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Old Time Gardens 
rately the figure of a flower. That felicity and facility 
Gerarde had; “a bleak white color” — how clearly 
you see it ! The Water Lily had “ great round leaves 
iike a buckler.” The Cat-tail Flags “ flower and bear 
their mace or torch in July and August.” One 
plant had “deeply gashed leaves.” The Mari- 
gold had “fat thick crumpled leaves set upon a gross 
and spongious stalke.” Here is the Wake-robin, 
“ a long hood in proportion like the ear of a hare, 
in middle of which hood cometh forth a pestle or 
clapper of a dark murry or pale purple color.” 
The leaves of the Corn-marigold are “much hackt 
and cut into divers sections and placed confusedly.” 
Another plant had leaves of “ an overworne green,” 
and Pansy leaves were “ a bleak green.” The leaves 
of Tansy are also vividly described as “infinitely 
jagged and nicked and curled with all like unto a 
plume of feathers.” 
The classification and naming of flowers was much 
thought and written upon from Gerarde’s day, until 
the great work of Linnaeus was finished. Some 
very original schemes were devised. The Curious 
and Profitable Gardner , printed in 1730, suggested 
this plan: That all plants should be named to indi- 
cate their color, and that the initials of their names 
should be the initials of their respective colors ; 
thus if a plant were named William the Con- 
queror it would indicate that the name was of a 
white flower with crimson lines or shades. “ Vir- 
tuous Oreada would indicate a violet and orange 
flower ; Charming Phyllis or Curious Plotinus a 
crimson and purple blossom.” S. was to indicate 
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