December  ?,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
i09 
Gardeners’  Proverbs. 
We  do  not  often  find  a  gardener  represented  in  a  novel 
or  play  as  one  of  the  characters,  but  there  are  specimens, 
and  these  show  some  variety.  We  have  a  gardener  appear¬ 
ing  as  a  man  who  has  plenty  to  say  upon  many  subjects,  and 
rather  inclined  to  be  jocose.  Again,  we  have  the  gardener 
quite  different,  not  at  all  inclined  to  talk,  not  even  about 
the  weather  and  his  plants,  unless  questioned,  with  a  sus¬ 
picion  of  sulkiness !  The  latter  description  is  exaggerated, 
yet  it  comes  nearer  to  the  character  of  the  average  gardener, 
who  is  usually  a  thoughtful  man,  therefore,  like  most 
thinkers,  not  inclined  to  be  voluble.  One  thing  we  notice 
about  gardeners  of  the  past — they  were  somewhat  fond  of 
quoting  proverbs.  These  were  of  two  kinds — proverbs  or 
sayings  connected  with  the  weather  and  garden  work,  and 
proverbs  which  had  a  reference  to  the  influence  of  plants 
upon  human  life.  That  all  these  rested  only  upon  fancies 
we  would  not  assert. 
One  saying,  familiar  to  many  farmers  and  gardeners,  has 
naturally  been  discussed  this  moist  season.  It  exists  as  a 
five-lined  versicle,  but  in  its  briefest  form  is  simply  thus ; 
'■  Oak,  smoke  ;  Ash,  splash,”  which  sounds  enigmatical.  An 
old  belief  was  that  the  season’s  prospects  were  indicated  by 
the  leafing  of  the  Oak  and  the  Ash.  If  the  Oak  had  the 
start,  a  smoking  hot  summer  might  be  looked  for,  but  if  the 
Ash  took  the  lead,  then  the  splashing  of  frequent  showers 
was  foretold.  There  could  be  no  question  about  the  wetness 
of  the  summer  of  1903  ;  the  doubtful  point  is,  which  tree 
came  first  into  leaf.  Both  are  rather  late,  and  often  expand 
their  buds  about  the  same  date.  Conflicting  statements 
have  come  from  the  observers  of  Nature  in  our  island,  but 
the  majority  seemed  to  think  that  the  Ash  was  in  advance 
of  the  Oak.  Just  now,  we  are  hearing  people  allude  to  the 
notion  that  an  abundance  of  wild  berries  portends  a  hard 
winter,  especially  when  there  is  a  great  display  upon  the 
Sloe  or  Blackthorn. 
“  Many  slones,  many  groans  ”  is  a  common  saying  in  the 
West  of  England,  alluding  to  the  poverty  and  illness  that 
may  be  expected,  though  it  has  been  argued  it  applies  to 
the  indigestible  character  of  the  fruit.  But  really,  this  is 
a  mere  fancy ;  some  of  our  recent  mild  winters  have  been 
marked  by  a  profusion  of  berries.  The  truth  is,  the  abun¬ 
dance  or  scarcity  of  these  depends  upon  the  number  of  blos¬ 
soms,  and  how  far  the  autumn  favours  their  development 
into  fruits.  Many  have  doubted  whether  “  A  green  Christ¬ 
mas  makes  a  fat  kirkyard  ”  is  true,  as  a  mild  winter  favours 
the  weakly  and  aged.  But  then  it  has  been  remarked  that 
the  green  Christmas  is  apt  to  be  followed  by  a  cold  and 
stormy  spring,  which  is  distinctly  unfavourable  to  health. 
In  the  garden  more  grows 
Than  the  gardener  sows. 
This  proverb  is  indeed  true,  and  has  been  very  much 
before  us  during  the  moist  summer,  when  weeds  of  all  sorts 
showed  signs  of  rapid  increase.  Owing  to  the  weather,  and 
other  interruptions,  frequently  gardeners  could  not  deal 
effectively  with  many  of  these  pests,  and  so  saw  the  proverb 
verified  that  “  Ill  weeds  grow  apace.”  Warning  of  the 
danger  of  neglecting  weeds  lies  in  the  couplet : 
One  year’s  seed. 
