November  28,  1901. 
480 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDEN E 
r  > 
i  be 
Nepenthes  ventricosa. 
Though  this  Philippine  species  has  been  grown  in  the 
Nepenthes  house  in  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  Kew,  for  a  year 
or  two,  it  was  only  on  October  15,  this  year,  that  the  Floral  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  had  it  placed  before 
them.  On  that  occasion  it  was  exhibited  by  Messrs.  J.  Veitcli 
and  Sons,  Limited,  Royal  Exotic  Nursery,  Chelsea,  and  obtained 
a  First-class  Certificate.  The  pitcher  is  smooth,  cream-coloured 
when  in  good  condition,  or  dull  buff  in  some  instances,  with  a 
distinctive,  open  “mouth,”  edged  with  a  purplish  rim.  Our 
figure  shows  a  pitcher  about  half  the  natural  size. 
Puck’s  Posy. 
Some  time  ago  I  discoursed  in  these  columns  upon  various 
plants  or  flowers  which  had  been  associated  with  the  Prince 
of  Darkness,  under  the  title  of  “  Satan’s  Garland.’’  It  has 
occurred  to  me  to  draw  together  now  other  flowers  which  are 
linked  to  another  mystical  or  supernatural  being,  one  of 
whose  popular  names  is  Puck.  On  the  whole,  our  literature 
about  him  is  in  his  favour — “  the  merry  sprite  of  the  night  ” 
one  calls  him,  a  creature  belonging  to  the  brotherhood  of 
the  fairies.  Spiteful  things  have  been  said  about  Puck,  it  is 
true,  and  he  has  been  regarded  as  an  evil  spirit ;  possibly 
there  was  a  bit  of  mischief  in  his  character  which  might  be 
excused.  Tradition  gives  him  marvellous  powers.  He 
coidd  be  visible  or  invisible  as  he  chose,  and  diminish  his 
size  as  he  thought  fit,  so  that  the  bell  of  a  flower  would  quite 
conceal  him.  Indeed,  the  partiality  for  flowers  shown  by 
the  fairies  generally  is  famous,  and  another  thing  remark¬ 
able  is  they  were  supposed  to  make  vegetable  objects  a 
ready  mode  of  conveyance,  being  borne  through  the  air  on  a 
nut  or  a  Cabbage  stump !  People  used  to  speak  of  “  elfin- 
grey,”  alluding  to  the  notion  that,  though  the  fairies  who 
were  abroad  by  daylight  had  a  green  garb,  those  of  the 
evening  or  moonlight  were  attired  in  greyish  brown.  They 
were  said  to  clothe  themselves  with  the  Heather  or  Lichens 
of  the  woodland.  Other  fairies  were  supposed  to  lay  the 
wild  species  of  Flax  under  contribution  ;  some  said,  that 
called  oddly  the  “  mill-mountain,”  Linurn  catharticum,  had 
special  attractions,  and  was  known  as  the  Fairy  Flax.  The 
Foxglove,  according  to  some,  supplied  gloves,  caps,  and 
petticoats.  Several  of  the  Bell-flowers  served  as  cradles  for 
the  juvenile  folk.  The  Cowslip  was  particularly  favoured, 
and  by  putting  the  ear  close  to  a  bank  of  them  people  fancied 
they  could  hear  the  low  music  of  the  parent  fairies  lulling 
their  children  to  sleep.  Toadstools  also  possessed  the  name 
of  pixy-stools,  in  some  parts  of  England  they  were  “  fairy 
tables  ;  ”  these  fungi  answered  both  for  seats  and  tables. 
Pixy  was,  in  fact,  but  another  name  for  Puck.  One  soft 
kind  of  fungus  found  about  moist  woods  got  the  name  of 
“  fairy -butter,”  the  fruits  of  the  Mallow  became  “  fairy- 
cheeses,”  and  in  some  parts  of  England  farmers  left  un¬ 
cleared  a  few  fruit  trees  for  the  benefit  of  Puck  and  his 
companions. 
Besides  plants  and  shrubs  of  humbler  growth,  sundry 
trees  are  associated  with  fairies.  The  familiar  Elm  appears 
to  have  been  one,  yet  it  was  often  planted  near  churches. 
