February  4,  19C4. 
93 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
one  house  Cypripedium  x  Maudise  took  my  fancy  immensely, 
the  hloom  being  clear  pale  green  and  nhite,  very  chaste  indeed. 
At  present  the  price  is  o/i/i/  fifty  guineas,  so  I  had  to  admire  and 
walk  on.  I  looked  enviously  at  Mr.  Cypher’s  well  known  speci¬ 
men  and  trained  plants,  snugly  ensconsed  in  their  winter 
quarters.  A  fine  batch  of  Begonia  Gloire  de  Lori’aine  and 
Turnford  Hall  variety  made  a  brave  display  of  colour. 
I  saw,  for  the  first  time,  Moschosma  riparium,  a  new  green¬ 
house  plant,  which  may  best  be  described  a.s  a  pale  lavender 
(almost  white)  Spiraea  as  regards  its  flowers,  which  last  well  in 
a  cut  state.  It  is  said  to  be  of  easy  growth,  and  is  sure  to 
become  very  popular.  I  came  away  highly  delighted  with  my 
A'isit  and  the  all-round  courte.sy  of  Mr.  C’ypher  and  his  assistants, 
and  would  strongly  advise  the  readers  of  the  Journal  not  to 
miss  the  chance  of  a  visit  to  Mr.  Cypher’s  nur.sery  if  ever  it 
comes  their  way. — A.  H. 
Trees  and  Plants  of  Fancy, 
Some  centuries  ago  naturalists  occasionally  exercised  the 
faculty  of  imagination,  inventing  .strange  stories  of  animal  and 
vegetable  life;  they  depicted  curious  forms  which  had  no 
existence.  So  far  they  were  fortunate  ;  they  generally  got  their 
narratives  credited,  even  when  they  were  absurd  or  contradic¬ 
tory.  In  this  age,  these  naturalists  would  not  have  fared  as  well : 
people  would  have  applied  the  “  search  light,”  being  more 
investigative  for  the  most  part.  Certainly  we  have  exceptions. 
The  readiness  with  which  the  puffing  advertisements  of  many 
patent  medicines  are  accepted  is  a  remarkable  fact  in  the  midst 
of  prevalent  scepticism.  But  returning  to  the  ancients,  if  we 
ask  wonderingly,  “  Why  did  they  produce  such  extraordinary 
tales we  find  an  answer  in  the  love  of  what  was  marvellous, 
and  their  ignorance  concerning  the  formation  of  animals  and 
plants.  There  is  no  reason  to  think  they  were  prompted  by  a 
love  of  hoaxing,  but  there  would  have  been  no  advantage  in 
devising  marvellous  nari’atives,  unless  they  were  told  to  others. 
Occasionally,  not  .satisfied  with  mere  de.scription,  the  pencil 
Avas  employed  to  represent  .strange  figures.  Still,  after  all,  the 
early  naturalists  were  pioneers  of  truth ;  if  they  dealt  in 
chimeras,  they  also  recorded  many  facts.  Perhaps  tlie  story  of 
the  presumed  origin  of  the  barnacle  goose  is  one  that  can  hardly 
be  matched  in  oddity.  The  name  is  spelt  “  bernacle  ”  in  most 
modern  books.  According  to  this  description,  vouched  for 
seriously,  the  goo.se  was  developed  from  the  buds  of  a  tree. 
W'e  do  not  like  to  feel  suspicious  of  .such  a  Avorthy  naturalist  as 
old  Gerarde,  and  Ave  can  onlj'  say  that,  if  he  Avas  not  fibbing,  he 
must  have  been  under  some  delusion. 
