December  6,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
507 
gardeners  succeeded  with  it  and  obtained  varieties  from  seeds  or 
cuttings.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  rather  commended  tbe  Welsh  and  Cornwall 
M.  sinuata,  downy,  like  the  other,  but  also  prickly,  the  flowers  duller,  j 
biennial  in  habit,  and  havingr  an  aromatic  fragrance  after  sunset;  it  j 
requires  a  sandv  soil.  We  join  with  these  the  Darde’s  Violet  | 
‘(Hesperis  matron dis)  which  formerly  grew  besides  the  Ravensbourne, 
near  London,  and  elsewhere,  but  has  always  been  somewhat  rare,  j 
Why  “mAtronly,”  one  knows  not,  and  some  old  botanists  called  it  i 
“  inodora,”  unaware  that  it  is  fragrant  after  rain,  and  at  sunset,  hence  | 
the  L’eneric  name.  Double  forms  of  it  are  now  grown  in  borders,  and 
require  skill ;  the  single  type  will  succeed  anywhere.  That  it  is  an 
old  resident  in  gardens  appears  irom  the  fact  that  its  seeds  had  been 
conveyed  to  the  United  States  by  emigrants  during  the  reign  of 
George  III. 
Abundant  in  many  of  our  southern  gardens  are  several  of  the 
Arabia  genus,  esnecially  the  white  Rock  Cress,  or  A.  albida,  sometimes 
used  as  an  edging  when  variegated, 
being  evergreen.  About  London 
the  warmth  brings  it  into  flower 
quite  early  in  mild  winters,  and  it 
continues  to  bloom  till  April  or 
May.  Before  the  exotic  species 
arrived  here  one  or  two  of  the  wild 
species  occasionally  filled  up  a  bank 
in  a  garden  or  shrubbery.  The 
annual,  and  common  A.  thaliana 
likes  a  dry  slope,  a  wall,  or  even  a 
cottage  roof;  the  leaves  often  grow 
densely,  but  toe  flowers  make  little 
display.  It  may  be  they  formerly 
transplanted  from  walls  and  cliffs 
the  Hairy  Rock  Cress,  A.  hirsuta, 
which  grows  on  the  chalk  south 
of  London.  This  is  a  plant  rather 
singular  in  its  form,  about  a  foot 
high,  and  perennial.  Its  relative, 
the  Tower  Wall  Cress  (A.  Turrita) 
is  reported  to  be  unable  to  thrive 
when  removed  from  the  old  towers 
and  castles,  where  it  exhibits  in 
May  its  pale  yellow  flowers  and 
oddly  curved  pods. 
Presumably  the  Rockets  had 
their  name  from  their  habit  of 
selecting  rocky  places,  though  the 
London  Rocket,  or  Broad  Hedge 
Mustard,  thrives  on  any  waste 
ground.  Some  years  ago  a  lady 
was  anxious  to  obtain  this  plant, 
so  she  sent  for  it  to  a  suburban 
nurseryman,  who  replied  that  he 
kept  no  yellow  Rockets,  as  they 
had  gone  out  of  fashion,  but  he 
could  supply  purple  or  white  ones. 
The  Rocket,  however,  to  which  he 
referred  would  not  be  the  London 
Rocket,  which  was  probably  never 
cultivated,  but  that  also  called  the 
Bitter  Winter  Cress,  or  Barbarea 
vulgaris.  Some  gardeners  obtained 
a  double  variety  of  this,  which 
produced  flowers  with  numerous 
petals,  turning  white  as  they  faded  ; 
it  lasted  from  May  to  August.  Fig.  130. — Habenaria 
Whether  people  did  really  eat  in 
their  salads  this  nauseously  bitter 
plant  may  be  questioned,  German  authorities  declare  that  the 
English  formerly  did. 
Some  of  our  gardens  contain  that  remarkable  perennial,  Dentaria 
bulbifera,  which  resembles  one  of  the  Lilies  in  having  bulbs  springing 
from  the  axils  of  many  of  the  leaves,  and  large  purple  corymbs.  The 
branched  and  whitish  root  gave  it  also  the  name  of  Coralwort.  It  is 
truly  British,  but  local,  and  does  not  seem  to  have  been  cultivated  till 
imported  :  it  prefers  a  moist  shady  spot,  but  seldom  matures  its  pods. 
Most  of  the  Rockets  are  said  to  symbolise  deceit  or  trickery,  but  we 
have  an  old  garden  favourite  in  the  plant  called  Honesty,  or  Lunaria 
annua,  also  in  the  Cruciferous  order ;  it  is  occasionally  biennial,  and  we 
have  in  gardens  a  handsome  perennial  species,  fragrant,  which  has 
been  brought  from  hills  on  the  Continent.  Worthy  old  Chaucer  refers 
to  this  plant  by  the  name  of  Lunary  ;  evidently  it  was  cultivated  not 
only  because  of  the  belief  that  wherever  it  grew  people  were  honest,  it 
was  also  credited  with  the  power  of  keeping  away  evil  spirits.  Where 
it  grows  seemingly  wild,  the  Sweet  Alyssum  (A.  maritimum)  is,  we 
suspect,  a  wanderer  from  some  garden,  though  it  has  been  reputed  a 
native  ;  we  have  several  continental  species.  Probably  this  was  grown , 
not  merely  for  its  honey  scent  or  its  beauty,  but  from  a  notion  that  it 
was  a  plant  the  Greeks  used  to  cure  poisonous  bites. 
