THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
59 
April 25.] 
production of seeds. The meadows are lively with the 
flowers of the different species of Curdamine, or Lady’s 
| Smock, one of which (<7. pratensis) is the Cuckoo-flower— 
I so named because its showy flowers appeal- in the meadows 
! at the same time when the cuckoo’s first voice is heard. 
The flowers get the credit of curing epilepsy, and are indeed 
“ associated with pleasant ideas of spring; and join, with the 
white saxifrage, the cowslip, primrose, and harebell, to com¬ 
pose many a rustic nosegay.” 
The yellow rocket ( Barbarea vulgaris) is now a chief 
ornament of the waysides and moist pastures; and although 
it lias been recommended as a salad, we fear that one trial 
will be sufficient to convince any one that its offensively 
bitter foliage is ill suited for such a purpose. On old ruins 
the Wallflower ( Cheir ant has Cheiri) is displaying its array 
of yellow blossoms; and in neglected corn-fields we find a 
profusion of the Charlock or Wild Mustard ( Sinapis arvensis) 
giving them a premature golden hue. The Hairy \ iolet 
( Viola hirta) and the Marsh Violet ( V. palustris) are both 
lurking in beauty among the long grass ; and the wall-tops 
are covered with the different species of Bearlwort (Sagiua), 
which are of little importance except in a botanical point of 
view. Arenaria trinervis, a great favourite with the botanist, 
now produces its little flowers resembling those of the 
duckweed, which may also be found, and in greater plenty. 
This is the month for the flowering of the dusky Cranes- 
bill (Geranium phteum), and the waysides abound with the 
I little Dove's Foot Cranesbill (Geranium molle) ; both of them 
—although comparatively showy among native wild flowers— 
far behind the highly-cultivated geraniums of our gardens in 
their array of gaudy blossoms. The common Wood Son-el 
( Oxalis acetosella ) adorns the old-tree trunks and shelving 
rocks in the woodlands ; and 
“ The yellow furze, like fields of gold,” 
clothes the northern landscape in a glow of beauty, reminding 
us of the effect of such a scene on the sensitive mind of Lin- 
meus, when he fell on his knees in profound admiration on 
first beholding it. Nor has the furze its glowing beauty 
alone to recommend it to our attention. That were indeed 
enough to claim for it the admiring eye of the poet and the 
naturalist; but our sturdy plant of prickles and flowers, 
deigns even to court the approval of the utilitarian eye. In 
the whiter season the young shoots are extensively used as 
food for stock, and he who lias wandered over furze-grown 
sheep-walks, can well testify to the liking of the woolly flocks 
for this shrub. The black Medick or Nonsuch (Medicayo 
lupulinu) may be seen abundantly in lowland sheep pastures 
and waste grounds, along with the more rightful tenant of 
the soil, the White Trefoil, or Dutch Clover ( Trifolium repens). 
The Grass Vetch (Lathyrus nissolia) may be gathered spa¬ 
ringly in bushy places in England, and it has recently been 
added to the Scottish Flora, by a young Forfarshire botanist. 
The Wood Strawberry (Frayaria vesca) is abundant in the 
steep banks of the woods, where in autumn its small red fruit 
will be eagerly sought after by woodland wandering urchins. 
The Spring Cinquefoil (Potentilla verna) is also in full flower, 
adorning many a sunny bank with its rich golden blossoms. 
