September 19, 1865. ] JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAllDENEK. 



233 



to thirsty sigbt-seers. The Ccrinthe asponi ami tlio_ Litho- 

 spenuum puijuircd-cnTulpum, both new pliuita to luo in tlieir 

 wild statu, liaiiK ciut tlioir baiiiiors fiiiiu tlio walls, and fur 

 hrilliaiR-y ot colourinr; — the one of yidlow and tlio other of 

 Iduo— they oxeceded all other Howcrs that I found. I gathered 

 the Melilotus indicii in full bloom on April loth, and as I 

 write with the yellow Vetch-like plant before me, its sweet 

 odonr is ditlused about the room. The Melilotus indica is called 

 in Italy uliirlaiidii, or "garland tlowcr," because it was used by 

 the Italians for making garlands wherewitli to erowu victors. 

 Oruyere cheese is flavoured by this flower, ilelilotus italica is 

 also to bo found. The Muscaria racemosura and M. comosum 

 wore still in bloom, though their beauty was nearly over. I 

 often saw the former growing in fields where the comosum was 

 not visible. There are only three Ferns to be met with — the 

 Polypodiuni vulgare, Adiantum capilhis-Veneris, and Asple- 

 uium trichomauos. I brought away a small root of the Poly- 

 pudium, which grew in graceful fashion high on the walls ; it 

 is living, and has just put uj) two young fronds to repay me 

 for my care ; and what care did my Fern-basket not give mo ? 

 At every custom-house the officials pounced on the ])oor basket 

 with its leather handles, and ruthlessly tumbled (Uit my little 

 mummy-like buncUea, and the tin boxes of bulbs, roots, &c. 

 I wondered long why they showed such animosity towards my 

 treasures, but at last I found out — they thought spirits were 

 hidden there ! Time would fail me to tell of all the plants 

 and flowers abounding in the Colosseum — of the Sage and llose- 

 mai-y, the Olive and Arbutus, old friends and new friends, all 

 gathered there to beautify these glorious ruins of a terrible 

 past. To study them all as they deserve would occupy many 

 days, and my time in Rome was limited, but I gathered every 

 specimen tliat I could, and my wild-flower book is one of the 

 pleasantest memorials of my visit. 



From the upper galleries of the Colosseum the eye can take 

 in much of ancient Rome — the Palace of the Caisars, the 

 Arch of Constantine (forming a link between Pagan and Chris- 

 tian mouumentsi, the Baths of Titus, the Capitol, the Aven- 

 tine, and the Campagna ; but the mind fails to keep pace with 

 the eye, so grand, so vast, are these records that rise hke ghosts 

 of buried ages on every side. Grand as the Colosseum is, it 

 falls into compai'ative insignificance before the still vaster 

 dimensions of the Palace of the C.-esars, where excavations on 

 an enormous scale are being carried on under the auspices of 

 the Emperor of the French, who purchased the ruins for 

 £10,000, and by excavating is daily bringing to light more and 

 more of the huge dweUing-plaoe of the Roman Emperors. So 

 great are these ruins, It is nearly impossible to conceive a 

 picture of the whole. One sees, indeed, by ancient monuments 

 daily disinterred, that this was the house of Tiberins — this, the 

 addition made by Caligula — this, the Triclinium or banquetiug- 

 hall, with its very walls and floors of inlaid-marble work, 

 and opening out from it the Nymphaium with its baths and 

 trickling fountains, its Orange and Myi-tle trees, with lovely 

 statues reflecting themselves in the cool waters ; and that this 

 was the vast reception-hall where justice was given, having on 

 one side an altar for the Penates, and on the other the Basilica 

 (with its tribune and stairs still remaining), dedicated to Jupiter. 

 One sees it all, but it is as one sees a dream. I close my eyes 

 iu the sweet sunshine, as is my wont, and go dreaming back. 

 I see St. Paul after he had appealed to the Roman Cicsar, on 

 his weary journey Romewards, met by his friends at the Appii 

 forum, and at last brought to this very hall, standing before 

 the tribune with his accusers face to face, as was the custom 

 with the Romans. I hear him and other Christians condemned 

 to death. I look up, and on every side see ruins side by side 

 with Christian temples, and scarce one stone left upon another, 

 to testify to the greatness of the pant of that nation, who, from 

 being the jiersecutors became the chief propagators of Christi- 

 anity, verifying the saying, that " The blood of martyrs is the 

 seed of the Chui-ch." 



