October  10,  1895, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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shaggy  wood,”  where  the  wild  species  are  more  abundant  than  in 
the  south.  Evidently  the  name  of  Heath  or  Heather  came  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon  hoeih,  a  waste  or  open  moor,  the  plants  being 
designated  by  the  locality  where  they  chiefly  flourish. 
The  Latin  one  of  Erica,  meaning  “  to  break,”  refers  to  an  old 
belief  in  the  virtues  of  such  plants  as  solvents  or  removers  of 
obstructions  in  the  human  frame,  but  modern  herbalists  have  not 
placed  the  Heaths  on  their  lists.  Still,  a  special  value  is  attached 
to  the  dark  Heather  honey,  and  honey  of  itself  has  certainly 
medicinal  powers.  All  the  Ericas  secrete  large  quantities  of  nectar, 
hence  the  eagerness  with  which  bees,  flies,  and  various  insects 
resort  to  their  flowers.  There  is  a  mutual  benefit,  indeed,  fertilisa¬ 
tion  being  effected  by  an  arrangement  resembling  that  found 
amongst  the  Violas.  A  bee  that  visits  an  Erica,  when  inserting  its 
trunk  to  obtain  the  honey,  can  hardly  fail  to  strike  its  head  against 
the  ring  of  anthers,  by  which  act  some  pollen  is  dislodged  and 
adheres  to  its  forehead.  Entering  another  flower,  as  the  bee 
pushes  in,  this  pollen  is  removed,  falling  on  the  stigma. 
Poppies  still  linger  with  us,  both  in  fields  and  gardens,  their 
falling  petals  reminding  us  these  autumn  days  of  Burns’  comparison 
between  them  and  life’s  pleasures  ;  but  in  floral  language  the  Poppy 
represents  “  consolation,”  because  it  relieves  pain  and  induces 
sleep.  Very  general  is  the  fancy  that  the  smell  of  the  wild  flower 
causes  headache,  yet  ’tis  but  a  fancy,  nor  does  the  odour  even  of 
the  garden  Papaver  somniferum,  which  contains  more  narcotic, 
causo  drowsiness.  I  do  not  know  that  the  upspringing  of  Poppies 
on  land  is,  as  some  say,  a  proof  that  the  soil  is  good  ;  it  is  certainly 
a  curious  circumstance  that  when  a  new  railway  cutting  passes 
through  a  gravel  bed,  the  slopes  are  often  speedily  covered  with  a 
crop  of  the  Corn  Poppy,  though  we  may  be  unable  to  explain  how 
the  seeds  got  there.  One  of  the  sacred  flowers  this,  dedicated  to 
the  goddess  Ceres,  her  figure  being  adorned  with  a  Poppy  chaplet  ; 
some  suppose  P.  Rhseas  was  named  after  Rhea  or  Cybele,  mother 
of  the  gods.  In  some  country  places  the  Poppy  used  to  be  called 
“  Thunderflower,”  from  a  notion,  it  is  stated,  that  the  blooms 
make  an  extra  display  before  or  during  a  thunderstorm. 
“  Papaver,”  the  generic  name,  has  been  supposed  to  allude  to  the 
Eastern  practice  of  mixing  the  seeds  with  bread  or  pap,  but  one 
author  thinks  that  the  nurses  of  old  Greece  discovered  the  method 
of  stilling  a  too  noisy  and  restless  infant  with  Poppy  juice,  hence 
the  parental  name.  The  so-called  Californian  Poppy,  or 
Eichscholtzia,  has  its  separate  significance,  its  golden  blooms  say 
“  Do  not  refuse,”  advice  which  may  be  good  or  bad  ;  the  expanding 
petals  of  this  autumn  flower  lift  off  the  calyx  entirely  as  it  separates 
from  below.  This  annual  caused  quite  a  sensation  amongst 
gardeners  at  its  introduction. 
Not  quite  superseded  by  the  Chrysanthemum,  its  pioneer,  the 
Michaelmas  Daisy  is  now  prominent  in  some  gardens  of  the  old 
style,  opening  when  flowers  have  mostly  ceased  to  bloom,  our 
predecessors  called  “  Flora’s  Afterthought.”  The  goddess  was 
taking  farewell,  and  added  one  flower  more.  Since  then  she  has 
been  much  more  liberal  in  her  gifts  of  autumn  species,  and  of  this 
plant  we  have  new  types  from  China,  Germany,  and  elsewhere. 
One  of  the  tribe  that  flowers  early  is  the  Goldilocks  (Aster 
linosyris),  with  yellow  flowers  and  wand-like  in  growth  ;  and  the 
taller,  pinkish  white,  A.  Tradescanti,  keeps  in  memory  the  worthy 
naturalist  and  gardener  of  village  Lambeth. 
