Feb. 1, 1870.] 



HARD.WICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



43 



BOTANY. 



Foxglove (p. 6). — Surely Mrs. Watney must be 

 aware that the name Foxglove has, in all probability, 

 nothing to do with Reynard, but is rather connected 

 with the fairies, or little folk. This derivation is 

 fully borne out by other of its names ; e.g., the 

 North-Country name, "Witches' Thimbles"; the 

 Irish, "Fairy-cap"; the Welsh, " Maneg Ellyllyn " 

 (Fairies' Glove) ; the Cheshire, " Fairies' Petticoat " J 

 and the East Anglian, "Fairy-thimble." Mrs. 

 Watney appears to have overlooked W. Browne's 

 quaint conceit regarding this plant ; he describes 

 Pan as seeking gloves for his mistress, and says, — 



" To keepe her slender fingers from the sunne, 

 Pan through the pastures oftentimes hath runne 

 To pluck the speckled Foxgloves from their stem, 

 And on those fingers neatly placed them." 



It would appear that there are other early refer- 

 ences with which I am not familiar, as Phillips 

 (Flora Historica) says, " Our early poets notice it 

 under this name (Foxglove) only." Cowley says, — 



" The Foxglove on fair Flora's hand is worn, 

 Lest while she gathers flowers she meet a thorn." 



A bouquet composed of TJlmus campestris, Yellow 

 Iris, Foxglove, Elder, and Ferns would scarcely, I 

 think, be either pretty or graceful. If Mrs. Wat- 

 ney is really serious in " wondering whether flowers 

 do suffer pain when rudely torn from their kindred 

 friends to fade and die between leaves of blotting- 

 paper," she may be glad to learn it is generally sup- 

 posed that they do not; indeed, if they did, a 

 sensitive cook might well shrink from the torture 

 which she would be called upou to inflict upon 

 hapless potatoes, carrots, &c. ! — James Britten, 

 Royal Herbarium, Kexc, W. 



Ivy-leaved Toadflax. — The instance of what 

 " W. W. S." calls " vegetable instinct " in connec- 

 tion with this plant is interesting, especially as it is 

 evident that the writer gives an account of what he 

 himself has observed. The occurrence, however, is, 

 I fancy, somewhat exceptional. In the Royal Gar- 

 dens at Kew is a long old wall, on which Linaria 

 cymhalaria grows in large masses ; but, after most 

 careful observation, I have failed to detect the 

 twisting of the pedicel to which " W. W. S." re- 

 fers. The beds on each side the wall produce au 

 abundant crop of young plants. — James Britten. 



Veronica Buxeatjmii. — Is it worth while to 

 enter in Science-Gossip all the known localities 

 for this plant, which is now so widely diffused ? 

 When it has not been previously recorded for a 

 county (as in "R. W.'s" reference), it is worth 

 mentioning ; but the multiplication of local records 

 in a magazine like Gossip is a useless occupation of 

 space. — James Britten. 



Rare Plants at Torquay.— It has been my 

 good fortune during a brief visit to this delightful 

 place to find a large number of plants of the sweet- 

 smelling Coltsfoot, or Sweet Butter-burr. In the 

 " British Wild Flowers " one habitat onlv is given 

 and that is, Torquay. I came upon a large planta- 

 tion of this interesting plant during a ramble 

 through the lanes and by-paths that lead from the 

 Imperial Hotel down to the rocks on the north- 

 eastern bend of Torbay ; but ere I saw the plant 

 itself, my olfactory nerves were assailed with its 

 delicate yet delicious odour — a perfume very closely 

 resembling that of Heliotrope, — and I was greatly 

 surprised to find the spikes of flowers so strong and 

 abundant, considering the time of year (Dec. 24th) > 

 but the plants were growing under shelter of a 

 number of fir-trees, and were thus partially pro- 

 tected. I, however, found the plant again the day 

 following, on the border of a plantation by the road- 

 side, near Anstis Cove, on the road to Babbicombe. 

 Botanists, and especially those who are lovers or 

 collectors of ferns, will be alike delighted and sur- 

 prised to hear of the existence of Adiantum reni- 

 forme in this locality. For many a year I had 

 sought in vain for this rarity, but the only specimen 

 I ever saw in a living state was a small pot of the 

 species in the Fernery at Kew. It was, of course, 

 among the exotics ; but the plant I found on Christ- 

 mas Day, which is assuredly A. reniforme, was 

 growing in a little crevice in the roof of a cave 

 about six feet in circumference, close to the dan- 

 gerous zigzag pathway which leads down to the 

 celebrated quarry at Babbicombe Bay. My first 

 impression was that the plant was an unde- 

 veloped form of navelwort, for it was quite young, 

 and some of the pretty little fronds were tiny things 

 hardly half an inch in circumference ; but upon 

 examination, even without a lens, there was the 

 unmistakable forked venation of a fern, and the 

 true kidney-shaped fronds suspended singly on 

 the little dark stems, declaring, without any doubt, 

 to my admiring gaze the rare and beautiful Adian- 

 tum reniforme. Let not botanists doubt the fact of 

 the fern being the species I have described; for, 

 although I was very careful not to injure the root, 

 I preserved several fronds of the plant as a memento 

 of one of the most interesting botanical discoveries 

 I ever made. I was scarcely less surprised, about 

 three years ago, in finding the beautiful species 

 A. Capillus-Veneris growing in profusion in the most 

 unlooked-for locality, — viz., the roof and sides of 

 the rock near the mouth of the well-known " Giant's 

 Cave " iu the St. Vincent Recks, near the Clifton 

 Suspension-bridge. The surface of the rock was 

 green with the multitudinous fronds of this lovely 

 species. — W. H. Grattann, Exmouth. 



Maize, or Indian Corn {Zea Mays).— Much has 

 been written relative to the origin of this useful 



