98 FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOW MRS. 



the creature, so the English writers provided plants for 

 the same purpose, in apparent ignorance of the fact that 

 in England there were no scorpions. The story of the 

 knight who was drowned in obtaining a tuft of forget-me- 

 not for his lady love is a modern affair, and, therefore, not 

 true. Were it but very old, it would be better entitled to 

 credence, for age improves a fantastic tale more surely 

 than it improves wine, and we can easily believe any- 

 thing that belongs to the dark ages. But the story has 

 its uses for the amateur gardener, because it takes him 

 to the brook-side, where the true forget-me-not {Myosotis 

 palustris) will be found with its feet in the water, and pro- 

 bably having for a companion another blue flower, the 

 brooklime {Veronica beccaiunga). 



Thus we obtain through romance a key to the cultivation 

 of forget-me-nots. One species, Myosotis rupicola, which 

 we shall note again as M. alpestris, loves rocks and stones, 

 and will thrive in a comparatively dry position, but all the 

 rest require a moist soil, and will generally look happy in 

 borders near a stream or in damp situations that many rock 

 plants would not thrive in. Our native species, referred to 

 above, although when growing wild a constant searcher for 

 water, may be well grown in an ordinary border if accom- 

 modated with a moist rather than a dry position. It is a 

 good subject for surfacing the ground under shrubs and 

 amongst ferns in a moist spot, for its leafage is neat and its 

 flowers are beautiful : it is from these the jewellers take 

 their model when working up turquoises in rings and other 

 such work. The yellow centre is a distinctive mark of our 

 common forget-me-not, and suits at once the taste of the 

 artificer and the customer, for by this mark is the flower 

 known to all the world. The yellow centre is not wanting 



