for varieties, 
 and the different kinds were brought into this 
 country to ornament the parterres of our ancestors. 
 Within these last fifty years it has been discovered 
 growing in a wild state in this country. This cir- 
 cumstance was first mentioned by Mr. Blackstone, 
 who states that it grew in Mawde fields, near 
 Rislip common, Middlesex, and was observed there 
 by Mr. Ashby, of Beakspears, for a number of 
 years. It has since been found between Mortlake 
 and Kew, where the plant was formerly called 
 Snake' s-head, and on account of its growing plen- 
 tifully in a particular pasture of that neighbour- 
 hood, there is a field called Snake's-head meadow. 
 These plants have a solid bulb or tuber, about the 
 size of a hazel nut. These are increased annually 
 by offsets, which should not be disturbed oftener 
 than every third year. Miller observes that new 
 varieties can only be raised from seed ; arid that by 
 Sowing the seeds, a larger stock of these bulbs will 
 be obtained in three years, than can be procured 
 by the increase of their bulbs in twenty years. 
 
 The seed should be sown as soon after it is ripe 
 as possible, in shallow boxes filled with light fresh 
 earth, on which the seeds should be thickly scat- 
 tered, and then covered with sifted mould, not
 
 FR1TILLARY. 245 
 
 more than a quarter of an inch in thickness. These 
 boxes should be so placed as to receive only the 
 morning sun, but in the beginning of October they 
 should be removed to a warmer situation in a south 
 aspect. During the winter these boxes should be 
 covered, so as to secure the earth from the effects 
 of severe frost. The plants will make their ap- 
 pearance in March, and as the weather becomes, 
 warm the boxes should be removed to a situation 
 where they are shaded from the mid-day sun. In 
 this state they may remain during the summer, 
 keeping them free from weeds, and occasionally- 
 watered ; but the latter must not be repeated after 
 the leaves are decayed, lest it should rot the bulbs, 
 In the following August they may be planted out 
 in a bed of light earth, where they may be expected 
 to flower about the third year from the time of 
 sowing.
 
 246 FLORA HtSTORICA. 
 
 GENTIAN. Gentiana. 
 
 Natural Order Rotacece. Gentiance, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Pentandria Digynia Class. 
 
 Scarce any plant is growing here, 
 
 Which against death some weapon does not bear. 
 
 COWLEY. 
 
 IT is now about two thousand years since the 
 medicinal virtues of this bitter plant were dis- 
 covered by Gentius, King of Illyricura, who after- 
 wards drank so deeply of the bitter cup of fortune. 
 This monarch having broken the most sacred laws 
 of nations, by imprisoning the ambassadors sent to 
 his court by the Romans, it so roused the resent- 
 ment of that warlike people, that they invaded his 
 kingdom ; and being conquered by Anicius, both 
 himself and family were led in triumph through 
 the streets of Rome. 
 
 In justice to this royal botanist the plant was 
 called Gentiana by the Latins, and it is now the 
 universal name, wherever the European languages 
 are known; and, indeed, it would not be inappro- 
 priate to add this flower to the heraldic arms of all 
 ambassadors whilst in office, as a memento that
 
 GENTIAN. 247 
 
 their persons should be considered equally sacred 
 with that of their sovereign, or the country which 
 they represent. 
 
 Martyn enumerates fifty-three species of Gen- 
 tian ; but he observes that the numerous species of 
 this genus have very few characters in common, 
 which has induced some botanists to range them 
 under separate genera. Alton, therefore, notices 
 but twenty-two distinct species in the Hortus 
 Kewensis; and, as ornaments to the open garden, 
 we shall regard but a small portion of these moun- 
 tainous plants, some of which are said to perish 
 when exposed to the rising sun. The Yellow 
 Gentian, Lutea, has been made the emblem of in- 
 gratitude, because it so frequently dies under the 
 culture of the gardener. This species is a native 
 of France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, 
 Lapland, and North America ; and is of so strong 
 a bitter, that where it abounds, whole tracts of 
 country may be seen untouched by the bite of any 
 kind of cattle : but still it is not without its use in 
 the economy of Nature, which renders it profitable 
 to those whose lands it has usurped ; for it is the 
 root of this species of Gentian which we import 
 from Switzerland, and other places, as a medicinal 
 drug, on account of its bitter being highly es- 
 teemed, not only as a tonic and stomachic, but also 
 anthelmintic, antiseptic, emmenagogue, antiarthri-
 
 248 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 tic, and febrifuge. Before hops were so generally 
 used as a bitter to preserve malt liquors, this root 
 was in much greater demand, it being generally 
 used in brewing, under the name of bitterwort 
 and felwort, baldmoyne and baldmoney. 
 
 In the days of Queen Elizabeth, when neither 
 the infusion of the Chinese leaf, nor that of the 
 Arabian berry, was known as a breakfast beverage, 
 the knowledge of a wholesome bitter that would 
 preserve the home-brewed ale from becoming acid, 
 was as necessary as sugar is to our present drink. 
 Gerard, who lived in those days of gallantry, ale, 
 and hospitality, tells us, that " Master Isaac de 
 Lanne, a learned physician, sent him plants of this 
 Gentian, for the increase of his garden, from Bur- 
 gundie." 
 
 Pliny observes, that the Gentian which grows 
 in Illyria is the most efficacious in medicine. This, 
 we presume, is the species now distinguished by 
 the name of Septemfida, Crested Gentian, which 
 grows naturally in the mountains of Persia, near 
 the Caspian Sea, as well as in several places in the 
 Levant. 
 
 As an ornament for the English parterre, we 
 shall notice two that are indigenous to our climes ; 
 for, like Addison, we prefer those plants which 
 grow in all the luxuriance of unaided nature, to 
 those rare exotics whose sickly appearance bespeaks
 
 GENTIAN. 249 
 
 their dislike to our country : yet we would not go 
 so far as Mason, and say, 
 
 ornament, 
 
 When foreign or fantastic, never charm'd 
 My judgment j 
 
 for all good citizens are bound to admire the exer- 
 tions of those who endeavour, as Cowper observes, 
 
 To give the Pole the produce of the sun, 
 And knit th' unsocial climates into one ! 
 
 The large-flowered Dwarf Gentian, or Gentia- 
 nella, is by botanists named Gentiana Acaulis, be- 
 cause in its natural state the flowers have no stalk, 
 but by the force of cultivation it frequently throws 
 up its corolla on a kind of stem. This species 
 grows naturally on the Welsh mountains, as well 
 as those of the Alps. Ray found it on the highest 
 parts of Mount Jura in Switzerland, and it has 
 also been found in Austria, Carniola, and Silesia ; 
 yet, although a native of such exalted regions, it 
 flourishes in the garden, where the situation is 
 elevated, and the air is pure. Thus it readily admits 
 cultivation in some parts of the country, whilst it 
 cannot be made to prosper in others, particularly 
 in the immediate vicinity of London. This is the 
 species of Gentian best known and most admired in, 
 the garden, on account of the brilliancy of its blue, 
 which is equal to the finest of the metallic blues. 
 The corolla is monopetalous, and very large for the 
 size of the plant therefore it has a fine effect when 
 
 M 5
 
 250 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 planted in large clusters ; and it demands admira- 
 tion when viewed singly, as the lower part of the 
 interior of the campanula of the flower forms a fine- 
 spotted yellowish star on the rich azure blue ground 
 of the five expanding segments of the corolla, whilst 
 the exterior of the bell is of reddish purple, or deep 
 lilac. It flowers in April and May, and frequently 
 in the autumn : it loves a moist loamy soil and a 
 shady situation, and is propagated by parting the 
 roots ; but it may also be increased by sowing the 
 seeds which produce the best plants. These should 
 be sown in the autumn in a border of good loam 
 earth, and the plants will flower the second year ; 
 but they are greatly checked by frequent trans- 
 planting. 
 
 The Spring Gentian, Verna, is also a British 
 plant that flowers in April ; but, as it is of a more 
 diminutive size, it is not so frequently planted for 
 ornament as the foregoing. The culture and soil is 
 the same. 
 
 The Yellow Gentian, Lutea, grows from three to 
 four feet in height, and is a desirable plant to orna- 
 ment groves and woody scenes, as it succeeds best in 
 shady situations where the soil is light and damp, 
 and where many plants would not exist. It flowers 
 in June and July ; and when several plants arise 
 near to each other, the effect they give in wilder- 
 ness scenery is most agreeably enlivening.
 
 GENTIAN. 251 
 
 These plants are raised from seed that should be 
 sown in the autumn, as soon after they are ripe as 
 possible. They are usually sown in pots, which 
 require to be kept in a shady situation : when the 
 young plants appear above the earth they must be 
 duly watered in dry weather, and in the autumn 
 they may be planted into the beds where they are 
 to remain, as there is danger in removing them ; 
 for if the root, which is like that of the carrot, be 
 broken, it generally causes the plant to perish. 
 The staJks decay down to the ground every win- 
 ter, and they seldom flower oftener than every 
 third year, and never blossom two successive years ; 
 but the roots remain sound for a great length of 
 time in the earth.
 
 252 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 VIRGINIAN COWSLIP. Dodecatheon Meadia. 
 
 Natural Order Precice. Primulacece, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Meadia's soft chains five suppliant beaux confess, 
 And hand in hand the laughing belle address ; 
 Alike to all she bows with wanton air, 
 Rolls her dark eye, and waves her golden hair. 
 
 DARWIX. 
 
 The petal, stamen, and the pistil trace 
 
 Of common blossoms, or of unknown race ; 
 
 The first -well pleased you mark with grateful sight, 
 
 And view the last through hope's bewitching light. 
 
 "What sudden pleasure, when some object rare, 
 Confined peculiar to one soil and air, 
 More precious far from expectation grown, 
 By some bless' d turn upon the sight is thrown ! 
 
 DELILLE. 
 
 THE delight with which the botanist views a 
 newly-discovered plant can only be conceived by 
 the students of nature; it seems to expand his 
 ideas, and give him new conceptions of the wisdom 
 of the Great Creator. He contemplates with ad- 
 miration the harmony of its parts, which he finds so 
 happily adapted to its native situation on the globe ; 
 he learns by the character of the plant the climate
 
 VIRGINIAN COWSLIP. 253 
 
 to which it belongs, and he soon conceives the 
 utility of the individual plant to the grand link of 
 vegetation by which the animal world is supported. 
 The pleasure that the herbalist enjoys, when he first 
 meets with an unknown plant, has been thus de- 
 scribed by the poet of ISHomme des Champs. 
 
 He marks the treasure with an eager glance ! 
 
 " Great God !" exclaims, and forth his hands advance, 
 
 Sudden to seize the prey : not more delight 
 
 Feels the fond lover at his mistress' sight. 
 
 He deems it as the most important event of hisjife, 
 and he joyfully bestows on it the name of some 
 esteemed friend, or eminent countryman : his fancy 
 pictures it growing under cultivation with his native 
 plants ; his immediate acquaintance covet it for his 
 sake, and his name is justly registered amongst 
 those who have benefited their country by peaceable 
 pursuits. 
 
 The plant, of which we are about to speak, is 
 indigenous to the Columbian world, that vast field 
 from which such store of novelty has been poured 
 into the more known quarters of the globe. It 
 grows in several parts of North America, and was 
 first sent from Virginia by Banister to Bishop 
 Compton in the year 1704 ; and Miller mentions 
 having seen it in blossom at his lordship's garden at 
 Fulham in the year 1709. After which, the plant
 
 254 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 was lost for several years in England, till it was 
 again obtained from America, by Mr. Catesby, 
 about the year 1744. 
 
 Mr. Mark Catesby, in his Natural History of 
 Carolina, gave it the name of Meadia, in honour of 
 Dr. Richard Mead, an English physician of that 
 day, who, like some of the present time, was courted 
 by the wealthy, and adored by the needy of his 
 country, whilst his name was revered by the eminent 
 of all parts of Europe. 
 
 On this account we feel a regret that Linnaeus 
 should have thought it necessary to change the 
 generic term of this plant from that of Meadia, and 
 more particularly so since the one he has bestowed 
 on it seems as inappropriate, Dodecatheon being 
 derived from two Greek words, which mean twelve 
 gods; and the only cause he could have for adopt- 
 ing so whimsical a name, was from the observation 
 that each of these plants generally produced twelve 
 corollas. Meadia, however, remains as the specific 
 name for the plant, of which there has not yet been 
 a second species discovered. The French have 
 given it the name of Gyroselle de Virgine, in addi- 
 tion to that of Dodecatheon Meadia. 
 
 This elegant plant flowers about the end of April, 
 or the beginning of May ; the stalk, after rising 
 up to about eight inches in height, throws out an
 
 VIRGINIAN COWSLIP. 255 
 
 umbel of flowers gracefully pendent, as rockets 
 appear when thrown out of an elevated piece of 
 fire- work. 
 
