980 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
December 3, 190^. 
intended, at least in, the New Testament, where the speaker 
have been referring to the shcrwy wild flowers growing on 
the plainsi and greensward close by. 
In taking an illustration of the! word as it is found in our 
language', several instances are given of the' word Ro-se, such 
as Primrose, Tuberose, Thames Rose, Rose Acacia, Christmas 
Rose, Guelder Rose, and many others which do not belong 
to the Rose family at all. Students of philology might not 
always agree with the writer in supposing that the correct 
derivation of all these, names has come from the word Rose. 
The Thames Rose is described as a pink-flowering Rush, and 
in all probability this reifefa to Buitomus umbellatus. 
We should take' exception, however, to the word Tuberose 
having been taken from our' word Rose at all. We regard; it 
as a corruption of the specific name given by botanists ; the 
flowers) being wliite with a long tube do- not, : in, our opinion, 
resemble a Rose in any respect. Wei 'think it more likely that 
it was taken from Polianthes tuberosa, given by .botanists in 
reference t0' the tuberous rootstock of the plant,, so 1 that, instead 
of saying - tuberosa, the florists gradually corrupted the word 
into Tuberose. In explaining the meaning of Guelder Rose 
the writer quotes sioane poetry from the " Romaunt of the 
Rose,” in which Whit-Sunday is mentioned as the time for the 
gathering of such flowers, which must have' applied to the 
Guelder Rose, asi none of the true Roses could have 'beisini in 
bloom at that time. 
The word Lily offers another wide field for controversy, for 
it is probable that it was applied to various plants, just as we 
do 1 at the present day in speaking of various subjects which 
may or may not, belong to the Lily family. In the quotation 
“ Consider the Lilies 1 of the field,” etc., it may be stated that 
different writers and commentators have applied the name to 
the Tulip, Anemone', Ranunculus, Iris, Daffodil, and Hyacinth, 
all of which have been named a,si probably the plant, intended. 
To those who have never 'studied the plants of the Bible this 
may come ais a shock, seeing that it would exclude Lilium 
candidum, variously known as the Madonna, Lily, St. Joseph’s 
Lily, etc. It, may also be remembered that our name Easter 
Lily is a name applied to L. lengiflorum Harri'sii, a, white Lily 
from Japan, extensively cultivated in the Barbados®, from 
whence it is imported to this country to be. forced. In all 
probability the Lily of the Valley, as we know it, is not the 
plant referred to in the Song of Solomon. 
The argument of the writer, here goes to show that if any 
true Lily was meant it must have referred to such brightly 
coloured subjects as Lilium chalcedonicum or L. Marta,gon. 
The White, Lily lias been assumed to be the, Lilly of the fie-ld 
mentioned 'in Scripture only since the tune that the Italian 
artists began to paint pictures 1 of the Blessed Virgin with a, 
White Lily. The author her e) assumes, them, that the' Madonna 
Lily is merely the conventional one of church decorative art. 
The quotation again says that “ Even Solomon, in all his glory 
was not arrayed like one of these.” Thil again would seem 
to indicate a flower of rich colour rather than the White Lily 
which is usually 'accepted. There are writers who believe that 
the Lilies of the field might have been the brightly coloured 
Anemone eoronaria, which grows so plentifully on the grassy 
pastures in various parts of Palestine. 
Other’ quotations in relation to Lilies would indicate that 
Lily did not always, apply to the same plant any more than 
did the word Rose'. For instance, in speaking of the molten 
sea, by the, Temple, Solomon speaks of flower's' of Lilies, which 
would most probably refer to. the sacred Lotus of Eastern) tradi¬ 
tion, anditw'ould be a suitable subject for cultivation in water. 
In reference! to the treiesi of thei Bib,lei mention is made of 
the Sycamore, but that need not indicate that the tree was 
identical with thei species known in this country under that 
name. It refers rather to the Fig Sycamore (Ficus' sycomorus), 
a tree that, grow® plentifully in the! Valley of the Jordan and 
also that of the Nile. It is a true specie's of Fig, and the 
tree known in this country a® thei Sycamore moist! ,probably 
derives its name from, some similarity of the leaves of the 
two. 
