FLOWER AND PLANT LORE 



EDWARD TYRRELL, TORONTO, ONT. 



4k '"I '^ HE fascination of plant names has its 

 JL foundation in two instincts, love of 

 nature and curiosity about language. Plant 

 names are often of the highest antiquity, and 

 more or less common to the whole stream of 

 related nations. Could we penetrate to the 

 original suggestive idea that called forth the 

 name, it would bring valuable information 

 about the first openings of the human mind 

 towards nature, and the merest dream of 

 such a discovery invests with a strange 

 charm the words that could tell, if we could 

 understand, so much of the forgotten in- 

 fancy of the human race." So wrote Mr. 

 Earl in the preface to his volume on Eng- 

 lish plant names. 



I have found it very interesting and in- 

 structive hunting up the history and lore of 

 plants ,and I hope some of the readers of 

 the Horticulturist will find something inter- 

 esting in the selections I present to them. 

 The Tulip will be in full bloom this month, 

 and therefore the following may be appre- 

 ciated : 



TULIP. TULIPA, OR THE DALMATIAN CAP. 



The species are found in the Levant, Ar- 

 menia, Caucasus, Persia, Central Asia and 

 Afghanistan. This gcty flower having been 

 obtained from the Turks, was called Tulipa, 

 from the resemblance of its corolla to the 

 eastern head dress called Tulipan or Turban, 

 and from hence our name of Tulip. The 

 resemblance its shape bears to the turban is 

 thus allueded to by Moore in Lalla Rookh : 



What triumphs crown the rich divan to-day. 

 With turbaned heads of every hue and race, 

 Bowing before that veiled and awful face, 

 Like tulip-beds of different shape and dyes, 

 Bending beneath the invisible west wind's sighs. 



From time immemorial this flower has 

 been made the emblem by which a young 

 Persian makes a declaration of his love. 

 The tulip was first seen in Europe at Augs- 

 burg, in Germany, in 1559, was sent by 

 Busbec, Ambassador from Germany, to the 

 Porte, with the remark that the Turks 

 charged a very high price for it. It was 

 first introduced into England in Elizabeth's 

 time. Gerard fixes it in 1577. It has 

 been crossed and re-crossed till it has been 

 found almost impossible to refer our present 

 plants to their original type. Owing to the 

 great beauties of the flowers they have been 

 favorites for two or three centuries. 



In 1630 the tulip, came into fame, and 

 from what I can learn no flower ever 

 created such speculation and gambling. In 

 Holland, hundreds gave up their business, 

 sold their houses, land, horses and carriages 

 to buy and sell tulip bulbs, which resulted 

 in the ruin of many who engaged in it. 

 Three thousand dollars was paid for a bulb 

 of Sempert Augustus, $1,000 to $1,200 for 

 a Viceroy, $500 for a Gonda. 



In the register of the city of Alkmaer, 

 1637, is an entry of a sale of tulips for the 

 benefit of the Orphan Hospital, when 120 

 bulbs were sold for 9,000 florins, and one of 

 them, the Viceroy, brought 4,203 florins, the 

 sale realizing in sterling £1,314. It must 

 be remembered that this Tulipomanio of the 

 17th century was really a form of gambling, 

 in which the admiration of the flower and 

 interest in its culture were secondary mat- 

 ters. The Dutch government at last issued 

 a proclamation to suppress this ruinous ex- 

 cess bv the votaries of Flora. 



I plant my grape vines 10 feet apart each 

 way. This gives me plenty of room to 

 cultivate them with a team and gather the 

 crop. I prefer trellising with two wires, 



the Knififen system, a post for every three 

 vines, leaving the arms not more than 2S4 

 to 3 inches long. — (Aaron Cole, St. Catha- 

 rines, Ont. 



