Roses
Certain curative properties are possessed both by the Briar, or wild
Dog Rose of our country hedges, and by the cultivated varieties of
this queen of flowers in our Roseries. The word Rose means red,
from the Greek [464] rodon, connected also with rota, a wheel,
which resembles the outline of a Rose. The name Briar is from the
Latin bruarium, the waste land on which it grows. The first Rose
of a dark red colour, is hel
Adonis. The fruit of the wild Rose, which is so familiar to every
admirer of our hedgerows in the summer, and which is the common
progenitor of all Roses, is named Hips. Heps maketh, says Gerard,
most pleasant meats or banquetting dishes, as tarts and such like,
the concoction whereof I commit to the cunning cook, and teeth to
eat them in the rich man's mouth.
Hips, derived from the old Saxon, hiupa, jupe, signifies the Briar
rather than its fruit. They are called in some parts, choops, or
hoops. The woolly down which surrounds the seeds within the
Hips serves admirably for dispelling round worms, on which it acts
mechanically without irritating the mucous membrane which lines
the bowels.
When fully ripe and softened by frost, the Hips, after removal of
their hard seeds, and when plenty of sugar is added, make a very
nice confection, which the Swiss and Germans eat at dessert, and
which forms an agreeable substitute for tomato sauce. Apothecaries
employ this conserve in the preparing of electuaries, and as a basis
for pills. They also officinally use the petals of the Cabbage Rose
(Centifolia) for making Rose water, and the petals of the Red
Rose (Gallica) for a cooling infusion, the brilliant colour of which
is much improved by adding some diluted sulphuric acid; and of
these petals they further direct a syrup to be concocted.
Next in development to the Dog Rose, or Hound's Rose, comes the
Sweetbriar (Eglantine), with a delicate perfume contained under its
glandular leaves. [465] Fragrantia ejus olei omnia alia odoramenta
superest. This (Rosa rubiginosa) grows chiefly on chalk as a
bushy shrub. Its poetic title, Eglantine, is a corruption of the Latin
aculeius, prickly. A legend tells that Christ's crown of thorns was
made from the Rose-briar, about which it has been beautifully
said:--
Men sow the thorns on Jesus' brow,
But Angels saw the Roses.
Pliny tells a remarkable story of a soldier of the Praetorian guard,
who was cured of hydrophobia, against all hope, by taking an
extract of the root of the Kunoroddon, Dog Rose, in obedience to
the prayer of his mother, to whom the remedy was revealed in a
dream; and he says further, that it likewise restored whoever tried
it afterwards. Hence came the title Canina. Parceque elle a
longtemps ete en vogue pour guerir de la rage.
But the term, Dog Rose, is generally thought to merely signify a
flower of lower quality than the nobler Roses of garden culture.
The five graceful fringed leaflets which form the special beauty of
the Eglantine flower and bud, have given rise to the following Latin
enigma (translated):--
Of us five brothers at the same time born,
Two from our birthday always beards have worn:
On other two none ever have appeared,
While our fifth brother wears but half a beard.
From Roses the Romans prepared wine and confections, also subtle
scents, sweet-smelling oil, and medicines. The petals of the crimson
French Rose, which is grown freely in our gardens, have been
esteemed of signal efficacy in consumption of the lungs [466] since
the time of Avicenna, A.D. 1020, who states that he cured many
patients by prescribing as much of the conserve as they could
manage to swallow daily. It was combined with milk, or with some
other light nutriment; and generally from thirty to forty pounds of
this medicine had to be consumed before the cure was complete.
Julius Caesar hid his baldness at the age of thirty with Roman Roses.
Take, says an old MS. recipe of Lady Somerset's, Red Rose buds,
and clyp of the tops, and put them in a mortar with ye waight of
double refined sugar; beat them very small together, then put it up;
must rest three full months, stirring onces a day. This is good
against the falling sickness.
It is remarkable that while the blossoms of the Rose Order present
various shades of yellow, white, and red, blue is altogether foreign
to them, and unknown among them.
As the Thistle is symbolical of Scotland, the Leek of Wales, and the
Shamrock of Ireland: so the sweet, pure, simple, honest Rose of our
woods is the apt-chosen emblem of Saint George, and the frank,
bonny, blushing badge of Merrie England.
