168 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



more — blooms upon the sunny banks outside, that one can breathe this 

 sweetness. Galium is far less vigorous of growth here in the south, 

 where, according to Gerarde, " it wanders hither and thither upon the 

 ground, supporting its yellow spikes upon the herbage or stones near at 

 hand." Red Lamium, always rather coarse-looking, is inclined to be a 

 tiresome weed ; though now and then it is impossible not to enjoy the 

 dash of red given suddenly by a cluster of it at the edge of a border in 

 the grass, or somewhere else where they ought not to be. A short-lived 

 triumph, to be too quickly ended as soon as the gardeners " come round." 

 Yellow Nettle, Weasel-snout, or, as in Oxfordshire, "Dumb Nettle" 

 (Lamium Galeobdolon), steadfastly keeps its place in a little sunless grassy 

 bit at the foot of a north wall under the stable clock. As a garden 

 weed, I think the plant is rare. 



I might not perhaps have cared much for our Yellow Nettle were it 

 not that many years ago at Cliveden, one day when I was there, the late 

 Duke of Argyll came in at tea time bringing in his hand a Yellow Nettle, 

 which he showed with much satisfaction, having found it in his walk 

 through Cliveden Woods. Knowing his botanical learning, I thought that 

 it must be certainly a herb of note, and thereafter gave it welcome in its 

 own chosen spot amongst a few Archangels (spared for their beauty) and 

 rambling Potentilla. I know not why Dead Nettle is Archangel, except 

 for the purity of its velvet whiteness. In the kitchen garden beside one 

 of the gravel walks little red Pimpernels, or Shepherd's Clock, gaze up 

 open-eyed at the sun in June. These are lovely and beloved ; but never 

 can I forget the joy and pride of one day finding at the edge of the turnip 

 plot a solitary plant of the azure blue variety (Anagallis ccerulea). The 

 root was carefully marked with a stick, but never did it flower again. 



Weeds belonging to that part of the garden which once was corn- 

 field should not perhaps be reckoned among true garden weeds. Yet one 

 of them, at least, must not be left out. Equisetum, or Mare's-tail 

 (E. arvense), is possessed of rather a peculiar interest, if it be, as I am 

 told, the only living British representative of the Carboniferous period. No 

 mention of this can I find in any of the books consulted. It is not 

 named by Gerarde or by Parkinson, nor do others say a word. Often 

 have I watched with interest our forests of Equisetum growing up 

 through the hard-rolled gravel, or thronging narrow edges at the foot of 

 a paling that divides us from the field. Of late I observe our mimic Mare's- 

 tail-forests have diminished, and to-day, at the end of May, the plant 

 cannot be found at all. Last autumn we saw a patch of it, like a fairy 

 Larch forest, near a field footpath in the Highlands. The habitats of 

 Equisetum lie far apart indeed ! 



The common Arum maculatum, the " Lords and Ladies " of lanes and 

 hedge banks, is another protected weed in my garden, although by 

 Paxton's dictum " it is a very disagreeable rlower," "and hence they are 

 not favourites." The presence of it even in this garden of strict protec- 

 tion is often misunderstood, and I am often made sorry by seeing its 

 ruined leaves in the weed barrow. I think it to be one of the most 

 native of our wild garden friends. Among its many country names are 

 Silly Loons, in Somerset, and Cuckoo Pint. Cuckoo " quart" \ might 

 well be named, the great species that grows under Olive trees, and in 



