December 17, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
1013 
he 0ardeniiig\\/brld. 
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EDITORIAL NOTES. 
[oisture, Heat, Light and Plants. 
Some papers on this subject have been 
ppearing in the “ Revue Generate de 
otanique ” concerning the influence of the 
bove agencies on plant growth, and Mr. 
8. A. Skan has been giving a resume of the 
same in “ Knowledge and Scientific News.'’ 
Such plants as the Daisy, Dandelion, Shep¬ 
herd’s Purse, three species of Plantain and 
Milfoil, were taken and placed under dif¬ 
ferent conditions, one set being in the open 
air and the other placed in a greenhouse. 
The experiments were conducted between 
November and May. Owing to the feeble 
character of the light at this period, the dif¬ 
ference between the outside and inside con¬ 
ditions would naturally be much greater 
than in summer, when more ventilation 
would have to be given, and the light would 
be stronger. In all of the plants mentioned, 
the leaves are either permanently crowded in 
a dense, radical rosette, or in the case of 
Shepherd’s Purse they would retain that 
condition until the flowering-stem com¬ 
mences to develop. Under the effects of 
moisture, heat and feeble light in the green¬ 
house, the rosettes of leaves began to lose 
their character owing to the elongation of 
the internodes whereby they became scat¬ 
tered up an elongating stem. They were 
also more erect and larger in size. The first 
phenomenon would be due largely to the 
feeble light, and the increased size would 
be the result largely of the atmospheric 
moisture stimulated by the temperature 
maintained in the greenhouse. The internal 
structure of roots, stems and leaves showed 
a much smaller amount of woody matter 
than was usual for these plants in the open. 
The National Emblems in Legendary Lore 
On the 2nd inst., Mr. John Don, M.A., 
took the chair at a meeting of the Buchan 
Field Club at Peterhead, and introduced Mr. 
A. M’D. Read, who read an interesting paper 
on “ Legendary Plant Lore.” He said there 
were two ways of looking at nature—the 
commonplace and the romantic way, the 
latter being the most interesting. He said 
it was difficult to determine how and when 
the Rose first came to be linked with the 
fortunes of England. The Saxons, according 
to record, carried a banner wrought with 
Roses into the battlefield. According to 
another authority, Edward I. was the first 
English monarch to assume the Rose as his 
crest. The flower appeared on the Great Seal 
from the time of Edward IV. to that of 
James II. It also appeared on some of the 
coinage of Henry VI. He also explained the 
meaning of the term Sub rosa. In relation 
to the Thistle, Mr. Reid said the heraldic use 
of it appeared during the reign of James III. 
It was also used as a badge in 1503, in which 
year the poet Dunbar wrote “ The Tlirissil 
and the Rois ” on the union of James IV. 
with Princess Margaret of England. Thistles 
occurred on the coins from James IV. to the 
time of James VI. In 1579 the motto 
“ Nemo me impune Jacessit ” first appeared 
in connection with the Thistle. In discuss- 
ing what the species was, he mentioned the 
Cotton Thistle and the Stemless Thistle, but 
surely both of those are far-fetched, not 
being native to the soil. The Shamrock pre¬ 
sented another difficulty, an early Irish 
writer stating that it was the White Clover 
which was worn on St. Patrick’s Day. Other 
plants to which the honour was given were 
the Wood Sorrel, Black Medick, the Speed¬ 
well and others. There was no doubt as to 
the identity of the Leek, the Welsh national 
emblem, but how it first came to be em¬ 
ployed in that respect remains a doubtful 
question. In dealing with the plant lore of 
Plantains, to which the popular name Carl- 
doddy is given all over Scotland, his explana¬ 
tion is fanciful but interesting, and at least 
plausible. He speaks of the popular custom 
of children in using the Plantain heads as 
soldiers for the purpose of carrying out 
mimic battles, and thought that the name 
we have just given had its connection with 
this during the Jacobite period. Some of 
the older people espoused the cause of Prince 
Charlie (the latter name often pronounced 
Carl), whilst others espoused King George, 
speaking of him under the name of “ Doddy,” 
which is simply a familiar Scotch name for 
little George. The names of the two leaders 
of the people being put together produced 
the word Carldoddy as now universally em¬ 
ployed amongst the Scotch rustics for Plan¬ 
tain. We suppose that the name Senecio 
Jacobaeus, as applied to this common wild 
plant, was given in allusion to its having 
been used on the field of battle in a similar 
way to the Welsh Leek. The name has also 
been applied, however, in gardens to the 
Cape species S. elegans. 
—o— 
Quercus Mirbeckii. 
A full-page illustration of the above beau¬ 
tiful Oak is given in “ Cassell’s Popular 
Gardening,” Part 18. It is chiefly notable for 
the large size of its leaves, being 6 in. to 
8 in. in length and 3^ in. to in. wide. 
The margins of the leaves are also cut into 
large teeth, so that it is strikingly different 
from any of the British Oaks, which are so 
commonly planted even in ornamental 
grounds. The tree is a native of Spain, 
Portugal, and North Africa, and probably 
for that reason it is less hardy than some 
of the other Oaks. It largely depends, how¬ 
ever, upon the nature of the spring. If 
mild and warm weather induces the buds to 
burst into life and a frosty morning sue 
ceeds, even the common British Oak is liable 
to get more or less injured. If such an 
accident were to happen to this or any other 
ornamental Oak, it need not be advanced 
against its being planted in the pleasuie 
orounds. Many of the Oaks are well worthy 
of being planted for the sake of their foliage 
alone, either green or variegated. 