’Tis  true  that  Witch  Elm,  or  Wych  Elm,  might  seem  to  imply 
there  was  something  mystical  about  one  species  at  least ; 
but  there  is  good  proof  this  name  is  from  an  Anglo-Saxon 
word  referring  to  the  flexible  nature  of  the  twigs,  yet  there 
are  districts  where  this  tree  had  the  name  of  elven,  and 
several  authors  mention  the  belief  that  the  Elm  was  exempt 
from  the  peril  of  being  struck  by  lightning.  Another  tree 
of  fitiiry  fame  was  the  Alder,  also  the  Oak.  Those  holes 
frequently  to  be  seen  in  old  boles  and  cracks  along  the  bark 
were  said  to  afford  amusement  to  the  fairies,  who  ran 
amongst  them.  Old  and  twisted  Hawthorns  had  their 
attractions  ;  a»d,  quitting  fairy  rings  for  a  time,  the  elves 
danced  remind  these,  resenting  any  damage  done  to  the  trees 
by  the  hand  of  man.  Though  good  luck  wras  supposed  to 
attend  those  who,  on  a  May  morning,  moistened  the  skin 
with  dew  off  the  Hawthorn,  yet  this  species  had  a  somewhat 
doubtful  repute,  and  some  people  excluded  its  flowers  from 
their  houses. 
We  have  noticed  the  connection  between  bell-like  flowers 
and  fairies  in  the  Cowslip  and  Foxglove  ;  others  are  men¬ 
tioned  of  similar  form  as  being  haunted  by  them.  Puck  and 
his  comrades  had  the  repute  of  managing  to  diminish  their 
size  till  some  such  flower  could  hide  them  ;  more  than  that,, 
these  bells  of  Nature  were  thought  to  be  melodious  under 
fairy  influence.  Thus,  in  Wales,  the  delicate  blossoms  of 
the  Wood  Sorrel  were  known  as  “fairy  bells,”  because  the 
little  folk  rang  out  sweet  music  upon  them,  which  imagina- 
t  on  enabled  you  to  hear.  Harebells  or  Campanulas  were 
iavoured  by  Puck,  and  in  Scotland  the  round-leaved  Cam- 
panule  has  borne  the  name  of  Witch-bell ;  yet  there  are 
places  where  one  or  other  of  these  species  is  called  Lady’s 
Thimble,  which  may  connect  it  with  the  Virgin  Mary.  Any¬ 
how,  one  odd  belief  in  Scandinavia  was  that  by  means  of  the 
Campanula  the  fairies  gave  people  unpleasant  dreams  ;  it 
Nepenthes  ventricosa  ( considerably  reduced ). 
was  the  “bell  of  the  mare”;  i.e.,  nightmare.  Then  the 
Bluebell  or  Vernal  Squill  had  its  fairy  visitors,  it  was  dedi¬ 
cated,  not  only  to  Puck,  but  St.  George.  The  Henbane, 
anciently  called  Henbell,  was  a  flower  belonging  rather  to 
witches,  as  an  evil  plant,  than  to  the  fairies.  Though  re¬ 
garded  by  some  as  a  plant  dedicated  to  the  May  Queen,  the 
common  Stitchwort,  about  the  West  of  England,  received 
the  name  of  Pixy.  Children  were  cautioned  not  to  pluck 
it,  lest  if  they  did  the  pixies  led  them  away. 
During  early  summer  we  see  upon  the  com  lands  a  plant 
that  has  long  pointed  pods,  growing  in  a  cluster,  the  flowers 
tiny  and  white,  the  leaves  finely  cut,  this  is  Scandex  pecten 
Veneris,  popularly  Venus’  Comb  and  Shepherd’s  Needle  ; 
but  as  it  is  also  Fairy  Needle  it  belongs  to  Puck’s  posy,  and 
evidently  he  had  a  fancy  for  plants  having  beaks  or  snarp- 
pointed  tops,  the  Geranium  tribe  being  another  instance. 
The  Herb  Robert  of  waysides  and  woods  (G.  Robertianum), 