The petals of the Cabbage Rose (Centifolia), which are closely
folded over each other like the leaves of a cabbage, have a slight
laxative action, and are used for making Rose-water by distillation,
whether when fresh, or after being preserved by admixture with
common salt. This perfumed water has long enjoyed a reputation for
the cure of inflamed eyes, more commonly when combined with
zinc, or with sugar of lead. Hahnemann quotes the same established
practice as a tacit avowal that there exists in the leaves of the Rose
some healing power for certain diseased conditions of [567] the
eyes, which virtue is really founded on the homoeopathic property
possessed by the Rose, of exciting a species of ophthalmia in
healthy persons; as was observed by Echtius, Ledelius, and Rau.
It is recorded also in his Organon of Medicine, that persons are
sometimes found to faint at the smell of Roses (or, as Pope puts it,
to die of a rose in aromatic pain); whereas the Princess Maria,
cured her brother, the Emperor Alexius, who suffered from
faintings, by sprinkling him with Rose-water, in the presence of his
aunt Eudoxia.
The wealthy Greeks and Romans strewed Roses on the tombs of
departed friends, whilst poorer persona could only afford a tablet
at the grave bearing the prayer:
Sparge, precor, rosas super mea busta, viator.
Scatter Roses, I beseech you, over my ashes, O pitiful passer-by.
But nowadays many persons have an aversion to throwing a Rose
into a grave, or even letting one fall in.
Roses and reticence of speech have been linked together since the
time of Harpocrates, whom Cupid bribed to silence by the gift of a
golden Rose-bud; and therefore it became customary at Roman
feasts to suspend over the table a flower of this kind as a hint that
the convivial sayings which were then interchanged wore not to be
talked of outside. What was spoken sub vino was not to be
published sub divo:
Est rosa flos veneris, cujus quo facta laterent
Harpocrati, matris dona, dicavit amor:
Inde rosam mensis hospes suspendid amicis,
Conviva ut sub ea dicta tacenda sciat.
[468] For the same reason the Rose is found sculptured on the
ceilings of banqueting rooms; and in 1526 it began to be placed over
Confessionals. Thus it has come about that the Rose is held to be the
symbol of secrecy, as well as the flower of love, and the emblem of
beauty: so that the significant phrase sub rosa,--under the Rose,--
conveys a recognised meaning, understood, and respected by
everyone. The bed of Roses is not altogether a poetic fiction. In old
days the Sybarites slept upon mattresses which were stuffed with
Rose petals: and the like are now made for persons of rank on the
Nile.
A memorial brass over the tomb of Abbot Kirton, in Westminster
Abbey, bears testimony to the high value he attached during life to
Roses curatively:--
Sis, Rosa, flos florum, morbis medicina meoium.
Many country persons believe, that if Roses and Violets are
plentiful in the autumn, some epidemic may be expected presently.
But this conclusion must be founded like that which says, a green
winter makes a fat churchyard, on the fact that humid warmth
continued on late in the year tends to engender putrid ferments, and
to weaken the bodily vigour.
Attar of Roses is a costly product, because consisting of the
comparatively few oil globules found floating on the surface of a
considerable volume of Rose water thrice distilled. It takes five
hundredweight of Rose petals to produce one drachm by weight of
the finest Attar, which is preserved in small bottles made of rock
crystal. The scent of the minutest particle of the genuine essence is
very powerful and enduring:--
You may break, you may ruin, the vase if you will,
But the scent of the Roses will hang round it still.
The inscription, Rosamundi, non Rosa munda, was graven on the
tomb of fair Rosamund, the inamorata of Henry the Seventh:--
Hic jacet in tomba Rosa Mundi, non Rosa munda;
Non redolet, sed olet quae redolere solet.
Here Rose the graced, not Rose the chaste, reposes;
The smell that rises is no smell of Roses.
In Sussex, the peculiar excrescence which is often found on the
Briar, as caused by the puncture of an insect, and which is known as
the canker, or robin redbreast's cushion, is frequently worn round
the neck as a protective amulet against whooping cough. This was
called in the old Pharmacopeias Bedeguar, and was famous for its
astringent properties. Hans Andersen names it the Rose King's
beard.
The Rosary was introduced by St. Dominick to commemorate his
having been shown a chaplet of Roses by the Blessed Virgin. It
consisted formerly of a string of beads made of Rose leaves tightly
pressed into round moulds and strung together, when real Roses
could not be had. The use of a chaplet of beads for recording the
number of prayers recited is of Eastern origin from the time of the
Egyptian Anchorites.