Before  the  more  showy  North  American  species  of  Solidago 
were  known  here,  gardeners  cultivated  the  Golden  Rod  of  our 
woods,  S.  virgaurea,  greatly  valued  for  its  healing  powers  as  well 
as  for  its  beauty,  which  is,  rather  singularly,  a  symbol  of  “  precau¬ 
tion.”  Tokens  of  “  unceasing  remembrance  ”  are  the  Gnaphaliunas 
or  Everlasting  Flowers,  some  of  which  are  called  Helichrysums, 
serviceable  for  decoration  from  their  unfading  quality.  Some  wild 
species  are  known  as  Cudweeds  ;  perhaps  Cottonweeds  was  the 
original  form  of  the  name.  The  Pearly  Everlasting  (G.  margari- 
taceum)  is  an  old  favourite.  It  grows  seemingly  wild  in  Wales. 
A  low-growing  remarkable  species,  flowering  in  summer,  is 
G.  Leontopodium.  The  heads  are  thought  to  resemble  the  feet  of 
a  lion.  The  old  botanists  gave  to  the  common  Cudweed  the  odd 
name  of  Herba  Impia,  because  the  side  stalks  growing  above  the 
main  stem  suggested  the  idea  of  children  domineering  over  their 
parents. 
Another  reminder  of  the  gardener  of  Charles  I.  we  have  in  the 
Spiderworts  (Tradescantia),  several  varieties  of  which  keep  in 
flower  till  the  end  of  autumn.  His  son  brought  the  first  from 
Virginia  about  1650.  Emblems  of  ‘‘brief  felicity,”  they  sav,  are 
these  pretty  border  plants.  Tall  and  spreading  are  the  Willow 
Herbs  or  Epilobiums,  taking  their  Latin  name  from  the  long  and 
usually  downy  seed  vessels,  fitting  representatives  of  “  pretentious¬ 
ness.”  The  familiar  E.  angustifolium  is  also  possessor  of  the  name 
of  Rose  Bay,  the  paler  E.  hirsutum  obtained  from  its  odour  that 
of  “  Codlins  and  Cream.”  The  Alpine  is  a  -other  ele.ant  but 
dwarf  species. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
AGAPETES  BUXIFOLIA. 
When  seen  at  its  best  Agapetes  buxifolia  (fig.  55)  is  a  beautiful 
plant,  and  it  is  surprising  that  it  is  not  more  generally  known.  It  is  a 
relative  of  Vacciniums,  and  under  good  management  will  produce 
immense  quantities  of  rich  scarlet  tubular  flowers,  which  are  very 
attractive.  Its  culture  is  not  difficult,  though,  like  the  Erica  family,  it 
requires  careful  attention.  A  compost  of  good  peat,  a  little  turfy  loam, 
and  sand  suits  it  admirably  if  the  pots  are  thoroughly  drained.  Water¬ 
ing  must  be  carefully  performed,  never  allowing  the  soil  to  become  too 
dry,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  excessively  saturated,  either  being  fatal  to 
the  plant.  Having  a  tendency  to  grow  somewhat  straggling,  a  little 
pruning  is  sometimes  necessary  to  keep  the  plant  in  shape. 
ZONAL  AND  IVY-LEAVED  PELARGONIUMS 
FOR  EXHIBITION. 
In  replying  to  “Subscriber’s”  inquiry  on  this  subject  I  will 
deal  with  Zonals  first.  Exhibitors  usually  insert  a  number  of 
cuttings  in  August  for  the  express  purpose  of  working  up  a  stock 
of  sturdy  plants  suitable  for  growing  into  early  specimens.  With 
the  best  of  treatment  it  would  take  two  years  to  produce  a  sturdy, 
well-furnished  specimen  from  3  to  4  feet  in  diameter. 
I  will,  assume,  however,  that  “Subscriber”  has  at  the  present 
time  good  plants  in  5-inch  pots,  with  several  short-jointed  shoots 
resulting  from  the  removal  of  the  points  of  the  young  plants 
shortly  after  the  cuttings  were  rooted.  Plants  answering  to  this 
description  will  now  be  in  the  right  condition  for  shifting  into 
7-inch  pots,  which  should  as  a  matter  of  course  be  well  drained  and 
the  crocks  covered  with  fibrous  turf.  The  compost  employed 
should  be  as  follows  ; — Three  parts  fibrous  loam  (which  has  been 
stacked  at  least  six  months),  one  part  horse  droppings  prepared  as 
for  a  Mushroom  bed  and  passed  through  a  half -inch  sieve,  a  5-inch 
potful  of  Clay’s  fertiliser  to  a  barrowload  of  soil,  a  little  sharp  sand 
being  also  added.  Pot  firmly,  and  water  through  a  rose  a  day  or 
two  after  that  operation  has  been  performed .  Winter  the  plants 
on  a  shelf  close  to  the  glass  in  a  greenhouse  or  other  light  span- 
