XXXIII 



ON SNAPDRAGONS AND SWEET WILLIAMS 



Two prime favourites of our great-grandparents, as they 

 are of ourselves. Their very names speak of past cen- 

 turies. They lead us back into mediaeval gardens, which 

 knew not of Begonias, Zonal Geraniums, and other fiery 

 modern flowers. 



And whence came these names ? The Snapdragon 

 is the Antirrhinum majus of botanists. It is a plant 

 which grew wild on old walls in Great Britain long 

 before Linnaeus was born. The name Antirrhinum 

 came from antt, like ; and rhin, a snout, in allusion to 

 the fact that the flowers resemble the snout of an 

 animal in form. And we may very well suppose that 

 the common name arose from the wide mouth and 

 heavy lower jaws of the flower, which gave it a devour- 

 ing air. 



The Sweet William is the Dianthus barbatus, or 

 bearded Jove's Flower, of the botanists. It is closely 

 related to the Carnation the Gillyflower of old 

 gardeners. These good florists had to subdivide their 

 Gillyflowers, and from that necessity we get our names 

 of Stock and Wallflower. It was perhaps the same 

 necessity for more minute distinction which induced 

 them to give separate names to the fragrant bearded 

 Pinks ; they called the narrow-leaved varieties Sweet 

 Johns, and the broad-leaved ones Sweet Williams. 



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