Seven  years’  weed. 
Seven  years  is  a  good  while,  but  certainly  if  the  common 
weeds  are  once  allowed  to  sow  themselves,  we  shall  have 
trouble  in  clearing  them  from  beds  and  borders.  “  Ill 
weeds  fear  no  frost  ”  is  scarcely  correct  as  to  the  bulk  of 
them,  though  some  seem  unaffected  by  cold.  No  doubt,  in 
the  old  style  gardens,  it  was  observable  that  plants  we  now 
call  weeds  were  allowed  to  grow,  for  various  reasons.  Thus, 
a  bed  of  the  Wild  Chamomile  or  Matricaria  was  a  usual 
sight,  concerning  which  they  had  a  proverb,  “  The  more 
you  tread  it,  the  more  you  spread  it.”  It  has  even  been 
surmised  that  the  leaves  were  put  into  stews — a  way  of 
taking  a  bitter  tonic  which  would  not  suit  modern  taste. 
Proverbs  connected  with  Parsley  tended  to  discourage  its 
cultivation,  which  may  account  for  persons  often  getting 
poisoned  by  gathering  what  they  took  to  be  the  wild  herb. 
“  Sow  Parsley,  and  there  will  be  a  death,”  is  still 
believed  in  some  English  counties ;  also  it  was  deemed 
unlucky  to  transplant  it  and  change  the  place  of  a  bed. 
This  is  curious,  because  the  plant  was  thought  wholesome, 
and  it  was  a  symbol  of  victory  in  the  Greek  games.  Fennel, 
too,  had  a  bad  repute — “  He  who  sows  Fennel  sows  sorrow” 
— yet  this  was  one  of  the  plants  held  sacred  to  St.  John.  ( 
But  I  am  acquainted  with  a  gentleman  who  admires  the 
plant  so  much  that  he  has  named  his  residence  “  Fennel 
House.” 
I],"!!  Locks  in  Litle,  aucl  Itainsins  in  May, 
And  all  the  year  after  physicians  may  i)lay. 
This  comes  rather  hard  upon  the  doctors,  but  certainly 
our  ancestors  were  fond  of  pungent  vegetables,  and  had 
great  faith  in  them.  But  when  is  Lide,  which  we  infer  is 
earlier  than  May  in  the  year  1  Aubrey  states  that  Lide  is 
March,  the  loud  or  roaring  month,  the  sprouting  Leeks 
being  evidently  recommended  as  a  spring  purifier.  The 
Ramsin  is  said  to  be  the  wild  Garlic,  a  somewhat  offensive 
plant,  abundant  about  fields  and  woods  of  the  west  counties. 
Perhaps  the  name  was  also  given  to  the  cultivated  Garlic. 
We  may  find  more  proverbs  connected  with  the  Apple  than 
with  auy  other  tree,  several  referriug  to  its  wholesomeness  as  a 
fruit.  This  one  cuts  against  the  medical  profession  : 
Eat  an  Aiiple  going  to  bed, 
Make  the  doctor  beg  his  bread. 
Mean  people  are  said  to  “  Give  an  Apple  where  there  is 
an  orchard,”  and  a  girl  too  particular  in  choosing  a  sweet¬ 
heart  suggested  the  proverb,  “  She  will  go  after  Apples  till 
she  gets  a  Crab.”  We  may  possibly  have  a  doubt  whether 
the  proverb  is  true,  that  “  the  higher  the  tree,  the  riper 
the  fruit  ”  ;  we  presume  it  rested  upon  an  idea  that  a  Wll 
tree  would  get  more  warmth  from  the  sun.  “  The  rotten 
Apple  injures  its  neighbour”  pointed  a  moral;  it  was  a 
reminder  how  soon  evil  influences  spread  themselves. 
