iSgS. 



■ GARDENING. 



251 



vases instead of the kettle, and the good 

 lady was considerate enough not to 

 laugh at me. 



The caltha is one of the most conspicu- 

 ous and abundant of our early flowers; 

 there are few sights more charming in 

 spring's first days than a marsh yellow 

 with its golden bloom, which seems to 

 have caught the April sunshine and crys- 

 tallized it. But it and all our native 

 wild flowers are growing rarer as the 

 tile drain and the plow reclaim more and 

 more of our wild lands. Sometimes it 

 seems a pity. 



Elizabeth Johnstone. 



In Gardening, of April 1, I see a query 

 regarding Caltha palustris. the marsh 

 marigold. It is not called "cowslip" in 

 England and bears not the slightest 

 resemblance to the cowslip of that coun- 

 try (Primula veris). Another species (P. 

 eliatior) is called oxlip. 



Yes, Caltha palustris is used as a pot 

 herb very extensively here in Michigan, 

 the leaves being gathered in April orearly 

 May before they become too tough. Like 

 all Kanunculaceie they contain a consid- 

 erable percentage of certain poisonous 

 principles, and have to be parboiled, the 

 first water used in boiling being poured 

 oft and replaced by fresh water, after 

 which they are again boiled until well 

 cooked. As a pot herb this plant is much 

 prized by many. 



As an ornamental plant Caltha palus- 

 tris comes far short of being prized as it 

 should be. Many varieties are met with. 

 Indeed, it is difficult to find two plants 

 with flowers just alike, even of exactly 

 the same shade of yellow. Some have 

 large flowers, others have small ones, and 

 often we find them with double and semi- 

 double blossoms. Few plants are more 

 ornamental than a large C. palustris in 

 full bloom. 



Such a plant resembles a huge bouquet. 

 From the large root arise numerous thick 

 branching stems, lor a few inches ascend- 

 ing together and then gradually spread- 

 ing widely, densely covered above with a 

 mass of brilliant golden flowers, sur- 

 rounded below with a girdle of large, 

 round, rich green leaves. Plants are often 

 met with that measure two or three feet 

 across and one foot high. The flowers 

 vary in shade from light to deep yellow, 

 and in size from one-half to two inches or 

 more. 



This plant flourishes in low rich soils, 

 which are very wet during the winter, 

 and until May or June, becoming very 

 dry during the hot summer months. 

 After the seeds are ripened every vestige 

 of the plant decays to the root; but for a 

 number of weeks it is, indeed, a thing of 

 beauty, and that, too, at a season when 

 flowers are comparatively scarce. 



It is well adapted for planting in parks 

 and large grounds, especially for border- 

 ing ornamental waters; and because of 

 its habit of early decay it would be best 

 to plant it mixed with other ornamental 

 plants which develop later and are at 

 their best during the balance of the sea- 

 son, otherwise, after thecaltha dies down 

 the ground would be left bare. 



W. A. Brotherton. 



Ed. Gardening :— In your issue of April 

 1 appears an inquiry as to whether the 

 marsh marigold {Caltha palustris) is 

 commonly known in England as "cow- 

 slips," aiid also whether the plant is used 

 as a pot herb. In your invitation for 

 information from correspondents you 

 hint lack of knowledge of the term "cow- 

 slips" as applied to this plant. 



I may say that I have known the 

 marsh marigold as "cowslips" from boy- 

 hood, spent in northern Illinois, and to 

 test my own recollection, a year or two 

 since, 1 submitted specimens of the flower 

 to some Chicago school children I sub 

 urban school children, of course,) and in 

 reply to my queries the name was given 

 "cowslips" and "marsh marigold," both 

 titles being familiar. 



That the name is not applied to this 

 plant in England, however, is, I think. 

 well known, the "cowslips" in England 

 being the common name for a primrose, 

 also a yellow spring flower (Primula 

 veris.) I have looked up several authori 

 ties and find the results to point very 

 strongly to the probability that the early 

 English settlers in this country, missing 

 their familiar "cowslips," transferred the 

 name to a plant somewhat similar in 

 popular characteristics just as, failing to 

 find a "robin red-breast," they trans- 

 ferred that name to our American bird. 



Asa result of this inaccurate transfer of 

 names we have also the "American cow- 

 slip" (Dodecatheon Meadia) and the 

 "Virginian cowslip" or "bluebells" (.Yfer- 

 tensia Yirginica). I judge, however, that 

 the name is likely to prove persistent for 

 the marsh marigold. In Gray's Manual, 

 edition 1868, it is said of Caltha palus- 

 tris: "This well-known plant is used as 

 a pot herb in spring when coming into 

 flower, under the name of cowslips; but 

 the cowslip is a totally different plant, 

 namely a species of primrose. The caltha 

 should bear with us, as in England, the 

 popular name of marsh marigold." 



