GARDEN NOMENCLATURE. 



27 



gardens they grew both medicinal and pot herbs, and relics of their 

 gardening still linger. Thus almost the only place in Northumberland 

 where the deadly nightshade is found is on the cliffs below the old priory 

 of Tynemouth — probably an "escape "from the monks' garden. Other 

 "escapes" growing on the same cliffs are wild cabbage, Alexanders — 

 formerly used as a pot herb — and blue Salvia, or clary, the seeds of which 

 were used for eye complaints. And one of the very few places where I have 

 seen the deadly nightshade growing wild was among the ruins of Furness 

 Abbey. 



The so-called major convolvulus, again, is an Ipomoea. 



The scarlet and other coloured geraniums of the gardener have no 

 right to the name which properly belongs to the wild crane's bills of our 

 woods and meadows. Although belonging to the same order the gardener's 

 Geraniums " were separated by L'Heritier, in 1787, under the title of 

 Pelargoniums. They are distinguished chiefly by two characters. In the 

 true Geraniums the flower is regular, while in the Pelargoniums it is 

 irregular, the two upper petals being larger or smaller and differently 

 marked from the other three. In the Pelargonium, again, the back sepal 

 is furnished with a hollow spur which is adnate with the stem, while this 

 is wanting in the Geraniums. If the flower-stalk be cut through just 

 behind the flower the hollow will be seen in the Pelargonium, while the 

 stalk of the Geranium will be found to be solid. 



In some cases a name has been passed on from one flower to another 

 in a curious way. The history of the word "forget-me-not" is one of 

 the most interesting of these. In almost every European language the 

 little flower thus known to us bears an equivalent name. Yet with us it 

 has only borne the title for some forty years. The name " forget-me-not " 

 seems to have been first given to one of the speedwells, or to the 

 speedwells generally. The flower of the speedwell falls very readily, and 

 it falls in one piece, the petals being slightly united at the base. Hence 

 as you gather the blue blossoms they drop, and you greet them with the 

 words, " Speed well, forget-me-not ! " And in Denmark the name 

 " Forglemm-mig-icke " appears to have been retained for the speedwell. 

 In Mexico the equivalent, "no me olvide," is given to an orchid. 

 Presently, however, in this country the name was transferred to another 

 little blue flower, the ground-pine or bugle, for the reason that its strong 

 smell will not allow you to forget it. It is obvious, however, that on this 

 ground there are many plants with much stronger claims to the title. It 

 has been suggested, indeed, by "Punch" that from this point of view 

 the onion has the best claim to the title of "forget-me-not." Then the 

 title passed on to its present owner, formerly known as mouse-ear 

 scorpion grass, the Myosotis of botanists ; 



The sweet forget-me-not 

 That grows for happy lovers 



of poets. 



It is said that Mills, in his "History of Chivalry," invented the legend 

 of the drowning knight throwing the flower to his lady, and fixed the 

 name on the pretty blue flower previously known as mouse-ear from its 

 old Greek name, myosotis. 



