348 



GARDENING. 



Aug. /, 



the country and the universal use of the 

 plants serve to perpetuate and under- 

 standingly disseminate any fanciful 

 names. A glance at a compilation of 

 these names is somewhat interesting. 

 The word grass with some descriptive 

 term is applied in four hundred and sev- 

 enteen cases, and includes the j'ucca and 

 gladiolus. The term lily is used over fifty 

 times for flowers outside of the genus 

 Liliuni. The use of the bark in medicine 

 and the arts has given the simple name 

 of Bark Tree to some fifty different spe- 

 cies. The resemblance in flower or fruit 

 to an apple has caused that word to be 

 applied in various forms to seventy-three 

 plants, among which we find Love Apple, 

 Hen Apple and Apple Pie. The word ash 

 is associated with seventeen genera out- 

 side the genus Fraxinus. Under the name 

 beech we find six genera, and the appella- 

 tion bay tree covers eleven different trees. 



The compilation removes some miscon- 

 ceptions that are prevalent, for example 

 the "briar root." out of which pipes are 

 made, is not a briar, but belongs to the 

 heath family. The word "briar" as used 

 in this connection is a corruption of the 

 French word "bruyere," signifying 

 heather. Those who buy dried currants 

 for their puddings get the fruit of the 

 Zante grape vine. Colocasia esculents, 

 which we also know under the name of 

 Caladium esculentum and call elephant's 

 ear they sometimes call the bleeding 

 heart. One piece of mullein masquerades 

 under twenty-seven names, the ox eye 

 daisy of the fields has sixteen, and the 

 favorite pansy is known as Call-me-to- 

 you, Fancy, Flamy, Pansey, Garden Gate, 

 kiss-me, Herb-Trinity, Jump-upand-kiss- 

 me, Kissmeat-the-garden-gate, Love-in- 

 idleness, Pink-ofmy-John, Tickle-my- 

 fancy. Hearts-ease and Three-faces-under- 

 a hood. The term "She's a daisy" must 

 be rather indefinite, as it is applied to 

 fourteen genera. 



Queer names are numerous and it is 

 hard to conceive what suggested them. 

 Our temperance friends would not like to 

 place in their front yards such plants as 

 Brandy Bottles, Bum-wood, Burn-nose- 

 trce and Carbolic-acid-plant, nor would 

 our legal advisor feel complimented if we 

 presented him with a Bush-lawyer. We 

 might send our physician a Bel'y-ache- 

 tree, some Bloody Fingers, Xose-Bleed 

 and Fingers-and-Toes, but he would un- 

 doubtedly prefer a Fat Hen, Fat Pork, 

 Mutton "cliop, Goose-and-Gosling and 

 Gooseberry Pie. The household cat is 

 immortalized seventeen times, the least 

 poetical of which is Cat-chop. 



We find a Melancholy Gentleman and a 

 Mournful Widow at Loggerheads but by 

 the Grace-of-God, with a chance of Court- 

 ship-and-Matrimony. Sally Brown pulled 

 Jim Crow's Nose, while Grim the-Collier 

 gave a Blue Kiss to Blooming Sally. Blue 

 John ascended the Ladder to Heaven to 

 see the Holy Ghost Flower and came 

 down on the Holy Rope made of Holy 

 Hemp, while The-cats-in-clover watched 

 the Apes-on-horse-back Go-to-bed-at- 

 noon. ,\s for the ladies they were not 

 forgotten. The Lady-in-the-bower could 

 entertain Lady-Birch, Lady Fern, Lady 

 Grass, Lady Poplar and Lady-of-the- 

 Meadow, but would hardly admit the 

 Naked Lady! Before theentertainment she 

 could take the Lady's-ear-drops from the 

 Lady's-Pin-Cushion and with her Lady's 

 Fingers put them on. Standing before a 

 Lady's-Looking-Glass she could arrange 

 her Lady's-Laces in her Lady's Tresses, 

 put on Lady SHppers, Lady's Gloves and 

 Lady's Mantle, but before doing so should 

 remove her Lady's Seal.puton the Lady's 

 Thimble on her Lady's Thumb and mend 



the Lady's Smock, and when all was over 

 she could rest on Lady's bedstraw. The 

 only common namegiventhepe/ar^on/'um 

 is the Stork's bill, while in America it is 

 always called a geranium. 



A curious instance where the scientific 

 name of one plant has become the com- 

 mon name of another is shown in the 

 Mock-orange. It is often called a syringa, 

 which is the generic name of the lilac, 

 while the mock orange is known botani- 

 callv as a Philadelphus. W. C. Iigan. 



Highland Park, 111. 



TAB BEER FLflNT. 