The Rock Rose (a Cistus), grows commonly in our hilly pastures on
a soil of chalk, or gravel, bearing clusters of large, bright, yellow
flowers, from a small branching shrub. These flowers expand only
in the sunshine, and have stamens which, if lightly touched, spread
out, and lie down on the petals. The plant proves medicinally useful,
particularly if grown in a soil containing magnesia. A tincture is
prepared (H.) from the whole plant, English or Canadian, which is
useful for curing shingles, on the principle of its producing, when
taken by healthy provers in doses of various [470] potencies, a
cutaneous outbreak on the trunk of the body closely resembling the
characteristic symptoms of shingles, whilst attended with nervous
distress, and with much burning of the affected skin. The plant has
likewise a popular reputation for healing scrofula, and its tincture is
beneficial for reducing enlarged glands, as of the neck and throat;
also for strumous swelling of the knee joint, as well as of other
joints. It is a helianthemum of the Sunflower tribe.
The Canadian Rock Rose is called Frostwort and Frostweed,
because crystals of ice shoot from the cracked bark below the stem
during freezing weather in the autumn.
A decoction of our plant has proved useful in prurigo (itching), and
as a gargle for the sore throat of scarlet fever. For shingles, from
five to ten drops of the tincture, third decimal strength, should be
given with a spoonful of water three times a day.
More
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Mushrooms
Without giving descriptive attention to those Mushrooms (Agarics, Boleti, and others) which are edible, and [363] of which over a hundred may be enumerated, as beyond our purpose when treating of curative Herbal Simples, notice will be bestowed her... Mustard
The wild Mustard (Brassica Sinapistrum), a Cruciferous herb commonly called Chedlock, from leac, a weed, and kiede, to annoy, grows abundantly as a product of waste places, and in newly disturbed ground. The Field Mustard (Arvensis) is Charlock, ... Nettle
No plant is more commonplace and plentiful in our fields and hedges throughout an English summer than the familiar stinging Nettle. And yet most persons unknowingly include under this single appellation several distinct herbs. Actually as Nettles ar... Night Shade Deadly (_belladonna_)
This is a Solanaceous plant found native in Great Britain, and growing generally on chalky soil under hedges, or about waste grounds. It bears the botanical name of Atropa, being so called from one of the classic Fates,--she who held the shears to c... Notable Instance Of Uses
The flavors of the various herbs cover a wide range, commencing with fennel and ending with sage, and are capable of wide application. In one case which came under my observation, the cook made a celery-flavored stew of some meat scraps. Not being w... Nutmeg Cinnamon Ginger And Cloves
The spice box is such a constant source of ready domestic comforts of a medicinal sort in every household that the more important, and best known of its contents may well receive some consideration when treating of Herbal Simples; though it will, of... Oat
The Oat is a native of Britain in its wild and uncultivated form, and is distinguished by the spikelets of its ears hanging on slender pedicels. This is the Avena fatua, found in our cornfields, but not indigenous in Scotland. When cultivated it is ... Onion
(see Garlic, page 209). ... Orange
Though not of native British growth, except by way of a luxury in the gardens of the wealthy, yet the Orange [400] is of such common use amongst all classes of our people as a dietetic fruit, when of the sweet China sort, and for tonic medicinal pur... Orchids
Our common English Orchids are the Early Purple, which is abundant in our woods and pastures; the Meadow Orchis; and the Spotted Orchis of our heaths and commons. Less frequent are the Bee Orchis, the Butterfly Orchis, Lady's Tresses, and the Tway ... Parsley
Parsely is found in this country only as a cultivated plant, having been introduced into England from Sardinia in the sixteenth century. It is an umbelliferous herb, which has been long of garden growth for kitchen uses. The name was formerly spelt ... Parsley
(Carum Petroselinum, Linn.), a hardy biennial herb of the natural order Umbelliferae, native to Mediterranean shores, and cultivated for at least 2,000 years. The specific name is derived from the habitat of the plant, which naturally grows among ro... Parsnip
The Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) grows on the borders of ploughed fields and about hedgerows, being generally hairy, whilst the Garden Parsnip is smooth, [414] with taller stems, and leaves of a yellowish-green colour. This cultivated Parsnip has... Pea And Bean
