COMMON aAUUEN FLOWERS. 



343 



it bursts. This ■will make a much prettier button-hole 

 thaa if left to expand itself. After two wires have 

 been thrust through the base of the bud, the petals 

 can be carefully reflexed with the aid of some 

 smooth substance, as the end of a budding-knife, 

 or with the thumb and forefinger. This will then 

 make a pretty button-hole with a sprig of the Com- 

 mon Myrtle, or one or two Camellia-leaves of the 

 smallest size. Previous to the wires being brought 

 together, a little piece of cotton wool may be soaked 

 in water and placed close up to the bud to keep it 

 fresher, if no stem exists long enough of its own. 



"We find it an excellent plan to keep several glass 

 tabes of different sizes by us for the better preserva- 

 tion of the flowers. These will hold just sufBcient 

 water to keep the flowers fresh the greater part of 

 the day. These tubes are now produced so very 

 cheaply that any admirer of a coat flower may 

 possess them. The button-hole through which they 

 are placed for security should not be relied upon to 

 keep the same in its. place. It is a good plan to 

 have.a narrow strip of silk sewn to the coat near the 

 button-hole, so that the glass tube when placed 

 through the latter will rest in this strip, which 

 should be of the exact shape of the tube itself, thus 

 holding it securely. This necessitates several coats 

 perhaps prepared in this way, but the little extra 

 trouble of that is immaterial in comparison to the in- 

 creased comfort in wearing the flower itseH. Many 

 flowers made up for these purposes by florists and 

 othei-s have a needless amount of wire used in their 

 composition. With these some difficulty will be ex- 

 perienced at times in procuring a tube of sufficient 

 size to hold them ; when this is the case, a portion of 

 the wire can very well be taken away without any 

 inconvenience. If a little of the backing comes 

 away at the same time, it will matter but little, 

 rather more than is necessary being more often than 

 not used in the making. 



In the event of small glass tubes not being con- 

 sidered desirable wherein to flx the stems of the 

 flowers, it is an excellent plan to envelop them in 

 a small quantity of tinfoil paper. This material, 

 being a non-absorbent, tends to keep the stems, and 

 consequently the flowers also, in a fresh condition 

 for a greater length of time. 



COMMON GAEDEN FLOWEES. 



The Feverfew, or Pyretlirum.— This repre- 

 sents a somewhat numerous genus of very useful 

 plants, especially the double and single forms of the 

 Caucasian T. rosewm, now so common in gardens, and 

 so striking and showy during the summer months, to 



be alluded to more in detail farther on. Pyrethrum 

 is the name of a plant described by Dioscorides, and- 

 seems to be a name compounded of the two Greek 

 words, pyr, " fire," and ethron, "the lower part of the 

 body," evidently in allusion to the pungency of the 

 root ; for Dioscorides describes the plant as " with 

 fohage and properties something like Fennel, and 

 with a root the thickness of a finger, having a most 

 burning flavour." No species of our native Pyre- 

 thrums quite come up to these characteristics. P. 

 inodorum, the Corn Feverfew, is the common British 

 species of our fields; inodorum meaning "scentless;" 

 and the fact of its lacking fragrance intimates that 

 the species certainly is not identical with the Pyre- 

 thron of Dioscorides. P. inodorum is also known as 

 Chmnomile goldius: the generic name refers to its 

 flowers being the shape of those of the Chamomile ; 

 aoldius refers to the yeUow colour of all the florets. 

 It is also known as the Scentless Mayweed, which 

 alludes to the form of the flowers being Hke those of 

 the Common Mayweed, and to the whole plant being 

 inodorous. It must not be supposed, however, that the 

 Common Chamomile is a Pyrethrum ; it is Anthemis 

 nobilis, a native of the Continent, but extensively cul- 

 tivated in the herb gardens of this country for the 

 supply of druggists. Chamomile is of two varieties, 

 the single and the double-flowered ; but though the 

 latter is frequently preferred, the former is more 

 powerful, and possesses in the greatest degree the 

 essential properties of the plant. It is the flowers 

 that are used, and they are well known for their tonic 

 properties. The' common name Feverfew is really 

 Pyrethrum Parthenimn, and is derived from the Latin 

 /eici/M^a, from its supposed febrifugal qualities. This 

 is a well-known native plant, common in gardens, 

 flowering freely in summer; found also in Europe 

 and the Caucasus, and in all probability not truly 

 indigenous to this country. There is a double 

 variety also. The yellow-leaved Pyrethrum known 

 as Golden Feather, so much used in flower gardens 

 during the summer, and so widely distributed, 

 is a sport from the single-flowered form; and this 

 again sported to a handsome cut-leaved form known 

 as laeiniatum, and again to a dwarf type with 

 charming mossy foliage, known as selaginoidea. All 

 these golden forms come true from seed. A double- 

 flowered variety with golden foliage, named Golden 

 Gem, is a sport from the double-flowered form. 



There are a few hardy perennial species of Pyre- 

 thrums found in gardens, that deserve a passing 

 notice, such as P. achillecefolium, the Narrow-leaved 

 Pyrethrum, remarkable more for its graceful leaves 

 than for its few golden-yellow flowers ; a native of 

 the Caucasus; P. laeustre, the Marsh Pyrethrum, 

 known also as Chrysanthemum laeustre; a native of 

 Portugal, bearing pure white flowers with a yellow 



