The time has come, as the walrus said in Alice and the Looking Glass, to talk of many things-- Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax; of Cabbages, and kings. The Cabbage, which is f...
Our English Daisy is a composite flower which is called in the glossaries gowan, or Yellow flower. Botanically [144] it is named Bellis perennis, probably from bellis, in fields of...
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...
The herb Balm, or Melissa, which is cultivated quite commonly in our cottage gardens, has its origin in the wild, or bastard Balm, growing in our woods, especially in the South of...
The herb Sweet Basil (Ocymum Basilicum) is so called because the smell thereof is fit for a king's house. It grows commonly in our kitchen gardens, but in England it dies down ever...
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 w...
The Coltsfoot, which grows abundantly throughout England in places of moist, heavy soil, especially along the sides of our raised railway banks, has been justly termed nature's bes...
Of all the bitter appetising herbs which grow in our fields and hedgerows, and which serve as excellent simple tonics, the Centaury, particularly its white flowered variety, belong...
(see Pea and Bean).
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 Ty...
All the Mallows (Malvaceoe) to the number of a thousand, agree in containing mucilage freely, and in possessing no unwholesome properties. Their family name Mallow is derived from...
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 t...
The kitchen herb Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is cultivated in England, and more commonly in France, for uses in salads, and other condimentary purposes. It is the little Drago...
Dates are the most wholesome and nourishing of all our imported fruits. Children especially appreciate their luscious sweetness, as afforded by an abundant sugar which is easily di...
Several kinds of the Mints have been used medicinally from the earliest times, such as Balm, Basil, Ground Ivy, Horehound, Marjoram, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Savory,...
The Hop (Humulus lupulus) belongs to the Nettle tribe (Cannabineoe) of plants, and grows wild in our English hedges and copses; but then it bears only male flowers. When cultivated...
In the name of the Prophet 'Figs' was the pompous utterance ascribed to Dr. Johnson, whose solemn magniloquent style was simulated as Eastern cant applied to common business in Rej...
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 diet...
The Lavender of our gardens, called also Lavender Spike, is a well-known sweet-smelling shrub, of the Labiate order. It grows wild in Spain, Piedmont, and [297] the south of France...
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...
English hedgerows exhibit Bryony of two distinct sorts--the white and the black--which differ much, the one from the other, as to medicinal properties, and which belong to separate...
The Buck-bean, or Bog-bean, which is common enough in stagnant pools, and on our spongy bogs, is the most serviceable of all known herbal tonics. It may be easily recognised growin...
The Borage, with its gallant blue flower, is cultivated in our gardens as a pot herb, and is associated in our minds with bees and claret cup. It grows wild in abundance on open pl...
Chickweed--called Alsine or Stellaria media, a floral star of middle magnitude--belongs to the Clove-pink order of plants, and, despite the most severe weather, grows with us all t...
Like cabbage, but, of course, upon a smaller scale, it is a gross feeder. It demands that plenty of nitrogenous food be in the soil. That is, the soil should be well supplied with...
The wild Cherry (Cerasus), which occurs of two distinct kinds, has by budding and grafting begotten most of our finest garden fruits of its genus. The name Cerasus was derived from...
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 pr...
The Lemon (Citrus Limonum) is so common of use in admixing refreshing drinks, and for its fragrancy of peel, whether for culinary flavour, or as a delightful perfume, that it may w...
The original Currants in times past were small grapes, grown in Greece at Zante, near Corinth, and termed Corinthians; then they became Corantes, and eventually Currants. But, as a...