Stray Leaves from a Border Garden 
be the meaning of such a name, but found it was a 
corruption of Squinancia, the old term for Quinsy : Black 
Currant jelly being sovrain for sore throats. Another old 
name for these was Gazles, a possible corruption of the 
French Groseilles, and they have been also called Blackberries. 
Red Currants used to be called St. John’s Berries and 
Garnet Berries and Raisins. I do not find any very peculiar 
names current here for either of these fruits, though they 
are popular, growing in every garden-patch, and known 
collectively as Berries. Oddly enough, though the bunches 
of Red Currants suffer from the attentions of the birds, 
and have to be picked before they are fairly ripe, the White 
are left untouched. The flame-coloured discs of Gaillardia 
are out now. I wish I knew a common name for this — it 
does not seem to have one. The pink variety is very pretty, 
and the first bloom of lovely pale pink large-flowered 
American Bellbind (Calystegia rosea ) — Ground Swallower it 
should be called ; it is too free a grower to please Gardener. 
The Monkshood is in beautiful clumps of flowery spears all 
along the garden border, and a white blue-edged one, which 
Gardener calls Elijah’s Chariot ; why, I do not know : 
certainly the flowers do rather resemble Roman chariots. 
I have seen it in cottage-gardens sometimes, but it is not 
as common as the blue variety. The Crimson Gladiolus, 
called French Cornflag in old days, has been very beautiful 
this last week. I have the kind which grows wild on the 
Riviera in the Olive-yards, and another little larger, but 
the same odd Magenta colour. Although scarcely one of 
the prettiest colours on Madam Nature’s palette, yet I love 
it for old sake’s sake. 
I picked the first bunch of Sweet-peas to-day ; they are 
like butterflies caught in a green tangle. I prefer growing 
them in a mixed hedge to the plan so often adopted now, 
of patches of different hues. And I like better the Peas 
scrambling up sticks from the wood, than to see the vines 
tied formally on wire-fencing; a modern improvement! I 
think Cowper and Tom Hood are almost the only poets 
who have sung the Praises of the Sweet-pea, and yet it is so 
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