March 18. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
377 
i 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
- 
M 
D 
5 : 
MARCH 18-24, 1852. 
Weather 
Barometer. 
near Lo 
Thermo. 
N DON 
Wind. 
N 1851. 
llain in In. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
| Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
18 
Th 
Princess Louisa born, 1848. 
29-802 — 29.648 
51—36 
S. 
10 
9 a. 6 
8 a. 6 
5 51 
27 
8 
8 
78 
19 
* 
Turkey lays. 
29.657 — 29.344 
51—43 
S.W. 
33 
6 
9 
6 11 
28 
7 
50 
79 
20 
s 
Marsh Marigold flowers. 
29.345 — 29.340 
58—37 
S.W. 
— 
4 
11 
sets. 
® 
7 
32 
80 
21 
Sun 
4th, or Midlent Sunday. 
29.310 — 29.232 
56—40 
S.W. 
02 
2 
13 
6 a 54 
1 
7 
14 
81 
22 
M 
Sun’s declination, 0° 49' n. 
29.108 —28.753 
56—41 
S.W. 
44 
V 
14 
7 59 
2 
6 
55 
82 
23 
Tu 
Ivy Berries ripe. 
29.278 —28.995 
51—39 
S.W. 
13 
57 
16 
9 5 
3 
6 
37 
83 
24 
W 
29.589 — 29.281 
50—34 
S.W. 
02 
65 
18 
10 12 
4 
6 
19 
84 
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 50.8° and 31.5° respectively. The greatest heat, 69 °, occurred on the 20th in 1836 ; and the lowest cold, 18° on the 18th 
in 1850. During the period 113 days were fine, and on 62 rain fell. 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
CROWFOOTS—RANUNCULACE7E. 
RANUNCULUS. 
(Continued from page 349.) 
Section with Leaves Cut or Lobed. 
Ranunculus acris : Upright Meadow Crowfoot; Butter¬ 
cups. 
Description. —This is a perennial. Root rather tuberous, 
with many long, simple, white, fibres. Stem two feet high, 
erect, cylindrical, hollow, leafy, clothed with close-pressed 
hairs or bristles ; much branched above, and many flowered. 
Root leaves on long upright hairy footstalks, with three or five 
deep lobes; lobes variously subdivided and cut, more or 
less hairy, deep-purple at points of segments; stem-leaves 
nearly stalkless, but sheathing the joints, with fewer and 
narrower segments ; uppermost stem-leaves much smaller, in 
tbree narrow entire lobes; sometimes simple and narrow. 
Flowers bright yellow, on round even stal/cs, covered with 
close hairs, and not furrowed. Calyx ^ hairy, spreading, 
coloured, deciduous. Nectary covered by a scale. Seeds 
flatly convex, like those of the Yetch, smooth, brown, with a 
small, slightly curved point. 
Places where found. —Very common in meadows and pas¬ 
tures. It is found in wet spots, even on our loftiest moun¬ 
tains, but becomes there single-flowered and small. 
Time of flowering. —June and July. 
History. —A double variety is known in our gardens as 
Double-yellow Bachelors Buttons. Its juices are so acrid, 
that gathering the plant, and carrying it some distance in 
the naked hand, causes the skin in contact with it to be in¬ 
flamed. Sheep and goats eat it, but cows, horses, and pigs, 
reject it, except hard pressed by hunger, and then they will 
only nibble off the points of the youngest shoots, which are 
less acrid than the older growths. When made into hay it 
loses its acridity, but is too woody to afford much nourish¬ 
ment. The name of Butter-cups, applied commonly to the 
flowers of this and of some other species, arose from the 
erroneous opinion that the yellow colour given to butter by 
rich pasturage is occasioned by these flowers so usually 
found there. 
Ranunculus arvensis : Corn Crowfoot. 
Description. —It is an annual. Root fibrous. Herbage of 
a pale shining green, nearly smooth. Stem twelve to fifteen 
inches high, erect, in a favourable soil much branched, cylin¬ 
drical, leafy, downy at top. Leaves alternate, the upper ones 
partly opposite, all once or twice divided in a three-fold 
manner, with narrow-spear-head, bluntish, mostly entire, 
rather fleshy segments. Flowers small, lemon-coloured, 
solitary, on simple stalks opposite to the leaves. Calyx 
spreading, narrow, hairy, yellowish. Petals reversed egg- 
shaped. Seeds large, each with an upright awl-shaped point, 
their flat sides densely armed with numerous, sharp, pro¬ 
minent prickles. 
Places where found. —Common in com-fields. 
Time of flowering. —June to August. 
History. —It is a violent poison. Three ounces of its 
juice killed a dog in four minutes. Yet in Italy, sheep and 
other animals are said to eat it, although it is so acrid as to 
cause cholic and inflammation of the stomach. In Britain 
this is not known to occur, perhaps because the plant is 
chiefly found in corn-fields, where cattle are not admitted 
until the stems are dead or dying. In the cases of sheep 
poisoned by it in Italy, pouring vinegar ‘down their throats 
was found to be the best remedy. Not being very luxuriant, 
it is not a formidable weed, but being most frequent on poor 
soils, it has received the name of Hungerweed, in some 
districts. Its poisonous qualities should make cultivators 
careful to destroy it. Parkinson says that the decoction of 
the leaves of the field Crowfoot healeth scabs and the itch, 
but they must not be suffered to remain long upon the 
places ; it is likewise used, he adds, to check the falling off 
of the hair, the head being washed with it warmed, and 
after two or three hours washed off with fresh warm water. 
Ranunculus hederaceus : Ivy-like Crowfoot; Ivy-leaved 
Crowfoot; Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot. 
Description. —This, a perennial, is a little, smooth, branch¬ 
ing, creeping or floating herb, sending down rootlets from 
each joint of its hollow leafy stem. Roots numerous, simple, 
whitish. Leaves shining, rather fleshy, stalked, opposite or 
alternate, with three or five shallow lobes, some kidney¬ 
shaped ; then - colour dark green, often with a black spot on 
the disk; leaf-stalks flattened. Flowers small, with narrow 
white petals , and from five or twelve stamens, but rarely more 
than seven. Nectary a yellowish, naked pore. Seeds swollen, 
with minute transverse wrinkles, about the size of a Yetch 
seed. 
Places where found. —On the mud of shallow ditches, and 
slow rivulets. 
Time of flowering. —May to August. 
History. —Ray, on the authority of Dr. Mapletoft, says 
that the clear liquid made from a handful each of the young 
tops of Alder shoots, Ivy-leaved Crowfoot, and Sage, soaked 
all night in white wine, is an excellent remedy in dropsical 
and scorbutic cases. Unfortunately he does not state how 
it is to be applied. (Smith, Withering, Martyn, Ray.) 
We must select one more letter from those of Dr. James 
Anderson before we pass on to the letters from others 
of Mr. Forsyth’s correspondents, and we select it be¬ 
cause it throws considerable light upon a controversy 
which engaged very much of the attention of gardeners 
and naturalists at the commencement of the present cen¬ 
tury. In 1797, Dr. Anderson removed from Scotland, 
and settled at Isleworth, near London, where he became, 
more even than previously, immersed within a circle of 
literary and scientific friends, who, like himself, de¬ 
lighted in everything connected with the culture of 
plants. Just at this time, Mr. Forsyth bad come before 
No. CLXXXI., Vol. VII. 
