282 Old Time Gardens 



rately the figure of a flower. That felicity and facility 

 Gerarde had; "a bleak white color" — how clearly 

 you see it ! The Water Lily had " great round leaves 

 like a buckler." The Cat-tail Flags " flower and bear 

 their mace or torch in July and August." One 

 plant had "deeply gashed leaves." The Mari- 

 gold had "fat thick crumpled leaves set upon a gross 

 and spongious stalke." Here is the Wake-robin, 

 " a long hood in proportion like the ear of a hare, 

 in middle of which hood cometh forth a pestle or 

 clapper of a dark murry or pale purple color." 

 The leaves of the Corn-marigold are " much hackt 

 and cut into divers sections and placed confusedly." 

 Another plant had leaves of " an overworne green," 

 and Pansy leaves were " a bleak green." The leaves 

 of Tansy are also vividly described as " infinitely 

 jagged and nicked and curled with all like unto a 

 plume of feathers." 



The classification and naming of flowers was much 

 thought and written upon from Gerarde's day, until 

 the great work of Linnaeus was finished. Some 

 very original schemes were devised. The Curious 

 and Profitable Gardner ■, printed in 1730, suggested 

 this plan: That all plants should be named to indi- 

 cate their color, and that the initials of their names 

 should be the initials of their respective colors ; 

 thus if a plant were named William the Con- 

 queror it would indicate that the name was of a 

 white flower with crimson lines or shades. " Vir- 

 tuous Oreada would indicate a violet and orange 

 flower ; Charming Phyllis or Curious Plotinus a 

 crimson and purple blossom." S. was to indicate 



