Septcm'ier  17,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
269 
Thomson’s  young  men, and  became  foreman  under  that  distinguished 
gardener  at  Djilkeicb.  A  wealthy  French  lady  visiting  Dalkeith, 
and  admiring  the  high-clasi  gardening  there,  sought  Mr.  Thomson’s 
advice  in  the  engagement  of  a  man  capable  of  making  her  a  beautiful 
garden  in  France.  Mr.  Knight  was  the  gardener  chosen,  and  proved 
himself  fully  equal  to  the  undertaking,  for  he  accomplished  his 
task  in  a  most  creditable  manner,  and  at  the  same  time  wisely  took 
pains  to  acquire  the  French  language. 
After  remaining  some  years  in  France  Mr.  Knight  was 
entrusted  with  the  charge  of  the  gardens  at  Floors  Castle,  Kelso, 
and  his  services  were  there  highly  esteemed  by  his  noble  employars 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Roxburghe.  His  work  and  deportment 
also  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Queen  when  Her  Majesty  was 
on  a  visit  to  Floors.  Possibly  this  circumstance  was  not  without 
effect  in  the  transference  of  Mr.  Knight  to  Greenlands,  Henley-on- 
Thames,  as  gardener  to  the  late  Right  Hon.  W.  H.  Smith,  and  we 
may  almost  venture  to  say  it  certainly  was  all  potent  in  Mr. 
Knight’s  removal  to  Laeken.  The  King  of  the  Belgians,  recog¬ 
nising  the  excellence  of  British  gardening,  we  believe  sought  the 
advice  of  Britain’s  good  and  gracious  Queen  in  the  selection  of  a 
gardener,  when  Mr.  Knight  was  named,  and,  of  course,  accepted 
A  more  suitable  man  for  the  position  could  scarcely  have  been 
found.  He  was  a  good  and  faithful  servant  to  his  Royal  master, 
whom  he  served  long  and  so  well,  and  his  memory  will  long  be 
cherished  at  Laeken.  Mr.  Knight  was  »ixty-two  years  of  age. 
FLORAL  FACTS  AND  FANCIES.— 22. 
Through  the  greater  part  of  the  year  the  pleasure  obtained  in 
a  country  ramble  is,  even  to  those  who  are  not  naturalists,  partly 
derived  from  the  fact  that  there  is  something  or  other  to  be  hunted 
for.  Acorns,  Nuts,  Blackberries,  the  last  flowers  and  grasses  of 
autumn,  finish  up  the  season,  and  in  the  days  of  spring  parties 
brave  its  winds  or  showers,  seeking  early  Violets,  Primroses,  and 
the  “  Palms,”  so-called,  which  are  thought  appropriate  to  Passion 
Week. 
The  association  of  the  flowers  of  Sallow  and  Willow  with  the 
time  when  Christ’s  triumphal  entry  to  Jerusalem  is  brought  to 
mind  yearly  has  been  usually  explained  by  the  supposition  that  the 
sprays  or  twigs  of  these  trees  were  tiken  as  substitutes  for  the 
Oriental  Palm.  It  may  have  been  so,  yet  unlearned  as  our 
ancestors  were  in  botany  they  knew  enough  about  the  Palm  to  be 
aware  that  it  did  not  resemble  the  Willow,  and  there  may  have 
been  another  reason.  From  a  Scripture  reference  to  a  Babylonian 
species  the  Willow  became  symbolic  of  sorrow,  and  allusions  to  it 
by  old  poets  tell  us  it  was  also  made  an  emblem  of  one  who  is 
forsaken.  However  that  may  be.  Willow  blossoms  were  carried 
into  churches  by  the  worshippers  of  former  times,  each  person 
taking  a  twig  in  his  hand  ;  these  were  incensed,  in  the  odd  belief 
that  evil  spirits  might  lurk  among  them,  then  these  were  carried 
home,  and,  according  to  some  authorities,  carefully  preserved, 
because  they  were  thought  to  secure  houses  against  fare  and  storm. 
Concerning  the  species,  the  great  R  mnd-leaved  or  S  dix  caprea 
is  presumed  to  have  been  the  one  selected  when  attainable.  A 
familiar  tree,  the  large  flower  buds  yellow,  and  fragrant  after  rain, 
attract  notice  in  spring,  being  much  haunted  by  bees,  moths,  and 
other  insects.  Sometimes  they  would  probably  get  the  eady  catkins 
of  the  Rose  Willow,  S.  Helix,  and  the  silky  ones  of  the  grey 
species,  S.  cinerea ;  also  those  of  the  Crack  Willow,  S.  fragilis, 
common  near  streamlets.  It  is  singular  that  though  our  forefathers 
extracted  and  used  numerous  tonic  remedies  from  plants  and  trees 
they  appear  to  have  been  unaware  of  the  bitter  principle  (salicine) 
to  be  obtained  from  Willow  bark. 
