206 OLD-FASHIONED GARDENING 
seemingly endless period. Cranesbill; corn marigold; 
bastard dittany— Fraxinella; the great yellow gentian 
—Gentiana lutea —whose roots furnish a tonic; the 
Linaria or toad-flax; the moly or wild onion—of which 
Rea lists many, including the “great moly of Homer,” 
that mythical plant which Hermes presented to 
Odysseus as a defense against the enchantments of 
Circe; the star of Bethlehem; the double “feather- 
few”; Virginia silk (one of the Asclepias ); spider- 
wort—which Rea divides between the St. Bernard lily 
and the American Tradescantia , apparently—the 
“apples of love,” planted for their ornamental fruits 
—none other than our toothsome tomato; the double 
white pellitory which was probably the white yarrow, 
Achillea Ptarmica , although pellitory also referred to 
Chrysanthemum Parthenium sometimes—which is 
feverfew; scabiosas; Datura stramonium or thorn ap¬ 
ple, and the American cardinal’s flower— Lobelia 
cardinalis —along with a few others altogether unim¬ 
portant, are the most familiar things which were either 
overlooked by Bradley, or were mentioned by Rea 
without his having real warrant, perhaps, for including 
them in the garden flowers of his time. Possibly he 
stretched his list to the utmost, putting into it every¬ 
thing that he knew of anyone’s having made trial of in 
an English garden. 
I am inclined to think that all of our native plants 
