February 19. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
313 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
A1 
D 
W 
D 
FEBRUARY 19—25, 1852. 
Weather near London in 1851. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R.&S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
Barometer. 
Thermo. 
Wind. 
Rain in In. 
19 
Th 
29-911—29.831 
54—42 
S.W. 
10 a. 7 
19 a. 5 
7 20 
29 
14 
10 
50 
20 
F 
29.758 — 29.714 
53—35 
S.W. 
26 
8 
21 
sets. 
© 
14 
5 
51 
21 
S 
Sun’s declinat., 10° 45's. 
29.911 — 29.810 
48—27 
E. 
_ 
6 
22 
6 a 52 
1 
13 
58 
52 
22 
Sun 
Shrove Sunday. 
30.007 — 29.937 
50—29 
E. 
— 
4 
24 
7 58 
2 
13 
51 
53 
23 
M 
Woodlouse seen. 
29 . 894 — 29.792 
49—31 
S.E. 
_ 
2 
2(5 
9 4 
3 
13 
43 
54 
24 
Tu 
Shrove Tuesday. 
29766 — 29.760 
53—31 
S. 
02 
VI 
28 
10 8 
4 
13 
35 
55 
25 
W 
Lent b. Ash Wed. St. Matthew. 29.947 — 29.816 
53—34 
E. 
— 
57 
30 
11 14 
5 
13 
25 
56 
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 46.2° and 33.6° respectively. The greatest heat, 64°, occurred on the 25th in 1846 ; and the lowest cold, 16 ° on the 19th 
in 1845. During the period 87 days were fine, and on 88 rain fell. 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
CROWFOOTS—RANUNCULACE2E. 
RANUNCULUS. 
(Continued from page 285.) 
Section with Leaves Cut or Lobed. 
Ranunculus auricohus : Goldilocks; Wood or Golden- 
liaired Crowfoot. 
Description. —It is a perennial. Root fibrous. Stem about 
a foot liigb, erect, branched, leafy, round, the upper part 
often slightly downy. Leaves seldom quite smooth ; often 
finely downy; root-leaves on long stalks, rounded or kidney¬ 
shaped, scolloped, some of them three-lobed, or five-lobed, 
cut; those on the stem stalkless, in deeper or narrower 
segments ; uppermost in three or more narrow, quite entire, 
lobes. Flowers terminal, on downy stalks, solitary, of a 
bright golden yellow, of which the pale, hairy, never-hent- 
back calyx often partakes. Sometimes the Calyx is enlarged 
and coloured, assuming the aspect of petals, which in that 
case are wanting. Nectary an open pore or hole at the 
bottom of each petal. 
Places where found. —Not uncommon in dry woods and 
hedges, but very rarely in marshy places. 
Time of flowering. —April, May. 
History. —This has none of the usual acrid qualities of 
the Crowfoots, and for this reason it has been sometimes 
called R. dulcis , or Sweet Wood Crowfoot. 
Ranunculus sceleratus : Water Crowfoot; Celery-leaved 
Crowfoot. 
Description. —This is an annual. Root fibrous. Herb very 
acrid, juicy, various in luxuriance, from six inches to two 
feet high, of a pale shining green, very smooth, except occa¬ 
sionally the flower-stalks and upper part of the stem, which 
sometimes have depressed hairs. Stem thick, round, hollow, 
repeatedly branched, leafy. Lower leaves stalked, rounded, 
bluntly lobed and cut; upper leaves stalkless, with deeper 
and narrower segments ; uppermost leaves of all, accompany¬ 
ing the flowers, spear-head-shaped, undivided. Flowers small, 
! pale yellow, numerous, on solitary stalks, either terminal, 
axillary, or opposite to the leaves. Calyx hairy, hent hack. 
Petals circular. Nectary somewhat tubular. Fruit egg- 
shaped,. blunt, various in length, composed of numerous 
small seeds. 
Places where found. —Common in shallow watery places. 
Time of flowering. —June to August. 
History. —It is one of the most acrid and poisonous of 
our native plants. The herb bruised and applied to the 
skin soon raises a blister, and has been employed for the 
purpose instead of Cantliarides or Spanish flies, but the 
■ wound it makes is difficult to heal. This property is said to 
be taken advantage of by vagrants to excite compassion. 
When chewed, this herb inflames the tongue, and if swal¬ 
lowed, produces violent vomiting, and even more fatal con- 
j sequences. Goats eat it. Cows, horses, and sheep, refuse 
it, but the latter having accidentally swallowed it, are be¬ 
lieved to have died in consequence. It is the Round-leaved 
Water Crowfoot of some of our early herbalists. Water dis¬ 
tilled from it is intensely acrimonious, and when cold it 
deposits crystals which are dissolvable with difficulty, and 
are inflammable. Yet boiling is said entirely to destroy the 
acridity of the herb, and that after boiling the Wallachian 
shepherds eat it. 
Ranunculus aitestris : Alpine White Crowfoot. 
Description .—This is a perennial. Root with many long 
fibres. Herb very smooth in every part. Stem from two to 
five inches high, erect, almost invariably simple and single- 
flowered, naked, except one or two, and sometimes three, 
narrow, bluntisli, upright, entire leaves towards the middle. 
Root leaves several, on channelled stalks, roundisli-lieart- 
shaped, or kidney-shaped, more or less deeply divided into 
three principal unequal lobes, which are again lobed and 
cut, elegantly veined. Flower, large, erect, of a brilliant 
white. Petals, reversed heart-shaped. Calyx, bent back, 
smooth, pale, bordered with white. 
Place where found .—It has only been found by the sides 
of some small streams, and other moist places, about two or 
three rocks on the mountains of Clova, in Angus-shire; 
even there it seldom flowers. 
Time offloivenng .—M ay. 
History .—It was discovered comparatively recently by Mr. 
Don, and the reason for this, he suggests, may be, that its 
leaves bear so great a resemblance to those of some of its 
commoner kindred that it may have been overlooked. Haller 
states that it is extremely acrid, and capable of blistering, 
yet the Swiss hunters chew it as a restorative, and to prevent 
giddiness,— (Smith. Withering. Don. Martyn. Ray.) 
As we have observed in another publication, the goose¬ 
berry, though now especially a British fruit, is not 
mentioned as an object of cultivation here until the 
. middle of the 10th century. Tusser, in his “ Five 
Hundred Points of Good Husbandry,” published during 
1557, mentions “ gooseberries” among our then garden 
fruits. Lyte, in 1578, says, “ it is planted commonly 
almost along the borders of every garden.” The green 
No. CLXXVII, Vol. YU. 