But even the highest botanical authori- 

 ties are not always able to contend 

 against popular misnomers and I find in 

 the revised edition of Gray's Manual by 

 Watson and Coulter, 1889, the advice a 

 little modified, as follows: "Caltha pa- 

 lustris — marsh marigold, often incor- 

 rectly called cowslips; used as a pot herb 

 in spring when coming into flower." 



Messrs. Highley and Raddin, in their 

 "P'loraof Cook County," 1891, simply 

 say: "Caltha palustris — marsh marigold, 

 cowslip, gools," a scientific surrender to 

 popular usage. Webster's "International 

 Dictionary" has the following definitions: 

 "Cowslip — 1. A common flower in Eng- 

 land, Primula veris, having yellow blos- 

 soms and appearing early in the spring, 

 etc. 2. In the United States, the marsh 

 marigold, Caltha palustris; is often used 

 as a pot herb. It is nearer to a butter- 

 cup than to a true cowslip." 



With further reference to the use of the 

 names in England I find in Cassell's 

 "Popular Gardening," an English work, 

 that "The common cowslip, Primula 

 veris, is common in England, rare in 

 Scotland. Cowslip is the name the flower 

 has borne from the earliest Anglo Saxon 

 times and probably refers to the sweet- 

 ness of its perfume." 



There is no reference to the name being 

 applied or misapplied to Caltha palustris, 

 which is also an European plant. Cas- 

 sell's "Popular Gardening" further re- 

 marks of Dodecatheon integrifolium (en- 

 tire leaved cowslip) that it is "a real gem 

 from the Rocky mountains," and gives 

 Primila Sikkimensis the sub-title "Sikkim 

 cowslip." 



As the English cowslip, the French 

 cowslip, the dodecatheons and the Sik- 

 kim cowslip are all members of the prim- 

 rose family, Primulacex, it may be after 

 that the term American cowslip was given 

 to our "shooting star" by our English 

 cousins as they have given other popular 

 names to our wild flowers when culti- 

 vated in English gardens. This the more 



likely, as there is no popular resemblance 

 between the primrose and the shooting 

 star. 



The derivation of the word as given in 

 Webster is vastly different from the poetic 

 notion in Cassell's. All depends on where 

 the hypen belongs. Is it cow-slips or 

 cowslips? R. W. Vasey. 



.MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED ON LAWNS. 



Ed. Gardening: — Can any of your read- 

 ers give me any information regarding 

 this miserable weed. My lawns are 

 overrun with it, also all the lawns in my 

 neighborhood. The lawns were most 

 carefullv made, and have good depth of 

 loam, with coarse gravel subsoil, which 

 insures good drainage. I used plenty of 

 rich horse and cow manure in making it, 

 and top-dress with same every fall. The 

 grass kept its color throughout the driest 

 season*. Within the last three years the 

 chickweed began to appear, and now it 

 has increased 1 to such an extent that 

 there is very little grass left. I have tried 

 grubbing it out, but it seems to like this 

 treatment, and keeps increasing. One of 

 my neighbors had his lawn dug up and 

 completely made over, but the chickweed 

 lias again appeared worse than ever. I 

 keep the lawn cut short trying to prevent 

 the weed from going to seed, and have 

 used, of late, only commercial fertilizers, 

 as I expect the seed of the chickweed 

 came in the manure first used. 



This subject is one that I find a good 

 many are interested in, and if a remedy 

 can be found, it would be a great boon 

 to all those who have lawns. 



Subscriber. 



Publications. 



BOOKS AND BULLETINS. 



Proceedings of the American Car- 

 nation Society. — A. T. De La Mare 

 Printing and Publishing Co., Xew York, 

 1898. — This covers the entire work of the 

 American Carnation Society, at its sev- 

 enth annual meeting, held in Chicago, 

 February 17 and 18. As the more impor- 

 tant papers, etc., were reproduced in our 

 issue of March 1, it is not necessary to 

 allude to them further here. 



Proceedings of the Western New 

 York Horticultural Society. — Demo- 

 crat-Chronicle, Rochester. N. Y. — The 

 forty-third annual meeting of this society 

 was held in Rochester, N. Y., January 26 

 and 27, and the volume before us gives a 

 full account of the convention, with 

 numerous valuable essays and discus- 

 sions. This venerable society has ren- 

 dered substantial aid to the various 

 departments of horticulture throughout 

 its career, and it is to be congrat- 

 ulated upon the high measure of success 

 which has attended its well prolonged 

 efforts. 



Report on the Missouri Botanical 

 Garden. — Board of 1 rustees, St. Louis, 

 Mo., 1898. — Another sumptuous volume 

 comes to us from the Missouri Botanical 

 Garden, in the form of the ninth annual 

 report. Last year's work in the various 

 departments of the garden is carefully 

 reviewed, and the book contains a large 

 number of instructive illustrations. A 

 number of papers by experts, I owever, 

 constitute its most important feature 

 from a botanical standpoint. These em- 

 brace "A Revision of the American Lem- 

 naceae occurring north of Mexico," by C. 