 The petals of the flower are of a rosy lilac, in- 
 clining to the colour of the peach or almond blos- 
 som ; and they are reflexed, or turn back over the 
 calyx, giving the appearance of an half-expanded 
 parasol, which resemblance is considerably heighten- 
 ed by the long tapering shape of the parts of fruc- 
 tification, and the golden colour of the anthers. 
 
 The Dodecatheon should be planted in a shady 
 situation, where the earth is of a loose, moist 
 nature ; but its beautiful delicacy and graceful 
 formation make it deserving a situation even 
 amongst the plants that are potted for the house. 
 
 It is easily propagated by offsets, which should 
 be taken from the old plants in the month of 
 August, that they may be fixed well to the earth 
 before the frost comes on. It is increased more 
 rapidly from seed, which the plant generally pro- 
 duces in plenty ; these should be sown soon after 
 they are ripe, either in pots, or a shady border. 
 If these plants are much exposed to the sun whilst 
 young, they are almost sure to perish, so impatient 
 are they of heat. Many persons have lost their 
 stock of these plants by planting them in dry soil 
 in the most sunny parts of the garden, without
 
 256 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 reflecting from what latitude they were originally 
 brought, or recollecting the lines wherein Milton 
 tells us, 
 
 Nature's boon 
 
 Pour'd forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain, 
 Both where the morning sun first warmly smote 
 The open field, and where the unpierced shade 
 Imbrown'd the noon-tide bowers.
 
 DOG'S TOOTH VIOLET, 257 
 
 DOG'S TOOTH VIOLET. Erythronium. 
 
 Natural Order Sarmentacece. Lilia, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Hexandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 Multipliez les fleurs, ornement du parterre. 
 
 WE select this line from Fontaine, to draw the 
 attention of our florists to this elegant little Lily, 
 which has been so much neglected, that we rarely 
 meet with it in sufficient quantities to make a figure 
 in the garden, which, we presume, arises from the 
 time required to raise a number of bulbs ; for 
 under the most favourable circumstances they in- 
 crease but slowly, by their viviparous nature. We 
 shall, therefore, recommend this curious and beauti- 
 ful flower to the protection and care of our fair 
 florists, who will be well repaid for the slight at- 
 tention it requires, by the delicacy and novelty its 
 foliage and blossoms display on the parterre in the 
 months of April and May : but, before we go into 
 the history of the plant, let us extract what Milton 
 has so charmingly described as the employ of our 
 first mother : 
 
 All alone, amid her garden fair, 
 From morn to noon, from noon to dewy eve,
 
 258 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 She spent her days, her pleasing task to tend 
 
 The flowers ; to lave them from the water-spring ; 
 
 To ope the buds with her enamour'd breath, 
 
 Rank the gay tribes, and rear them in the sun. 
 
 Thus plied assiduous her delightful task, 
 
 Day after day, till every herb she named 
 
 That paints the robe of Spring. 
 
 The plant, which botanists now distinguish by 
 the name of Erythronium, appears not to have been 
 brought into notice before the middle of the six- 
 teenth century, an age when the most eminent 
 physicians of Europe turned their particular atten- 
 tion to the study of botany. Gerard, who wrote 
 on this plant about the end of that century, ob- 
 serves, " there hath not long since been found out 
 a goodly bulbose plant, and termed Satyrion." 
 Lobel, a native of Lisle, seems to have given it 
 this name, supposing it to be the true Satyrion of 
 Dioscorides. Lobel most probably met with the 
 plant in his travels through Switzerland, Germany, 
 and Italy, from whence he probably brought it to 
 England, as he settled in this country about the 
 year 1570, and undertook the superintendence of 
 Lord Zouch's botanical garden at Hackney. In 
 1596, we find the plant was cultivated in Holborn, 
 but Gerard does not mention from whom he re- 
 ceived it. Lobel afterwards was appointed physician 
 and botanist to James the First of England. Mat- 
 thiolus, a celebrated physician of Sienna, who died
 
 DOG'S TOOTH VIOLET. 259 
 
 of the plague at Trent in the year 1577, writes of 
 this plant under the name of Pseudohermodactylus. 
 
 Gesner, a physician of the same age, who has 
 been styled the German Pliny, wrote also on this 
 plant, which he called Hermodactylus. He also 
 died of the plague in 1565. Clusius, whom we 
 have already noticed in other parts of this work, 
 appears to have been the first who gave it the 
 name of Dentali. It was afterwards called Dens 
 Caninus, Dog's Tooth Violet, from the appearance 
 of the root, which is white, and shaped like a 
 tooth ; and this idea has governed the name in all 
 European languages, as the Germans call it Hunds- 
 zahn, the Swedes and Danes Hundetand, the 
 French Le Dent de Chien, the Italians Dente di 
 Cane, the Spaniards Diente de Perro, the Portu- 
 guese Dente de Cao, the Russians Kondik. 
 
 Parkinson considered it to be a species of Or- 
 chides, and that the Tulip was the Satyrium Ery- 
 thronium of Dioscorides ; yet he writes of it in a 
 separate chapter, and observes, that the root of 
 the Dens Caninus " is held to be of more efficacy 
 for certain effects than any of the Orchides and 
 Satyrions." 
 
 The Dog's Tooth Violet grows naturally in the 
 woody mountains of the south of France, Switzer- 
 land, Germany, Italy, and Siberia. This species 
 of Erythronium sends up but one leaf until it is
 
 260 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 strong enough to flower, and then only two leaves, 
 which are curiously spotted with purple and white, 
 like the feathers of some birds : between these 
 leaves arises a reddish or purple stem of about four 
 inches high, sustaining one flower, which hangs 
 down like the Chalcedonian Lily, or the Virginian 
 Cowslip. The petals are generally of a full lilac 
 colour, but sometimes white : they are reflex, arid 
 spread open to the base, exposing the six dark 
 purple oblong anthers and the three- cleft stigma 
 to the full influence of the light and air. On the 
 whole, it may be ranked amongst the most graceful 
 flowers of the vernal season, and when planted in 
 patches of from twenty to forty bulbs in a spot, it 
 cannot fail of attracting general admiration. The 
 proper season for setting the bulbs is from about 
 the end of June to the beginning of September. 
 The roots should be kept as short a time out of 
 the ground as possible, as they are apt to shrink, 
 which causes them to rot ; therefore those who 
 may be disposed to collect these bulbs on the 
 continent should be careful to have them packed 
 in a small box, with earth between each layer of 
 roots, and to have the box with a latticed lid to 
 prevent mouldiness. 
 
 This plant loves a shady situation and a light 
 loamy soil, and it should not be removed, or the 
 ground further disturbed, than to keep it free from
 
 DOG'S TOOTH VIOLET. 261 
 
 weeds, until the plants appear to have increased so 
 as to become too thick, which will not be oftener 
 than every third or fifth year, when the offsets may 
 be placed in a separate patch. The Dog's Tooth 
 Violet may also be increased by sowing the seeds in 
 pots, as has already been observed in the history of 
 other bulbous plants. 
 
 A second species of Erythronium was introduced 
 from North America in 1665, and bears the specific 
 name of Americanum. It flowers a month later 
 than the European species, and is something larger, 
 and of a golden yellow colour. The cultivation is 
 the same, and it is equally calculated to ornament 
 many shady places in the shrubbery, or wilderness 
 scenery. We would place the Yellow Erythronium. 
 in the shade of the Purple Rhododendron, as it 
 loves the same soil, and flowers at the same season. 
 M. Pirolle, in " Le Bon Jardinier, 1 ' recommends 
 that the seeds of each of these plants be sown in pots 
 of bog- earth.
 
 262 FLORA HISTORICA 
 
 SESSILE TRILLIUM. Trillium Sessile. 
 
 Natural Order Sarmentacece. Asparagi, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Hexandria Trigynia Class. 
 
 Each land its flower hath given, 
 
 To form this fair young nursery for heaven ! 
 
 T. MOORE. 
 
 THIS singular tribe of plants we owe to the dis- 
 covery of a new world, as the five species hitherto 
 made known are all indigenous to North America 
 exclusively : we cannot, therefore, meet with them 
 in the pleasure-grounds without having our mind 
 conveyed back to the period when the perseverance 
 of Columbus overcame all the obstacles and difficul- 
 ties thrown in his way, to prevent his glorious plan 
 of enlarging our knowledge of the earth, and en- 
 riching the known world with unknown produce. 
 
 The name of Trillium is derived from the num- 
 ber of three, because the plant has three leaves, a 
 calyx divided into three, a corolla with three petals, 
 that shelter three styles, which conduct the farina 
 into a three-celled capsule. The specific name of 
 Sessile is given to this species of Trillium, because 
 the flowers sit on the stalk without peduncles. It 
 was first introduced into this country in the year
 
 SESSILE TRILLIUM. 263 
 
 1759, having been found growing in the shady 
 thickets of Carolina and Virginia, which should in- 
 struct us to plant it in the shade of our shrubbery 
 grounds, where the earth is light and moist. The 
 leaves of this plants are curiously piebald or mottled 
 with two greens, the calyx-leaves are streaked with 
 a reddish purple, and the petals are of a dark claret 
 colour. It flowers in April and May, and rises 
 from six to nine inches from the ground. The root 
 is a perennial tuber which increases but slowly, and 
 from this cause it remains rare in the garden, 
 although it is easily raised from seed, if sown soon 
 after it is ripe in a shady border, or amongst shrubs 
 where the soil is moist and light.
 
 264 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 SAXIFRAGE. Saxifraga. 
 
 Natural Order Succulentce. Saxifrages, Juss. A 
 Genus of the Decandria Digynia Class. 
 
 Nor will die breast, where fancy glows, 
 Deem every flower a weed that blows 
 Amid the desert plain. 
 
 SHENSTONE. 
 
 Or this numerous family of plants twenty distinct 
 species arc indigenous to Great Britain, eighteen of 
 which are mountain plants, one grows in our meadow 
 pastures, and one in bogs, to which we have added 
 twenty-five exotic species, besides several varieties 
 of some of the kinds. 
 
 We do not find that the Greeks have made any 
 mention of these plants. Their herbarizings appear 
 to have been made principally in more eastern parts 
 than these plants have been found in. 
 
 The Roman physicians held certain species of 
 this genus in great esteem, on account of their sup- 
 posed efficacy in breaking and dissolving calculi in 
 the bladder, from which cause they called them 
 Saxifraga, a name that implies a breaker of the 
 stone, and the old English name of Breakstone was 
 bestowed on them for the same reason. But in this
 
 SAXIFRAGE. 265 
 
 age of critical inquiry and medical investigation, the 
 plant is found not to possess the dissolving qualities 
 formerly attributed to it. It is, however, known 
 to be a powerful diuretic, that carries off gravelly 
 substances ; but this- valuable property of the Saxi- 
 frage exists only in the fresh plant, though the 
 dried roots or tubercles retain it in an inferior 
 degree. The Saxifrage of our country is said to 
 be the most powerful in medicine, and the kinds in 
 highest estimation are the white, or sengreen, gran- 
 dulata, of the meadows, and the yellow marsh, 
 Hirculus, of the bogs. The latter is a more gentle 
 medicine in its effects, and therefore not so fre- 
 quently used. 
 
 As an ornament to the vernal garden we shall 
 recommend the purple-flowered Saxlfraga oppositi- 
 folia , which, under cultivation, expands its purple 
 flowers to the winds of March and the showers of 
 April. The stems of this species are long and 
 trailing, and form tufts that have a good effect on 
 artificial rock-work, but a far better one when the 
 trailing branches hang down from natural rocks, 
 into the crevices of which this plant loves to insinu- 
 ate its roots. As a border- plant the following 
 method of treating it is recommended by Miller. 
 " At the end of March divide a plant that has filled 
 a pot the preceding year, into many small pieces, 
 
 VOL I. N
 
 266 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 taking care that each has a few fibres to it ; plan , 
 about six of these in a small pot, filled with a 
 composition of loam and rotten leaves or bog-earth, 
 in equal parts, water them and set them by in a 
 shady place for about a week, then plunge them in 
 an open border, exposed not more than half the day 
 to the sun ; in dry weather water them once a day ; 
 the ensuing spring each pot will be covered with a 
 profusion of bloom : to continue this plant in per- 
 fection, it must be thus treated yearly." And it 
 must be recollected that the plant is of that hardy 
 nature as to disdain all tender treatment. 
 
 LONDON PRIDE, OR NONE-SO-PRETTY. 
 
 Saxifraga umbrosa. 
 
 Witness the neglect 
 Of all familiar objects, though beheld 
 With transport once. 
 
 AKEXSIDE. 
 
 This pretty plant, that now so commonly borders 
 the little flower-gardens of our cottagers, and is so 
 often transplanted by their juvenile gardeners, can- 
 not be known without being admired, although it 
 has of late too frequently given place to plants of 
 inferior beauty. This species of Saxifrage grows
 
 SAXIFRAGE. 267 
 
 naturally in Yorkshire, but more abundantly in the 
 mountains of Ireland. It is also a native of the 
 Alps, from whence, we presume, it was first brought 
 into our gardens, as it was in cultivation for many 
 ages before it had been noticed as an indigenous 
 plant of these islands. 
 
