NASTURTIUM. 307 



flowered variety of each. Their colour is a pale yellow, or 

 a deep orange, inclining to red. 



The Great Nasturtium, being, from its size, much hand- 

 somer than the other, has caused that to be comparatively 

 neglected ; and, for a time, it was almost lost to English 

 gardens. 



This plant begins to flower in July, and continues till 

 the approach of winter. The blossoms are frequently eaten 

 in salads, and are used for garnishing dishes : the seeds 

 are pickled, under the false name of capers, and, by some 

 persons, are much esteemed. The stalks of the Great 

 Nasturtium will sometimes grow six or eight feet high, and 

 should be trained to some kind of frame for support, if 

 there are several together : where there is only one, a 

 simple stick will suffice. 



We are told by Linnaeus, that his daughter, Elizabeth 

 Christina, observed the flowers of the Great Nasturtium 

 to emit spontaneously, at certain intervals, sparks, like 

 electric ones, visible only in the evening. 



Notwithstanding the glowing and sunny beauty of this 

 well-known flower, it has, I believe, been almost overlooked 

 by those immortal bestowers of immortality, the poets : yet 

 it deserves their attention, no less from the elegance of its 

 foliage, than from the brilliancy of its blossoms, and a 

 certain originality, as it were, in its whole character. Many 

 agreeable things might be said about it, with an allusion, 

 by the way, to the very poetical discovery of Linnaeus's 

 daughter. Singular leaves, fire-coloured flowers, a lady, 

 sparks of light, and an evening, what might not a poet 

 make of all these ? 



