January 14, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OP HOBTIOULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDE NKR. 



33 



Pliny says that the Romans put this herb into their wine to 

 prevent headache, and that painters and carvers chewed the 

 leaves to preserve their sight. That some faith in its benefi- 

 cence towards vision existed, even in the seventeenth century, 

 is evident from Milton making the angel Michael purge Adam's 

 eyes " with Euphrasy and Eue " in order to enable him to see 

 down thr. long centuries of time. 



It is said that weasels, before hunting rats, seek for Rue, 

 and that in warm climates they find in it an antidote for the 

 bite of snakes. Whether for its power of antidoting evil, or 

 for that of conferring clearer vision, it received the honour of 

 being used for sprinkling holy water, I do not know. However, 

 in the middle agog that was its religious office. Later on it 

 was used as a powerful disinfectant, and was also made into a 

 pickle, the leaves being first boiled and then preserved in 

 vinegar — the same plant that charmed the bravest King of 

 Pontus, that aromatised the Ciesars' wine, and gave insight to 

 Grecian sibyls — the same, " but oh ! how different ! " 



Perdita, in the Winter's Tale, beautifully mingles Rne with 

 Rosemary, thus : 



" For you, there's Kosemary and Eue : these keep 

 Seeminfi and savour all the winter long, 

 Grace and remembrance be with you both." 



And the fair Ophelia also uses the fragrant, dainty Rosemary 

 in the same manner : 



*' There's Rosemary for you : tliat's for remembrance ; 

 Pray you, love, remember." 



The accepted type of fidelity in love and friendship, it was (and 

 is yet in some places) , the favourite funeral flower, the very 

 best gift of love to the departed, placed upon the lips just be- 

 fore the coffin-lid is closed. To this custom Kirke White 

 pathetically alludes while contemplating his own early death : 



'* Come, funeral flower, who lovest to dwell 

 With the pale corse in lonely tomb 

 And throw across the desert gloom 

 A sweet decaying smell. 

 Come, press my lips and lie with me 

 Beneath the lonely Alder tree ; 



And we will sleep a pleasant sleep. 

 And not a care shall dare intrude, 

 To break the marble solitude. 



So peaceful and so deep." 



Rosemary has been a favourite subject with many English 

 poets, particularly Herriek and Shenstone. It is very partial 

 to gardens over which sea breezes blow, and I have seen cliffs 

 which were wet with the spray of high tides covered with this 

 delightful plant, whose fragrance is often the first laud per- 

 fume that greets the homeward-bound. I am astonished that 

 Rosemary (Dew of the Sea) is not a greater favourite with 

 married ladies : for it is a universal tradition " If Rosemary 

 flourishes in the garden, then the lady rules the house." And 

 how do we know what occult power is hidden in a sprig of 

 Rosemary? Surely it is a fair and fragrant sceptre. Bees 

 are exceedingly fond of Rosemary, and the far-famed honey 

 of Narbonne derives its exquisite flavour from the abundance 

 of this herb in the vicinity. 



Ruoellai says that Nature made Thyme on purpose for bees 

 to make honey of. If so, they improve her gifts much better 

 than we do God's best gifts to us. The famous honey of 

 Thymettus was not only the extract of its fragrant Thyme 

 banks, but the condensation of Grecian sunshine, of cloudless 

 skies, and heavenly atmospheres. Bees are not the only lovers 

 of Thyme. 



" Where the wild Thyme perfumes the puii)le heath. 

 Long loitering there the fleecy tribes extend." 



The Thyme banks of the Cheviot Hills are the secret of the 

 Cheviot mutton ; and the celebrated Southdown — a saddle of 

 which is a dish to be named with respect — owes its delicate 

 excellence to the same source. In Spain they use a decoction 

 of Thyme to wash out vessels for wine, and the Anglo-Saxon 

 all over the world appreciates its flavour in his soups, ragouts 

 and forcemeats. Thirty years ago it was used instead of box 

 wood for bordering flower beds — an old fashion now, I know, 

 and one I never think of apart from some drowsy, quaint 

 cathedral town — but it would bear transplanting to our fresh 

 modern gardens : for if the borders are kept trimly cut, nothing 

 can be sweeter to the smell or fairer to the sight. 