 Parkinson speaks of it, in 1629, under the name 
 of Sedum, and observes, " some of our English 
 gentlewomen have called it Princess Feather, which 
 although it be but a bye-name, rnay well serve for 
 this plant, to distinguish it." It was afterwards 
 called None-so-pretty, and if we view it with the 
 attention that its beauties demand, we must ac- 
 knowledge that but few flowers are prettier, and 
 that Nature has not painted any flower with more 
 delicacy than the pretty-spotted petals of this plant. 
 When viewed through a microscope, its beauties 
 seem to increase, as the young flower-buds appear 
 like so many ripening peaches, whilst the sprays 
 seemed frosted with diamonds. The foliage is also 
 exceedingly pretty, being set in rosettes like the 
 Houseleek and common Daisy. It is one of the 
 plants that will grow in confined and shady situa- 
 tions, and was therefore much cultivated in London 
 as long as an unpaved spot could be found : hence 
 it was called London Pride. 
 
 The French named this plant Mignonnette, which 
 means curiously delicate : they also bestow on it the 
 
 N 2
 
 2G8 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 name of Amourette. In' floral language it repre- 
 sents a love-match. 
 
 In the garden it should be planted on artificial 
 rock-work, but it is also acceptable in the flower- 
 border, and at the foot of flowering shrubs. It 
 likewise makes a neat edging where this prim style 
 of gardening is retained ; and it propagates itself 
 so fast by offsets, that it is seldom raised from seed : 
 we have, indeed, but few flowers that require so 
 little care in cultivating as the London Pride, or 
 the Parisian Amourette.
 
 STAR OF BETHLEHEM, 
 
 STAR OF BETHLEHEM. Ornithogalum. 
 
 Natural Order Coronarice. Asphodeli, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Hexandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 And shape star-bright appear'd. 
 
 MlLTON". 
 
 THIS bulbous-rooted flower received the reverential 
 title of Star of Bethlehem from the formation of its 
 corolla ; for it is not, as many persons formerly 
 supposed, a native of the land of Judea. The 
 Latin name is derived from the Greek Ogvj^oyaXoy, 
 which is supposed to have been given it from the 
 whiteness of the root or flower, but, we think, more 
 probably from the white vein that runs up the leaf 
 of the species pyramidale, which the French call 
 Epi-de-lait, milky blade, and Epi-de-la-vierge, 
 virgin's blade, a flower which is indigenous to 
 France and the hills of Spain and Portugal. The 
 common Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbel' 
 latum, grows spontaneously in France, Switzerland, 
 Germany, Carniola, Italy, and some places in the 
 Levant. Mr. Martin says, " with us it is a doubt- 
 ful native, as many of the bulbous plants are ;" but
 
 270 FLOEA HISTORICA. 
 
 as it has been found growing naturally in such 
 various parts of England, and more particularly as 
 it never appears to have been introduced as a plant 
 of luxury or medicine, we can have no hesitation in 
 pronouncing it indigenous to our soil. It has been 
 found in the closes about Streatham, in Surrey. 
 Stillingfleet observed it in Norfolk ; Relhan, in 
 Cambridgeshire ; Sibthorp, near Barton, and in 
 Christ-Church meadows, Oxfordshire ; Mr. Robson 
 says it is plentiful in a field near Knaresborough, 
 Yorkshire, and it has been found near Leeds in 
 the same county. The bulbs of these plants should 
 be placed in a light sandy soil, where they increase 
 rapidly by their viviparous nature, which renders it 
 necessary to thin them every second or third year ; 
 for although they have the best effect when grow- 
 ing in large patches, yet, if suffered to remain 
 beyond that time, the bulbs impoverish each other, 
 and have only strength to throw up leaves. They 
 should be removed in the month of July or August, 
 which will enable them to become so fixed in the 
 ground as to flower freely in the following April or 
 May. This flower remains in perfection for about 
 fifteen days, during w r hich time it never expands in 
 a wet or gloomy day, and even in the brightest 
 weather the flowers do not open until an hour before 
 noon ; and from this circumstance it is frequently 
 called Eleven-o'clock Lady. The petals close again
 
 STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 271 
 
 at three o'clock in the afternoon, and this opening 
 and closing will be generally found as correct to 
 time as the shadow on the sundial itself. In France 
 this species is called Dame ou belle d'onze heurs, 
 from the same observation. These flowers have a 
 pleasant odour, and the bulbs were formerly eaten 
 after being roasted in the embers ; but it is so little 
 cultivated at present, that a dish of them would at 
 any season be as expensive as the greatest vegetable 
 rarity. The roots of all the species of these plants 
 are considered nutritious and wholesome, and have 
 been frequently used as food in Sweden, during 
 times of scarcity, particularly the bulbs of the 
 
 YELLOW STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 Ornithogalum Luteum. 
 
 This species is a native of most parts of Europe, 
 and is generally found in woods, pastures, and moist 
 sandy places. " It has been found in the meadows 
 near Godalming in Surrey. In woods near Ash- 
 ford mill, and Fauler in Oxfordshire. In several 
 parts of the north, as in a meadow adjoining to the 
 copper mills, Derby. Under Malham-cove ; near 
 Doncaster, Yorkshire ; and Kendal, Westmore- 
 land. In the woods on the banks of the Tees, near 
 Greta-bridge and Signal, Yorkshire. It has been
 
 272 FLORA. HISTORICA. 
 
 found growing spontaneously also in Northum- 
 berland, and in some parts of Scotland. 1 ' 
 
 It flowers in April, and requires the same treat- 
 ment as the former kinds, excepting that it should 
 be planted in a moister soil, but at the same time 
 light. The Drooping Star of Bethlehem, Nutans 
 Ornithogalum, and the spiked Pyrenaicum, are also 
 found so frequently in this country as to be thought 
 indigenous to our soil. Two species of these plants 
 have been introduced from Egypt, one from Siberia, 
 one from Sweden, one from Austria, one from Cali- 
 fornia, and twelve from the Cape of Good Hope ; 
 amongst the latter are some of the greatest orna- 
 ments of the greenhouse.
 
 HONESTY, 273 
 
 HONESTY. Lunaria. 
 
 Natural Order Siliquosce or Cruciformes. Cruciftrce 
 Juss. A Genus of the Tetradynamia Siliculosa Class. 
 
 Then sprinkles she the juice of rue, 
 With nine drops of the midnight dew 
 From Lunary distilling. 
 
 DBAYTON'S Nymphid. 
 
 Enchanting Lunary here lies, 
 In sorceries excelling. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 THIS plant, which is now solely cultivated for the 
 beauty of its lilac corollas and the singularity of its 
 seed vessels, was held in high repute among the 
 credulous of former ages, being considered a 
 charming, enchanting, and bewitching herb. It 
 still continues to give a charming effect to the gar- 
 dens, but its mysterious powers are no longer 
 known, for it has shared the fate of numerous 
 other magical plants, which enabled the people of 
 old to transform themselves into aerial beings, and 
 even to travel through the air in their natural 
 shapes. We read of numerous plants whereby it 
 was said that love or hatred could be engendered, 
 lost property recovered, men's bosoms unlocked 
 and their secrets sucked out, and by whose aid 
 
 N 5
 
 274 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 battles were won and lost, and even the dead 
 brought to life. 
 
 For by his mighty science he could take 
 As many forms and shapes in seeming wise, 
 
 As ever Proteus to himself could make : 
 
 Sometimes a fowle, sometimes a fish in lake ! 
 
 Now like a foxe, now like a dragon fell ; 
 
 That of himself e he ofte for feare would quake, 
 
 And oft would flie away. O who can tell 
 
 The hidden powre of herbes, and might of magick spell ! _ 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 We learn from Chaucer that the Lunaria was one 
 of the plants used in incantations, but it is not men- 
 tioned under the name of Honesty ! ! 
 
 And herbes coude I tell eke many one, 
 As egremaine, valerian, and lunarie, 
 And other swiche, if that me list to tarie, 
 Our lampes brening bothe night and day, 
 To bring about our craft if that we may, 
 Our fournies eke of calcination, 
 And of waters albification. 
 
 Spenser tells us that even the witches themselves 
 could not escape penance : 
 
 When witches wont do penance for their crimes, 
 I chaunst to see her in her proper hue, 
 
 Bathing herselfe in origane and thyme : 
 A filthy foule old woman I did view. 
 
 As we prefer relating the wonders of magic in 
 verse, we shall further quote the same author : 
 
 The develish hag, by changes of my cheare, 
 
 Perceiv'd my thoughts ; and drown'd in sleepie night, 
 
 With wicked herbes and oyntments did besmeare 
 JMy body, all through charmes and magicke might, 
 That all my sences were bereaved quight.
 
 HONESTY. 275 
 
 The same poet shows us that, in superstitious 
 times, the magician was applied to as well as the 
 physician in dangerous cases; and we have some-? 
 where read that it was a common practice to call in 
 the aid of magic when medicine failed : 
 
 Beseeching him with prayer, and with praise, 
 
 If either salves, or oyles, or herbes, or charmes, 
 A foredone wight from dore of death mote raise, 
 He would at her request prolong her nephew's daies. 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 That such ideas actually occupied the minds of men 
 in unenlightened days we have numerous authentic 
 accounts related in history ; and that what is 
 strongly impressed upon the minds of the ignorant 
 should in some degree affect the learned is not so 
 wonderful, as it is difficult to shake off the preju- 
 dices of the age we live in : of this we have a 
 striking example in the capacious mind of the great 
 Verulam, who in his Natural History acknowledges 
 his belief in witches. Yet we do not consider him. 
 capable of consulting magicians or wizards ; but it 
 would have been scarcely possible to have escaped the 
 prevailing opinion, in an age when numerous persons 
 openly professed the art of magic, and every de- 
 formed and ugly old woman was persecuted as a witch. 
 Even in later times than those of the celebrated 
 Chancellor, a firm belief in witchcraft seems to have 
 possessed the minds of the nation ; for Butler
 
 276 FLORA HtSTORICA. 
 
 relates that a fellow in the reign of Charles the 
 First obtained a celebrity by detecting witches, and 
 actually caused the death of nearly sixty poor old 
 creatures on charges of witchcraft In those days, 
 the ordeal for the trial of witches was to tie them 
 up in a sack, and throw them into a river. If they 
 swam, they were taken out and burnt as decided 
 witches ; if they sank, why then they were drowned 
 in the experiment ! At last, the fellow was himself 
 charged with witchcraft, tried, and perished by his 
 own ordeal. 
 
 The fear of evil spirits and the power of magic 
 seem to have prevailed over all nations before true 
 religion and pure philosophy had extended their 
 universal blessings. The Scriptures inform us of 
 its existence in eastern countries; and from the 
 numerous ceremonies of the Romans to prevent the 
 effects of enchantment, we learn how much it oc- 
 cupied their attention. That the poets of every 
 age have availed themselves of the superstition 
 of the times to render their poems more effective, 
 we have an instance in our own great dramatic 
 poet, whom we have frequently quoted on this 
 subject. The prince of the Latin poet says in the 
 ./Eneid 
 
 For Circe had long loved the youth in vain, 
 Till love, refused, converted to disdain :
 
 HONESTY. 277 
 
 Then mixing pow'rful herbs, with magic art, 
 
 She changed his form, who could not change his heart ; 
 
 Constraint him in a bird, and made him fly, 
 
 With party-colour'd plumes, a chatt'ring pie. 
 
 DRYDEN'S Virgil. 
 
 The art of magic was for many ages publicly 
 professed in the universities of Salamanca in Spain, 
 Cracovia in Poland,, and several other places, and 
 so far approved by some princes, says Boesarttis, 
 that they still consult them, and indeed dare 
 do nothing without their advice. " Ut nihil ausi 
 agyredi in politicis, in consiliis, sine eorum 
 arbitrio." 
 
 We read of some sovereigns who have so far for- 
 gotten their dignity as to enter into this cheat. 
 Erricus, King of Sweden, had his enchanted cap, 
 and pretended by the additional assistance of some 
 magical jargon, to be able to command spirits, and 
 trouble the air, and turn the winds themselves, so 
 that his ignorant subjects believed, when a great 
 storm arose, that the King had got his conjuring 
 cap on ; and from this fact originated the custom of 
 our mountebanks and legerdemain-men playing 
 their tricks in a conjuring cap. 
 
 In the year 1318, we find the Chancellor and 
 University of Paris had both wisdom and spirit 
 enough, not only to condemn these cheats, but to 
 put a stop to the practice as far as their influence 
 extended ; and we believe the University of Oxford
 
 278 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 disavowed all faith in these pretended divinations 
 about the same time : yet we still keep the idea 
 alive in the minds of our children by following 
 some of the old forms of prayer against these ima- 
 ginary evils. 
 