There  is  scarcely  a  flower  more  conspicuous  in  our  summer  fields 
than  the  red  Poppy,  which,  however,  in  gardens  can  only  be  regarded 
as  a  weed.  But  the  showy  appearance  of  the  white  Poppy,  sometimes 
4  feet  high,  each  bluish  white  petal  spotted  with  violet,  led  some 
persons  to  sow  its  seeds,  and  raise  plants  as  a  garden  ornament.  It 
was  discvrvered  before  long  that  the  flowers  by  cultivation  could  be 
produced  of  various  tints,  and  also  double.  I  think  the  species  is  a 
native  of  Britain,  though  this  has  been  questioned,  for  it  occurs  in 
so  many  places,  and  especially  about  the  Fens.  The  Welsh  Poppy 
was  not  likely  to  be  found  ornamenting  London  gardens,  but  in  the 
west  and  north  of  England.  Cottagers  have  fancied  it  for  its  beautiful 
lemon  flowers  and  agreeable  perfume  ;  it  requires  shade  and  moisture. 
Then,  the  beauty  and  singularity  of  the  Horned  Popp  es  of  the 
genus  Glaucium  led  some  to  try 
whether  they  would  grow  in  a 
garden,  especially  G.  luteum,  which 
at  one  time  could  be  got  on  the 
Thames  banks  below  Gravesend, 
and  elsewhere  on  sandy  shores. 
The  fragile  golden  petals  and 
stamens  have  not  all  gone  before 
the  horned  pods,  about  a  foot  in 
length,  appear  on  the  branched 
stem.  Also  our  ancestors  sought 
it  out,  because  they  made  a 
dangerous  iiiedicine  from  its  thick 
yellow  juice.  Had  it  not  been 
rather  rare  and  local,  I  expect  the 
violet  Poppy,  G.  violaceum,  would 
have  been  cultivattd  for  its 
splendid  yet  very  fugacious  petals ; 
this  has  small  but  prickly  pods. 
Another  plant  in  this  order,  which 
has  no  beauty  except  the  fresh 
green  of  its  foliage,  used  to  occur  in 
cottage  gardens ;  it  is  the  Greater 
Celandine.  Its  yellow  juice  was 
said  to  remove  warts,  and  it  was 
even  applied  to  spots  on  the  eyes. 
Why  it  should  he  associated  with 
the  swallow  is  not  evident,  for  it 
flowers  about  June. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Ardencote. 
CARNEA.  (See  page  505.) 
The  quiet  and  picturesque 
village  of  Claverdon,  which  is 
situated  a  few  miles  distant  from 
Warwick  on  the  Stratford-on-Avon 
line,  is  one  of  the  many  pleasant 
spots  of  Warwickshire.  Around 
the  whole  neighbourhood  the 
ground  is  beautifully  undulated, 
and  abounds  in  shady  lanes,  which 
make  the  county  so  delightful  in 
summer  time.  The  principal  part 
of  the  village  is  situated  on  high 
ground,  wheie  the  houses  cluster 
about  those  landmarks  which  to  rSany  are  associated  with  pleasant 
memories,  the  schools  and  church.  The  dullness  so 
many  villages  is  not  a  characteristic  of  Claverdon,  as  the  inhabitants 
are  given  to  social  intercourse  and  progressive  work,  wLic^is  carried 
““  o,  Ml,,  E.  0.  Pbimp,,  wlSy.'  WiM 
and  well  kept  gardens,  is  situated  on  rising  ground  a  few  mmutes 
walk  from  the  village,  and  it  was  recently  rny  good  fortune  J®  , 
few  hours  there  with  Mr.  W.  Styles,  the  genial,  practical  and  thorough 
gardener,  who  still  retains  that  deep  interest  in  his  ca  10^ 
usually  noticeable  in  men  who  have  had  a  good  y  \  ’ 
Styles  is  an  old  Journal  reader,  and  delights  to  8t>eak  of  the  wordy 
warfares  carried  on  in  its  pages  for  rnany  years.  „Qrden 
November  is  certainly  not  the  best  time  in  the  year  0  .^ann^ed 
but  there  is  always  something  interesting  to  be  seen  in  a  managed 
one,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  Chrysanthemums 
attention.  Neither  the  plants  nor  flowers  are  grown  for  exhibition  at 
Ardencote,  but  nevertheless  fair  flowers  are  grown,  as  well  as  a 