Success  is  not  to  be  had  without  effort,  for  “  He  who  would 
have  the  fruit  must  plant  the  tree,”  but  he  may  not  have  all 
the  benefit  of  them  ;  “  He  who  loves  others  plants  trees.” 
Some  proverbs  allude  to  the  choice  of  time  for  planting 
fruit  trees,  or  removing  them.  “  If  you  would  have  good 
fruit  you  must  bury  the  leaf,”  is  thought  to  indicate  autumn 
as  the  proper  season.  Then  we  have  a  couplet  upon  the 
subject : 
Set  them  at  Allliallowstide  and  conunand  them  to  grow. 
Set  them  at  Candlemas  and  entreat  them  to  grow. 
Probably  the  remark.  “  He’s  not  worth  a  curse  ” — or  it 
may  be  pronounced  “  cuss,”  rather  contemptuous  and  vulgar 
— has  been  heard  by  most  readers  ;  it  is  a  curious  example 
of  a  word  transformation.  It  really  meant  that  the  person 
spoken  of  was  not  worth  a  “  Kers,”  or  Cress,  comparing 
him  to  a  cheap  and  common  object — a  line  of  Chaucer’s 
proves  this.  Still,  the  Cresses  were  always  esteemed  for 
their  wholesomeness,  though  some,  from  their  sharp 
qualities,  were  thought  to  affect  the  nose,  hence  called 
the  “  nose  twitchers,”  or  Nasturtiums.  “  Eat  Cress  to  learn 
more  wit  ”  was  an  old  bit  of  advice.  There  used  to  be  a 
funny  saying  in  Devonshire,  when  a  girl  had  jilted  or  re- 
fusecl  some  admirer,  “  She  has  given  him  Turnips  ”  ;  and 
in  some  parts  of  England  people  will  rema^rk  to  a  pale 
person,  “You  have  been  rubbing  Turnip  juice  into  your 
face.”  The  advice,  “  Eat  Peas  with  the  King,  and  Cherries 
with  the  beggar,”  suggests  that  the  stones  of  this  fruit 
prevent  us  from  eating  them  gracefully.  “  It  will  be  a 
nosegay  to  him  as  long  as  he  lives  ”  was  a  proverb  applied 
to  a  person  who  had  done  something  wrong,  the  effects  of 
which  would  cling  to  him.  When  anybody  tried  to  do  harm 
but  was  foilecl,  some  of  the  old  gardeners  used  to  say,  “  He 
jumped  at  it  like  a  cock  at  a  Gooseberry,”  and  fowls,  if  they 
happen  to  get  amongst  bush  fruit,  may  be  seen  acting  just 
in  that  way. 
Such  comparisons  as  “  white  as  a  Lily,”  “  sweet  as  a 
Rose,”  “cool  as  a  Cucumber,”  explain  themselves.  “Dear 
as  Saffron  ”  recalls  the  time  when  that  article  was  much 
valued  and  expensive.  “  Blake  as  a  paigle,”  we  discover, 
means  yellow  as  a  Cowslip.  “  Every  Bean  has  its  black.” 
a  reminder  that  nothing  in  our  world  is  perfect.  It  seems 
to  us  that  Beans  must  in  the  olden  time  have  been  much 
cultivated,  that  is.  Broad  Beans,  for  the  period  of  sowing  is 
referred  to  in  several  proverbs.  Some  partiality  was  shown 
to  Candlemas,  as  being  suitable  when  the  weather  was  mild 
and  moist. 
Snu'  P)Cans  in  the  niiul. 
'I’lu'V  coinc  up  like  a  wood. 
-J.  R.  S.  C. 
Cklkuy  roK  Rheumatism. — Celery  is  most  palatable  if 
stewed  or  boiled  in  water  till  soft,  drained  on  a  hot  dish,  and 
eaten  with  butter  melted,  not  melted  butter.  Season  with  salt 
and  pepper.  Seakale  is  excellent  this  way,  too. — C.  H.,  Salop. 
