200 THE NEW GARDENING 



and Privet from primet, a trimmed or " prim " plant. 

 Pea is the modern form of Pease, which is not, as might 

 be supposed, the plural, but the old singular form, pesen 

 and peses being the plurals. Horehound comes from 

 hoar and hune, two words meaning white and scented. 



The old English name for a graft was imp. Note 

 Chaucer's : 



" Of feeble trees there comen -wretched imps" 

 AncTgrafts are called imps to this day in some parts of 

 England. 



There was an old English Apple called the Costard, 

 which was sold in the streets by hawkers or mongers, 

 and hence the modern word costermonger. 



A wyrt (wort) was a herb or plant, and from this word 

 conies orchard, the ortyard or wortyard, literally the 

 herb garden. Garden itself came from the verb gyrd-an, 

 to surround, and simply means an enclosed place, such 

 as a yard. Another old verb, blow-an, gave us bloom 

 and blossom (" blood," " blade " and " blowsy " came 

 from the same root). Drige (dry) gave us our modern 

 word drugs, literally dry plants. 



There are cases where a Latin name in a popular form 

 has superseded an old English folk name. Carnation is 

 an example of this, it has supplanted the older name 

 Gilliflower. 



Of names which are genuine Anglo-Saxon, and differ 

 little from the original form, may be instanced Bramble, 

 Beech, Yew, Holly, Ivy and Ash. Others, such as Snap- 

 dragon, Cockscomb, Hartstongue, Snowdrop and Monks- 

 hood, take their name from the appearance of some part 

 of the plant, while others again, of which the Christmas 

 Rose and the Michaelmas Daisy are familiar examples, 

 derive their names from their flowering period. 



The terms " thrum-eyed " and " pin-eyed " as applied 



