182 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



Bring Coronations and Sops-in-wine 

 Worn of paramours. 



And again: 



Youth's folk now flocken everywhere 

 To gather May baskets and smelling Brere, 1 

 And home they hasten the posts to dight 

 And all the kirk pillars in daylight 

 With Hawthorn budes and sweet Eglantine 

 And garlands of Roses and Sops-in-wine. 



"Its second specific name," writes Ellacombe, 

 "Caryophyllus, i. e., nut-leaved, seems at first very 

 inappropriate for a grassy-leaved plant; but the 

 name was first given to the Indian Clove tree and 

 from it transferred to the Carnation on account of 

 its fine clove scent. Its popularity as an English 

 plant is shown by its many names Pink, Carna- 

 tion, Gilliflower (an easily-traced and well-ascer- 

 tained corruption from Caryophyllus), Clove 

 Picotee 2 and Sops-in-wine from the flowers being 

 used to flavor wine and beer. 



"There is an historical interest also in the flowers. 

 All our Carnations, Picotees and Cloves came origi- 

 nally from the single Dianthus caryophyllus. This 

 is not a true British plant; but it holds a place in 



1 Brier. 



a From the French picot, a pinked edge. We still use the word 

 "pinked" for a cut edge, and "pinking-iron" is the word for that 

 with v/hich the edge is cut. 



