66 FAMILIAR GARDEX FLOll'ERS 



delifi'lit the eye^, you would alter your opinion could you 

 sec, as we have often seen, meadows cnchjscd with stone 

 walls and entirely occupied with the rosy fl(jwcrs of the 

 ragged roLin, which is a weed of weeds, and in its com- 

 mon weedy form unfit f(jr any garden. The " hay fields " 

 between Euxton and Leek are in many instances so i-ichly 

 clothed with ragged roljin {Lj/clinis Jlos cncitli), that the 

 rosy flofl'ers seem to fill the meadows, just as in some parts 

 of Sussex, esjieeially near the coast, the snow-white flowers 

 of the l>ladder campion [Lyc/iiiin vesjjciiiiia) appear to 

 occupy the entire space. 



The common spider-wort is perfectly hardy, and is 3 

 good London jiliint, as damp soil and a certain degree of 

 ^.'onfiuement does not in any serious degree impair its 

 beaut)'. On our heavy clay land it attains to a peculiarly 

 fine growth, and makes amends for the failure of many a 

 good thing for which our clay is not good food. There are 

 about a dozen varieties in cultivation, and the}' are all worth 

 having for the jil'H^ting of a mixed l)order ; indeed, the 

 mixcd-ljorder man should secure all that are at his com- 

 mand, for in this class of plants minute differcuces are of 

 importance, and the named varieties are for the m(jst part 

 sufhciently distinct. The flowers are really beautiful, more 

 particularly the wliite variety, with its stamens delicately 

 dressed with a violet fringe. 



The genus is named after John Tradeseant, the " mighty 

 Dutchman," who, it appears, was not a Dutchman, although 

 he may have enjoyed regard as such in a day when the 

 Low Countries were looked u]> to by the students of 

 botany and horticulture. John Tradeseant travelled much, 

 and had opportunities of exploring the northern shores of 

 Africa and the islands of the Mediterranean. AVe eateli him ' 