Typical of leguminous plants (so called because they furnish legumin, or vegetable cheese), whilst furthermore possessing certain medicinal properties, the Bean and the Pea have a claim to be classed with Herbal Simples. The common Kidney Bean (P... Peach
The Peach (Amygdabus Persica), the apple of Persia, began to be cultivated in England about 1562, or perhaps before then. Columella tells of this fatal gift conveyed treacherously to Egypt in the first century:-- Apples, which most barbarous ... Pear
The Pear, also called Pyrrie, belongs to the same natural order of plants (the Rosacoe) as the Apple. It is [420] sometimes called the Pyerie, and when wild is so hard and austere as to bear the name of Choke-pear. It grows wild in Britain, and abun... Pellitory
A plant belonging to the order of Nettles, the Pellitory of the Wall, or Paritory--Parietaria, from the Latin parietes, walls--is a favourite Herbal Simple in many [424] rural districts. It grows commonly on dry walls, and is in flower all the summe... Pennyroyal
see MINT. ... Pennyroyal
(Mentha Pulegium, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order Labiatae, native of Europe and parts of Asia, found wild and naturalized throughout the civilized world in strong, moist soil on the borders of ponds and streams. Its square, prostrate ... Peppermint
(Mentha piperita, Linn.) is much the same in habit of growth as spearmint. It is a native of northern Europe, where it may be found in moist situations along stream banks and in waste lands. In America it is probably even more common as an escape th... Periwinkle
There are two British Periwinkles growing wild; the one Vinca major, or greater, a doubtful native, and found only in the neighbourhood of dwelling-houses; the other Vinca minor lesser, abounding in English woods, particularly in the Western countie... Pimpernel
The Poor Man's Weather Glass or Shepherd's Dial, is a very well-known and favourite little flower, of brilliant scarlet hue, expanding only in bright weather, and closing its petals at two o'clock in the day. It occurs quite commonly in gardens and ... Pink
The Clove Pink, or Carnation of our gardens, though found apparently wild on old castle walls in England, is a naturalised flower in this country. It is, botanically, the Dianthus Caryophyllus, being so named as anthos, the flower, dios, of Jupiter... Plantain
The Plantains (Plantaginacecoe), from planta, the sole of the foot, are humble plants, well known as weeds in fields and by roadsides, having ribbed leaves and spikes of flowers conspicuous by their long stamens. As Herbal Simples, the Greater Plant... Poppy
The Scarlet Poppy of our cornfields (Papaver Rhoeas) is one of the most brilliant and familiar of English wild flowers, being strikingly conspicuous as a weed by its blossoms rich in scarlet petals, which are black at the base. The title Papaver has... Potato
Our invaluable Potato, which enters so largely into the dietary of all classes, belongs to the Nightshade tribe of [442] dangerous plants, though termed solanaceous as a natural order because of the sedative properties which its several genera exerc... Primrose
The Common Primrose (Primula veris) is the most widely known of our English wild flowers, and appears in the Spring as its earliest herald. [448] It gets its name from the Latin primus, first, being named in old books and M.S. Pryme rolles, and i... Production Of New Varieties
Besides the gratification that always accompanies the growing of plants, there is in plant breeding the promise that the progeny will in some way be better than the parent, and there is the certainty that when a stable variety of undoubted merit has... Quince
The Quince (Cydonia) is cultivated sparingly in our orchards for the sake of its highly fragrant, and strong-smelling fruit, which as an adjunct to apples is much esteemed for table uses. It may well be included among remedial Herbal Simples becau... Radish
The common garden Radish (Raphanus sativus) is a Cruciferous plant, and a cultivated variety of the Horse Radish. It came originally from China, but has been grown allover Europe from time immemorial. Radishes were celebrated by Dioscorides and Plin... Ragwort
The Ragwort (Senecio Jacoboea) is a very common plant in our meadows, and moist places, closely allied to the [458] Groundsel, and well known by its daisy-like flowers, but of a golden yellow colour, with rays in a circle surrounding the central rec... Raspberry
The Raspberry (Rubus Idoeus) occurs wild plentifully in the woods of Scotland, where children gather the fruit early in summer. It is also found growing freely in some parts of England--as in the Sussex woods--and bearing berries of as good a qualit... Rhubarb (garden)
see Dock, page 159. ... Rice
Rice, or Ryse, the grain of Oryza sativa, a native cereal of India, is considered here scarcely as a Herbal Simple, but rather as a common article of some medicinal resource in the store cupboard of every English house-hold, and therefore always at ... Rosemary