The writer also Las something to say upon the Willow, often 
mentioned by the side of water-courses by scriptural -writers, 
Various legends are given with regard to, the sentiments en¬ 
tertained for the Willow by different people, and in quoting 
from passages in the Bible it is supposed that Oleander -was 
probably meant, 'seeing that the plant grew by the water¬ 
courses and had leaves similar to those of Willows, fis they 
are known to Us. 
When we come to guoh a plant as the Grape Vine, there 
can be little doubt a,s to the plant intended,'for not, only does 
it grow wild in Palestine', but also over a great extent of the 
country lying to tire south of (the Caucasus Mountains', where 
it still continues to grow with great vigour, climbing t-o, the 
top® of the taller trees'. Thei references to the uses of the 
Vine, even in, the ancient: Biblical time®, could leave little doubt 
a,; to what plant was intended' fen" the cultivation of Grapes, 
for the production! of wine was a great industry even in times 
of the Israelites when in their greatest power as a nation. It 
is even believed that they originally invented the process of 
fermentation by which Grape juice is converted into wine, and 
the fermentation stopped at, that point before the liquid 
would be changed into acetic acid. 
The -chapter devoted to vegeitabko disenssesi Onions, Len¬ 
tils, Leeks, Beans', Cucumbers 1 , Garlick, and Gourds, most of 
which,, at' least, had beiem cultivated in, that Eastern land from 
time immemorial, and can be referred to botanically. In the 
case of Gourds the word might be applied to various species 
of the Cucurbitaoeae. For further information we may re¬ 
commend our readers to the book itself, which gives an ac¬ 
count of the plants as far as it hao been possible to identify 
them, both from a, description of the plants' which still grew 
and are likely to have' grown in, Palestine. Short, scraps of 
leigendbi from various writers are also interwoven with the 
story of the plant® of the' Bible, serving to illustrate the stories, 
beliefs, and legends- that have grown, up around them during 
the course of many centuries. 
Chrysanthemum Mrs. Eric Crossley. 
(See ‘Supplement.) 
The above- new variety is after the same’ form as J. R. Up¬ 
ton, and therefore one of the incurved Japanese Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, and one of the largest of that type. Compared with 
J. R. Upt-on, it- is similar in colour, being of a soft clear 
yellow, but, the bloom is much more solid. The florets are 
very broad, and besides being incurved are interlaced in a 
variety of ways so aisi to givei the bloom a. different appearance 
at- different stage® of it® development. 
Our supplementary illustration shows a bloom of it- con¬ 
siderably reduced in size, and the picture was prepared from 
a photograph taken in the Leafy Grove Nursery of Mr. H. J. 
Jones, Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham, on Octo¬ 
ber 25th last. Since then it was sh-owui in very fine- form at 
the Edinburgh Chrysanthemum Show on the 17th ult. Blooms 
of it in fine form for exhibition purposes may, therefore, be 
had over a considerable period of time. It is perfectly new, 
not having been listed in the most recent issue of Mr. Jones’ 
catalogue. 
A Showy Annual. 
Among the many beautiful annuals' we have been wont to- 
intersperse among the herbaceous subjects of our borders the 
patches of Linaria, reticulata, aurea purpurea have been con¬ 
spicuous and delightful the season through, and have won, the 
praise of every visitor 1 . It is a plant, of neat and compact 
growth, its erect and wiry stems being well clothed with 
narrow lanceolate foliage of ai glaucous green. Each stem 
terminates, in a, densely packed spike of small flowers of a most 
striking and beautiful combination of blight golden, vellow and 
richest purple. By removing the leading spike® before seed 
develops, the plant is assisted in producing side-shoots, thereby 
maintaining a brave display for a, lengthened period of time. 
A lovely white companion for the above is 1 found in Limana- 
maroccana The Pearl. Heather Bell. 