 That there should exist in this enlightened age 
 persons who profess to believe in the power of 
 magic, is a convincing proof how much the mar- 
 vellous is preferred by the ignorant to the true 
 principles of philosophy. The persons who now 
 pretend to act upon the principle of divination, or 
 by the art of magic, consist of knaves, who cheat 
 the credulous for the sake of gain, and endeavour 
 to impose upon others what they are too crafty to 
 believe themselves. Private astrologers, who do 
 not make a trade of their art, are, if not fools, per- 
 sons whose weak minds are so susceptible as to 
 mistake the phantoms of their disturbed imagina- 
 tions for realities ; and of this we have lately 
 known an instance in a person who is not only 
 considered sane on other subjects, but who actually 
 holds a respectable rank in his profession. Having 
 procured the herbs and drugs which are recom- 
 mended for magical purposes, his mind became 
 bent upon raising a spirit, and for this purpose he 
 shut himself up in a room in the dead of the night. 
 Here he began to burn fumigating herbs, and to 
 make the mysterious figures directed by his instruc-
 
 HONESTY. 279 
 
 tion-book, until his imagination was worked up to 
 such a pitch as easily transformed one object into 
 the appearance of another, to which the fumes of 
 aromatic smoke no doubt greatly contributed . His 
 servant, knowing his master studied magic, and find- 
 ing great preparations for some secret performance, 
 had, with a very natural curiosity, contrived to 
 secrete himself in the room, instead of retiring to 
 rest ; but when the lights were extinguished, and 
 the coloured flame of burning drugs threw a 
 ghastly effect over the figures of the apartment and 
 the countenance of his master, he became so pos- 
 sessed by fear, and influenced by the fumes of the 
 drugs, that at the moment when his master ex- 
 pected to see a spectre, he being no longer able to 
 contain himself in his hiding place, rose up slowly, 
 and forgetting he was under a table, threw it over. 
 In this confusion, his eyes caught the reflection of 
 his own face in a mirror, to which the burning 
 salts had given such a cadaverous appearance, that 
 he very naturally mistook his own living figure for 
 a supernatural agent, which so effectually worked 
 on his imagination, that he leaped suddenly on a 
 grand piano-forte, and broke it with a tremendous 
 crash. This only heightened the fears of both 
 master and man. The former, believing he had 
 raised a spirit which he could not lay, wisely quit-
 
 280 FLORA HISTORIC.*. 
 
 ted the room, which gave the latter an opportunity 
 to escape to his bed, where his disturbed mind pre- 
 sented such dreadful apprehensions to him that he 
 became fevered and delirious, and in this state left 
 his service, firmly believing in the power of magic : 
 his master to this day seems convinced that he 
 actually did raise a spirit, and to his want of know- 
 ledge how to appease the perturbed spirit he had 
 raised, he persists in attributing the broken piano- 
 forte, and the overthrow of some bronze figures. 
 
 We shall conclude this digression by a transla- 
 tion from Ennius, who, in his early days, says, 
 
 Augurs and soothsayers, astrologers, 
 
 Diviners, and interpreters of dreams, 
 
 I ne'er consult, and heartily despise : 
 
 Vain their pretence to more than human skill : 
 
 For gain, imaginary schemes they draw : 
 
 Wand'rers themselves, they guide another's steps ; 
 
 And for poor sixpence promise countless wealth : 
 
 Let them, if they expect to be believed, 
 
 Deduct the sixpence, and bestow the rest. 
 
 The plant which led to these remarks was named 
 Lunaria, from the circular shape of its silique or 
 pod, which is thought to resemble the moon, Luna, 
 not only in shape, but in its silvery brightness. 
 The title of Honesty appears to have been bestowed 
 on this plant from the transparent nature of the 
 silique, which discovers those seed vessels that con- 
 tain seed from such as are barren, or have shed
 
 HONESTY. 281 
 
 their fruit. It was formerly called " Pennie 
 Flower, or Money Flower, Silver Plate, Pricksong 
 Wort, and White Satin." It has had similar 
 names bestowed upon it by the French, who fre- 
 quently call it Monnaie du Pape, Pope's Money ; 
 Satin Blanc, White Satin ; Medaille, Medal ; and 
 Herbe aux Lunettes, Spectacle Plant. The Bra- 
 banters name it Paeschbloement, Easter Flower, 
 because it generally flowers about the feast cf 
 Easter. Mr. Alton considers the Annual Lunaria 
 to be indigenous to Germany, and the Perennial 
 to be a native of Austria, the latter being, he 
 states, introduced to this country in the year 1596, 
 and the former in 1570. This is evidently a 
 mistake, as we have already noticed Chaucer's 
 mention of this plant as early as the middle of the 
 fourteenth century. We might have concluded 
 that Chaucer had alluded to some other plant, 
 such as the Iutn* fHounimtrt of Turner, who calls 
 it the y.t$$ Unitary ; Gerard, however, not only 
 describes these plants, but has left us good figures of 
 both species, and says, " These plants are set and 
 sowen in gardens, notwithstanding the first (round 
 podded) hath beene founde wilde in the woods 
 about Pinner, and Harrow on the Hill, twelve 
 miles from London, and in Essex likewise about 
 Hornchurch. The second (long podded) groweth 
 about Watforde, fifteene miles from London.'*
 
 282 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Thus, if we admit of their being exotic plants, 
 their introduction must have been at a much earlier 
 period than that noticed by the able compiler of 
 the Hortus Kewensis, a work which we hold in 
 such high estimation, that we feel always a degree 
 of pride when we can point out a trivial inaccuracy, 
 and more particularly so, knowing that the liberality 
 of the author will receive it as a mark of our regard 
 for his labours, from which we have received so 
 much useful assistance. 
 
 These plants frequently grow to the height of 
 from three to five feet, and are therefore better 
 adapted to fill vacant spaces amongst shrubs than 
 in the spots allotted to more delicate flowers. If 
 the seeds be thrown on the ground soon after they 
 are ripe, the young plants will appear early the 
 following spring, whilst those that are carefully 
 covered with earth frequently disappoint us by not 
 appearing. The Lunaria will not bear transplant- 
 ing ; and although we recommend several plants 
 to stand near enough to form but one head when 
 in flower, yet they ought to be from two to three 
 feet distant from each other. The only attention 
 they require is to be kept free from weeds, as they 
 will grow in almost any kind of soil and situation, 
 but thrive best in a partial shade. 
 
 As the farce of witchcraft is no longer played by 
 the assistance of the Lunaria, and as the plant
 
 HONESTY. 283 
 
 does not fill a place in the floral vocabulary, we 
 will, by permission, place it there to represent the 
 necessary and honourable virtue of Honesty, which 
 title was, according to Gerard, bestowed upon this 
 flower by an English gentlewoman, whom our im- 
 mortal bard makes to say, 
 
 mine Honesty shall be my dower.
 
 284 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 CANDY-TUFT. Iberis. 
 
 Natural Order Siliquosa?, or Cmciformes. 
 
 Juss. A Genus of the Tetradynamia Siliculosa. 
 
 Here also, bathed in dew, 
 Plants in minutest growth 
 Are painted with flow'rs. 
 
 ANDREINI. 
 
 Ix floriculture the aid of humble plants is fre- 
 quently found to be as important in the general 
 decoration of the garden as that of the more tower- 
 ing kinds ; for Nature has made the same wise 
 provision in miniature plants that we observe in the 
 smaller kinds of the animal creation, which propa- 
 gate by thousands, whilst the more gigantic tribes 
 multiply singly. 
 
 The parent eagles will not suffer their offspring 
 to build themselves a habitation within a given dis- 
 tance, nor will the sturdy oak or the noble chestnut 
 permit their seedlings to thrive beneath the paternal 
 branches; but that their fruit should not be formed 
 in vain, Nature has made it the food of particular 
 kinds of animals, and thus we find a due propor- 
 tion observed in every part of the creation. 
 
 Few plants are more conspicuously ornamental
 
 CANDY-TUFT. 285 
 
 in the borders of the flower-garden, or the fore- 
 ground of the shrubbery, than some species of the 
 Iberis, when a number of plants are so congregated 
 in one spot as to form a single cluster, or an irre- 
 gular mass. Of these, we shall first notice the 
 Ever-flowering Candy-tuft, Iberis semper flor ens ^ 
 which remains in blossom nearly the whole year, 
 but more particularly so from the end of August to 
 the beginning of June, braving all the inclement 
 seasons with such an apparent negligence of the 
 changes in the weather, that the Persian ladies have, 
 in their floral language, adopted this flower as the 
 representative of indifference. 
 
 The snow itself is scarcely whiter than the petals 
 of this plant ; and therefore it is particularly well 
 adapted to enliven the sombre appearance of ever- 
 green plantations during the winter season, if not 
 placed near the Laurustinus, which requires no aid 
 of this kind, for that beautiful shrub, like the 
 Iberis, seems awake whilst the rest of vegetable 
 nature sleeps. 
 
 Pliny slightly mentions this plant under the 
 name of Iberis ; it is also the Ifispif of Dioscori- 
 des, and is supposed to be so named from Iberia, 
 where it formerly grew abundantly. The English 
 name of Candy-tuft seems to have originated out of 
 the circumstance of the first species of these plants 
 being brought from Candia, from whence, says
 
 286 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Gerard, " I receiued seede, by the liberalitie of the 
 Right Honourable the Lord Edward Zouche, at 
 his return into England from those partes, with 
 many other rare seedes which do flourish in my 
 garden." This was purple umbellata, which Ge- 
 rard calls Candie Mustard, Thlaspi Candle. The 
 tufts of these white flowers, which blossom in win- 
 ter, have the appearance of being candied over by 
 white frost; and hence probably its name, as we 
 find one of our early descriptive poets makes the 
 observation 
 
 Since when those frosts that winter brings, 
 
 Which candy every green, 
 Renew us like the teeming spring, 
 
 And we thus fresh are seen. 
 
 DRAYTON. 
 
 The French distinguish this plant by the name 
 of Iberide, Thlaspie, and Taraspie, and they have 
 ingeniously enough made one of the species the 
 emblem of architecture, because its flowers are dis- 
 posed in stories from the bottom of the stalk to the 
 top, which is thought to produce a resemblance to 
 the pretty open columns of one of the most delicate 
 orders of architecture. 
 
 The broad-leaved evergreen Candy-tuft, Iberis 
 semperflorens, is a native of Persia and Sicily : it 
 was brought to this country in the year 1679, and 
 cultivated in the Botanical Garden at Oxford in 
 the following year.
 
 CANDY-TUFT. 287 
 
 The narrow-leaved evergreen species, semper- 
 virens, is indigenous to the rocky grounds of the 
 island of Candia, and was first brought to this 
 country in the year 1731, and cultivated at the 
 Chelsea Garden in 1739. These kinds of Candy- 
 tuft seldom ripen their seed in our climate, but they 
 are easily propagated by planting the slips or cut- 
 tings in the summer, observing to keep them 
 watered and shaded from the sun, until they have 
 taken root. If these plants are set in a rich earth 
 they are apt to grow too luxuriantly, and become 
 so full of moisture as not to be able to endure the 
 winter ; therefore, if the soil is of that nature where 
 the clumps are to be formed, a mixture of lime rub- 
 bish should be added, which causes their branches 
 to become more woody, and consequently better 
 able to resist the frost. 
 
 The purple Candy-tuft, Iberis umbellata, and 
 the common white or bitter species, amara, are 
 raised by sowing the seeds in patches early in the 
 spring, which should be repeated every month until 
 July, and by this means a succession of flowers may 
 be obtained. It is a desirable plant to sow on 
 banks and in the front of taller-growing flowers, 
 where it makes a conspicuous figure until the end 
 of the summer, when its site may be occupied by 
 the latest-flowering annuals. 
 
 These latter kinds of Candy-tuft are apt to come
 
 283 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 up too thick from sowing, and they should, there- 
 fore, be regularly thinned, so as to give them room 
 to extend their branches, which will increase the 
 number of flowers, and prolong their duration. 
 
 The sweet-scented Candy-tuft is raised by seed 
 in the same manner as the two last species. This 
 kind is a native of the mountains near Geneva, and 
 was cultivated in this country by Mr. Miller, as 
 long back as 1759. The flowers of this species are 
 considerably smaller than the others ; they are of a 
 snowy white, and of an agreeable odour. 
 
 The bitter Candy-tuft, amara, is a native of our 
 chalky fields, and is frequently found in dry and 
 barren soils ; to which we have added nine other 
 distinct species for the embellishment of our gar- 
 dens. 
 
 The seeds of these plants were formerly eaten 
 with meat, as we now eat mustard, excepting that 
 they were not pounded. Dioscorides notices their 
 efficacy in relieving the chest from phlegm.
 
 SWEET-SCENTED TUSSILAGE. 289 
 
 SWEET-SCENTED TUSSILAGE. Tussilago 
 Fragrans. 
 
 A SPECIES OF COLT'S-FOOT. 
 
