220 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Oct. 1, 1SG6, 



awarded to the garden C. medium. Clare probably 

 alludes to the Nettle-leaved Bell-flower when he 

 speaks of 



" The wild stalking Canterbury bell 

 By hedgerow side, or bushy bordering spots, 

 That loves in shade and solitude to dwell." 



An old name for it is Throat-wort, given it from the 

 efficacy which it was supposed to possess in relieving 

 swellings of the throat and uvula. " The Antieuts," 

 says Gerarde, "for anything that we know, have not 

 mentioned, and therefore not set down anything 

 concerning the vertues of these Bell-floures ; " an 

 omission which seems somewhat remarkable on their 

 part when we consider how few plants had not some 

 " vertue " or other attributed to them ; it is satisfac- 

 tory to learn that Gerarde's "owne experience" 

 enabled him to fill up the vacancy by prescribing it 

 for various "ills that flesh is heir to." Though 

 general in the south of England, the Nettle-leaved 

 Bell-flower becomes rarer in the north; and in 

 Scotland it is seldom, if ever, found in a truly wild 

 state. It is there replaced by the Giant Bell- 

 flower (C. latifolia), a larger and, perhaps, hand- 

 somer species, with deep bells, clothed inside with 

 hairs, and leaves somewhat similar to those of the 

 preceding, from which it is distinguished by its one- 

 flowered peduncles. This plant is always in our mind 

 associated with flies ; for on the day when, some 

 years since, we had the good fortune to gather it in 

 Yorkshire, at Hackness, a lovely little place near 

 Scarborough, we were well nigh stung to distraction 

 by a "grievous swarm" of them, and our temper 

 was scarcely in a state to allow us to appreciate 

 floral beauties ; so the Giant Bell-flower was con- 

 signed to our vasculum, — vulgo sandwich-box, — and 

 received its full share of admiration when we arrived 

 at our lodgings. "We remarked on this, the only 

 occasion we have seen the plant in a fresh state, 

 that the blossoms were of a delicate pale blue ; but 

 it appears that they are usually darker. It is of 

 comparatively rare occurrence in the southern 

 counties, where C. Trachelium is not unfrequently 

 mistaken for it. Both species blossom from July to 

 September. The Creeping Bell-flower (C. rapuncu- 

 loides) is a very rare plant, well distinguished by its 

 flower-spike, which is unilateral, having the blossoms 

 all on one side. The corolla is pale [blue, and, 

 though handsome, inferior in size to those of the 

 two last-named species. It is said to grow in some 

 abundance near Nottingham ; the root is creeping, 

 the lower leaves are stalked and heart-shaped, and 

 the upper narrow. 



Our second subdivision contains but two species, 

 neither of which arc by any means common. The 

 Rampion {C. liapunculus) was formerly much culti- 

 vated as a vegetable, the roots, which are long, white, 

 and tapering, being the part selected for consump- 

 tion. Withering tells us that they are " eaten raw 

 in salads, or boiled like asparagus : " and in 



Gerarde's time they were " boiled and eaten with 

 oile, vineger, and pepper." In many localities, its 

 origin may, doubtless, be traced to former cultiva- 

 tion ; but in others it appears to be truly native. It 

 prefers a gravelly soil; we have gathered it in some 

 plenty on steep gravelly banks at Danesfield, near 

 Medmenham, Bucks, where it seems really wild. 

 The Bampion is a tall plant, with a rough branched 

 stem, which, when broken, exudes a milky juice; 

 the leaves are all long, rough, and narrow ; and the 

 blossoms somewhat resemble those of the Hair-bell, 

 but are smaller and paler in colour. The Spreading 

 Bell-flower (C. patula) is also very rare, though said 

 to be abundant in Warwickshire. The leaves re- 

 semble those of the last species ; the blossoms are 

 larger and fewer than those of the Bampion, and 

 are less truly bell-shaped: they are situated on 

 very long footstalks, and grow in a loose panicle. 

 Their colour is dark blue, with a tinge of purple ; 

 and, judging from our own specimens, this is 

 retained when dried in a much more satisfactory 

 manner than by any other British species. A third 

 species, the Peach-leaved Bell-flower {C.persicifolia), 

 is occasionally found, as near Cullen, in Banffshire ; 

 but has no claims to be considered a native. It is 

 common in gardens, and has large wide-open blue or 

 white flowers. 



The single species which now remains for us to 

 consider, is the Clustered Bell-flower (C. glomerata), 

 which may be at once distinguished from any other 

 by its sessile flowers. And, indeed, it is fortunate 

 that there is some such mark whereby it may be 

 known ; for never did plant assume such Protean 

 forms as does this Clustered Bell-flower. The 

 leaves are usually rough, the lower ones stalked, the 

 upper sessile, frequently clasping the stem; the 

 corolla is often as large as that of the Hair-bell, but 

 narrower, and of a rich purplish-blue. This is the 

 first of our bell-flowers to put forth its blossoms ; in 

 favourable situations, as in the damp meadows by 

 the Thames, they expand at the latter end of May 

 or beginning of June ; here the plant grows in 

 great luxuriance, attaining a height of from a foot 

 to eighteen inches. The flower-clusters are terminal, 

 growing at the end of the stem, and the individual 

 blossoms are larger and richer in colour than those 

 found in other habitats. In July, and until Sep- 

 tember, the same species is found dotted about 

 chalky banks and downs ; but " what a falling off is 

 there ! " The luxuriant plant of the meadows is 

 represented by a stunted little dwarf, rarely ex- 

 ceeding eight inches in height, with smaller clusters 

 of flowers, which, though often terminal, are not 

 unfrequently axillary, that is, growing in the axils 

 of the leaves. A very small form is sometimes mis- 

 taken for a Gentian by beginners in botany ; and 

 not by them alone, as the late Dr. Withering w r as 

 thus deceived. In most instances, the Linnrean 

 classification comes to our aid, Bell-flowers having 



