May (l. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71) 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
M W 
MAY 6—12, 1852. 
Weather near London in 1851. 
Sun 
Sun 
Moon 
Moon’s 
Clock 
Day of 
D D 
Barometer. 
Thermo. 
Wind. 
Rain in In. 
Rises. 
Sets. 
R.&S. 
Age. 
bef. Sun. 
Year. 
6 Th 
Pheasant lays. 
29.846 — 29.775 
52—36 
N.W. 
01 
21 a. 4 
29 a. 7 
10 59 
17 
3 
35 
127 
7 P 
Swallow builds. 
29.868 — 29.830 
58—38 
W. 
— 
22 
30 
morn. 
18 
3 
40 
123 
8 S 
Easter Term ends. 
29.770 — 29.6/4 
61—38 
s. 
— 
21 
32 
0 2 
19 
3 
44 
129 
9 Son 
4 Sunday after Easter. 
29.6/6 — 29.639 
59 — 43 
s. 
— 
19 
34 
0 53 
20 
3 
47 
130 
10 M 
Long-horned Bee seen. 
29.613 —29.598 
70-37 
s. 
03 
17 
35 
1 31 
€ 
22 
3 
50 
131 
11 Tu 
Aspen leaves. 
29.775 — 29715 
66-47 
N. 
— 
16 
37 
2 1 
3 
52 
132 
12 W 
Wall Butterfly seen. 
30.0/0 — 29.8/5 
63—43 
N, 
29 
U 
38 
2 25 
23 
3 
53 
133 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last twenty-five years 
, the average highest and lowest tempera- 
tures of these days are 62 . 6 ° and 41.1° 
in 1815. During the period 111 day3 
respectively. The greatest heat 
were fine, and on 64 rain fell. 
81°, occurred on 
the 6th in 1830 ; and the lowest cold, 28° 
on the 6th 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
CROWFOOTS—RANTTNCULACE.E. 
(Continuer! from pat/e 57.) 
ADONIS. PHEASANT’S EYE. 
Generic Charactf.r.— Calyx below fruit, of five, converg¬ 
ing, blunt, concave, somewhat coloured, deciduous leaves. 
Petals five to fifteen, oblong, blunt, shining, with simple 
claws, without nectaries. Stamens numerous, with awl- 
shaped, very short filaments. Anthers terminal, bent in, of 
two round lobes. Germens very numerous, in a round head. 
Pistils styleless, with Stigmas acute, spreading. Seeds 
numerous, swollen, angular, acute, without any appendage. 
Receptacle cylindrical. 
Adonis autumnaijs : Adonis flower; Autumnal or Corn 
Pheasant's-F.ye ; Red Maithes ; Bird Flower; Red Morocco. 
Description .—It is an annual. Root tapering. Stem erect, 
branched, often bushy, hollow, round, channeled, leafy, 
purplish, rarely a little downy; six to twelve inches high. 
Leaves dark green, alternate, stalkless, triply-wing-cleft with 
narrow, acute, smooth segments. Flowers of a deep shining 
crimson, with a black spot near the claw of each petal, and 
dark-violet anthers. Seeds covered with a thick permanent 
coat, composing an oblong, egg-shaped head, not an inch 
long, The petals vary in number from six to ten, but are 
inversely heart-shaped, notched, scarcely longer than the 
calyx, which is usually smooth, purplish, unequal, egg- 
shaped, toothed at the tip. 
A. restivaUs of Linnoeus has never been found in England ; 
for specimens noticed in the third edition of Withering were 
a starved and paler A. autumnalis. 
Places where found .—In corn-fields, but not common. 
Time of flowering .—May to September. 
History .—It is very common in the South of Europe, and 
has been thought by some to have been thence introduced 
into our gardens, and from these escaped into our fields. 
At all events, it is unmentioned by some of our earliest 
herbalists, and even Ray, writing in 1080, observes :—“ they 
say that it occurs spontaneously in England, although rarely, 
but certainly as yet it has not fallen in my way.” Gerarde, 
however, as long before as 1590, observed that—“ The red 
flower of Adonis groweth wild in the west parts of England 
among their corn, even as May-weed doth in other parts. 
From thence I brought the seed, and have sown it in my 
garden for the beauty of the flower’s sake. The country 
people call it Red Chamomile, and the London women do 
call it Rosea-ruby." Parkinson, in the index of his Herbal, 
published in 1029, says — “ Maitlis, or May-weed. Red 
Maithes is Flos Adonis, or Rosa-rubie.” 
It is said to be the flower which sprang from the blood 
of Adonis, the favourite of Venus, when slain by the mid 
boar, from the chase of which she vainly endeavoured to 
dissuade him. The French name of this flower, Govte de 
sang (The drop of blood), alludes to this fable, as well as 
to the colour of the flower, Matthiolus gives a good drawing 
of the plant, and says that some consider it belongs to the 
Chamomile family, but he thought that this cannot be, be¬ 
cause, whereas the Chamomile is mild, and smells gratefully, 
this plant is of an ill-savour, acrid, and ulcerates the skin I 
upon which it is bound. Sir John Hill says that it has not 
been used in medicine, though some recommend an infusion ! 
of the flowers in wine as a remedy for colick, but that it 
wants the authority of more experience. (Smith. Withering. 
Marlyn. Ray. Matthiolus. Hill.) 
We have heard it objected that digging heavy soil hy 
means of a three-pronged fork is a practice to he com- 
j mended, and readily adoptable, because the soil clings 
! together, hut that in light lands it is far otherwise, and 
if at all dry, it is next to impossible to raise a forkful of 
them, for the soil crumbles through the prongs. There 
is some truth in this, but the soil must he most ex¬ 
cessively dry before such an inconvenience arises, and 
even when in the driest state the slightest support to 
the soil prevents its falling through, under any circum¬ 
stances. Such a support is afforded by increasing the 
1 breadth of the points of the prongs, as described in the I 
\ following letter, and a fork so constructed is effective, i 
under any circumstances, in digging all soils, except 
such as are not merely the driest sand. 
The letter is from a clergyman (the Rev. R. E. M.), 
and is in these words:— 
“ I send you a sketch of what I call a ‘ Trident prong,’ 
[ believing it to be a stranger in the southern counties; at j 
least, I have never met with it in any south of Lincoln- 
j shire. I find it of immense service in the garden, and far \ 
J surpasses the spade in what an operator would call its j 
working qualities. It penetrates the ground much easier, j 
No. CLXXXVIII., Vol. VIII. 