How strange it seemed wandering amidst these ruins, now 

 stopping to gather a few Violets on the almost sacred soil, now 

 picking up an Orange fallen from the tree ; so strange to be 

 an eye-witness to heathen confirmation of Christian truth, 

 in days when ruthless hands are trj-ing to undermine all faith, 

 and wicked men would fain persuade each other that \vritten 

 testimony is a lie. From the stern jjoetry of ancient days I 

 turned to the graves of our ovm Shelley and Keats, who, after 

 life's fitful fever, sleep peacefully in the English burying-groimd 

 at Rome. Shelley's grave was gay with flowers, and voices from 

 England and America were speaking his name softly above his 

 resting place. I gathered a few Violets and passed on to the 



old Cemetery, overshadowed by the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, 

 the only sepulchral pyramid in Rome, where, apjiarently for- 

 gotten and neglected, was the harp with its broken strings, 

 with the few sad words left by Keats to be written on his tomb. 

 " His name was writ in water." I remembered the sweet 

 gi-ace of his poem of " Endymiou," and pictured to myself the 

 moonlight stealing througli tlie Cypress-boughs to wander 

 caressingly over his sleeping dust. Not far from the grave of 

 Keats I found some beautiful jilants of the Serapias cordigera. 

 I had never met with this handsome Orchid-looking plant 

 before, and with my hands I grubbed up some roots, and I call 

 them " Keats' Orchis." 



Tliere is a touching story told (I think iu one of Burke's 

 books, showing the vicissitudes of families), of a botanist 

 finding in some country walk a flower unknown to him. He 

 asked its nanui from the country iicoiilo about, and they said, 

 " Oh, we call it Ayhuer's flower " (I auj not sure of the name). 

 He asked. Was there any one of tliat name in the country 

 round ? " Oh ! no." Was it the name of any place in the 

 neighbourhood ? Again, no. The flower turned out to be one 

 from the flora of the Holy Land. How had it found a home 

 in that far-off nook ? After much searching he discovered, that 

 in the Crusades a knight of the name of Aylmer, after doing 

 fierce battle against the Saracen, returned to his ancestral 

 home in the county where the botanist had found the flower. 

 The home, the family, all had become utterly extinct ; all but 

 the tiny flower that returned the giim Crusader's care, by 

 carrying down to posterity the name of his ancient line. From 

 the broken harp of Keats, I turned to the 114-feet-high pyra- 

 mid, and spelling out the letters, C. Cestius, asked myself, 

 " And who was he V " .\nd the answer came, " Earth has no 

 lasting fame but the influence of righteous deeds, that once 

 done hve for ever, passing on through succeeding generations, 

 and found at last written in the hearts of men and angels at 

 the bar of God." Besides the Serapias cordigera, I brought 

 away several bulbs of the Ophrys aranifera limbata, which was 

 growing abundantly and in full bloom on the 14th of April.— 



FiLIX-FCEMINA. 



P.S.— In No. i of my " Gleanings," I inadvertantly wrote 

 " Cyclamen latifolium," instead of " C. heder^folium," the 

 latter being the plant I fcjund in the gi-ounds of the YiUa 

 Pamfili-Doria, and not latifoliimi as I stated. 



PLANTING PEAS DEEP. 



Deep planting is not generally resorted to, under the im- 

 pression that the seed wiU rot iu the ground. This is a mistake. 

 Peas covered 6 or 8 inches deep will produce twice as much as 

 those covered but an inch ; they continue to flower longer, and 

 the vines are vigorous, and do not lie down, as is often the case 

 where shallow plantiugs are made. We have tested this matter, 

 and, therefore, know from experience, that if it is desired to 

 get a large crop, the seed must be buried deep. A suitable 

 piece of ground, enriched the previous year, was deeply ploughed 

 in fall and spring, and put in fine tilth. One-half of the piece 

 was marked out in drills, and the seed covered 2 inches deep. 

 On the other half the plough was sunk beam deep and the 

 seeds scattered at the bottom of the furrow. In this way one- 

 half the piece was gone over and levelled, leaving the seed at 

 least 8 inches from the surface. The Peas that were ploughed- 

 in were a little longer in coming up, but they soon sliot a-head 

 of the others, the vines were thrifty and vigorous, and produced 

 treble the quantity of those in two-inch drills by their side. 

 The seed used was the Champion of England ; the soil, time of 

 planting and culture, except the manner of putting in, were 

 precisely the same for both. This experiment convinced us 

 that Peas flourish best in deep planting, and we have repeatedly 

 had our attention called to the confirmation of this fact in ob- 

 serving diflerent crops and learning the manner of culture. — 

 (Utica Herald.) 



[There is a moderation iu all things. For main summer 

 crops 8 inches we consider too deep, and 2 inches too shallow. 

 The above example quoted from an American paper merely snows 

 one of those fortunate results on which it would be unsafe to 

 build a principle. The deep ploughing of the land, and the 

 somewhat rough covering of the deep-sown Peas by the plough, 

 so as to allow the air to enter, would be the chief reason why 

 Peas sown at the depth of 8 inches came up at all so vigorously. 

 We know instances, and have recorded them, where Peas sown 

 deeply rotted, and never came up at all. If Peas are only 

 covered 2 inches deep, such kinds as Champion of England, 