Mint is also a great favourite with bees, and if rubbed with 

 honey inside bee hives it very soon attaches them to a new 

 home. From the story of Baucis and Philemon we are led to 

 infer that the Greek peasants scoured their tables with this 



herb; and the habit was probably just as common among the 

 Roman farmers, for Pliny says " You will not see a husband- 

 man's board in the country but is all seasoned from one end to 

 the other with Mint;" and he also mentions the custom of 

 putting it in vinegar to eat with meats. Spearmint prevents 

 the coagulation of milk, and is therefore an excellent salad for 

 those who use a milk diet. Another variety. Peppermint, 

 makes a popular confection, and also gives a name to a favourite 

 American beverage composed of Mint, sugar, ice, and brandy. 

 Omitting the last ingredient, we would venture to say it was at 

 least " better than might be." 



Surely, there are bitter cups enough in life without mingling 

 them, yet even Wormwood has had its day. It was the 

 "bitters" of the Egyptians and Romans; and if anyone de- 

 sires to try it instead of " Plantation," here is the receipt : 1 oz. 

 of Wormwood, 3 scruples of Arabian gum, 3 scruples of Spike- 

 nard (Lavender), 3 scruples of Saffron, and 180 gallons of old 

 wine." I rather think the proportion of Wormwood to the 

 wine is something after the kind of Falstaff's " halfpenny 

 worth of bread to an intolerable deal of sack." The Greeks 

 dedicated Wormwood to Diana, probably because dogs are 

 great lovers of it, and use it in all their diseases. The English 

 dedicated it to St. John the Baptist, and then, with strange 

 inconsistency, used it (before the discovery of hops) in brewing 

 their ale. Still, its consecration was believed to have made it 

 a potent spell against witches ; perhaps it was still more suc- 

 cessful against moths and other insects. Nevertheless, the 

 gift of Isis and the plant of Diana is now little more than 



" the fat weed 

 That rots itself in ease on Lethe's wharf." 



Yet surely there is some significance in herbs, else why has 

 " the Hyssop that springeth out of the wall " been so specially 

 set apart for purifying and propitiatory services '? This herb 

 was distinctly ordered to be used in striking the lintels and door- 

 post with the blood of the Passover lamb. It was prominent 

 in the purifying services for the healed leper, and in the 

 ceremonies for cleansing unholy or unclean places. David, in 

 the very depth of his self-abasement, cries out, " Purge me 

 with Hyssop, and I shall be clean:" and when the Great 

 Atonement was offered for the sins of the world, a sponge filled 

 with vinegar, and lifted upon Hyssop to the lips of the Lamb 

 of God, was the consummating rite of that stupendous sacrifice. 



See, then, how 



*' the meanest plant that ^ows can give 

 Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." 



Are there not wayside flowers that consecrate " the ^fair hu- 

 manities of old religion," secrets in a weed's plain heart well 

 worth the winning, and homely herbs rich with the spoils of 

 time and nature ? Do not fear, then, the lowliness of the sub- 

 ject, for 



" Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop 

 Than when we soar." 



— {Medico-PJiarmaceiitical Abstract.) 



PROVINCIAL HOBTICULTUEAL EXHIBITIONS. 

 Secretaries will oblige us by informing us of the dates on 

 which exhibitions are to be held. 



THE DISEASE OP CUCUMBER ROOTS. 



Nearly every grower of Cucumber plants is more or less 

 acquainted with the peculiar disease which manifests itself in 

 knots or nodules on their roots. These diseased roots have 

 frequently been sent on to us for examination, and those- for- 

 warded last week by Mr. John Piatt were so characteristic that 

 to better explain their nature we here illustrate a section of 

 part of one of the smaller nodules. The letter from Mr. Piatt 

 in last week's Journal, page 5, well explains the symptoms of 

 the disease, which are, however, well known to most gardeners. 



The root-nodules in question are generally assumed to have 

 a fungus origin, but the Rev. M. J. Berkeley long ago described 

 the disease, and showed it to be caused by a parasite of another 

 nature. The description he illustrated with the utmost accu- 

 racy. It would seem that the pest which causes the mischief 

 is not always readily seen, or maybe it escapes into the sur- 

 rounding soil, or, after working the mischief, perishes ; but 

 that it is sometimes difficult or even impossible to detect Mr. 

 Berkeley himself confesses. On this account Mr. Berkeley's 

 observation has unfortunately been questioned, but he has 

 quite recently been able to satisfactorily confirm its positive 