He  is  quite  circumstantial,  and  tells  us  that  ho  saAv  upon  an 
island  near  Lancashire  some  diw,  old.  and  decayed  trees  cast  up 
by  the  Avaves,  covered  Avith  spume  or  froth.  From  this  froth 
are  deA'eloped  shellfish  rather  like  mussels,  but  Avhite.  These 
hang  for  a  time;  at  last  they  open,  and  cut  of  them  comes  Avhat 
reseinbles  a  piece  of  lace  or  .string.  Then  this  divides,  forming 
the  legs;  next  the  body  appears;  lastly  the  bird  hangs  by  the 
bill,  and  falls  into  the  Avater!  Afterwards  it  grows  feathers, 
and  appears  as  a  AvaterfoAvl,  black  and  Avhite,  rather  le.ss  than  a 
goose.  He  A\as  right  enough  so  far  as  that  shells  did  occur 
amongst  such  debris,  but  not  bred  from  the  Avood.  This  story, 
hoveever,  had  been  told  long  before  the  time  of  Gerarde.  Some 
said  such  geese  came  from  a  liAung  tree  that  grow  on  the  sea 
edge;  it  Avas  actually  figured  shoAving  the  little  geese  dropping 
from  the  buds;  they  gave  it  a  Latin  name,  calling  it  Anseres 
arborci.  The  old  draAving  represents  a  tree  Avith  small  pinnated 
leaves;  it  looks  rather  like  a  Robinia.  This  freak  of  fancy  held 
its  ground  after  the  Royal  Society  Avas  started,  for  it  publi.shed 
in  the  “  Transactions  of  1677  ”  an  account  of  Avhat  Sir  Robert 
Murray  supposed  he  saAv  in  the  Western  Islands  of  Scotland, 
but  he'  seems  to  describe  a  smaller  species  as  one  produced  from 
trees. 
Akin  to  this  legend  Avas  the  story  of  the  oyster  tree,  Avhich 
Bishop  FleetAvood,  in  1707.  mentions  as  occurring  at  Guada 
Coupe,  from  the  branches  of  Avhich  each  year  are  produced  little 
OA'.sters  about  the  size  of  a  croAvu  piece.  He  has  an  explanation  of 
the  .supposed  dovelopment :  the  branches  sometimes  dip  into  the 
AA-ater,  since  the  tree  groAAAS  close  to  the  sea.  Therefore,  says  he. 
the  spaAvn  of  oysters  is  deposited  on  the  boughs;  they  hatch  and 
live  upon  the  tree,  getting  an  occasional  dip  into  the  briny. 
Kircher  reported  a  Chili  tree,  from  the  leaves  of  Avhicli  small 
Avorms  came.  Avhich  grcAv  afteiuA-ards  to  serpents;  and  he  also 
names  a  plant.  Catopa,  of  the  Molucca  Islands,  the  leaves  of 
Avhicli,  Avhen  they  fell  off,  developed  into  butterflies.  In  our 
oAvn  country  an  observer  declared  he  had  visited  some  Avells  near 
Rugby,  about  which  grcAV  certain  trees  that  from  time  to  time 
dropped  tAvigs  and  fragments  of  branches  into  the  avcHs.  These, 
Avhen  taken  out,  proved  to  be  stony,  and  had  poAver  to  cure 
diseases. 
Then  avc  have  Sir  John  Maundeville’.s  tale  concerning  a 
strange  plant  of  Tartary,  aaIucIi.  upon  cutting  open  Avhat  he 
calls  the  fruit,  di.scloscs'  a  “little  beast,’'  resembling  a  lamb. 
flesh,  blood  and  bone,  Avliich  people  ate.  Parkinson  stated  that 
there  Avas  a  plant  of  the  northern  regions  that  originated  the 
fable,  a  species  of  Pol.ypody,  having  a  decumbent  root,  clotherl 
Avith  soft  yelloAV  hair. 
