August 25. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
393 
SI 
w 
Weather near London in 
1852. 
Sun 
Rises. 
D 
D 
AUGUST 25—31, 1853. 
Barometer, 
Thermo. 
Wind. 
Itain in 
Inches. 
Sun Moon Moon’s 
Sets. R. & S. Age. 
Clock Day of 
af. Sun. Year. 
25 
26 
27 
; 28 
; 29 
30 
31 
Tn 
F 
S 
Son 
M 
Tu 
W 
Chi Moth ; old walls. 
Prince Albert b. 1819. 
Barred Sallow ; woods. 
14 Sunday after Trinity. 
Gold Spot; meadows. 
Blue-bordered Carpet ; woods. 
Snout Moth ; hedges. 
29 915—29.882 
30.045 —29.973 
30.1)7—30.107 
30.040—29.993 
30.024—29.9(59 
30.019—30.010 
30.077—30.007 
73— 56 
74— 54 
75— 54 
76— 57 
76-47 
72-45 
69 —14 
S.W. 
E. 
E. 
S.\V r . 
S.E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
_ _ 
3 a. 5 
5 
0 
8 
9 
13 
1 a. 7 q 47 20 
VI 10 10 : ((£ 
57 10 39 22 
54 11 16 23 
52 morn. 24 
50 0 5 25 
48 1 5 26 
1 52 237 
1 35 238 
1 18 239 
1 I 240 
0 53 24 J 
0 26 242 
0 7 243 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations 
during the last twenty-six years, the average highest and lowest, tem¬ 
peratures of these days are 71*7° and 50° respectively. The greatest 
heat, 83°. occurred on the 25th in 2 826 ; and the lowest cold, 36°, on the 
2 (nh in 1850. During the period 115 days were fine, and on C 7 rain 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
{Continued from page 374.) 
Water Crosses, previously seasoned with salt and vinegar. 
{‘Smith. Withering. Martyn .) 
NASTURTIUM. CRESS. 
Generic Character.— Calyx equal at the base; leaves 
long-egg-shape, blunt, spreading, somewhat coloured, de¬ 
ciduous. Petals reversed egg-shaped, spreading, undivided, 
tapering into short claws; occasionally wanting. Stamens 
with awl-shaped, simple filaments; the two shortest each 
with a gland at the base withinsidq. Anthers incumbent, 
somewhat heart-shaped. Gcrmen cylindrical. Style erect, 
short, cylindrical. Stigma blunt, notched. Pod nearly 
cylindrical, rather swollen, shortish ; valves concave, without 
ribs or keel. Seeds roundish, flattened, without a border, 
irregulaily disposed, on slender stalks ; cotyledons accum- 
bent. 
Nasturtium officinale : Water Cress ; Water Kars. 
Description. —It is a perennial. Roots of many crowded, 
long, simple, white fibres. Stems spreading, for the most 
part floating, leafy, branched, round with several angles, j 
mostly smooth, but occasionally, when out of the water, a 
little downy or hairy; they vary considerably in length. 
Leaves smooth, deep, shining green, pinnate, or somewhat 
lyre-shaped, the terminal leaflet being largest; all wavy 
rather than toothed. Stipulas none. Flowers in a bunch at ' 
the end of the stem. Petals white, or slightly purple, with i 
a purplish calyx. . Pods barely an inch long, tumid and un¬ 
dulated at the sides, smooth, curved upwards, each on a 
horizontal stalk, variable in length. The variations in the 1 
size, number, and colour of the leaflets are not deserving of I 
any attention. ° j 
Places where found. —Very common in streams and ponds. ! 
Time of flowering. —June and July. 
History. —It is a native of every quarter of the globe, and 
is as universally esteemed as an agreeable, wholesome 
vegetable food. It is believed to be the Cardamon of the 
Greeks, and if so, their estimate of its merits is told by their 
Proverb—“Eat Cresses, and attain more wit.” Amongst 
our countrymen, all seem to agree with the old herbalist, 
Gerardo, that “ it sendeth into the face of young maidens 
their accustomed lively colour; ” and with the philosopher, 
Lord Paeon, that “ it is an herb friendly to life.” It is uni- 1 
versally allowed to be anti-scorbutic, and its juice mixed 
with that of Scurvy Grass, and of Seville Oranges, formed j 
a once very popular medicine called “ The Spring Juices.” j 
It is now chiefly employed as a salad herb, and in this 
way vast quantities of it are annually consumed. Formerly 
the London market was entirely dependant upon the natural 
production of this herb from streams in its vicinity, but 
since the commencement of the present century, many 
acies have been devoted to its cultivation ; a shallow stream 
being made artificially to sustain their growth. In Paris 
the consumption is far greater than in London, in proportion 
to the number of its inhabitants. The following is the 
recipe for the celebrated Poulct au cressons, or Chicken with 
Cresses, of the Parisians. Cover the chicken with slices of 
bacon, and envelope the whole with paper; while roastin" 
baste it with its gravy. When sufficiently roasted, serve it 
up in a dish with the gravy, and thickly surrounded with 
Nasturtium Sylvester : Creeping Yellow Cress; Water 
Rocket; Creeping Water Rocket. 
Description. It is a perennial. Root creeping extensively. 
Stems erect, though wavy or zigzag, a foot or more in height’ 
leafy, angular, and furrowed, roughish with minute points. 
Leaves lealleted; the upper ones pinnatifid; the lower 
stalked; leaflets or segments of all elliptic-spear-headed, or 
oblong, smooth, unequally toothed, or variously jagged, often 
decurrent. Clusters terminal, panicled, much lengthened 
out after flowering, and becoming zigzag. Flowers numerous, 
small. Petals of a golden yellow, the calyx partaking of the 
same colour. Nectary glands four, in a circle. Pods very 
sparingly perfected. 
Places where found.— Margins of rivers and ditches, and 
in gravelly wet meadows ; not common. 
Time of flowering. —June to September. 
History. —This ought to be held in reverence of every 
schoolboy, for “Pliny reporteth, says Gerarde, that who¬ 
soever taketh the seed of Rocket before he be whipt shall 
be so hardened that he shall easily endure the pain.” We 
fear that Pliny’s species must be numbered among the lost 
vegetables! It should not be without a share of ladies 
esteem, for the same old herbalist assures us that “ The 
root and seed stamped and mixed with vinegar and the gall 
of an ox, take away freckles.” Dodoens and others re¬ 
commended it to be mixed with Lettuce as a salad herb. 
{Smith. Withering. Martyn. Gerarde.) 
I 
No. CCLVI., Vol. X. 