 Natural Order Composite Discoidea. Corymbiferfe, 
 Juss. A Genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia su- 
 <perjliia Class. 
 
 He trudged along, unknowing what he sought, 
 And whistled as he went, for want of thought . 
 
 THAT even classical ground produces minds of this 
 description, is instanced in the long-neglected plant 
 of which we are about to speak. Although the 
 Tussilago fragrans is a native plant of Italy, it 
 remained in obscurity until the nineteenth century, 
 when M. Villan, of Grenoble, was attracted by its 
 agreeable fragrance at the foot of Mount Pilat, 
 from whence he brought it to perfume the winter 
 gardens of the continent, and it cast its first odour 
 on British shores in the year 1806. As its per- 
 fumed flowers expand in the months of January, 
 February, and March , it cannot fail of being wel- 
 comed amongst us by every lover of sweet smells ; 
 VOL. i. o
 
 290 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 and it is already become so far naturalized to our 
 climate, as to discharge its fragrance as freely over 
 our walks in the winter months, as the Egyptian 
 Reseda disperses its odours over those of the sum- 
 mer. We may hail it as the Heliotrope of the open 
 garden, and as a vegetable winter friend of no small 
 importance in the parterre. 
 
 The modest flowers of this plant were too insig- 
 nificant to have attracted the notice of the ignorant, 
 who have not souls to admire humble merit, whe- 
 ther in men or flowers, until it has received the 
 sanction of fashion, or the patronage of the great. 
 It is the exalted mind alone which can penetrate 
 through the flimsy veil of a gaudy exterior, and 
 discover merit in a hovel. Had not Evelyn dragged 
 Gibbons from such a situation into the presence of 
 his sovereign, the world would never have been 
 enriched by his incomparable writings, nor would 
 England have had to boast of such a treasure. The 
 plants of the hedge are unobserved by the vulgar, 
 who cannot conceive that beauty can flourish out of 
 the garden's bounds. 
 
 Madame de Latour could not leave this fragrant 
 plant without a place in floral language, and there- 
 fore says, under this head 
 
 On vous rendra justice. 
 
 And as an illustration that the vulgar have not the
 
 SWEET-SCENTED TUSSILAGE. 291 
 
 power to discern merit, either in men or plants, 
 until it is pointed out to them by the finger of the 
 world, she gives the following anecdote of a young 
 miller in Holland, who, having a taste for painting, 
 exercised it at his leisure hours in pourtraying the 
 few objects within his limited circle : the mill, his 
 master's cattle, and the pastures, were all that pre- 
 sented themselves- to his confined view, but these 
 he varied so accurately by light and shade, as the 
 effect of the clouds changed them, as fully to com- 
 pensate for the want of variety ; yet his labours 
 were not appreciated, and when he had finished 
 one picture he bartered it away to the colourman, 
 in exchange for materials to paint another. It so 
 happened that a master of a tavern, who expected 
 company at his house, wished to ornament the bare 
 walls of his apartment, and purchased one of these 
 paintings for a crown, which probably would have 
 still remained unnoticed on his wall, had not chance 
 sent an artist of judgment to his tavern, who had 
 no sooner entered the room where the picture was 
 hanging, than he discovered the merit of the young 
 rustic painter, and immediately offered the inn- 
 keeper a hundred florins for what had cost him a 
 Dutch crown ; and, paying down the money, de- 
 sired the landlord to procure him all the paintings 
 he could obtain from the young miller at the same 
 
 O 2
 
 292 FLORA HISTOR1CA. 
 
 price, which circumstance soon brought him into 
 repute, and enabled him to follow the bent of his 
 inclination, and delight the connoisseurs of paintings 
 by the faithful touches of his pencil. 
 
 Their various tastes, in diff'rent arts display'd, 
 JLike temper'd harmony of light and shade, 
 With friendly union in one mass shall blend, 
 And this adorn the state, and that defend. 
 
 .Some trace with curious search the hidden cause 
 Of Nature's changes, and her various laws : 
 Untwist her beauteous web, disrobe her charms, 
 .And hunt her to her elemental forms ; 
 Or prove what hidden pow'rs in herbs are found, 
 To quench disease, and cool the burning wound. 
 
 We had, previously to the discovery of the Sweet 
 Tussilage, become acquainted with nine different 
 species of these plants, some of which have, for 
 many ages, been celebrated in medicine for diseases 
 of the lungs, and relieving coughs, on which ac- 
 count their generic name was derived from tussis 
 and agere. 
 
 The thyrsi of this fragrant plant are of a whitish 
 lilac tint, and the odour greatly resembles that of 
 the Heliotrope. It is easily propagated by parting 
 the roots in the summer, and planting them in a 
 free, light, and fresh earth, in a warm and sheltered 
 situation. It is also planted in pots, for the purpose 
 of perfuming our winter apartments; and thus the 
 plant which, so short a time back, could not, by
 
 SWEET-SCENTED TUSSILAGE. 293 
 
 all its fragrant charms, obtain a corner in a 
 cottage- garden, now fills a situation in the proud 
 saloon, to the admiration of all the crowd that 
 usually attend the decorated apartments of gay 
 routs.
 
 294 FLORA HISTORIC.*. 
 
 CYCLAMEN, OR SOW-BREAD. Cyclamen. 
 
 J\ T atural Order Preciee. Lysimachia, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 With superstitions and traditions taint. 
 
 MILTON. 
 
 THIS plant was formerly regarded as a powerful 
 assistant by the midwives, and it was recommended 
 to them by the surgeons of the day. Gerard tells 
 us that he had these plants growing in his garden, 
 but for fear any matrons should accidentally step 
 over them, and by this means bring on abortion, 
 he stuck a fence of sticks round the roots, and laid 
 others crossways over them, " lest any woman 
 should by lamentable experiment finde my words 
 to be true, by their stepping ouer the same." 
 
 A rev'rent fear, such superstition reigns 
 Among the rude, ev'n then possess'd the swains. 
 
 We cannot be surprised that such superstitious 
 notions respecting plants should be found amongst 
 the vulgar of those times, when we find men 
 of learning like Gerard possessed with the same 
 ideas, for to him we may justly apply the lines of 
 Chaucer,
 
 CYCLAMEN. 295 
 
 Wei knew he the old Esculapms, 
 And Dioscorides and eke Rufus, 
 Old Hippocras, Hali, and Galliem, 
 Serapion, Rasis, and Avicen, 
 Averrois, Damascene, and Constantin, 
 Bernard, and Gatisden, and Gilbertin. 
 
 The Greeks had several names for this plant, 
 and the Romans also distinguished it by a variety 
 of titles, as Tuber terr<z, and Terra rapum, from 
 its turnip-like root, Panis Porcinus, OrHcularis, 
 Artanita, and Cyclamen, on account of the round- 
 ness of the root. It was named Sow-bread and 
 Swine-bread, because the swine eat it greedily in 
 countries where it is plentiful ; and for the same 
 reason the French call it pain duporceau, which the 
 country people abridge into pan de pur. The Ita- 
 lians also name it pane porcino, which has the same 
 signification ; they also call it pane terreno, ground- 
 bread. 
 
 The Ivy-leaved Sow-bread, Cyclamen hederifo- 
 lium, is a native of this island, growing in woody 
 situations in Wales. It flowers with a white blos- 
 som in April, and therefore is but little regarded ; 
 a variety of this species, with a pale purple flower, 
 was introduced from Italy previous to the year 
 1596. 
 
 The round-leaved Sow-bread, Cyclamen coum, 
 was also cultivated by Gerard prior to 1596. This 
 species is a native of Italy and the Alps, and as it
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 blossoms with a bright purple corolla in the months 
 of February and March, it is an acceptable plant 
 either for a sheltered situation in the open garden, 
 or in pots on the Auricula stand. 
 
 The Cyclamen Europceum is a native of Austria, 
 and has the advantage of being sweet-scented : this 
 species flowers in April; and was also cultivated 
 by Gerard. 
 
 Cerces and Cyclamen all art defeat. 
 
 PrtATT. 
 
 The Persian Cyclamen, which was first brought 
 to this country in 1731, is by far the most desirable 
 species for the house, as its flowers are large and 
 frequently odorous, and it continues to blossom 
 from February to April. 
 
 The introduction of so many plants from China 
 has greatly lessened the cultivation of the Cycla- 
 men for the house ; and as it requires a frame in 
 most situations in the garden, it is but little at- 
 tended to in the present day. This plant requires 
 a light sandy earth, or lime rubbish and loam 
 mixed, that will not retain wet; and water must 
 be given it very sparingly at all times. 
 
 All the kinds of Cyclamen are propagated by 
 seeds ; but as they require five years' attention be- 
 fore they will flower, they are but seldom raised in 
 this country. The seeds should be sown soon 
 after they are ripe, in pots filled with light garden
 
 CYCLAMEN. 297 
 
 mould mixed with a little sand, and covered about 
 half an inch deep, placing them where they receive 
 the morning sun till the beginning of September, 
 when they should be removed to a warmer expo- 
 sure ; and it is desirable to house them during the 
 winter months, but at the same time to place them 
 in situations where they have the advantage of 
 light and air. This attention, of placing them in 
 the morning sun during the summer and the full 
 day's heat in the autumn, must be yearly attended 
 to. When they are of a size to transplant, each 
 bulb should have a small pot, in preference to 
 placing several in one pot ; and as the bulb in- 
 creases in size, so should the size of the pot be 
 larger at every planting. 
 
 O5
 
 298 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 ARUM AXD CALLA. Arum. 
 
 Natural Order Piperitce. Aroidece, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Monoecia Polyandria Class. 
 
 Voyez, 6 prodige etonnant ! 
 L'Arum, qu'admire 1'Italie, 
 Si le noeud de 1'hymen la lie, 
 Lancer, de son spadix forulant, 
 Un feu Lien plus etincelant 
 Qu' a toute autre heure de sa vie. 
 
 THE character of this family of plants is so distinct 
 from that of any other kind of vegetable nature, 
 that their singularity of shape attracts the notice 
 of all classes, from the botanist to the children of 
 the cottagers, who seek the indigenous species be- 
 neath the shade of our hedge-row banks, and 
 give to them the names of Cuckoo-pint, Cuckoo- 
 pintle, Wake-robin, Friar's-cowl, and Lords-and- 
 Ladies. The more polished part of society admit 
 the Ethiopian Calla, a species of Arum, into their 
 most embellished saloons, where its alabaster calyx 
 expands into so elegant a vase-like shape, that 
 Flora seems to have intended it for the hand of 
 Hebe, when she presented the imperial nectar to 
 Jove. 
 
 The Calla is a native of the Cape of Good Hope,
 
 ARUM AND CALLA. 299 
 
 and the earliest notice of it in this country is not 
 farther back than 1731, when it was cultivated by 
 Mr. Miller, in the botanical garden at Chelsea; 
 but it is only within these few years that it has 
 become generally known. The fashion of orna- 
 menting the houses in London with plants, when 
 routs are given, greatly contributed to bring it 
 into celebrity, its time of flowering being from 
 January to June, which is the period of our me- 
 tropolitan gaieties. It was soon found to be a 
 conspicuous candlelight plant, and was therefore 
 increased by all the rout-furnishing florists. Thus 
 introduced to public notice, its charms could not 
 fail to obtain it a favourable regard among all 
 the admirers of nature, for its appearane in the 
 group of plants reminds us of a beautiful antique 
 lamp for burning incense, which illusion the flame- 
 Coloured spadix, arising out of the centre of the 
 white calyx, considerably increases. This vege- 
 table cup also pours out an agreeable perfume from 
 its graceful and beautiful horn. The leaves of the 
 Calla are large, and of a glossy fine yellowish 
 green, which contrasts as well with the foliage of 
 other plants as its white colour does with the gayer 
 tints of other flowers. 
 
 The name of Calla is derived, according to 
 Martyn, from the Greek xaXXajov, pal&aria yalli, 
 the wattle of a'cock ; but we consider it to be from
 
 FLORA H1STORICA. 
 
 the Greek xaXXoy, beauty, because the flower is 
 both beautiful in appearance and has a fine texture. 
 It will be necessary to observe that botanists have 
 now placed this plant out of the genus Arum, 
 although in the natural arrangement of plants it 
 stands in the same family ; but in the sexual system 
 it is found to be of a different class and order. 
 Martyn places it under the class and order Gynan- 
 dria Polyandria, and M. Pirolle continues it under 
 the same head ; whereas Alton and Brown remove 
 it to the class Heptandria Monogynia, which ap- 
 pears to us to be correct, since we observe that the 
 spadix is not simply covered with the parts of fruc- 
 tification, but surrounded with minute flowers, each 
 of which contains seven anthers and one stigma. 
 
 Although this plant has generally been treated 
 as a greenhouse flower, we are desirous to remove 
 it into the open garden where it endures the winter 
 very well, excepting when the frost is very severe, 
 and then a temporary covering is sufficient to 
 protect it. In the open garden it should have a 
 dry soil and a warm sheltered situation, where it 
 will be found to propagate itself very fast by off- 
 sets ; and when from five to ten plants are placed 
 on a spot at about twenty inches from each other, 
 they make a fine figure in the garden, not only 
 whilst in flower, but by their large pointed leaves, 
 which succeed each other throughout- the year.
 