Possibly  the  legend  of  the  “  herb  of  gold  ”  did  refer  to  some 
plant  AA  hich  had  a  spike  of  golden  floAvers,  but  Ave  have  no  clue 
to  the  species.  A  variety  of  magical  properties  Avere  a.scribed 
to  it,  one  of  these  being  that,  if  rightly  gathered,  it  enabled 
people  to  understand  the  language  of  beast  or  bird.  To  cut  it 
Avith  a  .steel  implement  Avas  dangerous ;  it  had  to  be  gathered 
by  a  person  attired  in  Avhite  and  bare-footed.  Curious,  again, 
Avere  the  stories  about  aa  hat  AA  cre  called  bleeding  trees.  It  Avas 
believed  that  trees  associated  Avith  .some  murder  or  suicide 
Avould,  years  after  the  event,  noAv  and  then  discharge  blood 
from  the  trunk  or  roots.  Whether  the  story  of  the  blasting 
Avort  or  springAvoi’t  of  Germany  did  belong  to  .some  actual  plant 
it  is  difficult  to  .say,  but  no  species  CAmr  had  its  mysterious 
poAA'ers,  believed  in  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Pliny.  Any  lock 
or  bolt  touched  Avith  the  plant  Avould  at  once  yield,  but  it  Avas 
not  easy  to  obtain,  except  by  the  help  of  the  Avoodpecker.  You 
Avore  told  to  look  out  for  a  nest  of  this  bird  and  plug  it  up  Avith 
Avood.  At  once  the  Avoodpecker  goes  after  the  springAVort, 
When  it  holds  this  before  the  nest  the  Avood  flies  out  in  a 
moment,  and  the  plant  may  be  picked  up — so  they  .said. 
As  Ave  might  expect,  amongst  the  nations  of  antiquity 
traditions  are  frequent  about  the  Tree  of  Life  and  the  Tree  ^^f 
Kuoaa  ledge.  Both  are  represented,  or  at  least  supposed  to  be, 
in  early  sculptures  of  Egypt  and  As.syria.  Most  import  attached 
to  the  Tree  of  Life,  symbol  of  all  created  things,  and  one  fur¬ 
nishing  food  to  the  gods.  Its  usual  figure  is  thought  to 
resemble  a  species  of  Fig.  Opinions  differ  about  the  Tree  of 
KnoAvledge  ;  some  suppose  the  figure  of  the  fruit  represents  an 
Apple,  others  call  it  a  Citron.  The  Apple  is  certainly  connected 
Avith  many  more  legends  than  is  the  Citron.  One  of  the  charms 
of  the  fabled  Islands  of  the  Ble.st  Avas  their  groAms  or  orchards 
of  Apples.  Again,  there  Avas  the  .story  of  trees  Avhich  were  .‘^aid 
to  bear  Apples  of  actual  gold,  not  merely  golden  hued.  Other 
trees  of  this  kind  Avere  fabled  to  exist,  the  perfume  of  the  fniit 
being  so  reviving  that  it  Avould  restore  the  sick  to  iieAv  health. 
Fancy  told  of  Apples,  too,  Avhich  conferred  upon  their  liappy 
di.scoverer  the  poAvers  of  melody  or  poetry. 
Folks  attributed  curious  influences  to  the  seed  or  spores  of 
the  common  Bracken,  the  possesASor  of  Avhich,  if  he  gathered 
it  at  the  proper  sea.son,  could  make  himself  invisible,  and  find 
out  my.sterious  .secrets.  Experiments  Avith  this  plant,  hoAvever. 
ended  in  di.sappointmcnt ;  hence  arose  a  legend  that  Avhere  ferns 
greAv,  by  research  i>eople  might  get  seed  from  another  species, 
both  magical  and  rare.  Puck,  it  A\as  supposed  might  give  the 
person  a  bag  of  gold  aa  Iio  succeeded  in  his  search,  though  he  had 
to  undergo  sundiy  perils  from  evil  spirits,  Avhich  Avould  be  Avorse 
than  running  the  gauntlet  of  the  police  to  get  hold  of  mouthy 
hidden  by  some  proprietors  of  periodicals !  It  Avas  fancied  to 
bear  a  blue  floAver  at  midsummer  .some  said  at  Michaelma.s — 
immediately  succeeded  by  seeds  of  a  liright  yelloAV. — J.  B.  S.  C’. 
