52 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 19, 1894. 
blossoms is our garden variety as compared with the wild species 
of streamlets and ponds ; yet that may be occasionally seen to 
cover a little island amid a stream, and such a display of its starry 
clusters might once have tempted an adventurous knight to plunge 
into the water, seeking a floral gift for his lady on the bank. The 
German narrators still uphold the story, adding that the knight’s 
failure to reach land with his fatal trophy is explained by his 
having body armour, which made him sink in water or mud. The 
scene has even been laid on a branch of the Danube ; but Mr. 
Mills discovered a French legend to the effect that Henry of Lan¬ 
caster, during his exile, was the first to give this flower its meaning 
of “Forget-me-not.” He wore a bunch of them upon his collar 
in remembrance of his hostess the Duchess of Bretagne. The 
plant is frequently placed upon graves in our islands and on the 
Continent. Our ancestors saw two singular resemblances amongst 
the species of Myosotis. They fancied the leaves of some were 
in shape like a mouse’s ear, and also noticing the way that the 
flower-heads curled themselves round while expanding they gave 
to several the name of “ Scorpion Grass.” Hence they were 
esteemed valuable remedies for the bites of scorpions and other 
venomous creatures. 
Very commonly the blue Lobelia is a companion flower to the 
Forget-me-not in flower beds. This is a symbol of “ ill-will ” 
;apparently, because, though the flowers of this and other Lobelias 
•fire beautiful, poisonous principles exist amongst them, though of 
medicinal value. Upon banks and rockeries the Periwinkles 
•exhibit their blue or purple flowers, plants of classic fame, which 
tell of “ sweet remembrance,” loved by some as reminding them 
•of the hillsides familiar in their youth, oft planted upon tombs 
for many centuries because they are sacred to early friendship. 
The name seems a puzzle, for it is one belonging also to a small 
shellfish ; but we shall understand it better if we spell it thus— 
“ perwincle,” the allusion being to the trailing habits of this plant, 
and its apparently binding the earth together by spreading its 
sprays over the soil. 
During the Middle Ages we should hardly have found an English 
garden in which there was not growing a patch of Vervain, a 
-curious precursor of the Verbenas, afterwards to become favourite 
flowers belonging to the same genus. Occasionally we see a self- 
sown plant in a cottage garden, and its inconspicuous spikes of pale 
blue flowers on the thin straggling branches gave it a weedy 
appearance. The Druids held the Vervain in esteem, and gathered 
it carefully just when Sirius the Dogstar was rising, but neither 
rflun nor moon were to witness the act. Afterwards Christians 
;a9cribed its presumed valuable qualities to the fact that it grew on 
the scene of our Lord’s crucifixion, and as a “ herb of grace,” it was 
to be crossed and blessed in the name of the Trinity. Even in the 
course of last century, little bags of dried Vervain were sold to be 
worn round the neck as a cure for many diseases. Though we 
have discarded the Vervain from our gardens, we are at one with 
our ancestors in admiring June Honeysuckles, the ordinary wood¬ 
land species being the only kind thev knew, but they praised it for 
its beauty and fragrance, putting it almost on a par with the Rose; 
they would have been still more charmed with the exotic Loniceras. 
Watching our Honeysuckle or Woodbine in its growth, the flexile, 
clinging boughs became a token of “ affection’s bond,” what species 
-could rival it as a screen for bowers where friends conversed ? The 
monthly Honeysuckle is said to convey a caution, “ Do not answer 
-hastily.” We have lost faith in the virtues once attributed to the 
leaves and berries of our common species. For instance, the old 
bee-keepers rubbed their hives with the juice, believing that this 
•would prevent the bees deserting their home.—J. R. S. C. 
GARDENERS ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
SiJ^CE the resources of Art triumphed over vagaries of climate 
'by the adaptation of glass to horticultural pursuits gardening has 
undoubtedly advanced by leaps and bounds to its present im¬ 
portant position. The concomitant advantages of modern invention 
bearing directly or indirectly upon gardeners and their work show 
also the enormous advance. True, in those dark ages prior to the 
introduction of glass, there have been men who by force of intellect 
and devotion to the art deserve to be held in remembrance. To 
some extent we may fail to realise the herculean tasks they under¬ 
took by reason of many of the difficulties besetting them having 
‘long since disappeared. In a vocation peculiarly demanding all 
•capabilities of thought we now enjoy inestimable privileges that 
were denied to them, especially in the domain of literature. Some 
of olden times have indeed left valuable records of botanical 
research, not to speak of the giant minds who classified all vegetable 
growth under a system so perfect that the humblest herb of the 
field or fairest flower of the garden cannot fail to find there its 
proper place ; but much of the good work of the rank and file in 
practical horticulture had no medium for distribution and pre¬ 
servation. 