Some years ago, we, in another page, recommended this 
beautiful plant as very suitable for flower-garden edgings, 
and it has subsequently been proved to be admirably adapted 
for this purpose. The Burnet-leaved Rose (llosa spinosissima) 
is producing its white blossoms on heathy and hilly places ; 
and the Hawthorn or May (Crataegus oxyaeantha), is in its 
glory. In parts of the country where this plant is ex¬ 
tensively used for hedgings, or grows plentifully in a wild 
condition, the evening air will be perfectly loaded with its 
fragrance, while the large sheets of its snowy blossoms will 
give the scenery an inviting aspect, such as no other plant 
could give. The red fruit or haws (sometimes of a greenish 
orange hue), afford many a winter meal to the feathered- 
tribes of the hedgerows, and the rustic disdains not to cata¬ 
logue the hawthorn berry as one of our best wild fruits. In 
the woods the various species of riles w-ill be observed in 
bloom, and in hilly pastures the granulated Saxifrage is in 
beautiful condition, being generally a common plant, although 
scarcely to be found in the Scottish Highlands, as well as 
some districts of England. The little clusters of pink coloured 
tubers of the roots are scarcely less beautiful than the large 
white flowers. The Wild-beaked Parsley ( Anlhriscus sylves- 
tris) has already produced its umbels beneath the hedges, 
and the Sweet Cicely (Myrrliis odorata) perfumes the whole 
air with its powerful fragrance; the latter more particularly 
frequents the margins of streams and woodland fences, and 
is sometimes found by the ruins of an old cottage, or the 
crumbling walls of an old garden, often the last remnant of 
cultivation that adheres to the spot. The beautiful little 
Moschatell (Adoxa moschatellina) is a very general favourite, 
and may be sought for in moist shady jdaces; and the Mis¬ 
tletoe ( Viscum album) so long held sacred by our forefathers, 
may now be observed with its axillary flowers, clinging to the 
bough on which it depends for support. More interesting, 
perhaps, than any other we have mentioned, is the Linneea 
borealis, now beginning to flower in its secluded habitats ; in 
the words of Sir J. E. Smith, this “ is the little northern 
plant long over-looked, depressed, abject, flowering early,” 
which Liumeus selected to transmit his own name to pos¬ 
terity. Few could have been better chosen ; and the progress 
of practical botany in Britain seems to be marked by the 
more frequent discovery of the Linneea.—G. Lawson, Assis¬ 
tant Curator, Botanical Society, Edinburgh. 
(To be continued.) 
WHITE FLOWERS FOR BEDDING. 
Your, valuable coadjutor, Mr. Beaton, having finished his 
section of white bedding-plants, and invited the remarks of 
any one who might be willing to assist him in rendering his 
catalogue more complete, I venture to suggest a few plants 
which he has omitted, first premising that my knowledge 
only extends to their cultivation as mixed border flowers. 
Saxifraga granulata, or Double white Saxifrage. This is 
neat, hardy, one foot high, and blooms freely in April and May. 
If set out in clumps in February or March, and taken up 
when done with, and removed to a reserve bed, they would 
answer for several successive seasons. 
Double white Rockets (Hesperis tristis). There are two 
kinds of this plant, one a medium size, growing about If foot 
high, the other 2§ feet, and usually called the Giant Rocket. I 
have grown both”for years, but prefer the latter, owing to its 
larger spikes of flowers, and fuller habit. In addition to its 
brilliant whiteness it is remarkable for its delicate fragrance, 
and in this latter respect is preferable, near a drawing-room 
window, to a bed of white stocks, which of a close warm 
evening are apt to be overpowering. Separating the balls in 
the autumn, and retaining the young plants three or four 
together, they trill bed out well the following spring. 
White Feverfew. I do not mean the common sort usually 
grown in gardens, but a double variety, with flowers about 
the size of a halfpenny, and every petal well expanded, so as 
to resemble the double-blossomed cherry. They will bloom 
from June to November, and by nipping off the tops of the 
main stems, trill throw out lateral ones, and be covered with 
flowers. A single plant stopped in this way in a pot forms 
a white dome, and hides it entirely. 
Campanula. I have two of these, not mentioned by Mr. 
Beaton, growing from two to three feet high; one is shaped 
in the flowers like the Canterbury Bell, only not so deep ; the 
other has the form of a fleet cup, and about two inches 
across; both are very showy, and renew their flowers if 
plucked off when faded; the former blooms with me from 
June into winter, the latter not quite so long. I do not know 
their scientific names, but they flower in bunches on the top 
of slender foot stalks. The white Canterbury Bell would 
surely do as a bedder; but I find it difficult to grow this 
plant of a pure white, owing to my soil having too much bog 
in it, which turns the colour to a French white, and some¬ 
times pale blue; from this cause the dark varieties assume 
a deep purple. 
Iberis or Candy Tuft. There is a perennial variety of this, 
but I allude to tlie annual sown in the autumn, and removed 
to the bed in patches, when, if the season be at all favour¬ 
able, it will appear in spikes six to eight inches long. Spring 
sown seeds produce generally very ordinary flowers. 
Will Mr. Beaton allow me to say that he has hardly men¬ 
tioned one white flower that a bed could be got into bloom 
of before June. Now there are few hearts which are not 
gladdened ai the appearance of spring flowers; ladies and 
even invalids are tempted from their warm rooms into the 
garden by these harbingers of a milder season ; the feeling 
is inherent in our nature, and cannot something more be 