 ARUM AND CALLA. 301 
 
 September is a good season for removing the 
 young plants ; and where the open garden is found 
 too cold for the roots to stand the winter, we re- 
 commend them to be planted in pots filled with 
 garden mould that may be taken into the house 
 during the winter ; and as soon as the frost is over, 
 the pots may be plunged into such parts of the 
 parterre, or the shrubbery, as require the aid of 
 white flowers to enliven it or to contrast with those 
 of heavier colours. These plants may also be 
 increased from the seeds, which ripen in August ; 
 but, as they require three years before they arrive 
 at a state to flower, this mode of cultivation is sel- 
 dom attended to. It should be observed, that this 
 plant has a thick, fleshy, tuberous root, which 
 rots if too freely watered. The French call this 
 plant Calla d'Ethiopie, Pied-de-Veau, and Arum 
 d'Ethiopie. 
 
 The common Dragon plant. Arum Dracunculus, 
 grows naturally in Italy, and other southern parts 
 of Europe, from whence it has long been intro- 
 duced to the gardens of this country, as Gerard 
 observes, in 1596, that he had two of these plants 
 growing in his garden. This species of Arum, 
 although objectionable on account of its disagree- 
 able odour, deserves a place in large gardens, from 
 its singularity of appearance ; for in the spring it 
 sends up a straight stalk about three feet in height,
 
 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 curiously spotted like the belly of a snake , and 
 from hence it is called the Dragon Arum. The 
 calyx or spathe is very large when growing in a 
 rich moist soil, and being of a fine c j aret colour 
 hm, and enclosing a large spadix of the same 
 colour, it has an uncommon appearance, and should, 
 therefore, for its odd, capricious shape not be altoo-e- 
 ther neglected, although when in flower its strong 
 carrion-like scent is certainly disagreeable. 
 
 There is a species of Arum which grows in the 
 morasses about Magellan's Strait, in South Ame- 
 rica, whose flowers exhibit the appearance of an 
 leer, and exhale so strong an odour of putrid flesh, 
 that the flesh-flies resort to it to deposit their e<ra s 
 Pliny says that the smell of the common Dragon 
 Arum is so offensive as to be even dangerous to 
 pregnant ladies. He tells us, also, that it was a 
 common practice in his day to carry about the per- 
 son a part of the root of this plant as a preventive 
 against serpents, which he affirms will not come 
 near any one who has taken this precaution. (Book 
 xxiv. chap. 16.) 
 
 This singular exotic is so hardy that it will grow 
 m any soil and situation ; and it propagates itself 
 so fast by offsets from the root, that there is no 
 occasion to give directions for its increase by seed. 
 It should be removed in autumn when the leaves 
 are decayed.
 
 ARUM AND CALLA. 303 
 
 The name of Arum for this family of curious 
 plants is derived from 'A^a, Noxa, Injury, because 
 the root when eaten without preparation affects the 
 tongue with a pungency as if it were pricked with a 
 needle. 
 
 CUCKOO PINT, OR WAKE ROBIN. Arum 
 Maculatum. 
 
 This native plant frequently finds its way into the 
 banks of our orchards and shrubberies, although it 
 is seldom if ever cultivated. We shall, however, 
 not let pass unnoticed what seems to have excited 
 more regard in ancient times. 
 
 Pliny tells us that the leaves of the Arum were 
 anciently used to preserve cheese, by covering it 
 over with them. Wedelius is of opinion that the 
 Chara, which Caesar's soldiers found abundantly 
 about Dyrrachium, was this plant. Being reduced 
 to straits for want of provisions, they mixed the 
 roots with milk, and made them into a sort of bread. 
 But this probably was the Italian Arum, the roots 
 of which are considerably larger than those of Eng- 
 land. The roots of the latter might certainly be 
 eaten with safety, after having their acrid nature 
 destroyed by several waters.
 
 304 FLORA HISTORIC^. 
 
 Mr. White notices, in his History of Selborne, 
 that the roots of the Arum are scratched up and 
 eaten by the thrushes in severe snowy seasons, and 
 the berries are devoured by several kinds of birds, 
 particularly by pheasants. 
 
 Bears seek this plant as a necessary medicine to 
 open their stomachs, after they have lain for several 
 weeks without food. 
 
 This species of Arum was formerly called Starch 
 Wort, on account of the roots being employed to 
 stiffen ruff's and frills, particularly in the time of 
 Queen Elizabeth, when these ornaments were worn 
 by gentlemen as well as ladies. Gerard, who wrote 
 during the virgin reign, says, " the most pure 
 and white starch is made of the rootes of Cuckoo 
 Pint; but most hurtfull for the hands of the laun- 
 dresse that hath the handling of it, for it choppeth, 
 blistereth, and maketh the hands rough and rugged, 
 and withall smarting." These roots have occasion- 
 ally been used as a substitute for soap ; and Mr. 
 Ray particularly mentions their being used about 
 Maidstone in Kent for that purpose. The roots 
 loose their acrimony in drying, and become farina- 
 ceous and insipid. It is from these roots, dried and 
 powdered, that the French make a wash for the 
 skin, which is esteemed a good and innocent cos- 
 metic, and which sells for a high price, under the 
 name of Cypress powder. In Worcestershire they
 
 ABUM AND CALLA. 305 
 
 give this plant the name of Bloody Men's Fingers, 
 from the red berries that surround the spadix. The 
 French have as many vulgar names for the Arum 
 as ourselves, amongst which is Pied de Feau, from 
 the shape of the leaf resembling the bottom of a 
 calf's foot; Bonnet de grand Pretre, High Priest's 
 Mitre; Pain deLievre, Hare's Bread, which seems 
 to imply that it is eaten by those animals. In some 
 parts of that country it is called Chou Poivre, 
 Pepper Cabbage. 
 
 Sir Hans Sloane says that a species of these 
 plants is carefully cultivated in most of the planta- 
 tions in the West Indies, principally for the sake 
 of the leaves, which are boiled, and eaten like spi- 
 nach or cabbage. The roots are also eaten after 
 being baked in hot ashes. This species is found in 
 all the islands of the Southern Ocean, and is culti- 
 vated every where within the Tropics, and even in 
 the northern extremity of New Zealand. The 
 natives of the South-Sea Islands bestow great pains 
 on the culture of this root, by inundating the land 
 at one time, and draining it dry at others, by means 
 of ditches dug round the fields. Thus we have 
 another instance of the importance attached to the 
 same plants in one part of the world, which in others 
 are utterly despised, and deemed by the illiterate 
 almost a curse to the land. 
 
 Old medical writers extol the virtues of this acrid
 
 306 PLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 plant, but in modern practice it is but little used, 
 although acknowledged to be of great value in some 
 of the most obstinate diseases of the human body ; 
 but as its volatile and acrimonious particles are 
 nearly lost when the plant is in a dry state, we must 
 not be surprised that it should be discarded from, 
 the shops. Mr. J. A. Waller tells us, in his British 
 Domestic Herbal , that a few years back he witnessed 
 a most alarming case of dropsy, accompanied with 
 every sign of an exhausted constitution, treated by 
 a prescription of Sydenham, of which the Arum 
 and Angelica formed the most prominent articles. 
 The success of this treatment was most astonishing, 
 for all the symptoms of the most alarming general 
 dropsy disappeared in less than three weeks. Ett- 
 muller extols the fresh -prepared root as a most ex- 
 cellent stomachic in cases of extreme prostration of 
 appetite. He recommends the root to be cut into 
 very small pieces, and taken in brandy. But we 
 must leave the physicians for the notice of the 
 poets, who have made the Arum the emblem of 
 ardour. 
 
 Mrs. Frances Arabella Rowden thus cautions 
 children against the berries of the Arum : 
 
 Oh ! wander not where Dragon Arum showers 
 Her baleful dews, and twines her purple flowers, 
 Lest round thy neck she throw her snaring arms, 
 Sap thy life's blood, and riot on thy charms,
 
 ARUM AND CALLA. 307 
 
 Her shining berry, as the ruby bright, 
 Blight please thy taste, and tempt thy eager sight : 
 Trust not this specious veil ; beneath its guise, 
 In honied streams a fatal poison lies. 
 
 So Vice allures with Virtue's pleasing song, 
 And charms her victims with a siren's tongue.
 
 308 FLORAJIISTORICA. 
 
 CARDAMINE. Nasturtium Pratense. 
 
 CUCKOO FLOWER, OR LADY'S SMOCK. 
 
 Natural Order SMguo,*, or Crucify, A Genus of 
 the Tdradynamia Siliquosa Class. 
 
 When Daisies pied, and Violets blue, 
 
 And Lady's Smocks all silver white 
 And Cuckoo-buds of yellow hue, 
 Do paint the meadows with delight. 
 
 SHAKSPEARE. 
 
 THAT our great dramatic poet should thus describe 
 one of the most delicate and beautiful of our native 
 plants, shows what charms vegetable beauties had 
 for his capacious mind. The happy expression 
 " silver white," exactly describes the tint of these 
 flowers, some of which are nearly of a pure white 
 colour, whilst others have that purple cast so 
 peculiar to highly-polished silver. As this plant 
 flowers in April, and is in full beauty in the month 
 May, it generally forms a conspicuous figure 
 in the Mayday garlands of the children of our 
 peasantry, which Walton thus notices in his 
 Angler:" See here a boy gathering Lilies and 
 Lady-Smocks, and there a girl cropping Culver- 
 keys and Cowslips, all to make garlands. 1 '
 
 CARDAMINE. ' 309 
 
 This plant, which is a species of Cress, has been 
 named Cardamine, from its having the taste of 
 Cardamom. It has also been called in Latin Flos 
 Cuculi, because, says Gerard, " it flowers when 
 the cuckowe doth begin to sing her pleasant notes 
 without stammering," and from hence it is called 
 Cuckoo Flower. Shakspeare's Cuckoo Bud is 
 thought to be the Wild Yellow Ranunculus ; he 
 mentions the Cuckoo Flower as one of those that 
 formed the crown of the wretched Lear. 
 
 . He was met even now 
 
 As mad as the vex'd sea : singing aloud ; 
 Crown'd with rank Fumiter, and Furrow Weeds, 
 With Harlocks, Hemlock, Nettles, Cuckoo Flowers, 
 Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow 
 In our sustaining corn. 
 
 King Lear. 
 
 Gerard tells us that he writes it " Ladie Smocks," 
 because it was so called in Cheshire, his native 
 county ; and the unfortunate Chatterton, in his 
 admirable imitation of the older poets, gives it the 
 same name. 
 
 So have I seen a Ladie-Smock soe white, 
 
 Blown in the mornynge, and mowd down at night. 
 
 Battle of Hastings. 
 
 We do not find that this flower has been placed 
 in floral language ; and we shall, therefore, taking 
 it from the brow of King Lear, present it as an 
 emblem of paternal error, since this historic drama
 
 310 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 so forcibly paints the folly of a parent's making 
 himself dependent on the liberality of his children. 
 
 The Cuckoo flower grows spontaneously in most 
 of our moist pasture lands, and is a most ornamental 
 plant when sown in clumps in the damp parts of 
 wilderness scenery, or on the banks of brooks or 
 lakes. In its double state it is deserving a place 
 in the choicest flower-garden ; and we particularly 
 recommend clumps of it in the foreground of small 
 shrubberies, as it contrasts as well with the foliage 
 of evergreen shrubs as with the grass of the lawn. 
 This variety is propagated by parting the roots in 
 autumn, at which time they should always be 
 transplanted, and a moist and partially shady situa- 
 tion is most congenial to the nature of the plant. 
 
 The leaves of the Cardamine Pratense are fre- 
 quently eaten in the spring by country people, 
 and have nearly the same anti-scorbutic qualities 
 as the common Water-Cress : it is said to give tone 
 to the stomach and digestive organs. In northern 
 countries, where salt-fish and meats are much eaten, 
 they pound the whole plant, and express the juice, 
 of which they give a wine-glass full for a dose ; 
 and it is esteemed an excellent remedy in scorbutic 
 diseases and obstructions of the liver, and the 
 jaundice.
 
 LEOPARD'S-BANE. 311 
 
 LEOPARD'S-BANE. DoronicumPardalianches, 
 
 Natural Order Composite DiscordecE. Corymbiferce, 
 Juss. A Genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Siiper- 
 Jlua Class. 
 
 Were man to live coeval with the sun, 
 The patriarch pupil would be learning still ; 
 Yet, dying, leave his lesson half unlearn'd. 
 