Allied  to  Willows  are  the  Poplars,  the  barren  catkins  of  the 
familiar  white  Poplar,  which  bestrew  the  ground  in  March,  are 
suggeative  of  “  Time.”  This,  the  Populus  alba,  was  also  called  the 
Abele  ;  in  old  books  it  is  spelt  “  Abel,”  the  meaning  of  this  is 
uncertain.  The  Grey  Poplar,  P.  canescens,  with  leaves  less 
cottony,  but  bark  more  silvery  than  the  preceding,  was,  according 
to  an  old  myth,  the  first  created  of  all  the  trees,  hence  its  hoary 
aspect.  Quite  a  contrast,  having  smooth,  deep  green  leaves,  and 
dark  bark,  the  black  Poplar,  P.  nigra,  represents  ‘‘fearlessness  ”  or 
rash  courage,  for,  when  as  the  legend  tells,  the  daring  Phaeton 
drove  the  chariot  of  the  sun,  and  swerving  from  the  right  course, 
was  hurled  from  his  seat  into  a  river,  his  lamenting  sisters,  wh") 
stood  on  its  bank,  were  each  transformed  into  Poplars  !  Then  the 
Aspen,  P.  tremula,  slways  on  the  quiver,  naturally  became  an 
emblem  of  “fear,”  a  tree  this  of  many  thoughts  and  doubts,  says 
one  author.  Sentenced  to  shake  for  punishment,  such  is  the  belief 
in  some  places,  because  when  the  rest  of  the  trees  bowed  their 
heads  at  the  Crucifixion,  the  Aspen  remained  erect.  Tall,  and 
seeming  to  point  skyward,  the  Lombardy  Poplar  defies  many  a 
storm,  telling  of  “  hope  amidst  danger.”  To  the  species  called  the 
Tacamahae,  P.  balsamifera,  which  is  somewhat  aromatic,  the 
curioas  caterpillars  of  the  puss  and  kitten  moths  seem  to  have  a 
special  liking. 
Rather  an  insignificant  and  doll-looking  evergreen,  the  Olive,  by 
its  short  clusters  of  white  flowers,  brings  us  a  message  of  “  peace,” 
and  its  significance  as  an  omen  for  good  is  traceable  to  a  very 
remote  period,  even  if  it  be  queationed  whether  it  was  a  branch  of 
Olive  or  of  some  other  tree  that  brought  enconragement  to  the 
patriarch  Noah.  Certiinly  it  has  for  ages  been  associated,  not  only 
with  peace  but  with  rejoicing  and  prosperity  by  means  of  its  oil,  a 
product  valuable  in  many  ways  to  the  ancients  as  to  us  moderns. 
Larger  leaved  and  of  lofty  growth,  the  Ash  ii  akin  to  the  preceding, 
and  its  brown  flowers  are  significant  of  “grandeur,”  sinco  the  time 
those  famous  and  lofty  trees  grew  upon  Mount  Hela  of  old  renown, 
even  now  under  favourable  circumstances  we  get  tall  examples  in 
Britain.  Warriors  made  use  of  its  wood  for  their  spears,  and  its 
firmness  is  still  esteemed,  insects  not  being  much  inclined  to  attack 
the  Ash  The  bark  has  been  given  to  cattle,  and  Evelyn  says  the 
keys  were  pickled  for  salad,  but  there  is  no  doubt  plants  generally 
have  a  dislike  to  its  shade  when  it  grows  in  gardens  and 
shrubberies,  and  a  Greek  physician  stated  it  would  scare  away 
serpents. 
The  Mountain  Ash  (Pyrus  aucuparia),  though  of  a  different 
tribe,  may  be  mentioned,  for  its  white  corymbs,  which  bedeck  the 
slopes  in  spring,  were,  as  well  as  the  crimson  berries  later,  gathered 
to  hang  up  because  they  gave,  it  was  thought,  security  against 
sorcerers  and  witchcraft.  A  Celtic  belief  this,  not  died  out  yet  in 
the  Highlands,  where  people  still  drive  cattle  with  a  branch  of 
Roan,  or  Rowan,  a  local  name  ;  it  was  also  called  the  Q  licken. 