In one of your issues some time ago 

 (page 76, Nov. 15, '94) you alluded at 

 some length to the "Beer plant." When 

 I spied the article I was led to hope that 

 my own interests on the subject would be 

 met by a reference to some one from whom 

 the plant could be obtained. When a 

 boy at school I had a supplv of this fun- 

 gus ferment which "we boys" called 

 "beer seed." In its moist condition it 

 looked somewhat like pellets of boiled 

 tapioca, soft and semi-transparent. A 

 few grains dropped into a bottle of mo- 

 lasses-sweetened water flavored with 

 sassafras so charged it with carbonic acid 

 in a few hours that the bottles occasion- 

 ally burst. Root beer or ginger beer was 

 of very simple manufacture in those days, 

 and one original small "sample" lot of 

 beer seed multiplying itself in the bottles, 

 by enlarg.ment and division soon sup- 

 plied the town and indeed became "a 

 drug in the market." But since those 

 days I have never heard of it until I came 

 upon your article in Gardening. Can 

 you or some of your readers put me in 

 the waj' of procuring a sample of the 

 fungus? I desire particularly the species 

 which answers the above description, but 

 any of the others mentioned in Garden- 

 ing would be welcome for certain experi- 

 mental purposes for which I desire the 

 plant. W. Hamilton Gibson. 



Washington, Conn , June 22, '95. 



VENTILflTlNO AN ICE HOUSE. 



In your directions for building an ice 

 house page 334-, you advise "never let the 

 door be open any longer than is strictly 

 necessary." In the course of my life 1 

 have had a great deal of experience with 

 ice houses and all that were shut up tight 

 above the ice melted very rapidly, the 

 more air above the ice, so it is kept dry, 

 the better it keeps. In my young days my 

 father built a large ice house, and dairy 

 from the drip of the ice, with a granary 

 above. It was planked up tight and no 

 air allowed above the ice, and by the 

 middle of August the ice was all gone, 

 though it held lour times as much as the 

 old one which had been in the same place. 

 The next season he knocked off the 

 boards all around for two or three feet 

 and latticed it up, and we had ice the 

 next winter when filling time came, in 

 fact the bottom of that ice house was 

 seldom seen after he gave it plenty of air 

 on top. But he was very careful to kccji 

 the saw dust well packed down around 

 the sides, and the ice well covered with it. 

 My father-in-law was very particular 

 about keeping the door of his ice house 

 always closed and air excluded and was 

 very saving withhis icetokeep itthrough 

 August, but never succeeded. I have the 

 same ice house now with the ends latticed 

 and only a lattice door, which is gener- 

 ally open, and often had ice to last forthe 

 next season by several feet. One fall I 

 remember there was no ice in the county 

 but here. I should advise to A. W. C. 

 give his ice plenty of air on top, if the 



house is well drained, and the ice kept 

 closely covered with the sawdust, and no 

 rain allowed to beat into it. A little sun- 

 shine does not hurt it. It doesn't matter 

 much what sort of a house the ice is kept 

 in. I have seen ice keep well in a hole 

 with pine poles laid down the sides and a 

 steep plank roof with no ends at all, the 

 sunshine and wind both entering at their 

 pleasure, but the ice was always well 

 covered. [The lantem-ventilatorthatwe 

 advised page 334 is similar to that used 

 on barns and open at the sides except for 

 lattice work to exclude rain, and it venti- 

 lates the ice house and admits fresh air 

 very freely. The troubles of leaving the 

 door open is the carelessness of people in 

 covering the ice after taking out some or 

 putting things into the house. We have 

 two ice houses at Dosoris, and have ex- 

 cellent success in keeping the ice. But we 

 do appreciate these notes of actual, prac- 

 tical experience, such as our esteemed 

 correspondent has given us. Ed ] 



Lucy G, Chrisman. 

 Rockingham Co., Va. 



Cost of Maintenance.— In making 

 plans for the development of a new place 

 or the improvement of an old one the 

 cost of maintenance from year to year 

 should always be kept in view. Guard 

 against unnecessary walks and roads, 

 too much clipped hedge, too large a lawn 

 area, too many dug beds, too much bed- 

 ding out, too many plants that require 

 winter protection, etc. 



June 14, '95. Warren H. Manning. 



ACTINIDIA POLYGAMA.— E. G. F., New 

 York, asks how old must this Japanese 

 woody vme be before it blooms. Several 

 years judging bj' the way it acts with us. 

 The plant commonly grown as polygama 

 is argiita. There was a good deal of fuss 

 made about it some years ago as a new 

 and worthy fruit bearing plant. We have 

 seen it in fruit and eaten of it, but don't 

 care for it. 



Belle Siebrecht, 



THE NEW ROSE. 



The best Everblooming Rose to date, 

 so say the most successful Com- 

 mercial and Private gardeneis. 

 We are shipping yet every day. 



SIEBREGttT&WflDUEy. 



Rose Hill Nurseries, 

 NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. 



STRAWBERRIES, 



Pot-grown 



PLANT NOW 



SLUG-SHOT 



KILLS 

 CABBAGE 

 WORMS. 



When you write an 

 advertiser please state 

 that you saw the adv. 

 in Gardening. 