The Rosemary is a well-known, sweet-scented shrub, cultivated in our gardens, and herb beds on account of its fragrancy and its aromatic virtues. It came originally from the South of Europe and the Levant, and was introduced into England before the ... Rosemary
(Rosemarinus officinalis, Linn.)--As its generic name implies, rosemary is a native of sea-coasts, "rose" coming from Ros, dew, and "Mary" from marinus, ocean. It is one of the many Labiatae found wild in limy situations along the Mediterranean coas... Roses
Certain curative properties are possessed both by the Briar, or wild Dog Rose of our country hedges, and by the cultivated varieties of this queen of flowers in our Roseries. The word Rose means red, from the Greek [464] rodon, connected also with r... Rue
The wild Rue is found on the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire, being more vehement in smell and in operation than the garden Rue. This latter, Ruta graveolens, (powerfully redolent), the common cultivated Rue of our kitchen gardens, is a shrub with... Rue
(Ruta graveolens, Linn.), a hardy perennial herb of roundish, bushy habit, native of southern Europe. It is a member of the same botanical family as the orange, Rutaceae. In olden times it was highly reputed for seasoning and for medicine among the ... Rushes
The true Rushes (Juncaceoe) include the Soft Rush (effusus); the Hard Rush (glaucus); and the Common Rush (conglomeratus). The Bulrush (Pool Rush) is a Sedge; the Club Rush is a Typha; and the flowering Rush, a Butomus. Rish was the old method of s... Saffron (meadow And Cultivated)
The Meadow Saffron (Colchicum autumnale) is a common wild Crocus found in English meadows, especially about the Midland districts. The flower appears in the autumn before the leaves and fruit, which are not produced until the following spring. Its c... Sage
Our garden Sage, a familiar occupant of the English herb bed, was formerly celebrated as a medicine of great virtue. This was the Elalisphakos of the Greeks, so called from its dry and withered looking leaves. It grows wild in the South of Europe, b... Sage
(Salvia officinalis, Linn.), a perennial member of the Labiatae, found naturally on dry, calcareous hills in southern Europe, and northern Africa. In ancient times, it was one of the most highly esteemed of all plants because of its reputed health-i... Samphire
(Crithmum maritimum, Linn.), a European perennial of the Umbelliferae, common along rocky sea coasts and cliffs beyond the reach of the tide. From its creeping rootstocks short, sturdy, more or less widely branched stems arise. These bear two or thr... Savin
Savin, the Juniper Savin (Sabina), or Saffern, is a herb which grows freely in our bed of garden Simples, if properly cared for, and which possesses medicinal virtues of a potential nature. The shrub is a native of southern Europe, being a small eve... Savory Summer
(Satureia hortensis, Linn.), a little annual plant of the natural order Labiatae indigenous to Mediterranean countries and known as an escape from gardens in various parts of the world. In America, it is occasionally found wild on dry, poor soils in... Savory Winter
(Satureia montana, Linn.), a semi-hardy, perennial, very branching herb, native of southern Europe and northern Africa. Like summer savory, it has been used for flavoring for many centuries, but is not now as popular as formerly, nor is it as popula... Scurvy Grass
One of the roost useful, but not best known, of the Cruciferous wild plants which are specifics against Scrofula is our English Scurvy Grass. It grows by choice near the sea shore, or in mountainous places; and even when found many miles from the... Sea Plants And Sea Weeds
Of marine plants commonly found, the Samphire and the Sea Holly have certain domestic and medicinal uses which give them a position as Simples; and of the more ordinary Sea Weeds (cryptogamous, or flowerless plants) some few are edible, though spar... Seeds
Most herbs may be readily propagated by means of seeds. Some, however, such as tarragon, which does not produce seed, and several other perennial kinds, are propagated by division, layers, or cuttings. In general, propagation by means of seed is c... Selfheal
Several Herbal Simples go by the name of Selfheal among our wild hedge plants, more especially the Sanicle, the common Prunella, and the Bugle. The first of these is an umbelliferous herb, growing frequently in woods, having dull white flowers, i... Shepherd's Purse
The small Shepherd's Purse (Bursa Capsella Pastoris) is one of the most common of wayside English weeds. The name Capsella signifies a little box, in allusion to the seed pods. It is a Cruciferous plant, made familiar by the diminutive pouches, or ... Silverweed
Two Potentillas occur among our common native plants, and possess certain curative virtues (as popularly supposed), the Silverweed and the Cinquefoil. They belong to the Rose tribe, and grow abundantly on our roadsides, being useful as mild astringe... Skullcap