We of to-day have received many gifts, and are fully cognisant 
they involve much responsibility. Amongst the refining influences 
of the gentle art is that generous spirit imbuing its disciples to 
record their experience for the common good ; freely teaching, 
ever acquiring that education which a long life cannot complete. 
Few men, I think, are less content to take things as a matter of 
fact than are gardeners. Success prompts questioning. It is not 
enough to recognise the existence of a fact. We want to know, 
and ought to know, the cause of it. 
Why is that Lettuce in the bed twice as large as its fellows ? 
was the question asked of me by a worker, when with some pride 
he was showing to me his allotment garden, and the old head 
debated with the young head aver the supernatural heart of that 
Lettuce, until we went to the root of the matter, and found it 
embedded in a piece of house flannel. This resulted in more debate 
and fresh thoughts, not perhaps of practical utility, for I will not 
say that ever after the Lettuces were set in house flannels, but by 
such apparently trivial matters is thought directed to the subtle 
things of Nature. The secret things are analysed, and perchance 
revealed ; the gardener’s work is vested with new interest ; each 
revelation gives fresh food for thought, and we of the rank and 
file find the consolation prizes which make life worth living. 
Gardeners occupy a vantage ground a little aside from the hurry 
and rush of more exciting pursuits, so that it appears to me there is 
a good deal of philosophy in our lives, and some poetry too. 
Some may say “ No ” to this thought, but I think it is so, and well 
it is so, though I allude neither to rhyme making nor verse manu¬ 
facturing, but to the training of the hand, the eye, the mind, to 
form, to see, to know the beautiful in Nature. 
Our social standing in the world of workers should be a high 
one. Apropos of this is the matter lately reviewed in these pages 
re our style and title of domestic servants. There may have been 
good reasons for this classification by the ruling powers in days of 
yore, for many gardeners then had bed and board in the residence 
of their employers. But this reason no longer obtains. Yet, why 
are we rated on the books of our country as such ? It may be 
that present day legislators do not quite know where to put us, so 
are fain to let the matter stay ; or it may be for the very good 
reason they have never been asked. We are, I think, of all men 
the least contentious for precedence, and to many it may be a 
matter of indifference. It is seldom we are brought to face the 
fact of our social standing, but as a class, which has no indirect 
bearing on the peace and prosperity of the country, the designation 
is derogatory and unworthy, more especially to those members of 
it who have attained honour and distinction above their confreres. 
Could we through a sympathetic mouthpiece bring our little 
grievance before Parliament, doubtless the rrodest request would 
be complied with ? Is there a gardener who would not if asked 
affix his name to a petition ? And is there one named in the 
“ Horticultural Directory ” who would not, if supplied with a 
form, get it signed by the gardeners in his district ? Parliament 
has so much to trouble it may be said. True, yet I venture to 
think that the Gardeners’ Petition if presented to the Honourable 
House would there find patrons of our art who would take some 
pleasure in giving us a rise in the statute book.—A Worker. 
Vamda Kimballiana. 
A CORRESPONDENT Sends us a bloom of this beautiful Vanda, 
and remarks that, “ although small flowered, this variety is well 
worthy of notice and a place in Orchid collections. We think so 
too, and possibly others would do likewise after taking a glance at 
a well-blossomed plant. The flowers are about the size shown in 
the illustration (fig. 8), and their chief beauty consists in the con¬ 
trast between the pure white sepals and petals and purplish violet 
lip. They are freely produced, and as they stand well prove useful 
for cutting, being charming for buttonholes. 
DendrobiUxM Cambridgeanum. 
When well flowered this is a very beautiful species. As the 
blooms are produced on the current year’s growth, they appear at 
a time when Dendrobium flowers are scarce. The foliage, too. 