 YOUNG. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the study of botany, as far as 
 it relates to the nature and virtue of herbs and 
 plants, is the most ancient and universal of all 
 sciences, yet we may at the present time consider 
 ourselves but in the infancy of the art. So much 
 does the vegetable world offer to our contemplation 
 and research, that to become thoroughly acquainted 
 with the phy tonomy of a small portion of our native 
 plants is more than the longest liver has been able 
 to accomplish. With the introduction of exotic 
 plants we are naturally led to inquire into their 
 character, and how far they have been made sub- 
 servient to the human species of their natural 
 regions : this inquiry is frequently made, without 
 taking into consideration the difference of climate 
 and habits of the people from whom we receive
 
 312 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 them ; and this accounts for our so frequently 
 finding them deficient in the virtues ascribed to 
 them by the natives, to whom many plants become 
 agreeable and wholesome, from custom and other 
 causes, which, with us, would act as a violent and 
 dangerous medicine. 
 
 The materia medica of the most ancient phy- 
 sicians, that have been handed down to us through 
 the languages of different countries, seem all to 
 have derived the foundation of their knowledge 
 
 43 
 
 originally from the Arabians ; and as the present 
 European name of Doronicum is derived from the 
 Arabic Doronigi or Dururji, it is probable that 
 this plant was in some celebrity with these wander- 
 ing tribes, who must, of necessity, have made them- 
 selves acquainted with the qualities of herbs. 
 
 The trivial name of this species of Doronicum is 
 derived from the Greek Pardalio, Leopard, and 
 Agcho (pr. Angcho), to strangle : hence our name 
 of Leopard's Bane, because it was said to cause the 
 death of any animal that ate it ; and it was there- 
 fore formerly mixed with flesh to destroy leopards. 
 
 Martyn observes C( that this plant has been 
 stigmatized as poisonous, seemingly without much 
 reason ;" and he adds, " the famous Conrad Gesner 
 took two drams of the root without injury." But 
 we are informed, in the Historic, Plantarum 
 ascribed to Boerhaave, that Gesner took some of
 
 LEQPARD'S-BANE. 313 
 
 this plant in the morning fasting, and two hours 
 afterwards he wrote a letter to a friend, in which 
 he said that he was then in good health ; but it 
 appears, from the account of his other friends, that 
 he had not sent off' the letter an hour before he was 
 taken ill and died. 
 
 Matthiolus appears to have been a strong advo- 
 cate for the admission of this plant into medical 
 use, and he asserted that it had no venomous 
 quality ; but he afterwards had reason to change 
 his opinion, having given it to a dog, which it 
 killed. 
 
 This plant is a native of the mountains of Swit- 
 zerland, the Alps, Austria, Hungary, &c. Most 
 of our modern English writers on botany mention 
 it as indigenous to this country ; but Martyn says, 
 " this is one of the plants Avhich, from the facility 
 with which it propagates itself, has lately escaped 
 from the gardens to increase the British Flora. 
 Mr. Lightfoot remarked it in Scotland, but always 
 near houses ; and Dr. Stokes near Duplin House. 
 Dr. Turner's account of this plant seems to confirm 
 Mr. Marty n's statement, as this writer says, in 
 1568, " Doronicum, otherwise called Carnaba- 
 dium, groweth not that I knowe of in England, 
 and, that I remember, I never sawe it growyng but 
 once, and that was in Germanye." He adds, " the 
 rootes are wel knowen in the apothecaries 1 shoppes ; " 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 314 FLORA HISTORIGA. 
 
 and he concludes, " the Arabian commendeth this 
 herbe verye muche agaynst the diseases of the 
 herte, and holds that it is good against poyson and 
 venome." 
 
 Gerard tells us that he had the Leopard's- Bane 
 growing in his garden, and he observes that it grows 
 naturally in the mountains of France ; and adds, 
 (l it is also brought into, and acquainted with, our 
 English grounds." 
 
 The greatest recommendation of this plant to a 
 station in the realm of Flora, is, that it will grow 
 in any soil or situation, and its bright yellow flowers 
 make a conspicuous figure among shrubs, particu- 
 larly in a shady spot, both in the month of May, 
 and again in autumn, provided the plants be cut 
 down before the seed ripens. 
 
 The Leopard's- Bane multiplies very fast by its 
 spreading roots, and if the seeds are permitted to 
 scatter, they will produce plants wherever they 
 fall, so as to become a troublesome weed : on this 
 account, as well as that of having the flowers at 
 two distinct seasons of the year, we recommend 
 the stalks to be cut down when the flowers begin to 
 fade.
 
 ROCKET. : 315 
 
 ROCKET. Hesperis. 
 
 Natural Order Siliquosee. Cruciferce, Juss. A Genus 
 of the Tetradynamia Siliquosa Class. 
 
 That keep 
 
 Their odour to themselves all day ; 
 But when the sunlight dies away, 
 Let the delicious secret out 
 To every breeze that roams about. 
 
 T. MOORE. 
 
 THE ancients named this family of plants Hespe- 
 ris, from Hesper or Vesper, because they do not 
 discharge their perfume until the evening. In 
 floral language, these flowers are made the emblem 
 of Falsehood or Deceit, on account of their deny- 
 ing their odorous virtues to the light of day. 
 
 We have no plant that exhales so delightful a 
 fragrance in the night as the Hesperis Tristas, 
 Night-smelling Rocket, or Night-odorous Stock. 
 This flower has for many ages been a favourite 
 with the German ladies, and is consequently much 
 cultivated in that country in pots for the apart- 
 ments ; and hence it obtained the name of Dame's 
 Violet, in addition to that of Nacht Violen. It 
 has been known in this country as long back as the 
 
 P2
 
 316 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth, as Gerard has figured 
 it in his Herbal. Parkinson also gives an engrav- 
 ing of this plant, in his work of 1629> under the 
 title of " Leucoium Marinum Syriacum, Levant 
 Stock Gilliflower ;" yet it remains rather a rare 
 than a common plant with us, principally, we 
 presume, from the little figure which its flowers 
 make either in the open garden or in the green- 
 house, for the petals, which are small, curl back- 
 wards, and are of a dingy liver-colour, rather than 
 a purple. The foliage is much less than that of 
 the common Stock, but of the same downy nature, 
 and bluish-green colour ; and as fresh leaves come 
 out the lower ones wither, and change to a sandy 
 colour, but they do not drop off, Avhich gives the 
 plant a sickly and unsightly appearance. It is also 
 a very slow-growing plant, which is another cause 
 of its being so neglected by the market florists, that 
 not one in twenty of the cultivators of flowers for the 
 London market grow it. They acknowledge, that 
 were the plant sufficiently known to be properly 
 estimated, there would soon be a demand that 
 would induce them to attend to its propagation. 
 We have found a single plant sufficient to perfume 
 a moderate-sized room, even when it has not had 
 more than four or five flowers expanded. It is 
 perfectly hardy, and may be kept in flower the 
 greater part of the year. It will stand in the open
 
 ROCKET. 317 
 
 ground ; but as it has no effective appearance, it 
 is better adapted for the pot, which can be brought 
 into the house in the evening, or placed in the bal- 
 cony, so as to disperse its grateful fragrance to ad- 
 vantage. It is easily propagated by slips, strip- 
 ping off the lower leaves, and planting it in a good 
 garden mould, pressing the earth tight to the stalk 
 with the fingers, and keeping the earth moderately 
 nioist. We have found it facilitate the growth 
 of the slips to place a small bell-glass over the 
 young plants, whether planted in the open ground, 
 or in pots. 
 
 We earnestly recommend the culture of these 
 plants to all the rout-serving florists, as a dozen 
 plants would perfume a whole suite of apartments, 
 and the heat of candles seems less to affect this plant 
 than most others : its want of splendour is certainly 
 fully compensated for by its agreeable scent, which 
 seems rather increased than diminished by the heat 
 of crowded saloons.
 
 318 FLORA. HISTORICA. 
 
 GARDEN ROCKET, OR DAME'S VIOLET. 
 
 Hesperis Matronalis. 
 
 THIS beautiful plant was originally brought from 
 Italy, and its spikes of double corollas are ranked 
 amongst the most ornamental of our garden flowers, 
 where it shines conspicuously by day in its white 
 and purple costume, whilst its fragrance is reserved 
 for vesper hours, to rival the gayest of Flora's gifts, 
 like Philomel, 
 
 Elate to make her night excel their day. 
 
 This plant will only flourish in a pure air, and 
 where the soil is both light and fresh, that is, rather 
 rich, but not dunged. It is a flower much cul- 
 tivated on the French coast, and may be seen in 
 great perfection in most gai'dens between Calais and 
 Abbeville ; but it will not endure the atmosphere 
 of either Paris or London. 
 
 Of all the directions we have consulted as to its 
 propagation, that of Dr. Robertson seems to answer 
 the best for this country. He observes, <f The 
 Double Rocket is a beautiful plant, rather scarce in 
 this part of the country, owing chiefly, I suppose, to 
 florists not being acquainted with a successful way 
 of increasing it. I had a few plants of Rockets under 
 my care, and I did them all justice, as I thought,
 
 ROCKET. 319 
 
 but all would not do ; I lost them all. I tried to 
 part their roots, but, being small and weak, the 
 slugs ate them all up in a short time, as they are 
 very fond of them, especially of their leaves. I 
 tried to increase them by cuttings in the common 
 way, with as little success. This led me to try 
 another method which I would recommend as a 
 never-failing way of propagating this beautiful 
 flower. If a person has but one plant of Rocket, 
 and is anxious for its flowers, the first thing is, 
 after the flower is beginning to fade, to cut down 
 the stalks, and divide them into ordinary lengths 
 of cuttings ; next to cut off the leaves, and smooth 
 the ends ; then to make three slits with a knife in 
 the bark or rind, longwise, so as to separate or raise 
 the bark for half an inch in length. When the 
 cutting is inserted in the ground, the loose bark 
 naturally curls up, and it is from this bark that the 
 young roots proceed. The partial separation, and 
 the turning up of the bark, seems to promote a 
 tendency to throw out roots. The cuttings may be 
 put into flower-pots, as they may thus be sheltered 
 during winter with more ease, or they may be 
 placed in the natural earth, provided the soil is 
 light and fresh. Covering them with a hand-glass 
 will forward the rooting of the cuttings, or with 
 the aid of a hot-bed they will succeed excellently. 
 I have used this simple way for six years past, and
 
 320 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 never without success, not one in twenty having 
 failed. This method, it may be remarked, will 
 hold good in cuttings of Stock Gilliflowers and 
 Double Wall-flowers." (Gated. Mem. ii. 245.) 
 
 The Sweet-scented Garden Rocket, although by 
 no means so common at the present time as we 
 could wish to see it, has long been cultivated in 
 our gardens in the single state, as Gerard speaks of 
 it in 1597, under the title of " Dame's Violets, or 
 Queene Gilliflowers. 11 In Parkinson's " Garden of 
 Pleasant Flowers,"" 1629, we have the figure of this 
 plant in a double state, under the head of Hesperis 
 Pannonica, Dame's Violets of Hungary. 
 
 Our native species of Rocket, Hesperis Inodora, 
 which has also had its petals doubled by the art of 
 the florist, resembles the exotic kind in all respects 
 except in fragrance, and as this kind is of easier 
 propagation, it is by far the most common ; and 
 although not so desirable as the sweet kind, yet it 
 is a beautiful plant to ornament the parterre from 
 May to the end of summer. Miller remarks that, 
 in his time, these beautiful flowers were much less 
 common than formerly ; and he seems to attribute 
 their decay to the quantity of manure used in mo- 
 dern gardens, for these plants will only thrive in 
 fresh undunged earth. Martyn says, in his ad- 
 mirable additions to Miller, these plants " being 
 naturally biennial, the plants with single flowers
 
 ROCKET. 321 
 
 rarely survive the second year; nor will those with 
 double flowers continue much longer, so that unless 
 young plants are annually raised to supply the 
 place of the old ones, there will soon be a want of 
 them, which is what few persons are careful enough 
 to observe ; but thinking the roots to be perennial, 
 trust to their putting out offsets ; or the plants re- 
 maining after they have flowered, and finding them 
 decay} are apt to think their soil very improper for 
 them, and are at a loss to account for their decay- 
 ing : whereas, when the plants have flowered, they 
 have finished their period, and seldom continue to 
 flower a second time from the same root, though, 
 in poor land, they will often put out a few weak off- 
 sets, which may flower again, but seldom so strong as 
 the principal root ; therefore those who are desirous 
 to propagate these plants should do it in the fol- 
 lowing manner : 
 
 " There should be some strong roots of each sort 
 kept apart for this purpose, which are not intended 
 to flower. When these have shot up their flower- 
 stalks about six inches high, they should be cut 
 close to the bottom ; each of these may be divided 
 in the middle to make two cuttings, which should 
 be planted in a soft, gentle, loamy soil, to an east 
 exposure, where they may have only the morning 
 sun ; and these may be planted pretty near to- 
 gether, so as to be covered with hand or bell-glasses, 
 
 P 5
 
 322 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 which should be put over them after the cuttings 
 have been well watered, and closely shut down, 
 drawing the earth round the rim of the glasses to 
 exclude the air : then the glasses should be shaded 
 with mats every day when the sun is hot ; and if 
 the cuttings are gently refreshed with water once in 
 seven or eight days, it will be sufficient, for too 
 much moisture will cause them to rot : when these 
 are watered, the glasses should be closely shut down 
 again as before : with this management the cuttings 
 will put out roots in five or six weeks, and will be- 
 gin to shoot above; then the glasses should be 
 gently raised on one side to admit the air to them, 
 and so gradually harden them to the open air, to 
 prevent their drawing up weak. When these have 
 made good roots they should be carefully removed, 
 and planted in an east border, at about eight or 
 nine inches asunder, observing to shade and water 
 them till they have taken new root ; after which 
 they will require no other care but to keep them 
 clean from weeds till the autumn, when they may 
 be transplanted into the borders of the pleasure- 
 garden where they are designed to flower. 
 
