May 20. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
107 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
M W 
0 B 
MAY 20 — 26 , 1852. 
1 Weather near L 
Barometer. Thermo 
ONDON IN 1851. 
Wind. Bain in In. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
20 Th 
Ascension. Holy Thursday. 
30.238 — 
30.014 63—4S 
N.W. 
_ 
3 a. 4 
50 a. 7 
9 a 17 
, 
1 3 
44 
141 
21 F 
Sun’s decl., 20° 17' n. 
30.216 — 
30.206 65—11 
1 s.w. 
— 
1 
51 
10 18 
2 
3 
40 
142 
22 S 
Trinity Term begins. 
30.2.59 — 
30.221, 70—12 
s.w. 
— 
0 
53 
11 14 
3 
3 
36 
143 
23 Son 
Sunday after Ascension. 
30.268 — 
30.251 66—38 
N.W. 
— 
in 
54 
morn. 
4 
3 
31 
144 
24 M 
Queen Victoria b. 1819 
29-342 — 
30.236, 71—41 
; s.e. 
— 
58 
55 
0 2 
5 
3 
26 ■ 
145 
25 To 
Princess Helena b. 1346. 
30.208 — 
29-921 72—45 
S.W. 1 
08 
57 
57 
0 40 
6 
3 
20 
n6 
26 W 
Guelder Rose flowers. 
29 . 965 — 
29.902 62—34 
| N.E. 
01 
56 
58 
1 11 
3 
3 
14 
117 
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 66.5° and 45° respectively. The greatest heat, 89°, occurred on the 23rd in 1847 ; and the lowest cold, 29 ° on the 25th 
in 1839. During the period 105 days were fine, and on 70 rain fell. 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
CROWFOOTS—RANUNCULACEiE. 
(Continued from page 79.) 
ANEMONE. WIND FLOWER. 
Generic Character. — Involucre of three ent leaves, 
distant from the flower. Petals varying from five to fifteen, 
below seed-vessel, regular, in one or more rows, imbricated 
in the bud, oval or oblong, deciduous. Stamens numerous. 
Filaments hair-like, much shorter than the corolla. Anthers 
terminal, of two round lobes, bursting lengthwise. Germens 
numerous, collected into a round or oblong head. Pistils 
numerous. Styles tapering, short. Stigmas simple, bluntish. 
Seeds numerous, pointed, tipped with the permanent styles, 
which in some species become feathery tails. 
Anemone pulsatilla : Basque Flower; Danish Pasque 
Flower. 
Description .—It is a perennial. Pont rather woody. Leaves 
doubly-leafleted, the leaflets deeply cut into very narrow, 
i pointed, channelled, hairy segments. Stalk solitary, about 
| six inches high, round, hairy. Involucre in many deep, 
narrow segments, all united at the base, at first close to the 
flower. Flower dull violet, downy outside. Petals nearly 
one-and-a-lialf inch long, moderately spreading, but straight. 
Seeds, with their spreading, long, feathery, purplish tails, 
form a round head, and are finally blown away by the wind. 
Places where found .—In open pastures on chalky hills. 
Time of flowering .—April and May. 
History .—The generic name is derived from the Greek 
word, anemos, the wind, and was applied to the species w r o 
are now considering, because it frequents open, exposed 
places, and the namers were pleased thence to conclude 
that it delighted in being “ kissed by the wind.” The specific 
name, pulsatilla, is of Italian origin, and also alludes to its 
being beaten about by the breeze. The name of Pasque 
(Paseha) was applied to it by Gerarde, our English herbalist, 
who says he was “ moved to name it ” Pasque, or Easter 
flower, because of its time of blooming. Modern botanists, 
as we saw at page 79, have dedicated “ The Pheasant's 
Eye ” to Adonis, but Bion, the Greek poet, says :— 
“ As many drops of blood, as from the wound 
Of fair Adonis trickled on the ground, 
So many tears did Venus shed in showers :— 
Both tears and drops of blood were turn’d to flowers. 
From these in crimson beauty sprung the Rose, 
Cerulean-bright Anemones from those.” 
The Pasque flower is sometimes admitted into gardens. 
The leaves and flowers, if swallowed, cause vomiting. They 
are corrosive, and cause slight blisters if bruised and applied 
to the skin. They have been recommended for application 
to ulcers, ring-worms, and other eruptions. The juico of 
the petals stains paper green. Goats and sheep eat it, but 
by horses, cows, and pigs, it is rejected. 
Anemone nemorosa: Wood Anemone; Wood Wind 
Flower ; Single White Wood Crowfoot. 
Description. —It is a perennial. Pool tuberous, spreading 
near the surface, cylindrical. Plant about eight inches high, 
smooth ; stem purplish. Leaves on long foot-stalks, three 
or five-lealleted, mostly tlnee-cleft, always irregularly cut; 
the margin and ribs slightly hairy. Involucre of three 
similar leaves, with shorter stalks, above half-way up the 
flower-stalk, which is simple and a little hairy. Flower 
rather drooping, always solitary. Petals white, often purplish 
at the back, six in number, each above half-an-inch long. 
Germens downy. Seeds beaked with the style almost their 
own length. The numerous stamens, changing, as in several 
of the foreign kinds, into small spear-head petals, make a 
pretty double flower, more lasting than the single one. 
Places where found. —Common among bushes in woods 
and hedges. 
Time of flowering. —April and May. 
History. —This fairest and earliest of our Wood flowers 
has not been without its poet, and we have seen lines which 
began thus :— 
Welcome ! though cold the hour, 
Anemone ! 
And shelterless the hazel be; 
Yet spring shall form the greener bower, 
And sunshine bring, and warmer shower, 
To foster thee. 
It is acrid and slightly poisonous. Linnseus says that cattle 
brought into woody pastures have been afflicted with 
evacuations of blood. In general, however, horses, cows, 
and pigs reject it, though goats eat it. To sheep it is very | 
hurtful. Its juice is said to destroy warts and corns, if re¬ 
peatedly applied to them. It stains paper brown. Scald 
head (Tinea) is stated by Chomel to have been cured by 
the application, twice daily, of its bruised flowers aud leaves. 
A blister of these, recently prepared, is believed to aid in 
removing intermittent fever, but should be used cautiously. 
The flowers fold up in a curious manner, and bend down¬ 
wards, against rain. This plant is sometimes found with 
yellow dots on the under surface of the leaves, in which 
state it is figured in Ray, 3. 1. at page 128, and has been 
mistaken for a Fern ( Polypodium). Some have supposed 
these dots the work of an insect, but without sufficient proof. 
No. 0X0., Voi. VIII 
