March 13, ]909 



HORTICULTURE 



364c 



THE REAL SHAMROCK. 



Kvtii ai this late day there seeais 

 to be some contusion in the public 

 niiud as to the identity of the plaut 

 known as the "Shamrock." 



So many authorities have written 

 on the subject ihat one might thin!< 

 the matter would be settled by this 

 time, onco for all. But no.' The merry 

 ■discussion still goes on. With a sin- 

 cere desire to add to the harmony cf 

 sound, we submit a few points that 

 may help to clarify the situation. 



The real shamrock is a Ihree-leaved 

 plant; all authorities are agreed on 

 that. Shamroc and Shamraekh aie 

 the Arabic equivalents ror trefoil, and 

 the trefoil was held sacred in Iran 

 and was emblematic of the Persian 

 triad long before the days of St. Pat- 

 rick. St. Patrick used tne same idiom 

 in illustrating "trinity in unity" to his 

 flocks in Ireland, and it stands to rea- 

 ion that he did not waste any time 

 about the species of three-leaved plant 

 he picked up to point his moral. It 

 may have been the wood sorel (Oxalis 

 acetosalla) of Mr. Bicheno; or the 

 white clover of Prof. Rennie and Dr. 

 Withering (Trifolium repens) ; of the 

 black medick (Medicago lupulina) of 

 , ].,oudon. In a way, all these author- 

 ities are i ight. T!ie three leaves were 

 there in all of them. So they were 

 ail "Shan:roeks", of course, according 

 to the Arabic meaning of the word. 



It only remains to get at the identity 

 of the plant known among the Celtic 

 people as the "Irish Shamrock." 



Mr. Croker points out that as far 

 back as 10.S& the Irish themselves con- 

 sidered sorrel and shamrock as en- 

 tirely distinct. The Irish Hudibras 

 printed in 1G89 says: 



"Springs, happy springs, adorned with 



sallats, 

 Wliieh nature pui-posed for then- pallats; 

 Shami'ogs and watercress he shews, 

 ■\Vhieh was both meat and drink and 



clothes." 



In the same work the Irish are rep- 

 resented as: 



"Without a rag, trouses, or brogues, 

 ricking up sorrel and sham-rogues." 



Another illuminating passage oc- 

 curs in the "Hesperi-neso-graphia," 

 one of the ancient classics of Irish 

 literature: 



■•Hesides all this, vast bundles came 

 Of sorrel, more than I can name. 

 And many sheaves I hear there was. 

 Of shamrocks and of water grass, 

 \\'liich there for curious salads pass." 



From all of which It -would appear 

 that the sorrel and the water cress 

 were considered in a class by them- 

 selves by the Irish and that the sham- 

 rock was a different plant. 



Irish botanists of note, including 

 Keough, Threilkeild, ana others assert 

 that all history, romance, sentiment 

 and ommon sense unite in designat- 

 ing Trifolium repens as the true Irish 

 Shamrock. The weight of evidence 

 seems to be in their favor and the 

 studied effort of late years to make 

 it Trifolium minus seems to have very 

 little grotmd lo stand on. If one im- 

 parts a piece of Irish sod with clover 

 on it one has a right to sell it for 

 pieces of eight; but outside of that— 

 anyone with Trifolium repens can say 

 with a clear conscience that he has 

 the real "Irish Shamrock." 



To my mind, the spirit of interna- 



CARNATION LUCILLE. 



On this page we give a "life-size" 

 of Carnation Lucille, the beautiful 

 novelty being sent out now by A. F. 

 Longren and grown by Fritz Bahr at 

 Highland Park. 111. It is only a short 

 ride on the Chicago & Milwaukee 

 electric cars and it presents a sight 

 worth going many times further to 



see. Unlike Prosperity, which it some- 

 what resembles in color, Lucille is 

 extremely productive and the stems 

 are strong and very long. The plants 

 are thickly covered with buds and 

 blooms. Lucille is a beautiful flower, 

 easy to grow and makes plenty of cut- 

 tings. 



tional comity as exemplified in our cele- 

 bration of St. Patrick's Day is a far 

 more noteworthy and significant sign 

 ol the times than any technical con- 

 troversy over botanical subtleties. 

 Twenty-five years ago all those uol 

 of Irish birth and extraction took lit- 

 tle note of St. Patrick's Day — now 

 everybody celebrates that auspicious 

 anniversary from London to Melbourne. 

 New York to Tokyo. And the out- 

 ward and visible sign is the shamroc^. 

 Every florist's store the world over 

 has shamrocks to sell St. Patrick's 

 Day. 

 "St. Patrick, they say, came up Rantrj 



Bay, 

 Sitting cross-legged astride on the top of a 



whale; 

 And tlie spalpeens were scared. 

 And they saucer-eyed stared. 

 Saying: Arrah be gobbs, 'tis the man in 



tlie moon." 

 But the saint was the real thing, 

 all right, and we all take our hats off 

 tp his memory. G. C. W. 



FIRE RECORD. 



Rehoboth, Mass. — Manuel R. Serpa 

 lost his greenhouse filled with vege- 

 table plants, tools, etc., through a fire 

 that started early on the morning of 

 March 4. He had no insurance. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



Among our recent visitors: Ernest 

 Weinhoeber, of the Weinhoeber Floral 

 Co., and H. N. Bruns, Chicago; Mr. 

 Embden, Mount Vernon. N. Y., repre- 

 senting Dutch, Belgian and German 

 houses. 



What is the proper pronunciation of 

 Leucothoe? Most of our local florists 

 call it "Lu-cothea," others, more par- 

 ticular, say it should be "Luco-thoey." 

 Which is right? This evergreen, in- 

 troduced to the florist trade about 

 twenty years ago, is now one of the 

 most popular and useful subjects. 

 Catesbaei is the species used. Vir- 

 ginia to Georgia. All up-to-date whole- 

 sale houses now carry it. 



[Pnniounced Lu-coth-o-e, accent oa 

 sci'ond syllable. — Ed.] 



The Elberon Horticultural Society 

 held its regular meeting March 1st. It 

 being exhibition night the following 

 points were awarded: Peter Ewen, for 

 Stock Queen Alexandra, SS 1-S; W. R. 

 Seymour, callas, 78; W. R. Robertson, 

 Dendrobium, 90; J. Logan, carnation 

 Lady Bountiful. SI 2-3. .Vt the ne.it 

 meeting, March 15, Wm. Turner will 

 read a paper on some timely subject. 