 " The roots which are thus cut down will send 
 up more stalks than before, and when these are of 
 a proper height they may be cut off, and treated in 
 the same way, so that if the roots are sound, there 
 may be two or three crops of these cuttings from
 
 ROCKET. 323 
 
 them; and by so doing, the old roots may be 
 continued much longer than if they are permit- 
 ted to flower, and by this management there may 
 be always a supply of good plants for the flower- 
 garden.' 1
 
 324 FLOBA H1STORICA. 
 
 MANDRAKE. Atropa Mandragora. 
 
 Natural Order Luridee. Solaneee, Juss. A Genus of 
 the Pentandria Monogynia Class. 
 
 La Mandragore qu'on arrache, 
 Long-temps resiste avec effort, 
 Jette im grand cri, frappe de mort 
 Le bras hardi qui la detache. 
 
 I do not mean to wake the gloomy form 
 Of Superstition. 
 
 THIS plant, which has been rendered celebrated by 
 absurdity, is indigenous to classical ground ; and 
 on this account, as well as the wonderful tales that 
 have been handed down to us from antiquity, it 
 naturally excites some degree of interest in the in- 
 quisitive mind. 
 
 In symbolical language, the Mandrake is made 
 the emblem of any thing rare or extraordinary, and 
 from the earliest ages appears to have excited great 
 veneration amongst the inhabitants of eastern coun- 
 tries, on account of its supposed extraordinary pro- 
 perties, as well as its rarity. 
 
 It is generally believed that the Atropa, or Man- 
 drake, is the same plant which the ancient Hebrews
 
 MANDRAKE. 325 
 
 called Duddim : that these people held it in the 
 highest esteem in the days of Jacob, is evident from 
 the notice of its having been found by Reuben, 
 who carried the plant to his mother ; and the in- 
 ducement which tempted Leah to part with it, 
 proves the value then set upon this celebrated 
 plant. 
 
 As we have no authority for believing the He- 
 brews used the mandrake for superstitious purposes, 
 it is most probable that they were acquainted with 
 its anodyne and soporific properties ; and perhaps 
 it was the only opiate known in that age, which 
 alone would render it an invaluable root to persons 
 who could receive no medical assistance but what 
 their own household afforded. This plant was 
 thought to possess the properties of making child- 
 less wives become mothers ; and hence some sup- 
 pose Rachel became so desirous to possess the 
 Mandrakes that Reuben had found. 
 
 The Greeks were evidently acquainted with the 
 dangerous properties of the Mandrake, as is shown 
 by the names bestowed on it, that of Circeium being 
 derived from Circe, a witch celebrated in fable for 
 her knowledge of magic and venomous herbs. The 
 name of Atropct is after Atropos, the eldest of the 
 Parcse, whose duty among the three Fates was to 
 cut the thread of life, without regard to sex, age, 
 or quality.
 
 326 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 The fables of the ancients, which were originally 
 intended to instruct and to caution the ignorant, 
 were frequently so transformed in the songs of the 
 poets as to lose their intention, and they were still 
 more disguised by the crafty, who imposed upon 
 the credulous through some pretended miraculous 
 stories of antiquity. Thus we are told by old 
 medical impostors, that when the Mandrake was 
 taken from the earth it gave a dreadful shriek, and 
 struck the daring person with death who had the 
 presumption to drag the root from its bed; and 
 therefore it was obtained by fastening the plant to 
 the tail of a dog, who thus drew the root from the 
 ground. 
 
 Columella, in his directions for the site of gar- 
 dens, says, they may be formed where 
 
 the Mandrakes flowers 
 
 Produce, whose root shews half a man, whose juice 
 With madness strikes. 
 
 Book 10. 
 
 The Romans appear to have been very supersti- 
 tious as to the manner of taking up this root. Pliny 
 tells us that those who undertook this office paid 
 particular attention to stand so that the wind was 
 at their back ; and before they began to dig, they 
 made three circles around the plant with the point 
 of the sword, and then turning to the west pro- 
 ceeded to take it up. We are disposed to think 
 that this ceremony was first observed to prevent the
 
 MANDRAKE. 327 
 
 too frequent use of so dangerous a plant amongst 
 the idolaters of early ages. 
 
 In later times, when the darkness of ignorance 
 spread its wings over Europe, this plant and its 
 substitutes formed a profitable article with the 
 mountebank doctors of those superstitious days, 
 when credulity was at a sufficient height to believe 
 that this root was a preventive against mischief and 
 dangers of every kind. With this belief, the Ger- 
 mans formed little idols of the roots of the Man- 
 drake, to which they gave the name of Abrunes. 
 These images were regularly dressed every day, 
 and consulted as oracles; and their repute was 
 such, that they were manufactured in great num- 
 bers, and sold in cases. They appear to have been 
 brought over to this country in this state during the 
 time of Henry the Eighth, and met with ready 
 purchasers, it being pretended that they would, 
 with the assistance of some mystic words, be able to 
 increase whatever money was placed near them; 
 and to give greater importance to these pretended 
 miracle- workers, it was said that the roots of these 
 plants were produced from the flesh of criminals 
 which fell from the gibbet, and that they only grew 
 in such situations. Others pretended that this 
 plant grew only in one small spot in China, from 
 whence they were procured with the greatest risk 
 and danger.
 
 328 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 Dr. Turner wrote at considerable length, in the 
 time of Queen Elizabeth, to expose these imposi- 
 tions : he says, " I haue in my tyme at diuerse 
 tymes taken vp the rootes of Mandrag out of the 
 grounde, but I neuer saw any such thyng vpon or 
 in them, as are in and vpon the pedlers rootes that 
 are comenly to be solde in boxes." He adds, " it 
 groweth not vnder gallosses, as a certayn dotyng 
 doctor of Colon in hys physik lecture dyd tech hys 
 auditores, neither doth it ryse of the sede of man, 
 that falleth from him that is hanged." 
 
 Gerard also wrote on this plant, about thirty 
 years later than Turner ; and this excellent old 
 writer endeavoured to convince the people of the 
 impositions practised on them by the venders of 
 these roots. He states that both himself and his 
 servant had frequently dug up these roots without 
 receiving harm, or hearing any of the shrieks which 
 it was pretended these roots sent forth. . 
 
 Our immortal bard availed himself of these 
 superstitions to work on the imagination of his 
 admirers : 
 
 And shrieks like Mandrakes, torn out of the earth, 
 That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. 
 
 Again he says, 
 
 "\Vould curses kill, as doth the Mandrake's groan, 
 I would invent as bitter-searching terms, 
 As curst, as harsh, and horrible to bear. 
 
 Lord Bacon notices the use to which these roots
 
 MANDRAKE. 329 
 
 were converted in his time. He observes, in his 
 Natural History, " Some plants there are, but 
 rare, that have a mossie or downie root, and like- 
 wise that have a number of threads, like beards, as 
 Mandrakes, whereof witches and impostours make 
 an ugly image, giving it the form of a face at the 
 top of the root, and leave those strings to make a 
 broad beard down to the foot." 
 
 The English name of this plant was originally 
 derived from the Latin, Mandragora, as we ob- 
 serve Dr. Turner spells it Mandrag. By whose 
 barbarity it was afterwards transformed into Man- 
 drake we have not been able to discover, unless it 
 be from the following superstition, which we find 
 mentioned by Madame de Genlis. She speaks of 
 an author, who gravely gives a long description of 
 these pretended Mandrakes, and adds, that they 
 must be wrapped up in a piece of sheet, for that 
 .then they will bring unceasing good luck. The 
 same author, she says, gives the name of Mandra 
 gora, Mandrake it is not known for what reason 
 to certain sprites, that are procured from an egg 
 that must be hatched in a particular manner, and 
 from which comes forth a little monster, half chick 
 and half man, that must be kept in a secret cham- 
 ber, and fed with the seed of spikenard, and that 
 then it will prophesy every day. This grave 
 author tells his readers, that some people of a weak
 
 330 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 judgment, and fond of the marvellous, pretend that 
 these Mandrakes pay a tribute of a pistole a day ; 
 but this he assures them is not true, and that all 
 they can do is to make their masters lucky at play, 
 discover to them treasures, and foretel what is 
 to happen. 
 
 Gerard observes, " in English we call it Man- 
 drake, Mandrage, and Mandragon." The French 
 name of Mandragore is nearly the same as the 
 Latin. At what period this plant was first culti- 
 vated in our gardens is uncertain, but it appears, 
 from Dr. Turner, to have been common in 1564, 
 who writes sensibly on its medical properties ; and 
 it seems also to have been well known as an opiate 
 in the time of Shakspeare, who says, 
 
 Not Poppy, nor Mandragora, 
 Nor all the drowsy syrops of the world, 
 Shall ever med'cine thee to that sweet sleep. 
 
 In the Hist. Plant, ascript. Boerhaave, it is 
 stated that this plant brought into a chamber, or 
 closed room, procures sleep to those that want it. 
 
 The Mandrake is a species of deadly nightshade, 
 which grows with a long taper root like the par- 
 snip, running three or four feet deep ; these roots 
 are frequently forked, which assisted to enable the 
 old quacks to give it the shape of a monster. This 
 plant does not send up a stalk, but immediately 
 from the crown of the root arises a circle of leaves,
 
 MANDRAKE. 331 
 
 which, at first, stand erect, but when grown to 
 their full size, which is about a foot in length, and 
 five inches broad, of an ovate-lanceolate shape, 
 waved at the edges, these spread open and lie on 
 the ground : they are of a dark green, and give 
 out a fetid scent. About the month of April the 
 flowers come out among the leaves, each on a scape 
 about three inches long : they are of a bell shape, 
 with a long tube, and spread into a five-cleft co- 
 rolla. The colour of the flower is of an herbaceous 
 white, but frequently it has a tinge of purple. The 
 flower is succeeded by a globular soft berry, when 
 full grown, as large as a common cherry, but of a 
 yellowish green colour when ripe, and full of pulp, 
 intermixed with numerous reniform seeds. The 
 Mandrake grows naturally in Spain, Portugal, 
 Italy, and the Levant ; it is also indigenous to 
 China, where it enters into the compositions pre- 
 pared by the most skilful physicians of that coun- 
 try, and taken by the Mandarins, with the flatter- 
 ing hope of having their existence prolonged by 
 their powers. 
 
 This plant is propagated by sowing the seeds in 
 the autumn soon after they are ripe, which come 
 up in the spring, but if the seeds are kept until the 
 spring they seldom succeed. The earth should be 
 light, and of considerable depth, for the root can- 
 not make its way through chalk or gravel; and
 
 332 FLORA HISTORICA. 
 
 where the soil is wet these plants do not prosper, 
 as they are apt to rot during the winter ; but in 
 good light earth, and in warm situations, the Man- 
 drake root will continue sound longer than the life 
 of man. The Mandrake should never be removed 
 after it has arrived at any considerable size, as it is 
 hardly possible to take it up without breaking the 
 lower fibres, which so stints the plant, that, although 
 it may live, it seldom recovers its former strength. 
 
 Pliny observes that, for medicinal purposes, the 
 root- should be taken up about the time of vintage, 
 as it is then fullest of its powerful juice. The same 
 author observes that in some countries they eat the 
 fruit or berries of this plant; but those who do 
 not understand the manner of preparing them 
 sometimes lose their tongue, and become dumb 
 after eating them. 
 
 We learn, both from ancient and modern writers, 
 that the Mandrake root is an anodyne and sopo- 
 rific of a dangerous nature if not administered with 
 with great judgment, as it has been known to ex- 
 cite maniacal fury, and has sometimes proved to be 
 a mortal narcotic. The berries have, however, 
 been eaten without producing this effect ; but we 
 cannot help condemning all such idle experiments, 
 since it is known that the seeds certainly possess 
 deleterious qualities. 
 
 Most of the ancient writers on plants assure us
 
 MANDRAKE. 333 
 
 that the seeds of this fruit when taken inwardly 
 purge the uterus ; and it is probable that Rachel 
 was not unacquainted with this property of the 
 berries, and that her desire to obtain them was to 
 take away the reproach of her barrenness. 
 
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