42 THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



What shall we say to Gerarde's Barnacle-trees, 

 " whereon do grow certaine shells of a white colour 

 tending to russet, wherein are contained little living 

 creatures : which shells in time of maturity do open, 

 and out of them grow those little living things, 

 which falling into the water do become fowles, which 

 we call Barnacles ?" What monsters (such at least 

 they are called by botanists) lias art produced in 

 doubling flowers, in dwarfing, and hybridizing; 

 " painting the lily," for there are pink (!) lilies of 

 the valley, and pink violets, and yellow roses, and 

 blue hydrangeas ; and many are now busy in seeking 

 that " philosopher's stone of gardening," the blue 

 dahlia a useless search, if it be true that there is 

 no instance of a yellow and a blue variety in the 

 same species. Foreigners turn to good account this 

 foolish rage of ours for everything novel and mon- 

 strous and unnatural, more worthy of Japan and 

 China than of England, by imposing upon the 

 credulous seeds and cuttings of yellow moss-roses, 

 and scarlet laburnums, and fragrant pasonies, and 

 such like* 



Strange things too have been attempted in garden 

 ornaments. We have spoken of water-works, like 

 the copper-tree at Chatsworth, to drench the unwary ; 

 and the Chinese have, in the middle of their lawns, 

 ponds covered with some water-weed that looks like 



Crops the grey coral moss, and hoary thyme> 

 Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime ; 

 Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam, 

 Or seems to bleat, a Vegetable Lamb ! " 



JBot. Gard., ii. 283. 



