1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST, 



29 



roasted." He then goes on to say, "they have 

 likewise another species of the esculent Arum, 

 called Tannier, which are large and beautiful 

 plants, and much cultured and esteemed for food, 

 particularly by the negroes." 



From this it appears that about one hundred 

 years ago the Tanyah was not considered the 

 same with Arum, or Caladium esculentum, as it 

 is now, and that there were two distinct roots of 

 this class known. What is this second plant? 



The Virgin M.\ky.s Tree. — A ".Sycamore" 

 tree, probably Ficus Sycamorus, grew new Heli- 

 opolis, by Cairo, in Egypt, which was long re- 

 garded as a tree under which Joseph and Mary 

 rested in their flight from Palestine to Egypt. It 

 was supposed to be an old tree at that time. It 

 died in 1665, and another planted in its place in 

 1672. It is said to have got through the recent 

 military troubles without injury. 



The Egl.wti.N'E. — The writer of this was 

 brought up among people who ought to know 

 what they meant when they spoke of the Eglan- 

 tine. This plant certainly was the Dog Rose, or 

 Rosa canina. American authors insist that the 

 Sweet Briar is the Eglantine, and, when the sub- 

 ject was discussed some years ago, so many "au- 

 thorities" were brought out that it did seem that 

 perhaps the writer was wrong in his belief. The 

 matter is brought to mind afresh by a chapter on 

 Rosa canina, in Revue Horticole, by Mons. Ph. 

 Petitcoq, who remarks "its common name is 

 Eglantine." As Eglantine seems evidently of 

 French origin, a Frenchman should be some au- 

 thority on a native name. 



White Cr.-v.pe.s. — "Propriety" writes : "Why will 

 horticultural papers continue the absurdity of call- 

 ing green grapes 'white.' It is many years ago 

 since ^ first called attention to the absurdity, but 

 still the farce goes on." 



[It certainly is disheartening. Let our friend try 

 his hand on human nature in another shape, he 

 may have better success in that quarter ; for in- 

 stance, why should we say, "the white man." To 

 our mind few of them are white. Many are 

 rather red than white, especially their noses in 

 some instances. — Ed. G. M.] 



Legend of the Ro.se. — According to mythol- 

 ogy, the Rose was originally white, and some of 

 the prettiest ideas of ancient poetry are in connec- 

 tion with the origin of the red rose. The blood of 

 Venus, the blood of Adonis, and the blood of 

 Cupid have been severally credited with originat- 

 ng this beautiful flower. Theophrastus seems to 



be the authority for the Adonis version. "Venus, 

 looking through the woods for Adonis, ran a thorn 

 in her foot, and from her blood entering the ground 

 around a white rose bush, changed -the whole to 

 red." This is the story which seems to attract the 

 greater number of modern believers, in so far as 

 there are believers in these ancient stories. 



Another story is that Venus, irritated at the mis- 

 chief Cupid was continually making in the world, 

 gathered a rose branch and whipped with it the 

 mischievous boy. She whipped him till the blood 

 came, and red roses sprang from these drops of 

 blood, but the incorrigible little rascal still pursued 

 his pranks. 



The white rose is dedicated to silence. Cupid, 

 forgetting the castigation Venus gave him, was 

 caught by Harpocrates toying with a nymph. 

 With some dread of another whipping, Cupid 

 offered him a white rose in order to engage 

 him to keep the flirtation quiet, and thus to this 

 day Harpocrates is represented holding a white 

 rose which he presses to his lips. 



N.\POLEON Weeping Willow. — An erroneous 

 impression prevails that the Napoleon Weeping 

 I Wallow is something distinct from the Babylonian 

 i or common weeping willow. It is simply the com- 

 j mon weeping willow raised from the tree which 

 grew over Napoleon's tomb in the island of St. 

 Helena. Mr. John Smith, ex-curator of Kew Gar- 

 dens, says it came into special public notice in 

 1825, on account of a twig having been received at 

 Kew taken from a twig growing over Napoleon's 

 grave at St. Helena. To see this twig the crowd 

 was so great, that one Sunday before the hour of 

 opening the gates were burst open. The twig grew 

 into a fine tree forty feet high. 



The Olic.'Vnder. — It appears from Pliny's de- 

 scription, that the Rhododendron of the ancients, so 

 poisonous to animal life, was what we call olean- 

 der. It still goes by the name oi Laurie?- rose, or 

 rose laurel, on the continent of Europe. They 

 value the plant highly and have red, white and 

 yellow, of many forms and shades, and doubles 

 and singles of all colors. 



History ov the Lomb.\rdv P()pl.\r. — Names 

 are often misleading. People have often endeav- 

 ored to trace some relationship between the curious 

 variety of poplar and some European species, on 

 account of its name. But the Lombardy Poplar is 

 only so called from its having been introduced to 

 England from Lombardy. It has been traced 

 from Persia, where it abounds, and from the Him- 

 alayas, to the banks of the Po, and thence to the 