A useful medicinal tincture (H.) is made from the Skullcap (Scutellaria), which is a Labiate plant of frequent growth on the banks of our rivers and ponds, having bright blue flowers, with a tube longer than the calyx. This is the greater variety (... Sloe
The parent tree which produces the Sloe is the Blackthorn, our hardy, thorny hedgerow shrub (Prunus [518] spinosa), Greek Prounee, common everywhere, and starting into blossom of a pinky white about the middle of March before a leaf appears, each b... Soapwort
The Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) grows commonly in England near villages, on roadsides, and by the margins of woods, in moist situations. It belongs to the Caryophyllaceoe, or Clove and Pink tribe of plants; and a double flowered variety of it i... Solomon's Seal
The Solomon's Seal (Convallaria polygonatum) is a handsome woodland plant by no means uncommon throughout England, particularly in Berkshire, Bucks, Rants, Kent, and Suffolk. It grows to the height of about two feet, bearing along its curved droo... Sorrel
(See Dock, page 157.) ... Southernwood
Southernwood, or Southern Wormwood, though it does not flower in this country, is well known as grown in every cottage garden for its aromatic fragrance. It is the Artemisia Abrotanum, a Composite plant of the Wormwood tribe, commonly known as Old ... Southernwood
(Artemisia Abrotanum, Linn.), a woody-stemmed perennial belonging to the Compositae and a native of southern Europe. It grows from 2 to 4 feet tall, bears hairlike, highly aromatic leaves and heads of small yellow flowers. The plant is often found i... Speedwell
This little plant, with its exquisite flowers of celestial blue, grows most familiarly in our hedgerows throughout the Spring, and early Summer. Its brilliant, gemlike blossoms show a border of pale purple, or delicate violet, marked with deeper vei... Spinach
Spinach (Lapathum hortense) is a Persian plant which has been cultivated in our gardens for about two hundred years; and considerably longer on the Continent. Some say the Spinach was originally brought [530] from Spain. It was produced by monks in ... Spindle Tree (celastracoe)
During the autumn, in our woody hedgerows a shrub becomes very conspicuous by bearing numerous rose-coloured floral capsules, strikingly brilliant, each with a [531] scarlet and orange-coloured centre. This is the Spindle Tree (Euonymus), so called ... Spurge
Conspicuous in Summer by their golden green leaves, and their striking epergnes of bright emerald blossoms, the Wood Spurge, and the Petty Spurge, adorn our woodlands and gardens commonly and very remarkably. Together with many other allied plants, ... Status And Uses
Some readers of a statistical turn of mind may be disappointed to learn that figures as to the value of the annual crops of individual herbs, the acreage devoted to each, the average cost, yield and profit an acre, etc., are not obtainable and that ... Stitchwort
The Stitchworts, greater and less (Stellaria holostea), grow very abundantly as herbal weeds in all our dry hedges and woods, having tough stems which run closely together, and small white star-like (stellaria) blossoms. These plants are of the s... Strawberry
Properly, our familiar Strawberry plant is a native of cold climates, and so hardy that it bears fruit freely in Lapland. When mixed with reindeer cream, and dried in the form of a sausage, this constitutes Kappatialmas, the plum pudding of the Pola... Succory
The Wild Succory (Cichorium intybus) is a common roadside English plant, white or blue, belonging to the Composite order, and called also Turnsole, because it always turns its flowers towards the sun. It blows with a blue blossom somewhat paler t... Sundew
The Sundew (Ros solis, or Drosera rotundifolia) is a little plant always eagerly recognised in marshy and heathy grounds by ardent young botanists. In the sun its leaves seem tipped with dew (drosos). It grows plentifully in Hampshire and the New Fo... Sunflower
The Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) which is so popular and brilliant an ornament of cottage gardens throughout England in summer and autumn, is an importation of long standing, and has been called the Marigold of Peru. Its general nature and appea... Tamarind
The Tamarind pod, though of foreign growth, has been much valued by our immediate ancestors as a household medicinal Simple; and a well stocked jar of its useful curative pulp was always found in the store cupboard of a prudent housewife. But of lat... Tansy
The Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare--buttons,--bed of Tansy), a Composite plant very familiar in our hedgerows and waste places, being conspicuous by its heads of brilliant yellow flowers, is often naturalized in our gardens for ornamental cultivation. Its...