70 HERBACEOUS PLANTS 



speaking of the fire that Prometheus stole from heaven, he 

 says that he brought it in a Ferula, the fact being, probably, 

 that Prometheus invented the steel that strikes fire from flint, 

 and used the pith of the Ferula for a match, teaching men 

 how to preserve fire in these stalks " (TOURNEFORT). 



Narthex assafoetida yields the drug in the form of tears of 

 gum-resin in Persia. 



To this order belong the Samphire, Crithmum ; the Carrot, 

 Daucus ; the Caraway, Carum carui, and many other familiar 

 plants. 



Ord. 89. ARALIACEAE. Several unnamed Ivies climb upon 

 the walls* of the Garden, butAra/m racem0sa,from N. America, 

 will be found in the Herbaceous Beds. The pith of the 

 exotic, A. papyrifera, cut into small sheets, is the rice-paper 

 of the Chinese. 



Ord. 90. CORNACEAE. Aucubas will be found in the shrubberies. The 

 wood of Cornus mas is used for making butchers' skewers. 



GAMOPETALAE 



At the northern end of Plot C will be found plants belong- 

 ing to the epigynous gamopetallous division. 



Ord. 91. CAPRIFOLIACEAE, comprising the Elder and 

 Honeysuckle Tribes, are mostly shrubs of considerable 

 growth. A large Guelder Rose, Viburnum, may be seen 

 in Plot D. Adoxa moschatellina and Linnaeus' favourite 

 plant, Linnaea borealis, are elegant dwarf representatives of 

 the two tribes. The branches of the " twisted eglantine " of 

 Milton, Lonicera, have been thought to exhibit a " perceptive 

 power," because young shoots meeting a branch of another 

 plant twine from right to left ; whereas if they meet one 

 another they twine in different directions, one to right, the 

 other to left, thus forming a strong combination. A more 



* The Ivy on the Danby Gate was removed in 1900 at the request of 

 the Curators of the University Chest ' ' in order that the state of preserva- 

 tion might be ascertained." (Cf. p. 210.) 



