HES'PERIS MATRON A'LIS. plena alba. 



DOUBLE WHITE ROCKET. 

 Class. Order. 



TBTRADYNAMIA. SILIQUOSA. 



Natural Order. 



CRUCIFERE^E. 



No. 39. 



Hesperis, from the Greek 'ESPEROS, evening; in 

 consequence of the fragrance of some of this tribe 

 at that time. We are told that the ladies of Ger- 

 many cultivate these flowers in pots, to secure the 

 evening perfume of them in their apartments, whence 

 they have been called dames' violets; and this al- 

 lusion has been Latinized into matronalis. The 

 name of Rocket seems to have come to us through 

 the Latin eruca, signifying canker-worm as well as 

 the name of this plant, and as it frequently dies 

 with the unskilful, without a perceptible cause, the 

 term may be as applicable as many others in our 

 scientific nomenclature. 



Many and contradictory directions have been 

 given for the cultivation of this plant, evidently by 

 persons not at all practically acquainted with its 

 habits. The best information we have ever seen 

 printed is contained in Rees's Cyclopaedia. The 

 grand secret consists in cutting- down the flower 

 stems of a plant or two, before they are much ex- 

 hausted by the bloom, thus a good stock of offsets 

 will be produced. A cool and rather moist situation 

 for the rocket is always to be preferred. 

 Hon. Kew. 2, v. 4, 122. 