The  less  common  Service  Tree  (P.  torminalis),  found  wild  in 
southern  copses,  represents  “  prudence  ”  by  its  clusters  ;  the  fruit 
is  rather  like  a  berry  than  a  Pear.  This,  and  an  allied  species  of 
Pyrus,  seem  to  have  acquired  their  name  of  “service  ”  from  their 
hard  wood, 
“  Caution  ”  is  a  quality  suggested  by  the  S  veet  Gale  (Myrica 
Gale),  for  growing  often  in  exposed  situations,  this  shrub,  though 
it  forms  the  catkins  during  summer  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves, 
keeps  them  hidden  during  the  winter,  and  expands  them  gradually 
after  Mirch,  as  the  weather  becomes  warmer.  No  doubt  tourists 
often  need  to  be  cautious  when  traversing  the  bogs,  or  climbing  the 
hill  sides  where  this  grows,  so  the  lesson  may  not  be  lost.  Not 
related  to  the  true  Myrtles,  it  has  received  the  name  of  Dutch 
Myrtle,  because  the  leaves  are  fragrant  when  rubbed,  so  too  are  the 
little  dotted  berries.  It  should  ba  added,  however,  that  the  Gale 
has  also  been  called  an  emblem  of  light,  because  wax  can  be 
obtained  from  the  berries,  though  this  is  yielded  more  freely  by 
the  Candleberry  Myrtle,  M.  cerifera. 
Frequent  on  northern  hill-sides,  but  common  a’so  in  sheltered 
places,  the  Birch,  to  which  Coleridee  gave  the  name  of  the  “Lady 
of  the  Wood^,”  remarkable  for  its  silvery  bark  and  slender  twigs  is 
an  apt  emblem  of  “gracefulness.”  Another  significance  hat  been 
added  for  the  employment  of  Birch  twigs,  as  a  juvenile  corrective 
reminds  us  that  “  meekness  ”  m  vy  be  produced  by  its  agency; 
though  the  rod  is  now  in  less  demand  for  this  purpose,  we  see  some¬ 
times  instances  of  its  efficacy.  The  catkins  of  the  Beech,  the  male 
ones  long,  the  female  sessile,  tell  of  “  prosperity  ;  ”  its  wood  was 
formerly  used  in  making  many  household  articles  where  earthen¬ 
ware  or  glass  are  now  employed.  The  spiry  bloom  of  the  Horse 
Chestnut,  so  conspicuous  in  avenues,  speaks  of  “  luxury,”  and 
“  justice”  is  represented  by  that  of  the  edible  Chestnut.  We  do 
not  so  frequently  see  the  long  clusters  of  the  Hornbeam  ;  in  the 
south,  at  least,  it  seldom  ahows  as  a  tree  of  any  siza.  These  tell  of 
“  ornament,”  the  name  of  the  tree  arose  from  the  hardness  of  the 
wood.  Hard,  too,  is  that  of  the  Spindle  Tree,  hence  its  use  for 
skewers  and  piano  keys  ;  the  small  green  blossoms  are  emblematic 
of  “unchangeable  regard,”  and  of  its  genus  the  E  lonymus,  we 
have  some  favourite  garden  species.  One  of  these,  which  fl  lurishes 
in  Arabia,  is  believed  there  to  protect  from  any  contagion  if  a  sprig 
is  carried  on  the  person. 
We  now  restrict  the  name  of  Maidenhair  to  certain  species  of 
Fern,  but  formerly  people  thus  called  the  Bog  Asphodel  (Narthe- 
cium  ossifragum)  from  a  peculiarity  of  its  beautiful  flowers,  which 
surround  the  top  of  the  stem.  These  are  golden  yellow,  the 
stamens  are  clothed  with  a  fine  down,  their  anthers  being  scarlet. 
A  dye  was  obtained  from  this  plant,  much  esteemed  when  it  was 
thought  becoming  to  have  the  hair  coloured  yellow.  Like  other 
Asphodels,  it  is  associated  with  sympathy  or  regret.  Linnieus 
opposed  the  popular  notion  that  animal*  eating  the  leave*  have 
their  bones  softened.  In  similar  places  to  this  occurs  the  Buck- 
bean,  or  Bogbean,  it  should  perhaps  be  (Menyanthes  trifoliata). 
Growing  often  where  the  water  i*  still,  its  ro*y  flowers  become  an 
emblem  of  “repose;”  the  triple  leaves,  and  the  stem  too  are 
tinged  with  crimson.  Its  root,  used  in  Sweden  to  give  a  bitter  to 
