AND ORNAMENTAL TREATMENT. 53 



PLATE S5. 



" Herkeneth these blisful briddes how they synge, 

 And seth the freissche flowers how they springe, 

 Ful is myn hert of revel and solaas." — Chauceb. "Canterbury Tales" 



The Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). This plant, one of the most striking and beautiful of 

 our native flowers, is very commonly to be met with in woods and by the hedge-banks in most 

 localities, though it is but seldom seen in chalk or limestone districts, or in the more eastern counties, 

 as Norfolk or Suffolk. It is very abundant in mountain districts, the Welsh hills, for example, being 

 profusely clothed with it. The stately flowering stems thrown up attain to a height of six feet, 

 or even more, under exceptionally favourable circumstances, the upper part being clothed with the 

 numerous large flowers. The blossoms, normally purple, are occasionally met with of a pure white ; 

 this variety, from its being frequently cultivated in gardens, will, no doubt, be familiar to many of 

 our readers. The corolla is campanulate and unequally lobed. The calyx is composed of five 

 segments, four of them being broad and bold in character, the fifth, the upper one, being much 

 narrower and more acutely pointed, as may easily be seen in figs. 293, 295, the front and back views. 

 The main stem frequently throws out small lateral stems from the lower part, and it is one of these 

 smaller pieces that we have selected, since it is necessary for our purpose that as much as possible 

 of the varying character of the plant should be represented. Had we taken the central stem, we 

 must either have reduced the whole very considerably (a course not altogether advisable), or, 

 preserving the natural size, have given but a portion of the long line of flowers, frequently forty 

 or fifty in number ; by taking the lateral shoot we are able to introduce both the bud, the flower, 

 and the ripening fruit, and thus get an insight into the whole history of the plant. 



The Foxglove is one of our medicinal plants, and has considerable value in certain disorders 

 of the heart, as it possesses the power of diminishing its action. It is, however, a rather dangerous 

 medicine, as its action is frequently cumulative, so that after several small doses may have been 

 given with little or no apparent effect, the whole will suddenly affect the system, giving rise to the 

 most alarming symptoms. It is sometimes administered in acute febrile diseases, its power of 

 reducing the action of the circulation giving it a certain beneficial value, bringing down the pulse 

 from over one hundred and twenty to about forty beats per . minute. During the middle ages it 

 was known as the Throatwort, and employed, according to the doctrine of Signatures, already 

 referred to, in cases of ulcerated throat, from a supposed resemblance between that part when 

 thus suffering and the blotched interior (fig. 287) of the flower. 



The generic name. Digitalis, means the finger of a glove, and the English name similarly 

 alludes to the peculiar form of the flower ; the first syllable does not refer to the fox, but to the 

 fairies, the little "good folks," whose favourite haunts were believed to be in the sylvan shades 

 where the Foxglove rears its tall spikes so beautifully. Many of the local names of the plant 

 illustrate still more clearly this belief in the association of the Foxglove with the fairy wardrobe ; 

 thus it is called Fairy-Cap, Fairies' Petticoat, Fairies' Thimble, and Puck's-glove. It is also known 

 as Finger-flower and Witches' Fingers, while, in France, it is Doigts de la Vierge, or Gants de Notre 

 Dame ; in Germany, Fingerhut ; in Holland, Vingerhoed; in Wales, Manyg Ellyllyn (Fairies'- 

 glove). In the " Flora Veronensis" of Pollinius it is called Cornocopio, a by no means inappro- 

 priate name, as we may see on consulting fig. 290, the side view of the flower. 



PLATE 36. 



" He whose name we first find upon record (though, doubtlesse, some had treated thereof before), that largely writ of plants 

 was the wisest of men even King Solomon, who certainly would not have medled with this subject if he, in his wisdome, had not 

 known it worthie himselfe and exceeding fitting : First, for the honour of his Creator, whose gifts and blessings these are. Secondly, 

 for the good of his Subjects, whereof in this work he had no doubt a speciall regard for the cunng of their diseases and infirmities," — 

 Johnson, a.d. 1636. 



Amongst the varied forms of flowers none, perhaps, have a greater ornamental value in design 

 than those of a stellate or radiant character, the central and convex boss contrasting, as it does, 

 so admirably with the exterior and concave ring composed of numerous similar units. In most 

 flowers of this character, colour heightens the beauty of effect already produced by the form, as 

 in the subject of our plate (the Aster Alpinus, or Alpine Daisy), where the central mass is of a 

 rich golden yellow, the outer ring a pure and delicate purple. _ In the A. alwartensis the central 

 portion is yellow, and the rays that surround it aVich pink, while in our Daisy, the Bellis perennis, 

 a plant familiar to every one, the centre is yelloAV, and its radiant fringe pure white. 



The Aster Alpinus is only to be met with in this country as a garden flower, being a native 



